# ipse cum telo sit



## Buonaparte

Forum

Could someone clarify a translation for me please. My textbook translates:

Catalina furore adeo incenditur, ut consulibus insidias collocet socios saepe hortetur, ipse cum telo sit, numquam dormiat

as:

Cataline is so inflameed with rage that he sets an ambush against the consuls, he often encourages his associates, he himself goes around with a weapon, [and] he never sleeps

How can 'sit' (present subjunctive active) in the clause 'ipse cum telo sit' mean 'goes around'?

Many thanks, Buonaparte


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## Fred_C

Hi,
he is always with a weapon, or he goes around with a weapon, if you prefer.


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## Buonaparte

Thanks Fred. That's a bit clearer, but I still don't understand where does the 'always' come from - any clues? Does it come the subjunctive 'sit' in some way?


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## Fred_C

Buonaparte said:


> Thanks Fred. That's a bit clearer, but I still don't understand where does the 'always' come from - any clues? Does it come the subjunctive 'sit' in some way?


 
"always" is not said in latin.
I just added it to my explanation to make it clearer what a latin speaker would have meant when saying "to be with a weapon".
I think you can consider it like a phrase, that means "to go around with a weapon".
My try was just to explain why it has such a meaning.

(The fact that latin is a language that no one speaks fluently any longer does not mean that there are no set phrases.)

There is no relation with the subjunctive. The subjunctive comes from the fact that there several "ut" clauses, here, although the word "ut" is said just once.
(He is such in a rage that he sets ambushes, that he encourages his mates, that he always carries a weapon with him, that he never sleeps.)


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## Buonaparte

Thanks again, Fred. I think I understand better now. 

Do you think that 'he himself is with a weapon' be an accurate translation of 'ipse cum telo sit' in this context? 

Buonaparte


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## Fred_C

Hmm. no.
I have a feeling that the "ipse" is not intended to mean "himself", but just to disambiguate the subject of "sit".
Without it, perhaps it would have been not clear, wether "cum" is a preposition or a conjunction, because "cum sit" can be understood as "as it is..." (Not sure if that is the only intended use of "ipse", though. However, if it is, it merely means "he")


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## wonderment

Buonaparte said:


> Do you think that 'he himself is with a weapon' be an accurate translation of 'ipse cum telo sit' in this context?


Yes, I think so.  _Ipse_ is an intensive adjective; it's there for emphasis, so it makes sense to translate it. Also possible, "he alone is with a weapon." (See definition II.C)


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