Una

[john abshire]

una ex parte flumine rheno latissimo atque altissimo.
Book translation = On one side by the Rhine, a very broad and deep river.
?
My try= one part of the very wide and very deep Rhine river.
My problem is with una ex parte
How does the author get “on one side by the....”?

 

[Pacifica]

una ex parte = on one side

flumine Rheno latissimo atque altissimo = by the very wide and very deep Rhine river (ablative of inanimate agent — the passive verb continentur is still implied from earlier in the sentence)

 

[john abshire]

una ex parte = on one side

flumine Rheno latissimo atque altissimo = by the very wide and very deep Rhine river (ablative of inanimate agent — the passive verb continentur is still implied from earlier in the sentence)

Oh, pars also can mean side! (I looked it up)
And, do you mean here that “the very wide and very deep Rhine river” does not need a preposition ( like ablative of means with active verbs) because it tells you how continentur is done?
And it’s inanimate object (if done by the king, Rex would need an “a” in front)
(I added the last sentence)

 

[Pacifica]

It's an inanimate agent (not object), and that typically doesn't take a(b). Inanimate agents are indeed more like ablatives of means (it's even debatable whether they should be called "agents" at all, but the terminology is in use). With an animate agent like rege you would need a(b), yes.

 

[john abshire]

It's an inanimate agent (not object), and that typically doesn't take a(b). Inanimate agents are indeed more like ablatives of means (it's even debatable whether they should be called "agents" at all, but the terminology is in use). With an animate agent like rege you would need a(b), yes.

After your previous post, I reviewed my text on this, under the heading “Agents and instruments”; where it explains when to use a, ab. It does not use the term “ablative of means”. What it does say is; you use a, ab with agents but not instruments. (I.e. you use a, ab with agents but not inanimate agents.)
Thank you.