1746. (1.) The present, or perfect subjunctive, or the future participle
with a form of #sim#, is used in sentences subordinate to a primary
tense (1717): as,
(_a._) #tē hortor, ut Rōmam pergās#, _QFr._ 1, 3, 4, _I urge you to
repair to Rome_. #cūrā, ut quam prīmum veniās#, _Fam._ 4, 10, 1, _mind
that you come as soon as you can_. #ego quid accēperim sciō#, _RA._ 58,
_I know what I have received_. #quam sum sollicitus quidnam futūrum
sit#, _Att._ 8, 6, 3, _how anxious I am to know what in the world is to
come_. (_b._) #in eum locum rēs dēducta est ut salvī esse nequeāmus#,
_Fam._ 16, 12, 1, _to such a pass has it come that we cannot be saved_.
#an oblītus es quid initiō dīxerim?# _DN._ 2, 2, _have you possibly
forgotten what I said at the start?_ #quoniam in eam ratiōnem vītae nōs
fortūna dēdūxit, ut sempiternus sermō dē nōbīs futūrus sit, caveāmus#,
_QFr._ 1, 1, 38, _since fortune has set us in such a walk of life that
we are to be eternally talked about, let us be on our guard_. (_c._)
#efficiam, ut intellegātis#, _Clu._ 7, _I will see that you understand_.
#dīcent quid statuerint#, _V._ 2, 175, _they will tell what they decided
on_. #quae fuerit causa, mox vīderō#, _Fin._ 1, 35, _what the reason was
I won’t consider till by and by_ (1630). #tē disertum putābō, sī
ostenderis quō modō sīs eōs inter sīcāriōs dēfēnsūrus#, _Ph._ 2, 8,
_I shall think you a most effective speaker, if you show how you are
going to defend them on the charge of murder_.
1747. (2.) The imperfect, or pluperfect subjunctive, or the future
participle with a form of #essem#, is used in sentences subordinate to a
secondary tense (1717): as,
(_a._) #hīs rēbus fīēbat, ut minus lātē vagārentur#, 1, 2, 4, _so it
came to pass that they did not roam round much_. #docēbat, ut tōtīus
Galliae prīncipātum Aeduī tenuissent#, 1, 43, 6, _he showed how the
Aeduans had had the mastery over all Gaul_. #Flaccus quid aliī posteā
factūrī essent scīre nōn poterat#, Fl. 33, _Flaccus could not tell what
other people would do in the future_. (_b._) #is cīvitātī persuāsit, ut
dē fīnibus suīs cum omnibus cōpiīs exīrent#, 1, 2, 1, _this man
prevailed on his community to emigrate from their place of abode, bag
and baggage_. #quās rēs in Hispāniā gessisset, disseruit#, L. 28, 38, 2,
_he discoursed on his military career in Spain_. #an Lacedaemoniī
quaesīvērunt num sē esset morī prohibitūrus?# TD. 5, 42, _did the
Spartans ask whether he was going to prevent them from dying?_ (_c._)
#Ariovistus tantōs sibī̆ spīritūs sūmpserat, ut ferendus nōn vidērētur#,
1, 33, 5, _Ariovistus had put on such high and mighty airs that he
seemed intolerable_. #hīc pāgus, cum domō exīsset patrum nostrōrum
memoriā, L. Cassium cōnsulem interfēcerat#, 1, 12, 5, _this canton,
sallying out from home in our fathers’ recollection, had put Cassius,
the consul, to death_. #illud quod mihī̆ extrēmum prōposueram, cum essem
de bellī genere dictūrus#, _IP._ 17, _the point I had reserved till the
end, when I was going to discourse on the character of the war_.
1748. With any kind of a secondary main sentence, a subordinate general
truth usually stands in the past, contrary to the English idiom: as,
#hīc cōgnōscī licuit, quantum esset hominibus praesidī in animī
firmitūdine#, Caes. _C._ 3, 28, 4, _here there was a chance to learn
what a bulwark man has in courage_. In the direct form #est# (1588).
1749. A subsequent relation is sometimes loosely suggested by a simple
subjunctive; necessarily so with verbs which lack the future participle,
or which are in the passive: as, #sum sollicitus quidnam dē prōvinciīs
dēcernātur#, _Fam._ 2, 11, 1, _I am anxious to see what in the world may
be decided on about the provinces_.
1750. In a single example, a future perfect of resulting state is
represented in subordination as follows: #nec dubitō quīn cōnfecta iam
rēs futūra sit#, _Fam._ 6, 12, 3, _and I have no doubt the job will soon
be completely finished up_, directly, #sine dubiō cōnfecta iam rēs
erit#.
1751. (1.) An imperfect subjunctive expressing a particular past result,
cause, reason, &c., is sometimes connected with a main general present
tense (1744): as,
#cuius praeceptī tanta vīs est, ut ea Delphicō deō tribuerētur#, _Leg._
1, 58, _the power of this rule is so mighty that it was ascribed to the
Delphic god_. #cuius rē̆ī tanta est vīs, ut Ithacam illam sapientissimus
vir immortālitātī antepōneret#, _DO._ 1, 196, _so irresistible is the
power of this sentiment that the shrewdest of men loved his little
Ithaca better than life eternal_; of Ulixes. #laudantur ōrātōrēs veterēs
quod crīmina dīluere dīlūcidē solērent#, _V._ 2, 191, _the orators of
old are admired ‘because they were always clear in explaining
accusations away.’_ The secondary sequence is also sometimes
exceptionally used with ordinary presents.
1752. (2.) The present of vivid narration is commonly regarded as a
secondary tense, especially when the subordinate sentence precedes, and
regularly with narrative #cum#. Sometimes however as a primary tense:
as,
(_a._) #servīs suīs Rubrius, ut iānuam clauderent, imperat#, _V._ 1, 66,
_Rubrius orders his slaves to shut the front door_. #Aeduī, cum sē
dēfendere nōn possent, lēgātōs ad Caesarem mittunt#, 1, 11, 2, _the
Aeduans, finding they could not defend themselves, send some envoys to
Caesar_. (_b._) #hortātur, ut arma capiant#, 7, 4, 4, _he urges them to
fly to arms_. Sometimes the two sequences stand side by side, or a
subjunctive of primary sequence has itself a second subordinate
subjunctive of secondary sequence. Either sequence is used with the
present of quotation also (1592).
1753. (3.) Subordinate sentences of past action conceivable, of action
non-occurrent, or dubitative questions of the past, retain their past
unchanged with a main primary tense: as,
(_a._) #vērī simile nōn est, ut ille monumentīs maiōrum pecūniam
antepōneret#, _V._ 4, 11, _it is not conceivable that the man would have
thought more of money than of his heirlooms_, i.e. #nōn antepōneret#
(1559). (_b._) #omnia sīc erunt inlūstria, ut ad ea probanda tōtam
Siciliam testem adhibēre possem#, _V._ 5, 139, _everything will be so
self-evident, that I could use all Sicily as a witness to prove it_
(1560). #taceō, nē haec quidem conligō, quae fortasse valērent apud
iūdicem#, _Lig._ 30, _I’ll hold my tongue, I won’t even gather together
the following arguments, which might perhaps be telling with a juryman_
(1560). (_c._) #quaerō ā tē cūr C. Cornēlium nōn dēfenderem#, _Vat._ 5,
_I put the question to you, why I was not to defend Cornelius_ (1563).
1754. A final subjunctive subordinate to a perfect definite sometimes
has the primary sequence, but more commonly the secondary: as,
(_a._) #etiamne ad subsellia cum ferrō vēnistis, ut hīc iugulētis Sex.
Rōscium?# _RA._ 32, _have you actually come to the court-room knife in
hand, to cut Roscius’s throat on the spot?_ (_b._) #nē īgnōrārētis esse
aliquās pācis vōbīs condiciōnēs, ad vōs vēnī#, L. 21, 13, 2, _I have
come to you to let you know that you have some chances of peace_.
#addūxī hominem in quō satis facere exterīs nātiōnibus possētis#, _V. a.
pr._ 2, _I have brought up a man in whose person you can give
satisfaction to foreign nations_.
1755. An independent present or perfect subjunctive may be put with a
main secondary tense (1744):
1756. (1.) In relative, causal, or concessive sentences: as,
#cum in cēterīs colōniīs duūm virī appellentur, hī sē praetōrēs
appellārī volēbant#, _Agr._ 2, 93, _though they are styled in all other
colonies The Two, these men wanted to be styled praetors_. #quī
adulēscēns nihil umquam nisi sevērissimē et gravissimē fēcerit, is eā
aetāte saltāvit?# _D._ 27, _did the man who in his growing years
invariably behaved with austere propriety, dance and caper round in his
old age?_ #hōc tōtō proeliō cum ab hōrā septimā ad vesperum pugnātum
sit, āversum hostem vidēre nēmō potuit#, 1, 26, 2, _during the whole of
this engagement, though the fighting went on from an hour past noon till
evening, nobody could catch a glimpse of an enemy’s back_.
1757. (2.) Often in consecutive sentences: as,
(_a._) #in prōvinciā Siciliā, quam iste per triennium ita vexāvit, ut ea
restituī in antīquum statum nūllō modō possit#, _V. a. pr._ 12, _in the
province of Sicily, which the defendant so effectually tormented three
years running that it cannot be restored at all to its original estate_.
#priōrēs ita rēgnārunt, ut omnēs conditōrēs partium certē urbis
numerentur#, L. 2, 1, 2, _such was the administration of the monarchs
preceding, that they are all accounted founders of parts at least of
Rome_. (_b._) The perfect subjunctive sometimes represents the time of
the perfect definite: as, #tantum in aerārium pecūniae invēxit, ut ūnīus
imperātōris praeda fīnem attulerit tribūtōrum#, _Off._ 2, 76, _he
conveyed such quantities of money into the treasury, that the plunder
turned in by a single commander has put an end to tribute for good and
all_. #eō usque sē praebēbat patientem atque impigrum, ut eum nēmō
umquam in equō sedentem vīderit#, _V._ 5, 27, _he showed himself so
indefatigably active that no human being has ever seen him astride a
horse_. Sometimes the time of the historical perfect: as, #temporis
tanta fuit exiguitās, ut ad galeās induendās tempus dēfuerit#, 2, 21, 5,
_so scant was the time that they had not time to put their helmets on_.
#hīc ita quiēvit, ut eō tempore omnī Neāpolī fuerit#, _Sull._ 17, _this
man held so quiet that he staid all that time at Neapolis_. In Cicero a
negative subordinate perfect is not uncommon; an affirmative one is very
rare. This construction is more common in Nepos, Livy, and Tacitus, and
is the prevalent one in Suetonius.
1758. The imperfect only is used in complementary sentences with past
verbs of happening, such as #accidit#, #contigit#, &c. (1966).
1759. When two consecutive subjunctives are coordinated, they usually
have the same tense. Sometimes however the first is perfect and the
second imperfect, or the reverse.
1760. (3.) An indirect question in the present or perfect sometimes
retains its original tense with a main secondary tense (1744): as,
#hīc quantum in bellō fortūna possit, cōgnōscī potuit#, 6, 35, 2, _here
there was a chance to see how potent dame Fortùne is in war_. Here
#possit# represents #potest# of a general truth (1588); but usually
general truths have the regular sequence (1748). #cūr abstinuerit
spectāculō ipse, variē trahēbant#, Ta. 1, 76, _why the emperor did not
go to the show, they accounted for in this way and that_, representing
#cūr abstinuit? quō cōnsiliō redierim initiō audīstis, post estis
expertī#, _Ph._ 10, 8, _what my idea was in coming back, you learned
first by hearsay, afterwards by personal observation_, representing #quō
cōnsiliō rediī?#
1761. The subordinate subjunctive has sometimes the sequence of the
nearest verb, instead of that of its proper verb: as, #cūrāvit, quod
semper in rē pūblicā tenendum est, nē plūrimum valeant plūrimī#, _RP._
2, 39, _he arranged it so, a point which is always to be held fast in
government, that the greatest number may not have the greatest power_.
[Erratum:
1750 ... directly, #sine dubiō cōnfecta iam rēs erit#.
directly.]