Pluris

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pmda
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Pluris

Post by pmda »

I'm reviewing vocabulary in previous chapters of Orberg's LLPSI and have a sentence I want to confirm the construction of.

Nonne liberos pluris aestimas quam merces istas?

Don't you value the children more than those goods?

'pluris' is genitive case. It's an adjective and it's not agreeing with anything.

Are not your children OF greater value than those goods..?

sapz
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Re: Pluris

Post by sapz »

I think that a few pages (or chapters?) back its mentioned in the side notes that aestimare goes sometimes with genitive to specify how much.
"Mercatores merces suas magni aestimant, vitam nautarum parvi aestimant" for example.

So "Nonne liberos pluris aestimas quam merces istas" would be "do you not value children more than these merchandise?"

Aulus
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Re: Pluris

Post by Aulus »

Lewis and Short cite a very similar construction from Cornelius Nepos' Life of Cato in the entry for aestimo:
  • quod non minoris aestimamus quam quemlibet [amplissimum Sardiniensem] triumphum
So yes, this is a "genitive of price".

Qimmik
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Re: Pluris

Post by Qimmik »


pmda
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Re: Pluris

Post by pmda »

Many thanks. I'm a forgetful student.

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