[*] 282. A noun used to describe another, and standing in the same part of the sentence with the noun described, is called an Appositive, and is said to be in apposition:—
- “externus timor, maximum concordiae vinculum, iungēbat animōs ” (Liv. 2.39) , fear of the foreigner, the chief bond of harmony, united their hearts. [Here the appositive belongs to the subject.]
- quattuor hīc prīmum ōmen equōs vīdī; (Aen. 3.537), I saw here four horses, the first omen. [Here both nouns are in the predicate.]
- litterās Graecās senex didicī; (Cat. M. 26), I learned Greek when an old man. [Here senex , though in apposition with the subject of didicī , really states something further: viz., the time, condition, etc., of the act (Predicate Apposition).]
- “Nec P. Popilius neque Q. Metellus, clārissimī virī atque amplissimī, vim tribūnīciam sustinēre potuērunt ” (Clu. 95) , neither Publius Popilius nor Quintus Metellus, [both of them] distinguished and honorable men, could withstand the power of the tribunes.
- Gnaeus et Pūblius Scīpiōnēs, Cneius and Publius Scipio (the Scipios).
- “ea Sex. Rōscium inopem recēpit ” (Rosc. Am. 27) , she received Sextus Roscius in his poverty (needy).
- “sequuntur nātūram, optimam ducem ” (Lael. 19) , they follow nature, the best guide.
- “omnium doctrīnārum inventrīcēs Athēnās ” (De Or. 1.13) , Athens, discoverer of all learning.
[*] Note.--But such agreement is often impossible: as,ōlim truncus eram fīculnus, inūtile “līgnum” (Hor. S. 1.8.1) , I once was a fig-tree trunk, a useless log.
[*] d. A common noun in apposition with a Locative (§ 427) is put in the Ablative, with or without the preposition in:—- “ Antiochīae, celebrī quondam urbe ” (Arch. 4) , at Antioch, once a famous city.
- Albae cōnstitērunt, in urbe mūnītā; (Phil. 4.6), they halted at Alba, a fortified town.