(A.) MAIN SENTENCES.
2312. Declarative sentences of direct discourse are put in the
accusative with the infinitive, and interrogative and imperative
sentences of direct discourse are put in the subjunctive, in indirect
discourse.
(_a._) For examples of declarative sentences, see 2175-2184.
(_b._) Interrogative (1773): #quid vellet? cūr in suās possessiōnēs
venīret?# 1, 44, 7, _what did he mean? why this movement into his
property?_ from Ariovistus’s reply to Caesar. #dictātor litterās ad
senātum mīsit: deum benignitāte Vēiōs iam fore in potestāte populī
Rōmānī; quid dē praedā faciendum cēnsērent?# L. 5, 20, 1, _the dictator
sent this letter to the senate: through the bounty of the gods Vei would
soon belong to the Roman nation; what did they think should be done
about the booty?_
(_c._) Imperative (1547): #Cicerō respondit: sī ab armīs discēdere
velint, sē adiūtōre ūtantur lēgātōsque ad Caesarem mittant#, 5, 41, 7,
_Cicero replied: if they wished to lay down their arms, let them take
his advice and send envoys to Caesar_. #nūntius ē̆ī domō vēnit: bellum
Athēniēnsēs et Boeōtōs indīxisse Lacedaemoniīs; quārē venīre nē
dubitāret#, N. 17, 4, 1, _a message reached him from home: the Athenians
and Boeotians had declared war on the Lacedaemonians; so he was to come
without delay_. See also 1707, 1708.
2313. Rhetorical questions (that is, declarations made for effect in the
form of questions) in the first or third person in the direct discourse
are put in the accusative with the infinitive in indirect discourse: as,
#sī veteris contumēliae oblīvīscī vellet, num etiam recentium iniūriārum
memoriam dēpōnere posse?# 1, 14, 3, _if he were inclined to disregard
the old affront, could he also forget their fresh insults?_ from
Caesar’s reply to the Helvetians. #haud mīrum esse Superbō ē̆ī inditum
Rōmae cōgnōmen: an quicquam superbius esse quam lūdificārī sīc omne
nōmen Latīnum? cui nōn appārēre adfectāre eum imperium in Latīnōs?# L.
1, 50, 3, _no wonder Rome dubbed him ‘the Proud’: could there be a
greater sign of pride than this mockery of the whole Latin nation? who
did not see that he aspired to dominion over the Latins?_ This use is
not found in old Latin. It occurs once or twice in Cicero’s letters and
a few times in Caesar. In Livy and late writers, it is not uncommon.
Such questions in the second person require the subjunctive (2312).
2314. Questions which are in the subjunctive in direct discourse retain
the subjunctive in indirect discourse: as,
#quod vērō ad amīcitiam populī Rōmānī attulissent, id iīs ēripī quis
patī posset?# 1, 43, 8, _who could allow them to be stripped of what
they had possessed when they became the friends of the Roman nation?_
(1565).
(B.) SUBORDINATE SENTENCES.
2315. The verb of a subordinate sentence, introduced by a relative word
or a conjunctive particle, stands in the subjunctive in indirect
discourse (1722).
For the indicative with #dum#, _in the time while_, retained in indirect
discourse, see 1995.
#sapientissimum esse dīcunt eum, cui quod opus sit ipsī veniat in
mentem; proximē accēdere illum quī alterīus bene inventīs obtemperet#,
_Clu._ 84, _they say he is the wisest man who thinks out of himself what
is expedient; and that the man who avails himself of the wise devices of
another comes next_. #ad haec Ariovistus respondit: iūs esse bellī, ut
quī vīcissent iīs quōs vīcissent, quemadmodum vellent imperārent#, 1,
36, 1, _to this Ariovistus answered: that it was the right of war for
the conquerors to dictate to the conquered such terms as they pleased_.
2316. Relative sentences equivalent to main sentences (1835) may be put
in the accusative with the infinitive: as,
#ūnum medium diem fuisse, quem tōtum Galbam in cōnsīderandā causā
compōnendāque posuisse#, _Br._ 87, _that a single day intervened and
that this whole day Galba employed in studying up and arranging the
case_. This use is found in Cicero, rarely in Caesar, in Livy, and a few
times in other authors. Not in old Latin.
2317. So also sentences introduced by certain conjunctive particles are
occasionally put in the accusative with the infinitive: as,
#id quod saepe dictum est: ut mare ventōrum vī agitārī atque turbārī,
sīc populum Rōmānum hominum sēditiōsōrum vōcibus concitārī#, _Clu._ 138,
_the oft-repeated saying: as the sea is ruffled and tossed by the mighty
winds, so the people of Rome are stirred up by the talk of agitators_.
#honōrificum id mīlitibus fore, quōrum favōrem ut largitiōne et ambitū
male adquīrī, ita per bonās artēs haud spernendum#, Ta. _H._ 1, 17,
_that would be a mark of respect to the troops, and their good will,
though usually won by bribery and corruption, was certainly no small
gain if honourably come by_. #fugere senātum testēs tabulās pūblicās
cēnsūs cuiusque, cum interim obaerātam plēbem obiectārī aliīs atque
aliīs hostibus#, L. 6, 27, 6, _that the senate sought to avoid evidence
of each man’s property through making public returns, while at the same
time the commons lay bankrupt and at the mercy of one enemy after
another_. #ut# and #quemadmodum# are found with this infinitive in
Cicero, Livy, and Tacitus; #cum interim# and #sī nōn# in Livy; #quia# in
Livy and Seneca; #quamquam# in Livy and Tacitus; #nisi forte# in
Tacitus. For #quam# with the infinitive, see 1898.
2318. Relative sentences which are not a part of the quotation, but an
addition of the writer’s, or which are a circumlocution equivalent to a
substantive, are marked by the indicative (1729): as,
#Condrūsōs, Eburōnēs, Caeroesōs, Paemānōs, quī ūnō nōmine Germānī
appellantur, arbitrārī ad XL mīlia#, 2, 4, 10, _that they reckoned the
Condrusians, Eburonians, Caeroesians and Paemanians (who are all called
by one name Germans) at forty thousand_. For other examples of such
sentences, see 1729.
2319. Sentences containing the thought of another, introduced by a
relative pronoun or by causal, temporal, or other conjunctive particles,
take the subjunctive, though not appended to the accusative with the
infinitive (1725): as,
#numquis, quod bonus vir esset, grātiās dīs ēgit umquam?# _DN._ 3, 87,
_did anybody ever thank the gods ‘because he was a good man’?_ (1853).
#mihī̆ loquitur nec rēctē quia tibī̆ aurum reddidī et quia nōn tē
dēfraudāverim#, Pl. _B._ 735, _he’s always pitching into me because I
returned you the money and ‘because I didn’t do you out of it’_ (1856,
1853). #aedem Dīiovī vōvit, sī eō diē hostēs fūdisset#, L. 31, 21, 12,
_he vowed a temple to infernal Jove, ‘if he should rout the enemy on
that day.’_ For other examples, see 1725, 1852, 1853, 1884, &c.
2320. Sometimes a verb of saying or thinking is added, and is itself
irrationally put in the subjunctive. For examples, see 1727.
(2.) TENSE.
(A.) OF THE INFINITIVE.
2321. The tenses of the infinitive follow their usual law (2218),
representing the action as present, past, or future, from the speaker’s
point of view.
#nūntiātum est Ariovistum ad occupandum Vesontiōnem contendere trīduīque
viam ā suīs fīnibus prōfēcisse#, 1, 38, 1, _it was reported that
Ariovistus was pressing on_ (2219) _to seize Vesontio, and that he had
done a three days’ journey from his own borders_ (2226). #fāma est āram
esse in vestibulō templī#, L. 24, 3, 7, _rumour has it that there is an
altar in the vestibule of the temple_ (2219). #lēgāti haec sē ad suōs
relātūrōs dīxērunt#, 4, 9, 1, _the envoys said they would report this to
their countrymen_ (2232). For other examples, see 2175-2203; for the
infinitive equivalent of the indicative imperfect and pluperfect, see
2226, 2227.
(B.) OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE.
2322. The tenses of the subjunctive follow the law of the sequence of
tenses; see 1745.
The tenses are usually imperfect or pluperfect, as the verb introducing
a quotation is usually past.
#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 which they understood_ (1766). #dīcēbam
quoad metuerēs, omnia tē prōmissūrum#, _Ph._ 2, 89, _I said that as long
as you were afraid, you would promise everything_ (1771). #cōgnōvit
Suēbōs posteā quam pontem fierī comperissent, nūntiōs in omnēs partēs
dīmīsisse#, 4, 19, 2, _he ascertained that after the Suebans had learned
of the building of the bridge, they had sent out messengers in every
direction_ (1772). For other examples, see 1746-1772.
2323. But the present and perfect subjunctive are often used, especially
when the main verb is present, or for vividness after a secondary tense.
#Alexandrum Philippus accūsat quod largitiōne benevolentiam Macedonum
cōnsectētur#, _Off._ 2, 53, _Philip accuses Alexander of courting the
favour of the Macedonians by the use of money_ (1746, 1853). #initium
quod huic cum mātre fuerit simultātis audīstis#, _Clu._ 17, _you have
heard the origin of the enmity which was between the defendant and his
mother_ (1746). #Ariovistus respondit: stīpendium capere iūre bellī quod
victōrēs victīs imponere cōnsuerint#, 1, 44, 1, _Ariovistus answered
that it was by the laws of war that he took the tribute which victors
were wont to lay upon the vanquished_ (1755). For other examples, see
1746-1772.
2324. The future of direct discourse is represented in indirect
discourse by the imperfect, and the future perfect by the pluperfect
subjunctive.
#sē quod ē rē pūblicā esset factūrum#, L. 28, 45, 3, _that he would do
what should be for the interests of the state_ (1766). #sē nōn ante
coeptūrum quam ignem in rēgiīs castrīs cōnspexisset#, L. 30, 5, 5, _that
he would not begin before he saw fire in the royal camp_ (1766, 1921).
The present or perfect subjunctive also is found when the main verb
requires. For other examples, see 1746-1772.
(3.) PRONOUN.
2325. #ego# and #nōs#, of direct discourse, are represented by #sē# in
indirect discourse, and #meus# and #noster# by #suus#. #tū# and #vōs#,
of direct discourse, are represented in indirect discourse by #ille#,
or, when less emphatic, by #is#.
For the use of the reflexive pronoun, see 2338-2342.
#sē prius in Galliam vēnisse quam populum Rōmānum#, 1, 44, 7, _that he
came into Gaul before the Roman nation_, said Ariovistus of himself. #sē
ā patribus maiōribusque suīs didicisse#, 1, 13, 6, _that they had
learned from their fathers and ancestors_, said the Helvetians of
themselves. #trānsīsse Rhēnum sēsē nōn suā sponte#, 1, 44, 1, _that he
had crossed the Rhine not of his own accord_, was the assertion of
Ariovistus. #quī nisi dēcēdat, sēsē illum nōn prō amīcō sed hoste
habitūrum. quod sī eum interfēcerit, multīs sēsē prīncipibus populī
Rōmānī grātum esse factūrum#, 1, 44, 11, _that unless he withdrew, he
should consider him not a friend but a foe. Why, if he killed him, he
should do a favour to numerous leading men in the Roman nation_. Here
Ariovistus is reported as speaking to Caesar.