Salvete!
In the following passage: “…matrem precum sociam ne propinquiorum et affinium, denique gentis suae desertor et proditor quam liberator esse mallet“, why are “liberator“, “desertor“, and “proditor“ in the Nominative instead of the Accusative, being, if I understood correctly, complements of “esse“, an infinitive? Are there exceptions to the “Accusative with Infinitive“ rule?
Thanks!
Liberator, desertor and proditor are predicative nouns that refer back to and agree with the understood nominative subject of mallet, I.e., Arminius. They argued that “he should not prefer to be the deserter and betrayer of his family and neighbors, and indeed of his entire tribe, rather than their commander.” The text reads imperator rather than liberator.
Huh, again Ørberg tampering with the texts… (I read this passage in Sermones Romani; in another post of mine you may see that he modified Phaedrus’ “cursu pelagio“ to “cursu per mare“, for some reason.)
Much thanks, Hylander!