Dear Nina,

thanks for mentioning the Conditional. However, the text contains only the Optative. There are two clauses:

1. subordinate clause:
akusala~nca hida.m pahiina.m ahitaaya dukkhaaya sa.mvatteyya

subject: akusala.m (neuter singular)
main verb: sa.mvatteyya (Optative Parassapada 3rd person singular)

2. main clause:
naaha.m eva.m vadeyya.m

subject: aha.m (1st person pronoun singular)
main verb: vadeyya.m (Optative Parassapada 1st person singular)

Note: Ven. Buddhadatta list the form 'vadeyya.m' as Attanopada.

With two Optatives, the clauses relate to each other with a condition, expressed by the subordinate clause and indicated by sace. So, I like to agree that 'ca' in clause 1 assumes the conditional meaning. However, I am always happy to discuss any alternative theory.


metta,
Yong Peng.

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Nina van Gorkom wrote:

I looked up in Warder, Ch 29, conditional tense (kaalaatipatti), that it has an augment: abhavissa: if it were... I was puzzled about this at first. Here the 'if' is already implied in this tense.

Then: Ch 14, optative tense, or potential: used for any hypothetical action. Translated as should, would, may: bhaveyya: he should be. Thus here we have the forms on eyya, like sa.mvatteyya and vadeyya in our text.