Bellum Africum 10

Caesar sails by night; the army's fears

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B. Afr. 10.1Itaque ibi relictō P. Sasernā, frātre eius, quem Leptī proximō oppidō relīquerat, cum legiōne iubet comportārī ligna in oppidum quam plūrima;So, leaving there Publius Saserna, the brother of the man he had left at Leptis, the next town, with a legion, he ordered as much wood as possible to be carried into the town;Note. P. Sasernā: Publius Saserna, brother of Gaius whom Caesar had left at Leptis. quam plūrima: 'as much as possible'; quam with a superlative. B. Afr. 10.1ipse cum cohortibus VII, quae ex veterānīs legiōnibus in classe cum Sulpiciō et Vatīniō rem gesserant, ex oppidō Ruspinā ēgressus proficīscitur ad portum, quī abest ab oppidō mīlia passuum duo, ibique classem sub vesperum cum eā cōpiā cōnscendit.he himself, with seven cohorts which had served in the fleet with Sulpicius and Vatinius from the veteran legions, left the town of Ruspina and set out for the harbour, which is two miles from the town, and there towards evening he boarded the fleet with that force.Note. cum cohortibus VII … quae … in classe … rem gesserant: veterans who had served with the fleet under P. Sulpicius Rufus and P. Vatinius. mīlia passuum duo: accusative of extent, 'two miles'. sub vesperum: 'towards evening'. ea cōpia: 'that force'. B. Afr. 10.2Omnibus in exercitū īnsciīs et requīrentibus imperātōris cōnsilium, magnō metū ac trīstimōniā sollicitābantur.Everyone in the army was unaware of the commander's plan and kept asking about it, and they were troubled with great fear and gloom.Note. Omnibus … īnsciīs et requīrentibus: ablative absolute. The subject of sollicitābantur shifts to 'the men'. trīstimōnia: a rare word for trīstitia, 'sadness'. B. Afr. 10.3Parvā enim cum cōpiā et eā tīrōnum, neque omnī expositā, in Āfricā contrā magnās cōpiās et īnsidiōsae nātiōnis equitātum innumerābilem sē expositōs vidēbant neque quicquam sōlātiī in praesentiā neque auxiliī in suōrum cōnsiliō animum advertēbant, nisi in ipsīus imperātōris vultū, vigōre mīrābilīque hilaritāte;For they saw themselves landed in Africa with a small force, and that of recruits, and not all of it landed, against great forces and the countless cavalry of a treacherous nation; and they could see no comfort in the present situation and no help in the counsel of their own officers, except in the face, the vigour and the wonderful cheerfulness of the commander himself;Note. Parvā … cum cōpiā et eā tīrōnum: 'with a small force, and that one of recruits'; et is with is emphasizes an added point. neque omnī expositā: 'and not all of it landed'. nisi in … vultū: 'except in the face'. B. Afr. 10.3animum enim altum et ērēctum prae sē gerēbat.for he showed a lofty and upright spirit.Note. prae sē gerēbat: 'he showed openly, displayed'.

B. Afr. 10.4Huic adquiēscēbant hominēs et in eius scientiā et cōnsiliō omnia sibi prōclīvia omnēs fore spērābant.In him the men found rest, and they all hoped that through his knowledge and judgement everything would be easy for them.Note. Huic adquiēscēbant: 'they found rest in him'; adquiēscō with the dative. omnia sibi prōclīvia … fore: 'that everything would be easy for them'; fore = futūra esse.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×3, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (84 words)

itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
frāter, frātris, m.	brother
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
cum, prep, with abl.	with
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
comportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus	carry or bring together, collect
lignum, -ī, n.	wood
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
cohors, cohortis f.	cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
veterānus, -a, -um	veteran
classis, -is f.	fleet
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
ēgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go out or forth, go ashore, disembark
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
portus, -ūs, m.	harbor, haven, port
absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus	be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
passus, -ūs, m.	pace (mīlia passuum: miles)
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
que, enclitic conj.	and
sub, prep. with acc. and abl.	under; sub vesperum, towards evening
vesper, vesperī, m.	evening
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
cōnscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus	climb; nāvem cōnscendere, to climb the ship, go on board, embark
omnis, -e	all, every
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
īnscius, -a, -um	not knowing, unaware
requīrō, -ere, -quīsīvī, -quīsītus	look for, ask after; need
imperātor, -ōris, m.	commander, general
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
metus, -ūs m.	fear, dread
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
trīstimōnia, -ae f.	sadness, gloom
sollicitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	stir up, tempt
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
enim, conj.	for
tīrō, -ōnis m.	a recruit, a raw soldier
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
expōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put out, set forth; put on shore, land; explain
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
īnsidiōsus, -a, -um	treacherous, full of traps
nātiō, -ōnis f.	people, nation; birth
equitātus, -ūs m.	cavalry
innumerābilis, -e	countless
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron.	any one, anything
sōlācium, -ī n.	comfort, consolation
praesentia, -ae, f.	the present
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
advertō, -ere, advertī, adversum	turn toward (animum advertere: notice)
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
vultus, -ūs m.	face, expression
vigor, -ōris m.	vigour, energy, liveliness
mīrābilis, -e	wonderful, marvellous
hilaritās, -ātis f.	cheerfulness, merriment
altus, -a, -um	high, deep; altum, -ī, n., the deep
ērēctus, -a, -um	upright, erect
prae (prep. + abl.)	in comparison with; because of
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
acquiēscō, -ere, -quiēvī	rest; find peace; die
homō, hominis, m.	man
scientia, -ae, f.	knowledge, skill
prōclīvis, -e	sloping downward; easy (prōclīve est: it is easy)
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hope

Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text: B. Kübler and E. Wölfflin, C. Iulii Caesaris Commentarii, vol. III (Leipzig: Teubner, 1896–97), public domain; transcribed for this app from the Internet Archive scan. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.