[The Emphasizing Or Defining Accusative.]
[1140.] The meaning of a verb, even of one ordinarily intransitive, may be emphasized or more exactly defined by an accusative of kindred derivation added.
([a.]) Seldom without an adjective: as, dum vītam vīvās, Pl. Per. 494, as long as life thou liv’st, i.e. as long as you ever live and breathe. quōrum maiōrum nēmō servitūtem servīvit, T. 29, of whose ancestors not one has served servitude, i.e. been a regular slave. vidē nē facinus faciās, Fin. 2, 95, mind you don’t do a deed, i.e. a misdeed. (b.) Commonly with an adjective: as, scelestam servitūtem serviunt, Pl. Cu. 40, a wicked servitude they serve. facinus memorābile fēcistis, L. 24, 22, 16, you have done a deed well worth mentioning. mīrum atque īnscītum somniāvī somnium, Pl. R. 597, a strange and silly dream dreamed I.
[1141.] The verb sometimes has an accusative of kindred meaning, but of different derivation: as,
ut vīvās aetātem miser, Pl. Am. 1023, that thou mayst live thy days in woe. nōn pugnāvit ingēns Īdomeneus Sthenelusve sōlus dīcenda Mūsīs proelia, H. 4, 9, 19, not towering Idomeneus nor Sthenelus alone has battles fought for Muses to rehearse.
[1142.] The neuter singular accusative of a descriptive adjective is used, particularly by the poets, to denote manner: as,
magnum clāmat, Pl. MG. 823, he’s bellowing big. suāve locus vōcī resonat conclūsus, H. S. 1, 4, 76, sweet to the voice the pent-up place rings back. suāve rubēns hyacinthus, V. E. 3, 63, sweet-blushing hyacinth. cūr tam cernis acūtum? H. S. 1, 3, 26, why dost thou see so sharp? The plural is not so common: as, asper, acerba tuēns, Lucr. 5, 33, V. 9, 794, rough, staring savageness.
[1143.] Some verbs of smell and of taste have an accusative defining what the smell or the taste is: as, pāstillōs Rūfillus olet, Gargōnius hīrcum, H. S. 1, 2, 27, of lozenges Rufillus smells, Gargonius of the goat. doctrīnam redolet puerīlem, DO. 2, 109, it smacks of A B C studies. nōn omnēs possunt olere unguenta exōtica, Pl. Most. 42, not every man can of imported ointments reek. meliōra unguenta sunt quae terram quam quae crocum sapiunt, Cic. in Plin. NH. 17, 5, 3, 38, essences that smell of earth are better than those that smell of saffron.
[1144.] Any verb or verbal expression may be defined in a general way by the neuter accusative of a pronoun or of an enumerative word: as,