MS: Lesson - Indirect Commands

Indirect Commands

Imagine a scenario in which Tiberius is sitting next to his mother, Livia. They are having a conversation. It might go something like this:

Livia: Tiberius, find Hermanes!
Tiberius: I told one of your spies to look for him.

In our scenario, Livia commanded Tiberius directly: find Hermanes! Tiberius, however, reported back to his mother with an indirect command: I told (someone) to look for him.

What is an Indirect Command?

An indirect command is a reported version of a direct command. Direct commands can be imperatives or imperative subjunctives. Indirect commands are similar to both indirect questions in several ways:

Report a speech act
Introduced by a head verb
Are a form of dependent clause
Use a subjunctive verb

Indirect commands focus on one person telling another person what to do. The indirect command is introduced by a special particle, ut. The clause is made negative by ne. The structure of an indirect command can be slightly more complicated than that of an indirect statement or question, because the person being commanded and the subject of that command are one and the same.

For example:

I told you to bring the supplies.
- Person being commanded: you
  - I told you.
- Subject of the command: you
  - You should bring supplies.

Remember that an indirect command is based on a direct command:

- Direct Command:
- I said, "Bring supplies!"
  - Note that the direct command here is imperative. The command could also be a subjunctive imperative, which will allow the indirect command to be any person or number:
    - I said, "Let them bring supplies." = I told them to bring supplies.

Who is Being Commanded?

In Latin, the person being commanded is rendered according to the verb of commanding. Because these verbs have different ways of taking an object, please refer to the chart below to see how common command verbs function.

**Objects of Common Verbs Introducing Indirect Commands**
Verbs	Type of Object	Latin Example	English Translations
rogare - to ask monere - to warn orare - to beg hortari - to urge cohortari - to encourage	Accusative of person being told	Rogo te ut...	I am asking you to... OR I ask that you...
dicere - to tell loqui - to tell persuadere - to persuade narrare - to tell imperare - to command	Dative of person being told	Dico tibi ut...	I am telling you to... OR I am saying that you...
petere - to seek, ask poscere - to ask postulare - to demand	Ab + ablative for person being told	Postulo ab te ut...	I demand (from) you to... OR I demand that you...

The subject of the verb in the indirect command will agree in person and number with the person being told:

I ask you to do something = I ask that you should do something.
I am begging him to do something = I am begging that he should do something.

The command itself will always be in the subjunctive mood. Indirect commands follow the sequence of tenses. Since a command is issued when something has not yet been done, all indirect commands are incomplete. This means that the tense of the indirect command will always be present (for primary sequence) or imperfect (for secondary sequence).

Examples of Indirect Commands

**Indirect Commands - Examples**
Direct Command	Indirect Command	English Translation	Notes
Impero, "Abite!" I am commanding you, "Go away!"	Impero vobis ut abeatis.	I am commanding you to go away. OR I am commanding that you go away.	Primary Sequence - introductory verb is present tense, so the incomplete command is expressed with the present subjunctive.
Imperavi, "Ite!" I commanded you, "Go!"	Imperavi vobis ut iretis.	I commanded you to go. OR I commanded that you should go.	Secondary Sequence - introductory verb is perfect tense, so the incomplete command is expressed with the imperfect subjunctive.
Peto, "Noli ire!" I ask you, "Don't go!"	Peto a te ne eatis.	I ask you not to go. OR I ask that you should not go.	Primary Sequence - introductory verb is present tense, so the incomplete command is expressed with the present subjunctive.
Petivi, "Noli ire!" I asked, "Don't go!"	Petivi a te ne iretis.	I asked you not to go. OR I asked that you should not go.	Secondary Sequence - introductory verb is perfect tense, so the incomplete command is expressed with the imperfect subjunctive.
Livia dicit, "Inveni, Hermanes, veritatem." Livia says, "Find the truth, Hermanes."	Livia dicit Hermani ut veritatem inveniat.	Livia tells Hermanes to find the truth. Livia tells Hermanes that he should find the truth.	Primary Sequence - introductory verb is present tense, so the incomplete command is expressed with the present subjunctive.
Livia rogavit, "Inveni, Hermanes, veritatem." Livia requested, "Find the truth, Hermanes."	Livia rogavit Hermanem ut veritatem inveniret.	Livia asked Hermanes to find the truth. Livia asked Hermanes that he should find the truth.	Secondary Sequence - introductory verb is perfect tense, so the incomplete command is expressed with the imperfect subjunctive.

Nota Bene

Notice how the direct command tends to include the person being command in the quotation by including a vocative form (direct address). The number of an imperative also demonstrates the person and number being commanded (2nd singular or plural, depending on the imperative).
- Ite = plural, so the indirect command will use the 2nd person plural
When the subject of the direct command is put into the indirect command, it is governed by the rules of the head verb:
- imperare takes an indirect object, so we have vobis in the indirect command
- petere takes ab + ablative, so we have a te in the indirect command
- rogare takes a direct object, so we have Hermanem in the indirect command

Exceptions - Accusative + Infinitive Commands

There are two verbs of commanding that do not initiate an indirect command:

iubeo, iubere, iussi, iussus - to order
veto, vetare, vetui, vetus - to forbid

Instead, these verbs use the accusative + infinitive construction, meaning they form an indirect statement or a complementary infinitive construction rather than an indirect command.

Iussimus eos ire.
- We ordered them to go.
- We ordered that they go.
Augustus vetuit Liviam veritatem invenire.
- Augustus forbade Livia from finding the truth.
- Augustus did not allow Livia to find the truth.