scrībam, I shall write, I shall be writing, or I will write, I will be writing. The future commonly expresses either prediction, or will, determination, promise, threat: as, (a.) tuās litterās exspectābō, Att. 5, 7, I shall be on the lookout for letters from you. (b.) vīvum tē nōn relinquam; moriēre virgīs, V. 4, 85, I will not leave you alive; you shall die under the rod. But separate forms to mark the sharp distinction which exists between shall and will in the English future and future perfect are utterly unknown in Latin: thus, in occīdar equidem, sed victus nōn perībō, Cornif. 4, 65, I shall be murdered, to be sure, but I will not die a vanquished man, the difference between the prediction contained in I shall, and the determination contained in I will, cannot be expressed in Latin by the future indicative.
[1620.] The future is often used in diffident assertion, to express an assumption, a belief, conviction, or concession, of the speaker himself, without implying its universal acceptance: as,
dīcēs, TD. 2, 60, you will say. dīcet aliquis, TD. 3, 46, somebody will say ([1556]). dabit hoc Zēnōnī Polemō, Fin. 4, 51, Polemo will concede this point to Zeno. excūdent aliī spīrantia mollius aera, crēdō equidem, V. 6, 847, with greater grace, I well believe, shall others shape the bronze that breathes. Particularly in conclusions: as, sequētur igitur vel ad supplicium beāta vīta virtūtem, TD. 5, 87, happiness then will walk with goodness even to the scaffold. Or in general truths: as, cantābit vacuus cōram latrōne viātor, J. 10, 22, the pourë man whan he goth by the weye, bifore the thevës he may synge and pleye.
[1621.] The future sometimes predicts that a thing not yet known to be true will prove to be true: as, haec erit bonō genere nāta, Pl. Per. 645, this maid, you’ll find, is come of honest stock, i.e. esse reperiētur. Compare the imperfect in 1598.
[1622.] In Plautus and Terence, the future is sometimes used in protestations, wishes, or thanks: as, ita mē dī amābunt, T. Hau. 749, so help me heaven. dī tē amābunt, Pl. Men. 278, the gods shall bless thee. Usually, however, the subjunctive: see [1542] and [1541].
[1623.] The future is sometimes used in questions of deliberation or appeal: as, dēdēmus ergō Hannibalem? L. 21, 10, 11, are we then to surrender Hannibal? hancine ego ad rem nātam memorābō? Pl. R. 188, am I to say that I was born for such a fate? Oftener the present subjunctive ([1563]), or sometimes the present indicative ([1531]).
[1624.] The future is sometimes used, particularly in the second person, to express an exhortation, a direction, a request, a command, or with nōn a prohibition: as,
crās ferrāmenta Teānum tollētis, H. E. 1, 1, 86, tomorrow to Teanum you will take your tools. bonā veniā mē audiēs, DN. 1, 59, you will listen to me with kind indulgence. tū intereā nōn cessābis, Fam. 5, 12, 10, meantime you will not be inactive. haec igitur tibī̆ erunt cūrae, Fam. 3, 9, 4, you will attend to this then, i.e. haec cūrābis.
[1625.] It may be mentioned here, that the future is used in sentences subordinate to a future, an imperative, or a subjunctive implying a future: as,