DeepLang

Causal clauses: quod, quia, siquidem, cum, quippe

Clauses that give a reason: quod, quia "because", quoniam, siquidem "since, for", cum + subjunctive "since", quippe "for, of course".

quod, quia + indicative give the writer's own reason, "because". With the subjunctive the reason is someone else's, or one being rejected: "on the grounds that", "not because". A word like ideo, eo, propterea "for this reason" in the main clause often announces the clause.

siquidem usually means "since, for": siquidem ad mutuas operas nati sumus "for we are born to work together". It can also mean "if indeed": siquidem Dii sunt "if indeed there are gods".

quippe "for, naturally"; quippe qui + subjunctive "since he, inasmuch as he". cum + subjunctive "since" (see clauses with cum).

quod is not always causal: it may be the relative "which" (look for a neuter antecedent), or mean "the fact that, in that" (quod in alterum … transmutatur "in that each changes into another").

Examples

  • siquidem ad mutuas operas nati sumus 2.1for we are born to work together
  • qui vero per cupidinem delinquit, quia voluptate vincitur 2.10but he who does wrong through desire, because he is overcome by pleasure
  • cum hoc duntaxat habeat 2.14since this is all he has
  • secundum naturam quippe fit 2.17for it happens according to nature

In the text 74

  • I.16 utpote cum is esset, qui non ad celebritatem ex rebus a se gestis acquirendam, sed id duntaxat quod facto erat opus, respiceret.
  • I.17 Deis acceptum fero, quod bonos avos, bonos parentes, bonam sororem, bonos praeceptores, bonos familiares, necessarios, amicos, bona omnia fere habuerim.This quod 'that' begins a list that fills the whole section: every item after it is another quod clause depending on Deis acceptum fero, though Marcus never repeats those words (twice he varies them, with numinis beneficio factum est and ab eisdem fuit). So each quod that opens a new item means 'that I owe to the gods …'.
  • II.1 ego vero, cum et naturam boni norim, quod honestum, malique, quod inhonestum sit, ipsamque adeo delinquentis naturam, quod congener mihi sit, non tam quod sanguinis seminisque ejusdem, quam quod mentis ac portionis divinae mecum particeps;
  • II.1 siquidem ad mutuas operas nati sumus; quo modo pedes, manus, palpebrae, dentium superiorum inferiorumque ordines.siquidem "since indeed, for" gives the reason for what has just been said.
  • II.5 Vides, quam pauca sint, quae siquis tenuerit, prosperam ac divinam propemodum vitam degere detur. siquidem et dii ipsi nihil amplius exigent ab eo, ista qui observaverit.siquidem 'since' gives a reason; et here means 'even'. This clause is indicative because it is the writer's own comment, outside the indirect question.
  • II.7 nugas siquidem agunt actuosi haud pauci, dum vitam agendo conterunt, sed scopum, ad quem conatus suos cogitationesque omnes dirigant, sibi propositum nullum habent.nugas agere, literally 'to do trifles', means 'to waste effort on nonsense'. siquidem 'for indeed' gives the reason for the warning. haud pauci 'not a few' means 'many'; actuosi 'busy (people)' is an adjective used as a noun.
  • II.8 Vix, aut ne vix quidem quisquam, ideo infeliciter agere deprehensus est, quia in alienis animis quid ageretur non animadverterit.ideo … quia 'for this reason … because'. quia takes the subjunctive animadverterit because the reason is not the writer's own but one he rejects: no one is unhappy for that reason. The indicative would state a real reason.
  • II.10 qui vero per cupidinem delinquit, quia voluptate vincitur, intemperantior quodammodo, et in peccando effoeminatior videtur.
  • II.14 praesens siquidem tempus est omnibus aequale: et quod amittitur ergo, aequale est omnibus.
  • II.14 praesens siquidem duntaxat uterque tempus amittit, cum hoc duntaxat habeat, nec amittere possit quis, quod non habet.
  • II.17 secundum naturam quippe fit. nihil est autem malum, quod est naturae consentaneum.secundum + accusative is the preposition "according to" (not the ordinal "second"). quippe "for, since" gives the reason; the subject of fit "happens" (from fieri) is the change and dissolution just mentioned.
  • III.1 Festinandum itaque, non hac sola ratione, quia mortem propius per momenta singula acceditur, sed hac insuper, quia rerum cogitatus et intellectus ante mortem nos saepenumero destituit.hac … ratione is an ablative of cause, "for this reason", and each quia "because" says what the reason is: "not only for this reason, because …, but for this one besides, because …". With the second hac supply ratione.
  • III.2 quia tamen rebus naturalibus adnascuntur, et ornatum illis adjiciunt, et contemplantium quoque animos afficiunt.
  • III.3 an non enim praestantius est id quod inservit? cum alter mens et genius, alter limus et sanies sit?
  • III.4 Vir ita compositus, quo minus in optimorum numero censeatur, jam nihil est, cum deorum sacerdos ac minister quidam existat, eoque quod intra se gerit, numine rite utatur.Causal cum "since" governs two subjunctives, existat and, after the comma, utatur. existere here is little more than "to be". quidam "a certain" softens the metaphor: "a kind of priest and minister".
  • III.6 bono siquidem rationali et publicum spectante nihil extraneum exadversum consistere fas est; vulgi, puta, existimationem, principatus, divitias, aut vitam voluptuariam.
  • IV.3 siquidem et terra tota puncti instar habet; hujusque ipsius angulus quam exiguus incolitur;
  • IV.5 cum nihil subsit, quod animali intellectu praedito non congruat, vel constitutionis ejusdem rationi repugnet.
  • IV.12 veruntamen sententiae mutatio ista niti semper debet probabilitate aliqua, vel justum esse, vel in publicum utile, vel aliud hujusmodi, id ad quod transitur, non autem quod jucundum aut gloriosum existat.non quod with the subjunctive gives a reason only to reject it: "not because it is pleasant or glorious". The subjunctive marks it as a reason someone might give, not the true one.
  • IV.21 et tamen capit haec omnia locus iste, dum partim in sanguinem, partim in aeriam, igneamque naturam transmutantur.dum with the present here means "in that, since" rather than "while": the place holds them all because they are changed. partim … partim is "partly … partly". aeriam igneamque naturam "an airy and fiery nature": food becomes blood, breath and bodily heat.
  • IV.24 siquidem id agendo fiet, ut nec actiones consequantur supervacaneae.
  • IV.46 item nihil tanquam per somnum agendum, dicendumve. siquidem dormientes quoque multa agere, et dicere videmur.
  • IV.46 sed nec puerorum instar quicquam agendum, hoc est, ex mera traditionis ratione, quia a parentibus sic accepimus.The children's answer is given in their own words, in the first person: "because we have received it so from our parents". accipere is the usual word for receiving a teaching or custom handed down.
  • IV.49 Infelicem me, inquit ille, quod mihi istud contigerit.An accusative of exclamation: Latin puts the person exclaimed over in the accusative, as in me miserum! "wretched me!", so Infelicem me is "unlucky me!". The quod clause gives the reason, "that this has happened to me"; contigerit is subjunctive because the reason is given as the speaker sees it. inquit ille "says that man" means "someone says".
  • IV.49 imo, felicem me, quod etiamsi contigerit, nil doleam tamen, nec aut praesentibus frangar, aut futura reformidem.imo (usually spelled immo) corrects what has just been said: "no, rather". Marcus answers the complaint with a second accusative of exclamation, felicem me "lucky me", and a new reason in quod: not that it happened, but that I bear it without grief. doleam, frangar and reformidem are subjunctive for the same reason as contigerit before.
  • V.1 siquidem artes suas qui diligunt artifices, earundem operibus etiam intabescunt, illuvie inediaque affecti.
  • V.6 siquidem et illi rationis specie quadam probabili abducuntur.
  • V.8 siquidem et ibi coordinavit illud, sensum hunc habet, acsi diceretur, hoc ad illud ordinavit, tanquam quod ad ejusdem sanitatem conducat:
  • V.8 multa siquidem et in illis aspera sunt, quae sanitatis spe tamen libenter admittimus.
  • V.8 eodemque modo, quicquid evenerit, quamvis asperius visum fuerit, libens admittito, quandoquidem ad mundi integritatem Jovisque prosperitatem atque felicitatem ferat.quandoquidem "since" gives the reason for accepting; its verb ferat is subjunctive because the reason belongs to the command. ferre ad "to lead to, tend to" is another use of fero. integritas "soundness, wholeness" is a health word, like the doctor's sanitas; Jovis is the genitive of Jupiter, here the god who governs the whole.
  • V.8 altera, quod tibi natum, et tibi coordinatum, et ad te quodammodo affectum est, a caussis antiquissimis retro tibi contextum.
  • V.8 altera, quod universi gubernatori prosperitatis et consummationis, atque adeo permansionis ipsius procurandae ex parte caussa sit.In this second quod clause the verb is subjunctive (sit); in the first it was indicative (est). The subjunctive presents the reason as one put forward for you to weigh. caussa "a cause" governs the genitives before it.
  • V.33 siquidem res sensui subjectae, mutari pronae, et consistere nesciae; sensus ipsi hebetes et imagines falsas admittere proclives:
  • V.36 num ergo et te fatuum esse necesse est, quia illi sunt?
  • VI.23 Animantibus, adeoque omnibus in universum rebus ac subjectis rationis exortibus, utpote ratione praeditus ipse qui sis, magno liberoque utaris animo.
  • VI.23 homines vero, cum rationis sint tecum participes, tanquam societate tibi conjunctos, habeas.cum with the subjunctive here gives the reason: "since they share reason with you". particeps "sharing in" takes the genitive: rationis participes "sharers in reason".
  • VI.42 siquidem rector ille universi omnino te probe utetur, teque in operariorum operasque mutuas conferentium partem recipiet.
  • VII.7 quid ergo, si ad propugnaculum ascendere solus, quia claudus es, nequeas, ab altero vero adjutus possis?
  • VII.9 siquidem et perfectio una animantium sibi invicem congenerum, ejusdemque rationis participum.siquidem "if indeed, since" gives the ground for what was said; est is again understood, and et here means "also": "since there is also one perfection".
  • VII.13 ad mutuas enim rei eidem conficiendae operas conferendas nata sunt utraque.
  • VII.38 Nam neutiquam hominem rebus irasci decet! Nil quippe curant ipsae.quippe "for indeed" gives the reason. ipsae "they themselves" is feminine plural because it means res "things": things do not care at all, so anger at them is wasted. nil is the short form of nihil.
  • VII.61 Ars vivendi est luctatoriae quam saltatoriae similior. cum in hoc sit posita, ut adversus contingentia improvisa in procinctu semper quis ac immotus consistat.
  • VII.68 siquidem quicquid contingit, vel ad hominem spectat vel ad Deum, nec aut novum est, aut tractatu difficile, sed familiare et facile.
  • VIII.1 siquidem cum aliis haud paucis, tum et tibiipsi compertum est, a philosophia longe te abesse.
  • VIII.3 isti siquidem res ipsas perspectas habebant, formasque earundem et materias.
  • VIII.15 Memineris, aeque turpe esse mirari quenquam tanquam de re insueta, quod ea mundus, quorum ferax est, profert; ac mirari quenquam, quod ficus ficus ferat, aut mirari medicum, quod quis febricitaverit, gubernatorem, quod ventus adversus flaverit.quod "that, because" gives what one wonders at. ea "those things" is the object of profert and the antecedent of quorum; ferax "fruitful" takes a genitive: "the things it is fruitful in", what the world bears by nature.
  • VIII.47 pari modo, si anxium te habet, quia hoc aut illud quod rectum tibi videtur, non facis, cur non facere potius quam angi velis?
  • VIII.50 ludibrio enim futurus es homini scientiae naturalis perito, perinde ac fabro aut sutori, si huic vitio verteres, quod eorum quae conficit ramenta ac segmenta in officina ejus cerneres.
  • IX.1 a natura siquidem subsidia jam olim acceperat, quibus neglectis factum est, ut falsa a veris nunc dignoscere nequeat.siquidem "for, since" gives the reason why even the unwitting liar is to blame. The pluperfect acceperat "he had received" reaches back behind his present state: long since (jam olim) nature had given him the subsidia "aids, resources" for telling truth from falsehood, that is, reason and the power of judgement.
  • IX.9 cum omni vero, qui istic est, igni adeo simul accendi proclivis est, ut materia omnis siccior paulo incendi prompta admodum sit, eo quod minus sibi admixtum habeat, quod incendium prohibeat.eo quod "for this reason, that" means "because". minus "less" is a neuter comparative used as a noun, the object of habeat: "it has less mixed in with itself"; what it has less of, the relative clause after it says. habeat is subjunctive because it stands inside the result clause.
  • IX.26 Innumera perpessus es, quia non didicisti mente tua contentus esse agente ea ad quae condita est, sed ad alia eadem abuteris.
  • IX.28 siquidem qui mutationes et alterationes fluctuum instar sibi invicem supervenientes, et vicissitudinum harum celeritatem consideraverit, nae ille mortale quicquid est despectui habebit.
  • IX.31 hoc est; intentio tua actioque omnis hunc solum sibi finem propositum habeat, ut ad societatem humanam quod conducat fecerit, utpote quod naturae tuae consentaneum existat.utpote quod "as being something which", like utpote qui, gives a reason and takes the subjunctive: such action is what agrees with your nature. existere here means little more than esse "to be"; Gataker often uses it so. consentaneus takes the dative naturae tuae.
  • IX.42 tu vide, annon te potius incusare debeas, quod non expectaveris fore, ut hoc ille delinqueret;
  • IX.42 quodque cum ratio occasiones tibi justas suppeditet cogitandi, probabile esse illum hoc esse admissurum, tum tamen hoc oblitus, admisisse illum admiraris.
  • IX.42 peccatum enim proculdubio est tuum, sive quod hominem sic affectum credidisti fidem tibi servaturum, sive beneficium cum dares, quod non absolute dedisti nec tanquam qui totum actionis tuae fructum jam statim percepisses.
  • X.1 utpote quae ad salutem faciant animantis perfecti, probi, justi, honesti, quod cuncta ista, quae ut alia similia indidem oriuntur, dissolvuntur, generet, contineat, ambiat, complectatur?utpote quae "inasmuch as they" gives a reason, with the subjunctive. facere ad is "to make for, be good for": the gifts of the gods serve salutem animantis "the welfare of the living being".
  • X.6 siquidem ista recordatus; quatenus pars sum totius, nihil aegre feram ab universo mihi attributum.
  • X.6 cum hoc naturae omnes in commune sortiantur: mundi vero natura et hoc amplius obtineat, quod a nulla caussa externa cogi possit, ut sibi ipsi noxium quicquam producat.
  • X.7 praesertim, alia ut mittam, cum in eadem ipsa resolvatur unumquodque, ex quibus constiterat.praesertim cum "especially since" brings in the strongest reason, with the phrase alia ut mittam set between the two words. Nothing is lost when a thing is broken up: it goes back in eadem ipsa … ex quibus constiterat "into the very things out of which it had been composed".
  • X.25 idem est et qui ideo angitur, vel irascitur, vel metuit, quod secus, quam ipse velit, aut factum sit, aut fiat, aut futurum sit eorum quicquam, quae ab universi rectore sunt constituta,idem est "is the same", that is, a runaway too; the antecedent of qui is again left out. ideo … quod "for this reason … that": ideo points ahead to the quod clause, which gives the cause of his distress, anger or fear. angitur is passive, "is tormented, is distressed".
  • X.29 Considerata seorsim, quam instituis, re omni, percontare te, num ideo mors gravis habenda sit, quia ea te privet.
  • X.33 siquidem cylindro quidem non conceditur, ut motu proprio ubique feratur; sed nec aquae, nec igni, nec alii rei cuiquam, quae a natura mera, vel anima regitur irrationali.
  • XI.6 cum viderint non posse haec aliter transigi, et quod perferant ea etiam illi qui exclamant, Eheu, Cithaeron.
  • XI.20 siquidem et ista ad communionem tuendam faciunt; imo actionibus justis antiquiora sunt.
  • XI.25 Perdiccae accersenti excusabat se Socrates; ne pessimo, inquit, exitio peream, cum gratiam collatam referre nequeam.cum with the subjunctive here means "since". gratiam referre "to bring back a favour" is the idiom for repaying a kindness (not "to give thanks", which is gratias agere). collatam, from confero "bestow", is "conferred (on me)". nequeo "I cannot" is conjugated like eo.
  • XI.27 astri siquidem velamentum nullum est.Literally "of a star there is no covering": a star has no veil. siquidem "for, since" gives the reason for nuditatem. The star, open to all eyes, is the image of a soul with nothing to conceal.
  • XI.30 Cum liber haud sis, jus loquendi non habes.A line from a Greek tragedy whose author is not known, spoken to a slave: "a slave born, you have no share in speech". Gataker turns it into Latin prose. cum with the subjunctive means "since"; liber is the adjective "free", not liber "book". jus loquendi "the right of speaking" uses the gerund of the deponent loquor: free speech belonged to the free. Marcus quotes it without comment.
  • XI.39 quare ergo non quaeritis? quia jam habemus. cur ergo pugnatis et contenditis invicem?quaeritis and habemus have no object written: "why do you not seek (such souls)?" "Because we have (them) already." quare "for what reason" and cur both mean "why".
  • XII.23 Operatio unaquaeque, quae tempore suo desinit, nihil inde mali patitur, quia desiit:
  • XII.23 pari ergo modo actionum omnium complexio, quae vita dicitur, si tempore suo desierit, nihil inde quicquam mali patitur, quia desiit.
  • XII.23 proinde vitae cessatio non est malum cuiquam, quia nec inhonestum: siquidem nec optionis sit nostrae, nec communitatis legibus adversetur.
  • XII.23 imo bonum est; siquidem universo tempestivum, eidemque conducens et congruum.
  • XII.28 pari igitur ratione et Deos, cum eorum potentiam jugiter experiar, propterea et esse compertum habeo et veneror.Here cum with the subjunctive is causal: "since I continually experience their power". propterea "for that reason" then picks the cause up again.