Ratiōnēs alterīus fīliae - ambiguous?

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ClassyCuss
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Ratiōnēs alterīus fīliae - ambiguous?

Post by ClassyCuss »

Salute,

I'm reviewing Capvt XII of Wheelock and was wondering if there are two possible interpretations of the words between asterisks, since the syntax is flexible:

*Ratiōnēs alterīus fīliae* heri nōn fuērunt eaedem.
1) The other daughter's reasons/plans (were not the same yesterday)
2) The reasons of the daughter of the other (person) were not...
Wheelock, Frederic M.; LaFleur, Richard A.. Wheelock's Latin, 7th Edition (The Wheelock's Latin Series) (p. 224). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out with this!

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seneca2008
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Re: Ratiōnēs alterīus fīliae - ambiguous?

Post by seneca2008 »

No I dont think it is ambiguous in the absence of any noun other than filiae with which the adjective alterius could agree. Incidentally I see this example on page 101.
Persuade tibi hoc sic esse, ut scribo: quaedam tempora eripiuntur nobis, quaedam subducuntur, quaedam effluunt. Turpissima tamen est iactura, quae per neglegentiam fit. Et si volueris attendere, maxima pars vitae elabitur male agentibus, magna nihil agentibus, tota vita aliud agentibus.

ClassyCuss
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Re: Ratiōnēs alterīus fīliae - ambiguous?

Post by ClassyCuss »

Okay, thanks Seneca. I'm not clear on when it's obligatory to add a noun after istius [viri], alterius [viri] etc. I guess in this construction it would be too ambiguous to omit the noun.

So meaning no. 2 (The plans/reasons of the other man's daughter) would have to be "Rationes filiae alterius viri..." ? Would "Rationes alterius viri filiae" be acceptable?

About the difference in page nos., it's probably because I have the Kindle edition (which is practical because I can just cut and paste the sentences and I don't know how to type macrons)

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seneca2008
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Re: Ratiōnēs alterīus fīliae - ambiguous?

Post by seneca2008 »

Although the romans had a tendency to omit as much as possible I doubt that they would have tolerated the kind of ambiguity you have in mind. If there is any ambiguity context will always provide the answer. In the case of a single sentence without context always go for the simplest answer.

As long as "alterius viri" are together I dont think the order in the sentence matters. Rationes alterius viri filiae" has a nice feel to it with alterius viri sandwiched.

As to typing macrons you can get install a keyboard from herehttps://keyman.com/keyboards/sil_euro_latin which enables you to type macrons

you type "-" followed by "a" which gives you ā etc
Persuade tibi hoc sic esse, ut scribo: quaedam tempora eripiuntur nobis, quaedam subducuntur, quaedam effluunt. Turpissima tamen est iactura, quae per neglegentiam fit. Et si volueris attendere, maxima pars vitae elabitur male agentibus, magna nihil agentibus, tota vita aliud agentibus.

ClassyCuss
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Re: Ratiōnēs alterīus fīliae - ambiguous?

Post by ClassyCuss »

Excellent answer on all counts, thanks again!

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