ething to be supplied from the
context instead of upon the principal verb of their own sentences; as,--

ut haec omnia omittam, abiimus, _to pass over all this,_ (_I will say
that_) _we departed_.

Clauses of Characteristic.

283. 1. A relative clause used _to express a quality or characteristic of a
general or indefinite antecedent_ is called a Clause of Characteristic, and
usually stands in the Subjunctive; as,--

multa sunt, quae mentem acuant, _there are many things which sharpen
the wits._

Clauses of Characteristic are opposed to those relative clauses which are
used merely to state some fact about a definite antecedent, and which
therefore take the Indicative; as,--

Cato, senex jucundus, qui Sapiens appellatus est, _Cato, a delightful
old man, who was called 'The Wise.'_

The Clause of Characteristic implies '_a person of the sort that does
something_'; the Indicative relative clause implies '_a particular person
who does something_.'

2. Clauses of Characteristic are used especially after such expressions as,
est qui; sunt qui; nemo est qui; nullus est qui; unus est qui; solus est
qui; quis est qui; is qui; etc. Thus:--

sunt qui dicant, _there are (some) who say_;

nemo est qui nesciat, _there is nobody who is ignorant_;

sapientia est una quae maestitiam pellat, _philosophy is the only thing
that drives away sorrow_;

quae civitas est quae non everti possit, _what state is there that
cannot be overthrown?_

non is sum qui improbos laudem, _I am not the sort of man that praises
the wicked._

a. Sometimes (very rarely in Cicero and Caesar) the clause of
characteristic is used after comparatives; as,--

non longius hostes aberant quam quo telum adigi posset, _the enemy were
not too far off for a dart to reach them_ (lit. _further off than [a
point] to which a dart could be cast_).

3. The Clause of Characteristic often conveys an accessory notion of cause
(_since_) or opposition (_although_). Thus:--

a) Cause. The relative is then frequently accompanied by ut, quippe,
utpote; as,--

o fortunate adulescens, qui tuae virtutis Homerum praeconem inveneris,
_O fortunate man, since you have found a Homer as the herald of your
valor_;

ut qui optimo jure eam provinciam obtinuerit, _since he held that
province by excellent right_.

b) Opposition:--

egomet qui sero Graecas litteras attigisse