Chapter 469Allen and Greenough's Latin GrammarDickinson CollegeChristopher Francese
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The Present in lively narrative is often used for the Historical Perfect:—
affertur
nūntius Syrācūsās;
curritur
ad praetōrium; Cleomenēs in pūblico esse nōn
audet
;
inclūdit
sē domī
;
(
Verr. 5.92
),
the news is brought to Syracuse; they run to headquarters; Cleomenes does not venture to be abroad; he shuts himself up at home.
This usage, common in all languages, comes from imagining past events as going on before our eyes (
repraesentātiō
, §
585
.
b.
N.).
For the Present Indicative with
dum
,
while
, see §
556
.
The present may be used for the perfect in a summary enumeration of past events (
Annalistic Present
):—
Rōma interim crēscit Albae ruīnīs:
duplicātur
cīvium numerus; Caelius
additur
urbī mōns
(Liv. 1.30)
,
Rome meanwhile grows as a result of the fall of Alba: the number of citizens is doubled; the Cœlian hill is added to the town