# On seeing the robber, we feared that



## Lamb67

On seeing the robbers, we feared that they would plunder the baggage

 Visis latronibus , timuimus ne diriperent impedimenta
....,  véritī sumus ut ......


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## jazyk

I think it should be:
Visis latronibus, timuimus ne diripuissent impedimenta.


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## Starfrown

jazyk said:


> I think it should be:
> Visis latronibus, timuimus ne diriperent impedimenta.


I think Lamb had the correct form.

The plundering is to happen _after_ the action described by the main verb.


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## jazyk

My answer is based on this (in Italian).


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## jazyk

Disregard the above.

This is really hard. Now I'm not sure of anything anymore. This says that the pluperfect (diripuissent) is used when the action is prior to a thing stated in the perfect (we have preterite: timuimus), but that they would plunder is not prior, but posterior to it. Then it would have to be direpturis sint, but this says that this periphrastic future is not used with timeo, that the present subjunctive is used instead. Let's seem if someone can extricate us from this conundrum.


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## jazyk

Based on this: _timebam ut _(_ne non_)_ impetravissem eius veniam _= temevo di non avere ottenuto il suo perdono (speravo di s�)., I'd say that I chose the right verb: diripuissent.


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## Starfrown

jazyk said:


> Based on this: _timebam ut _(_ne non_)_ impetravissem eius veniam _= temevo di non avere ottenuto il suo perdono (speravo di s�)., I'd say that I chose the right verb: diripuissent.


 
I would translate this as:

"I was afraid of not having obtained his/her pardon." = "I was afraid that I had not obtained his/her pardon."

This seems rather to serve as evidence _against_ your suggestion.

The main verb _timebam_ is in a secondary tense.  The verb in the fear clause is anterior to _timebam_, so the verb is put in the pluperfect subjunctive.

The situation in the OP's sentence is the opposite.  The subject feared that something _would_ happen _at a later time_--not that something had already happened.

Your suggestion:

_Visis latronibus, timuimus ne diripuissent impedimenta._

reads: "The robbers having been seen, we feared that they _had_ plundered the baggage."


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