William Gardner Hale was a well respected Latin grammarian whose book on cum-constructions was the topic of great controversy between American and German classicists of the late 19th century. In this well-known piece, Hale questions the rule of sequence of tense in Latin subjunctive clauses which is still used to teach Latin grammar, but fails to correspond to the language as it is used by the Romans themselves. This work exposes the shortcoming of the sequence of tense and offers an improved explanation for the rules of sequence as they were experienced and practiced by native speakers. A clear and pointed piece, this article is a must-read for students of Latin at all levels, particularly those involved in Latin prose composition.