Experience III, Lesson 27: Ablative Absolute Meanings

Learning the meanings of the Ablative Absolute

• There are two ways of rendering the Ablative Absolute
  1. As written - but do not translate it as ablative
  2. Smoothed out - turn the ablative absolute into a clause - in English, one adds a conjunction:
     contemporaneous: while, if, because, as long as, seeing that, when, as, inasmuch as, although, since, for
     antecedent: when, because, if, although, seeing that, after, once, now that, considering
  Some examples:

  Caesare imperante

  as written: Ceasar ordering, Caesar giving orders

  smoothed out: while Caesar is ordering, if Ceasar is giving commands

  hac pugna nuntiata

  as written: this battle having been announced/reported

  smoothed out: when this battle had been reported, because this battle had been announced

  N.B. A 'smoothed-out' clause has to fit in the sentence. Thus the tense of the verb in the clause will follow/depend on the main verb, i.e. it will be contemporaneous with or antecedent of the main verb.

• There is one Ablative Absolute without a participle, which is understood as "being" (ens)
  Some examples:
  eo magistro nihil discemus - He being the teacher, we will learn nothing.
  This is sometime called the Nominative Absolute in English
  Henrico rege, Thoma occisus est - Henry being the king / While Henry was king / Because Henry was King, Thomas was killed.
  Augusto imperatore - Augustus being the emperor/commander
  This is how the Romans often date things: While Augustus was emperor... Jesus was born.
  Canon Law canon 868 §2: Infans in periculo mortis licite baptizatur, etiam invitis parentibus - An infant in danger of death is lawfully baptized, even parents being unwilling / even if the parents are unwilling.
  Now go on to Homework 28-29

  Third Experience Latin - Fr. Reginald Foster

  Answers to Third Experience

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