paulō ante tertiam vigiliam, 7, 24, 2, a little before the third watch. bīduō ante vīctōriam, Fam. 10, 14, 1, the day but one before the victory. paucīs diēbus post mortem Āfricānī, L. 3, a few days after the death of Africanus.
[1396.] Sometimes in late writers, as Tacitus, Pliny the younger, and Suetonius, a genitive is loosely used: as, sextum post clādis annum, Ta. 1, 62, i.e. sextō post clādem annō, six years after the humiliating defeat. post decimum mortis annum, Plin. Ep. 6, 10, 3, ten years after his death. Similarly intrā sextum adoptiōnis diem, Suet. Galb. 17, not longer than six days after the adoption-day.
[1397.] (2.) When the time before or after which anything occurs is denoted by a sentence, the sentence may be introduced:
([a.]) By quam: as, post diem tertium gesta rēs est quam dīxerat, Mil. 44, it took place two days after he said it. With quam, post is sometimes omitted. Or (b.) less frequently by cum: as, quem trīduō, cum hās dabam litterās, exspectābam, Planc. in Fam. 10, 23, 3, I am looking for him three days after this writing ([1601]). For a relative pronoun sentence, see [1354].
[1398.] Verbs of surpassing sometimes have an accusative of extent ([1151]): as, mīrāmur hunc hominem tantum excellere cēterīs? IP. 39, are we surprised that this man so far outshines everybody else? With comparatives, the accusative is rare: as, aliquantum inīquior, T. Hau. 201, somewhat too hard. Similarly permultum ante, Fam. 3, 11, 1, long long before.
[1399.] In numerical designations of distance, the words intervāllum and spatium are regularly put in the ablative: as, rēx VI mīlium passuum intervāllō ā Saburrā cōnsēderat, Caes. C. 2, 38, 3, the king had pitched six miles away from Saburra. So sometimes mīlle: as, mīlibus passuum VI a Caesaris castrīs sub monte cōnsēdit, 1, 48, 1. See [1152].
[TWO OR MORE ABLATIVES COMBINED.]
[1400.] Two or more ablatives denoting different relations are often combined in the same sentence: as,
Menippus, meō iūdiciō ([1385]) tōtā Asiā ([1346]) illīs temporibus ([1350]) disertissimus, Br. 315, Menippus, in my opinion the most gifted speaker of that day in all Asia. hāc habitā ōrātiōne ([1362]) mīlitibus studiō ([1316]) pugnae ardentibus ([1370]) tubā ([1377]) sīgnum dedit, Caes. C. 3, 90, 4, seeing that his soldiers were hot for battle after this speech, he gave the signal by trumpet.