The passive with a reflexive sense ("be carried away", "let yourself be…")

A Latin passive often has a reflexive or intransitive sense, saying what the subject does to itself or what simply happens to it: ferri "to be carried, to rush", distrahere "let yourself be distracted".

Examples

• nec distrahere amplius 2.2and do not let yourself be distracted any longer
• et huc illuc ferri desinas 2.7and stop being swept this way and that
• et in orbem ferantur 2.14and go round in a circle
• quod in alterum unumquodque eorum jugiter transmutatur 2.17in that each of them is constantly changing into another

In the text 70

• I.15 A Maximo, mei compotem esse; nec ulla in re transversum abripi.transversum abripi "to be snatched away crosswise" is to be swept off one's course, as a ship by a gust; the passive means "to let oneself be carried away". ulla in re "in any matter" puts the preposition between adjective and noun.
• II.2 proinde mitte libros. nec distrahere amplius: (nihil obstat, quo minus hoc facias) sed tanquam qui jam statim moriturus sis, carnes istas contemnas.distrahere is not the infinitive but the passive imperative (2nd sg.): "be pulled apart". With nec it means "and no longer let yourself be distracted". Classical prose would say noli distrahi.
• II.2 tu ergo sic tecum: senex es: partem tui principem servire ulterius ne siveris; sed nec motibus a communione humana alienis raptari, nec quicquam, quod fato destinatum tibi fuerit, vel jam ascitum aversari, vel futurum pavere.rapto "drag about" is a frequentative of rapio; the passive raptari "to be dragged this way and that" pictures the mind as pulled by forces outside it.
• II.7 Ne te distrahant, quae extrinsecus obveniunt tibi; sed otium tibi praestes, quo boni aliquid addiscas, et huc illuc ferri desinas.desinere 'to stop' takes an infinitive. ferri is passive, 'to be carried', with the sense of letting yourself be swept about: 'stop drifting this way and that'.
• II.10 atque omnino alter ei similior existit, qui prior laesus, doloris ratione ad irascendum adigitur: cum is sponte sua ad laedendum feratur, qui ad perpetrandum quidquam cupidine ducitur.
• II.14 horum itaque duorum meminisse oportebit: alterius nimirum, quod omnia ab aeterno consimilia fuerint, et in orbem ferantur:
• II.16 abscessionem enim facit a natura, in cujus parte aliqua reliquorum omnium cujusque natura continetur, qui re aliqua obveniente offenditur.
• III.4 qui secius vivunt, quales sint domi, quales foris, quomodo noctu, quomodo interdiu se gerant, quales cum qualibus volutentur, in memoria habet.Two question words in one clause: "what sort (of men) wallow with what sort". volutari, the passive of voluto "roll", has a reflexive sense, "to roll oneself about, wallow", here in low company.
• III.16 affectibus tanquam fidiculis agitari, atque abripi, feris quoque competit, et effoeminatis, et Phalaridi, et Neroni, et Deos negantibus, et patriam deserentibus, et postquam fores sibi occluserint, quidlibet perpetrantibus.fidiculae are strings or cords; tanquam fidiculis "as if by strings" pictures a puppet worked by its strings. The passive infinitives agitari "to be jerked about" and abripi "to be carried away" are the subjects of competit.
• IV.1 neque enim de materia certa ulla solicita est: sed ad ipsa etiam praeposita cum exceptione fertur:
• IV.3 et cum primis, cave distraharis, cave obnitaris. liber esto potius, resque ipsas intuere, ut vir, ut homo, ut civis, ut animal mortale.
• IV.29 abscessus mundi, qui abscedit, seque a naturae communis ratione sejungit, dum eis quae contingunt offenditur.dum with the indicative, "while, in that": he cuts himself off by taking offence at what happens. offenditur is passive in form, "is offended", i.e. "takes offence", and eis is an ablative of cause: "at the things which happen".
• IV.40 item quomodo ad sensum hujusce, unum et illum, omnia referantur: unoque quasi impetu ferantur universa, et ad omnia producenda cooperentur;
• V.1 et isti enim, ubi rebus hisce addicti fuerint, nec cibum, nec somnum capere magis expetunt, quam ista, ad quae tam enixe feruntur, promovere:feruntur "are carried" is passive in form but means "they are borne along, they make for": ferri ad "to be drawn towards, strive after". tam enixe "so strenuously".
• V.5 num et per conditionis naturalis defectum aliquem obmurmurare, restrictum esse, adulari, corpusculum tuum incusare, assentari, ostentare te, animo tantopere jactari, cogeris?jactari "to be thrown about" is the passive of jacto "throw, toss": "to be tossed about so greatly in your mind", like a ship in a storm. animo is an ablative of respect, "in mind".
• V.9 ipsa vero prudentia quid gratius compereris, cum facultatem intelligentia scientiaque in te praeditam ejusmodi cogitaveris, quae nusquam impingat, sed in omni re prospere feratur?
• V.16 et rursus, cujus gratia quidque conditum est, ad id agendum esse conditum; ad quod autem agendum conditum est, ad id ferri:
• V.16 ad quod fertur vero, in eo finem suum situm habere: in quo autem finis rei cujusque situs est, eodem utile bonumque ejusdem constare.
• V.36 Ne imaginatione ulla temere abripiaris: sed opis tuae indigis, prout potes et par est, opem feras.
• VI.4 Praesentia haec omnia quam citissime mutabuntur; et vel in exhalationem abibunt, (siquidem unita sit rerum omnium substantia) vel dissipabuntur.
• VI.16 hoc unum, opinor, secundum conditionis suae rationem, moveri seque sistere, hoc est, ad quod studia reliqua artesque nos ducunt.conditio (Gataker's spelling of condicio) is one's make-up or constitution, and ratio its plan: secundum conditionis suae rationem "according to the plan of one's own constitution". suae refers to the unexpressed subject of the infinitives, "one's own". moveri is passive in form but means "to move", and se sistere "to set oneself still" is "to stop, hold back": to act and to refrain as our own nature directs.
• VI.17 Sursum, deorsum, in orbem feruntur elementa. virtutis vero motus nulla harum via fertur.feruntur "are carried" is a passive used of motion, "they move". In the old physics the heavy elements, earth and water, move down, the light ones, air and fire, move up, and the heavens move round in a circle, in orbem. The three adverbs come first for emphasis.
• 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.
• VI.27 Crudele quiddam est, non permittere hominibus, ut ad ea ferantur, quae ad se pertinere sibique conducere opinantur.
• VI.27 feruntur enim prorsus, cum peccant, ad ea de quibus ipsi sic opinantur.
• VII.27 cave tamen interim, ne, dum istis lubenter acquiescis, eo in pretio habere assuescas te, ut siquando deesse contigerit, turberis.
• VII.28 In temet convolutus esto.
• VII.31 meminisse suffecerit, lege certa pleraque ferri, aut paucis saltem duntaxat exceptis.
• VII.37 Indignum est, vultum animo obsequentem, pro ejus imperio conformare et componere semet; ipsum autem animum ad suiipsius arbitrium non conformari et componi.The second half turns passive, conformari et componi "be shaped and composed", with a reflexive sense: "shape and compose itself". ad suiipsius arbitrium "at its own discretion": suiipsius, Gataker's sui ipsius "of itself" written as one word, makes the possessive emphatic. The face obeys the mind; the mind should be as ready to order itself.
• VII.43 Lamentantibus ne collamenteris, neve commovearis.commovearis "be stirred, be upset" is passive with a reflexive sense: "do not let yourself be shaken". The source of these words is unknown; they may be one more line of verse. Compare Epictetus (Handbook 16): one may sigh with a mourner, but not grieve inwardly.
• VII.65 Cave erga inhumanos sic afficiaris, quomodo ipsi erga homines solent.
• VII.68 ut judicium occurrenti ac irruenti rei cuivis dicat, Hoc es revera, etiamsi opinione aliusmodi esse videaris. usus dicat eidem, Te quaerebam.videor, the passive of video "see", means "seem" and takes an infinitive: aliusmodi esse videaris "you seem to be of another kind". aliusmodi (= alius modi) is an indeclinable genitive of description, "of another sort". A loss, say, looks like a disaster; the judgement says it is something indifferent.
• VII.74 Emolumentum capiendo nemo defatigatur.
• VII.74 noli ergo defatigari emolumentum in eo capiendo, quod alteri praestas.
• VIII.5 Inprimis ne commovearis.
• VIII.24 Ipsum lavari quale quid tibi videtur?
• VIII.45 num hoc tanti est, ut hac de caussa anima mea male se habeat, ac deterior fiat, dum deprimitur, extenditur, confunditur, consternatur.dum with the present indicative, "while". Four passives follow without a conjunction, with a reflexive sense: the soul "is brought low", "strains", "is thrown into confusion", "is struck with fear". extenditur "is stretched out" renders the Greek word for reaching out in craving. Gataker ends the sentence with a full stop, but num at its head makes it a question.
• VIII.60 Aliter sagitta, aliter mens fertur.
• VIII.60 mens enim tam cum cavet, quam cum considerat, recta fertur, nec minus ad scopum sibi propositum tendit.
• IX.1 adversatur enim, qui, quantum in se est, ad ea quae veritati adversa sunt, fertur.
• IX.9 Quaecunque aliquid in commune participant, ad id quod est generis ejusdem secum prompte feruntur.feruntur "they are carried" is passive in form but means "they move, they tend": nothing pushes them. generis ejusdem "of the same kind" is a genitive of description with est. idem "the same" can take cum for "as": generis ejusdem secum "of one kind with themselves"; secum is se + cum.
• IX.9 ad terram mole sua fertur terrestre quodvis; in idem confluit humidum omne; et aereum itidem quodcunque. ut necesse sit vi aliqua intercludi ea, id ne faciant.
• IX.9 sursum fertur ignis ob ignem elementarem.
• IX.9 proinde et quicquid naturae intellectualis est in commune particeps, ad sibi cognatum pariter, vel multo magis etiam, prompte fertur.
• IX.12 sed hoc unum velis, ita moveri motumve sistere, prout ratio civilis exigit.
• IX.27 quin et Dii ipsi omnimodam illis opem ferunt, per insomnia, per vaticinia, etiam in eis ad quae feruntur illi.feruntur "they are carried" is a passive with a middle sense, "they are drawn, they strive". ad quae feruntur "towards which they are drawn" means the things they care about, such as health, wealth and success: the gods help them even in these, though they are not true goods.
• IX.28 denique, si quis Deus est, omnia bene se habent. sive temere ferantur; tu ne temere feraris,
• IX.33 Corrumpentur brevi, quaecunque vides: corrumpentur brevi, et qui corrumpi haec vident.corrumpentur is the future passive of corrumpo: in the third conjugation the future has -e- (corrumpentur) where the present has -u- (corrumpuntur). The passive here means "go to ruin, decay". brevi, the ablative of brevis with tempore understood, is "in a short time, soon". The subject is the whole clause quaecunque vides "whatever you see": quaecunque is the object of vides, and no antecedent is written.
• IX.37 quid perturbaris? ecquid in his novi? quid te tandem percellit?perturbaris is the 2nd person singular of the present passive, with the ending -ris: "are you disturbed?". quid here is "why?".
• IX.39 quid ergo perturbaris? num menti dices, mortua es, corrumperis, egeris, armentitia es, pecudis instar pasceris, in feram belluam transiisti.corrumperis "you are going to ruin" and pasceris "you graze" are 2nd person singular present passives (ending -ris); the passive of pasco "feed (animals)" means "feed, graze". pecudis instar is "like a beast": instar takes the genitive. transiisti is the perfect of transeo: "you have passed over into a wild beast".
• IX.40 an non ergo potius fuerit eis quae in potestate tua sunt cum libertate uti, quam ad ea quae extra potestatem tuam sunt, cum servitute animique abjectione anxie ferri?ferri ad "to be carried towards" is to strain after things, swept along like something carried. animique abjectione "and dejection of mind" is joined by -que to servitute; both go with cum.
• X.1 sed statu praesenti acquiesces, et praesentibus oblectabere quibusque, et persuasum habitura es, cuncta tibi adesse, cuncta tibi bene se habere;oblectabere is the future passive of oblecto "delight", 2nd person singular, with the ending -bere for the commoner -beris: "you will be delighted", i.e. "you will delight in". The ablative praesentibus gives the cause: "by things present".
• X.4 Siquis fallitur, docendo comiter huic errorem suum indica.fallitur is the passive of fallo "deceive": "is deceived", i.e. "is mistaken, goes wrong". siquis is si + quis "if anyone".
• X.8 etenim talis persistere, qualis hactenus fueris, et in vita istiusmodi foede volutari ac discerpi, hominis est sensus expertis plane vitaeque nimis avidi,The passive infinitives say what a man suffers from his own passions: volutari "to be rolled about, to wallow" as in mud, discerpi "to be torn in pieces". foede "foully, shamefully" goes with both.
• X.16 Ne ulterius occupere totus, disserendo qualis vir bonus sit, sed enitendo ut ipse sis.
• X.19 rursus, quales, ubi inflantur, efferuntur, irascuntur, tanquam in sublimi siti aliquos increpant.Supply sint from the sentence before: "(think) again what sort (they are) when …". The verbs after ubi "when" are indicative, plain statements of fact. inflantur "they are puffed up" and efferuntur "they are carried away, lifted up" are passives with a reflexive sense: they puff themselves up and are swept along by their own pride.
• X.24 nunquid carunculae ita agglutinata et permixta, ut cum illa mutetur una?
• X.25 idem est et qui ideo angitur, vel irascitur, vel metuit, quod secus, quam ipse velit, aut factum sit, aut fiat, aut futurum sit eorum quicquam, quae ab universi rectore sunt constituta,
• X.25 fugitivus est igitur, qui metuit, vel angitur, vel irascitur.
• X.33 siquidem cylindro quidem non conceditur, ut motu proprio ubique feratur; sed nec aquae, nec igni, nec alii rei cuiquam, quae a natura mera, vel anima regitur irrationali.
• XI.10 neque enim quod est justum aequumque servabitur, si vel ad res medias anxie feramur, vel deceptu faciles et temerarii et inconstantes fuerimus.res medias "middle things" are the Stoic indifferents, neither good nor bad: wealth, health, fame. feramur is the passive of fero with a middle sense, "we let ourselves be carried, we rush": whoever chases such things anxiously will wrong others to get them. The si clause has subjunctives though the main verb servabitur is a future indicative; Gataker mixes the forms, and the sense is simply "if ever we …".
• XI.18 Octavo, cogita quanto graviora patiamur ex iracundia ac moestitia, quam de istis concipimus, quam ex eis ipsis, quorum caussa succensemus et angimur.quorum caussa "on account of which". succenseo is "be angry"; angimur is the passive of ango "squeeze, choke" with a middle sense: "we are distressed".
• XI.18 atque is certe, qui ita affectus est, robur animi nervosque et fortitudinem penes se habet, non autem is qui indignatur et offenditur.indignor is deponent, "be indignant"; offenditur is a passive with a middle sense, "takes offence".
• XI.20 Quicquid aereum et igneum immixtum est tibi, etiamsi natura sursum feratur, utrumque ut tamen universi dispositioni obsequatur, in massa composita istic detinetur.
• XI.20 et huic tamen nihil violentum injungitur, sed ea sola quae ei secundum naturam sunt. nec sustinet tamen, sed in contrarium fertur.sustinet "it bears, endures" has no object written: "and still it will not bear (even that)". fertur "is carried" is the verb used before of the elements' natural motion: the mind moves in contrarium "into the opposite", away from its nature.
• XII.21 omnia enim mutare ac verti et interire nata sunt, ut nova alia serie perpetua producantur.
• XII.22 quandocunque ergo volueris, opinionem tolle, et sicut promontorium praetervecto tranquillitas, sic stabilia tibi futura sunt omnia, et sinus aestu immunis.A compressed simile with no verb: "as (there is) calm for one who has sailed past a headland". praetervecto is the perfect participle of praeterveho "carry past", in the dative, "for (a man) carried past". The passive of verbs of carrying is used of travelling by ship or on horseback: praetervehi "to sail past". Once round the headland, the sailor leaves the swell of the open sea for calm water.
• XII.23 ita numine divino fertur, qui eadem, qua Deus, via fertur, menteque sua ad eadem fertur.fertur "is carried" comes three times. The first renders a Greek word for one possessed or inspired by a god, "god-borne": numine divino fertur "is carried by the divine power". The other two are passives in a middle sense, "moves, travels": the man whose road and whose aims are God's own is, by that very fact, carried by God. The antecedent of qui ("he") is left out; the qui clause is the subject of the first fertur.
• XII.30 et ista tamen mens universi continet, et facultas illa, cujus vi eodem loci feruntur.eodem loci "to the same place": eodem is an adverb, and loci a partitive genitive with it. feruntur "they are carried, they tend" is a passive with a middle sense. Marcus means weight, the pull that draws heavy things together and so helps to hold the world in one.
• XII.30 intellectus vero adversus contribulem suum peculiariter afficitur, eidemque consociatur, nec potest communionis appetitus prorsus revelli.eidem "to the same" (dative with consociatur) looks back to contribulem: the mind joins itself to its kin. The passive consociatur has a reflexive sense, "unites itself".