“If the Greek are sailing to Carthage, it should be accusative. Remember? Place whither? That’ the rule.”
“Can’t be.”Said Bunny. His voice was nasal, garrulous W. C. Fields with a bad case of Long Island lockjaw.
“It’s not place whither, it’s place to. I put my money on the ablative case.”
There was a rattling of papers.
“Wait,” said Charles. His voice was a lot like his sister’s – hoarse, slightly southern.
“Look at this. They’re not just sailing to Carthage, they’re sailing to attack it.”
“You’re crazy.”
“No, they are. Look at the next sentence. We need a dative.”
“Are you sure?”
More rustling of papers.
“Absolutely. Epi tō karchidona.“
“I don’t see how,” Said Bunny. He sounded like Thurston Howell on 'Gilligan’s Island.'
“Ablative is the ticket. The hard ones are always ablative.”
A slight pause.
“Bunny,” said Charles. “You’re mixed up. The ablative is in Latin.”
“Well, of course, I know that,” said Bunny irritably after a confused pause which seemed to indicate the contrary,
“But you know what I mean. Aorist, ablative, all the same thing, really….”
“Look, Charles,” said Camilla. “This dative won’t work.”
“Yes it will, they’re sailing to attack, are they?”
“Yes, but the Greeks sailed over the sea to Carthage.”
“But I put that epi in front of it.”
“Well, we can attack and still use epi, but we have to use an accusative because of the first rules.”
Donna Tartt - The Secret History
