1860. #cum#, _when_, _whenever_, _if_, of indefinite time, may introduce
any tense of the indicative required by the context: as,
#facile omnēs, quom valēmus, rēcta cōnsilia aegrōtīs damus#, T. _Andr._
309, _we all, when well, give good advice to sick folk easily_. #Rōmae
videor esse, cum tuās litterās legō#, _Att._ 2, 15, 1, _I always fancy
myself in Rome, when I am reading a letter from you_. #cum posuī librum,
adsēnsiō omnis ēlābitur#, _TD._ 1, 24, _when I drop the book, all assent
melts away_ (1613). #incenderis cupiditāte lībertātis, cum potestātem
gustandī fēceris#, _RP._ 2, 50, _you will inspire them with a passion
for freedom, when you give them a chance to taste it_ (1627). #hīs cum
fūnēs comprehēnsī adductīque erant, praerumpēbantur#, 3, 14, 6, _every
time the lines were caught by these and hauled taut, they would part_
(1618). The subjunctive is used, chiefly by late writers, rarely by
Cicero and Caesar, to express repeated past action (1730): as, #cum in
convīvium vēnisset, sī quicquam caelātī adspexerat, manūs abstinēre nōn
poterat#, _V._ 4, 48, _when he went to a dinner party, if he ever caught
sight of a bit of chased work, he never could keep his hands off_
(2050).
1861. #cum#, _when_, of definite time, regularly introduces the
indicative in old Latin, even where the subjunctive is required in
classical Latin (1872): as,
#nam illa, quom tē ad sē vocābat, mēmet esse crēdidit#, Pl. _Men._ 1145,
_for when that lady asked you in, she thought ’twas I_. #postīculum hoc
recēpit, quom aedīs vēndidit#, Pl. _Tri._ 194, _this back part he
excepted, when he sold the house_.
1862. #cum#, _when_, of definite time, regularly introduces the
indicative of any action, not of past time: as,
#sed dē hīs etiam rēbus, ōtiōsī cum erimus, loquēmur#, _Fam._ 9, 4, _but
we will talk of this when we have time_. #cum ego P. Grānium testem
prōdūxerō, refellitō, sī poteris#, _V._ 5, 154, _when I put Granius on
the witness stand, refute him if you can_.
1863. With #cum#, _when_, the indicative is used of definite past time
to date the action of the main clause, as follows:
1864. (1.) The indicative imperfect is regularly used with #cum#,
_when_, to denote a continued action parallel and coincident in duration
with another continued action, also in the imperfect: as,
#quom pugnābant maxumē, ego tum fugiēbam maxumē#, Pl. _Am._ 199, _while
they were fighting hardest, then I was running hardest_. #tum cum rem
habēbās, quaesticulus tē faciēbat attentiōrem#, _Fam._ 9, 16, 7, _as
long as you were a man of substance, the fun of making money made you a
little close_.
1865. (2.) The indicative imperfect is often used with #cum#, _when_,
denoting a continued action, to date an apodosis in the perfect: as,
#legiōnēs quom pugnābant maxumē, quid in tabernāclō fēcistī?# Pl. _Am._
427, _what did’st thou in the tent what time the legions fought their
mightiest?_ #hīs librīs adnumerandī sunt sex dē rē pūblicā, quōs tum
scrīpsimus cum gubernācula rē̆ī pūblicae tenēbāmus#, _Div._ 2, 3, _to
these books are to be added the six On the State, which I wrote at the
time I was holding the helm of state_. But when the object of the clause
is not distinctly to date the apodosis, its verb is in the subjunctive
(1872).
1866. (3.) The indicative perfect or present of vivid narration is used
with #cum#, _when_, to date an apodosis in the perfect or present of
vivid narration: as,
#‘per tuās statuās’ vērō cum dīxit, vehementius rīsimus#, _DO._ 2, 242,
_but when he uttered the words ‘by your statues’ we burst into a louder
laugh_. #cum occīditur Sex. Rōscius, ibīdem fuērunt#, _RA._ 120, _when
Roscius was murdered, they were on the spot_. #cum diēs vēnit, causā
ipse prō sē dictā, damnātur#, L. 4, 44, 10, _when the day of the trial
came, he spoke in his own defence and was condemned_. The present is
particularly common in old colloquial Latin: as, #vivom, quom abīmus,
līquimus#, Pl. _Cap._ 282, _we left him alive when we came away_. For
#cum prīmum# in narration, see 1925; for #cum extemplō#, 1926.
1867. (4.) The indicative perfect or present of vivid narration is
regularly used with #cum#, _when_, to denote a momentary action when the
apodosis denotes continued action: as,
#cum Caesar in Galliam vēnit, alterīus factiōnis prīncipēs erant Aeduī,
alterīus Sēquanī#, 6, 12, 1, _when Caesar came to Gaul, the leaders of
one party were the Aeduans, of the other the Sequanians_. #eō cum veniō,
praetor quiēscēbat#, _V._ 4, 32, _when I got there, the praetor was
taking a nap_.
1868. An emphatic indicative clause with #cum#, _while_, often follows
the main action.
The clause with #cum# is usually inconsistent with the main action, and
#cum# is often attended by #intereā#, #interim#, _all the time_, #etiam
tum#, _still_, #nōndum#, #hauddum#, _not yet_, _no longer_, #quidem#,
_by the way_, or #tamen#, #nihilōminus#, _nevertheless_: as,
#caedēbātur virgīs in mediō forō Messānae cīvis Rōmānus, cum intereā
nūllus gemitus audiēbātur#, _V._ 5, 162, _there was flogged with rods in
open market place at Messana a citizen of Rome, while all the time not a
groan was to be heard_. #ēvolārat iam ē cōnspectū quadrirēmis, cum etiam
tum cēterae nāvēs ūnō in locō mōliēbantur#, _V._ 5, 88, _she had already
sped out of sight, the four-banker, while the rest of the vessels were
still struggling round in one and the same spot_. This use is very rare
in old Latin. Not in Caesar. With the infinitive of intimation, see
1539.
1869. An indicative clause with #cum#, usually expressing sudden or
unexpected action, sometimes contains the main idea, and is put last.
In this case #cum# is often attended by #subitō# or #repente#,
_suddenly_, and the first clause contains #iam#, _already_, _by this
time_, #vix#, #aegrē#, _hardly_, #vixdum#, _hardly yet_, or #nōndum#,
_not yet_. The first verb is commonly in the imperfect or pluperfect,
and the second in the perfect or present of vivid narration: as,
#dīxerat hoc ille, cum puer nūntiāvit venīre Laelium#, _RP._ 1, 18,
_scarcely had he said this, when a slave announced that Laelius was
coming_. #vix ea fātus eram, gemitū cum tālia reddit#, V. 2, 323,
_scarce had I spoke the words, when with a groan he answers thus_.
#Hannibal iam subībat mūrōs, cum repente in eum patē̆factā portā
ērumpunt Rōmānī#, L. 29, 7, 8, _Hannibal was already moving up to the
walls, when all of a sudden the gate flies open and the Romans come
pouring out upon him_. #iamque hoc facere apparābant, cum mātres
familiae repente prōcurrērunt#, 7, 26, 3, _they were already preparing
to do it, when suddenly the married women rushed forward_. This use is
very rare in old Latin. From Sallust on, it is found occasionally with
the infinitive of intimation (1539).
1870. A clause with #cum# is often used attributively with words
denoting time, or with #est#, #fuit#, or #erit#.
The mood is the same as with a relative pronoun, sometimes the
indicative, and regularly in old Latin, but usually the subjunctive: as,
#fuit quoddam tempus cum in agrīs hominēs vagābantur#, _Inv._ 1, 2,
_there was an age of the world when men roved round in the fields_
(1813, 1823). #fuit tempus cum rūra colerent hominēs#, Varro, _RR._ 3,
1, 1, _there was a time when men dwelt in the fields_ (1818, 1821). #est
cum exōrnātiō praetermittenda est#, Cornif. 2, 30, _sometimes
ornamentation should be avoided_. #fuit anteā tempus, cum Germānōs Gallī
virtūte superārent#, 6, 24, 1, _there was a time when the Gauls outdid
the Germans in valour_. The subjunctive is also used with #audiō cum#
(1722), but with #meminī cum# the indicative: as, #saepe ex socerō meō
audīvī, cum is dīceret#, _DO._ 2, 22, _I have often heard my
father-in-law saying_. #meminī cum mihī̆ dēsipere vidēbāre#, _Fam._ 7,
28, 1, _I remember when I thought you showed bad taste_.
1871. The indicative present or perfect with #cum# is used in
expressions equivalent to an emphasized accusative or ablative of time,
the main verb being #est# or #sunt#: as, #annī prope quadringentī sunt,
cum hoc probātur#, _O._ 171, _it is nearly four hundred years that this
has been liked_. #nōndum centum et decem annī sunt, cum lāta lēx est#,
_Off._ 2, 75, _it is not a hundred and ten years yet since the law was
passed_. In old Latin, the clause with #cum# is made the subject of
#est#, and the substantive of time is put in the accusative: as, #hanc
domum iam multōs annōs est quom possideō#, Pl. _Aul._ 3, _’tis many
years now I have occupied this house_.