Conditional sentence

[Notascooby]

This is from an exercise book, apparently taken from Livy.

"nisi Latini arma sua sponte sumpsissent, capti et deleti eramus"

If the Latini had not of their own will taken up arms.....

I want to continue with 'we would have been captured and destroyed' but that isn't right surely?

Why is the protasis in the indicative? I would have wanted the subjunctive.

Ta

 

[Notascooby]

Maybe the indicative is stressing the reality?

 

[Pacifica]

Maybe the indicative is stressing the reality?

It is stressing the almost reality. It didn't really happen, but it was so close to happening that the writer puts it in the indicative as if it had happened.

 

[Quasus]

For the sake of expressiveness, pluperfect indicative can replace pluperfect subjunctive in the apodosis if the protasis is negative. Reference: Ernout-Thomas, 375.