1619. The future indicative expresses future action, either momentary or
continuous: as,
#scrībam#, _I shall write_, _I shall be writing_, or _I will write_, _I
will be writing_. The future commonly expresses either prediction, or
will, determination, promise, threat: as, (_a._) #tuās litterās
exspectābō#, _Att._ 5, 7, _I shall be on the lookout for letters from
you_. (_b._) #vīvum tē nōn relinquam; moriēre virgīs#, _V._ 4, 85,
_I will not leave you alive; you shall die under the rod_. But separate
forms to mark the sharp distinction which exists between _shall_ and
_will_ in the English future and future perfect are utterly unknown in
Latin: thus, in #occīdar equidem, sed victus nōn perībō#, Cornif. 4, 65,
_I shall be murdered, to be sure, but I will not die a vanquished man_,
the difference between the prediction contained in _I shall_, and the
determination contained in _I will_, cannot be expressed in Latin by the
future indicative.
1620. The future is often used in diffident assertion, to express an
assumption, a belief, conviction, or concession, of the speaker himself,
without implying its universal acceptance: as,
#dīcēs#, _TD._ 2, 60, _you will say_. #dīcet aliquis#, _TD._ 3, 46,
_somebody will say_ (1556). #dabit hoc Zēnōnī Polemō#, _Fin._ 4, 51,
_Polemo will concede this point to Zeno_. #excūdent aliī spīrantia
mollius aera, crēdō equidem#, V. 6, 847, _with greater grace, I well
believe, shall others shape the bronze that breathes_. Particularly in
conclusions: as, #sequētur igitur vel ad supplicium beāta vīta
virtūtem#, _TD._ 5, 87, _happiness then will walk with goodness even to
the scaffold_. Or in general truths: as, #cantābit vacuus cōram latrōne
viātor#, J. 10, 22, _the pourë man whan he goth by the weye, bifore the
thevës he may synge and pleye_.
1621. The future sometimes predicts that a thing not yet known to be
true will prove to be true: as, #haec erit bonō genere nāta#, Pl. _Per._
645, _this maid, you’ll find, is come of honest stock_, i.e. #esse
reperiētur#. Compare the imperfect in 1598.
1622. In Plautus and Terence, the future is sometimes used in
protestations, wishes, or thanks: as, #ita mē dī amābunt#, T. _Hau._
749, _so help me heaven_. #dī tē amābunt#, Pl. _Men._ 278, _the gods
shall bless thee_. Usually, however, the subjunctive: see 1542 and 1541.
1623. The future is sometimes used in questions of deliberation or
appeal: as, #dēdēmus ergō Hannibalem?# L. 21, 10, 11, _are we then to
surrender Hannibal?_ #hancine ego ad rem nātam memorābō?# Pl. _R._ 188,
_am I to say that I was born for such a fate?_ Oftener the present
subjunctive (1563), or sometimes the present indicative (1531).
1624. The future is sometimes used, particularly in the second person,
to express an exhortation, a direction, a request, a command, or with
#nōn# a prohibition: as,
#crās ferrāmenta Teānum tollētis#, H. _E._ 1, 1, 86, _tomorrow to Teanum
you will take your tools_. #bonā veniā mē audiēs#, _DN._ 1, 59, _you
will listen to me with kind indulgence_. #tū intereā nōn cessābis#,
_Fam._ 5, 12, 10, _meantime you will not be inactive_. #haec igitur
tibī̆ erunt cūrae#, _Fam._ 3, 9, 4, _you will attend to this then_, i.e.
#haec cūrābis#.
1625. It may be mentioned here, that the future is used in sentences
subordinate to a future, an imperative, or a subjunctive implying a
future: as,
#profectō nihil accipiam iniūriae, sī tū aderis#, _Att._ 5, 18, 3, _I am
sure I shall suffer no harm, if you are with me_. #ut mēd esse volēs,
ita erō#, Pl. _Ps._ 239, _as you will have me be, so will I be_. #ut is
quī audiet, cōgitet plūra, quam videat#, _DO._ 2, 242, _so that the
hearer may imagine more than he sees_. But sometimes a present is used
(1593).