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.

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