OSS IN LATIN. 



91 



LESSONS IN LATIN. XLVI. 



IMPERSONAL VEEBS. 



THOSE verbs are called impersonal, that is, without persons, 

 which have not the ordinary persons. When I say, pater amat, 

 father loves, I use a personal verb, of which pater, in the third 

 person singular, is the subject. When I say, ego rideo, sed 

 tn flea, I laugh, but thou weepest, I use personal verbs, having 

 respectively the persons ego and tu, I and thou, for their sub- 

 jects. If, however, I say, gelat, it freezes, I employ a verb 

 which has none of the ordinary persons for its subject. Yet is 

 the form of the verb gelat that of the third person singular. 

 Hence it appears that impersonal verbs are found in the third 

 person singular. In some sense, then, they have one person, 

 namely, the third. They may therefore be called uni-personal 

 verbs. Uni-personal is a less inaccurate designation for these 

 verbs than impersonal. 



From these remarks we may define impersonal verbs as those 

 which express an action without reference to any defined sub- 

 ject. Sach are 



IMPERSONAL VERBS RELATING TO ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA. 



Diluculat, it dawns. 

 Fulsrunvt, it lightens. 

 Fill mi nut, it strikes 



with lightning. 

 Gelat, it freeze*. 



Qrandinat, it hails. j Fluit. it rains. 

 Isucescit, the day breaks. Tonat, it thunders. 

 Ningit, it snoios. Vesperoscit, it grotca 



Noctescit, t/i night ap- | dark, or, evening 

 proaches. i comet on. 



Connections are rare in which these verbs have a definite 

 subject : for example, Jupiter tonat, Jupiter fulgnrat ; dies 

 vesperascit, coelum vesperascit; lapides plunnt: we find, how- 

 ever, lapidibus plait, and sangninem fluit. Besides vesperaaoit, 

 there is the form advesporascit, and the perfect vesporavit. 



In a wider sense grammarians class among impersonal verbs 

 Borne that denote 



STATES OF MIND, DUTS", OR NECESSITY. 



Decet, it become*, it is teemly; 



decuit, decore. 

 Dedecet, it is unseemly, improper; 



dedecuit, dedecSre. 

 Libet (lubet), it pleases ; libuit, or 



libitum est. 

 Licet, it M lou/ul, permitted ; licuit, 



or licltum est, licere. 

 Miseret, it occasions pity ; niiser- 



tum, and miser-Hum est, rarely 



iiiiseruit, luiserf-re. 



Oportet, it behoves, it u proper; 

 oportuit, cportSre. 



Piget, it occasion < grief; piguit, or 

 pigVtum est, piuPre. 



Poenitet, it occn-ions sonwc; p<B- 

 iiituit, pcenitere. 



Pudet, it occasions shame; pnduit 

 and pudltum est, prudfre. 



Tsedet, it occasions weariness ; in- 

 stead of toduit, wbicb is very 

 rare, pertsesum est, tsedt-re. 



The person who is the subject of the feeling, or liable to the 

 duty, is put in the accusative case ; as, te oportet in literas in 

 cumbere, you ought to apply to literature, or to study. Besides 

 an accusative of the person, these verbs, in general, may have 

 a genitive of the thing ; for example, miseret me tuns calauri- 

 tatis, I am sorry for thy calamity. We may exhibit their con- 

 struction thus : 



Pudet me ignavise, I am ashamed of 



idleness. 

 Pudet te ignavise, thou art ashamed 



of idleness. 

 Pudet ilium ijfiiavijc, he is ashamed 



of id I 



Pudet DOS ignavis, ve are ashamtd 



of idleness. 

 Pudet vos ignaviaB, ye are ashanttd 



o/ idleness. 

 Pudet illos ignavue, they are 



ashamed of idleness. 



Oportet, however, has for its subject two accusatives, thus : 

 oportet te hoc facere, you ought to do this. Libet and licet 

 require a dative of the person : for example, libet mihi, I am 

 allowed; licet vobis, you are allowed. Of licet there is the 

 imperative form liceto, otherwise the subjunctive present is 

 used for the imperative : for example, pndeat te, shame upon 

 thee. For the most part these verbs are without participles. 

 Yet we find the following : Decens, libens, licens, pcenitens, 

 licitnrns, puditnrns, and pigendus, pudendns, poenitendus ; also 

 the gerunds, poenitendi, pndendo, and pigendum. 



