Concessive clauses: etiamsi, quamvis, cum

Clauses meaning "although" or "even if": etiamsi, etsi, tametsi, quamquam, quamvis, licet, and cum with the subjunctive; the main clause often has tamen.

Examples

• Etiamsi ter mille annos victurus esses, et totidem insuper myriadas, illud tamen meminisse debes 2.14Even if you were going to live three thousand years, and as many tens of thousands besides, you must still remember this
• cum is sponte sua ad laedendum feratur 2.10whereas the other rushes of his own accord to do harm

In the text 54

• I.9 et mores quibusvis accommodatos, ita ut quamvis consuetudo ipsius adulationem omnem suavitate vicerit, in veneratione tamen eisdem ipsis eodem ipso tempore non minus extiterit.
• I.13 A Catulo, ne insuper haberem amicorum querimonias, etiamsi ratio earum nulla subesset, sed in statum ipsos pristinum restituere anniterer:"Even if no reason lay beneath them", i.e. even if the complaints were groundless. earum "of them, for them" looks back to querimonias, and subesse "to lie beneath" stands without a dative. The subjunctive comes from its place inside the ne clause.
• I.16 quod affectum adversus se pariter semper deprehendebant, etiamsi occasione aliqua impediti, eum neutiquam essent comitati.etiamsi "even if" with the pluperfect subjunctive essent comitati (deponent comitor): "even if they had not gone with him at all". impediti "kept back" agrees with the friends, the subject.
• I.17 tum quod adversus neminem eorum temere aliquid deliquerim, etiamsi ita affectus fuerim, ut, si occasio incidisset, ejusmodi aliquid admisissem.
• I.17 quod mater mea, quamvis juvenis esset decessura, mecum tamen novissimos aetatis annos transegerit.quamvis 'although' takes the subjunctive. esset decessura is the future participle of decedo 'depart, die' with esse: 'she was going to die, was destined to die', so 'although she was to die young'. His mother was Domitia Lucilla.
• II.14 Etiamsi ter mille annos victurus esses, et totidem insuper myriadas, illud tamen meminisse debes, nec ullam aliam vitam ab ea, quam degit, amittere quenquam; nec aliam ab ea, quam amittit, degere.
• III.2 attamen intercisa et hiantia ista, quamvis ab artis pistoriae instituto aliena, decoris speciem quandam prae se ferunt, et comedendi desiderium suo modo irritant.quamvis "although" here has no verb of its own: supply sint, "although (they are) foreign to the purpose of the baker's craft". alienus ab with the ablative is "foreign to, out of keeping with": the cracks are no part of what the baker meant to make.
• IV.27 idque rebus omnibus ita quanquam discretis ac diffusis, conspirantibus tamen.
• IV.39 etiamsi, quod huic proximum est, corpusculum secetur, uratur, suppuretur, putrescat, quiescat tamen pars ea quae de istis opinatur.etiamsi "even if" takes the subjunctive because the case is only imagined: "even if (the body) should be cut, burned, fester, rot". The four verbs follow one another without "and". secetur and uratur are the surgeon's knife and cautery; suppuretur "festers" is passive in form only.
• IV.49 Promontorii par esto, cui fluctus jugiter cum allidantur, ipsum tamen consistit, undarumque circumfusum sibi aestum compescit.cum with the subjunctive, answered by tamen "yet", means "although": "although the waves dash against it continually, it itself stands firm". cui "against which" is dative with allidantur, a compound of ad "against"; the relative comes first and cum after it. ipsum is neuter because it means the headland, promontorium.
• IV.49 imo, felicem me, quod etiamsi contigerit, nil doleam tamen, nec aut praesentibus frangar, aut futura reformidem.etiamsi "even though" is answered by tamen "still": "that, although it has happened, I still feel no pain". nil is the short form of nihil "nothing", used as an adverb: "not at all".
• V.5 an non intelligis quam multa praestare cum jam possis, ad quae inhabilitatis naturalis aut ineptitudinis nullus suppetit praetextus, sponte tamen in eis inferior adhuc persistis?
• V.6 est, qui etiamsi imputare haud ita proclivis sit, pro debitore tamen apud se habet eum cui benefecit, quidque fecerit, novit.The second kind. etiamsi … sit "although he is not so inclined": the subjunctive gives the concession as a supposition. But the verbs of this qui clause itself, habet and novit, are indicative: Gataker now simply states what such a man does.
• V.8 eodemque modo, quicquid evenerit, quamvis asperius visum fuerit, libens admittito, quandoquidem ad mundi integritatem Jovisque prosperitatem atque felicitatem ferat.quicquid evenerit "whatever happens" (future perfect: "whatever shall have happened") is the object of admittito. quamvis "although" takes the subjunctive: visum fuerit is a perfect subjunctive with fuerit for sit. The comparative asperius means "rather harsh, too harsh".
• V.13 nihil enim vetat, quo minus hoc dicam, etiamsi secundum periodos finibus certis terminatas mundus iste digeratur.etiamsi "even if" with the subjunctive digeratur "is ordered, is arranged" puts the case as a supposition. The Stoics held that the world runs through cycles (periodus, Greek "a going round"), each ended by a great fire and begun again. Even so, says Marcus, the chain of change may be called endless. terminatas agrees with periodos (feminine, like methodus).
• V.22 quin et etiamsi civitati nonnihil inde nocumenti accederet, ne sic quidem succensendum esset civitatem laedenti, sed ostendendum in quo delinquat.quin et at the start of a sentence means "nay, even" and goes further than what came before. etiamsi "even if" takes the imperfect subjunctive accederet for a case only imagined: "even if some harm were to come to the city from it". nonnihil … nocumenti "not nothing of harm" is a partitive genitive: "some harm".
• V.36 sed quemadmodum senex discedens alumni turbinem poscebat, cum turbinem tamen, hoc est, ludicrum quiddam, esse meminisset: ita et istic te geras.cum with the subjunctive here means "although". meminisset is the pluperfect of memini, which is perfect in form but present in meaning, so the pluperfect is simply "he remembered". It takes an accusative and infinitive with the subject left out: "(that it) was a top". hoc est "that is" explains: ludicrum quiddam "something for play", a toy. tamen "all the same": he asks for it, yet keeps in mind what it is.
• VI.12 Si novercam simul matremque haberes, etiamsi et illam coleres, ad istam tamen frequentissime te reciperes.etiamsi "even if, although"; et "also". illam "that one" is the stepmother, the first named, and istam below is the mother. colere here is "to pay court to, honour": duty to the stepmother is not refused.
• VI.18 eos, qui eodem secum tempore vivunt, laudare cum renuant; ipsi a posteris, qui eos nec norint unquam nec viderint, celebrari plurimi faciunt.cum with the subjunctive often means "although". Here it comes after the infinitive it governs: eos … laudare cum renuant "although they refuse to praise those …". The clause is set against what follows, ipsi … plurimi faciunt: they grudge praise to the living, yet crave it from posterity.
• VI.35 Nonne vides, ut artifices mechanici, etiamsi hominibus imperitis quadantenus concedant, artis tamen suae rationem nihilominus enixe adversus illos tueantur, nec ab ea quicquam abscedere sustineant?etiamsi "even if": craftsmen give way to their unskilled customers quadantenus "up to a point", Gataker's spelling of quadamtenus. tamen "still" answers it.
• VI.43 quid sidera ipsa, nonne diversa quamvis sint, ad unum tamen idemque efficiendum operas mutuas conferunt?quamvis "although" takes the subjunctive; here it comes after the word it qualifies: "different though they are".
• VI.50 hunc autem assequeris, etiamsi ea quae conatus fueras, non fiant.
• VII.45 etiamsi cum discrimine conjunctum id sit, nec ullius rei cujusquam, ne mortis quidem, prae eo quod est turpe, rationem habere.etiamsi "even if" with the subjunctive: "even if this (holding the post) is bound up with danger". discrimen, "a dividing point, a crisis", means "danger" here, as in 7.44 it meant the hazard between death and life.
• VII.67 quodque etiamsi desperes dialecticae aut naturalis scientiae peritiam, nihil esse tamen quod animam despondeas, quasi liber et modestus fieri nequeas, et communitatis cultor, et obsequens Deo.
• VII.68 Vi omni immunem, in summa animi hilaritate, vitam transigere licet, etiamsi quae libuerit adversus te vociferentur homines universi, etiamsi massae istius corporeae coalitae et circundatae tibi membra ferae discerpant.
• VII.68 ut judicium occurrenti ac irruenti rei cuivis dicat, Hoc es revera, etiamsi opinione aliusmodi esse videaris. usus dicat eidem, Te quaerebam.
• VII.70 Dii, immortales cum sint, non aegre ferunt tamen, quod per aevum tam immensum ipsos oporteat omnino, tot talesque qui sint, improbos jugiter sustinere.cum with the subjunctive can mean "although", and tamen "still" in the main clause shows that it does here. cum stands second, after immortales, which is put first for weight: "although they are immortal", and so must put up with the wicked for ever, not for a few years as we do.
• VII.71 Ridiculum est malitiam cum tuam, quod potes, non effugias, fugere te velle, quod non potes, alienam.cum with the subjunctive here sets two things in contrast: "while you do not escape your own". effugere is "to get away from", to escape for good; fugere is "to flee, try to avoid".
• VIII.4 Eadem nihilominus facturos memineris, etiamsi tu te ruperis.
• VIII.31 dein reputa tecum, quam anxie egerint horum antecessores, ut successorem aliquem sibi superstitem relinquerent: cum necesse tamen fuerit, ut aliquis tandem ultimus existeret.cum with the subjunctive, answered by tamen, means "although": "although it was necessary all the same". The subject of necesse fuerit is the ut clause: "that someone at last should prove to be the last". existere "to come forth" is often "to turn out, prove to be".
• VIII.48 Memineris, inexpugnabilem fieri mentem, quando in se contracta, ipsa se contenta manet, dummodo nil faciat quod ipsa nolit, tametsi non ratione, sed obstinatione mera instructa sit.tametsi "even though" (tamen + etsi) grants a point, and its verb instructa sit "it is armed" is subjunctive because it still belongs to the proviso. non ratione, sed obstinatione mera are ablatives of means: even a mind defended by nothing but stubbornness cannot be stormed.
• VIII.56 etiamsi enim quam maxime alter alterius caussa mutuo nati simus, mentium tamen nostrarum cuilibet peculiaris sua constat potestas.etiamsi "even if" takes the subjunctive here: nati simus is the perfect subjunctive of the deponent nascor "be born". quam maxime is quam with a superlative, "as much as possible".
• IX.3 etiamsi enim offendi eis te neutiquam oportet, sed curare eos, placideque ferre; meminisse tamen licuerit, quod ab hominibus haud idem tecum sentientibus discessurus es.etiamsi "although" is answered by tamen "still". The concession is generous: you must not take offence at such people, but care for them and bear with them; still, you may remember what you are leaving.
• IX.9 quin et in praestantioribus adhuc, licet modo quodam a se invicem dissitis, in astris nempe, unio tamen quaedam existit.licet "although" is here a conjunction, with a participle in place of a verb: "though in a way set apart from one another". tamen "nevertheless" answers it. a se invicem "from one another" is the usual Latin for "from each other". dissitus is the participle of dissero "sow apart", not of dissero "discuss".
• IX.9 veruntamen, fugiant licet hoc homines, undique occupantur. praevalet enim natura.licet "it is allowed" with the subjunctive becomes a conjunction, "although": fugiant licet "let them flee", i.e. "though they flee". Here it comes after its verb. occupo "seize": "they are caught, overtaken, on every side". Men may run from fellowship, but nature catches them up.
• IX.10 etiamsi autem usus formulam hanc loquendi viti ac similibus praecipue attribuerit, nihil tamen hoc obstat, quo minus et de illis dicatur.usus is the noun "usage, custom", the subject, not the participle of utor. formula loquendi is "a form of speaking", a turn of phrase; loquendi is the gerund of loquor. The perfect subjunctive after etiamsi grants the point: "even supposing usage has assigned …".
• IX.30 et quam multi sint, qui nec norint nomen tuum; quam multi, qui mox ejusdem obliviscentur; quam multi, qui cum te nunc laudent, mox vituperaturi sint.
• IX.41 atque in hoc praecipue incumbebam, quo mens, etiamsi motuum in corpusculo istiusmodi particeps una, imperturbata consisteret nihilominus, bonumque suum retineret.etiamsi "even if, although" has no verb: supply esset, "although it was sharing". particeps "sharing in" takes the genitive, motuum … istiusmodi "movements of that kind", the pains and stirrings of the sick body. corpusculum, a diminutive of corpus, is "the poor little body". nihilominus "none the less" answers etiamsi. una "together, at the same time" is the adverb: the mind shares in these movements along with the body.
• IX.42 quodque cum ratio occasiones tibi justas suppeditet cogitandi, probabile esse illum hoc esse admissurum, tum tamen hoc oblitus, admisisse illum admiraris.A second reason for blaming yourself, quodque "and because". Inside it, cum with the subjunctive suppeditet is "although", and tum tamen "then still" answers it: "although reason supplies …, yet …". This time Gataker puts the quod clause's own verb, admiraris, in the indicative, stating it as plain fact.
• X.7 quanquam ponatur, illud ipsum te valde addicere huic peculiariter sic affecto, nihil tamen obstabit, quo minus verum sit quod jam dictum est.quanquam "although" takes the subjunctive here, as often in later Latin: quanquam ponatur "even if it be supposed". What is supposed is an accusative and infinitive, illud ipsum te … addicere "that that very thing (the matter you were born with) binds you".
• X.26 haec, tanta licet involvantur caligine, contemplari oportet,licet "it is allowed" with the subjunctive means "although": "although they are wrapped in such darkness". It stands inside its clause, after tanta, and tanta … caligine "in such great darkness" is split round it. haec "these things" is the object of contemplari, put first for weight.
• X.36 bonus sapiensque fuerit, annon ad extremum futurus est qui de illo dicat,A perfect subjunctive standing alone grants a supposition: "let him have been good and wise", i.e. "suppose he was". The question that follows answers: even so.
• XI.16 sin praeter naturam, investiga, quid sit naturae tuae congruum, et ad hoc te accinge, etiamsi minus gloriosum sit.se accingere ad "to gird oneself for" is "to get ready for, set about", from belting up one's tunic before work. etiamsi "even if" takes the subjunctive here because it puts a supposition. minus gloriosum "less glorious" is a mild way of saying "bringing no glory".
• XI.18 atque etiamsi peccatis quibusdam abstineas, habes tamen intra te habitum talia perpetrare proclivem, licet vel ignaviae, vel famae, vel alius alicujus ratione a peccatis paribus te cohibeas.etiamsi "even if" with the subjunctive puts a supposition. abstineo "keep away from" takes an ablative of separation, peccatis quibusdam "(from) certain wrongs".licet with the subjunctive works as a conjunction, "although": "although you hold yourself back". The point is that what restrains you is not virtue but cowardice or concern for your name.
• XI.18 neque animo quasi attacto et exulcerato, neque tanquam in schola, neque ut astanti alicui sis admirationi, sed ita semper, ut cum solo agas, etiamsi alii forsan circumstiterint nonnulli.alii … nonnulli "some others" frame the clause. circumstiterint is perfect, "have taken their stand around", so "are standing round"; it is subjunctive because it belongs to the ut clause.
• XI.20 Quicquid aereum et igneum immixtum est tibi, etiamsi natura sursum feratur, utrumque ut tamen universi dispositioni obsequatur, in massa composita istic detinetur.etiamsi "even though" here takes the subjunctive. feratur is passive in form but means "moves, tends": a thing "is carried" by its own nature. natura is ablative, "by nature".
• XI.20 quicquid itidem in te terreum et aqueum existit, etiamsi natura deorsum vergat, attollitur nihilominus, et stationem occupat non suam.As in the first sentence, etiamsi takes the subjunctive: "even though it tends downward by nature". existit, Gataker's spelling of exsistit, is simply "is (found), exists".
• XII.4 Saepenumero sum miratus, qui fiat, ut cum sese prae caeteris omnibus diligat unusquisque, suam tamen de se existimationem minoris faciat, quam alienam.fit ut "it comes about that" takes a noun clause with ut and the subjunctive (faciat). Inside it, cum with the subjunctive diligat means "although", answered by tamen "still". prae caeteris omnibus "above all others": prae is "in comparison with".
• XII.6 nam et sinistra manus, cum ad alia opera per desuetudinem inepta sit, fraenum quam dextra validius tenet; quia huic operi assuevit.cum with the subjunctive here means "although". desuetudo "disuse, want of practice" is the opposite of consuetudo "habit".
• XII.28 deinde, animam meam, cum nullus unquam viderim, in honore tamen habeo.cum with the subjunctive here means "although": "although I have never seen it". nullus, agreeing with the subject "I", is an emphatic "not": "I have never seen it at all". The object of viderim is animam meam, set at the head of the clause.
• XII.30 Unum solis est lumen, licet parietibus, montibus, aliis innumerabilibus dispescatur:Unum comes first for emphasis: "one is the light of the sun". licet, properly "it is allowed", is used with the subjunctive as a conjunction, "although". dispesco is a rare verb, "part, divide". Sunlight falls in separate patches on either side of a wall or a mountain, yet it is one light; the same pattern runs through the next three sentences.
• XII.30 una materia communis, etiamsi corporibus peculiaribus affectionibus distinctis innumerabilibus dispescatur:
• XII.30 una anima, etiamsi naturis innumerabilibus, et circumscriptionibus peculiaribus dispescatur.
• XII.30 una anima rationalis, etiamsi dirimi videatur."Even if it seems to be split apart": videatur "seems" is the passive of video, with the present passive infinitive dirimi. Marcus says only "seems": the reasoning minds of men look separate, but are one.