Part 36

1501. There are two kinds of questions: (1.) Such questions as call for the answer _yes_ or _no_ in English: as, _is he gone?_ These may conveniently be called _Yes or No Questions_. (2.) Questions introduced by an interrogative pronoun, or by a word derived from an interrogative pronoun: as, _who is gone?_ _where is he?_ These are called _Pronoun Questions_.

YES OR NO QUESTIONS.

1502. (1.) Yes or No questions are sometimes put without any interrogative particle: as,

#Thraex est Gallīna Syrō pār?# H. _S._ 2, 5, 44, of two gladiators, _is Thracian Bantam for the Syrian a match?_ Often intimating censure: as, #rogās?# Pl. _Aul._ 634, _dost ask?_ or _what an absurd question_. #prōmpsistī tū illī vīnum? :: nōn prōmpsī#, Pl. _MG._ 830, _thou hast been broaching wine for him? :: not I_. Especially with #nōn#: as, #patēre tua cōnsilia nōn sentīs?# _C._ 1, 1, _you don’t see that your schemes are out?_ It is often doubtful whether such sentences are questions, exclamations, or declarations.

1503. (2.) Yes or No questions are usually introduced by one of the interrogative particles #-ne# or #-n#, #nōnne#, #num#, #an#, #anne#.

1504. A question with #-ne# or #-n# may enquire simply, without any implication as to the character of the answer, or it may either expect an affirmative answer like #nōnne#, or less frequently a negative answer like #num#: as,

(_a._) #valen?# Pl. _Tri._ 50, _art well?_ #habētin aurum?# Pl. _B._ 269, _have you got the gold?_ (_b._) #iussīn in splendōrem darī bullās hās foribus?# Pl. _As._ 426, _didn’t I give orders to polish up the bosses of the door?_ #facitne ut dixī?# Pl. _Am._ 526, _isn’t he acting as I said?_ (_c._) #istō immēnsō spatiō quaerō, Balbe, cūr Pronoea vestra cessāverit. labōremne fugiēbat?# _DN._ 1, 22, _I want to know, Balbus, why your people’s Providence lay idle all that immeasurable time; it was work she was shirking, was it?_ #quid, mundum praeter hunc umquamne vīdistī? negābis#, _DN._ 1, 96, _tell me, did you ever see any universe except this one? you will say no_.

1505. Sometimes the #-ne# of an interrogative sentence is transferred to a following relative, chiefly in Plautus and Terence: as, #rogās? quīne arrabōnem ā mē accēpistī ob mulierem?# Pl. _R._ 860, _how can you ask, when you have got the hansel for the girl from me?_ Similarly, #ō sērī studiōrum, quīne putētis difficile#, H. _S._ 1, 10, 21, _what laggards at your books, to think it hard_, i.e. #nōnne estis sērī studiōrum, quī putētis difficile?# Compare 1569.

1506. To a question with #nōnne#, a positive answer is usually expected, seldom a negative: as,

(_a._) #nōnne meministī? :: meminī vērō#, _TD._ 2, 10, _don’t you remember? :: oh yes_. Sometimes a second or third question also has #nōnne#, but oftener #nōn#: as, #nōnne ad tē L. Lentulus, nōn Q. Sanga, nōn L. Torquātus vēnit?# _Pis._ 77, _did not Lentulus and Sanga and Torquatus come to see you?_ (_b._) #nōnne cōgitās?# _RA._ 80, _do you bear in mind?_ #nōnne# is rare in Plautus, comparatively so in Terence, but very common in classical Latin.

1507. To a question with #num# a negative answer is generally expected. Less frequently either a positive or a negative answer indifferently: as,

(_a._) #num negāre audēs?# _C._ 1, 8, _do you undertake to deny it?_ #num, tibi cum faucēs ūrit sitis, aurea quaeris pōcula?# H. _S._ 1, 2, 114, _when thirst thy throat consumes, dost call for cups of gold?_ Rarely #numne#: as, #quid, deum ipsum numne vīdistī?# _DN._ 1, 88, _tell me, did you ever see god in person?_ (_b._) #sed quid ais? num obdormīvistī dūdum?# Pl. _Am._ 620, _but harkee, wert asleep a while ago?_ #numquīd vīs?# Pl. _Tri._ 192, _hast any further wish?_

1508. A question with #an#, less often #anne#, or if negative, with #an nōn#, usually challenges or comments emphatically on something previously expressed or implied: as,

#an habent quās gallīnae manūs?# Pl. _Ps._ 29, _what, what, do hens have hands?_ #an# is also particularly common in argumentative language, in anticipating, criticising, or refuting an opponent: as, #quid dīcis? an bellō Siciliam virtūte tuā līberātam?# _V._ 1, 5, _what do you say? possibly that it was by your prowess that Sicily was rid of the war?_ #at vērō Cn. Pompēī voluntātem ā mē aliēnābat ōrātiō mea. an ille quemquam plūs dīlēxit?# _Ph._ 2, 38, _but it may be urged that my way of speaking estranged Pompey from me. why, was there anybody the man loved more?_ In old Latin, #an# is oftener used in a single than in an alternative question, while in classical Latin it is rather the reverse.

1509. (3.) Yes or No questions are sometimes introduced by #ecquis#, #ecquō#, #ecquandō#, or #ēn umquam#: as,

_heus, ecquis hīc est?_ Pl. _Am._ 420, _hollo, is e’er a person here?_ #ecquid animadvertis hōrum silentium?# _C._ 1, 20, _do you possibly observe the silence of this audience?_ (1144). #ō pater, ēn umquam aspiciam tē?# Pl. _Tri._ 588, _O father, shall I ever set mine eyes on thee?_

1510. (4.) In Plautus, #satin# or #satin ut#, _really_, _actually_, sometimes becomes a mere interrogative or exclamatory particle: as, #satin abiīt ille?# Pl. _MG._ 481, _has that man really gone his way?_

[Errata: 1507a ... H. _S._ 1, 2, 114 H _S._ _DN._ 1, 88 _DN_]

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ANSWERS.

1511. There are no two current Latin words corresponding exactly with _yes_ and _no_ in answers.

1512. (1.) A positive answer is expressed by some emphatic word of the question, repeated with such change as the context may require: as,

#an nōn dīxī esse hoc futūrum? :: dīxtī#, T. _Andr._ 621, _didn’t I say that this would be? :: you did_. #hūc abiīt Clītiphō :: sōlus? :: sōlus#, T. _Hau._ 904, _here Clitipho repaired :: alone? :: alone_. The repeated word may be emphasized by #sānē#, #vērō#: as, #dāsne manēre animōs post mortem? :: dō vērō#, _TD._ 1, 25, _do you grant that the soul lives on after death? :: oh yes_. Often, however, adverbs are used, without the repetition, such as #certē#, #certō#, #etiam#, #factum#, #ita#, #ita enimvērō#, #ita vērō#, #sānē#, #sānē quidem#, #scīlicet#, _oh of course_, #vērō#, rarely #vērum#.

1513. (2.) A negative answer is expressed by a similar repetition, with #nōn# or some other negative added: as,

#estne frāter intus? :: nōn est#, T. _Ad._ 569. _is brother in? :: he’s not_. Or, without repetition, by such words as #nōn#, #nōn ita#, #nōn quidem#, #nōn hercle vērō#, #minimē#, #minimē quidem#, #minimē vērō#, #nihil minus#.

1514. #immō# introduces a sentence rectifying a mistake, implied doubt, or understatement in a question: as, #nūllane habēs vitia? :: immō alia, et fortasse minōra#, H. _S._ 1, 3, 20, _have you no faults? :: I beg your pardon, other faults, and peradventure lesser ones_. #causa igitur nōn bona est? immō optima#, _Att._ 9, 7, 4, _isn’t the cause a good one then? good? yes, more than good, very good_.

ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS.

1515. The alternative question belongs properly under the head of the compound sentence. But as the interrogative particles employed in the single question are also used in the alternative question, the alternative question is most conveniently considered here.

1516. In old English, the first of two alternative questions is often introduced by the interrogative particle _whether_, and the second by _or_: as, _whether is it easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say Arise?_ In modern English, _whether_ is not used thus.

1517. The history of the Latin alternative question is just the reverse of the English. In old Latin, the first question is very often put without any interrogative particle. Later, in the classical period, the use of #-ne#, or oftener of #utrum#, etymologically the same as _whether_, is overwhelmingly predominant.

1518. In the simplest form of the alternative sentence, neither question is introduced by an interrogative particle: as,

#quid agō? adeō, maneō?# T. _Ph._ 736, _what shall I do? go up and speak, or wait?_ (1531).

1519. Of two alternative questions, the first either has no interrogative particle at all, or is more commonly introduced by #utrum#, #-ne#, or #-n#. The second is introduced by #an#, rarely by #anne#, or if it is negative, by #an nōn#: as,

(_a._) #album an ātrum vīnum pōtās?# Pl. _Men._ 915, _do you take light wine or dark?_ #Tacitus es an Plīnius?# Plin. _Ep._ 9, 23, 3, _are you Tacitus or Pliny?_ #sortiētur an nōn?# _PC._ 37, _will he draw lots or not?_ (_b._) #iam id porrō utrum libentēs an invītī dabant?# _V._ 3, 118, _then furthermore did they offer it voluntarily or did they consent to give it under stress?_ #utrum cētera nōmina in cōdicem acceptī et expēnsī dīgesta habēs an nōn?# _RC._ 9, _have you all other items methodically posted in your ledger or not?_ (_c._) #servosne es an līber?# Pl. _Am._ 343, _art bond or free?_ #esne tū an nōn es ab illō mīlitī Macedoniō?# Pl. _Ps._ 616, _art thou or art thou not the Macedonian captain’s man?_ #videōn Clīniam an nōn?# T. _Hau._ 405, _do I see Clinia or not?_

1520. #necne# for #an nōn# is rare: as, #sēmina praetereā linquontur necne animāī corpore in exanimō?# Lucr. 3, 713, _are seeds moreover left or not of soul within the lifeless frame?_ Twice in Cicero: as, #sunt haec tua verba necne?# _TD._ 3, 41, _are these your words or not?_ But #necne# is common in indirect questions.

1521. Instead of a single second question with #an#, several questions may be used if the thought requires it, each introduced by #an#.

1522. Sometimes an introductory #utrum# precedes two alternative questions with #-ne# and #an#: as, #utrum tū māsne an fēmina ’s?# Pl. _R._ 104, _which is it, art thou man or maid?_ This construction has its origin in questions in which #utrum# is used as a live pronoun: as, #utrum māvīs? statimne nōs vēla facere an paululum rēmigāre?# _TD._ 4, 9, _which would you rather do, have us make sail at once, or row just a little bit?_ In Horace and late prose, #utrumne . . . an# is found a few times.

1523. Sometimes a second alternative question is not put at all: as, #utrum hōc bellum nōn est?# _Ph._ 8, 7, in old English, _whether is not this war?_

1524. Two or more separate questions asked with #-ne . . . -ne#, or with #num ... num#, must not be mistaken for alternative questions: as, #num Homērum, num Hēsiodum coēgit obmūtēscere senectūs?# _CM._ 23, _did length of days compel either Homer or Hesiod to hush his voice?_ (1692).

1525. An alternative question is answered by repeating one member or some part of it, with such changes as the context may require.

PRONOUN QUESTIONS.

1526. Pronoun questions or exclamations are introduced by interrogative pronouns, or words of pronoun origin.

Such words are: (_a._) #quis#, #quī#, #quoius#, #uter#, #quālis#, #quantus#, #quotus#: as, #quid rīdēs?# H. _S._ 2, 5, 3, _why dost thou laugh?_ (1144). #uter est īnsānior hōrum?# H. _S._ 2, 3, 102, _which of these is the greater crank?_ #hōra quota est?# H. _S._ 2, 6, 44, _what’s o’clock?_ (_b._) Or #unde#, #ubī̆#, #quō#, #quōr# or #cūr#, #quī# ablative, _how_, #quīn#, _why not_, #quam#, _how_, #quandō#, #quotiēns#: as, #unde venīs et quō tendis?# H. _S._ 1, 9, 62, _whence dost thou come, and whither art thou bound?_ #deus fallī quī potuit?# _DN._ 3, 76, _how could a god have been taken in?_ (1495). #quam bellum erat cōnfitērī nescīre#, _DN._ 1, 84, _how pretty it would have been to own up that you did not know_ (1495).

1527. Sometimes #quīn# loses its interrogative force, and introduces an impatient imperative, particularly in Plautus and Terence, or an indicative of sudden declaration of something obvious or startling: as,

(_a._) #quīn mē aspice#, Pl. _Most._ 172, _why look me over, won’t you?_ i.e. #mē aspice, quīn aspicis?# So twice in Cicero’s orations. (_b._) #quīn discupiō dīcere#, Pl. _Tri._ 932, _why I am bursting with desire to tell_.

1528. In Plautus, Terence, Horace, and Livy, #ut#, _how_, also is used in questions: as, #ut valēs?# Pl. _R._ 1304, _how do you do?_ #ut sēsē in Samniō rēs habent?# L. 10, 18, 11, _how is every thing in Samnium?_ Very commonly, and in Cicero only so, in exclamations also: as, #ut fortūnātī sunt fabrī ferrāriī, quī apud carbōnēs adsident; semper calent#, Pl. _R._ 531, _what lucky dogs the blacksmiths be, that sit by redhot coals; they’re always warm_.

1529. In poetry, #quis#, #uter#, and #quantus# are found a few times with #-ne# attached; as, #uterne ad cāsūs dubiōs fīdet sibi certius?# H. _S._ 2, 2, 107, _which of the two in doubtful straits will better in himself confide?_

1530. Two or more questions or exclamations are sometimes united with one and the same verb: as,

#unde quō vēnī?# H. 3, 27, 37, _whence whither am I come?_ #quot diēs quam frīgidīs rēbus absūmpsī#, Plin. _Ep._ 1, 9, 3, _how many days have I frittered away in utter vapidities_. #quantae quotiēns occāsiōnēs quam praeclārae fuērunt#, _Mil._ 38, _what great chances there were, time and again, splendid ones too_.

[Errata: 1526 ... Such words are: (_a._) #quis#, #quī#, #quoius# #quis# #quī#, 1527a ... #mē aspice, quīn aspicis?# quin]

SOME APPLICATIONS OF QUESTIONS.

1531. A question in the indicative present or future may be used to intimate command or exhortation, deliberation, or appeal: as,

(_a._) #abin hinc?# T. _Eu._ 861, _will you get out of this?_ #abin an nōn? :: abeō#, Pl. _Aul._ 660, _will you begone or not? :: I’ll go_. #quīn abīs?# Pl. _MG._ 1087, _why won’t you begone?_ or _get you gone_, _begone_. #nōn tacēs?# T. _Ph._ 987, _won’t you just hold your tongue?_ #ecquis currit pollinctōrem arcēssere?# Pl. _As._ 910, _won’t some one run to fetch the undertaker man?_ #quīn cōnscendimus equōs?# L. 1, 57, 7, _why not mount?_ or _to horse, to horse_. (_b._) #quid est, Crasse, īmusne sessum?# _DO._ 3, 17, _what say you, Crassus, shall we go and take a seat?_ #quoi dōnō lepidum novum libellum?# Cat. 1, 1, _unto whom shall I give the neat new booklet?_ #quid agō? adeō, maneō?# T. _Ph._ 736, _what shall I do? go up and speak, or wait?_ (_c._) #eōn? vocō hūc hominem? :: ī, vocā#, Pl. _Most._ 774, _shall I go, and shall I call him here? :: go call him_. See also 1623. Such indicative questions occur particularly in old Latin, in Catullus, in Cicero’s early works and letters, and in Vergil.

1532. Some set forms occur repeatedly, especially in questions of curiosity, surprise, incredulity, wrath, or captiousness: as,

#sed quid ais?# T. _Andr._ 575, _but apropos_, or _but by the way_ (1500). #quid istīc?# T. _Andr._ 572, _well, well, have it your way_: compare #quid istīc verba facimus?# Pl. _E._ 141. #ain tū?# _Br._ 152, _no, not seriously?_ #itane?# T. _Eu._ 1058, _not really?_ Frequently #egone#: as, #quid nunc facere cōgitās? :: egone?# T. _Hau._ 608, _what do you think of doing now? :: what, I?_ In Plautus, threats are sometimes introduced by #scīn quō modō?# _do you know how?_ i.e. at your peril.

1533. A question is sometimes united with a participle, or an ablative absolute, or thrown into a subordinate sentence: as,

#quem frūctum petentēs scīre cupimus illa quō modō moveantur?# _Fin._ 3, 37, _with what practical end in view do we seek to know how yon bodies in the sky keep in motion?_ #quā frequentiā prōsequente crēditis nōs illinc profectōs?# L. 7, 30, 21, _by what multitudes do you think we were seen off when we left that town?_ #‘hominēs’ inquit ‘ēmistī.’ quid utī faceret?# _Sest._ 84, _‘you bought up men’ says he; with what purpose?_

[Erratum: 1532 ... T. _Andr._ 575, 575.]

THE INFINITIVE OF INTIMATION.

1534. The infinitive is principally used in subordination, and will be spoken of under that head. One use, however, of the present infinitive in main sentences, as a kind of substitute for a past indicative, requires mention here.

1535. In animated narration, the present infinitive with a subject in the nominative sometimes takes the place of the imperfect or perfect indicative: as,

#interim cōtīdiē Caesar Aeduōs frūmentum flāgitāre#, 1, 16, 1, _there was Caesar meantime every day dunning and dunning the Aeduans for the grain_. #Diodōrus sordidātus circum hospitēs cursāre, rem omnibus nārrāre#, _V._ 4, 41, _Diodorus kept running round in sackcloth and ashes from friend to friend, telling his tale to everybody_. #intereā Catilīna in prīmā aciē versārī, labōrantibus succurrere#, S. _C._ 60, 4, _Catiline meantime bustling round in the forefront of battle, helping them that were sore bestead_. #tum vērō ingentī sonō caelum strepere, et micāre ignēs, metū omnēs torpēre#, L. 21, 58, 5, _at this crisis the welkin ringing with a dreadful roar, fires flashing, everybody paralyzed with fear_. This infinitive occurs in almost all writers, for instance, Plautus, Terence, Cicero, Horace, and particularly Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus. Less commonly in Caesar. Usually two or more infinitives are combined, and infinitives are freely mixed with indicatives. The subject is never in the second person.

1536. This infinitive is used to sketch or outline persistent, striking, or portentous action, where description fails; and as it merely _intimates_ the action, without distinct declaration, and without notation of time, number, or person, it is called the _Infinitive of Intimation_. It cannot be adequately represented in English.

1537. The infinitive of intimation is sometimes used without a subject, when emphasis centres in the action alone; as,

#ubī̆ turrim procul cōnstituī vīdērunt, inrīdēre ex mūrō#, 2, 30, 3, _when they saw the tower planted some way off, jeer after jeer from the wall_. #tum spectāculum horribile in campīs patentibus: sequī fugere, occīdī capī#, S. _I._ 101, 11, _then a heartrending spectacle in the open fields: chasing and racing, killing and catching_.

1538. Terence and Petronius have it in questions: as, #rēx tē ergō in oculīs :: scīlicet :: gestāre? :: vērō#, T. _Eu._ 401, _your king then always bearing you :: of course, of course :: in eye? :: oh yes_. #quī morī timōre nisi ego?# Petr. 62.

1539. It may be mentioned here, that the infinitive of intimation is sometimes used from Sallust on in relative clauses and with #cum#, _when_. Also by Tacitus in a temporal protasis with #ubī̆#, #ut#, #dōnec#, or #postquam#, co-ordinated with a present or imperfect indicative protasis: as,

(_a._) #cingēbātur interim mīlite domus, cum Libō vocāre percussōrem#, Ta. 2, 31, _the house meantime was encompassed with soldiers, when Libo called for somebody to kill him_ (1869). (_b._) #ubī̆ crūdēscere sēditiō et ā convīciīs ad tēla trānsībant, inicī catēnās Flāviānō iubet#, Ta. _H._ 3, 10, _when the riot was waxing hot, and they were proceeding from invectives to open violence, he orders Flavian to be clapped in irons_ (1933).

THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.

DECLARATIONS.

I. THE SUBJUNCTIVE OF DESIRE.

(A.) WISH.

1540. The subjunctive may be used to express a wish.

Wishes are often introduced by #utinam#, in old and poetical Latin also by #utī#, #ut#, and curses in old Latin by #quī#; these words were originally interrogative, _how_. Sometimes the wish is limited by #modo#, _only_. In negative wishes #nē# is used, either alone, or preceded by #utinam# or #modo#; rarely #nōn#, or the old-fashioned #nec#, _not_ (1446).

1541. (1.) The present and perfect represent a wish as practicable; although a hopeless wish may, of course, if the speaker chooses, be represented as practicable: as,

(_a._) #tē spectem, suprēma mihī cum vēnerit hōra#, Tib. 1, 1, 59, _on thee I’d gaze, when my last hour shall come_. #utinam illum diem videam#, _Att._ 3, 3, _I hope I may see the day_. (_b._) #utinam cōnēre#, _Ph._ 2, 101, _I hope you may make the effort_. (_c._) #dī vortant bene quod agās#, T. _Hec._ 196, _may gods speed well whate’er you undertake_. #quī illum dī omnēs perduint#, T. _Ph._ 123, _him may all gods fordo_. #ō utinam hībernae duplicentur tempora brūmae#, Prop. 1, 8, 9, _oh that the winter’s time may doubled be_. #utinam revīvīscat frāter#, Gell. 10, 6, 2, _I hope my brother may rise from his grave_. #nē istūc Iuppiter sīrit#, L. 28, 28, 11, _now Jupiter forefend_. The perfect is found principally in old Latin.

1542. The present is very common in asseveration: as,

#peream, nisi sollicitus sum#, _Fam._ 15, 19, 4, _may I die, if I am not worried_. #sollicitat, ita vīvam, me tua valētūdō#, _Fam._ 16, 20, _your state of health worries me, as I hope to live_. #ita vīvam, ut maximōs sūmptūs faciō#, _Att._ 5, 15, 2, _as I hope to be saved, I am making great outlays_. See also 1622.

1543. The perfect subjunctive sometimes refers to past action now completed: as, #utinam abierit malam crucem#, Pl. _Poen._ 799, _I hope he’s got him to the bitter cross_ (1165). #utinam spem implēverim#, Plin. _Ep._ 1, 10, 3, _I hope I may have fulfilled the expectations_.

1544. (2.) The imperfect represents a wish as hopeless in the present or immediate future, the pluperfect represents it as unfulfilled in the past: as,

(_a._) #tēcum lūdere sīcut ipsa possem#, Cat. 2, 9, _could I with thee but play, e’en as thy mistress’ self_, to Lesbia’s sparrow. #utinam ego tertius vōbīs amīcus adscrīberer#, _TD._ 5, 63, _would that I could be enrolled with you myself, as the third friend_, says tyrant Dionysius to Damon and Phintias. (_b._) #utinam mē mortuum prius vīdissēs#, _QFr._ 1, 3, 1, _I wish you had seen me dead first_. (_c._) #utinam nē in nemore Pēliō secūribus caesa accēdisset abiēgna ad terram trabēs#, E. in Cornif. 2, 34, _had but, in Pelion’s grove, by axes felled, ne’er fallen to the earth the beam of fir_, i.e. for the Argo. #utinam ille omnīs sēcum cōpiās ēdūxisset#, _C._ 2, 4, _I only wish the man had marched out all his train-bands with him_.

1545. In old or poetical Latin, the imperfect sometimes denotes unfulfilled past action, like the usual pluperfect; as, #utinam in Siciliā perbīterēs#, Pl. _R._ 494, _would thou hadst died in Sicily_. #utinam tē dī prius perderent#, Pl. _Cap._ 537, _I wish the gods had cut thee off before_. See 2075.

1546. In poetry, a wish is sometimes thrown into the form of a conditional protasis with #sī# or #ō sī#: as, #ō sī urnam argentī fōrs quae mihi mōnstret#, H. _S._ 2, 6, 10, _oh if some chance a pot of money may to me reveal_.

(B.) EXHORTATION, DIRECTION, STATEMENT OF PROPRIETY.

1547. The subjunctive may be used to express an exhortation, a direction, or a statement of propriety.

The subjunctive of exhortation is sometimes preceded in old Latin by #utī# or #ut#, originally interrogative. In negative exhortations or directions, #nē#, #nēmō#, #nihil#, or #numquam#, &c., is used, rarely #nōn#.

1548. (1.) The present expresses what is to be done or is not to be done in the future: as,

(_a._) #hoc quod coepī prīmum ēnārrem#, T. _Hau._ 273, _first let me tell the story I’ve begun_. #taceam nunc iam#, Pl. _B._ 1058, _let me now hold my tongue_. #cōnsīdāmus hīc in umbrā#, _Leg._ 2, 7, _let us sit down here in the shade_. #nē difficilia optēmus#, _V._ 4, 15, _let us not hanker after impossibilities_. (_b._) HAICE · VTEI · IN · COVENTIONID · EXDEICATIS, CIL. I, 196, 23, _this you are to proclaim in public assembly_. (_c._) #nōmina dēclīnāre et verba in prīmīs puerī sciant#, Quintil. 1, 4, 22, _first and foremost boys are to know how to inflect nouns and verbs_. #utī adserventur magnā dīligentiā#, Pl. _Cap._ 115, _let them be watched with all due care_. #nē quis tamquam parva fastīdiat grammaticēs elementa#, Quintil. 1, 4, 6, _let no man look down on the rudiments of grammar fancying them insignificant_.

1549. (2.) The perfect subjunctive is rare: as, #idem dictum sit#, Quintil. 1, 1, 8, _the same be said, once for all_. Mostly in prohibitions: as, #morātus sit nēmō quō minus abeant#, L. 9, 11, 13, _let no man hinder them from going away_.

1550. In positive commands, the second person singular often has a definite subject in old or epistolary Latin, and particularly #sīs#, for the imperative #es# or #estō#. Usually however an indefinite subject (1030): as,