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571. A substantive clause of result may serve as predicate nominative after mōs est and similar expressions:—
  1. est mōs hominum, ut nōlint eundem plūribus rēbus excellere (Brut. 84) , it is the way of men to be unwilling for one man to excel in several things.

a. A result clause, with or without ut , frequently follows quam after a comparative (but see § 583. c):—

  1. Canachī sīgna rigidiōra sunt quam ut imitentur vēritātem (Brut. 70) , the statues of Canachus are too stiff to represent nature (stiffer than that they should).
  2. perpessus est omnia potius quam indicāret (Tusc. 2.52) , he endured all rather than betray, etc. [Regularly without ut except in Livy.]

b. The phrase tantum abest, it is so far [from being the case], regularly takes two clauses of result with ut : one is substantive, the subject of abest; the other is adverbial, correlative with tantum :—

  1. tantum abest ut nostra mīrēmur, ut ūsque difficilēs ac mōrōsī sīmus, ut nōbīs nōn satis faciat ipse Dēmosthenēs (Or. 104) , so far from admiring my own works, I am difficult and captious to that degree that not Demosthenes himself satisfies me. [Here the first ut-clause is the subject of abest (§ 569. 2); the second, a result clause after tantum (§ 537); and the third, after ūsque .]

c. Rarely, a thought or an idea is considered as a result, and is expressed by the subjunctive with ut instead of the accusative and infinitive (§ 580). In this case a demonstrative usually precedes:

  1. praeclārum illud est, ut eōs ... amēmus (Tusc. 3.73) , this is a noble thing, that we should love, etc.
  2. vērī simile nōn est ut ille antepōneret (Verr. 4.11) , it is not likely that he preferred.

For Relative Clauses with quīn after verbs of hindering etc., see § 558.

hide References (8 total)
  • Commentary references to this page (8):
    • J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and Greenough's Edition., AG Cic. 34
    • J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and Greenough's Edition., AG Cic. 25
    • J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and Greenough's Edition., AG Cic. 62
    • J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and Greenough's Edition., AG Cic. 71
    • J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and Greenough's Edition., AG Cic. 10
    • J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and Greenough's Edition., AG Cic. 103
    • J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and Greenough's Edition., AG Cic. 99
    • J. B. Greenough, G. L. Kittredge, Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and Greenough's Edition., AG Cic. 1.3
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