Bellum Africum 1

B. Afr. 1.1Caesar itineribus iūstīs cōnfectīs nūllō diē intermissō a. d. XIV Kal. Iān.

Caesar, making regular day's marches and not letting a single day go by, on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of January

Note. The author of the Bellum Africum is unknown: an officer who served in the campaign of 47-46 BC, writing a plainer, more colloquial Latin than Caesar. iūstīs itineribus: 'regular (full-length) marches'. a. d. XIV Kal. Iān. = ante diem quārtum decimum Kalendās Iānuāriās, 17 December by the pre-Julian calendar. The sentence runs on into the next one, where the verb pervēnit comes.

B. Afr. 1.1Lilybaeum pervēnit statimque ostendit sēsē nāvēs velle cōnscendere, cum Nōn amplius legiōnem tīrōnum habēret ūnam, equitēs vix DC. Tabernāculum secundum lītus ipsum cōnstituit, ut prope flūctus verberāret.

reached Lilybaeum and at once made it plain that he wanted to board the ships, although he had no more than one legion of recruits and barely six hundred cavalry. He pitched his tent right on the shore, so that the waves almost beat against it.

Note. Lilybaeum: an accusative of goal without a preposition, normal with names of towns. nōn amplius … ūnam: amplius 'more' is added without quam and does not affect the case. cum … habēret: concessive cum, 'although'. DC = 600. The edition prints 'DC.' with a full stop, so a second sentence (Tabernāculum …) is joined to this one here. ut prope flūctus verberāret: 'so that the surf almost lashed it'.

B. Afr. 1.2Hoc eō cōnsiliō fēcit, nē quis sibi morae quicquam fore spērāret et ut omnēs in diēs hōrāsque parātī essent.

He did this with the purpose that no one should hope there would be any delay on his part, and that everyone should be ready from day to day and hour to hour.

Note. eō cōnsiliō … nē: 'with this purpose, that … not'. nē quis = nē aliquis: after sī, nisi, num and nē, quis is indefinite. morae quicquam: partitive genitive, 'anything of delay', i.e. any delay. in diēs hōrāsque: 'from day to day and hour to hour'.

B. Afr. 1.3Incidit per id tempus, ut tempestātēs ad nāvigandum idōneās Nōn habēret;

It happened at that time that he did not have weather suitable for sailing;

Note. Incidit … ut: 'it happened that', an impersonal verb with a result clause as subject. ad nāvigandum: gerund with ad expressing purpose.

B. Afr. 1.3nihilō tamen minus in nāvibus rēmigēs mīlitēsque continēre et nūllam praetermittere occāsiōnem profectiōnis, cum praesertim ab incolīs eius prōvinciae nūntiārentur adversāriōrum cōpiae equitātus īnfīnītus, legiōnēs rēgiae IV, levis armātūrae magna vīs, Scīpiōnis legiōnēs X, elephantī CXX classēsque esse complūrēs;

none the less he kept the rowers and soldiers on board the ships and let slip no opportunity of setting out, especially as the inhabitants of that province were reporting the enemy's forces: cavalry without number, four royal legions, a great force of light-armed troops, ten legions of Scipio's, a hundred and twenty elephants and several fleets;

Note. nihilō minus: 'none the less', literally 'less by nothing' (ablative of degree of difference). The infinitives continēre and praetermittere are historical infinitives, used in vivid narrative instead of a finite verb, with Caesar as subject. cum praesertim: 'especially since'. The list of the enemy's forces is the subject of nūntiārentur, shifting to accusative and infinitive with classēs esse.

B. Afr. 1.4tamen Nōn dēterrēbātur animōque et spē cōnfīdēbat.

yet he was not deterred, and he was confident in his courage and his hopes.

Note. animō … et spē: ablatives of cause with cōnfīdēbat: 'he trusted in his spirit and hope'.

B. Afr. 1.5Interim in diēs et nāvēs longae adaugērī et onerāriae complūrēs eōdem concurrere et legiōnēs tīrōnum convenīre IV, veterāna legiō quīnta, equitum ad II mīlia.

Meanwhile, day by day, the warships were increased, many transport ships gathered at the same place, and four legions of recruits came together, along with the veteran Fifth legion and about two thousand cavalry.

Note. Another run of historical infinitives (adaugērī, concurrere, convenīre), each with a nominative subject. onerāriae (sc. nāvēs): 'transports'. legiō quīnta: the Fifth, nicknamed Alaudae, raised by Caesar in Gaul.