Plautus Amphitruo, Argumentum I

Latin Learning Latin
1

Salvete amici,

“Hinc jurgium, tumultus uxori et viro, donec (…) se Iuppiter confessus est.”

Miror cur hic “uxori et viro” in dativo sint. (I’m wondering why “uxori et viro” are in the dative).

Thanks for any hints.

Curate ut valeatis.

2

Why shouldn’t it be? What were you expecting?

(You probably want a quod, not a cur, in your Latin. “Miror hoc, quod…”)

3

I would expect something like “tumultus inter uxorem et virum”

Is this a poetical dative or does the dative have here a function which I’m missing?

4

Thanks for your insight. I feel that quod would have the meaning of “I’m wondering that” while I wanted to express “I’m wondering why”. Cicero used “miror cur” as well in Fam. 7.27: “miror cur me accuses”.

5

I don’t see anything special in it, a simple dative hovering between possessive and ethical. I don’t think you should worry about it.