2. Caesar in eōs impetum fēcit cum pācem peterent, Cæsar made an attack upon them when they were seeking peace.
3. Hoc erat difficile cum paucī sine vulneribus essent, this was difficult, since only a few were without wounds.
4. Cum prīmī ōrdinēs fūgissent, tamen reliquī fortiter cōnsistēbant, though the front ranks had fled, yet the rest bravely stood their ground.
a. The underlying principle is one already familiar to you (cf. [§ 389.a]). When the cum clause states a fact and simply fixes the time at which the main action took place, the indicative mood is used. So, in the first example, cum in Galliā eram fixes the time when I saw Cæsar.
b. On the other hand, when the cum clause describes the circumstances under which the main act took place, the subjunctive mood is used. So, in the second example, the principal clause states that Cæsar made an attack, and the cum clause describes the circumstances under which this act occurred. The idea of time is also present, but it is subordinate to the idea of description. Sometimes the descriptive clause is one of cause and we translate cum by since; sometimes it denotes concession and cum is translated although.
[396.] Rule. Constructions with Cum. The conjunction cum means when, since, or although. It is followed by the subjunctive unless it means when and its clause fixes the time at which the main action took place.
Note. Cum in clauses of description with the subjunctive is much more common than its use with the indicative.
[397.] Note the following sentences:
1. Oppidum erat parvum magnitūdine sed magnum multitūdine hominum, the town was small in size but great in population.
2. Homō erat corpore īnfīrmus sed validus animō, the man was weak in body but strong in courage.