([a.]) hoc quod coepī prīmum ēnārrem, T. Hau. 273, first let me tell the story I’ve begun. taceam nunc iam, Pl. B. 1058, let me now hold my tongue. cōnsīdāmus hīc in umbrā, Leg. 2, 7, let us sit down here in the shade. nē difficilia optēmus, V. 4, 15, let us not hanker after impossibilities. (b.) HAICE · VTEI · IN · COVENTIONID · EXDEICATIS, CIL. I, 196, 23, this you are to proclaim in public assembly. (c.) nōmina dēclīnāre et verba in prīmīs puerī sciant, Quintil. 1, 4, 22, first and foremost boys are to know how to inflect nouns and verbs. utī adserventur magnā dīligentiā, Pl. Cap. 115, let them be watched with all due care. nē quis tamquam parva fastīdiat grammaticēs elementa, Quintil. 1, 4, 6, let no man look down on the rudiments of grammar fancying them insignificant.
[1549.] (2.) The perfect subjunctive is rare: as, idem dictum sit, Quintil. 1, 1, 8, the same be said, once for all. Mostly in prohibitions: as, morātus sit nēmō quō minus abeant, L. 9, 11, 13, let no man hinder them from going away.
[1550.] In positive commands, the second person singular often has a definite subject in old or epistolary Latin, and particularly sīs, for the imperative es or estō. Usually however an indefinite subject ([1030]): as,
([a.]) eās, Pl. R. 519, be off. hīc apud nōs hodiē cēnēs, Pl. Most. 1129, dine here with us today. cautus sīs, mī Tirō, Fam. 16, 9, 4, you must be careful, dear Tiro. (b.) istō bonō ūtāre, dum adsit, CM. 33, enjoy this blessing while you have it with you.
[1551.] When a prohibition is expressed in the subjunctive, the second person of the present is often used in old Latin, sometimes the perfect. Later, however, the perfect is generally prevalent. In the classical period, the present is almost confined to poetry. For the imperative in prohibitions, see [1581-1586].
([a.]) nē illum verberēs, Pl. B. 747, you mustn’t thrash the man. Once in Horace: nē sīs patruos mihī, S. 2, 3, 88, don’t play stern governor to me. (b.) nē trānsierīs Ibērum, L. 21, 44, 6, do not cross the Iberus. quod dubitās nē fēcerīs, Plin. Ep. 1, 18, 5, what you have doubt about, never do.
[1552.] (3.) The imperfect or (but not in old Latin) pluperfect subjunctive is sometimes used to express past obligation or necessity: as,
([a.]) Imperfect: quae hīc erant cūrārēs, T. Hec. 230, thou shouldst have looked to matters here. paterētur, T. Hau. 202, he should have stood it. quod sī meīs incommodīs laetābantur, urbis tamen perīculō commovērentur, Sest. 54, well, if they did gloat over my mishaps, still they ought to have been touched by the danger to Rome. crās īrēs potius, Pl. Per. 710, you’d better have gone tomorrow, i.e. have resolved to go tomorrow. poenās penderēs, Pl. B. 427, thou hadst to pay a penalty. (b.) Pluperfect: restitissēs, rēpugnāssēs, mortem pugnāns oppetīssēs, Poet. in Sest. 45, thou shouldst have made a stand, fought back, and fighting met thy fate. quid facere dēbuistī? frūmentum nē ēmissēs, V. 3, 195, what ought you to have done? you should not have bought any wheat. Usually, however, past obligation or necessity is expressed by the gerundive construction, or by some separate verb meaning ought ([1496]).