29.08.26: 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

29.08.26: 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.

28.08.26: 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.

27.08.26: Level 2 (review); Carolus et Maria [33] (1) comprehension [1]

PART ONE

Paucīs ante diēbus Iūlia epistulam accēpit. Amīca Iūliae quae in urbe habitat eam vidēre maximē vult. Itaque māter Carolī et Mariae ad tēctum amīcae invītātur. Laeta est quod diū amīcam nōn vīdit. Quamquam via est longa et paucōs diēs aberit, iter facere cōnstituit.

Tandem omnia sunt parāta et Iūlia ā casā discēdit et ad urbem prōcēdit. Nunc nēmō est in casā. Omnēs absunt. Pater in nāvigiō est. Per noctēs Carolus cum Cassiō, Maria cum Helenā manet. Itaque nocte nēmō domī est. “Eruntne omnia tūta?” rogat Maria. “Ita,” respondet māter, quod Claudius saepe hūc ex oppidō veniet et casam dēfendet. Nōn est necesse timēre. Deinde iānuam casae claudit.

[i] When did Julia receive a letter? (1)

[ii] What does the letter say? (2)

[iii] Why is she happy? (2)

[iv] How do we know she is determined to see her? (3)

[v] Why is nobody in the house at night? (4)

[vi]What does Maria ask? (1)

[vii] Why does the mother say there’s no need to be afraid? (2)

____________________

[i] a few days ago (1)

[ii] Her friend in the city (1) very much wants to see her (1).

[iii] She has not seen her friend (1) for a long time (1).

[iv] She decides to make the journey (1) although the road is long (1) and she will be away for a few days (1).

[v] Julia leaves for the city (1); the father is away on a ship; (1) Carolus stays with Cassius (1); Maria stays with Helena (1)

[vi] “Will everything be safe?”

[vii] Claudius will often come from the town (1) and defend the house (1).

26.08.26: Level 1 (review); vocabulary [10]: actions (1)

[1] Which of the following are related to:

(a) sight

(b) touch

(c) smell

(d) taste

(e) hearing

(f) speech

(g) positive emotional reactions

(h) negative emotional reactions

(i) mental processes

amō

audiō

auscultō

bibō

clāmō

cōgitō

dīcō

doleō

edō

fleō

gaudeō

gustō

lacrimō

loquor

metuō

olfaciō

pōtō

rīdeō

sapiō

spectō

subrīdeō

tangō

timeō

videō

____________________

(a) sight: videō, spectō

(b) touch: tangō

(c) smell: olfaciō

(d) taste: gustō, sapiō, edō, bibō, pōtō

(e) hearing: audiō, auscultō

(f) speech: loquor, dīcō, clāmō

(g) positive emotional reactions: rīdeō, subrīdeō, gaudeō, amō

(h) negative emotional reactions: lacrimō, fleō, doleō, timeō, metuō

(i) mental processes: cōgitō