There’s a bit (it might be a subordinate clause but I’m a bit in the dark about that as well) which goes ‘alta nive operitur tota Terra et lacus glacie operientur,’, which puzzles me.
I’m aware that the intention is to show the use of the ablative to represent a point in space. At least that’s what the ‘companion’ tells us the bit immediately preceding, is about.
The word alta, for example. I am thinking that this is an example of the use of the ‘ablative of place’ without a preposition. Am I correct?
I feel the meaning of the piece is clear enough, but digging a bit deeper, I’m struggling to put a handle on the syntax? I’d very much appreciate some pointers, perhaps with reference to Allen and Greenough, to help me develop my understanding of the use of the ablative.
You could also look at the companion p 47 and p 59. Rather than worrying too much about what sort of ablative is being used, in the first instance its enough to remember that the ablative can often mean “with” or “by”. The passive should alert you to look out for an “agent”. Do you remember why there is no preposition?
Thanks for the excellent pointers and help. I had misunderstood the meaning after all and was trying to read the word, alta, as ‘at height’ rather than ‘by deep’. Deep does make a lot more sense and I wonder that I missed it but never mind. Surely there is a lesson, in this, in itself.