"Cave ab homine unius libri"

[geordief]

Should this be "Cave hominem unius libri" ?

Are both correct ? Any difference in meaning?

Thanks

 

[scrabulista]

By itself cave ab homine unius libri is not grammatical. Possibly it is genuine and something was left out: "Beware (someone) of one book (written) by man." Yes, that is a stretch.

Your Cave hominem unius libri is grammatical and means "beware the man of one book."

 

[Laurentius]

But caveo can work with a/ab too I think.

 

[scrabulista]

It's not ablative of agent then?

 

[Laurentius]

Here it gives some examples. http://athirdway.com/glossa/?s=caveo

 

[geordief]

Sorry I am a bit slow to answer. It seems that this is a proverb attributed to Thomas Aquinas.

Perhaps the Latin grammar in vogue in the 13th century may have been different from that which I was taught at school.

My own attempt to "correct" him was indeed rather clumsy but I am extremely rusty and it was the "ab homine" that attracted my attention.

 

[Pacifica]

Ab homine is correct as well; as Laurentius said, cavere can also be construed with ab + abl. - and it already could well before Thomas Aquinas. Perhaps it's just a bit less frequent than with an accusative object, I don't know.