In 'corpore senex esse poterit, animo numquam erit', what type of ablative are corpore and animo?

Ablative of specification — specifying in what respect he is or is not old

Ablative of Specification (Respect): Latin Grammar

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GrammarAblative of Specification (Respect)

Ablative of Specification (Respect)

A&G §418–510|3 rules|3 practice questions

When a Latin sentence narrows a quality down to one slice — not as a whole, but in this respect — the ablative does the narrowing.

Caesar opens the Bellum Gallicum with it: Helvētiī reliquōs Gallōs virtūte praecēdunt — the Helvetii surpass the rest of the Gauls in courage, not in everything.

It clusters around a tight, predictable list of nouns — nōmine, virtūte, aetāte, genere, nātū, corpore, animō — usually leaning on an adjective or comparison verb.

Translate it with "in," "in respect to," or "as far as X goes," and the sentence falls into place. The trap to flag now and resolve below: it overlaps with ablative of cause and with the Greek accusative of respect.

Learnings0 core · 1 AP claim

AP framework claims (1)— verbatim from AP CED

GRAM-1.LA noun in the ablative case, translated as "in ____," "in respect to ____," or "in regard to ____," can show in what respect a statement may be true.

Pattern

noun (abl., no preposition) + adjective / comparison verb

Ablative of Specification

"in X" / "in respect to X" / "as far as X is concerned" — narrows a claim to one slice

Drawn from a tight closed list — nōmine, virtūte, aetāte, genere, nātū, corpore, animō, numerō — plus dīgnus / indīgnus + abl.

Common Nouns That Take the Ablative of Specification

nōmine — "by name, as to name"

oppidum nōmine Bibrax = "a town, Bibrax by name" (B. G. ii.6.1)

critical

virtūte — "in courage, in valor"

virtūte praecēdunt = "they excel in courage" (B. G. i.1.4)

critical

aetāte — "in age, in respect to age"

aetāte iam confectus = "now worn out in age" (B. G. vi.31.5)

critical

genere — "in birth, in lineage, in kind"

nōbilī genere nātus = "born of noble lineage" (Sall. Cat. 5.1)

critical

nātū (frozen abl. of nātus) — "in birth, in age"

māior nātū = "older," lit. "greater in birth" (A&G § 418)

important

corpore / animō — "in body / in mind"

corpore senex … animō numquam erit = "old in body … never in mind" (Cic. Cat. M. 38)

important

numerō — "in number"

hominum numerō valēre = "to be strong in number of men" (B. G. ii.4.5)

common

linguā / vōce — "in speech / in voice"

linguā haesitantēs, vōce absonī = "hesitating in speech, harsh in voice" (Cic. De Or. i.115)

common

pede / oculō (body parts) — "in respect to a foot, an eye"

claudus alterō pede = "lame in one foot" (Nep. Ages. 8)

common

dīgnus / indīgnus + abl. — "worthy / unworthy of"

vir patre dīgnissimus = "a man most worthy of his father" (Cic. Phil. iii.25)

critical

See It In Action

Helvētiī quoque reliquōs Gallōs virtūte praecēdunt

the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in courage

— B. G. i. 1. 4

Caesar's signature use — a verb of surpassing plus a bare ablative naming the one dimension of comparison. Virtūte answers "in what?" not "why?".

Catuvolcus, rēx dīmidiae partis Eburōnum, aetāte iam confectus

Catuvolcus, king of half of the Eburones, now worn out in age

— B. G. vi. 31. 5

Aetāte doesn't mean "by age" as an instrument — it tells you in what respect he's worn out. A classic specification reading next to an adjective-like participle.

L. Catilīna, nōbilī genere nātus, fuit magnā vī et animī et corporis.

Lucius Catiline, born of noble lineage, was a man of great force both of mind and of body.

— Sall. Cat. 5. 1

Genere with nātus is the formula for stating descent — and the ablative is doing the same narrowing job: noble in what? in lineage.

Bellovacōs et virtūte et auctōritāte et hominum numerō valēre

[They reported] that the Bellovaci were the strongest in courage, in influence, and in number of men

— B. G. ii. 4. 5

Three specifications stacked side by side after one verb of being-strong — when you spot this triple, every ablative is naming a dimension, not a means.

Latin Abl. of Specification vs. Greek Acc. of Respect

Both narrow a quality to one slice ("in X"). Latin uses the ablative; Greek poets — and Latin poets imitating them — sometimes use the accusative.

Ablative of Specification (Latin prose)

the standard Latin construction — bare ablative, no preposition

claudus alterō pede

lame in one foot (Nep. Ages. 8)

Greek Accusative of Respect (poetry)

a Hellenizing accusative used by Vergil, Ovid, and Horace for body parts and qualities

nūda genū

bare as to the knee (Verg. Aen. i.320)

Tip: Ask: is the author Caesar/Cicero/Sallust? Expect the ablative. Is it Vergil/Ovid in a body-part description? Suspect the Greek accusative — A&G § 397. b.

Quick Check

In Caesar's Helvētiī reliquōs Gallōs virtūte praecēdunt, what is virtūte doing?

Study Tips

•Memorize the closed list — nōmine, virtūte, aetāte, genere, nātū, corpore, animō, numerō covers the vast majority of what you'll meet in prose.
•When you see a bare ablative parked next to an adjective or a comparison verb (praecēdere, antecēdere, superāre), test "in respect to" first — it's almost always specification.
•Learn dīgnus / indīgnus + ablative as its own micro-rule. Dīgnus laude ("worthy of praise") looks like a genitive idea in English but takes the ablative in Latin.

See It In Action

Helvētiī quoque reliquōs Gallōs virtūte praecēdunt

the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in courage

— B. G. i. 1. 4

Caesar's signature use — a verb of surpassing plus a bare ablative naming the one dimension of comparison. Virtūte answers "in what?" not "why?".

Catuvolcus, rēx dīmidiae partis Eburōnum, aetāte iam confectus

Catuvolcus, king of half of the Eburones, now worn out in age

— B. G. vi. 31. 5

Aetāte doesn't mean "by age" as an instrument — it tells you in what respect he's worn out. A classic specification reading next to an adjective-like participle.

L. Catilīna, nōbilī genere nātus, fuit magnā vī et animī et corporis.

Lucius Catiline, born of noble lineage, was a man of great force both of mind and of body.

— Sall. Cat. 5. 1

Genere with nātus is the formula for stating descent — and the ablative is doing the same narrowing job: noble in what? in lineage.

Bellovacōs et virtūte et auctōritāte et hominum numerō valēre

[They reported] that the Bellovaci were the strongest in courage, in influence, and in number of men

— B. G. ii. 4. 5

Three specifications stacked side by side after one verb of being-strong — when you spot this triple, every ablative is naming a dimension, not a means.

Study Tips

•Memorize the closed list — nōmine, virtūte, aetāte, genere, nātū, corpore, animō, numerō covers the vast majority of what you'll meet in prose.

•When you see a bare ablative parked next to an adjective or a comparison verb (praecēdere, antecēdere, superāre), test "in respect to" first — it's almost always specification.

•Learn dīgnus / indīgnus + ablative as its own micro-rule. Dīgnus laude ("worthy of praise") looks like a genitive idea in English but takes the ablative in Latin.