bis, f., the common people, populace, plebeians (plebs, plebe, plebeian, plebiscite)Conditions are among the most common sentence types, others being “declarative,” “interrogative,” and “exclamatory.” You have encountered numerous conditional sentences in your Latin readings already, and so you are aware that the basic sentence of this type consists of two clauses: 1) the “condition” (or “protasis,” Gk. for proposition or premise), a subordinate clause usually introduced by sī, if, or nisi, if not or unless, and stating a hypothetical action or circumstance, and 2) the “conclusion” (or “apodosis,” Gk. for outcome or result), the main clause, which expresses the anticipated outcome if the premise turns out to be true.
There are six basic conditional types; three have their verbs in the indicative, three in the subjunctive, and the reason is simple. While all conditional sentences, by their very nature, describe actions in the past, present, or future that are to one extent or another hypothetical, the indicative was employed in those where the condition was more likely to be realized, the subjunctive in those where the premise was either less likely to be realized or where both the condition and the conclusion were absolutely contrary to the actual facts of a situation. Study carefully the following summary, learning the names of each of the six conditional types, how to recognize them, and the standard formulae for translation.
Simple fact present: Sī id facit, prūdēns est. If he is doing this [and it is quite possible that he is], he is wise. Present indicative in both clauses; translate verbs as present indicatives.
Simple fact past: Sī id fēcit, prūdēns fuit. If he did this [and quite possibly he did], he was wise. Past tense (perfect or imperfect) indicative in both clauses; translate verbs as past indicatives.
Simple fact future (sometimes called “future more vivid”): Sī id faciet, prūdēns erit. If he does (will do) this [and quite possibly he will], he will be wise. Future indicative in both clauses; translate the verb in the protasis as a present tense (here Eng. “if” + the present has a future sense), the verb in the conclusion as a future. (Occasionally the future perfect is used, in either or both clauses, with virtually the same sense as the future: see S.A. 8 and “B.Y.O.B.” line 3, p. 231.)
The indicative conditions deal with potential facts; the subjunctive conditions are ideal rather than factual, describing circumstances that are either, in the case of the “future less vivid,” somewhat less likely to be realized or less vividly imagined or, in the case of the two “contrary to fact” types, opposite to what actually is happening or has happened in the past.
Contrary to fact present: Sī id faceret, prūdēns esset. If he were doing this [but in fact he is not], he would be wise [but he is not]. Imperfect subjunctive in both clauses; translate with auxiliaries were (… ing) and would (be).
Contrary to fact past: Sī id fēcisset, prūdēns fuisset. If he had done this [but he did not], he would have been wise [but he was not]. Pluperfect subjunctive in both clauses; translate with auxiliaries had and would have.
Future less vivid (sometimes called “should-would”): Sī id faciat, prūdēns sit. If he should do this [and he may, or he may not], he would be wise. Present subjunctive in both clauses; translate with auxiliaries should and would.
There are occasional variants on these six basic types, i.e., use of the imperative in the apodosis, “mixed conditions” with different tenses or moods in the protasis and apodosis, different introductory words (e.g., dum), etc., but those are easily dealt with in context.
Classify each of the following conditions.
Sī hoc dīcet, errābit; if he says this, he will be wrong.
Sī hoc dīcit, errat; if he says this, he is wrong.
Sī hoc dīxisset, errāvisset; if he had said this, he would have been wrong.
Sī hoc dīcat, erret; if he should say this, he would be wrong.
Sī hoc dīceret, errāret; if he were saying this, he would be wrong.
Sī veniat, hoc videat; if he should come, he would see this.
Sī vēnit, hoc vīdit; if he came, he saw this.
Sī venīret, hoc vidēret; if he were coming, he would see this.
Sī veniet, hoc vidēbit; if he comes, he will see this.
Sī vēnisset, hoc vīdisset; if he had come, he would have seen this.
inítium, -iī, n., beginning, commencement (initial, initiate, initiation)
ops, ópis, f., help, aid; ópēs, ópum, pl., power, resources, wealth (opulent, opulence; cp. cōpia, from con- + ops)
philōsophus, -ī, m., and philósopha, -ae, f., philosopher (philosophy, philosophical)
plēbs, plbis, f., the common people, populace, plebeians (plebs, plebe, plebeian, plebiscite)
sāl, sális, m., salt; wit (salad, salami, salary, salina, saline, salify, salimeter, salinometer, sauce, sausage)
spéculum, -ī, n., mirror (speculate, speculation; cp. spectō, Ch. 34)
quis, quid, after sī, nisi, nē, num, indef. pron., anyone, anything, someone, something (cp. quis? quid? quisque, quisquis)
cándidus, -a, -um, shining, bright, white; beautiful (candescent, candid, candidate, candor, incandescent, candle, chandelier)
mérus, -a, -um, pure, undiluted (mere, merely)
su
vis, suve, sweet (suave, suaveness, suavity, suasion, dissuade, persuasion; cp. persuādeō, Ch. 35)
-ve, conj. suffixed to a word = aut before the word (cp. -que), or
heu, interj., ah!, alas! (a sound of grief or pain)
súbitō, adv., suddenly (sudden, suddenness)
rec
sō (1), to refuse (recuse, recusant; cp. causa)
trdō, -dere, -didī, -ditum (trāns + dō), to give over, surrender, hand down, transmit, teach (tradition, traditional, traitor, treason)
Dummodo exercitus opem mox ferat, moenia urbis celeriter cōnservāre poterimus.
Cum cōnsilia hostium ab initiō cognōvissēs, prīmō tamen ōllum auxilium offerre aut etiam centum mīlitēs prōmittere nōluistī.
Sī dīvitiae et invidia nōs ab amōre et honōre ūsque prohibent, dīvitēsne vērē sumus?
Pauper quidem nōn erit pār cēterīs nisi scientiam ingeniumve habēbit; sī haec habeat, autem, multī magnopere invideant.
Nisi īnsidiae patērent, ferrum eius maximē timērēmus.
Sī quis rogābit quid nunc discās, refer tē artem nōn mediocrem sed ūtilissimam ac difficillimam discere.
Lēgēs ita scrībantur ut dīvitēs et plēbs—etiam pauper sine asse—sint parēs.
Sī custōdiae dūriōrēs fortiōrēsque ad casam tuam contendissent, heu, numquam tanta scelera suscēpissēs et hī omnēs nōn occidissent.
Illa fēmina sapientissima, cum id semel cognōvisset, ad eōs celerrimē sē contulit et omnēs opēs suās praebuit.
Dūrum exsilium tam ācrem mentem ūnō annō mollīre nōn poterit.
Propter omnēs rūmōrēs pessimōs (quī nōn erant vērī), nātae suāvēs eius magnopere dolēbant et dormīre nōn poterant.
If those philosophers should come soon, you would be happier.
If you had not answered very wisely, they would have hesitated to offer us peace.
If anyone does these three things well, he will live better.
If you were willing to read better books, you would most certainly learn more.
Sī vīs pācem, parā bellum. (Flavius Vegetius.—parā, prepare for.)
Arma sunt parvī pretiī, nisi vērō cōnsilium est in patriā. (Cicero.—pretium, -iī, value.)
Salūs omnium ūnā nocte certē āmissa esset, nisi illa sevēritās contrā istōs suscepta esset. (Cicero.—sevēritās, -tātis.)
Sī quid dē mē posse agī putābis, id agēs—sī tū ipse ab istō perīculō eris līber. (Cicero.)
Sī essem mihi cōnscius ūllīus culpae, aequō animō hoc malum ferrem. (Phaedrus.—cōnscius, -a, -um, conscious.)
Dīcis tē vērē mālle forūnam et mōrēs antīquae plēbis; sed sī quis ad illa subitō tē agat, illum modum vītae recūsēs. (Horace.)
Minus saepe errēs, sī sciās quid nesciās. (Publilius Syrus.)
Dīcēs “heu” sī tē in speculō vīderis. (Horace.)
Nīl habet īnfēlīx paupertās dūrius in sē quam quod rīdiculōs hominēs facit. (*Juvenal.—nīl = nihil.—quod, the fact that.)
Cēnābis bene, mī Fabulle, apud mē
paucīs (sī tibi dī favent) diēbus—
sī tēcum attuleris bonam atque magnam
cēnam, nōn sine candidā puellā
et vīnō et sale et omnibus cachinnīs;
haec sī, inquam, attuleris, venuste noster,
cēnābis bene; nam tuī Catullī
plēnus sacculus est arāneārum.
Sed contrā accipiēs merōs amōrēs,
10 seu quid suāvius ēlegantiusve est:
nam unguentum dabo, quod meae puellae
dōnārunt Venerēs Cupīdinēsque;
quod tū cum olfaciēs, deōs rogābis,
tōtum ut tē faciant, Fabulle, nāsum.
(*Catullus 13; meter: hendecasyllabic. The poet invites a friend to dinner, but there’s a hitch and a BIG surprise.—favēre + dat., to be favorable toward, favor.—cachinna, -ae, laugh, laughter.—venustus, -a, -um, charming.—sacculus, -ī, money-bag, wallet.—arānea, -ae, spiderweb.—contrā, here adv., on the other hand, in return.—seu, conj., or.—ēlegāns, gen. ēlegantis.—unguentum, -ī, salve, perfume.—dabo: remember that -ō was often shortened in verse.—dōnārunt = dōnāvērunt, from dōnāre, to give.—Venus, -neris, f., and Cupīdo, -dinis, m.; Venus and Cupid, pl. here to represent all the fostering powers of Love.—quod … olfaciēs = cum tū id olfaciēs.—olfaciō, -ere, to smell.—For formal discussion of the “jussive noun” clause deōs rogābis … ut … faciant, easily translated here, see Ch. 36.—tōtum … nāsum, from nāsūs, -ī, nose, objective complement with tē; the wide separation of adj. and noun suggests the cartoon-like enormity of the imagined schnoz!)
Semper pauper eris, sī pauper es, Aemiliāne:
dantur opēs nūllī nunc nisi dīvitibus.
(*Martial 5.81.; meter: elegiac couplet.—Aemiliānus, -ī.)
An Philippus, rēx Macedonum, voluisset Alexandrō, fīliō suō, prīma elementa litterārum trādī ab Aristotele, summō eius aetātis philosophō, aut hic suscēpisset illud maximum officium, nisi initia studiōrum pertinēre ad summam sapientissimē crēdidisset?
(Quintilian, Īnstitūtiōnēs Ōrātōriae 1.1.23.—an, interrog. conj., or, can it be that.—Macedonēs, -donum, m./f. pl., Macedonians.—Aristotelēs, -telis.—pertinēre ad, to relate to, affect.—summa, -ae, highest part, whole.)
Cum Quīntus Fabius Maximus magnō cōnsiliō Tarentum fortissimē recēpisset et Salīnātor (quī in arce fuerat, urbe āmissā) dīxisset, “Meā operā, Quīnte Fabī, Tarentum recēpistī,” Fabius, mē audiente, “Certē,” inquit rīdēns, “nam nisi tū urbem āmīsissēs, numquam eam recēpissem.”
(Cicero, Dē Senectūte 4.11.—During the second Punic War, Tarentum revolted from the Romans to Hannibal, though the Romans under Marcus Livius Salinator continued to hold the citadel throughout this period. In 209 B.C. the city was recaptured by Quintus Fabius Maximus.—Tarentum -ī, a famous city in southern Italy (which the Romans called Magna Graecia).—meā operā, thanks to me.)
2. price, precious, prize, praise, appraise, appreciate, depreciate. 3. severe, persevere, perseverance, asseverate. 5. conscious, unconscious, conscience.
“B.Y.O.B.”: favorite, disfavor.—cachinnate, cachinnation.—sack, satchel.—araneid.—elegance, elegantly.—unguent, unguentary.—donate, donation, donor.—olfaction, olfactory, olfactometer, olfactronics.—nasal, nasalize, nasalization; “nose,” “nostril,” and “nozzle” are cognate. “Aristotle”: pertain, pertinent, pertinacity, purtenance, appertain, appurtenance, impertinent, impertinence.—sum, summary, summation.
Salvēte! Here are some well known conditions: sī nātūra negat, facit indignātiō versum, if nature denies (i.e., if my talent is lacking), indignation creates my verse (so said the satirist Juvenal, who had plenty of both!); sī fortūna iuvat; sī fēcistī, negā! (a lawyer’s advice); sī Deus nōbīscum, quis contrā nōs (the verbs are left out, but the meaning is clear); sī post fāta venit glōria, nōn properō, if glory comes (only) after death, I’m in no hurry! (Martial); sī sīc omnēs, freely, a wistful “if only everything were like this” (or does it really mean “all on the boat became ill”?!!).
Ex vocābulāriō novō quoque: well, to start “from the beginning,” the phrase ab initiō is quite common in Eng.; those running for political office in Rome wore the toga candida, white toga, hence Eng. “candidate.” The Romans called undiluted wine merum (which the bibulous merely imbibed!); ope et cōnsiliō is a good way to manage life. The expression “with a grain of salt” comes from Lat. cum grānō salis; sāl Atticum is dry Athenian wit; and “salary” is also from sāl, a package of which was part of a Roman soldier’s pay (we “bring home the [salty] bacon,” Romans brought home the salt!). Art is a speculum vītae. If you remember how to form adverbs from adjectives, then you can decipher the proverb suāviter in modō, fortiter in rē, a good mode for the Latin teacher; and if you read music, you may have seen subitō, a musical annotation meaning quickly.
Hope you enjoy these closing miscellānea (from miscellāneus, -a, -um, varied, mixed), and here’s one reason why: sī fīnis bonus est, tōtum bonum erit, an old proverb, a “mixed condition,” and familiar vocabulary, so I’ll give you the free version, “All’s well that ends well (including this chapter)!”: et vōs omnēs, quoque valeātis!