non inopia loci

Latin Learning Latin
1

Orberg (adapted Livy) is describing how, after the war with the Latini, the Romans are absorbing them into the city.

Ianiculum quoque urbi adiectum, non inopia loci, sed ne quando ea arx hostium esset. Id ponte Sublicio, tum primum in Tiberi facto, urbi coniunctum est.

I’m interested in the phrase non inopia loci. inopia is ablative and loci is genitive singular.

not for (reasons of) shortage of space but so that no enemy citidel should be there.

Is this right? The ablative really is the swiss army knife of Latin isn’t it?

2

Well, it certainly has a number of usages. Here this would be an ablative of cause. Of course, in Greek, the ablative dropped out, and its functions were taken over by the genitive and dative… :slight_smile: BTW, quando, “at any time, ever…”

Adding to what I wrote earlier, I think the sense of the second clause is “so that at no time could this be a citadel of an enemy,” in other words, so that it could not be seized and used against the Romans.

3

Thanks Barry.