Question about Horatius

[Zizero]

I'm currently preparing for my Latin oral. <br /><br />The text I'm studying is poem 9, Book I of Horatius's Satyres.<br /><br />I don't understand the syntax of the sentence "O te, Bolane, cerebri felicem!". (lines 11 and 12) Shouldn't it be "O tu, Bolane, cerebri felix!", since "tu" and "felix" are connected to "Bolane" which is in the vocativ? <br /><br />I thought that maybe the construction of the sentence was "O Bolane, [dicimus] te felicem cerebri!".<br /><br />However, I'm not really sure.<br /><br />Thanks in advance for any help.

[benissimus]

The accusative can sometimes be used to demonstrate intensive force... i.e. "bonam fortunam!" (good luck!). I am not sure if this is the case here or if it is an implied verb, which I have also seen in many quotes. Perhaps someone else will grace you with a more detailed answer before your time is up ^.^

[Skylax]

[quote author=Zizero link=board=3;threadid=156;start=0#742 date=1055094072]<br /><br />I thought that maybe the construction of the sentence was "O Bolane, [dicimus] te felicem cerebri!".<br /><br />[/quote]<br /><br />You don't even need to imply the "dicimus", see "Accusative in Exclamations", Bennett's Grammar § 183, p. 128 (=137 of the downloaded document). These kind of accusative is often preceded by "O" or "Pro..."<br /><br />"O fortunatos... agricolas!" (Vergil)

[Zizero]

Thanks for the help. I understand the construction now. The problem was, I did not know about the accusative in exclamations before. I've had a look in my grammar, and I understand it now. Thanks again.