Temporal Clauses introduced by Postquam, Ut, Ubi, Simul ac, etc.

287. 1. Postquam (posteāquam), after; ut, ubi, when; cum prīmum, simul, simul ac (simul atque), as soon as, when used to refer to a single past act regularly take the Perfect Indicative; as,—

Epamīnōndās postquam audīvit vīcisse Boeōtiōs, 'Satis' inquit 'vīxī,' Epaminondas, after he heard that the Boeotians had conquered, said, 'I have lived enough;'

id ut audīvit, Corcyram dēmigrāvit, when he heard this, he moved to Corcyra;

Caesar cum prīmum potuit, ad exercitum contendit, Caesar, as soon as he could, hurried to the army;

ubi dē Caesaris adventū certiōrēs factī sunt, lēgātōs ad eum mittunt, when they were informed of Caesar's arrival, they sent envoys to him.

a. The Historical Present may take the place of the Perfect in this construction.

2. To denote the repeated occurrence of an act, ut, ubi, simul atque, as often as, when following an historical tense, take the Pluperfect Indicative (compare §§ 288, 3; 302, 3); as,—

ut quisque Verris animum offenderat, in lautumiās statim coniciēbātur, whenever anybody had offended Verres's feelings, he was forthwith put in the stone-quarry;

hostēs, ubi aliquōs ēgredientēs cōnspexerant, adoriēbantur, whenever the enemy had seen any men disembarking, they attacked them.

a. In Livy and succeeding historians the Imperfect and Pluperfect Subjunctive are used to denote this repeated occurrence of an act ('Indefinite Frequency'); as,—

id ubi dīxisset hastam mittēbat, whenever he had said that, he hurled a spear.

3. Occasionally the above conjunctions are followed by the Pluperfect Indicative of a single occurrence. This is regularly the case with postquam in expressions denoting a definite interval of time (days, months, years, etc.), such as post tertium annum quam, trienniō postquam. Thus:—

quīnque post diēbus quam Lūcā discesserat, ad Sardiniam vēnit five days after he had departed from Luca he came to Sardinia;

postquam occupātae Syrācūsae erant, profectus est Carthāginem, after Syracuse had been seized, he set out for Carthage.

4. The Imperfect Indicative also sometimes occurs, to denote a continued state; as,—

postquam Rōmam adventābant, senātus cōnsultus est, after they were on the march toward Rome, the Senate was consulted;

postquam strūctī utrimque stābant, after they had been drawn up on both sides and were in position.

5. Rarely postquam, posteāquam, following the analogy of cum, take the Subjunctive, but only in the historical tenses; as,—

posteāquam sūmptuōsa fieri fūnera coepissent, lēge sublāta sunt, after funerals had begun to be elaborate, they were done away with by law.

Temporal Clauses introduced by Cum.

A. Cum REFERRING TO THE PAST.

288. 1. Cum, when referring to the past, takes,—

A. The Indicative (Imperfect, Historical Perfect, or Pluperfect) to denote the point of time at which something occurs.

B. The Subjunctive (Imperfect or Pluperfect) to denote the situation or circumstances under which something occurs.

Examples:—

INDICATIVE.

an tum erās cōnsul, cum in Palātiō mea domus ārdēbat, or were you consul at the time when my house burned up on the Palatine?

crēdō tum cum Sicilia flōrēbat opibus et cōpiīs magna artificia fuisse in eā īnsulā, I believe that at the time when Sicily was powerful in riches and resources there were great crafts in that island;

eō tempore pāruit cum pārēre necesse erat, he obeyed at the time when it was necessary to obey;

illō diē, cum est lāta lēx dē mē, on that day when the law concerning me was passed.

SUBJUNCTIVE.

Lysander cum vellet Lycūrgī lēgēs commūtāre, prohibitus est, when Lysander desired to change the laws of Lycurgus, he was prevented;

Pythagorās cum in geōmetriā quiddam novī invēnisset, Mūsīs bovem immolāsse dīcitur, when Pythagoras had discovered something new in geometry, he is said to have sacrificed an ox to the Muses.

a. Note that the Indicative is much less frequent in such clauses than the Subjunctive, and is regularly confined to those cases where the main clause has tum, eō diē, eō annō, eō tempore or some similar correlative of the cum. Sometimes it depends entirely upon the point of view of the writer whether he shall employ the Indicative or Subjunctive.

2. Cum Inversum. When the logical order of the clauses is inverted, we find cum with the Perfect Indicative or Historical Present, in the sense of when, when suddenly. The main clause in such cases often has jam, vix, aegrē, nōndum; as,—

jam Gallī ex oppidō fugere apparābant, cum mātrēs familiae repente prōcurrērunt, the Gauls were already preparing to flee, when suddenly the matrons rushed forth (logically, the matrons rushed forth as the Gauls were preparing to flee);

Trēvirī Labiēnum adorīrī parābant, cum duās legiōnēs vēnisse cognōscunt, the Treviri were preparing to attack, when (suddenly) they learned that two legions had arrived.

3. To denote a recurring action in the past, cum is followed by the Indicative, particularly of the Pluperfect (compare §§ 287, 2; 302, 3); as,—

cum ād aliquod oppidum vēnerat, eādem lectīcā ad cubiculum dēferēbātur, whenever he had arrived at some town, he was (always) carried in the same litter to his room;

cum equitātus noster sē in agrōs ējēcerat, essedāriōs ex silvīs ēmittēbat, whenever our cavalry had advanced into the fields, he would send his charioteers out from the woods.

a. Sometimes the Imperfect or Pluperfect Subjunctive is thus used; as,—

saepe cum aliquem vidēret minus bene vestītum, suum amiculum dedit, often, wherever he saw some one more poorly clothed, he gave him his own mantle;

cum prōcucurrissent, Numidae effugiēbant, as often as they had advanced, the Numidians ran away.

This construction is frequent in Livy and subsequent historians.

B. Cum REFERRING TO THE PRESENT OR FUTURE.

289. When cum refers to the Present or Future it regularly takes the Indicative; as,—

tum tua rēs agitur, pariēs cum proximus ārdet, your own interests are at stake when your neighbor's house is burning;

cum vidēbis, tum sciēs, when you see, then you will know.

a. The Indicative of the Present or Future may denote also a recurring action; as,—

stabilitās amīcitiae cōnfirmārī potest, cum hominēs cupīdinibus imperābunt, firm friendship can be established whenever men shall control their desires.

C. OTHER USES OF Cum.

290. 1. Cum Explicative. Cum, with the Indicative, is sometimes used to indicate the identity of one act with another; as,—

cum tacent clāmant, their silence is a shout (lit. when they are silent, they shout).

2. Cum ... tum. When cum ... tum mean both ... and, the cum-clause is in the Indicative; but when cum has the force of while, though, it may take the Subjunctive; as,—

cum tē semper dīlēxerim, tum tuīs factīs incēnsus sum, while I have always loved you, at the same time I am stirred by your conduct.