Quo plus potestis eo moderatius imperio uti debetis: Comparative conditionals in Latin

In this paper we have examined the Latin construction called ‘comparative conditional’, as for example: Liv.21,8,9 quo acrius et confertim magis utrimque pugnabant, eo plures vulnerabantur Such construction implies the existence of paired scales and the idea that a change of position of the relevant value on the one scale triggers the corresponding or opposite change of position of the relevant value on the other scale. The fact that one of the clauses determines the other one makes the relation between the two clauses similar to the relation between a protasis and an apodosis. In our paper we have tried to show that the supposed relation with conditional clauses is not always tenable. We have also underlined that in Latin the construction exhibits properties not shared by other languages.