Here is a passage from Seneca’s De brevitate vitae 13.7 that is giving me a bit of trouble: “Ille (Pompey)…cum in conspectum populi Romani multum sanginis funderet mox plus ipsum fundere coacturus.” I think it is genereally understood to mean that the Roman people was soon to be forced to shed more of its own blood, but I took coacturus in the nominative to refer to Pompey. Is it the subject of the infinitive fundere? Why not the accusative? I feel that I have seen this befor and that I should know this point of syntax. Can someone explain?
Hello, Charlie,
I am unfamiliar with this passage, but I believe that you are correct in your assumption that ‘coacturus’ describes ‘ille’.
It is important to note that the Future Active Participle, ‘coacturus’, ‘going to force’, can have an objective infinitive, which is, in this instance, ‘fundere’. If we translate the latter half of the sentence into ugly English for the purpose of demonstrating the grammar, we have:
‘… mox plus ipsum fundere coacturus.’
‘… (he) going to force the people themselves to shed more (blood) soon.’
I think that this is right anyway.
Thank you kindly. It is all clear to me now