Bellum Africum 22

B. Afr. 22.1M. Catō interim, quī Uticae praeerat, Cn. Pompēium fīlium multīs verbīs assiduēque obiūrgāre nōn dēsistēbat.

Meanwhile Marcus Cato, who was in command at Utica, never stopped reproaching Gnaeus Pompeius the son at length and continually.

Note. Marcus Porcius Cato (the Younger) held Utica for the Pompeians. Cn. Pompeius was Pompey the Great's elder son, then in his early thirties. nōn dēsistēbat + infinitive: 'did not stop reproaching'.

B. Afr. 22.2"Tuus", inquit, "pater istuc aetātis cum esset et animadvertisset rempūblicam ab nefāriīs scelerātīsque cīvibus oppressam bonōsque aut interfectōs esse aut exiliō multātōs patriā cīvitāteque carēre, glōriā et animī magnitūdine ēlātus prīvātus atque adulēscentulus paternī exercitūs reliquiīs collēctīs paene oppressam Ītaliam urbemque Rōmānam funditus dēlētam in lībertātem vindicāvit, īdemque Siciliam, Āfricam, Numidiam, Mauretāniam mīrābilī celeritāte armīs recēpit.

"Your father," he said, "when he was your age and saw that the state was being crushed by wicked and criminal citizens, and that good men had either been killed or, punished with exile, were deprived of their country and their citizenship, carried away by love of glory and greatness of spirit, a private citizen and a mere youth, gathered the remnants of his father's army and set free Italy and the city of Rome, which had been all but crushed and utterly destroyed; and he too recovered Sicily, Africa, Numidia and Mauretania by force of arms with astonishing speed.

Note. Cato's speech is direct. istuc aetātis: 'at that age (of yours)', a partitive genitive with the neuter pronoun. In 83 BC the 23-year-old Pompey raised three legions privately for Sulla. rem pūblicam is written as one word in this edition. exiliō multātōs: 'punished with exile'. in lībertātem vindicāvit: a legal phrase, 'claimed as free, liberated'.

B. Afr. 22.3Quibus ex rēbus sibi eam dignitātem, quae est per gentēs clārissima nōtissimaque, conciliāvit adulēscentulusque atque eques Rōmānus triumphāvit.

By these deeds he won for himself that standing which is most famous and best known among the nations, and while still a youth and a Roman knight he celebrated a triumph.

Note. Pompey triumphed as a mere eques in 81 BC, an unprecedented honour for someone who had held no magistracy. quae est … clārissima: the relative clause keeps the indicative because it is the speaker's own statement.

B. Afr. 22.4Atque ille nōn ita amplīs rēbus patris gestīs neque tam excellentī dignitāte maiōrum partā neque tantīs clientēlīs nōminisque clāritāte praeditus in rempūblicam est ingressus.

And he entered public life without such great achievements of his father behind him, or such outstanding standing won by his ancestors, or endowed with such great networks of clients and the fame of his name.

Note. A string of negatives building up the contrast: Pompey had none of the advantages the son now has. amplīs rēbus patris gestīs, dignitāte … partā: ablative absolutes. praeditus takes the ablative: 'endowed with'.

B. Afr. 22.5Tū contrā et patris nōbilitāte et dignitāte et per tē ipse satis animī magnitūdine dīligentiāque praeditus nōnne ēnīteris et proficīsceris ad paternās clientēlās auxilium tibi reīque pūblicae atque optimō cuique efflāgitātum?"

You, on the contrary, endowed both with your father's nobility and standing and in your own right with enough greatness of spirit and energy, will you not exert yourself and set out to your father's clients to demand help for yourself, for the state and for every good man?"

Note. nōnne expects the answer 'yes'. ēniteris and proficīsceris are second-person deponents. efflāgitātum is a supine of purpose after a verb of motion: 'to demand'. optimō cuique: 'to all the best men'; quisque with a superlative means 'every'.