[*] 384. The Dative is used with adjectives (and a few Adverbs) of fitness, nearness, likeness, service, inclination, and their opposites:1
- “nihil est tam nātūrae aptum ” (Lael. 17) , nothing is so fitted to nature.
- nihil difficile amantī putō; (Or. 33), I think nothing hard to a lover.
- “ castrīs idōneum locum dēlēgit ” (B. G. 1.49) , he selected a place suitable for a camp.
- tribūnī nōbīs sunt amīcī; (Q. Fr. 1.2.16), the tribunes are friendly to us.
- “esse propitius potest nēminī ” (N. D. 1.124) , he can be gracious to nobody.
- māgnīs autem virīs prosperae semper omnēs rēs (id. 2.167), but to great men everything is always favorable.
- “sēdēs huic nostrō nōn importūna sermōnī ” (De Or. 3.18) , a place not unsuitable for this conversation of ours.
- “cui fundō erat affīnis M. Tullius ” (Tull. 14) , to which estate Marcus Tullius was next neighbor.
- “convenienter nātūrae vīvere ” (Off. 3.13) , to live in accordance with nature (ὁμολογουμένως τῇ φύσει).
[*] Note 1.--So, also, in poetic and colloquial use, with īdem : as, “—invītum quī servat idem facit occīdentī” (Hor. A. P. 467) , he who saves a man against his will does the same as one who kills him.
[*] Note 2.-- Adjectives of likeness are often followed by atque (ac), as. So also the adverbs aequē , pariter , similiter , etc. The pronoun īdem has regularly atque or a relative:—