Percussum

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pmda
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Percussum

Post by pmda »

In Orberg's Exercitia Latina Cap XLI : the following is asked:

Quid Hercules fecit Caco?

I answered: Hercules Cacum clava necavit.

Orberg's answer is: Hercules Cacum clava percussum necavit.

'percussum' seems to be a perf passiv participle to agree with Cacum: Hercules Cacum beaten with a club killed him.

Seems odd.

adrianus
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Re: Percussum

Post by adrianus »

I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

mwh
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Re: Percussum

Post by mwh »

Your analysis is right, and so's your sentence. Percussum isn't really that odd, though there's no real need for it. It's the ordinary Latin way of saying H. hit C. with a club and killed him. Latin makes much use of perf. pass. participles -- it has to, since that's about the only participle it has! (Pres. and fut. actives used much less often.) In Greek you'd use an active aorist (past) participle, H. having hit C. with a club killed him, but poor impoverished Latin can't do that.

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