Level 3+; Conditional clauses [2]: real conditions (2) further examples

In these clause types, English and Latin writers vary the indicative tenses, and there are numerous permutations. They may choose a specific tense since they have a particular idea in mind that they wish to convey, for example:

If you read that book, you will love it.

If you haven’t read that book, then I’m disappointed.

[i] There is often a parallel between the Latin verb usage and the English translations, for example:

Sī mē amās [present], ¦ cūrā [imperative], ut ... (Cicero)

• If you love me [present], ¦ [imperative] see to it that …

Tū sī litterās ad Sicyōniōs habēs [present], advolā [imperative] in Formiānum (Cicero)

• If you have [present], a letter to send to the Sicyonians, hasten [imperative] to Formiae.

Quid faciēmus [future], sī aliter nōn possumus [present]? (Cicero)

• What shall we do [future], if we cannot (do) otherwise [present]?

Sī fuit [perfect] invidiōsa senātūs potentia… quid iam cēnsēs [present] fore? (Cicero)

• If the power of the Senate was [simple past] unpopular … what do you think [present] it will be like now?

[ii] Where it differs most is when the conditional clause refers to the future. The distinction between the future and the future perfect in the conditional clause is whether the speaker is focussing on the action being carried out [future], or on the completion of the action [future perfect].

Mihi crēde, ¦ sī legēs [future] haec, ¦ dīcēs [future] mīrābilis vir est (Cicero)

• Trust me, if you read [present; La: will read] them, ¦ you will say “The man is a wonder.”

Latīnum sī perfēcerō [future perfect], ¦ ad tē mittam [future] (Cicero)

• [Latin (literally): If I shall have finished the Latin version, I shall send it to you.]
• If I finish [present] / If I have finished [present perfect] the Latin version, ¦ I shall send [future] it to you.

[iii] A subjunctive verb may be used in the apodosis:

Sī quid habēs certius, velim scīre (Cicero)

• If you have anything more certain, I would like to know.

The subjunctive in this context is not affecting the conditional clause but is simply being used independently to convey a polite request.

In this next example, a jussive subjunctive is used:

Quī hominēs quam prīmum, sī stāre nōn possunt, corruant (Cicero)

• If these men cannot stand, let them fall as soon as possible.

____________________

Below are further examples; compare and contrast the verb usage.

Nunc, sī quid in eā epistulā, quam ante diem XVI Kal. Maiās dedistī, fuit historia dignum, scrībe quam prīmum (Cicero)

• So, if there was anything worth saying in the letter of the 16th of April, write at once.

Sī quī Graecī iam Rōmam ex Asiā … vēnērunt … (Cicero)

• If any Greeks have already come to Rome from Asia …

Quid iīs fīet, sī hūc Paulus vēnerit (Cicero)

• What will happen to them if Paulus comes [will have come] here?

Sī quid rēs feret, cōram inter nōs cōnferēmus (Cicero)

• If any point arises [will arise], we will discuss it together face-to-face.

Aliī sī scrīpserint, mittēmus ad tē (Cicero)

• If others (will) have written (about it), we shall send them to you.

Tū, sī tibi placuerit liber, cūrābis ut … (Cicero)

• If the book pleases [will have pleased] you, you will see to it that …

Eō sī ante eam diem nōn vēneris, Rōmae tē fortasse vidēbō (Cicero)

• If you do not get [will not have come] there before that date, perhaps I shall see you at Rome.

Sī dīxerō mendācium, solēns meō mōre fēcerō (Plautus)

• If I tell [shall have told] a lie, I shall have done so as I usually do according to my custom.

Tū, sī ūnō in locō es futūrus, crēbrās ā nōbīs litterās exspectā (Cicero)

• If you are going to be in one place, expect many letters from us.

Intereā scrībās [subjunctive], sī quid intellegēs (Cicero)

• Meanwhile, if you learn anything, you should write to me

Sī iam es Rōmae … velim [subjunctive] mittās … (Cicero)

• If you are already in Rome, I would like you to send …

An overdose of conditional clauses:

Quam ob rem, sī mē amās tantum, quantum profectō amās, sī dormīs, expergīscere, sī stās, ingredere, sī ingrederis, curre, sī curris, advolā. (Cicero)

Quam ob rem, sī mē amās tantum, quantum profectō amās, … │ Therefore, if you love me as much as you really love me …

sī dormīs, expergīscere │ if you are sleeping, wake up

sī stās, ingredere │ if you are standing, get moving

sī ingrederis, curre │ if you are moving, run

sī curris, advolā │ if you are running, fly

Level 3+; Conditional clauses [1]: introduction; real conditions (1)

Take your life in your hands and suggest to Norman, the owner of the Bates Motel in Hitchcock’s Psycho how he should deal with his “mother” …

MARION

You know, if anyone ever talked to me, the way I heard... the way she spoke to you, …

NORMAN

When you love someone, you don't do that to them, even if you hate them. Oh, I don't hate her.  I hate... what she's become. I hate... the illness.

MARION (Slowly, carefully)

Wouldn't it be better if you put her in... someplace...

Ah well, if Marion hadn’t taken a wrong turning, she would not have met Norman – but she did take a wrong turning, and she did meet him and, well, you’ll need to watch the movie…

Among all Latin clause types, conditional clauses show the closest parallel with English: in both languages, verb forms change to express the speaker’s perspective.

Image #1: conditional clauses can be broadly classified according to type.

Here, we will look at the types under the overall heading of real conditions: the speaker treats the situation in the conditional clause as true, rather than as imaginary or unreal, and are used with the indicative mood in Latin:

(a) General truths:

If you heat ice, it melts.

If he (ever) saw a poor man in the street, he used to give him some money.

(b) Specific situations considered likely in context, whether present or past:

If he thinks that, he is mistaken.

If he did that, he made a mistake.

(c) Specific situations in the future which, again, the speaker treats as likely to happen:

If gives me the money, I will buy the cake.

Grammar books may give slightly different terms for these conditional types, but the key point is that none of the conditions express any doubt, but rather as true or likely to be true.

[1] present / past

[A] Sī tū exercitusque valētis [present indicative], ¦ [B] bene est [present indicative] (Cicero)

• If you and the army are well, ¦ it is well.

[A] Sī iam melius valēs [present indicative], ¦ [B] vehementer gaudeō [present indicative] (Cicero)

• If you are in better health now, ¦ I am very glad.

[A] Sī quī māgnīs in eō genere exstitērunt [perfect indicative], ¦ [B] nōn satis Graecōrum glōriae respondērunt [perfect indicative] (Cicero)

• If any have shown themselves of great genius in that department, ¦ they have not competed sufficiently with the glory of the Greeks. 

[A] Sī peccāvī [perfect indicative], ¦ [B] īnsciēns fēcī [perfect indicative] (Terence)

• If I did / have done wrong, ¦ I did / have done so unwittingly.

The sentences above have two clauses:

[A] The conditional clause introduced by sī (if); this is called the protasis and states the condition on which [B] depends.

[B] The main clause is called the apodosis.

It is useful to remember those two terms, since they are commonly used in grammar books.

[A: PROTASIS] Sī illum relinquō,¦ [B: APODOSIS] eius vītae timeō (Terence)

• If I abandon him, ¦ I fear for his life.

[A: PROTASIS] Sī quī exīre volunt,¦ [B: APODOSIS] cōnīvēre possum (Cicero)

• If any wish to depart, ¦ I can keep my eyes shut.

[A: PROTASIS] Sī est in exsiliō [PROTASIS], … ¦ B: APODOSIS] quid amplius postulātis? (Cicero)

• If he is in exile, ¦ what more do you ask?

[2] future more vivid

[i] In grammar the term future more vivid conditional refers to an outcome that the speaker thinks / perceives is more likely to happen

[ii] Unlike English, a future condition in the protasis is expressed by sī + the future or future perfect tense:

[A] Quod sī legere aut audīre volētis [future indicative] . . . [B] reperiētis [future indicative] … (Cicero)

• If you (will) want to read or hear it … you will find …

[A] Egō ad tē, ¦ [B] sī quid audierō [future perfect indicative] citius, ¦ scrībam [future indicative]. (Cicero)

• I shall write to you ¦ if I hear [literally: shall have heard) anything sooner.

[A] Haec sī attulerīs [future perfect indicative], [B] cēnābis [future indicative] bene (Catullus)

• If you bring [literally: will have brought] these things, ¦ you will dine well.

[3] general / iterative:

[i] When (if) you love someone, you don't do that to them.

Whenever he saw / If he ever saw a poor man …; the term iterative may be applied to this type of condition to define an action that happens / happened repeatedly:

English can convey these conditions, with ‘when(ever)’ rather than ‘if’; Latin uses sī:

Sī pēs condoluit, sī dēns, ferre nōn possumus (Cicero)

• If (ever) a foot or a tooth has begun to ache, ¦ we can't bear it.

[ii] The idea may be emphasised by the addition of quandō, but not as a replacement for sī:

Sī quandō in puerīs ante alter dēns nāscitur ... (Celsus)

• If ever in children a second tooth appears  …

[iii] When referring to the past, the imperfect or pluperfect tense can be used in the conditional clause:

Sī legēbant, inveniēbant disciplīnam.

• If (whenever) they read, they acquired / used to acquire knowledge.

Sī pauperem in viā vidēbat / vīderat, semper eum adiuvāre cōnābātur.

• If he saw a poor man in the street, he would always try to help him.

Sī tribūnī, sī legiō industriam innocentiamque adprobāverant, retinēbat ōrdinem (Tacitus)

• If the tribunes or legion approved of his industry and innocence, he would retain his rank.

[4]  ‘if’ is also used in English to ask an indirect question e.g. I want to know if he’s arrived = I want to know whether he’s arrived (or not).

Latin does not use sī to convey that idea, but num and utrum … an

Level 3+; Subjunctive [68] dependent uses [6] indirect questions (5); num

Level 3+; Subjunctive [69] dependent uses [6] indirect questions (6); utrum … an …

[5] In all conditional constructions [A] and [B] may, as in English, be reversed:

[B] Experiar et dīcam [future indicative], ¦ [A] sī poterō [future indicative], plānius (Cicero)

• I shall try and explain, ¦ if I can [literally: if I shall be able; future indicative] more clearly (Cicero)

[5] tenses can be mixed:

Convincam [future indicative], ¦ sī negās [present indicative] (Cicero)

• I shall prove it, ¦ if you deny it.

Sī pēs condoluit [perfect indicative], sī dēns, ¦ ferre nōn possumus [present indicative] (Cicero)

• If (ever) a foot or a tooth has begun to ache, ¦ we can't bear it.

Cēnābis [future indicative] bene, mī fabulle, apud mē / paucīs, ¦ sī tibi dī favent [present indicative], ¦ diēbus (Catullus)

• You will dine well, my Fabullus, at my house, ¦ in a few days’ time if the gods favour you.

Sī ille exitum nōn reperiēbat [imperfect indicative], ¦ quis nunc reperiet [future indicative]? (Cicero)

• If he was not able to find any way out, ¦ who will find one now?

Misera plūs perdidī [perfect indicative], sī nēmō crēdit [present indicative] (Quintilian)

• Wretched I have lost more ¦ if noone believes me.

Level 3; Reading (review); [33] [i] The magician Circe

Another episode of Odysseus’ journey home:

Ulixēs, postquam magnā cum audāciā diū per undās nāvigāvit, īnsulam Circae intrāvit. Ibi ille vir callidus nōnnūllōs sociōs in vīllam Circae mīsit. Quibus illa dea vīnum venēnō mixtum praebuit; venēnō domitōs in suēs mūtāvit. Ūnus ex iīs, quī venēnum negāverat, ēvāsit docuitque Ulixem. Quem Mercurius quoque dē dolīs Circae docuerat remediumque praebuerat et eī suāserat: “Hōc remediō ā mē datō perīculum dolōsque deae vītābis!” Quibus verbīs monitus Ulixēs illō remediō tūtus vīllam Circae intrāvit, Circam ipsam gladiō ursit, dolōs perniciōsōs eius arcuit. Iussit eam illōs sociōs iam in suēs mūtātōs rūrsus in virōs mūtāre. Sīc ūnā cum sociīs vīvus ex illā īnsulā ēvāsit.

Circa, -ae [1/f]: (alternative to Circē) name of a witch in Greek mythology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe

venēnum, -ī [2/n]: (here) magic potion; poison

sūs, suis [3 m/f]: pig

[1] The connecting relative

[i] The following is incorrect in standard written English:

I bought a book. *Which I gave* to my brother.

English cannot begin a sentence with a relative pronoun that refers to something / someone in the previous sentence. The idea would be expressed in the following ways:

I bought a book which I gave to my brother [i.e. as one sentence, which introducing a subordinate clause]

I bought a book. I gave it to my brother. [i.e. two sentences; English would most commonly avoid repeating the noun by using a pronoun]

 I bought a book and I gave it to my brother [i.e. as one sentence with a coordinating conjunction]

[ii] Latin, however, can begin a sentence with the relatives quī, quae, quod referring to something / someone in the previous sentence, known in grammar as the antecedent:

Ibi ille vir callidus nōnnūllōs sociōs [antecedent] in vīllam Circae mīsit. Quibus [connecting relative] illa dea vīnum venēnō mixtum praebuit; …

Such sentences can be translated in different ways, the choice determined by style and context:

(a)   as separate sentences with the inclusion of a pronoun referring to the antecedent

There, that clever man sent some of his companions into her house. The goddess offered them wine mixed with poison; …

(b)   combining those sentences with ‘and’; that neatly conveys the “connecting” nature of quī, quae, quod

… and the goddess offered them …

(c)   a relative clause

… docuitque Ulixem [antecedent]. Quem [connecting relative] Mercurius quoque dē dolīs Circae docuerat …

… and informed Ulysses whom Mercury had also informed about Circe’s tricks, …

[iii] Translations are not interchangeable; a common example is when the connecting relative refers to an entire preceding statement where a relative clause would sound clumsy:

“Hōc remediō ā mē datō perīculum dolōsque deae vītābis!” Quibus verbīs monitus Ulixēs …

 “With this remedy given by me, you will avoid the danger and the tricks of the goddess.” Having been warned by these words, Ulysses … [or: …, and having been warned …]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/connecting%20relative

[2] Taking care when translating:

Latin word order is far more flexible than English and so, when translating, be conscious of what is and is not acceptable in standard English translation:

Quibus illa dea vīnum venēnō mixtum praebuit; venēnō domitōs in suēs mūtāvit.

The goddess offered them wine mixed with poison; *having been subdued by the potion*, she changed them into pigs.

Although “having been subdued by the potion” is the correct translation, its position in the English sentence above would indicate that she had been subdued by the potion, which is incorrect. Rewording is needed to be clear who that phrase is referring to:

“… once / after / when they had been subdued by the potion, she changed them …”

____________________

Ulysses, after he had sailed for a long time over the waves with great boldness, entered the island of Circe. There that clever man sent some companions into Circe’s house. The goddess offered them wine mixed with a (magic) potion; after they had been subdued by the potion, she changed them into pigs.

One of them, who had refused the potion, escaped and informed Ulysses. Mercury also had warned him about the tricks of Circe, had provided a remedy, and had advised him: “With this remedy given by me, you will avoid the danger and the tricks of the goddess.”

(Having been) warned by these words, Ulysses, safe because of that remedy [ = protected by that remedy], entered Circe’s house, threatened Circe herself with his sword, and drove away / warded off her deadly tricks. He ordered her to change those companions, who had already been turned into pigs, back into men. Thus he escaped alive from that island together with his companions.

Level 3+; Subjunctive [90] dependent uses [15] reported / indirect reason: quod and quia

If a journalist in a UK newspaper writes …

“The manager resigned because he stole money”

…he may well be sued! If it was never proved, then the journalist – to protect himself – would write:

“The manager resigned because he allegedly stole money”

Now the journalist is safe: he is reporting what the reason may have been or what somebody else claimed rather than a factual statement that is the journalist’s personal opinion. In other words, it becomes an indirect reason.

Similarly:

He could not have been guilty because he was abroad at the time.

He could not have been guilty because, he said / he claimed, he was abroad at the time.

The inclusion of a parenthetical he said, or he claimed moves the statement from a factual reason to one that is alleged, one that somebody else said rather than what the speaker believes.

That ‘shift’ cannot be conveyed in English by means of a verb form. In Latin, however, a shift from the indicative to the subjunctive mood can do precisely that.

[i] The conjunctions quod and quia are – by far – most often found with the indicative mood:

Quia ego hanc amō et haec mē amat (Plautus)

• Because I love her and she loves me.

Cūr igitur pācem nōlō? Quia turpis est. (Cicero)

• Why then do I not wish for peace? Because it is disgraceful.

Hoc ad tē scrīpsī, quod is mē accūsāre dē tē solēbat (Cicero)

• I wrote this to you because he was in the habit of grumbling to me about you.

Ita fit ut adsint proptereā quod officium sequuntur, taceant autem quia periculum vītant (Cicero)

• So it happens that they attend because they follow duty but are silent because they are avoiding danger.

In these examples Cicero gives his own reasons.

[ii] However, when the speaker is not giving his own reason, but the reason of somebody else, quod and quia will be with a verb in the subjunctive:

Noctū ambulābat Themistoclēs quod somnum capere nōn posset [subjunctive] (Cicero)

• Themistocles used to walk about at night because he could not sleep.

i.e. the speaker is recounting the reason given by Themistocles; the speaker is not offering his own reason.

We can describe this as a reported reason or an indirect reason. It does not have to be an “allegedly” statement such as you would find in a newspaper!

Compare: Noctū ambulābam quod somnum capere nōn poteram [indicative].

• I used to walk about night because I could not sleep.

This example from Cicero shows both indicative and subjunctive, the subjunctive stating an alleged or unreal reason as oppposed to factual reason i.e. the reason he himself gives:

• Haec idcircō omittō quod nōn gravissima sint [subjunctive], sed quia nunc sine teste dīcō [indicative] (Cicero)

And I omit these matters not because they are not very serious, but because now I am declaring without any witness.

[iii] Further examples

(1) With indicative

[i] Sōla hic mihi nunc videor, quia ille hinc abest quem ego amō praeter omnēs (Plautus)

• I do seem so lonely here now, because the one I love best is gone. 

[ii] Cūr negās? / Quia vēra didicī dīcere (Plautus)

• Why do you deny it? / Because I’ve learned to tell the truth.

[iii] Quia diēī extrēmum erat, proelium nōn inceptum [est] (Sallust)

• As it was almost the end of the day, the battle did not  start.

[iv] Quem locum Marius, quod ibi rēgis thēsaurī erant, summā vī capere intendit (Sallust)

• Marius tried to take this place with all of his forces, because the king’s treasures were there.

[v] Quia id quod neque est neque fuit neque futūrum est mihi praedicās (Plautus)

• Because what you tell me is not so, nor has it been, nor will it be.

[vi] Sed senātūs cōnsulta duo iam facta sunt odiōsa, quod in cōnsulem facta putantur (Cicero)

• But two decrees of the Senate which have already been passed are unpopular because they are thought to be directed against the consul.

(2) With subjunctive; although far less common, the subjunctive is being used to refer to what somebody else ‘claimed’ or thought:

[i] Mea māter īrāta est quia nōn redierim (Plautus)

• My mother is angry because I did not return.

[ii] Rediit quod sē oblītum nesciō quid dīceret (Cicero)

• He returned because he said he had forgotten something.

Note: nesciō quid; nesciō is not functioning here as a verb but as part of a set expression meaning ‘something’ [literally: I don’t know what]

[iii] Reprehendit, quia nōn semper quiērim (Cicero)

• He blames me because I have not always been able.

i.e. Cicero recounts somebody else’s reason for the blame; he is not saying that it is factual.

[iv] Sī quis requīrit, cūr Rōmae nōn sim … quia frequentiam illam nōn facile ferrem.

• If anyone asks why I am not in town … "because I could not put up with the crowd of visitors."

This is a nice example where the translator “quotes” what, in Cicero’s mind, other people might be ‘alleging’.

[v] What somebody saw in a dream:

Ego laeta vīsa sum quia soror vēnisset (Plautus)

• I seemed happy because my sister had come.

[vi] A two part statement from Cicero that describes allegations made against Manlius by Pomponius, a tribune of the plebs:

L. Mānliō … cum dictātor fuisset, M. Pompōnius tr(ibūnus). pl(ēbis). diem dīxit, (1) quod is paucōs sibi diēs ad dictātūram gerendam addidisset; crīminābātur etiam, (2) quod Titum fīlium … ab hominibus relēgāsset et rūrī habitāre iussisset.

L. Mānlīō … cum dictātor fuisset │ When L. Manlius … had been dictator, …

M. Pompōnius, tribūnus plēbis, diem dīxit │ M. Pomponius,  a tribune of the plebs named the day [i.e. for his trial = indicted him]

(1) quod is paucōs sibī diēs ad dictātūram gerendam addidisset;

• because he (Manlius) had added a few days for conducting his dictatorship [ = had extended his dictatorship beyond its expiration]

crīminābātur etiam │ he was also accused

(2) quod Titum fīlium … ab hominibus relēgāsset et rūrī habitāre iussisset.

• because he had banished his son Titus … from people [ = from having companionship with others] and had ordered him to live in the countryside.

[iv] Be careful not to misinterpret the use of quod in indirect statements. In certain circumstances quod can be translated as the conjunction ‘that’ but they are (1) referring to known facts or (2) offering reasons rather than reporting what, for example somebody said or thought:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/11/170226-level-3-indirect-statement.html

(1) quod: (the fact) that …

quod rediit ¦ nōbīs mīrābile vidētur (Cicero)

• (the fact) that he returned ¦ seems marvellous to us

praetereō ¦ quod eam sibī domum dēlēgit (Cicero)

• I pass over ¦ the fact that he chose that house for himself

i.e. these two do not ‘report’ an event, but express a reaction to something already known

(2) verbs of emotion / feeling are followed by either quod or quia; a way of differentiating the use of quod (or quia) in this context is mostly to interpret the meaning as because rather than ‘that’.

Quod scrībis . . . gaudeō.

• I am glad ¦ that you write.

i.e. The writer is offering a reason why he is glad; “I am glad because you are writing”

Gaudēmus quod ad tempus adestis.

• We rejoice ¦ that you are here on time.

Faciō libenter quod eam nōn possum praeterīre.

• I am glad ¦ that I cannot pass it by.

Gaudet quod vivit.

• He rejoices ¦ that he is alive.

Opportūnissima rēs accidit quod Germānī vēnērunt.

• A very fortunate thing happened, ¦ (namely) that the Germans came.

Optimum, quod sustulistī.

• It is a very good thing ¦ that you have removed [him].

Dolet mihi quod tū nunc stomachāris (Cicero)

• I'm sorry ¦ that you're angry now.

… quī ¦ quia nōn habuit ā mē turmās equitum ¦ fortasse suscēnset (Cicero)

• … who perhaps feels angry ¦ that he did not receive squadrons of cavalry from me.

Level 3; Reading (review); [32] In the giant’s cave (2)

Ulixēs autem sociōs haec iussit et eīs suāsit: “Satis diū ille nōs ursit et torsit, satis diū superbiae eius cessimus. Ecce flammae, ecce palūs: sī hic pālus ārdēbit, Polyphēmum oculō spoliābimus. Id nōbīs certē continget, nisi timidī erimus!”

Quibus verbīs postquam animōs eōrum auxit, eōs sēcum dūxit, ūnā cum eīs Polyphēmum temptāvit. Iam pālus in oculō eius haesit, iam Polyphēmus clāmāvit, iam amīcōs vocāvit: “Nēmō mē oculō spoliāvit, nēmō mē necāre studet!

At frūstrā clāmat, nam ā nūllō adiuvātur. Cēterī enim Cyclōpēs: “Sī nēmō tē spoliat, sī ā nūllō necāris, nūllīus auxiliō egēs!”

Vocabulary

cyclōps, -is [3/m]: cyclops, the one-eyed giant from Greek and Roman mythology, of which Polyphemus was one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclopes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus

image: head of a Cyclops (1^st c. AD); Colosseum, Rome

pālus, -ī [2/m]: pole, stake

contingō, -ere, contigī, contāctus [3] (here: + dative) to fall to one’s lot; befall; happen (to)

• id nōbīs … continget: this will happen to us

Notes: conjugation ‘patterns’

[i] Most (not all) 1^st conjugation verbs have the same pattern of principal parts e.g. 

necō, necāre, necāvī, necātus [1]: kill

spoliō, spoliāre, spoliāvī, spoliātus [1]: rob; deprive

temptō, temptāre, temptāvī, temptātus [1]: attempt

Other conjugations, however, are far less predictable, but there are some patterns to note in perfect tense stems of 2^nd conjugation verbs:

-s(s)-; -x-

ardeō, ardēre, ārsī, ārsus [2]: burn

haereō, -ēre, haesī, haesum (supine: no passive) [2]: (here) stick

suadeō, suādēre, suāsī, suāsus [2]: persuade

torqueō, -ēre, torsī, tortus [2]: torment; torture

urgeō, -ēre, ursī, - [2]: oppress

iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus [2]: command; order

augeō, augēre, auxī, auctus [2]: increase; strengthen

(b) -uī-

egeō, -ēre, eguī, egitūrus (fut. act. participle: no passive; no supine) [2]: lack; be without

studeō, -ēre, studuī, - [2]: (here) try

From the previous section of this text:

• adhibeō, adhibēre, adhibuī, adhibitus [2]: apply; use
• admoneō, admonēre, admonuī, admonitus [2]: warn; remind
• arceō, arcēre, arcuī, arcitus [2]: keep (off / away); prevent
• praebeō, praebēre, praebuī, praebitus [2]: offer
• sustineō, sustinēre, sustinuī,  sustentus [2]: endure; withstand

[ii] Bear in mind at this level that ‘patterns’ cannot be assumed, for example:

cēdō, cedere, cessī, cessus [3]: yield

dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus [3]: lead

From the previous section of this text:

• domō, domāre, domuī, domitus [1]: subdue; tame
• impleō, implēre, implēvī, implētus [2]: fill
• colō, colere, coluī, cultus [3]: worship; honour
• tribuō, tribuere, tribuī, tribūtus [3]: grant; bestow

___________________

But Ulysses ordered these things to his companions and persuaded them: “For a long time that creature has oppressed and tormented us; for a long time we have yielded to his arrogance. Look—flames, look—a stake: if this stake burns, we will deprive Polyphemus of his eye. This will certainly happen for us, if we are not cowardly!”

After he had strengthened their spirits with these words, he led them with him and, together with them, attacked Polyphemus. Now the stake stuck in his eye, now Polyphemus shouted, now he called his friends: “Nobody has deprived me of my eye, nobody is trying to kill me!”

But he shouts in vain, for he is helped by no one. For the other Cyclopes say: “If nobody is injuring you, if you are being killed by no one, you need no help from anyone!”

Level 3+; Subjunctive [89] dependent uses [14] quīn and quōminus; clauses of prevention

[i] quīn and quōminus: similarities and differences

Firstly, briefly review the use of quīn with verbs of hindering and preventing:

Nōn recūsat ¦ quīn iūdicēs (Cicero)

• He does not object ¦ to your judging.

Prōrsus nihil abest ¦ quīn sim miserrimus (Cicero)

• Absolutely nothing prevents me ¦ from being utterly wretched.

Tenērī nōn potuī ¦ quīn tibi apertius illud īdem … dēclārārem.

• I could not restrain myself ¦ from expressing that very thing to you more openly ...

[ii] Quōminus functions in a similar way to quīn with verbs that express ‘hindering’ or ‘preventing’ except that – with quōminus – the verb in the main clause can be positive or negative.

Compare the uses of [A] quīn and [B] quōminus:

[A] quīn is used only with negative verbs in the main clause:

Negative: Nōn tē dēterreō quīn hoc faciās.

• I do not prevent you from doing this.

Negative: Mē homō nēmō dēterrēbit, quīn ea sit in hīs aedibus (Plautus)

• No man will prevent me from having her in this house.

[B] Quōminus can be used with either negative or positive verbs in the main clause.

Negative: Nōn tē dēterreō quōminus hoc faciās.

• I do not prevent you from doing this.

However, when the verb in the main clause is positive, only quōminus can be used.

Positive: Mē dēterruit quōminus Romam abīrem. 

• He prevented me from departing to Rome.

[iii] The literal translation of quōminus is “by which the less” i.e. the action in the main clause prevents / does not prevent the action in the quōminus clause from being ‘less’ done.

Mē impedīvit quōminus in urbem inīrem.

[Very literally: He prevented me ¦ by which I would enter the city ‘less’.]

• He prevented me ¦  from entering the city.

Impedīvit eam pater ¦ quōminus puerum vīseret.

[Very literally: The father prevented her ¦ by which she would see the boy ‘less’.]

• The father prevented her ¦  from seeing the boy.

Note in the next example that who is (not) being prevented may not be specifically stated in the main clause but can be deduced from the verb in the quōminus clause.

Nihil impedit ¦ quōminus id facere possīmus (Cicero)

[Very literally: Nothing prevents ¦ by which we could do this ‘less’.]

• Nothing prevents us ¦  from being able to do that.

[iv] A wide range of verbs and expressions are used in this construction:

dēterreō, -ēre, -ui, deterritus [2]: deter; discourage

impediō, -īre, -īvī, impeditus [4]: hinder

prohibeō, -ēre, -uī, prohibitus [2]: forbid; prohibit; prevent

recūsō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus [1]: refuse; object

Tempestās imperātōrem dēterruit ¦ quōminus Graeciam nāvigāret.

• The bad weather discouraged the commander ¦ from sailing to Greece.

Nec aetās impedit ¦ quōminus agrī colendī studia teneāmus (Cato)

• Nor does age prevent ¦ us from retaining an interest in tilling the soil.

Quōminus ad ultimam senectūtem perveniant, ¦ nōn prohibentur (Celsus)

• They are not prevented ¦ from reaching the last stage of old age.

Omnia ... cōnfessus est neque recūsāvit ¦ quōminus lēgis poenam subīret (Nepos)

• He … confessed everything and he did not refuse ¦ to submit to the punishment of the law.

[v] Further examples; quōminus may appear in texts as two separate words:

[1] Primary tense sequence

Itaque interclūdor dolōre, quō minus ad tē plūra scrībam (Cicero)

• Therefore, I am prevented by grief from writing more to you.

Tē iūstā causā impedīrī, quō minus ad nōs veniās, videō (Cicero)

• I see that you are prevented by a good reason from coming to us.

Nōn impedit, quō minus adsim (Cicero)

• He does not prevent me from being present.

Neque tē dēterreō, quō minus id disputēs (Cicero)

• Nor am I stopping you from arguing that.

Nōn dēterret sapientem mors quō minus in omne tempus reī pūblicae suisque cōnsulat (Cicero)

• Death does not deter the wise man from looking after the interests of the state and his family for all time.

[2] Secondary / historic tense sequence:

Tē impedīret, quō minus mēcum essēs (Cicero)

• It would prevent you from being with me.

Dēterrēre eum voluit ... quōminus medicāmentum biberet (Rufus)

• He wanted to dissuade him from drinking the medicine.

Impedīre coepērunt quōminus sē in castra reciperent (Bellum Africum)

• They began to prevent them from entering the camp.

Q. Cicerōnī obsistī nōn potuit, quō minus Thyamim vidēret (Cicero)

• Q. Cicero could not be stopped from seeing the (river) Thyamis.

Itaque dēterritus nōn est quōminus … reliqua pars exercitūs opus faceret (Bellum Alexandrinum)

• And so he was not deterred from the rest of the army carrying out the work…

Level 3+; Subjunctive [88] dependent uses [14] quīn (2) practice

[1]

Primary sequence: complete the translations of the quīn clauses with the phrases given below.

[i] Quārē nōn dubitō, quīn tibi quoque id molestum sit.

Therefore I do not doubt that __________.

[ii] Nōn dubitō quīn Gnaeus in fugā sit; 

I do not doubt that __________.

[iii] Nōn dubitō, quīn ad tē statim veniam.

I do not doubt that __________.

[iv] Nec vērō dubitō, quīn exitiōsum bellum impendeat.

Nor indeed do I doubt that __________.

[v] Nōn dubitō quīn istum offenderim.

I don’t doubt that __________.

[vi] Sed nōn dubitō, quīn senātus cōnsultum expedītum sit.

But I do not doubt that __________.

[vii] Nec dubitat Dēiotarus … quīn cum omnibus cōpiīs ipse … Euphrātēn trānsitūrus sit.

And Deiotarus does not doubt … that the king himself with all his forces __________.

[viii] Illud cavē dubitēs quīn ego omnia faciam. 

Do not doubt that __________.

a disastrous war is imminent

is going to cross the Euphrates

I have offended him

I shall come to you immediately

Gnaeus is fleeing

I will do all

it is also unpleasant for you

the senate decree has been issued

[2] Secondary / historic sequence: complete the Latin quotations with the verbs listed below.

[i] He did not doubt that we believed him.

Nōn dubitābat quīn eī __________.

[ii] We did not doubt that you had already reached Brundisium.

Nōn dubitābāmus, quīn tū iam Brundisium __________.

[iii] None of us doubted that Caesar had halted the marches.

Dubitābat nostrum nēmō, quīn Caesar itinera __________.

[iv] There was no doubt that the Helvetii were the most powerful.

Nōn erat dubium quīn Helvētiī plūrimum __________.

[v] I did not doubt that he would see you … at Dyrrachium.

Nōn dubitābam, quīn tē ille … Dyrrachī __________.

[vi] I had no doubt that I would see you either at Tarentum or at Brundisium.

Nōn fuerat mihi dubium, quīn tē Tarentī aut Brundisī __________.

[vii] There seemed to be no doubt that he would come before that date.

Nōn vidēbātur esse dubium, quīn ante eam diem __________.

[viii] For no one doubted that the house had been awarded to us.

Nēmō enim dubitābat, quīn domus nōbīs __________.

pervēnissēs; crēderēmus; esset adiūdicāta; possent; repressisset; ventūrus esset; vīsūrus essem; vīsūrus esset

[3] Note how English translations will often reword the clause with quīn to avoid it sounding too literal. Complete the translations with clauses and phrases from [A] the main clause and [B] the quīn clause.

[i] [A] Quis autem est, tantā quidem dē rē [B] quīn variē sēcum ipse disputet?

But [A] __________ [B] __________ with himself in various ways over such a great matter?

[ii] [A] Diēs ferē nūllus est, [B] quīn hic Satyrus domum meam ventitet.

There is [A] __________ [B] __________ Satyrus __________.

[iii] [A] Nūllum adhūc intermīsī diem, [B] quīn aliquid ad tē litterārum darem.

[A] __________ [B] __________.

[iv] [A] Facere nōn possum [B] quīn cotīdiē ad tē mittam.

[A] I __________ [B] __________ you (something) every day.

[v] [A] Tenērī nōn potuī, [B] quīn tibi apertius illud īdem hīs litterīs dēclārārem.

[A] I could not __________ [B] __________ that very thing to you more openly in these letters.

[vi] [A] Paulum āfuit [B] quīn Vārum interficeret.

[A] __________ [B] __________ Varus.

[vii] [A] Neque multum āfuit [B] quīn castrīs expellerentur. 

[A] __________ [B] __________ from the camp.

[A]

he just missed

cannot help

hardly a day

they came near

I have not yet let a day pass

restrain myself

who is there

[B]

but send

From expressing

to being driven out

that … does not pay me a visit

who does not argue

without writing something to you

killing

____________________

[1]

[i] … it is also unpleasant for you.

[ii] … Gnaeus is fleeing.

[iii] … I shall come to you immediately.

[iv] … a disastrous war is imminent.

[v] … I have offended him.

[vi] … the senate decree has been issued.

[vii] … is going to cross the Euphrates.

[viii] … I will do all.

[2]

[i] crēderēmus

[ii] pervēnissēs

[iii] repressisset

[iv] possent

[v] vīsūrus esset

[vi] vīsūrus essem

[vii] ventūrus esset

[viii] esset adiūdicāta

[3]

[i] But who is there who does not argue with himself in various ways over such a great matter?

[ii] There is hardly a day that Satyrus does not pay me a visit.

[iii] I have not yet let a day pass without writing something to you.

[iv] I cannot help but send you (something) every day.

[v] I could not restrain myself from expressing that very thing to you more openly in these letters.

[vi] He just missed killing Varus.

[vii] They came near to being driven out of the camp.