A Question On Cicero

Latin Learning Latin
1

Hi all,

I have a slight problem with this bit of text from Cicero’s 5th Phillipic (42-44):

advolabat ad urbem a Brundisio homo impotentissimus, ardens odio, animo hostili in omnis bonos cum exercitu Antonius. quid huius audaciae et sceleri poterat opponi?

I get the first part alright: Antonius, this very uncontrolled man, burning with hatred, came from Brundisium to the City in a hostile mood towards all good men with an army.

My problem is with Cicero’s following question. I get the meaning (I translate: “What could have been put against his audacity and crime?”) but not the syntax… Does opponi (an infinitive in the passive voice, I assume) take the dative or…? Is it in that case a “dativus finalis” (sorry about the vocab, I don’t know the term in English…)?


TIA.

2

It is a dative after a compound verb containing the preverb OB- (obpono > oppono). Remember : ad, ante, cum, in, inter, ob, post, prae, sub, super…
Dative after compound verbs with those preverbs. The word in dative would follow the preverb if it was a preposition (but the case with the preposition would of course not be the same).