Rendering an indirect command into Latin: persuadere and the negative
In the prose composition section, a candidate must turn the English sentence 'The envoys persuaded the citizens that they should not surrender the city' into Latin. She writes: 'legati persuaserunt civibus quod urbem non traderent.' Her teacher marks 'quod' wrong and asks her to choose between 'ne' and 'ut non' with the subjunctive. The candidate argues that 'quod' is acceptable because it is used for indirect statement in later Latin, and that 'ne' would mean 'lest' rather than 'that not'. She has 8 minutes to revise the sentence and justify the construction. The mark scheme awards 3 marks for the verb of persuading, 2 for the negative command, and 1 for case usage. The candidate's dictionary lists 'persuadeo' with the dative and gives 'ut' and 'ne' as possible conjunctions.
1. Evaluate the candidate's sentence. Is 'quod' acceptable here? What construction does 'persuadere' require?
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'Persuadere' takes a dative of the person and, for an indirect command, 'ut' or 'ne' + subjunctive. 'Quod' introduces a causal clause ('because') with the indicative, or a factitive clause; it is not the standard construction for an indirect command. In later Latin 'quod' + subjunctive can appear, but in an A-level prose composition the expected form is 'ne traderent'. The candidate's 'quod urbem non traderent' is therefore not acceptable: it would mean something like 'because they were not surrendering', not 'that they should not surrender'. The verb 'persuaserunt' with the dative 'civibus' is correct.
2. Choose between 'ne' and 'ut non'. What difference in nuance, and which is safer?
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'Ne' is the regular negative for commands, wishes, and purpose clauses: 'that not, lest'. With verbs of persuading, 'ne' is idiomatic: 'persuaserunt ne traderent'. 'Ut non' is used when 'ne' would be ambiguous or when the negation is emphasized, but it is less common with 'persuadere'. The candidate's worry that 'ne' means 'lest' is misplaced: 'lest' is simply the older English way of rendering the same negative command. 'Ne' is safer and more idiomatic. 'Ut non' would not be wrong, but it would need a reason.
3. Rewrite the sentence in correct Latin and explain the cases.
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'Legati civibus persuaserunt ne urbem traderent.' 'Legati' is nominative plural subject. 'Civibus' is dative with 'persuaserunt'. 'Urbem' is accusative object of 'traderent'. 'Traderent' is imperfect subjunctive in the 'ne' clause, representing the original command 'ne urbem tradite' or 'nolite tradere'. Word order can vary; 'ne urbem traderent' is clear. A more emphatic alternative is 'ut urbem non traderent', but 'ne' is the expected answer. The English 'they should not surrender' is an indirect command, not indirect statement, so 'quod' is the wrong bracket.