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Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis)

si "if", nisi "unless, if not", siquis "if anyone": the moods and tenses show whether the condition is real, imagined or contrary to fact.

  • indicative in both halves: a plain condition, "if X is, Y is". A future or future perfect in the si clause is translated with an English present: si … peregeris "if you perform".
  • present or perfect subjunctive: an imagined future, "if X were to happen, Y would follow".
  • imperfect subjunctive: unreal now, "if X were so, Y would be"; pluperfect subjunctive: unreal past, "if X had been, Y would have been". The two can be mixed: siquid malum existeret, … prospexissent "if anything were evil, they would have provided for it".

After si, nisi, ne and num, quis and quid mean "anyone, anything": siquis, siquid. sin means "but if". At the start of a clause, quod si and quod nisi mean "and if", "and unless", with quod pointing back to what went before.

Examples

  • quod nisi ad animum serenandum accommodaveris, avolaturum est illud 2.4and unless you use it to calm your mind, it will fly away
  • abduces autem, si tanquam vitae tuae novissimam, actionem unamquamque peregeris 2.5and you will withdraw it, if you perform every action as if it were the last of your life
  • reliquorum siquid malum existeret, et de hoc utique pariter prospexissent 2.11if any of the other things were evil, they would surely have provided against this too
  • si autem elementis ipsis nihil grave contingit 2.17but if nothing terrible happens to the elements themselves

In the text 255

  • I.10 nec probrose excipere, si quis barbarum quid, vel soloecum, vel absonum protulerit, sed illud tantum, quod dici debuerat, dextre proponere;excipere here is "to take up, pounce on" what someone has said. The si clause has the perfect subjunctive protulerit "if anyone has uttered", subjunctive because it belongs to the rule being learned (the same form could be read as a future perfect). After si, quis and quid mean "anyone" and "anything".
  • I.14 quin et quod si quorum mores minus probaret, palam id prae se ferret;
  • I.17 tum quod adversus neminem eorum temere aliquid deliquerim, etiamsi ita affectus fuerim, ut, si occasio incidisset, ejusmodi aliquid admisissem.A condition contrary to fact in the past: the pluperfect subjunctive in both halves, 'if an occasion had arisen, I would have committed something of the kind'. No such occasion arose, as the next sentence says. ejusmodi 'of that kind' is the genitive ejus modi, written as one word.
  • I.17 quod progressus non fecerim ampliores in rhetorica, poetica, studiisque aliis ejusmodi, quae me forsan praepeditum detinuissent, si in eis me feliciter profecisse sensissem.An unreal past condition again, here inside a relative clause: 'which would perhaps have held me back, entangled, if I had felt …'. praepeditum 'shackled, entangled' agrees with me.
  • II.5 abduces autem, si tanquam vitae tuae novissimam, actionem unamquamque peregeris; temeritate omni liberam, et declinatione per affectus vim a rationis dictamine; simulatione itidem, et amore sui, eorumque quae a numine destinata sunt aversatione.
  • 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.
  • II.11 humanis autem excedere, siquidem Dii sunt, nihil est grave.
  • II.11 si vero, vel nulli sunt, vel nullam rerum humanarum curam gerunt, quid attinet tandem vivere in mundo vel Deorum, vel providentiae inani?A simple condition: the 'if' clause has the indicative (sunt, gerunt), and the main clause is a question. Nothing is implied about whether the 'if' is true.
  • II.11 reliquorum siquid malum existeret, et de hoc utique pariter prospexissent, quo in ipso situm foret, in istud quoque ne incideret.An unreal (contrary-to-fact) condition: existeret (impf. subj.) 'if anything were evil' and prospexissent (plpf. subj.) 'they would have provided'. The subjunctives show that the 'if' is not true: nothing else is in fact evil.
  • II.11 nec errorem tam immanem admisisset unquam, sive per impotentiam, sive per imperitiam, ut bona ac mala, bonis malisque ex aequo hominibus, nullo facto discrimine, contingere pateretur.admisisset (plpf. subj.) says what would have happened, 'nor would it ever have committed', with the 'if' clause left unsaid (if nature had overlooked these things). admittere again means 'to commit'.
  • II.12 quid sit ipsum mori; quodque siquis rem ipsam per se intueatur, cogitationeque ab illa submoverit ea omnia, quibus tanquam larvis horrendis instructa imaginationi nostrae se objicit, nihil esse aliud comperiet quam opus naturae.siquis is si quis "if anyone". The if-clause has subjunctives, present intueatur and perfect submoverit ("should look … should have stripped away"), but the main verb is a plain future, comperiet: a supposed case with a confident result.
  • II.13 colet autem, si affectibus immunem custodierit, et temeritate alienum, nec offensum re aliqua, quam vel Dii vel homines egerint.
  • II.15 horum autem utilitas comparebit, si quis quae festive ab illo conscripta sunt, quatenus veritatem habent patrocinantem, admiserit.
  • II.17 si autem elementis ipsis nihil grave contingit, quod in alterum unumquodque eorum jugiter transmutatur, cur corporis universi mutationem ac dissolutionem metuat aut suspectam quis habeat?A simple condition with the indicative: "if nothing grievous happens to the elements themselves". quod is the conjunction "in that, in the fact that", saying what happens to them: each one is continually changed into another.
  • III.1 sed et illud reputandum, quod, si quis diutius vitam protraxerit, incertum sit, utrum mentis vires pariter idoneas sit habiturus ad rerum intelligentiam, et ad contemplationem eam quae ad rerum divinarum humanarumque peritiam contendit.
  • III.1 nam si delirare ceperit, perspiratio forsan, et nutritio, et imaginatio, et appetitus, et istiusmodi reliqua, neutiquam deficient.
  • III.2 spicae itidem deorsum vergentes, et leonis supercilium, et aprorum ab ore diffluens spuma multaque alia istiusmodi; quae seorsim siquis intueatur, sunt venustate omni procul;quae "which" stands first, but it is the object of intueatur in the si clause that follows: "which, if anyone were to look at (them) on their own, are …". Latin often opens a relative clause with a subordinate clause in this way; the verb of the relative clause itself is sunt. siquis = si quis "if anyone"; the present subjunctive intueatur, from the deponent intueor, puts the case as a supposition, while sunt states the result as a fact.
  • III.2 proinde, siquis animum ac cogitationem norit altius defigere in ea quae in universo hoc fiunt,
  • III.2 nihil fere etiam in eis, quae quasi appendicis cujusdam loco res naturales consequuntur, deprehendet, quod non etiam cum oblectatione quadam huic ipsi commendare sese videatur.
  • III.3 si ad vitam alteram; nihil, ne ibi quidem, numinis est inane.
  • III.3 sin sensu cariturus sis, desines voluptatibus ac doloribus distineri; desines vasi tanto deteriori inservire.
  • III.4 Quod superest vitae reliquum, ne conteras in cogitationibus de rebus alienis, nisi siquid ad communem utilitatem spectaverit;
  • III.4 assuefacere vero te debes, ut ea duntaxat cogites, de quibus siquis subito te requisiverit, quid nunc in animo versas? libere statim respondere queas, istud vel illud.The relative de quibus "about which" belongs with respondere queas near the end; a whole si clause is put between them: "things about which, if anyone should ask you …, you could answer". siquis = si quis "if anyone". requisiverit "should have asked" is perfect subjunctive standing for a future perfect; it is subjunctive because it sits inside the ut clause.
  • III.5 Neque invitus quicquam agas, neque societatis communis immemor, nec nisi re probe prius explorata, aggressus, nec affectibus abreptus.
  • III.6 Si quid in vita humana deprehenderis praestabilius justitia, veritate, temperantia, fortitudine; et, ut uno verbo absolvam omnia,
  • III.6 si quid, inquam, praestantius hoc adverteris, eo te vertas, eodemque tanquam bono praestantissimo, quo fruaris, toto animo fac incumbas.After the long list the condition is repeated, and inquam "I say" marks the restart. hoc "than this" is again an ablative of comparison and sums up everything just named.
  • III.6 sin praestabilius nihil offenderis, genio in te collocato, cum ita fuerit comparatus, ut motus suos omnes sibi subjecerit, et visa quaeque diligenter exploret,
  • III.6 si animo sic affecto inferiora vilioraque caetera omnia deprehendis, nulli alii rei cuiquam locum concedas,
  • III.6 ad quam animo devergente si inclinaveris quicquam, bonum illud proprium et peculiariter tuum quo minus libere colas praeferasque, obstabit.
  • III.6 horum enim quisquam si vel minimum adjungere visum fuerit, praevalebit confestim, et abripiet te.
  • III.6 itaque si conducere tibi videbitur, quatenus ratione praeditus es, retineas; sin, quatenus animatus es tantum, repudies;
  • III.7 utpote qui, si statim demigrandum fuerit, perinde promptus sit decedere, ac aliud quid agere, quod modeste et decore agi oporteat.
  • III.8 neque vero vitam hujus non consummatam fatum unquam abruperit. perinde ac si tragoedum dixerit quis ante fabulam peractam scena cessisse.perinde ac si "just as if" introduces an imagined comparison, set off by Gataker with a full stop, so its verb is subjunctive: dixerit quis "someone were to say". quis after si is the indefinite "anyone, someone".
  • III.12 Si rationi rectae obsecutus, id quicquid est, quod jam instat, sedulo, strenue, placide egeris, nec extra opus institutum accessorium aliquid respexeris;
  • IV.3 praecipue, si quis ea intra se reposita habuerit, quorum contemplatione summam extemplo tranquillitatem consequatur.si quis "if anyone": after si the indefinite quis means "anyone" (Gataker prints it here as two words, elsewhere as one, siquis). ea … reposita habuerit "has those things stored up": habere with a perfect participle stresses the lasting result, things laid by and kept ready. habuerit is future perfect, as in §1.
  • IV.4 Si intellectus nobis communis est, etiam ratio qua rationales dicimur communis est.Section 4 is a chain of conditions. Each si clause states a premise as plain fact, with the indicative, and the conclusion of each step becomes the premise of the next: understanding, reason, law, citizenship, and at last the world as a city. etiam "also" marks each conclusion: "then … too".
  • IV.4 hoc si conceditur, cives sumus: et hoc dato, politiae alicujus participes: et ex consequenti, civitatis instar mundus est.The last link of the chain. hoc "this" (that law is common) is put before si to tie it to what has just been said: "if this is granted". Latin often puts a word that points back to the last sentence ahead of its conjunction.
  • IV.6 siquis aliter vult esse, idem ficum succo acri carere velit.siquis "if anyone" is si + quis. In aliter … esse "to be otherwise" the subject of esse is not expressed: things, i.e. what such men do.
  • IV.7 Opinionem tolle, tollitur simul et querimonia illa, laesus sum.
  • IV.12 alterum, ut in partem diversam transeas, siquis affuerit, qui te corrigat, et sententiam tibi mutet.
  • IV.16 Intra decimum diem Deus illis ipsis videberis, quibus nunc pro bellua et simia haberis, si ad decreta rationisque cultum te retuleris.
  • IV.20 smaragdus num deterior fit, nisi laudatur?num asks a question that expects the answer "no": "an emerald does not become worse, does it, if it is not praised?". It stands second because Gataker puts the subject first for emphasis. nisi "unless, if … not" with the indicative laudatur is a plain condition of fact.
  • IV.21 Animae si perennant, quomodo eas ab aeterno ceperit aer?Animae "souls" is put before si for emphasis: "if souls live on". perenno "to last for years, endure" (from per + annus) means here "to survive" the body.
  • IV.21 hoc respondere licebit, si pro concesso sumatur, animas corporibus esse superstites.
  • IV.24 Pauca agas, inquit, si tranquillus esse cupis.
  • IV.24 pleraque enim eorum quae dicere et facere consuevimus, cum necessaria non sint, si amputaverimus, a negotiis multo vacabit magis, minusque perturbata futura est nobis vita nostra.
  • IV.29 Si peregrinus in mundo est, qui ignarus est eorum, quae in mundo existunt: perinde certe in mundo peregrinus est, qui ignarus est rerum quae in eodem geruntur.The section defines by parallels. Each qui clause, with the antecedent is "he" left out, is the subject, and peregrinus "a stranger" is the predicate: "if he is a stranger in the world who …, (then) just as much is he a stranger who …". perinde "equally" answers si: the second definition follows from the first.
  • IV.32 ita fiet, ne quando fastidio corripiaris, si in rebus minoris aestimationis, non diutius, quam par est, fueris occupatus.minoris aestimationis "of lesser value" is a genitive of description: things of less worth. fueris occupatus is a perfect passive subjunctive, with fueris for sis; it is subjunctive because it belongs to the ne clause: "if you have not been busy". non diutius quam par est "not longer than is right".
  • IV.47 Quemadmodum si Deorum quis praediceret tibi, aut cras, aut summum perendie, moriturum te, haud in magno poneres, nisi animi esses abjectissimi, perendie potius quam crastino mori.A present unreal (contrary-to-fact) condition: the imperfect subjunctive in both halves, si … praediceret "if (one of the gods) foretold" and poneres "you would count". It imagines a case that is not happening now. Quemadmodum "just as" begins a comparison that pari modo "in the same way" completes two sentences on.
  • IV.50 Vulgare quidem hoc est, efficax tamen ad mortem contemnendam adminiculum, si eos recolas qui vitae avidi eidem fuerint diu immorati.si … recolas "if you recall" is a present subjunctive in a condition that is only imagined: "if you should call to mind". It explains hoc: the aid is to remember those who lingered long in life. fuerint immorati is a perfect subjunctive of the deponent immoror "linger in", with fuerint for sint; it takes the dative eidem "in that same (life)".
  • IV.50 si enim aevi praeteriti immensitatem adverteris et futuri itidem infinitatem, quid tandem distabit, triduanus qui fuerit, ab eo qui secula tria transegerit?
  • V.1 num vero aegre feram, si ad ea agenda proficiscor, quorum gratia natus et in mundum productus sum?
  • V.1 etenim vere temet non diligis. alioqui naturam tuam, quaeque illa vult, diligeres.alioqui "otherwise" stands for a whole if-clause: "(if you did love yourself,) you would love your nature". The imperfect subjunctive diligeres, as in a condition contrary to fact, speaks of something that is not so now. quaeque is quae + -que, "and (the things) which", and illa "it" is your nature.
  • V.3 sed si dictu factuve honestum fuerit, indignum te ne existimes.
  • V.5 hoc tantummodo nomine si notari poteras, quod tardiori hebetiorique ingenio natus sis, exercitatione vitium istud corrigere conandum fuerat, hebetudinem tuam neque insuper habendo, neque in eadem tibi complacendo.
  • V.6 Verum est, fateor, quod dicis. Veruntamen, quod jam dictum est, si secius ceperis, ex eorum numero futurus es, quorum priore loco memineram.The object of ceperis comes first: quod jam dictum est "what has just been said", the objector's point. secius "otherwise" means here "wrongly, in the wrong sense"; capere "take" is used as English "take" a remark. ceperis is future perfect, "if you shall have taken", English "if you take".
  • V.6 tu autem, si id quod dixeram recte intelligere volueris, noli metuere, ne hac de caussa benefaciendi occasionem ullam sis omissurus.
  • V.8 siquidem et ibi coordinavit illud, sensum hunc habet, acsi diceretur, hoc ad illud ordinavit, tanquam quod ad ejusdem sanitatem conducat:acsi "as if" (ac si written as one word, as Gataker prints it) with the subjunctive introduces a comparison with something imagined: acsi diceretur "as if it were said". The imperfect subjunctive is used because the comparison is unreal: no one actually says it in these words.
  • V.8 neque enim tulisset is, nisi ad universi bonum contulisset.An unreal condition in the past: the pluperfect subjunctive in both halves, "he would not have brought it, if it had not contributed". Gataker keeps the Greek wordplay: tulisset "brought" and contulisset "brought together, contributed" are both from fero. is "he" is Jupiter.
  • V.8 mutilatur enim integrum ipsum, si quid vel minimum abscindas a connexione et continuitate, ut partium universi, ita et caussarum.si quid "if anything": after si, quid means "anything". vel with a superlative means "even": vel minimum "even the smallest". The present subjunctive with "you" makes a general case: "if you (anyone) cut away".
  • V.9 Noli aegre ferre, aut animum despondere, aut stomachari, si juxta decreta recta agere volenti, haud perinde semper successerit.successerit is future perfect: Latin sees the failure as having happened before you are tempted to be vexed; English says "if it does not turn out". succedere is used impersonally, "it goes well", with the dative volenti "for (you,) wanting": "if, when you want to act by right principles, it does not always go so well for you". haud perinde "not quite so well", i.e. not as well as you meant.
  • V.10 ad subjecta jam ipsa si transieris, quam caduca, quam vilia sunt? quaeque etiam cinaedo, scorto, latroni in possessionem cedere possint.
  • V.10 mores autem eorum, quibuscum degis, si adverteris, tales esse comperies, ut etiam gratissimum quemlibet vix sustineas, ut ne adjiciam seipsum etiam vix sustinere quenquam.
  • V.12 si quid eorum quae revera bona sunt mente quispiam conceperit, puta, prudentiam, temperantiam, justitiam, fortitudinem, ista, inquam, si animo praeconceperit, non sustinebit adjectum huic audire quicquam, quod non rei bonae probe congruat.
  • V.12 alioqui enim non offenderet et tanquam dictu indignum repudiaretur, si de illis enunciaretur; cum de divitiis eisque fortunae bonis quae ad luxum pompamve ferunt, tanquam apte sciteque dictum, admittamus.An unreal condition: imperfect subjunctive in both halves, "it would not …, if it were said". The subject throughout is the comic line. alioqui "otherwise" means: if people had no notion of the difference. non denies the whole contrast that follows: it would not be the case that the line offends when said of the true goods (de illis) while we welcome it when said of riches. dictu is the supine in -u with indignum: "unfit to be said".
  • V.15 tum siquid istorum ad hominem pertineret, hominis non esset ea despectui habere, eisque sese opponere. nec laude dignus haberetur, qui istis minus indigentem se praestiterit.The imperfect subjunctive in both halves (pertineret … esset) makes an unreal condition about the present: "if any of these things belonged to a man (and none does), it would not be …". This is the first of the conditions in this section: each imagines that outward things really were ours and shows the absurd result.
  • V.15 imo ne bonus quidem vir esset, qui sibi horum alicui interdixerit, siquidem ea vere bona existerent.imo "nay more" raises the stakes: not only would such a man earn no praise, he would not even be a good man. ne … quidem "not even" wraps the word it stresses, here bonus. esset is again an unreal imperfect subjunctive, with its condition at the end: siquidem ea vere bona existerent "if indeed they really were good".
  • V.22 si civitati ab hac re nihil nocetur, nec mihi:
  • V.26 quod si alia ratione se ad mentem subvexerint, quatenus nempe ea corpori unita est, tunc sensui, cum a natura sit, non est obnitendum,
  • V.28 at homo, inquis, ratione praeditus est, potestque si advertat, dignoscere quid delinquat.
  • V.28 siquidem enim te audiverit, sanasti eum, nec ira amplius opus jam erit.
  • V.29 Quo modo vivere cogitas vita mox excessurus, eodem, si volueris, vivere jam licet.
  • V.29 sin id minus permiserint, quibuscum hic degis, exeas licet e vita; ita tamen, ne tanquam mali quid passus.
  • V.29 si fumus molestus est mihi, discedo.
  • V.34 Prospere tibi res tuae sunt perpetuo processurae, si rite incedere potueris, rectaque methodo et opinari et agere.
  • V.35 Si nec aut vitiositas haec mea sit, aut effectum vitiositatis meae; nec communitas ea laeditur, cur de re ista ipse differor?The condition has two parts. The first, nec aut … aut "not either … or", i.e. "neither … nor", has the subjunctive sit: "if this is neither my vice nor the effect of my vice". haec "this" is feminine because it is drawn to vitiositas. The second, nec communitas ea laeditur "and that community is not harmed", has the indicative; Gataker mixes the moods, but both are plain "if" clauses. communitas ea is the community of rational beings that Marcus always has in mind; ea could also be read as ablative, "harmed by it".
  • V.36 sors vero bona si quid sit quaeras, ea moribus bonis, motibus bonis, bonis denique actionibus constat.
  • VI.4 Praesentia haec omnia quam citissime mutabuntur; et vel in exhalationem abibunt, (siquidem unita sit rerum omnium substantia) vel dissipabuntur.siquidem often means "since", but here it is "if indeed", and the subjunctive sit marks a supposition, not a fact the writer asserts. unita sit is a perfect passive subjunctive, "has been made one", that is, is one.
  • VI.10 si prius illud, quid est, quod desiderem in temeraria miscela colluvieque istiusmodi ulterius commorari?
  • VI.10 sin quod posterius est positum, rectorem veneror, eodemque fretus, firmus animi consisto.sin "but if" answers the si of si prius illud. Supply verum est: "but if what was put second (is true)", that the world is an ordered structure. posterius "second, later" is a comparative adverb; est positum "was put" is a perfect passive.
  • VI.11 Siquando a rebus circumstantibus per vim quandam adactum perturbari te senseris, cito ad te redi, nec plus quam necesse est, ab animi tenore congruo recede.
  • VI.12 Si novercam simul matremque haberes, etiamsi et illam coleres, ad istam tamen frequentissime te reciperes.A condition contrary to fact in the present: the imperfect subjunctive in both halves, haberes "if you had" and reciperes "you would betake (yourself)". The picture is set up to be applied in the next sentence.
  • VI.15 perinde ac si avicularum praetervolantium aliquam diligere quis inciperet, cum ea e conspectu statim abscesserit.perinde ac si "just as if" brings in an imagined comparison, so the verb is subjunctive: inciperet "(someone) were to begin". quis after si is "anyone, someone".
  • VI.16 istic ergo reperitur quod in pretio sit habendum. atque hoc bene si habuerit, nihil aliud quod acquiras, opus erit.
  • VI.16 at contra mentem propriam si in veneratione ac honore habueris, et tibi gratum id te faciat, et communioni accommodum, et Diis consentientem, dum quaecunque illi attribuunt ac constituunt, laudas.mentem propriam "your own mind" is the object of habueris and is put before si to set it against the many outward things just listed. in veneratione ac honore habere "to hold in reverence and honour" is built like in pretio habere. habueris is a future perfect in a future condition; the main verb, faciat, is not the expected future faciet but a present subjunctive, which states the result as what would follow: "this would make you".
  • VI.18 hoc autem idem est prope, ac si quis contristaretur, quia homines prisci encomiis eum non sint prosecuti.After words of likeness Latin uses ac (= atque) for "as": idem ac "the same as", and ac si "as if". The imperfect subjunctive contristaretur marks the case as imagined: "as if someone were to grieve".
  • VI.19 Noli, siquid tibi fuerit effectu difficile, opinari ideo, hominem nullum id posse.
  • VI.19 Sed siquid fuerit, quod possit quisquam, hominisque sit munus, id te quoque assequi posse existimes.
  • VI.20 Inter exercendum, siquis unguibus lancinaverit, aut capite alliso plagam impegerit, nullam indignationis notam edimus, nec offendimur, nec tanquam insidiatorem deinceps suspectum hunc habemus.The si clause has future perfects ("if anyone shall have torn …"), the main clause the present (edimus, offendimur, habemus): a general truth, "whenever this happens, we do not …". English says "if someone has scratched us".
  • VI.21 Si quis convincere me poterit, palamque mihi facere, quod in re ulla minus recte vel sentiam vel me geram, laeto lubentique animo mutabo.A condition about the future, with the future in both halves: poterit "will be able" and mutabo "I will change". English puts the si clause in the present: "if anyone can convince me, I will change". This is the plain way of speaking about what may really happen.
  • VI.26 Si quis te rogaverit, Antonini nomen quomodo scribatur, nunquid cum vocis intensione elementa singula proferres?The si clause has the future perfect (rogaverit "shall have asked"), as if the case could really happen; the main clause shifts to the imperfect subjunctive proferres "would you utter?", the mood of an imagined case. English: "if someone asks you …, would you …?"
  • VI.30 utque sententiis ipsius libere se opponentes sustinuerit; gavisus etiam, si quis melius quicquam proferret.
  • VI.33 Nullus est pedi aut manui praeter naturam labor, dum pes quod pedis est, manus, id quod manus est, faciat.dum with the subjunctive means "provided that, so long as": it sets the condition on which the statement holds.
  • VI.33 pari modo nec homini qua homo est, labor ullus est praeter naturam, dum id quod hominis est, faciat.
  • VI.33 si autem praeter naturam illi non est, nec malum est ei.
  • VI.40 Organum, instrumentum, vas quodlibet, si id ad quod conditum est facit, bene se habet.
  • VI.40 proinde magis illam vereri oportet; existimandumque tibi, si secundum illius voluntatem te habueris degerisque, omnia tibi ex animi sententia se habere.
  • VI.41 Siquid eorum, quae extra arbitrium tuum sunt, bonum malumve esse praesumpseris,
  • VI.41 at si ea sola, quae arbitrii sunt nostri, bona malaque censuerimus, nulla jam supererit amplius caussa, aut Deum incusandi, aut inimicitias adversus hominem quenquam gerendi.
  • VI.44 Siquid de me eisque quae mihi sunt obventura Dii consuluerint, omnino bene consuluerunt.The condition is in the perfect subjunctive (consuluerint), put forward as a mere supposition, "if, as may be, they have taken counsel"; the conclusion is in the perfect indicative (consuluerunt), stated as certain: "they have counselled well". siquid "if anything" is the inner object of the verb: "if they have resolved anything". The section goes through every possibility: the gods plan for me, or only for the whole, or for nothing; in each case Marcus can be at peace.
  • VI.44 quod si de me speciatim nihil consuluerint, at de rebus universi saltem omnino consuluerunt;The second possibility. quod si is "but if, now if" (quod here only links to what went before). After an if-clause, at means "yet, at least": "if not about me in particular, yet at least about the affairs of the universe". Same pattern of tenses as the first sentence: supposition in the subjunctive, conclusion in the indicative.
  • VI.44 sin de nulla prorsus re consilia ineunt, quod tamen impium est credere, quorsum tunc immolemus, supplicemus, juremus, alia faciamus, quae facimus singuli, tanquam si Deos praesentes et conversantes nobiscum habeamus:sin "but if, if on the other hand" brings in the third and last possibility. consilia inire "to enter upon counsels" is "to take counsel, make plans". The present indicative ineunt states the case plainly.tanquam si "as if" (Gataker's spelling of tamquam) takes the subjunctive, because the comparison is only imagined: "as if we had the gods present and living with us". conversor cum "keep company with" is deponent.
  • VI.44 at si de nulla re, inquam, nostra consilia ineunt; quidni egomet mihi consulam?
  • VI.48 Oblectare te siquando libuerit, virtutes eorum, qui tecum vivunt, cogita; hujus industriam, illius modestiam, alterius liberalitatem, alterius aliam aliquam.
  • VI.50 quod siquis vi adhibita obstiterit tibi, tu ad aequanimitatem et tranquillitatem te transfer, eoque quod obstat ad virtutis alterius exercitium fac utare.quod si "but if": quod only links the sentence to the one before. obstiterit is future perfect of obsto "stand in the way", which takes the dative tibi. vi adhibita "force having been applied" is an ablative absolute: "using force".
  • VI.55 Si gubernatori nautae, medico aegroti maledicerent, ecquem alium auscultarent?Both verbs are imperfect subjunctive: a condition contrary to fact in the present, "if sailors were abusing …, would they listen …?". maledicere "to speak ill of" takes the dative: gubernatori "the helmsman", medico "the physician". The second pair has no verb and no "and": medico aegroti (maledicerent).
  • VII.2 Dogmata in te aboleri quo modo poterunt, nisi cogitationes his congruae extinguantur?The subject Dogmata "principles, convictions" comes first, and the question quo modo poterunt "how will they be able?" follows it: "the principles in you, how will they be able to be destroyed?" The expected answer is "they cannot": principles stay alive as long as the thoughts that agree with them are kept alight. nisi with the subjunctive extinguantur puts the condition as a mere supposition: "unless those thoughts should be put out".
  • VII.2 Si possum, quid perturbatur mihi animus?
  • VII.5 si sufficit, ea tanquam instrumento ab universi natura mihi dato ad hoc efficiendum utor,
  • VII.5 si non sufficit, aut opus illi concedo, qui me melius id efficere potest, nisi aliter ad officium meum pertinuerit;
  • VII.7 quid ergo, si ad propugnaculum ascendere solus, quia claudus es, nequeas, ab altero vero adjutus possis?quid ergo? "what then?", with est understood, asks what follows from the picture. The si clause takes the present subjunctive because it imagines a case: "if you should be unable …, but could …". With possis supply ascendere. The answer is left to the reader: then take the help, for what matters is that your part is done, not that you do it alone.
  • VII.8 accedes enim ad ea, si ita necesse fuerit, ratione instructus eadem, qua nunc ad praesentia uteris.
  • VII.13 consideratio haec animum tuum magis attinget, si te frequenter sic allocutus fueris, Membrum sum ego compagis istius quae ex ratione praeditis componitur.
  • VII.13 sin partem duntaxat esse te dixeris, homines ex animo nondum diligis,
  • VII.13 hoc ipsum benefacere per se nondum oblectat te: adhuc tanquam quod fieri deceat tantum facis, nondum perinde acsi tibi ipsi benefacias.perinde acsi "just as if" (ac si, written as one word) brings in an imagined comparison and so takes the subjunctive: "as if you were doing good to yourself". benefacio takes the dative, tibi ipsi "to yourself": if you are a limb of the same body, the good you do to others is done to you.
  • VII.14 ipse nisi malum censuero id quod contingit, nondum sum laesus.
  • VII.15 haud aliter, quam si aurum aut smaragdus aut purpura ita jugiter diceret, Quicquid fecerit dixeritve quisquam, smaragdum esse me oportet, nitoremque meum retinere.haud aliter quam si "not otherwise than if", that is, "just as if", brings in an imagined comparison; the imperfect subjunctive diceret shows that it is unreal: "as if gold … were saying". The verb is singular because aut … aut offers the subjects one at a time. ita "thus" points to the words that follow, whose start Gataker marks with a capital, Quicquid, and jugiter "always" says they never stop being true.
  • VII.16 alius quis si terrefacere eam aut contristare possit, faciat.
  • VII.16 animula vero, quae timet, quae dolet, quae super his omnino aliquid opinatur, nihil horum patietur, nisi si eam ipse in judicium istiusmodi demiseris.
  • VII.16 nullius rei alterius per se indiga est mens, nisi ipsa sibi indigentiam creaverit.
  • VII.18 ipse num balneo uti poteris, ni ligna mutationem subeant?ni is an old, short form of nisi "unless". Roman baths were heated by a wood fire in a furnace beneath them, so the logs must "undergo change", that is, burn. The present subjunctive subeant puts the condition as a mere supposition.
  • VII.18 num nutriri, ni edulia itidem mutentur?
  • VII.22 hoc fiet, si una succurrat tibi, tum esse tibi cognatos, tum inscios invitosque peccare: adhaec, paulo post utrosque vestrum morti concessuros: prae omnibus denique, nihil eos te laesisse.
  • VII.24 Siquidem enim ita vultum quis obfirmaverit, ut peccati sensus omnis aufugerit, quorsum homo sic affectus vitam protrahat amplius?siquidem here is si quidem "if indeed", and enim "for" ties the sentence to what went before. vultum obfirmare "to make the face firm" is to set it so hard that no shame can show in it (compare obfirmare animum "to steel one's mind"). obfirmaverit could be a perfect subjunctive or a future perfect; with the subjunctive question that follows, it is read as "should have hardened".
  • VII.26 hoc si fuerit, et illi te ignoscere oportet.
  • VII.26 sin ejusmodi nec bona nec mala censueris, ex errore animi delinquentem aequanimiter feras.sin "but if" brings in the other case. censere with two accusatives is "to judge (something) to be …": ejusmodi "things of that kind" is the object, and nec bona nec mala "neither good nor bad" the predicate, neuter plural because it describes things. ejusmodi is an indeclinable genitive ("of that sort") used here as a noun. censueris, future perfect, again marks the case as settled before you act.
  • VII.27 ex his autem selige quae gratissima sunt tibi, quo reputes tecum quanto cum studio ea, ni jam adessent, tibi requireres.An unreal condition about the present: ni jam adessent "if they were not already here", requireres "you would seek (them)". Latin uses the imperfect subjunctive in both halves for what is contrary to fact now. ni is a short form of nisi "if not". The whole is an indirect question after reputes, opened by quanto cum studio "with how much eagerness"; an adjective often stands before cum, as in magna cum cura.
  • VII.27 cave tamen interim, ne, dum istis lubenter acquiescis, eo in pretio habere assuescas te, ut siquando deesse contigerit, turberis.
  • VII.31 quid vero si elementa sola?
  • VII.33 si ferri non potest, interimit: si diutius duraverit, ferri potest.Two short conditions balance each other: pain that cannot be borne soon ends in death, and pain that goes on shows by that very fact that it can be borne. The thought is Epicurus's; Cicero gives it as si gravis, brevis; si longus, levis "if severe, short; if long, light" (compare 7.64).
  • VII.33 corporis vero membra, quae dolore sunt afflicta, ipsa si quid possunt, de eo statuant.
  • VII.41 Si me meosque liberos Dii negligant, Hujus etiam constat ratio.Verse from Euripides' lost Antiope, quoted again in 11.6. negligant (Gataker's spelling of neglegant) is present subjunctive, a case imagined rather than asserted: "if the gods should neglect me". The main clause keeps the indicative, because its truth does not hang on the case: there is a reason either way.
  • VII.44 Parum recte censes, mi homo, si hominem, qui vel ullius sit usus, existimas mortis vitaeque discrimen in numero aliquo habiturum;
  • VII.75 in multis tranquilliorem fecerit te, hoc in memoria si habueris.si stands third in its clause, after the words it governs: si hoc in memoria habueris "if you kept this in mind". habueris is taken as a perfect subjunctive, matching fecerit; it could also be read as a future perfect, "if you (will) have kept", with no real change of sense.
  • VIII.1 proinde si vere perspexisti, in quo res ipsa sita sit, missa existimatione, in hoc duntaxat incumbe, ut vitae quod superest, quantulumcunque id fuerit, pro naturae tuae ductu ac dictamine transigas.
  • VIII.1 at haec quomodo quis faciat? si decreta nactus sit, a quibus appetitiones actusque istiusmodi profluant.
  • VIII.7 id quod deprehendere licebit, si non seorsim unum aliquod in re ulla consideraveris, sed istius omnia cum alterius alicujus confertim sumptis contuleris.
  • VIII.14 qui enim de voluptate ac dolore, et efficientibus utriusque, vel de fama et ignominia, morte et vita, decreta istiusmodi habeat, si hujusmodi fecerit, nihil mihi mirum novumque videbitur.istiusmodi "of that sort" and hujusmodi "of this sort" are vague on purpose, like English "such-and-such": such beliefs, such deeds. hujusmodi stands as a noun, the object of fecerit: "if he does things of this kind". fecerit is future perfect, matching the future videbitur: "if he does".
  • VIII.17 siquidem enim potes, rem ipsam corrige.siquidem is often "since", but here it is si quidem "if indeed", written as one word as Gataker writes it: it pairs with sin minus "but if not" in the next sentence. The Greek has three steps (correct the person; failing that, the thing itself; failing that, why blame?); Gataker's Latin keeps only the thing.
  • VIII.18 istic autem si manet ac mutat, istic et in sua, quae et mundi et tui eadem sunt, elementa resolvitur.istic "there, here" means in the world, where the dead thing remains. si comes after istic autem to stress the place: "but if it stays here and changes". mutat is intransitive, "changes, undergoes change", though muto usually takes an object; so too mutant in the next sentence.
  • VIII.25 solertes, inquam, quales Charax, Demetrius Platonicus, Eudaemon, et si quis alius ejusmodi. omnia caduca sunt, et jam olim morte sepulta sunt.
  • VIII.28 Dolor aut est corpori malum. quod si sit, corpus id censeat. aut animae.
  • VIII.32 In singulis actionibus vitam componere oportet; ut si unaquaeque quantum datur, quod suum est tulerit, in eo acquiescas.
  • VIII.34 Si quando manum abscissam vidisti, vel pedem, aut caput etiam amputatum, et seorsim alicubi a reliquo corpore situm;si quando "if ever": after si, quando means "at any time". The condition is a plain appeal to experience, with the indicative: "if you have ever seen". This sentence sets up the picture; the next one draws the comparison. It is the Stoic image of mankind as one body and each man as a limb of it, as in 7.13.
  • VIII.36 minuetur autem istud, si seorsim per se circumscriptum dederis, mentemque redargueris, si ne huic quidem soli tolerando suffecerit.
  • VIII.37 verum, si assiderent, nunquid ipsi hoc sentirent? aut si sentirent, nunquid illos juvaret? aut si eos juvaret, nunquid hi immortales futuri essent?Three linked conditions, each taking up the last. The imperfect subjunctive in both halves (assiderent … sentirent) makes an unreal condition in present time: "if they were sitting there, would they be aware of it?" The answer expected each time is "no".
  • VIII.38 Si acute cernere vales, acumine tuo utere, inquit ille, in rebus eis, quae sapientiam maxime exigunt.
  • VIII.40 Si opinionem tuam ab eo, quod vexare te videtur, semoveris, ipse in tutissimo mox consistes.
  • VIII.40 siquid autem aliud tibi male habet, idipsum de hoc ipso, si poterit, opinetur.
  • VIII.41 dolor, voluptas attingit te? viderit sensus.A question used in place of an "if" clause: "Does pain, or pleasure, touch you?", i.e. "if pain or pleasure touches you". The two subjects stand side by side with no "or", and the verb is singular because each is taken on its own.
  • VIII.41 aliquid molienti tibi obstitit quippiam? si citra exceptionem moliebaris, jam tuum, qua rationalis, malum est.citra "on this side of" is Gataker's regular word for "without". exceptio is the Stoic "reservation" (Greek hupexairesis): the wise man aims at a thing with the silent condition "if nothing prevents", so that if something does prevent it, his will has not failed. "If you were attempting it without reservation": the imperfect moliebaris describes the effort still going on when the obstacle came.
  • VIII.41 at, si id quod communiter fieri solet, tibi proponebas, nondum aut laesus es, aut impeditus etiam.
  • VIII.43 me vero, si mentem sanam habuerim, quae nec hominem quenquam, aut humanum quicquam aversetur; sed quicquid obvenit, oculo benigno aspiciat excipiatque, et pro sui existimatione singulis utatur.
  • VIII.44 quid autem tua interest, si vocibus istiusmodi adstrepuerint illi tibi, aut existimationem hanc vel illam de te habuerint.
  • VIII.46 Si ergo contingit id cuique, quod et usui et naturae ejus est consentaneum, quid est, aegre quod feras?
  • VIII.46 neque enim quicquam tibi tulisset natura communis, quod ferri non posset.tulisset, the pluperfect subjunctive of fero, says what would not have happened: "common nature would never have brought you anything …". The unspoken condition is "if it could not be borne": nature has brought you things, and the unreal mood rules out that they were unbearable.
  • VIII.47 Siqua te angit res externa, non est ea ipsa, quae molestiam facessit tibi, sed tuum ipsius de re ea judicium.
  • VIII.47 siquid vero in interna animi dispositione te angit, quis prohibere potest, quo minus opinionem tuam corrigas?
  • 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.47 sed nec vivere tanti est, ni id fiat.ni is an older, shorter form of nisi "unless, if not". id is the right action you were prevented from doing. fiat is subjunctive because the case is only supposed: "unless that should be done".
  • VIII.47 excede ergo e vita aequo animo, quo modo excederes si id agere daretur, simul etiam obstantibus ipsis propitius.quo modo "in the way in which". excederes … si … daretur is an unreal condition in present time, with the imperfect subjunctive in both halves: "as you would leave if it were granted". daretur is impersonal, "if it were given (to you)"; its subject is the infinitive agere "to do", with id as object. Die as calmly as one who has done his work.
  • 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.dummodo "provided that" (dum + modo) sets a condition and always takes the subjunctive: faciat. nolit is subjunctive too, by attraction, because its clause stands inside the subjunctive one. This is the one condition of the mind's safety: nothing can force it to act against its own will.
  • VIII.48 quid ergo futurum est, si ratione in consilium adhibita considerate de re aliqua sententiam tulerit?
  • 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.vitio vertere alicui "to turn (something) to someone as a fault" means to blame him for it: vitio is a dative of purpose, huic the craftsman blamed, and the quod clause says what is blamed: "that you saw …". verteres is imperfect subjunctive, an unreal supposition: "if you were to blame him".
  • VIII.51 quemadmodum siquis fonti astans limpido ac dulci, conviciis eum incesserit, at ille nihilominus laticem potui accommodum fundere non cessat.
  • VIII.51 quin et si lutum quis fimumque injecerit, disperget cito diluetque eum, nec eodem inquinabitur.
  • VIII.51 si usu assiduo libertatem cum aequanimitate, simplicitate, modestia quasi nativam tibi reddideris.
  • VIII.56 alioqui vicini mei malitia malum me faceret: id quod Deo non est visum, ne alieni arbitrii esset miserum me facere.alioqui "otherwise" stands for a whole if-clause, "if it were not so"; so faceret, the imperfect subjunctive, is the verb of an unreal condition: "would make". facere with two accusatives is "to make someone something": malum me "me bad".
  • VIII.57 cujusmodi vero res sit radius, perspicere licet, si per angustum aliquod foramen lumen a Sole profectum in domicilium tenebricosum subingredi videris.
  • VIII.57 privabit enim semet splendore illius, siquis eam non transmiserit.
  • VIII.58 atqui, si sensum nullum prorsus habueris, nec mali quicquam sensurus es; sin sensum aliusmodi, animal aliusmodi futurus es, nec vivere desines.
  • IX.1 oportet autem, ad quae rerum natura ex aequo se habet, (nec fecisset utique utraque, nisi ad utraque se ex aequo haberet)An unreal condition, contrary to fact: nisi with the imperfect subjunctive haberet, and the pluperfect subjunctive fecisset in the main clause. "It would certainly not have made both, if it were not equally disposed to both." The pluperfect looks back to the past act of making, the imperfect to a state that holds always. The fact behind it: nature has made both, so it must be equally disposed to them. utraque, the neuter plural of uterque, is "both sets of things", each of the pairs of opposites; nec here is "for … not".
  • IX.3 si autem vulgare vis pharmacum, quod cor tamen attingat, morti facilem cumprimis praestabit te, si consideraveris res subjectas a quibus morte divelleris, moresque hominum quales sint, quibus anima tua ulterius non immiscebitur.
  • IX.3 hoc enim solum, siquid aliud, nos retraheret et in vita retineret, si cum eadem sentientibus vitam degere daretur.The imperfect subjunctive in both halves makes the condition unreal in the present: "this would draw us back … if it were granted", but it is not, as the next sentence says. hoc "this" points ahead to the si clause.
  • IX.11 si minus, memineris, hoc fine clementiam tibi datam esse. et Dii autem adversus tales clementer se gerunt.si minus is the usual Latin for "if not": minus "less" serves as a softened "not". Supply "if you cannot teach him".
  • IX.28 mens autem universi vel ad singula quaeque se promovet. quod si fuerit, ad quod illa se promoverit, tu excipe.
  • IX.28 denique, si quis Deus est, omnia bene se habent. sive temere ferantur; tu ne temere feraris,After si, quis is indefinite, "any": si quis Deus est "if there is any God", that is, if the world is governed by a divine mind. se habere with an adverb means "to be in a certain state": omnia bene se habent "all is well". The Greek is shorter still: "if God, all is well".
  • IX.29 verum sufficiat tibi, si vel parum admodum res processerit; nec vel hoc ipsum parvum quiddam existimaveris.
  • IX.29 sin tragice semet ostentarint, quis ad illorum imitationem me addixit?sin "but if" gives the other possibility: if they did not follow nature, but tragice semet ostentarint "made a show of themselves in the manner of tragedy", strutting like actors on a stage. ostentarint is short for ostentaverint, as norint is for noverint; the subjunctive carries on from the sentence before. semet is se strengthened by -met.
  • IX.38 Siquis deliquerit, penes ipsum est malum.siquis is si "if" with the indefinite quis "anyone", written as one word: "if anyone". deliquerit is the future perfect of delinquo "do wrong": "if anyone shall have done wrong", in English "if someone has done wrong". penes ipsum "in his own keeping": the evil stays with the wrongdoer and does not pass to you.
  • IX.42 ecquid autem mali aut insueti fit, si ineruditus, quae ineruditi sunt, fecerit?
  • X.2 atque id facias et admittas, nisi natura tua, qua es animal, inde deterior futura sit.
  • X.2 et hoc quicquid est, concede tibi, nisi natura tua, qua es animal rationale, deterius inde se habitura sit.
  • X.3 si contingit ita, ut ferre natus sis, ne gravatim te habeas, sed prout natus es, feras.
  • X.3 sin ita contingat, ut ferre non natus sis, nec sic quidem graveris; ubi enim te absumpserit, et ipsum concidet.sin "but if" answers the earlier si. The subjunctive contingat presents this second case as only supposed: "but if it should happen …".
  • X.4 Siquis fallitur, docendo comiter huic errorem suum indica.
  • X.4 aut hoc si nequeas, te culpa, vel nec te etiam.
  • X.7 hoc autem, cum sit necessarium, si et malum illis fuerit, cum universo sane sequius ageretur, cum partes ejus in alteratione frequenti agerent, et ad corrumpendum multifariam essent comparatae.An unreal condition: a case is imagined in order to be rejected. The main clause has the imperfect subjunctive ageretur "it would go", the mood of what is not so. Gataker opens the si clause with the perfect subjunctive fuerit "should it be", a looser choice, but the sense is "if this were an evil to them, … would …". Since the universe is in fact well run, change cannot be an evil for its parts.
  • X.7 sin, misso quis naturae nomine, ita nata esse dicere voluerit, vide quam ridiculum sit, ut qui dicat universi partes mutare natas, idem hoc ipsum mutare illas, tanquam quod praeter rerum ipsarum naturam contingat, miretur et aegre ferat:
  • X.8 Nomina tibi ubi sumpseris ista, boni, modesti, veracis, prudentis, unanimis, magnanimi, cave nequando transnomineris, et amittas denuo nomina ista; celeriterque (siquid tale contigerit) ad ea revertaris.
  • X.8 Intra nomina igitur ista si te continueris, nec ut alii his te titulis cohonestent concupiveris, alius jam futurus es, quam pridem fueras, aliamque initurus vitae rationem.
  • X.8 et siquidem in illis persistere potes, persistas, tanquam in fortunatorum insulas quasdam trajectus;
  • X.8 sin excidere, nec statum tueri posse te senseris, in angulum aliquem, ubi possis aliquid, audacter te conferas;
  • X.9 Mimus, bellum, terror, torpor, servitus, decreta illa sacra tua, ni caveas, expungent quotidie, quaecunque e studiosa rerum naturae contemplatione concepta in mente recondis.ni is an old, short form of nisi "unless". Its verb caveas "you take care" is subjunctive, putting the case as a possibility, while expungent "they will blot out" is a plain future. expungere is literally "to prick out": a name on a list was struck off by marking it with points. The principles are struck from the mind not at one blow but quotidie, a little every day.
  • X.10 nam et isti, qui hos capiunt, quid latronibus distant, si mentes ac decreta utrobique spectaveris?
  • X.12 et siquidem id perspexeris, placide ac constanter ea progredi; sin minus, consistere, et optimos quosque in consilium adhibere,
  • X.12 denique si aliud quippiam, quo minus ea procedas, obstiterit, prout occasiones praesentes se obtulerint, considerate progredi, ei quod justum tibi visum fuerit, adhaerendo?
  • X.13 Somno excusso statim percontare te, nunquid tua intererit, si justa bonaque ab alio aliquo fiant. nihil intererit.
  • X.15 nihil enim interest hic an illic, siquis ubicunque in orbe, tanquam in urbe, degat.siquis "if anyone" with the subjunctive degat states a general case. degere is "to spend (one's life), to live".
  • X.30 hoc enim si adverteris, ira statim tibi excidet.
  • X.30 praesertim, si succurrerit una, cogi hominem. quid enim faceret?
  • X.30 aut, si poteris, tu illum vi illa expedias.
  • X.31 praesertim, si simul fueris recordatus, quicquid semel mutarit, per spatium temporis infinitum non esse amplius futurum.
  • X.32 tu tantum statuas, nec ulterius vivere, quam talis futurus sis. neque enim ratio id poscit, ni talis sis.id "that" is your going on living: reason does not ask you to live on unless you are such, good and simple. ni is the old short form of nisi "unless"; sis is subjunctive because the condition still belongs to the resolution being described.
  • X.33 reliqua enim obstacula, vel sunt corporis, quod cadaveris instar habet, vel opinione, et rationis inclinatione semota, non infringunt, aut mali quicquam efficiunt. alioqui ea qui patitur, malus fieret.fieret is the imperfect subjunctive of an unreal condition; the "if" lies in alioqui "otherwise", that is, "if they did harm". Then "the man who suffers them would become bad"; but good men suffer them and stay good. qui patitur has no antecedent: "(he) who suffers".
  • X.33 istic vero, si ita dicere licuerit, praestantior fit homo ac laude dignior, dum eis quae objiciuntur, recte utitur.
  • X.33 in summa memineris, civem indigenam nihil laedere, ni civitatem laedat: civitatem nihil laedere, ni legem laedat.
  • X.36 hoc si inter moriendum cogitaveris, libentius discedes; cum ita tecum rem putaveris,
  • XI.1 neque enim sic se habet, quo modo in saltando aut in fabulam agendo aliisque ejusmodi, in quibus siquid incideris, actio tota fit mutila;incideris is from incīdo "cut into, cut short" (from caedo "cut"), not incĭdo "fall into". It is perfect subjunctive with the general "you": "if you (anyone) cut anything short"; siquid is si + quid "anything". Then the whole performance (actio, the acting of a part) "becomes maimed": a dance or a play is complete only if it runs to its end.
  • XI.1 sed ita fit quodammodo, ut quadraginta annos qui egerit, mentem modo aliquam habuerit, et res gestas animadverterit, ex uniformitatis ratione, et praeterita omnia et futura viderit.modo with the subjunctive means "provided only, if only" (like dummodo): "provided he has some mind". It also governs et res gestas animadverterit "and has paid attention to what has happened", which Gataker adds to the Greek.
  • XI.2 Cantilenam jucundam, saltationem, pancratium contemnes, si voce concinna in sonos singulos divisa, de his sigillatim te percontatus fueris, Num istud me victum habet? erubesces enim id fateri.
  • XI.2 de saltationis motibus gestibusque singulis, de pancratio itidem, si gemina feceris, futurum est ut pari modo adversus haec afficiaris.
  • XI.3 Qualis est anima ea, quae parata est jam statim, si oportuerit, e corpore emigrare, et vel extingui, vel dispergi, vel permanere?
  • XI.6 quale illud est imprimis; Si me meosque liberos Dii negligunt, Hujus etiam constat ratio.From Euripides' lost Antiope. Here Gataker prints the indicative negligunt "if the gods neglect", taking the case as fact; in 7.41 he has the subjunctive negligant "should neglect". ratio constat "the account balances" is a bookkeeper's phrase: there is a sound reason for this too. negligo is Gataker's spelling of neglego.
  • XI.8 quanquam hoc frequentius si fiat, dissociatio istiusmodi et difficilius resarcitur, et restitutio aegre procedere consuevit.quanquam (Gataker's spelling of quamquam) at the head of a sentence is "and yet", qualifying what was just said. hoc is put before si for emphasis. The comparative adverb frequentius "more often" has the sense "rather often, too often", as a comparative often does when nothing is compared.
  • XI.10 hoc si datur, sequetur, naturam eam quae est consummatissima, caeterasque omnes in se complectitur, artificis solertiae neutiquam concedere.
  • XI.10 neque enim quod est justum aequumque servabitur, si vel ad res medias anxie feramur, vel deceptu faciles et temerarii et inconstantes fuerimus.
  • XI.11 Si, quarum persecutio et fuga perturbat te, res eae ad te non accedunt, sed ad illas ipse quodammodo accedis, cum ipsae interim immotae maneant;
  • XI.13 neque id contumeliose, neque ut qui patientiam ostentare cupiam, sed ingenue, benigne, quo modo Phocion ille, nisi si simulate agebat.
  • XI.16 Optime vivendi facultas haec est in anima sita, si adversus res indifferentes indifferenter se habeat.The Stoics called "indifferent" (Greek adiaphora) everything that is neither good nor bad in itself: health, wealth, fame, pain, death. The condition is to treat them as what they are: indifferenter se habere "to hold oneself indifferently", not counting them good or evil. Gataker keeps Marcus's play on the word, indifferentes indifferenter. habeat is subjunctive because the condition is put as a supposition, "if he should …". Its subject is not stated; the masculine recordatus in the next sentence shows that Gataker means a man, not the feminine anima.
  • XI.16 indifferenter autem se habebit, si divisim et integre earum unamquamque consideraverit; simulque recordatus fuerit, quod nihil horum cogere nos potest, ut hoc vel illud de ipso opinemur;
  • XI.16 nec accedit ad nos, sed quiescit; nos autem sumus, qui judicia de his proferimus atque nobis ipsis inscribimus, cum nec inscribere in nobis situm sit, et si clanculum irrepserint, statim obliterare:
  • XI.16 siquidem enim naturae congrua sunt, eis oblecta te, et facilia futura sunt.siquidem often means "since", but here it is si quidem "if indeed", the first of two cases; the second comes with sin "but if" in the next sentence. The subject of congrua sunt is "these things", the indifferent things; congruus "in keeping with" takes the dative, naturae.
  • XI.16 sin praeter naturam, investiga, quid sit naturae tuae congruum, et ad hoc te accinge, etiamsi minus gloriosum sit.
  • XI.18 hoc si est, deteriora constat praestantiorum causa esse condita, praestantiora sui invicem.hoc "this" is the second alternative, that nature orders all things; it is put before si for emphasis. Only on that view does what follows hold.
  • XI.18 Tertio, quod, si haec recte faciunt, aegre ferre non oportet: sin minus, nolentes utique et nescientes agunt.
  • XI.18 nisi enim malum id sit duntaxat quod inhonestum est, necesse futurum est, ut et tu multa pecces, et latro, vel quidlibet etiam, fias.The Stoic doctrine that only the shameful is evil. id … quod "that which"; duntaxat "only, alone" goes with id. The subjunctive sit puts the condition as a supposition: "unless that alone be evil which is shameful".
  • XI.18 Nono, mansuetudinem insuperabilem esse, si genuina fuerit, non personata et fucata.
  • XI.18 si mansuete adversus illum te gerere perrexeris, et si occasio tulerit, placide illum admonueris, et eodem ipso, quo te laedere molitur, tempore quietus ipse hominem meliora docueris;
  • XI.18 Quod si volueris, etiam decimum a Musarum praeside donum accipe.
  • XI.21 non est satis quod dixi, nisi illud etiam adjeceris, qualis scopus hic esse debeat.
  • XI.29 Nec in scribendo, nec in legendo aliis praecipias, nisi prius praeceptum fuerit tibi.
  • XII.1 Ista omnia, quae per ambages assequi contendis, jam consequi potes, ni tibi ipse invideas.ni is an older, shorter nisi "unless". invidere "to begrudge" takes the dative of the person: tibi invideas "you begrudge (them) to yourself", that is, you stand in your own way. ipse "yourself" is nominative, with the subject: no one else can keep them from you. The subjunctive makes the condition a mere supposition, "unless you should begrudge".
  • XII.1 hoc autem fiet, si praeteritum omne missum feceris, futurum omne providentiae divinae permiseris, et quod praesens est tantum ad pietatis ac justitiae normam direxeris:
  • XII.1 si igitur, cum in exitu fere jam sis, missis caeteris omnibus, id duntaxat, quod in te principatum gerit et divinum est, in pretio ac honore habueris;
  • XII.1 mundo, qui te protulit, dignum te praestabis, desinesque in patria tua peregrinus esse, eaque quae quotidie eveniunt tanquam inopinata admirari, et ex hac vel illa re suspensus teneri.Here at last is the main clause that the si clauses were waiting for. dignus "worthy" takes the ablative of what one is worthy of: mundo … dignum "worthy of the world". se praestare with a predicate is "to show oneself, prove oneself": dignum te praestabis "you will prove yourself worthy". The world te protulit "brought you forth": it is your parent.
  • XII.2 hoc idem tu si feceris, multa temet molestia liberabis.The words that matter are put before si: hoc idem tu "this same thing, you (too)". Doing it means looking at minds, your own and others', without their bodily wrappings, as God does. feceris is future perfect: "if you do".
  • XII.3 proinde si a te, hoc est, a mente tua sejunxeris, quaecunque alii dicunt faciuntque;A very long condition begins here. Its verb is sejunxeris "you separate" (future perfect), and its objects are a string of clauses each opening with quaecunque "whatever", each with its antecedent left out. The main clause does not come until poteris "you will be able", at the end of the section. hoc est "that is" corrects a te "from yourself" to a mente tua "from your mind": the mind is the real you.
  • XII.3 si a mente, inquam, tua haec sejunxeris, quae ex affectu vehementiore ei adhaerere solent, et temporis quicquid vel praeteritum vel futurum est;After so many clauses Marcus starts the condition again: inquam "I say" marks the restart, and haec "these things" gathers up everything listed with quaecunque. The repeated si … sejunxeris is the same condition, not a new one.
  • XII.3 poteris tandem, quod superest vitae tuae, ad mortem usque, tranquille, generose, genioque tuo propitius transigere.Here, after all the si clauses, comes the main clause: poteris "you will be able", with its infinitive transigere "to pass, spend" kept for the very end. The object is quod superest vitae tuae "what remains of your life", with the partitive genitive vitae. ad mortem usque "right up to death": usque strengthens ad.
  • XII.4 itaque si vel Deus vel praeceptor prudens quis astans praeceperit cuiquam, ne quid apud se cogitet menteve agitet quod non simul ac conceperit proferat, ne ad dieculam quidem id sustineret.ne … quidem "not even" encloses the words it stresses: ne ad dieculam quidem "not even for one little day"; diecula is a diminutive of dies. sustineret, imperfect subjunctive, is "he would not bear it": Gataker puts the si clause in the perfect subjunctive (praeceperit "should order") and the conclusion in the imperfect, the form of an unreal present. The subject has changed: it is now the man who received the order.
  • XII.5 hoc vero siquidem sic se habet, pro certo scias, aliter facturos eos fuisse, si aliter fieri oporteret.pro certo scias "know for certain": the subjunctive scias is a polite command. What is to be known is an unreal condition reported in an accusative and infinitive. Spoken directly it would be aliter fecissent, si aliter fieri oporteret "they would have done otherwise, if it were right for it to happen otherwise"; reported, "they would have done" becomes the future participle with fuisse: facturos eos fuisse. The si clause keeps its subjunctive oporteret.
  • XII.5 Si enim justum erat, et fieri poterat; et si juxta naturam, id natura protulisset.Two steps: what is just the gods can do, and what is natural nature produces. Latin puts verbs of being able in the indicative where English says "could have": fieri poterat "it could have been done". et here is "also".
  • XII.5 vel hinc ergo, quod aliter se habet, si aliter saltem se habet, compertum habeas, fieri non oportuisse.Marcus does not say the soul perishes; si … saltem "if at least" leaves the question open, as siquidem did above.
  • XII.5 non autem de jure cum Deo disceptaremus, nisi optimi illi ac justissimi forent.forent is another form of essent, the imperfect subjunctive of sum. With disceptaremus it makes an unreal condition about the present: "we would not be arguing … unless they were supremely good and just". No one pleads for justice before a judge he thinks unjust, so the complaint itself takes for granted that the gods are just. optimi is the superlative of bonus.
  • XII.5 qui sunt autem istiusmodi, nihil in mundi dispositione injuste atque irrationabiliter neglectum insuper habuissent.habere with a perfect participle keeps a thing in a state: neglectum habere "to leave neglected". insuper habere "to disregard" is an idiom met in 5.5 and 6.14. The pluperfect subjunctive is "would have": beings so just would have let nothing in the world lie neglected. So the death of the good is no oversight, and Marcus can rest in it.
  • XII.16 hoc enim perinde est, acsi faciem sibi dilacerasset:perinde acsi "just as if" (acsi is ac si written as one word, as Gataker prints it) brings in an imagined comparison, so the verb is subjunctive: the pluperfect dilacerasset (short for dilaceravisset) "as if he had torn". sibi, a dative of reference, makes it "his own face". To condemn oneself is to wound oneself, as mourners tore their cheeks: the wrongdoer is already punished and needs no anger from you.
  • XII.17 Ni decorum sit, ne feceris; ni verum sit, ne dixeris.ni is an older, shorter form of nisi "if not, unless". The subject is left to be understood: "if (the thing) is not fitting". The subjunctive sit puts the case in general terms, "should it not be". decorum and verum are neuter adjectives: "a fitting thing", "a true thing". The Greek has the Stoic word for an action that is fitting or due (kathekon).
  • XII.23 pari ergo modo actionum omnium complexio, quae vita dicitur, si tempore suo desierit, nihil inde quicquam mali patitur, quia desiit.
  • XII.24 in eis quae agis, nequid frustra, aut secus fiat, quam jus ipsum fecisset.secus quam is "otherwise than". fecisset "would have done" is a pluperfect subjunctive, the verb of an unreal condition with the "if" left out: "than justice itself would have done (had it been acting)". jus "right, justice" is pictured as a person at work.
  • XII.24 tertium, si in sublime subvectus res humanas despiceres, ubi varietatem earum quanta esset perspexisses, simulque uno conspectu comprehenderes, quantum undiquaque aeriorum et aetheriorum sedes suas habeat, quod quotiescunque subvectus esses, eadem semper occurrerent.An unreal condition in present time: si with the imperfect subjunctive, "if you were to look down", answered at the end by the imperfect subjunctive occurrerent "(the same things) would meet (you)". in sublime subvectus "carried up on high" pictures the mind raised above the earth. despicere is "to look down on" and also "to despise": Gataker's one word covers both the Greek "look down at" and "how you will despise (them)".Here at last is the third thought itself: tertium (est) quod … "the third is that …"; the long si clause before quod sets the scene. subvectus esses is a pluperfect passive subjunctive, "you had been carried up", and occurrerent "would meet (you)" keeps the subjunctive of the imagined case. eadem is neuter plural, "the same things".
  • XII.31 atqui instituto huic repugnat, siquis aegre ferat, quod istis morte privandus sit.repugnat "it conflicts with" takes the dative instituto huic "this purpose", the resolve to follow God and reason. Its subject is the whole condition: it goes against this purpose "if anyone takes it hard". aegre ferre "to bear badly" means to resent.
  • XII.34 Nihil magis ad mortem contemnendam incitaverit, quam si consideres, etiam eos qui voluptatem in bonis, dolorem in malis habent, eam tamen contempsisse.magis … quam "more … than": "than if you consider". The present subjunctive consideres puts the case as a supposition.
  • XII.36 ecquid igitur grave pateris, si te non tyrannus, nec judex iniquus, sed natura, quae induxit, emittat;"What hardship, then, do you suffer, if …?" ecquid grave "anything hard at all?" expects the answer "none". The condition is in the subjunctive (emittat) and the question in the indicative (pateris): a supposed case, with a plain question about it. Gataker ends the question with a semicolon, and the comparison that follows carries the thought on.
  • XII.36 perinde ac si histrionem praetor qui conduxerat, e scena dimitteret.perinde ac si "just as if" with the imperfect subjunctive makes an imagined comparison: "just as if the praetor … were to dismiss (him)". The thought of the sentence before carries on: you are like an actor sent off by the one who engaged him.