Bellum Africum 21

Short of grain; ships at risk

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B. 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.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (67 words)

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

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.