postquam haec dixit, profectus est, after he said this, he set out;

    si quis ita agat, imprudens sit, if any one should act so, he would be
    devoid of foresight;

    accidit ut una nocte omnes Hermae deicerentur, it happened that in a
    single night all the Hermae were thrown down.

4.  Sometimes in Latin the main verb is placed within the subordinate clause; as,—­

    si quid est in me ingeni, quod sentio quam sit exiguum, if there is
    any talent in me, and I know how little it is.

5.  The Latin Period.  The term Period, when strictly used, designates a compound sentence in which the subordinate clauses are inserted within the main clause; as,—­

Caesar etsi intellegebat qua de causa ea dicerentur, tamen, ne aestatem in Treveris consumere cogeretur, Indutiomarum ad se venire jussit, though Caesar perceived why this was said, yet, lest he should be forced to spend the summer among the Treveri, he ordered Indutiomarus to come to him.

In the Periodic structure the thought is suspended until the end of the sentence is reached.  Many Roman writers were extremely fond of this sentence-structure, and it was well adapted to the inflectional character of their language; in English we generally avoid it.

6.  When there are several subordinate clauses in one Period, the Latin so arranges them as to avoid a succession of verbs.  Thus:—­

At hostes cum misissent, qui, quae in castris gererentur, cognoscerent, ubi se deceptos intellexerunt, omnibus copiis subsecuti ad flumen contendunt, but the enemy when they had sent men to learn what was going on in camp, after discovering that they had been outwitted, followed with all their forces and hurried to the river.

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CHAPTER VIII.-Hints on Latin Style.

352.  In this chapter brief consideration is given to a few features of Latin diction which belong rather to style than to formal grammar.

NOUNS.

353. 1.  Where a distinct reference to several persons or things is involved, the Latin is frequently much more exact in the use of the Plural than is the English; as,—­

    domos eunt, they go home (i.e. to their homes);

    Germani corpora curant, the Germans care for the body;

    animos militum recreat, he renews the courage of the soldiers;

    dies noctesque timere, to be in a state of fear day and night.

2.  In case of Neuter Pronouns and Adjectives used substantively, the Latin often employs the Plural where the English uses the Singular; as,—­

    omnia sunt perdita, everything is lost;

    quae cum ita sint, since this is so;

    haec omnibus pervulgata sunt, this is very well known to all.