Does it mean "because things are so"
or
"although things are so"?
Ed
I would guess the former. I emphasize
the guess aspect.
In principle, I suppose it could be either, depending on context.
BTW, the Bradley's Arnold Key sports the following interesting variant:
Quae cum ita se haberent, excedere urbe noluit
et id se facturum esse, ipso praesente praefecto, palam negavit.
This being the case, he was reluctant to leave the city,
and openly refused, in the governor's presence, to do so. (54:1)
Plus, "quae cum ita se habeant" is known, if not to Cicero, at least to Google:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22quae%20cum%20ita%20se%20habeant%22
Patruus
I've taken a picture from this website;
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/classics/njl/latin/verbs6.html
and enlarged it for better viewing;
http://tinyurl.com/45eu4l
According to which, a rational process says that you are right.
Ed
A book of phrases I have here ('Latin for the Illiterati') has this
term as: 'in these circumstances' thus I'm lead to believe it is
'because things are so'. Books aren't always right though.
The Cum in this statement is one of those hard ones...
phil
What does your book of phrases give for "Quibus rebus factis"; a
favourite of Julius Caesar?
Ed
L&S has a citation of the relatively unusual "although" sense s.v. cum,
IV.B.2 ("quae cum ita essent ... tamen ... (although this was so)"):
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/lexindex?lookup=cum&db=ls
Patruus
be that as it may
That tends more towards the "although" side than the "because". And the
latter is far more frequent in Latin.
Ed
For some reason Tinyurl won't work on this. So here's the full URL;
http://www.ecryer.fsnet.co.uk/Cum-Latin.jpg
Ed
To me, it seems pretty much synonymous with the literal translation:
Which things since thus they may be....
Eduardus
You may have a point here. I mean for "because" he could have used;
quod res sic se habet
quia res sic se habet
quoniam res sic se habet
and for "although"
etamsi
etsi
tametsi
quamquam
licet
But he used "quae cum ita sint" time and again. A politician's love of
uncommitted vagueness.
Ed
P.S. Cicero on the consulate-canvassing circuit;
"Quae cum ita sint, Quirites."
"Stick to Latin, pal. That's all Greek to me".
(:-