Robertus wrote:iste, however, does not only mean "this", it often has a negative connotation, too. For example, if Cicero refers to his arch-enemy Catilina as "Iste Catilina!", he wants to express that he does not like Catilina very much iste, however, does not only mean "this", it often has a negative connotation, too. For example, if Cicero refers to his arch-enemy Catilina as "Iste Catilina!", he wants to express that he does not like Catilina very much
Cicero would use "iste Catilina" because Catilina was present at the senate house during the delivery of Cicero's invective against him and it is very likely that "iste Catilina" would be uttered by pointing his finger at Catilina. These pronouns (iste-ista-istud and ille-illa-illud) are demonstrative as well as anaphoric and they related to portuguese este-esta-isto (near the speaker or the person addressed) and aquele-aquela-aquilo (distant from the adresser and the addresee).
Are you saying that there is no derogatory sense in iste Catilina?
Robertus wrote:ille Alexander, on the other hand, is used because Alexander is distant in the past, not because there is any positive meaning in ille.
Roberte, have you heard of honorific ille? It's quite standard, and in these examples cannot be explained away by spacial or temporal distance:
Tune ille Aeneas, quem Dardanio Anchisae
alma Venus Phrygii genuit Simoentis ad undam? (Vergil.Aen.I.617-8.)
ego sum ille rex Philippus (Plautus.Aulularia.704)