Clauses introduced by Antequam and Priusquam.

A. WITH THE INDICATIVE.

291. Antequam and priusquam (often written ante ... quam, prius ... quam) take the Indicative to denote an actual fact.

1. Sometimes the Present or Future Perfect; as,—

prius respondēs quam rogō, you answer before I ask;

nihil contrā disputābō priusquam dīxerit, I will say nothing in opposition, before he speaks.

2. Sometimes the Perfect, especially after negative clauses; as,—

nōn prius jugulandī fīnis fuit, quam Sulla omnēs suōs dīvitiīs explēvit, there was no end of murder until Sulla satisfied all his henchmen with wealth.

B. WITH THE SUBJUNCTIVE.

292. Antequam and priusquam take the Subjunctive to denote an act as anticipated.

1. Thus the Subjunctive may denote—

a) An act in preparation for which the main act takes place; as,—

priusquam dīmicārent, foedus īctum est, i.e. in anticipation of the fight, a treaty was struck.

By an extension of this usage, the Subjunctive is sometimes used of general truths, where the anticipatory notion has faded out; as,—

tempestās minātur antequam surgat, the tempest threatens before it rises.

b) An act anticipated and forestalled; as,—

priusquam tēlum adicī posset, omnis aciēs terga vertit, before a spear could be hurled, the whole army fled.

c) An act anticipated and deprecated; as,—

animum omittunt priusquam locō dēmigrent, they die rather than quit their post.

2. After historical tenses the Imperfect Subjunctive is used, especially by some writers, where the notion of anticipation has practically vanished; as,—

sōl antequam sē abderet fugientem vīdit Antōnium, the sun before it set saw Antony fleeing.

Clauses introduced by Dum, Dōnec, Quoad.

293. 1. Dum, while, regularly takes the Indicative of the Historical Present; as,—

Alexander, dum inter prīmōrēs pugnat, sagittā ictus est, Alexander, while he was fighting in the van, was struck by an arrow;

dum haec geruntur, in fīnēs Venellōrum pervēnit, while these things were being done, he arrived in the territory of the Venelli.

II. Dum, dōnec, and quoad, as long as, take the Indicative; as,—

dum anima est, spēs est, as long as there is life, there is hope;

Lacedaemoniōrum gēns fortis fuit, dum Lycūrgī lēgēs vigēbant, the race of the Lacedaemonians was powerful, as long as the laws of Lycurgus were in force;

Catō, quoad vīxit, virtūtum laude crēvit, Cato, at long as he lived, increased in the fame of his virtues.

III. Dum, dōnec, and quoad, until, take:—

1. The Indicative, to denote an actual event; as,—

dōnec rediit, fuit silentium, there was silence till he came;

ferrum in corpore retinuit, quoad renūntiātum est Boeōtiōs vīcisse, he kept the iron in his body until word was brought that the Boeotians had conquered.

a. In Livy and subsequent historians dum and dōnec in this sense often take the Subjunctive instead of the Indicative; as,—

trepidātiōnis aliquantum ēdēbant dōnec timor quiētem fēcisset, they showed some trepidation, until fear produced quiet.

2. The Subjunctive, to denote anticipation or expectancy; as,—

exspectāvit Caesar dum nāvēs convenīrent, Caesar waited for the ships to assemble;

dum litterae veniant, morābor, I shall wait for the letter to come.