Book 7
9.10
Ambiguity resulting from the use of two accusatives may be removed by the substitution of the ablative: for example, Lachetem audivi percussisse Demeam (I heard that Demea struck Laches, or that L. struck D.) may be rendered clear by writing a Lachete percussum Demeam (that D. was struck by L.). There is, however, a natural ambiguity in the ablative case itself, as I pointed out in the first book. I. vii. 3. For example, caelo decurrit aperto Apparently a misquotation of Virg. Aen. v. 212, pelago decurrit aperto. leaves it doubtful whether the poet means he hastened down through the open sky, or when the sky was opened for him to pass.
9.11
Words may be separated by a breathing space or pause. We may, for instance, say statuam, and then, after a slight pause, add auream hastam, or the pause may come between statuam auream and haslam. The addition referred to above would take the form quod elegerit ipse, where ipse will show that the reference to the heir, or quod elegerit ipsa, making the reference to the wife. In cases where ambiguity is caused by the addition of a word, the difficulty may be eliminated by the removal of a word, as in the sentence nos flentes illos deprehendimus. Does this mean we found them weeping, or we found them weeping for us? The ambiguity is eliminated by the removal of nos.
