nec mīror et gaudeō, Fam. 10, 1, 4, in the first place I am not surprised, and in the second place I feel glad; neque . . . et nōn, however, is rare. patēbat via et certa neque longa, Ph. 11, 4, there lay a road open at once plain and not long. neque . . . -que begins with Cicero, but is rare ([1655]), neque . . . ac begins with Tacitus.
[1666.] Of all the Latin writers, Tacitus aims most at variety by combination of asyndeton and by the use of different copulatives: as, rēgem Rhamsēn Libyā Aethiopiā Mēdīsque et Persīs et Bactriānō ac Scythā potītum, 2, 60, that king Rhamses got control of Libya and Aethiopia and the Medes and Persians, and the Bactrian and Scythian.
[(b.) Disjunctive Conjunctions.]
[1667.] Disjunctive conjunctions connect the sentences, but disconnect the meaning. They are aut, vel, sīve or seu, -ve, and an, or. Of these conjunctions, aut, vel, and sīve are often placed before two or more members of a sentence in the sense of either . . . or. And in poetry, -ve . . . -ve sometimes occurs.
[1668.] (1.) aut, or, sometimes or even, or at least, is used between two members which are to be represented as essentially different in meaning, and of which one excludes the other: as,
hīc vincendum aut moriendum, mīlitēs, est, L. 21, 43, 5, here you must conquer, my men, or die. hōrae mōmentō cita mors venit aut victōria laeta, H. S. 1, 1, 7, within an hour’s brief turn comes speedy death or victory glad. aut vīvam aut moriar, T. Ph. 483, I shall either live or die. sīderibus dubiīs aut illō tempore quō sē frīgida circumagunt pigrī serrāca Boōtae, J. 5, 22, when stars blink faint, or even at the time when round rolls slow Boötes’ frigid wain. quā rē vī aut clam agendum est, Att. 10, 12, 5 [10, 12b, 2], so we must use force, or at any rate secrecy. Sometimes aut connects kindred ideas: as, equī ictī aut vulnerātī cōnsternābantur, L. 21, 33, 6, the horses kept getting frantic from being hit or wounded.
[1669.] aut, in the sense of otherwise, or else, sometimes introduces a statement of what necessarily follows, if something else is not done: as,
audendum est aliquid ūniversīs, aut omnia singulīs patienda, L. 6, 18, 7, you must make some bold dash collectively, or else you must suffer every thing individually. vel is also occasionally used in this sense.
[1670.] (2.) vel, or, introduces an alternative as a matter of choice or preference, and often relates merely to the selection of an expression: as,