20                    THE  WRITING  OF  NARRATIVE  LATIN
 

LESSON  III

ENGLISH CONSTRUCTIONS REPRESENTED IN LATIN
BY THE  INDIRECT OBJECT

14.   Many verbs transitive in English are intransitive in
Latin and govern a dative of indirect object, on the principle
that the action or feeling of these verbs is directed toward the
person or thing represented by the dative object rather than
exerted directly upon it. Such verbs are those meaning favor,
help, please, trust, and their contraries; also believe, persuade,
command, obey, serve, resist, pardon, spare, indulge, threaten,
envy, and the like.

He persuaded the state, civitati persuasit; he favors the Helvetians,
fa vet Helvetiis.

15.   Where an English verb is represented in Latin by a verb
compounded with ad, ante, con, in, inter, ob, post, prae, pro,
sub, super, this compound verb frequently governs a dative of
indirect object. If the Latin primitive is transitive, the com¬
pound may govern both an indirect and a direct object.

Since they surpassed all, cum omnibus praestarent (intransitive
primitive, sto); he assigned Labienus to command the defenses, mu-
nitioni Labienum praefecit (transitive primitive, facio).

a. Latin verbs which in the active govern a dative are used
impersonally in the passive, and retain the dative of the noun.

These could not be persuaded, his persuaderi non poterat; / cannot
be injured by them, mihi ab eis noceri non potest.

16.   A verbal idea contained in a Latin noun, adverb, or ad¬
jective will govern the dative if the verb from which the word
is derived governs the dative. This construction is found most
frequently with adjectives.