UNIT 13 Exercises

Are you learning Latin with Latin: An Intensive Course by Moreland and Fleischer? Here's where you can meet other learners using this textbook. Use this board to ask questions and post your work for feedback.
Post Reply
caratacus
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 4:10 pm

UNIT 13 Exercises

Post by caratacus »

Hi all. Although I have been lurking this forum for a while, I decided to join to get some help with a few translations, seeing that there are not many folks you run into that know Greek and Latin well.

Anyway, I'm stuck on the following:

33. Credo ego vos mirari quo ferat natura sua quemque.

Now, it looks pretty straightforward, but the "sua" is throwing me off. I want to translate:

33. I believe that you are marveling at where nature brings anyone.

The sua is bizarre to me. I don't want to take "sua" with "natura" for the simple reason that I have never seen a reflexive adjective used in a non-predicate position. For a reflexive subject I would expect "ipsa". I can't find such use of "sua" in grammars either. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Qimmik
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 2090
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:15 pm

Re: UNIT 13 Exercises

Post by Qimmik »

This is an idiomatic use of the normally reflexive adjective suus with oblique (non-nominative) forms of quisque. "where his/her/their own nature leads someone/everyone." The sentence is focused on quemque, and even though it's not the grammatical subject, it acts as the antecedent of sua here and in similar expressions.

Spes sua cuique. "Everyone has their own hope."

Stat sua cuique dies. "Everyone has his day." Vergil, Aen. 10.467. "Every dog has his day."

This use of suus to refer to someone or something other than the subject of its own clause isn't limited to oblique forms of quisque. See Allen & Greenough sec. 301b:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/tex ... 99.04.0001

caratacus
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 4:10 pm

Re: UNIT 13 Exercises

Post by caratacus »

Thanks for the response. Very helpful and drew my attention to the very flexible use of "suus". I also found that Gildersleeve addresses this in his grammar at 309.2, where it frequently refers to the actual subject, or subject in sense, rather than the grammatical, which is what we have here in M&F. Strange how this was put into an "Introductory" textbook without an explanation. Thanks again.

-cara

Post Reply