Billuart,OP scripsit: “Fide certum est dari in Deo tres Personas realiter distinctas, easque non distingui realiter in absolutis in quibus sunt consubstantiales”
Why does he use the infinitives? “Certum est” is not a verb of sensing/thinking for use of acc. +inf. What am I missing? Is this indirect discourse or is it something else?
“By faith it is certain that three really distinct persons are given in God, and that they are not distinguished really in an absolute way in which they are consubstantial.”
did you have something particular in mind in that article?
Either I’m missing the reference or I don’t understand it when I read it since I can’t find anything helpful there.
“It is certain that…”
Try replacing it with “cerno…”; if I understand this right it’s the same idea. It introduces a “shift” in reporting to what is certain. I’m having a hard time expressing this (that is, if I’m not mistaken – though I think I understand this or else I wouldn’t be posting).
I. (Acc. to cerno, II. D.) Certum est (mihi), it is determined, it is my (thy, his, etc.) decision, resolution, will, I am resolved, I mean, etc. (mostly ante-class.; most freq. in Plaut.); > with inf.> : quorum virtuti belli Fortuna pepercit, Eorundem me libertati parcere certum est, Enn. ap
This might explain it better:
Video regem.
Video eum regem esse.
Certum est eum regem esse.
swtwentyman’s post should be helpful in showing how the “indirect discourse” acc. + inf. construction works.
But the traditional term “indirect discourse” is perhaps too narrow to describe the acc. + inf. construction. Maybe something like “subordinated statement” or “subordinated assertion” would be better. “Indirect discourse” gives the misleading impression that someone is speaking, and I think that may be what is troubling mjdubroy.
thanks. Those two things are helpful. I guess what was difficult was just understanding why it is used with Certum est. Usually it is with (among others) verbs of knowing but this didn’t quite seem to be that. Nevertheless apparently it falls (more or less) into that category.