1722. The subjunctive is used in relative, causal, temporal, and
conditional sentences in indirect discourse, and in cases of attraction.
1723. A direct quotation or question gives the words of the original
speaker without alteration. When the original words of a quotation or
question are changed to conform to the construction of the sentence in
which they are quoted, it is called _Indirect Discourse_.
1724. In the complete form of indirect discourse, the subjunctive is
subordinate to an infinitive or an accusative with the infinitive,
dependent on a verb of saying or thinking (2175): as,
#negat Epicūrus iūcundē posse vīvī, nisi cum virtūte vīvātur#, _TD._ 3,
49, _Epicurus avers there is no living happily, without living
virtuously_; directly, #iūcundē vīvī nōn potest, nisi cum virtūte
vīvitur#. #Sōcratēs dīcere solēbat, omnēs in eō quod scīrent, satis esse
ēloquentēs#, _DO._ 1, 63, _Socrates used to maintain that all men were
eloquent enough in a matter they knew_; directly, #omnēs in eō quod
sciunt satis sunt ēloquentēs#.
1725. The idea of saying or thinking is often not formally expressed in
the main sentence, and the indirect discourse is intimated by the
subordinate subjunctive only: as,
#noctū ambulābat in pūblicō Themistoclēs, quod somnum capere nōn
posset#, _TD._ 4, 44, _Themistocles used to walk the streets nights,
‘because he could not sleep,’_ given as Themistocles’s reason; the
writer’s would be #poterat#. #Paetus omnēs librōs, quōs frāter suus
relīquisset, mihī̆ dōnāvit#, _Att._ 2, 1, 12, _Paetus made me a present
of all the books ‘that his brother had left.’_ #dum reliquae nāvēs eō
convenīrent, in ancorīs expectāvit#, 4, 23, 4, _he waited at anchor till
the rest of the vessels should gather there_ (2005). #pervēnit priusquam
Pompēius sentīre posset#, Caes. _C._ 3, 67, 4, _he got there before
Pompey should be able to learn of his coming_ (1919). #Xerxēs praemium
prōposuit, quī invēnisset novam voluptātem#, _TD._ 5, 20, _Xerxes
offered a reward to anybody who should devise a new form of
entertainment_ (2110).
1726. A speaker or writer may quote his own thoughts in the indirect
form, like another person’s: as, #haec tibi dictābam post fānum putre
Vacūnae, exceptō quod nōn simul essēs, cētera laetus#, H. _E._ 1, 10,
49, _I write thee this behind Vacuna’s mouldering pile, in all else
well, except that thou’rt not here the while_ (1601).
1727. Instead of an intimation of indirect discourse by a mere
subjunctive, a verb of thinking or saying is sometimes introduced by
#quī#, or especially #quod#, sometimes by #cum#, and put illogically
itself in the subjunctive: as, #litterās, quās mē sibī̆ mīsisse dīceret,
recitāvit#, _Ph._ 2, 7, _he read off a letter, which he said I sent
him_, i.e. #quās mīsissem#. #impetrāre nōn potuī, quod religiōne sē
impedīrī dīcerent#, Sulpicius in _Fam._ 4, 12, 3, _I could not get
leave, because they said they were hampered by religious scruple_, i.e.
#quod impedīrentur#. #cum dīceret#, _DN._ 3, 83, _saying as he did_.
This construction is common in Cicero, somewhat so in Caesar, rare in
Sallust.
1728. The subjunctive is used in sentences expressing an essential part
of the thought, which are subordinate to another subjunctive, or to an
infinitive. This is called the _Subjunctive of Attraction_, or _of
Assimilation_: as,
#vereor nē, dum minuere velim labōrem, augeam#, _Leg._ 1, 12, _I am
afraid I may make the work harder, while I am aiming to make it less_.
#sī sōlōs eōs dīcerēs miserōs, quibus moriendum esset, nēminem eōrum,
quī vīverent exciperēs#, _TD._ 1, 9, _if you should pronounce only such
people unhappy as had to die, you would not except one of those who were
living_. #mōs est Syrācūsīs, ut sī quā dē rē ad senātum referātur, dīcat
sententiam quī velit#, _V._ 4, 142, _it is the custom at Syracuse, that
if any question is discussed in the senate, anybody who pleases may
express his opinion_. #sapiēns nōn dubitat, sī ita melius sit, migrāre
dē vītā#, _Fin._ 1, 62, _the sage does not hesitate, if this be the
better course, to withdraw from life_. #mōs est Athēnīs laudārī in
cōntiōne eōs, quī sint in proeliīs interfectī#, _O._ 151, _it is the
custom in Athens to eulogize in public assembly such as have fallen in
action_.
1729. The indicative is kept in subordinate statements added or vouched
for by the person reporting, and also in circumlocutions equivalent to a
substantive: as,
#nūntiātum est Ariovistum ad occupandum Vesontiōnem, quod est oppidum
maximum Sēquanōrum, contendere#, 1, 38, 1, _it was reported that
Ariovistus was pressing on to seize Vesontio, which is the most
considerable town of the Sequans_. #prūdentissima cīvitās Athēniēnsium,
dum ea rērum potīta est, fuisse trāditur#, _RA._ 70, _Athens is said to
have been passing wise, as long as she held the hegemony_. #vīs, quae
restant, mē loquī?# T. _Andr._ 195, _wilt have me tell the rest?_ i.e.
#relicua#. #fierī potest, ut id quod sentit polītē ēloquī nōn possit#,
_TD._ 1, 6, _it may be that he cannot express his thought in polished
style_, i.e. #sententiam suam#.