Part 46

II. PROTASES OF ACTION NON-OCCURRENT.

2091. A conditional period in which the non-occurrence of the action is implied takes the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive both in the protasis and in the apodosis. The imperfect usually denotes present or indefinite time, and the pluperfect denotes past time.

For the present subjunctive in such conditions, see 2075.

2092. The imperfect sometimes denotes past time (1559). When future time is referred to, the protasis is usually in the imperfect of the periphrastic future, commonly the subjunctive, but sometimes the indicative (2108).

2093. The apodosis is very rarely in the present subjunctive (2098). The periphrastic future is sometimes used, commonly in the indicative (2097, 2100).

(1.) PROTASIS IN THE IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE.

2094. (_a._) #Apodosis in the Imperfect Subjunctive.#

(a.) Protasis and apodosis both denoting present action; this is the usual application: #sī intus esset, ēvocārem#, Pl. _Ps._ 640, _I should call him out, if he were in_. #is iam prīdem est mortuus. sī vīveret, verba eius audīrētis#, _RC._ 42, _that person has long been dead; if he were alive, you would hear his evidence_. #adnuere tē videō; prōferrem librōs, sī negārēs#, _DN._ 1, 113, _I see you nod assent; I should bring out the books, if you maintained the opposite_. #sī L. Mummius aliquem istōrum vidēret Corinthium cupidissimē trāctantem, utrum illum cīvem excellentem, an ātriēnsem dīligentem putāret?# _Par._ 38, _if Mummius should see one of your connoisseurs nursing a piece of Corinthian, and going into perfect ecstasies over it, what would he think? that the man was a model citizen or a thoroughly competent indoor-man?_ #quod sī semper optima tenēre possēmus, haud sānē cōnsiliō multum egērēmus#, _OP._ 89, _now if we could always be in possession of what is best, we should not ever stand in any special need of reasoning_.

(b.) Protasis and apodosis both denoting past action: #haec sī neque ego neque tū fēcimus, nōn siit egestās facere nōs; nam sī esset unde id fīeret, facerēmus; et tū illum tuom, sī essēs homō, sinerēs nunc facere#, T. _Ad._ 103, _if neither you nor I have acted thus, ’twas poverty that stinted us; for if we’d had the means, we should have done so too; and you would let that boy of yours, if you were human, do it now_. Here #esset# refers to past time, #essēs# to present. #num igitur eum, sī tum essēs, temerārium cīvem putārēs?# _Ph._ 8, 14, _would you therefore have thought him, if you had lived then, a hotheaded citizen?_ #sī ūniversa prōvincia loquī posset, hāc vōce ūterētur; quoniam id nōn poterat, hārum rērum āctōrem ipsa dēlēgit#, _Caecil._ 19, _if the collective province could have spoken, she would have used these words; but since she could not, she chose a manager for the case herself_.

2095. (_b._) #Apodosis in the Pluperfect Subjunctive.#

#invēnissēmus iam diū, sei vīveret#, Pl. _Men._ 241, _were he alive, we should have found him long ago_. #sī mihi secundae rēs dē amōre meō essent, iam dūdum sciō vēnissent#, T. _Hau._ 230, _if everything were well about my love, I know they would have been here long ago_. #quae nisi essent in senibus, nōn summum cōnsilium maiōrēs nostrī appellāssent senātum#, _CM._ 19, _unless the elderly were in general characterized by these qualities, our ancestors would not have called the highest deliberative body the body of elders_.

2096. (_c._) #Periphrastic Apodosis.#

#quibus, sī Rōmae esset, facile contentus futūrus erat#, _Att._ 12, 32, 2, _with which, if he were in Rome, he would readily be satisfied_ (2093). #quōs ego, sī tribūnī mē triumphāre prohibērent, testēs citātūrus fuī rērum ā mē gestārum#, L. 38, 47, 4, _the very men whom I was to call to bear witness to my deeds, if the tribunes should refuse me a triumph_.

(2.) PROTASIS IN THE PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE.

2097. (_a._) #Apodosis in the Imperfect Subjunctive.#

(a.) Protasis denoting past, apodosis present action: #sī ante voluissēs, essēs; nunc sērō cupis#, Pl. _Tri._ 568, _if you had wished it before, you might be; as it is, you long too late_. #sī nōn mēcum aetātem ēgisset, hodiē stulta vīveret#, Pl. _MG._ 1320, _if she hadn’t spent her life with me, she’d be a fool to-day_. #sī tum illī respondēre voluissem, nunc rē̆ī pūblicae cōnsulere nōn possem#, _Ph._ 3, 33, _if I had chosen to answer the man then, I should not be able to promote the public interest now_. #quō quidem tempore sī meum cōnsilium valuisset, tū hodiē egērēs, nōs līberī essēmus#, _Ph._ 2, 37, _if by the way at that time my counsel had been regarded, you, sir, would be a beggar to-day and we should be free_.

(b.) Protasis and apodosis both referring to past: #ōlim sī advēnissem, magis tū tum istūc dīcerēs#, Pl. _Cap._ 871, _if I had come before, you’d have said so then all the more_. #num igitur, sī ad centēsimum annum vīxisset, senectūtis eum suae paenitēret?# _CM._ 19, _suppose therefore he had lived to be a hundred, would he have regretted his years?_ #Indōs aliāsque sī adiūnxisset gentēs, impedimentum maius quam auxilium traheret#, L. 9, 19, 5, _if he had added the Indians and other nations, he would have found them a hindrance rather than a help in his train_.

2098. (_b._) #Apodosis in the Pluperfect Subjunctive.#

#sī appellāssēs, respondisset nōminī#, Pl. _Tri._ 927, _if you had called him, he’d have answered to his name_. #nisi fūgissem, medium praemorsisset#, Pl. in Gell. 6, 9, 7, _if I hadn’t run away, he’d have bitten me in two_. #sī vēnissēs ad exercitum, ā tribūnīs vīsus essēs; nōn es autem ab hīs vīsus#; #nōn es igitur ad exercitum profectus#, _Inv._ 1, 87, _if you had come to the army, you would have been seen by the tribunes; but you have not been seen by them; therefore you have not been to the army_. #sī beātus umquam fuisset, beātam vītam usque ad rogum pertulisset#, _Fin._ 3, 76, _if he had ever been a child of fortune, he would have continued the life of bliss to the funeral pyre_. #nisi mīlitēs essent dēfessī, omnēs hostium cōpiae dēlērī potuissent#, 7, 88, 6, _unless the soldiers had been utterly exhausted, the entire force of the enemy might have been exterminated_ (2101). #quod sī Catilīna in urbe remānsisset, dīmicandum nōbīs cum illō fuisset#, _C._ 3, 17, _but if Catiline had staid in town we should have had to fight with the villain_ (2101).

2099. (_c._) #Apodosis in the Present Subjunctive.#

#vocem ego tē ad mē ad cēnam, frāter tuos nisi dīxisset mihī̆ tē apud sē cēnātūrum esse hodiē#, Pl. _St._ 510, _I should like to invite you home to dinner, if my brother hadn’t told me that you were to dine with him to-day_.

2100. (_d._) #Periphrastic Apodosis.#

(a.) #sī tacuisset, ego eram dictūrus#, Pl. _Cist._ 152, _if she had held her peace, I was going to tell_ (2093). #sī P. Sēstius occīsus esset, fuistisne ad arma itūrī?# _Sest._ 81, _if Sestius had been slain, were you disposed to rush to arms?_ #conclāve illud, ubī̆ erat mānsūrus, sī īre perrēxisset, conruit#, _Div._ 1, 26, _the suite of rooms where he was going to spend the night, if he had pushed on, tumbled down_. #Teucrās fuerat mersūra carīnās, nī prius in scopulum trānsfōrmāta foret#, O. 14, 72, _she had gone on to sink the Trojan barks unless she had been changed into a rock_. (b.) #quem sī vīcisset, habitūrus esset impūnitātem sempiternam#, _Mil._ 84, _and if he overcame him, he would be likely to have exemption from punishment forever and ever_ (2093). #aut nōn fātō interiīt exercitus, aut sī fātō, etiam sī obtemperāsset auspiciīs, idem ēventūrum fuisset#, _Div._ 2, 21, _the destruction of his army was either not due to fate, or if to fate, it would have happened all the same, even if he had conformed to the auspices_.

[Erratum: 2100. (_d._) (_c._)]

INDICATIVE APODOSIS.

2101. (1.) The apodosis of verbs of ability, duty, &c. (1495-1497), including the gerundive with #sum#, is often in the indicative, the imperfect taking the place of the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive, and the perfect that of the pluperfect subjunctive. But the subjunctive is also found, especially #possem# rather than #poteram#.

2102. (_a._) #Apodosis in the Imperfect Indicative.#

(a.) Of present action: #quod sī Rōmae Cn. Pompēius prīvātus esset, tamen ad tantum bellum is erat mittendus#, _IP._ 50, _now if Pompey were at Rome, in private station, still he would be the man to send to this important war_. #quem patris locō, sī ūlla in tē pietās esset, colere dēbēbās#, _Ph._ 2, 99, _whom you ought to honour as a father, if you had any such thing as affection in you_.

(b.) Of past action: #quid enim poterat Heius respondēre, sī esset improbus?# _V._ 4, 16, _for what answer could Hejus have given, if he were an unprincipled man?_ #sī sordidam vestem habuissent, lūgentium Perseī cāsum praebēre speciem poterant#, L. 45, 20, 5, _if they had worn dark clothing, they might have presented the mien of mourners for the fall of Perseus_.

2103. (_b._) #Apodosis in the Perfect Indicative.#

#nōn potuit reperīre, sī ipsī sōlī quaerendās darēs, lepidiōrēs duās#, Pl. _MG._ 803, _if you assigned the search to Sol himself, he couldn’t have found two jollier girls_. #quō modo pultāre potuī sī nōn tangerem?# Pl. _Most._ 462, _how could I have knocked, if I hadn’t touched the door?_ #licitumst, sī vellēs#, Pl. _Tri._ 566, _you might have been, if you’d wished_. #sī meum imperium exsequī voluissēs, interemptam oportuit#, T. _Hau._ 634, _if you had been willing to follow my commands, she should have been dispatched_. #cōnsul esse quī potuī, nisi eum vītae cursum tenuissem ā pueritiā?# _RP._ 1, 10, _how could I have been consul unless from boyhood I had taken that line in life?_ #sī eum captīvitās in urbem pertrāxisset, Caesarem ipsum audīre potuit#, Ta. _D._ 17, _if captivity had carried him to the city, he could have heard Caesar himself_. #Antōnī gladiōs potuit contemnere, sī sīc omnia dīxisset#, J. 10, 123, _Antonius’ swords he might have scorned, if all things he had worded so_. #sī ūnum diem morātī essētis, moriendum omnibus fuit#, L. 2, 38, 5, _if you had staid one day, you must all have died_.

2104. (2.) Other verbs also sometimes have a past indicative apodosis, usually an imperfect or pluperfect, to denote an action very near to actual performance, which is interrupted by the action of the protasis.

Naturally such a protasis generally contains an actual or a virtual negative; but positive protases are found here and there, chiefly in late writers.

2105. (_a._) #Apodosis in the Perfect Indicative.#

#paene in foveam dēcidī, nī hīc adessēs#, Pl. _Per._ 594, _I had almost fallen into a snare, unless you were here_. #nec vēnī, nisi fāta locum sēdemque dedissent#, V. 11, 112, _nor had I come, unless the fates a place and seat had given_. #pōns sublicius iter paene hostibus dedit, nī ūnus vir fuisset Horātius Cocles#, L. 2, 10, 2, _the pile-bridge all but gave a path to the enemy, had it not been for one heroic soul, Horatius Cocles_.

2106. (_b._) #Apodosis in the Imperfect Indicative.#

#quīn lābēbar longius, nisi mē retinuissem#, _Leg._ 1, 52, _why, I was going to drift on still further, if I had not checked myself_. #sī per L. Metellum licitum esset, mātrēs illōrum veniēbant#, _V._ 5, 129, _if Metellus had not prevented, the mothers of those people were just coming_; here the protasis may be held to contain a virtual negative; so in the last example on this page. #castra excindere parābant, nī Mūciānus sextam legiōnem opposuisset#, Ta. _H._ 3, 46, _they were preparing to destroy the camp, had not Mucianus checked them with the sixth legion_. #sī dēstināta prōvēnissent, rēgnō imminēbat#, Ta. _H._ 4, 18, _had his schemes succeeded, he was close upon the throne_.

2107. (_c._) Apodosis in the Pluperfect Indicative.

#quīngentōs simul, nī hebes machaera foret, ūnō ictū occīderās#, Pl. _MG._ 52, _five hundred, had your glaive not blunted been, at one fell swoop you’d slain_. #praeclārē vīcerāmus, nisi Lepidus recēpisset Antōnium#, _Fam._ 12, 10, 3, _we had gained a splendid victory, if Lepidus had not taken Antony under his protection_. #quod ipsum fortūna ēripuerat, nisi ūnīus amīcī opēs subvēnissent#, _RabP._ 48, _even this boon fortune had wrenched from him, unless he had been assisted by a single friend_. #sī gladium nōn strīnxissem, tamen triumphum merueram#, L. 38, 49, 12, _if I had not drawn my sword, I had still earned my triumph_. #perierat imperium, sī Fabius tantum ausus esset quantum īra suādēbat#, Sen. _de Ira_, 1, 11, 5, _the empire had been lost, if Fabius had ventured as far as passion urged_.

2108. (3.) PERIPHRASTIC PROTASIS.

(_a._) #ac sī tibī̆ nēmō respōnsūrus esset, tamen causam dēmōnstrāre nōn possēs#, _Caecil._ 43, _and even supposing that nobody were going to answer you, still you would not be able to make the case good_ (2092). #plūribus vōs, mīlitēs, hortārer, sī cum armātīs dīmicātiō futūra esset#, L. 24, 38, 9, _I should exhort you at greater length, my men, if there was to be a tug with armed men_ (2092). (_b._) #sī domum tuam expugnātūrus eram, nōn temperāssem vīnō in ūnum diem?# L. 40, 14, 4, _if I intended to capture your house, should I not have abstained from wine for a day_ (2092)?

VARIATION OF THE PROTASIS.

2109. Instead of a conditional protasis with #sī# or #nisi#, equivalents are often used.

2110. Thus, the protasis may be coordinated (1701), or be introduced by a relative pronoun (1812), by #quod# (1843), #cum# (1859, 1860), #ubī̆# (1932), #ut# or #nē# (1963), #dum#, #dum modo#, #modo# (2003), or #quandō# (2011). Or the protasis may be intimated by #sine#, _without_, #cum#, _with_, by a participle or ablative absolute, by a wish, or otherwise: as,

(_a._) #nēmō umquam sine magnā spē immortālitātis sē prō patriā offerret ad mortem#, _TD._ 1, 32, _nobody would ever expose himself to death for his country without a well-grounded conviction of immortality_. #cum hāc dōte poteris vel mendīcō nūbere#, Pl. _Per._ 396, _with such a dowry you can e’en a beggar wed_. #Sūlla, crēdō, hunc petentem repudiāsset#, _Arch._ 25, _Sulla, I suppose, would have turned my client away, if he petitioned him_. #quae legentem fefellissent, trānsferentem fugere nōn possunt#, Plin. _Ep._ 7, 9, 2, _what would have escaped a reader can’t escape a translator_. #vīvere ego Britannicō potiente rērum poteram?# Ta. 13, 21, _as for me, could I live, if Britannicus were on the throne_ (2102)? #nisi tē salvō salvī esse nōn possumus#, _Marc._ 32, _without you safe, safe we cannot be_. #aspicerēs utinam, Sāturnia: mītior essēs#, O. 2, 435, _would thou couldst see, Saturnia; thou wouldst gentler be_.

(_b._) #habet ōrātiōnem tālem cōnsul, quālem numquam Catilīna vīctor habuisset#, _Sest._ 28, _he makes a speech--yes, and he a consul--such as a Catiline would never have made, if flushed with success_. #revereāris occursum, nōn reformīdēs#, Plin. _Ep._ 1, 10, 7, _you might well be abashed in his presence, but you would not be afraid_. #dī immortālēs mentem illī perditō ac furiōsō dedērunt ut huic faceret insidiās; aliter perīre pestis illa nōn potuit#, _Mil._ 88, _the immortal gods inspired that mad miscreant to waylay my client; otherwise, that monster could not have been destroyed_. For the use of #absque# in a coordinate protasis in Plautus and Terence, see 1701, 1421.

2111. The verb of the protasis is sometimes omitted: as in abridged sentences (1057), or when it may be easily supplied (1036).

#aut enim nēmō, aut sī quisquam, ille sapiēns fuit#, _L._ 9, _for either nobody or, if anybody, that was a wise man_. #sī ēveniet, gaudēbimus: sīn secus, patiēmur#, Pl. _Cas._ 377, _if it shall come to pass, glad shall we be; if else, we shall endure_. #mē voluisse, sī haec cīvitās est, cīvem esse mē; sī nōn, exsulem esse#, _Fam._ 7, 3, 5, _that I wished, if this is a commonwealth, to be a citizen of it; if it is not, to be an exile_. #sūmeret alicunde . . . sī nūllō aliō pactō, faenore#, T. _Ph._ 299, _he could have got it from somebody or other . . . if in no other way, on usury_ (2113).

VARIATION OF THE APODOSIS.

2112. The apodosis is sometimes represented by the accusative of exclamation (1149), or the vocative: as,

#mortālem graphicum, sī servat fidem#, Pl. _Ps._ 519, _O what a pattern creature, if he keeps his word_. #ō miserum tē, sī intellegis, miseriōrem, sī nōn intellegis, hoc litterīs mandārī#, _Ph._ 2, 54, _wretched man if you are aware, more wretched if you are not aware, that all this is put down in black and white_. #inimīce lāmnae, Crīspe Sallustī, nisi temperātō splendeat ūsū#, H. 2, 2, 2, _thou foe to bullion, Crispus Sallustius, so it shine not with tempered use_. Also the future participle in poetry and in prose from Livy on.

2113. The verb of the apodosis, or the entire apodosis, is often omitted. In the latter case an appended verb might easily be mistaken for the apodosis.

#quid sī caelum ruat?# T. _Hau._ 719, _what if the sky should fall?_ #quō mihi fortūnam, sī nōn concēditur ūtī?# H. _E._ 1, 5, 12, _why wealth for me, if wealth I may not use?_ #nisi restituissent statuās, vehementer minātur#, _V._ 2, 162, _he threatens vengeance dire, if they did not put the statues back in their place_. #quae supplicātiō sī cum cēterīs cōnferātur, hoc interest#, _C._ 3, 15, _if this thanksgiving be compared with all others, there would be found the following difference_. #nōn edepol ubi terrārum sim sciō, sī quis roget#, Pl. _Am._ 336, _upon my word I don’t know where on earth I am, if anyone should ask_. #sī Valeriō quī crēdat, quadrāgintā mīlia hostium sunt caesa#, L. 33, 10, 8, _if anybody believe such a man as Valerius, there were forty thousand of the enemy slain_. A clause with #sī# or #nisi# is often used parenthetically: as, #sī placet#, #sī vidētur#, #sīs#, #sultis#, _if you please_, #sī quaeris#, _if you must know_, _in fact_, #sī dīs placet#, _please heaven_, #nisi mē fallit#, _if I am not mistaken_, &c., &c. For wishes introduced by #ō sī#, without an apodosis, see 1546.

2114. The apodosis is sometimes expanded by inserted expressions. So

## particularly by #vereor nē#, equivalent to #fortasse# (1958), #nōn

dubitō quīn#, to #profectō# (1986), or a form of #sum# with a relative pronoun: as,

#quae cōnētur sī velim commemorāre, vereor nē quis exīstimet mē causam nōbilitātis voluisse laedere#, _RA._ 135, _if I should undertake to set forth his high and mighty schemes, possibly it might be thought that I wished to damage the cause of the conservatives_. #sī tum P. Sēstius animam ēdidisset, nōn dubitō quīn aliquandō statua huic statuerētur#, _Sest._ 83, _if Sestius had given up the ghost then, a statue would doubtless at some day have been set up in his honour_. #quod ille sī repudiāsset, dubitātis quīn ē̆ī vīs esset adlāta?# _Sest._ 62, _if he had rejected this, have you any doubt that violent hands would have been laid on him?_ #sescenta sunt quae memorem, sī sit ōtium#, Pl. _Aul._ 320, _there are a thousand things that I could tell, if I had time_.

2115. For expressions of trial, hope, or expectation, followed by a conditional protasis with #sī#, see 1777.

CONCESSIVE PROTASES.

#etsī#, #tametsī# (#tamenetsī#), #etiamsī#.

2116. #etsī#, #tametsī#, _though_, #etiamsī#, _even if_, or sometimes simple #sī#, _if_, is used to introduce a concessive protasis. The verb of the protasis is either indicative or subjunctive; but the indicative is the prevailing construction, especially with #etsī#. The apodosis often has #tamen# as an adversative correlative, even with #tametsī#.

#etsī# is rare in poetry; not in Sallust. Sometimes it is used like #quamquam# to append a fresh main sentence (2153). #tametsī# belongs chiefly to colloquial style, though Sallust often uses it; not in the Augustan poets or Tacitus. #etiamsī# is not found in Plautus or Caesar.

(_a._) #nōn vīdī eam, etsī vīdī#, Pl. _MG._ 407, _I saw her not, although I saw her_. #quō mē habeam pactō, tametsī nōn quaeris, docēbō#, Lucilius in Gell. 18, 8, 2, _I’ll tell you how I am, though you do not inquire_. #etiamsī multī mēcum contendent, tamen omnīs superābō#, _Fam._ 5, 8, 4, _though I shall have many rivals, yet I will outdo them all_. #tametsī causa postulat, tamen praeterībō#, _Quinct._ 13, _though the case calls for it, still I will let it pass_. #Caesar, etsī in hīs locīs mātūrae sunt hiemēs, tamen in Britanniam proficīscī contendit#, 4, 20, 1, _though the winter always sets in early in these parts, nevertheless Caesar made haste to proceed to Britain_. #Caesar, etsī intellegēbat, quā dē causā ea dīcerentur, Indutiomarum ad sē venīre iussit#, 5, 4, 1, _though Caesar was aware of his motives in saying so, he directed Indutiomarus to come to him_.

(_b._) #etsī taceās, palam id quidem est#, Pl. _Aul._ 418, _though you should hold your tongue, still that at least is plain_. #etsī nihil aliud Sūllae nisi cōnsulātum abstulissētis, tamen eō contentōs vōs esse oportēbat#, _Sull._ 90, _even though you had robbed Sulla of nothing but the consulship, still you ought to be satisfied with that_. #equidem, etiamsī oppetenda mors esset, in patriā māllem quam in externīs locīs#, _Fam._ 4, 7, 4, _for my part, even though death were to be faced, I should prefer it in my native land rather than abroad_.

[Erratum: 2116a ... etiamsī multī mēcum contendent, contendent.]

CONDITIONAL COMPARISONS.

#quasi# (#quam sī#), #tamquam sī#, #ut# or #velut sī#.

2117. #sī# following a word meaning _than_ or _as_ is used with the subjunctive in conditional comparisons.

In this use, #quasi# (#quam sī# twice in Tacitus) and #tamquam sī# are found at all periods. #ut sī# is found in Terence once, in Cicero (not in the orations), once in Livy, sometimes in later writers. #velut sī# begins with Caesar; not in Cicero. #ac sī# is found once in the _Bell. Hisp._ and in late Latin.

2118. #sī# is often omitted after #tamquam#, and (from Livy on) sometimes after #velut#. After #quasi# it is sometimes inserted in Plautus, Lucretius, and late Latin. #ceu# is sometimes used, chiefly in poetry, for #tamquam sī#. The main clause often has as correlative #ita#, #sīc#, #perinde#, #proinde#, #similiter#, or #nōn secus#.

2119. The tense of the subjunctive is usually regulated by the sequence of tenses, in Cicero nearly always with #quasi# and #tamquam sī#.

#quid mē sīc salūtās quasi dūdum nōn vīderīs?# Pl. _Am._ 682, _why dost thou greet me thus as if but now thou hadst not looked on me?_ #quid ego hīs testibus ūtor, quasi rēs dubia sit?# _Caecil._ 14, _why do I employ these witnesses, as if it were a case involving doubt?_ #tamquam sī claudus sim, cum fūstīst ambulandum#, Pl. _As._ 427, _I have to take my walks with a stick, as if I were a lame man_. #tamquam extrūderētur, ita cucurrit#, _Ph._ 10, 10, _he rushed away as if he had been kicked out_. #quod absentis Ariovistī crūdēlitātem, velut sī cōram adesset, horrērent#, 1, 32, 4, _because they trembled at Ariovistus’s barbarity, absent as he was, just as if he stood before their eyes_. #mē quoque iuvat, velut ipse in parte labōris ac perīculī fuerim, ad fīnem bellī Pūnicī pervēnisse#, L. 31, 1, 1, _I feel glad myself at having finally reached the end of the Punic war, as if I had had a direct hand in the work and the danger_.

2120. The imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive is sometimes used, even when the leading verb is in a primary tense, to mark action more distinctly as non-occurrent (2091): as,