When cum is used with the subjunctive, it has two meanings. In this post we will look at one.
When used with the
subjunctive, cum does not primarily indicate time. Instead, it
introduces a clause that provides background information against which the main
action is to be understood.
That background
information may convey:
[1] the reason
why something happened: causal; the translation will frequently render cum
+ subjunctive as “since” or “as” in the sense of “because”
[i] A phrase
commonly found in Cicero’s speeches:
Quae cum
ita sint [present subjunctive], ¦ iste homō āmēns ac perditus aliā mēcum
ratiōne pugnat.
And as this
is the case, ¦ that senseless and profligate man attempts to combat me in
another manner.
Literally: since
these things are so, but can be rendered in various ways e.g. ‘that being
the case’
[ii] Similarly:
Quae cum
ita essent [imperfect subjunctive], … (Cicero) │ Since these
things were so …
[iii] Cum
tam diū nāvigārent [imperfect subjunctive], nautae cupere coepērunt
domum petere │ Since they were sailing for such a long time, the sailors
began to desire to go home.
[2] the circumstances
in which something happened: circumstantial; the translation will
frequently render cum + subjunctive as “when” or “while”
Cum essem ōtiōsus in Tusculānō, accēpī tuās
litterās.
When / while I was at leisure in my
house at Tusculum, I received your letter.
- This statement does not infer a cause: Cicero did not receive the letter because of where he was, but what he was doing / the circumstances he was in when he received it. Although ‘when’ is used, the focus is not on time.
Cum Rōmae essem ... cotīdiē tamen hōrae
... longae vidēbantur. (Cicero) │ When I was at Rome … still the hours
every day … seemed long.
- It is not a reference to a specific point in time, but rather to the situation / circumstances Cicero was in when he felt this way.
… inventus est
senātor quī, cum iūdex esset, in eōdem iūdiciō et ab reō pecūniam
acciperet (Cicero) │ A senator was found who, while he was a judge,
received money from the defendant in the same trial
- It isn’t that the senator became a judge and, when he did, the defendant walked into the courtoom and gave him money! The imperfect subjunctive describes the circumstances in which he received the money.
The pluperfect
subjunctive in this context may be translated as ‘after’ emphasising
circumstances that had taken place before the action of the main verb:
Cum lūmen cōnspexissent nautae
intellēxērunt sē īnsulam invēnisse. │ After
they had observed the light, the sailors understood that they had found the
island.
Note: the causal
and circumstantial clauses are not two different constructions. In
practice, there is no distinction in the Latin sentences and, when
translating, it is often a matter of interpretation of context as to
which word(s) would be the most appropriate.
Sometimes the
meaning is explicit. Here, both sentences clearly convey cause:
Id difficile nōn
est cum tantum equitātū valeāmus [present subjunctive] │ This is
not difficult since we are so strong with our cavalry.
Turnō fugiendum
erat cum pār Aenēae pār nōn esset [imperfect subjunctive] │
Turnus, since he was not equal to Aeneas, had to flee.
However, the
distinction can be blurred:
Cum mīlitēs oppidō appropinquārent,
hostēs aggressī sunt. │ When / since the soldiers were
approaching the town, the enemy attacked.
The cum-clause
shows the circumstances in which the enemy attacked, or the cause that led to it.
It would be
unproductive to ponder too much on whether one word was more appropriate than
the other. Unless the text is absolutely explicit, there can be more than one
possibility.
The key point to
remember is that the emphasis is not on time, but on the situation,
conditions, or reasoning that form the background to the main clause.
The examples given
below offer alternative translations of cum and show a range of
subjunctive tenses:
[i] Nimis abes
diū, praesertim cum sīs [present subjunctive] in propinquīs locīs
(Cicero) │ You are away too long, especially when / since you
are in nearby places.
[ii] Puerī, cum
pater iānuam cūstōdīret [imperfect subjunctive], mūrōs ascendērunt. │
The boys, since their father was guarding the door, climbed the
walls.
[iii] Cum
Rōmae habitārēs [imperfect subjunctive] nōnne cibum bonum emere poterās?
│ When / while / since you were living in Rome,
surely you were able to buy good food?
[iv] Ignōsce mihi,
quod, cum anteā accūrātissimē … ad tē scrīpserim [perfect
subjunctive], eādem dē rē saepius scrībam (Cicero) │ Pardon me for writing
again on the same subject, when I have already written very fully
to you …
[v] Sed tamen nōn
possum reprehendere cōnsilium tuum, praesertim cum egomet in prōvinciam nōn
sim profectus [perfect subjunctive; deponent verb] (Cicero) │ But
nevertheless I cannot criticise your decision, especially ¦ since I myself
have not gone to a province.
[vi] Militēs, cum
montēs vīdissent [pluperfect subjunctive], gavīsī sunt. │ The
soldiers rejoiced since they had seen the mountains.
[vii] Quod cum tam
multī hominēs honestissimī audīssent [pluperfect subjunctive], statim ad
mē dēfertur (Cicero) │ And since / when so many very honest men had
heard it, it was [literally: it is] immediately reported to me.
[viii] Equidem ut
dē mē cōnfitear, iūdicēs, ¦ cum multae mihi ā C. Verre īnsidiae terrā
marīque factae sint [perfect subjunctive; passive] … (Cicero) │ Indeed,
judges, if I may make a confession about myself, since many attacks have
been made against me by Gaius Verres both on land and at sea …
[ix] Quod cum
esset factum [pluperfect subjunctive; passive], adiimus ad Caesarem
(Cicero) │ Since / when that was / had been done
we approached Caesar…
[x] Cum hostēs
urbem intrāvissent, cīvēs fugiēbant. │ After the enemy had
entered the city, the citizens began to flee.
[xi] Heri, cum ex aliōrum litterīs cognōvissem dē Antōnī adventū … (Cicero) │ Yesterday, when / after I (had) learned about Anthony’s arrival from other people’s letters …
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