After an attentive and accurate examination of this subject, I believe I may venture to assert, that nine times out of ten, when the pretended subjunctive form of the verb is used after a conjunction, either in the vulgar translation of the Bible, or in our best profane authors, the sense is actually future, and to render the sentences complete, it would be necessary to insert shall or should.[115] This will be more obvious by attending to the Latin translation of the New Testament, where the future is almost always employed to express the Greek future and aorists. Igitur si munus tuum attuleris ad altare—If thou bring thy gift to the altar; et illic memineris—and there rememberest; (what confusion of modes.) If his son ask bread—Si filius ejus petierit panem. And if the house be worthy—Et si quidem fuerit domus digna; and so throughout the whole New Testament.
Will any person pretend to say that the verbs bring, ask and be, in the foregoing passages, are present time; or that rememberest is not bad English? The elliptical future, If thou be, if he ask, &c. is correct English, but should by no means be confounded with the present tense, which, in English, has but one form.
I do not deny that good authors have used this form, after conjunctions, in the present time; but I deny that the genius of the language requires it, that it is agreeable to the ancient or modern elegant languages, and that it has been or is now the general practice.
With respect to the ancient practice, examples sufficient have been already produced, to show that authors have considered the present of the indicative, after conjunctions, denoting uncertainty or doubt, as at least correct; and the present practice in speaking is wholly on this side of the argument.
With respect to the Roman and Greek languages, I believe examples enough may be brought to prove, that the subjunctive mode after the conditional conjunctions or adverbs, was not generally used, except when the idea was such as we should express by may, might, should, let, or some other auxiliary before the verb. "Quid est autem, quod deos veneremur propter admirationem ejus naturæ, in qua egregium nihil videmus?" "Ut, quos ratio non posset, eos ad officium religio duceret."—Cicero, De nat Deorum, l. I. 42. To render veneremur and duceret into English, should may be prefixed to adore, and might to lead.
At any rate, the conditional conjunctions do not all, nor generally require the subjunctive mode: "Quæ, si mundus est Deus, quoniam mundi partes sunt, Dei membra parim ardentia, partim refrigerata dicenda sunt."—Ibm. 1. I. 10. "Si Di possunt esse sine sensu," &c. The indicative after this conjunction occurs frequently in the best Roman authors.
In Greek the case is nearly the same. Several instances of the indicative after the conditional conjunction ει (if) have already been quoted from scripture; and similar instances without number may be produced from profane writers.
"Εἰ ουν ουτως εχει, εφη, ω Κῦρε, τι αν αλλο τις κρειττον ευροι, ἢ πεμπειν εις Περσας, και αμα μεν διδασκειν αυτους οτι ει τι πεισονται Μηδοι, εις Περσας το δεινον ηξει, αμα δε αιτειν πλειον στρατευμα;"——Xenoph. de Cyri. Inst. l. 2. p. 80. Lond. Ed.
Here the verb εχει is in the present tense of the indicative, after a conjunction denoting condition or doubt; "if the affair is so—if such is the true state of affairs, Cyrus, what better method can be taken (ευροι) than to send to the Persians, and inform them that if any accident happen to the Medes (so we should render πεισονται, which is in the future) calamity will fall upon the Persians also, and let us ask for a greater force."
In French, the conditional conjunctions do not require the subjunctive mode. "Si ma prédiction est fausse, vous serez libre de nous immoler dans trois jours."—Telemaque, liv. 1. "S'il est vrai que vous aimiez la justice."—Liv. 4. If my prediction is false—if it is true—are correct modes of speaking in French. No argument therefore in favor of the use of the English subjunctive, can be drawn from the analogy of other languages.