Ablative absolute

A noun and a participle together in the ablative, standing apart from the rest of the sentence, set the scene: "with X done", "when, since, although X …".

Examples

• te simul abrepto 2.4with you snatched away at the same time
• nullo facto discrimine 2.11with no distinction made
• qui re aliqua obveniente offenditur 2.16who takes offence when something happens

In the text 52

• I.16 corporis sui cura tam probe attemperata, ut nec vitae avidus videretur, aut elegantiae studiosus, nec neglectui tamen id haberet;cura and attemperata are ablative (the 1652 marks them curâ … attemperatâ): an ablative absolute, "the care of his body being so well tempered", with no main verb of its own; the ut clause gives the result, and its subject is the father. corporis sui "of his body" is an objective genitive with cura.
• I.17 quod cum philosophandi cupiditas incessisset, non in sophistam aliquem inciderim, nec commentariis evolvendis, vel syllogismis resolvendis, vel meteorologicis discutiendis, tempus deses contriverim. etenim ista omnia Diis adjutoribus ac Fortuna indigebant.Diis adjutoribus has the shape of an ablative absolute without a participle, like me duce 'with me as leader': two nouns in the ablative, the second saying what the first is, 'with the gods as helpers'. Here, though, the ablative is the one indigeo 'need' takes: 'all these things needed the gods as helpers, and Fortune'. ista omnia sums up every blessing in the list.
• II.4 sed et praescriptum esse tibi temporis terminum: quod nisi ad animum serenandum accommodaveris, avolaturum est illud, te simul abrepto, nec deinceps rediturum.An ablative absolute: a pronoun or noun in the ablative with a participle, standing outside the grammar of the main clause. te … abrepto 'you having been snatched away at the same time': when your time goes, you go with it.
• II.11 nec errorem tam immanem admisisset unquam, sive per impotentiam, sive per imperitiam, ut bona ac mala, bonis malisque ex aequo hominibus, nullo facto discrimine, contingere pateretur.Ablative absolute: a noun (discrimine) with a participle (facto) in the ablative, 'no distinction having been made', i.e. 'without any distinction'.
• II.16 abscessionem enim facit a natura, in cujus parte aliqua reliquorum omnium cujusque natura continetur, qui re aliqua obveniente offenditur.An ablative absolute: "some thing happening", i.e. "when anything happens" or "at anything that happens".
• III.5 Neque invitus quicquam agas, neque societatis communis immemor, nec nisi re probe prius explorata, aggressus, nec affectibus abreptus.An ablative absolute, noun re + participle explorata: "the matter having first been well examined"; with nisi, "unless the matter has first been thoroughly examined". aggressus, from the deponent aggredior, is active in meaning: "having set about it".
• III.6 ad quam animo devergente si inclinaveris quicquam, bonum illud proprium et peculiariter tuum quo minus libere colas praeferasque, obstabit.
• III.10 Missis itaque rebus caeteris, pauca ista apud te habeas.An ablative absolute: "the other things having been let go", that is, "setting everything else aside". mittere here is "let go, dismiss", not "send".
• III.13 neque enim, homines quod spectat, quicquam recte egeris sine habito ad res divinas respectu; nec vice versa.vice versa is an ablative absolute, "the turn having been turned", that is, "the other way round": nor will you do anything divine rightly without regard to the human. English has borrowed the phrase.
• IV.3 at tu considera, mentem tuam ubi semel agnita vi propria, subduxerit sese, spiritui sive leniter sive aspere moto neutiquam immisceri.agnita vi propria is an ablative absolute: "its own power having been recognised", i.e. once the mind has recognised its own power. subduxerit sese "has withdrawn itself" is subjunctive because the clause sits inside the accusative and infinitive. semel "once (for all)".
• IV.4 hoc si conceditur, cives sumus: et hoc dato, politiae alicujus participes: et ex consequenti, civitatis instar mundus est.An ablative absolute: the pronoun hoc with the perfect participle dato, "this having been given", i.e. "granting this". It stands outside the grammar of the clause and says on what ground the next step follows. After it supply sumus: "(we are) sharers in some commonwealth"; particeps takes the genitive.
• IV.7 hoc sublato, tollitur damnum omne.An ablative absolute: "this having been taken away", i.e. "once this is removed". sublatus is the perfect participle of tollo, from a different stem (tollo, tollere, sustuli, sublatum). hoc is neuter because it means the saying laesus sum.
• IV.14 in id quod produxit te evanesces. vel potius mutatione quadam interveniente in rationem seminalem recipieris.An ablative absolute with a present participle: "some change coming in between". It tells how you will go back: not by being destroyed, but through a change.
• IV.27 idque rebus omnibus ita quanquam discretis ac diffusis, conspirantibus tamen.An ablative absolute: the noun rebus omnibus with participles agreeing with it, "all things being so distinct and spread apart, yet breathing together". quanquam (Gataker's spelling of quamquam) before the first pair makes it concessive, "although (so) distinct and dispersed", and tamen "yet" answers it. conspirare is literally "to breathe together": the Stoics held that all parts of the world are in sympathy with one another.
• IV.42 Nihil mali est rebus mutationem subeuntibus, sicut nec eis quae mutatione interveniente consistunt.An ablative absolute with a present participle: "a change coming in between", i.e. by way of change. consistunt here is "take their stand, come into being": new things arise out of the change of others, and coming into being through change is no more an evil for them than changing is for the old.
• V.12 Eas nunc et quaeras licet, utrum in honore habendae, aut in bonis censendae sint res hujusmodi, quibus animo prius conceptis illud commode possit adjici, homini istis instructo prae opulentia sua non suppetere, ubi ventris onus deponat.quibus … conceptis is an ablative absolute made with the relative: "which having first been conceived in the mind", i.e. once one has them in mind. possit is subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic: "things such that this saying can fittingly be added to them".
• V.13 omnis ergo pars mei, mutatione interveniente, in mundi partem aliquam pro ratione sui redigetur.mutatione interveniente is an ablative absolute, a noun and a participle in the ablative standing apart from the rest of the sentence: "change coming between", i.e. "as change intervenes". It says how a part of me passes into the world: not by vanishing but by being changed.
• VI.14 caeterum qui animam rationalem universalem ac civilem veneratur, is reliquis rebus omnibus insuper habitis, in hoc praecipue incumbit, ut animam in eo statu suam conservet, quo rationi ac communioni consentanee se habeat geratque,An ablative absolute: "all other things having been set aside". insuper habere, literally "to hold above", is an idiom for "to disregard, pay no attention to".
• VI.20 Inter exercendum, siquis unguibus lancinaverit, aut capite alliso plagam impegerit, nullam indignationis notam edimus, nec offendimur, nec tanquam insidiatorem deinceps suspectum hunc habemus.capite alliso is an ablative absolute, "his head being dashed (against us)", that is, by butting; plagam impingere is "to deal a blow".
• VI.26 quibus observatis, oportet te nec perturbatum, nec indignationem indignatione pensantem, sed recta pergentem perficere quod prae manibus est.quibus opens the sentence as a connecting relative, standing for et his: "and these (steps) being observed", an ablative absolute. Keep to the steps of the duty as you keep to the letters of the name.
• VI.31 et somno excusso, ubi intellexeris, somnia mera fuisse, quae te conturbabant, ista vigilans jam denuo intuere, quo modo illa es intuitus, quae in somniis vidisti.An ablative absolute: "sleep having been shaken off", i.e. "when you have shaken off sleep".
• VI.45 sed et illud adjiciatur, quod in universum observatione habita deprehendes, quicquid alicui conducit, etiam aliis conducere.in universum is an idiom, "in general, as a rule", not "into the universe" (contrast universo in the first sentence). observatione habita is an ablative absolute, literally "observation having been kept": "when you have watched closely".
• VI.50 Sed invitis etiam facito, quod justitiae ratio exegerit.
• VI.50 quod siquis vi adhibita obstiterit tibi, tu ad aequanimitatem et tranquillitatem te transfer, eoque quod obstat ad virtutis alterius exercitium fac utare.
• VII.5 vel quod possum facio, eo adscito qui mentis meae opera usus id possit, quod ad societatem humanam est hoc ipso tempore tempestivum ac utile.An ablative absolute: a noun or pronoun with a participle, both in the ablative, standing apart from the main clause. eo adscito "he having been taken on" means "taking someone on" (adscisco "take on, admit as a partner"). eo is also the antecedent of qui: "taking on someone who …".
• VII.18 nunquid aliud utile quicquam perfici, nisi interveniente mutatione?An ablative absolute: "with change coming in between". nisi here means "except": nothing is done except by way of change.
• VII.26 hoc enim perspecto, misereberis illius, nec aut miraberis, aut succensebis.An ablative absolute, "this having been seen through": "once you have seen this". perspicere is "to see right through, see clearly".
• VII.31 meminisse suffecerit, lege certa pleraque ferri, aut paucis saltem duntaxat exceptis.An ablative absolute: paucis exceptis "a few (things) being excepted", i.e. "with a few exceptions". saltem "at least" and duntaxat "only" both soften the claim: if not all things, then all but a very few.
• VII.46 sed istis Deo dimissis, et mulierculis etiam fide adhibita, fieri non posse ut fatum quisquam quoquo modo effugiat; hoc deinceps ei perpendendum, quomodo tempus hoc, quo victurus sit, quam optime exigat.An ablative absolute: "these things having been given over to God", i.e. leaving to God the question of how long one lives. dimittere "send away, let go" with the dative Deo is "to hand over to, leave to".A second ablative absolute: fide adhibita "trust having been shown" (fidem adhibere "to give credence"), with the dative mulierculis: "believing even the womenfolk". muliercula "little woman" is a touch dismissive: the saying that no one escapes his fate is a women's proverb, and even so homely a saying is true. What they say follows as an accusative and infinitive, fieri non posse ut ….
• VIII.1 proinde si vere perspexisti, in quo res ipsa sita sit, missa existimatione, in hoc duntaxat incumbe, ut vitae quod superest, quantulumcunque id fuerit, pro naturae tuae ductu ac dictamine transigas.An ablative absolute: "reputation having been let go", that is, "letting reputation go". mittere here means "to let go, dismiss".
• VIII.29 sed ut omnibus qualia reapse sint perspectis, pro existimatione sua singulis utar.An ablative absolute with an indirect question inside it: omnibus … perspectis "all things having been seen through", and qualia reapse sint "of what sort they really are" says what is seen. In English: "having seen all things for what they really are". reapse "in reality" is an old word, made from re and eapse "itself".
• VIII.37 ecquid ergo facerent illi, mortuis istis?mortuis istis is an ablative absolute, "these having died": once the mourners are dead too. illi "those" are the dead masters, istis "these" their mourners. ecquid "anything at all?" expects the answer "nothing": the dead would be left with no one, and would not know it anyway.
• VIII.48 quid ergo futurum est, si ratione in consilium adhibita considerate de re aliqua sententiam tulerit?Ablative absolute: "reason having been called into counsel". adhibere aliquem in consilium is the regular phrase for calling someone in as an adviser; here the adviser is reason.
• IX.1 a natura siquidem subsidia jam olim acceperat, quibus neglectis factum est, ut falsa a veris nunc dignoscere nequeat.quibus neglectis is an ablative absolute made with the relative pronoun: "which having been neglected", in English "and through neglecting them". Then factum est, ut + subjunctive "it has come about that": the ut clause is the subject of factum est, the perfect of fio "happen". The present nequeat "he cannot" follows because the result holds now (nunc). falsa a veris dignoscere "to tell false things from true".
• X.6 his ita peractis, vita prospera mihi fluat necesse erit.An ablative absolute: his ita peractis "these things having been so carried out", i.e. "when I have done this".
• X.7 sin, misso quis naturae nomine, ita nata esse dicere voluerit, vide quam ridiculum sit, ut qui dicat universi partes mutare natas, idem hoc ipsum mutare illas, tanquam quod praeter rerum ipsarum naturam contingat, miretur et aegre ferat:misso … nomine is an ablative absolute, "the name having been let go": "leaving aside the word 'nature'". The indefinite quis "anyone", subject of voluerit, is tucked inside it, as often after si and sin. Such a person would avoid speaking of Nature as a maker and say only that the parts are "born so", ita nata esse.
• X.7 ut et ista in universi rationem redigantur, sive illud certo temporis spatio revoluto deflagret, sive vicissitudinibus perpetuis jugiter renovetur.sive … sive "whether … or" sets out two accounts of the world's history, and the point holds on either. illud is the universe (universum, neuter). certo temporis spatio revoluto is an ablative absolute, "a fixed span of time having rolled round": the Stoics taught that at the end of each world-cycle the whole is consumed by fire (deflagret) and then made again. The other view is that it is renewed without end by constant exchanges.
• X.11 corpus exuit, qui sic affectus est, reputansque secum, mox esse sibi, relictis his omnibus, ab hominibus discedendum, totum sese permittit, justitiae, in eis quae ab ipso fiunt; universi naturae, in eis quae obveniunt ipsi.
• X.11 negotiis vero studiisque reliquis omnibus missis, nihil aliud velit, quam recta juxta legem proficisci, rectaque proficiscentem Deum ipsum sequi.
• X.13 Somno excusso statim percontare te, nunquid tua intererit, si justa bonaque ab alio aliquo fiant. nihil intererit.An ablative absolute, "sleep having been shaken off": "as soon as you wake". excutere is to shake out or shake off, as one shakes off dust or a burden.
• X.29 Considerata seorsim, quam instituis, re omni, percontare te, num ideo mors gravis habenda sit, quia ea te privet.Considerata … re omni is an ablative absolute, "every thing having been considered", that is, "when you have considered each thing". The relative clause quam instituis "which you undertake" sits inside it, beside its antecedent re. In the singular omnis means "every, each", and seorsim "separately" stresses one thing at a time.
• X.30 Ubi peccato alicujus offenderis, translatione facta perpende tecum, annon ipse ejusmodi aliquid pecces.An ablative absolute: "a transfer having been made". translatio is a "carrying across", from transfero; Gataker renders the Greek "passing over": move at once from the other man's fault to your own and look at that instead.
• X.31 et Alciphrone viso, Tropaeophorum cogita; et Xenophonte, Critonem vel Severum.An ablative absolute takes the place of the ubi videris clauses: "Alciphron having been seen", that is, "when you have seen Alciphron". Alciphrone is the third-declension ablative of Alciphron.
• X.33 reliqua enim obstacula, vel sunt corporis, quod cadaveris instar habet, vel opinione, et rationis inclinatione semota, non infringunt, aut mali quicquam efficiunt. alioqui ea qui patitur, malus fieret.An ablative absolute: "opinion and the giving way of reason being taken away". semota agrees with the nearer noun but belongs to both. Obstacles of the second kind hurt only if you judge them harmful and your reason gives way; without that they non infringunt "do not crush (you)", the object being left to be understood.
• XI.2 Cantilenam jucundam, saltationem, pancratium contemnes, si voce concinna in sonos singulos divisa, de his sigillatim te percontatus fueris, Num istud me victum habet? erubesces enim id fateri.An ablative absolute: "the harmonious voice having been divided into its single sounds", that is, when you take the tune apart note by note. de his sigillatim "about these one at a time" refers to the notes.
• XI.2 itaque virtute sola excepta et virtutis actionibus, in reliquis omnibus ad particulas seorsim consideratas recurrere memento, ut ab harum disjunctione res ipsas contemptum eas.An ablative absolute, "virtue alone being excepted"; et virtutis actionibus "and the acts of virtue" is a second ablative with the same excepta. itaque "and so" draws the general rule from the song, the dance and the fight.
• XI.18 istas igitur tolle, missoque de re ipsa, tanquam grave quiddam sit, judicio, ira protinus evanescet.An ablative absolute spread across the clause: misso … judicio "the judgement being let go". Between its two words stand de re ipsa "about the thing itself" and tanquam grave quiddam sit "as if it were something grievous", which say what that judgement is. tanquam "as if" takes the subjunctive.
• XI.28 Cogita Socrates qui fuerit pelle succinctus, quando Xanthippe veste ipsius sumpta foras se proripuerat.veste ipsius sumpta is an ablative absolute, "his garment having been taken", which English turns into "having taken his cloak". ipsius "his" marks the cloak as Socrates', since sua would mean Xanthippe's own. se proripere is "to dash out", and foras "out of doors" goes with verbs of motion. Xanthippe was Socrates' wife, in later stories a byword for a shrew. Marcus does not say where the story comes from.
• XII.1 si igitur, cum in exitu fere jam sis, missis caeteris omnibus, id duntaxat, quod in te principatum gerit et divinum est, in pretio ac honore habueris;An ablative absolute, "all other things having been let go"; English says "letting all else go". It takes up missum feceris of the second sentence: the same verb mittere.
• XII.9 iste enim ense, quo utitur, posito, statim interficitur.An ablative absolute with a relative clause tucked inside it: ense … posito "the sword having been laid down", and quo utitur "which he uses" (utor takes the ablative). The gladiator's strength lies outside himself.
• XII.23 cujus partibus assidue mutantibus novus perpetuo vegetusque mundus permanet universus.An ablative absolute: "its parts constantly changing", i.e. "while its parts are constantly changing". cujus "of which, whose" refers to the common nature at the end of the last sentence. mutare is intransitive, "to change".
• XII.32 haec omnia cum cogitaveris, nihil magnum reputa, hoc solo excepto, ut ea facias ad quae natura tua te ducit, ea sustineas quae natura communis infert.hoc solo excepto is an ablative absolute, "this alone being excepted", that is, "except this alone". The ut clauses then say what hoc is: "that you do … and bear …". The two clauses stand side by side with no "and".