Latin Negative
Commands (Prohibitions)
In Latin, a prohibitive
expresses a command telling someone not to do something. There are several main
constructions to express this:
[1] nolī(te) + infintive
Literally: be
unwilling (to do something); this is the most familiar way to give a negative
command. It is the construction that has been used up to now and is not a subjunctive
form.
nōlī hoc facere │ Don’t do this!
nōlīte mentīrī │ Don’t lie!
[2] nē + present
/ perfect subjunctive (negative jussive subjunctive)
The negative of
the jussive subjunctive expresses “let him/her/them not…” and is
equivalent to a prohibitive.
Form: nē + present
subjunctive or perfect subjunctive (emphasizes immediacy, completeness,
or politeness).
Compare with
affirmative jussive:
id faciat │
Let him do it
nē id faciat │ Let him not
do it / He should not do it
[i] Examples with
present subjunctive:
Nē ex urbe discēdat │ Let her not
depart from the city
Nē putēs tē sapientem esse │ Do not
think you are wise
Nē metuās │ Do not fear
Nē repugnētis │ Do not resist
Nē ā flūmine fugiātis │ Do not flee
from the river
More literary
examples:
Quī in tēctō est, nē
dēscendat tollere aliquid dē domō suā (Vulgate) │ He who is on the roof,
let him not come down to take anything from his house
Nocte veniente nē
puerī deforis ludant │ Since night is coming, don’t let
the boys play outdoors / the boys should not play … [literally: let
not the boys play … ]
Sed dē argumentō nē
exspectētis fābulam (Plautus) │ But do not expect the plot of the
story
Et ait angelus eī:
Nē timeās… (Vulgate) │ And the angel said to her: Do not be
afraid
[ii] Examples with
perfect subjunctive:
Singular:
Nē necesse habuerīs (Cicero) │ Do
not consider it necessary
Nē Apellae quidem dīxerīs (Cicero) │ Do
not even tell Apella
Cavē quicquam, nisi quod rogābō tē, mihi responderīs
(plautus) │ Mind you don't give me any reply except what I
ask
Plural:
Nē vōs quidem mortem timuerītis (Cicero)
│ Do not even fear death
[3] Other negative words + subjunctive
Sometimes other
negatives replace nē:
Tū illī nihil dīxerīs
(Cicero) │ Say nothing to her
Dē mē nihil
timuerīs (Cicero) │ Do not be afraid for me
Nec mihi illud dīxerīs (Cicero) │ And do
not say this to me
[4] cavē(te) +
present subjunctive
The verb caveō,
cavēre (“beware”) can form negative commands with the present subjunctive:
Cavē festinēs │ Don’t hurry
Cavē aliquid dīcās │ Don’t say
anything
Cavē aliter faciās (Cicero) │ Be
careful not to do otherwise
Bibliothēcam tuam
cavē cuīquam dēspondeās (Cicero) │ Be sure you don’t promise
your library to anyone
Librōs vērō tuōs cavē
cuiquam trādās (Cicero) │ Be sure you don’t hand your books
over to anybody
Tū Antōnī leōnēs
pertimēscās cavē (Cicero) │ Don’t be too afraid of
Antony’s lions
Sed cavē …
existimēs mē … abiēcisse cūram rēī pūblicae (Cicero) │ But do not
think that I have abandoned concern for the Republic
Cavēte rūmōrēs crēdulitāte vestrā ālātis (Livy)
│ Take care that you do not nourish rumors by your gullibility
KEY POINTS: prohibition;
negative jussive; cavē
- nōlī(te) + infinitive: simple negative command
- nē + subjunctive: negative jussive; “let him/her/them not…”; can use present or perfect subjunctive
- other negatives: emphasize prohibition or restriction
- cavē(te) + subjunctive: “beware” constructions
The video provides
an overview of the different ways in which prohibitions or negative commands
can be expressed in Latin.
It is important to note that Latin sometimes expresses these ideas in other ways—for example, nē + the indicative may appear in poetry or early Latin. However, for the purposes of this discussion, the focus should remain on the use of the subjunctive to express prohibitions, rather than being sidetracked by less common forms.
No comments:
Post a Comment