Dative for Direction
In verse, a dative of a place can mean to that place.
How It Works
| Verse | Prose |
|---|---|
| it clamor caelo | clamor ad caelum it (the shout goes up to the sky) |
| inferret deos Latio | deos in Latium inferret (he would bring his gods into Latium) |
The dative of direction is mostly a poet's choice, and it saves a word. Prose almost always keeps the preposition.
Check the verb first. It (goes) and inferret (would bring in) both point to a goal, and that tells you the dative is the goal.
The meaning is the same as with ad: to the sky, to Latium. Translate it with to.
Examples (3)
- It clamor caelo, primusque accurrit Acestes
The shout goes up to the sky, and Acestes is the first to run up.
Aeneid 5.451. Caelo is the dative of direction, to the sky.
- Inferretque deos Latio, genus unde Latinum,
and bring his gods to Latium, from which the Latin race came,
Aeneid 1.6. Latio is the dative of direction, where prose would say in Latium.
- Clamor ad caelum it.
The shout goes up to the sky.
The prose version of the same thing: ad with the accusative.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Poets use the dative where prose uses ad, so the dative and ad come first.
Related Patterns
Practice Dative for Direction in Bubblegum
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