Quo minus and quin after verbs of hindering

After verbs of preventing, quo minus (also written quominus) with the subjunctive means "from doing"; after a negative, quin can do the same job.

Examples

• nihil obstat, quo minus hoc facias 2.2nothing prevents you from doing this
• qui prohibere te possit, quo minus ea facias dicasque semper 2.9who can stop you from always doing and saying those things
• qui alba et nigra internoscere prohibet 2.13which prevents one from telling white from black

In the text 25

• I.16 quodque nemo illum abducere quiverit, quin pro merito suo unicuique rependeret.queo "I am able" is a rarer word for possum: nemo illum abducere quiverit "no one was able to draw him away". After such a negative verb of hindering or drawing back, quin with the subjunctive means "from doing": "from repaying each according to his merit". The subject of rependeret is the father.
• I.17 ut, quantum ad Deos attinet, ac suggestiones, adjutationes, inspirationes ab ipsis profectas, nihil obstet omnino, quo minus juxta naturae praescriptum confestim vivam, nisi ipse tandem in culpa sim, qui Deorum submonitiones, et tantum non claras praeceptiones neutiquam observem.After verbs of hindering, quo minus (literally 'by which the less') with the subjunctive is translated 'from': 'nothing prevents me from living'. juxta naturae praescriptum 'according to the prescription of nature'.
• II.2 proinde mitte libros. nec distrahere amplius: (nihil obstat, quo minus hoc facias) sed tanquam qui jam statim moriturus sis, carnes istas contemnas.After verbs of hindering, quo minus (literally "by which the less") with the subjunctive means "from (doing)": "nothing prevents you from doing this".
• II.9 quod etiam nemo sit, qui prohibere te possit, quo minus ea facias dicasque semper, quae naturae illi, cujus pars es, consentanea fuerint.After a verb of preventing, quo minus (often written as one word, quominus) with the subjunctive means 'from (doing)': prohibere te quo minus facias 'to prevent you from doing'. Literally it is 'by which the less you do'.
• 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.nihil est quo minus … "there is nothing by which … the less", i.e. "nothing prevents … from …", with the subjunctive censeatur. The subject of censeatur, vir ita compositus "a man so composed", is put first for emphasis: "nothing now prevents a man so composed from being counted among the best".
• III.6 ad quam animo devergente si inclinaveris quicquam, bonum illud proprium et peculiariter tuum quo minus libere colas praeferasque, obstabit.After obstare "to stand in the way", quo minus with the subjunctive means "from (doing)": "it will prevent you from freely cultivating and preferring". The object of these verbs, bonum illud proprium et peculiariter tuum "that good which is your own and peculiarly yours", is put first of all.
• III.6 judiciumque, quo minus externa rerum facie specieque corrumpatur, integrum servare curae sit, quo rerum examen exquisitius instituas.Here quo minus has no verb of hindering before it and means simply "so that … not", like ne: "so that it is not corrupted by the outward face and appearance of things". The subject is judicium.
• III.12 hoc autem quin facias, qui impediat, nullus est.Read from the end: nullus est, qui impediat "there is no one who could prevent", then quin facias hoc "you from doing this". After a verb of hindering in a negative sentence, "from doing" is quin with the subjunctive; hoc, its object, is put first for emphasis.
• V.13 nihil enim vetat, quo minus hoc dicam, etiamsi secundum periodos finibus certis terminatas mundus iste digeratur.quo minus (also written quominus) with the subjunctive follows verbs of hindering and preventing: nihil vetat quo minus hoc dicam "nothing prevents me from saying this". Where English has "from" and an -ing form, Latin has a clause.
• V.17 Quae fieri nequeunt sectari, insanum est. fieri autem non potest, quin istiusmodi quaedam improbi agant.fieri non potest "it cannot happen" is followed by quin and the subjunctive, "that … not": "it cannot happen that the wicked do not do such things", i.e. they are bound to. (fieri non potest ut would say the opposite, "it cannot happen that".) The two halves join: what is impossible here is that bad men should not behave badly, so to demand it is to pursue the impossible, which is madness.
• V.18 Nihil cuiquam contingit, quin a natura habeat, ut id ferre possit.After a negative main clause quin with the subjunctive means "without …, but that": "nothing happens to anyone without his having (it) from nature". The subject of habeat is the person implied in cuiquam "to anyone"; contingo "happen to" takes the dative.
• V.28 ejusmodi os huic, illi alae sunt, ut fieri nequeat, quin tale quid ab utroque se proferat.ut gives the result. fieri nequeat quin "it cannot happen but that", i.e. "it is bound to happen that": quin with the subjunctive follows negative phrases of this kind. tale quid "some such thing", the smell, se proferat "brings itself out", "comes out", ab utroque "from each of the two".
• V.29 interim vero dum nihil me ad educendum me adigit, liber maneo; utpote quem nemo prohibere possit, quo minus faciam quae velim;After verbs of hindering, quo minus with the subjunctive means "from (doing)": prohibere quo minus faciam "to prevent me from doing". velim is subjunctive too, because it stands inside the quo minus clause: "what I wish".
• VI.58 Quo minus secundum naturae tuae rationem vivas, nemo te coegerit.quo minus with the subjunctive (vivas) follows verbs of hindering: "so that … not", in English "from (living)". Here the clause comes first, and the verb is cogere "to force", not a verb of hindering (so Gataker's 1652 edition prints it; the Greek has "will hinder"): "no one will force you out of living by the reason of your own nature". coegerit is a perfect subjunctive making a confident statement, "no one will (or could) force you"; the future perfect indicative has the same form and much the same sense.
• VII.68 quid enim obstat, quo minus inter haec omnia mens tranquillam se servet, de rebus circumstantibus vere judicet, objectisque commode utatur?After verbs of hindering, such as obstare "to stand in the way", quo minus (literally "by which the less") with the subjunctive means "from (doing)": "what prevents the mind from keeping … judging … using?". The question expects the answer "nothing". Its three verbs are servet, judicet and utatur.
• VIII.32 quo minus autem ferat, quicquid suum est, prohibere nemo poterit.After verbs of preventing, quo minus (literally "by which the less") with the subjunctive is English "from …-ing": prohibere quo minus ferat "to prevent (it) from achieving". Here the quo minus clause is put first for weight, and the object of prohibere, the action, is not repeated. However the world goes, no one can stop an action from doing its own part.
• VIII.32 sed exterius aliquid obstabit? nihil quicquam, quo minus juste, sobrie, considerate in ea te geras.Again quo minus "from …-ing", now after the understood obstabit: nothing can stop you from conducting yourself justly, soberly, thoughtfully. se gerere with an adverb is "to behave"; in ea "in it" is the action (actio). The outcome may be blocked; the way you act never can be.
• VIII.47 siquid vero in interna animi dispositione te angit, quis prohibere potest, quo minus opinionem tuam corrigas?After verbs of hindering, quo minus (literally "by which the less") with the subjunctive is translated "from": prohibere quo minus corrigas "to prevent you from correcting". The question expects the answer "no one".
• VIII.51 quid haec obstant, quominus mentem serves puram, prudentem, sobriam, justam?After verbs of hindering, quominus (also written quo minus, literally "by which the less") + subjunctive means "from …ing": obstant quominus serves "stand in the way of your keeping". Here Gataker writes it as one word, though in 8.32 he wrote quo minus. puram, prudentem, sobriam, justam are predicates with mentem: "keep the mind pure, …".
• IX.10 etiamsi autem usus formulam hanc loquendi viti ac similibus praecipue attribuerit, nihil tamen hoc obstat, quo minus et de illis dicatur.hoc "this", the fact about usage, is the subject of obstat, and nihil is an accusative used as an adverb, "in no way". After a verb of hindering such as obstare, quo minus with the subjunctive is English "from …-ing": "this in no way prevents (it) from being said of those too". The subject of dicatur is the phrase "to bear fruit"; illis "those" are man, God and the world.
• IX.35 nec penes Deos, qui tot fuerint, potentiam extitisse corrigendi ista, quo minus mundus ad mala ista addiceretur, quibus perpetim teneretur implicitus?quo minus with the subjunctive, "so that … not", says what the power to set things right would have prevented: the world being condemned to those evils. addicere is a word of the law courts, used of a judge who made a debtor over to his creditor; here the world is sentenced to evils. The imperfect addiceretur follows the past extitisse.
• IX.42 ubi enim recordatus fueris, fieri non posse, quin existat hoc genus hominum; mox erga singulos mitius te habiturus es.What you remember is reported, so non potest becomes the infinitive non posse. After a negative of this kind, "it cannot be", the clause takes quin and the subjunctive, meaning "that … not": "that it cannot happen that this kind of men does not exist", that is, they are bound to exist. Compare fieri autem non potest, quin … in 5.17; fieri non posse ut would say the opposite.
• X.7 quanquam ponatur, illud ipsum te valde addicere huic peculiariter sic affecto, nihil tamen obstabit, quo minus verum sit quod jam dictum est.After obstare "to stand in the way", quo minus with the subjunctive means "from (being)": "nothing will prevent (it) from being true". Its subject is quod jam dictum est "what has just been said".
• 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?After obstare "to stand in the way", quo minus with the subjunctive means "from (doing)": "if anything else prevents you from going that way". obstiterit and obtulerint are future perfects in clauses about the future.
• XII.1 nec impediverit te, quo minus sic te geras, aut aliena sive vitiositas, sive opinio, sive sermo, aut sensus etiam cingentis te massae istius carneae.After verbs of hindering, quo minus with the subjunctive says what is hindered: impedire … quo minus sic te geras "to hinder you from conducting yourself so". se gerere "to carry oneself" is "to behave"; sic "so" sums up the piety and justice just described.