# Helvetiis acc./nom.?



## teotihuacan5903

Salvete Amici!

So I've been trying to read CAESARIS COMMENTARIORUM DE BELLO GALLICO.
In LIBER PRIMUS paragraph [10] first sentenca:

_Caesari renuntiatur *Helvetiis* esse in animo per agrum Sequanorum et Haeduorum iter in Santonum fines facere, [...]._

As you see there is a nom. cum inf. in this sentenca (or an acc. cum inf.?) and the verbum regens is 'renuntiatur'. Infinitives are 'esse' and 'facere'. 
So there should be a nominative as the subject of the infinitives. From the context that should be 'Helvetiis'. But it's in dative or ablative 

Can anyone explain this please?


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## wandle

_*Caesari * _is dative and _*renuntiatur*_ is impersonal: literally 'it is reported to Caesar that ...'.
Then we have a second impersonal construction in the indirect statement:
_*Helvetiis *_is dative;_* Helvetiis  esse in animo*_ represents the direct statement *Helvetiis est in animo*.


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## teotihuacan5903

wandle said:


> _*Caesari * _is dative and _*renuntiatur*_ is impersonal: literally 'it is reported to Caesar that ...'.
> Then we have a second impersonal construction in the indirect statement:
> _*Helvetiis esse in animo*_ represents the direct statement *Helvetiis est in animo*.



So Helvetiis is in dative because of 'esse in animo'?


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## wandle

teotihuacan5903 said:


> So Helvetiis is in dative because of 'esse in animo'?


Yes.


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## teotihuacan5903

What about 'iter facere'? 

I would translate that as 'walk through', 'march through'. The subject should be *Helvetiis* here as well right?


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## wandle

'March through .... and into ....' is the better expression. This was a period when whole tribes from across the Rhine were being displaced under population pressures from the east and were on the march, heading for western and southern Europe.

Movements of this kind had been happening periodically, roughly once a century, throughout Roman history. Italy, Spain and the area which is now southern France had been repeatedly invaded and overrun by migratory tribes.

Caesar's uncle Marius had had to deal with the threat of such tribes fifty years earlier. The Helvetii were the first that Caesar had to face.


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## teotihuacan5903

Wow, thank you for such an informative reply.

But grammatically the 'Helvetiis' part still bugs me. I know now that the word is in dative because of 'esse in animo'. But because it's a nom. cum inf. sentence the infinitive 'facere' should also have a nominative subject. It doesn't check out in my mind.

Btw, I've learned latin only half a year now. I know the latin morphology but translation is still hard for me. That's why I'm trying to understand every sentence grammatically when I'm reading.


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## wandle

The dative with the verb 'to be' is a way of expressing possession. _*Caesari est equus *_means 'Caesar has a horse'.

_*Helvetiis est in animo iter facere*_ means 'the Helvetii have it in mind to march' or 'are planning to march'.


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## teotihuacan5903

I understand now.

Thank you very much for your help.


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