The principles of Latin grammar; comprising the ... - Essan.org

———§ 141 SYNTAX.—MOODS. 278provided that lie, she, it," &c, it requires the subjunctivemood :a*,Tu dquam pumice postulas, qui ipse sitiat, "you demand -water froma pumice stone, though itself is parched with thirst!' Laco, consilii quam*vis egregii quod non ipse affe rret inimlcus, " Laco was the enemy ofany measure, however excellent, if (i. e. provided that) he himself did notpropose it,"649. Rule V. The relative qui takes the subjunctive afterunits and solus ; when they restrict the affirmation to a particularsubject ;as,Ho2C est una contentio quce adhuc permanse'rit, " this is the only disputeicli ich has remained till this time."650.Rule VI. In oblique or indirect discourse, the relativerequires the subjunctive mood ;as,Socrates dicere solebat, o?nnes in eo quod sclrent satis esse eloquentes," Socrates was accustomed to say, that all were eloquent enough in thatwhich they knew."651.—EXPLANATION.—Discourse is said to be direct, when a writeror speaker delivers his own sentiments,his own language, what another speaker or writer said ;oblique, when a person relates inan example will bestillustrate this distinction.—Tacitus introduces Galgacus, addressing the Caledonianarmy as follows : "When I contemplate the causes of the war, andthe necessity to which we are reduced, great is my confidence that this day,and this union of yours, will prove the beginning of universal liberty toBritain." This is the direct discourse. If, instead of introducing Galgacushimself, to speak his own speech, the historian had only told us what he said,he would have used the oblique or indirect style, thus : Galgacus said, " thatwhen he contemplated the causes of the war, and the necessity to which they(the Eoman army) were reduced, his confidence wa3 great, that that day,and that union of theirs, would prove the beginning of universal liberty toBritain."In the first of these, or the direct discourse, it will be observed that whenthe speaker refers to himself, he uses the first person, " I," "we." Whenhe refers to those addressed, he uses the second person, "thou," "you,"and that the leading verbs in Latin are all in the indicative mood, and independentof any previous word. But in the second or oblique discourse, thethird person only is used, whether the speaker is said to refer to himself, orhis hearers, or a third person. And the leading verbs in Latin, are in tneinfinitive mood, or in the subjunctive with ut, and, in either case, dependenton the verb with which the account is introduced such as, "he said,"" stated," "replied," or the like. It is evident, therefore, that while in bothforms, the same idea is expressed in nearly the same language, the constructionof the sentence in each is entirely different; thus, in direct discourse:Antonius inquit, " Ars earum rerum est quce sciuntur ." Cic. Quinctilian rentesthe same thing in the oblique form ; thus, " Antonius ait, artem edrum12*