Bellum Africum 29

Skirmishes; Labienus at Leptis

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B. Afr. 29.1Turmae interim equitum, quae prō vallō in statiōnibus esse solēbant, cōtīdiē minūtīs proeliīs inter sē dēpugnāre nōn intermittunt;Meanwhile the squadrons of cavalry that used to be on guard in front of the rampart never stopped fighting it out every day with each other in small skirmishes;Note. inter sē dēpugnāre: 'to fight it out with each other'. nōn intermittunt + infinitive: 'kept on'. B. Afr. 29.1nōnnumquam etiam Germānī Gallīque Labiēniānī cum Caesaris equitibus fidē datā inter sē colloquēbantur.sometimes, too, Labienus' Germans and Gauls, after pledges had been given, would talk with Caesar's cavalry.Note. Germānī Gallīque Labiēniānī: Labienus' Germans and Gauls, many of whom had served under Caesar before. fide datā: 'after pledges had been given'. B. Afr. 29.2Labiēnus interim cum parte equitātūs Leptim oppidum, cui praeerat Saserna cum cohortibus VI, oppugnāre ac vī inrumpere cōnābātur;Meanwhile Labienus with part of his cavalry was trying to attack the town of Leptis, which Saserna held with six cohorts, and to break in by force;Note. Leptim: accusative of Leptis. vī inrumpere: 'to break in by force'. B. Afr. 29.2quod ab dēfēnsōribus propter ēgregiam mūnītiōnem oppidī et multitūdinem tormentōrum facile et sine perīculō dēfendēbātur.the defenders held it easily and without danger, thanks to the excellent fortification of the town and its great number of artillery pieces.Note. quod is a connecting relative referring to the town. B. Afr. 29.3Quod ubi saepius eius equitātus facere nōn intermittēbat, cum forte ante portam turma dēnsa adstitisset, scorpiōne accūrātius missō atque eōrum decuriōne percussō et ad equum dēfīxō, reliquī perterritī fugā sē in castra recipiunt.When his cavalry kept doing this time and again, and a squadron happened to have halted in a dense mass in front of the gate, a bolt from a scorpion was aimed with special care, their decurion was struck and pinned to his horse, and the rest, terrified, fled back into their camp.Note. scorpiōne: the scorpio was a light bolt-shooting catapult. decuriōne percussō et ad equum dēfīxō: the bolt pinned the officer to his horse. reliquī perterritī: 'the rest, terrified'.

B. Afr. 29.3Quō factō posteā sunt dēterritī oppidum temptāre.After this they were deterred from attempting the town any more.Note. dēterritī … temptāre: dēterreō with an infinitive, 'deterred from attempting'.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×3

Latin vocabulary for this passage (75 words)

turma, -ae f.	troop, squadron of cavalry
interim (adv.)	meanwhile
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
vallum, -ī n.	rampart, palisade
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
statiō, -ōnis f.	outpost, picket
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
soleō, -ēre, solitus sum	be accustomed, usually do
cottīdiē, adv.	daily, every day
minūtus, -a, -um	small, tiny; petty
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
dēpugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	fight it out, fight a pitched battle
nōn, adv.	not
intermittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	leave off, interrupt; let pass; pass., be left between, intervene, elapse
nōnnumquam (adv.)	sometimes
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
que, enclitic conj.	and
Labiēniānus, -a, -um	of Labienus, serving under Labienus
cum, prep, with abl.	with
fidēs, -eī f.	faith, trust; pledge
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
colloquor (conloquor), -ī, -locūtus sum	talk with, confer
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
equitātus, -ūs m.	cavalry
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
praesum, -esse, -fuī	be before, preside over, have charge of, command
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
oppugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	attack, besiege
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
vīs, vīs, f.	violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
inrumpō, -rumpere, -rūpī, -ruptus	burst into or in
cōnor, -ārī, -ātus	try, attempt
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
dēfēnsor, -ōris m.	defender
propter, prep. with acc.	on account of, because of
ēgregius, -a, -um	outstanding, excellent
mūnītiō, -ōnis f.	fortification, defence works
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
tormentum, -ī n.	artillery, siege engine
facile, adv.	easily
sine, prep. with abl.	without
perīculum, -ī, n.	danger, peril, risk
dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus	ward off; defend
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
saepe, adv.	often, frequently
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
forte, adv.	by chance, accidentally
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
porta, -ae, f.	gate; door
dēnsus, -a, -um	thick
adsistō, -ere, adstitī	stand by, stand near; appear
scorpiō, -ōnis m.	scorpion, a light catapult for bolts
accūrātē (adv.)	carefully, with care
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
decuriō, -ōnis m.	cavalry officer, decurion
percutiō, -cutere, -cussī, -cussus	strike through, strike
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
equus, -ī, m.	horse
dēfīgō, -ere, -fīxī, -fīxus	drive in, fix firmly
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus	thoroughly frighten, terrify
fuga, -ae, f.	flight
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
posteā, adv.	after this, afterwards
dēterreō, -terrēre, -terruī, -territus	frighten off, deter
temptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	try, attempt

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.