2258. (1.) The genitive of the gerundive construction or gerund is used
with substantives or adjectives.
(_a._) #tacendī tempus est#, Pl. _Poen._ 741, _it’s time to be still_.
#spēs potiundī oppidī#, 2, 7, 2, _the hope of overpowering the town_
(2244). #summa difficultās nāvigandī#, 3, 12, 5, _the greatest
difficulty in sailing_. #proeliī committendī sīgnum dedit#, 2, 21, 3,
_he gave the signal for beginning the battle_. #exemplō eōrum clādēs
fuit ut Mārsī mitterent ōrātōrēs pācis petendae#, L. 9, 45, 18, _their
downfall was a warning to the Marsians to send envoys to sue for peace_.
#sīve nāvēs dēiciendī operis essent missae#, 4, 17, 10, _or if vessels
for breaking down the works had been sent_. Particularly with #causā#,
#grātiā#, or rarely #ergō# (1257), to denote purpose: as, #frūmentandī
causā#, 4, 12, 1, _for foraging_. #vītandae suspīciōnis causā#, _C._ 1,
19, _to avoid suspicion_. #mūneris fungendī grātiā#, _RP._ 1, 27, _for
the sake of doing one’s duty_. #illīusce sacrī coercendī ergō#, Cato,
_RR._ 139, _because of thinning out yon hallowed grove_.
(_b._) #quam cupida eram hūc redeundī#, T. _Hec._ 91, _how eager I was
to return here_. #homine perītō dēfīniendī#, _Off._ 3, 60, _a man
accomplished in drawing distinctions_. #perpessus est omnia potius quam
cōnsciōs dēlendae tyrannidis indicāret#, _TD._ 2, 52, _he stood out
against the worst sooner than betray his confederates in the overthrow
of the tyranny_. #īnsuētus nāvigandī#, 5, 6, 3, _unused to sailing_.
#studiōsus audiendī#, N. 15, 3, 2, _an eager listener_. #nescia
tolerandī#, Ta. 3, 1, _ignorant what patience was_. #nandī pavidus#, Ta.
_H._ 5, 14, _afraid to swim_. With adjectives, the gerundive
construction is not found in Plautus and Terence, and the gerund not in
Plautus. Terence has the gerund with #cupidus#, Cato with #studiōsus#.
The construction is of slow growth before Tacitus, who greatly developed
it.
2259. In the genitive, a transitive gerund with an object in the
accusative is rare except in Plautus; ordinarily the gerundive is used
(2240).
#tē dēfrūdandī causā#, Pl. _Men._ 687, _for the purpose of cheating
you_. #cupidus tē audiendī#, _DO._ 2, 16, _eager to hear you_. #summa
ēlūdendī occāsiōst mihi nunc senēs#, T. _Ph._ 885, _I’ve now a splendid
chance the graybeards of eluding_. #nē suī līberandī (2260) atque
ulcīscendī Rōmānōs occāsiōnem dīmittant#, 5, 38, 2, _that they should
not let slip the chance of freeing themselves and taking vengeance on
the Romans_. #sīgnum colligendī vāsa dedit#, L. 24, 16, 14, _he gave the
signal to pack their things_.
2260. #nostrī#, #vostrī# (or #vestrī#), and #suī#, being singular in
form (649) have often a singular gerundive.
#nōn tam suī cōnservandī quam tuōrum cōnsiliōrum reprimendōrum causā
profūgērunt#, _C._ 1, 7, _they fled, not so much to protect themselves
as to crush your plans_. #vēnisse tempus ulcīscendī suī#, _Sest._ 28,
_that the time was come for them to revenge themselves_. #vestrī
adhortandī causā#, L. 21, 41, 1, _for the purpose of encouraging you_.
2261. Sometimes another genitive appears beside the genitive of the
gerund, each perhaps dependent on the main word. This use is found in
old Latin, Lucretius, Varro, and here and there in Cicero, as well as in
late Latin.
#nōminandī istōrum tibī̆ erit cōpia#, Pl. _Cap._ 852, _you will have a
chance to name them_. #poenārum solvendī tempus#, Lucr. 5, 1225, _the
time of paying penalties_. #exemplōrum ēligendī potestās#, _Inv._ 2, 5,
_a chance of picking out examples_. #lūcis tuendī cōpiam#, Pl. _Cap._
1008, _a chance to look upon the light_.
2262. (2.) The genitive of the gerundive construction is used
predicatively with #sum#.
#rēgium imperium, quod initiō cōnservandae libertātis fuerat#, S. _C._
6, 7, _the authority of the king, which had originally served to uphold
freedom_. #cētera in XII minuendī sūmptūs sunt lāmentātiōnisque
fūnebris#, _Leg._ 2, 59, _the rest of the contents of the Twelve Tables
are conducive to the abating of extravagance and keening at funerals_.
#concordiam ōrdinum, quam dissolvendae tribūnīciae potestātis rentur
esse#, L. 5, 3, 5, _the union of the classes, which they believe serves
to break down the power of the tribunes_. This use is not common. It is
found rarely in Sallust and Cicero; chiefly in Livy.
2263. The genitive of the gerundive construction, without a substantive
or adjective (2258) or the verb #sum# (2262), is occasionally used to
denote purpose: as,
#quae ille cēpit lēgum ac lībertātis subvortundae#, S. _Fr. Phil._ 10,
_which he began in order to overthrow freedom and the laws_, of civil
war. #ūnum vincīrī iubet, magis ūsurpandī iūris quam quia ūnīus culpa
foret#, Ta. _H._ 4, 25, _he ordered one into irons, more to vindicate
his authority than because an individual was to blame_. This use occurs
very rarely in Sallust, chiefly in Tacitus and late Latin. Once in
Terence with the gerund.
2264. Tacitus has the genitive of the gerundive construction two or
three times with a judicial verb (1280) to denote the charge: as,
#occupandae rē̆ī pūblicae arguī nōn poterant#, Ta. 6, 10, _they could
not be charged with an attempt on the throne_.