Absolute construction means it stands outside the main construction of the sentence.Ý The most common unit is a participle
plus a noun, agreeing in gender, number and case (ablative).Ý
rege servato cives gaudent.Ý Having saved the king, the citizens rejoice. (lit.Ý With the king having been saved, the citizens rejoice.)
In the English translation, it looks as if the citizens were the agents of the kingís safety.Ý This is not so in the Latin.Ý rege servato, ëthe king having been savedí,Ý stands by itself without being affected by the rest of the sentence.
praesidiis absentibus urbem nocte I. Caesar ingressus est. Julius Caesar attackd the city, since it was without guards at night.Ý (lit. the guards being absent, Julius Caesar attacked the city by night.)
The causal force of the participle ("since") is used in this sentence.
translation tip each time you see a noun and a participle, both in the ablative case, standing close to each other, it is a good sign that it may be an ablative absolute.Ý Translate ëa thing having been/having so and soí and then polish your translation.
Due to the lack of participles for the verb sum, esse, the reader must supply an imaginary participle.
Te duce tota Gallia potiri poterimus. We would be able to subdue the entire Gaul under you as leader. (lit.Ý With you being leader, we would be able to subdue the entire Gaul.)Ý
Notice the ëbeingí part is missing; Latin doesnít have a participle for this verb.
Sometimes you may polish the translation by using an English abstract noun:
C. Antonio M. Cicerone consulibus coniuratio Catilinaria patuit.Ý When C. Antonius and M. Cicero were consul, the
Catilinarian conspiracy was discovered.Ý Or: During the consulship of Antonius and Ciero, the conspiracy was discovered.
te duce, Caesar under your leadership, Caesar
te uiuo in your lifetime
Golden Latin prose writers (Julius Caesar and Cicero) use the ablative absolute construction moderately; after Cicero some
Latin writers use it profusely.Ý Livy is fond of long ablative absolute constructionsóhe uses the participle in the absolute construction to introduce long indirect discourse, temporal clauses and so on.ÝÝ The master of Ablative Absolute would be Tacitus, who expands and explores the possibilities and extremes of this usage by importing poetic usage into prose. Workseet 1. Translate the following sentences, first literally, then into idiomatic English:
1. Epistulas non seruato temporis ordine collegi.
2. Hic situs est Rufus, qui pulso Vindice imperium adseruit patriae.
3. positis ante lectos cathedris amicos collocaui.
II. Group assignment:
Girls: think of one English sentence that would use the ablative absolute construction in the Latin translation. Boys: translate the sentence into Latin. Post both sentences on the bulletin board. (prior group discussion needed)