[The Causative Use.]
[2304.] A verb is sometimes used to denote not what the subject actually does himself, but what he has another do. This is called the Causative Use of the verb: as,
animī causā mihi nāvem faciam, Pl. R. 932, just for diversion I’ll build me a yacht. cum vellet sibī̆ ānulum facere, aurificem iussit vocārī, V. 4, 56, wanting to make him a ring, he ordered a goldsmith to be called. complūrēs pauperēs mortuōs suō sūmptū extulit, N. 5, 4, 3, he buried a good many poor dead people at his own expense, i.e. had them buried. Also in the passive: as, tondēmur, Quintil. 1, 6, 44, we get shaved. When greater exactness is required, having a thing done may be expressed more distinctly by faciō ([1965]), by cūrō ([2250]), or by iubeō.
[The Potential Use.]
[2305.] A verb is sometimes used to indicate action that can be done, and especially action that can be done at any time. This is called the Potential Use of the verb: as,
clārē oculīs videō, Pl. MG. 630, I can see distinctly. proptereā quod inter fīnēs Helvētiōrum et Allobrogum Rhodanus fluit isque nōnnūllīs locīs vadō trānsītur, 1, 6, 2, because the Rhone runs between the district of the Helvetians and Allobrogans, and the river in some places can be forded, or is fordable. Particularly with a negative: as, apertē adūlantem nēmō nōn videt, L. 99, an open flatterer anybody can see through. nōn facile dīiūdicātur amor vērus et fīctus, Fam. 9, 16, 2, real love and pretended love cannot easily be told apart. ubī̆ Crassus animadvertit, suās cōpiās nōn facile dīdūcī, nōn cunctandum exīstimāvit, 3, 23, 7, when Crassus saw that his forces could not easily be divided, he thought he ought to lose no time. quoniam prōpositum nōn tenuerat, Caes. C. 3, 65, 4, seeing that he had not succeeded in carrying out his plan. Sometimes this idea is expressed by the subjunctive ([1554]).
[The Obligatory Use.]
[2306.] A verb is sometimes used to denote obligatory action. This is called the Obligatory Use of the verb: as,
paulisper commorātus est, Mil. 28, he had to wait. aegra trahēbant corpora, V. 3, 140, they had to drag their sickly frames along. caruī patriā, Sest. 145, I had to keep away from the country of my birth. senātor populī Rōmānī pernoctāvit in pūblicō, V. 4, 25, a senator of Rome was fain to sleep in the streets. serēmus aliquid in dērelictō solō, Br. 16, we shall have to sow something in an abandoned field. erat summa inopia pābulī, adeō ut foliīs equōs alerent, Caes. C. 3, 58, 3, there was an utter lack of fodder, so that they were fain to feed their horses on leaves.