C. Iulius Caesar, Commentariī dē Bellō Civilī, 1.6.5 - 1.7

1.6.5

provinciae privatis decernuntur duae consulares, reliquae praetoriae. Scipioni obvenit Syria, L. Domitio Gallia; Phillipus et Cotta privato consilio praetereuntur, neque eorum sortes deiciuntur. in reliquas provincias praetores mittuntur. neque exspectant, quod superioribus annis acciderat, ut de eorum imperio ad populum feratur, paludatique votis nuncupatis exeunt. consules, quod ante id tempus accidit numquam, ex urbe proficiscuntur, lictoresque habent in urbe et Capitolio privati contra omnia vetustatis exempla. tota Italia delectus habentur, arma imperantur; pecuniae a municipiis exiguntur, e fanis tolluntur: omnia divina humanaque iura permiscentur.

1.7

quibus rebus cognitis Caesar apud milites contionatur. omnium temporum iniurias inimicorum in se commemorat; a quibus deductum ac depravatum Pompeium queritur invidia atque obtrectatione laudis suae, cuius ipse honori et dignitati semper faverit adiutorque fuerit. novum in re publica introductum exemplum queritur, ut tribunicia intercessio armis notaretur atque opprimeretur, quae superioribus annis armis esset restituta.

Greetings operatives, today you are going to see another type of subjunctive verb clause, called the result clause. Look at the following examples:

tua māter tam turpis erat ut Medūsam in lapidem mūtāre posset.
Your mother was so ugly that she was able to change Medusa into stone.

Recentiī tam celeriter cucurrērunt ut virī malī eōs nōn comprehendere possent.
The Recentii ran so swiftly that the evil men were not able to seize them.

In each example above there is an ut, which necessitates the use of the subjunctive verbs posset and comprehenderent respectively. What makes result clauses interesting is that they are "triggered" by words of quantification such as tam "so." In fact, there are several different trigger words for result clauses:

adeō - so, to such an extent
ita - so, to such an extent
sīc - so, to such an extent
tam - so, to such an extent
tālis, is, e - of such a kind
tantus, a, um - of such size
tot - so many

Remember that these trigger words appear outside and preceding the ut clause, so when you are looking to identify what kind of ut clause is in a sentence, look around, and if you see a "trigger" word like tam or adeo, you know that you are working with a result clause. Also, note that the ut in a result clause is translated just like those in purpose clauses, but with a slightly different connotation. The ut in a result clause is best translated as that = "with the result that," as opposed to the "in order that something happen" used with purpose clauses.

Pretty exciting to be here at the beginning, eh operative? Was it for the best, in the end? Should the so-called Triumvirate have had a better fate?

And it makes sense to follow up on what Salvia is saying about Ovid, too--here's the passage she seems to be thinking of:

Hic tamen accessit delubris advena nostris:                 745
Caesar in urbe sua deus est; quem Marte togaque

praecipuum non bella magis finita triumphis

resque domi gestae properataque gloria rerum

in sidus vertere novum stellamque comantem,

quam sua progenies; neque enim de Caesaris actis    750

ullum maius opus, quam quod pater exstitit huius:

 

But this one (Asclepius) came as a guest to our shrines; Caesar is a god in his own city: in battle and in politics wars finished with triumphs and things done at home and hastened glory did not turn him, extraordinary man, into a new constellation and a streaming star more than did his offspring, for no greater work was there out of the deeds of Caesar, than that he stood out as father of this man (Augustus) whom above all.

Notice how it is Caesar's "son" Augustus who turns him into a god. . .