Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The African War (Bellum Africum)
Bellum Africum 21
Short of grain; ships at risk
Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Afr. 21.1Hāc necessitāte Caesar coāctus prīvātōs ambiendō et blandē appellandō aliquantum numerum frūmentī in sua praesidia congesserat et eō parcē ūtēbātur.
Forced by this necessity, Caesar by courting private individuals and addressing them courteously had gathered a fair quantity of grain into his strongholds, and he used it sparingly.
Note. ambiendō … appellandō: ablatives of the gerund, 'by courting … by addressing'. eō parcē ūtēbātur: ūtor takes the ablative, 'he used it sparingly'.
B. Afr. 21.1Opera interim ipse cōtīdiē circuīre et alternās cohortēs in statiōne habēre propter hostium multitūdinem.
Meanwhile he went round the works himself every day and kept every other cohort on guard because of the great number of the enemy.
Note. Historic infinitives again: circuīre, habēre. alternās cohortēs: 'every other cohort', i.e. half the army in turns.
B. Afr. 21.2Labiēnus sauciōs suōs, quōrum maximus numerus fuit, iubet in plōstrīs obligātōs Hadrūmētum dēportārī.
Labienus ordered his wounded, of whom there was a very large number, to be bandaged and carried to Hadrumetum in wagons.
Note. iubet … dēportārī: iubeō with a passive infinitive, 'ordered (them) to be carried'. plōstrīs is the popular spelling of plaustrīs. Hadrūmētum: Pompeian base on the coast south of Ruspina.
B. Afr. 21.3Nāvēs interim Caesaris onerāriae errābundae male vagābantur incertae locōrum atque castrōrum suōrum;
Caesar's transport ships meanwhile were wandering about aimlessly and in distress, unsure of the country and of where their camp lay;
Note. incertae locōrum: 'unsure of the places', a genitive with an adjective of knowledge.
B. Afr. 21.3quās singulās scaphae adversāriōrum complūrēs adortae incendēbant atque expugnābant.
many of the enemy's boats would attack them one at a time, set them on fire and capture them.
Note. quās singulās: 'which, one at a time'. The imperfects incendēbant, expugnābant describe repeated action.
B. Afr. 21.4Hāc rē nūntiātā Caesar classēs circum īnsulās portūsque disposuit, quō tūtius commeātus subportārī posset.
When this was reported, Caesar stationed fleets around the islands and harbours, so that supplies could be brought in more safely.
Note. quō tūtius … posset: purpose clause with a comparative.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| necessitās, -ātis f. | necessity, compulsion |
| cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus | drive together, collect; compel |
| prīvātus, -a, -um | private |
| ambiō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go round; approach, court, win over |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| blandē (adv.) | flatteringly, in a friendly way |
| appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus | call, name |
| aliquantus, -a, -um | some, a fair amount (aliquantum itineris: some way) |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| frūmentum, -ī, n. | grain |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| congerō, -ere, -gessī, -gestus | heap up, bring together |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| parcē (adv.) | sparingly, frugally |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| interim (adv.) | meanwhile |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| cottīdiē, adv. | daily, every day |
| circumeō, -īre, -iī, -itum | go around |
| alternus, -a, -um | one after the other, alternating |
| cohors, cohortis f. | cohort (a tenth of a legion); company |
| statiō, -ōnis f. | outpost, picket |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| propter, prep. with acc. | on account of, because of |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| multitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | multitude |
| saucius, -a, -um | wounded |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| plōstrum (plaustrum), -ī n. | wagon, cart |
| obligō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | bind, oblige; mortgage, pledge |
| dēportō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | carry off, remove |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| onerārius, -a, -um | for freight; nāvis onerāria: transport ship |
| errābundus, -a, -um | wandering, straying about |
| male, adv. | badly, ill |
| vagor, -ārī, -ātus sum | wander, roam |
| incertus, -a, -um | uncertain, unreliable |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| singulī, -ae, -a | one at a time, single |
| scapha, -ae, f. | boat, skiff |
| adversārius, -ī m. | opponent, enemy |
| complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj. | several, many |
| adorior, -īrī, adortus sum | attack |
| incendō, -ere, -cendī, -cēnsum | set on fire, burn |
| expugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | take by storm, capture |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | report, announce |
| classis, -is f. | fleet |
| circum, prep. with acc. | around |
| īnsula, -ae, f. | island |
| portus, -ūs, m. | harbor, haven, port |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| dispōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | station here and there, post |
| quō, adv. | to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long? |
| tūtō (adv.; comp. tūtius) | safely |
| commeātus, -ūs, m. | supplies, provisions |
| subportō (supportō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum | carry up, bring in, convey |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |