In
Latin grammar
Latin is a heavily inflected language with largely free word order. Nouns are inflected for number and case; pronouns and adjectives (including participles) are inflected for number, case, and gender; and verbs are inflected for person, ...
, a double dative is the combination of a
dative of reference with a
dative of purpose. A common translation is "As a (dative of purpose) with reference to (dative of reference)." This was formerly known as "predicate dative" or "dative of service", with usually the following characteristics of the noun in the dative of purpose:
# the noun is abstract or semi-abstract;
# this noun is only in the singular;
# this noun is used predicatively;
# there is usually no verb but a form of ''esse'' is often understood;
# this noun is rarely qualified by an adjective unless one like ''magnus'';
# the noun is rarely qualified by a genitive.
According to a standard 1893 grammar, only a few nouns are used in this construction which appears to be "governed by custom, not by any principle".
In an example from
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
(''Gallic War'' 7.50): ''suis saluti fuit'', "he was the salvation of his men", the dative of an abstract noun (''salus'' "salvation") expresses purpose while the dative of reference expresses the person or thing affected (''suus'', pl. ''sui'' "his
en).
The best known example is "
Cui bono
''Cui bono?'' (), in English "to whom is it a benefit?", is a Latin phrase about identifying crime suspects. It expresses the view that crimes are often committed to benefit their perpetrators, especially financially.
Usage
The phrase is a doub ...
?" This phrase, taken from
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, is usually rendered in English as something like, "Who benefits?", or more literally "To whose advantage?" The double dative construction sounds unnatural if translated literally, "to whom for an advantage", and is better rendered as "to whom as an advantage".
See also
*
Dative case
In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...
References
Grammar
Latin grammar
{{latin-stub