Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The African War (Bellum Africum)
Bellum Africum 38
Fortifying the ridge
Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Afr. 38.1Postquam Caesar ad iugum, dē quō docuī, ascendit atque in ūnumquemque collem turrem castellaque facere coepit atque ea minus sēmihōrā effēcit, et postquam nōn ita longē ab ultimō colle turrīque fuit, quae proxima fuit castrīs adversāriōrum, in quā docuī esse praesidium statiōnemque Numidārum, paulisper commorātus perspectāque nātūrā locī equitātū in statiōne dispositō legiōnibus opus adtribuit brachiumque mediō iugō ab eō locō, ad quem pervēnerat, usque ad eum, unde ēgressus erat, iubet dērigī ac mūnīrī.
After Caesar had climbed the ridge I have described, and had begun to build a tower and forts on each hill, and had finished this in less than half an hour, and after he was not far from the last hill and tower, which was nearest the enemy's camp and in which, as I said, there was a garrison and an outpost of Numidians, he paused for a little; when he had studied the lie of the land and posted his cavalry on guard, he assigned the work to the legions and ordered a line of fortification to be drawn along the middle of the ridge and fortified, from the place he had reached right back to the one he had set out from.
Note. dē quō docuī: the author speaks in the first person. bracchium: a 'branch' of fortification, a single line of defences linking two points. dērigī = dīrigī.
B. Afr. 38.3Quod postquam Scīpiō Labiēnusque animadverterant, equitātū omnī ex castrīs ēductō aciēque equestrī īnstrūctā ā suīs mūnītiōnibus circiter passūs mīlle prōgrediuntur pedestremque cōpiam in secundā aciē minus passūs CCCC ā suīs castrīs cōnstituunt.
When Scipio and Labienus noticed this, they led all their cavalry out of the camp, drew up a cavalry line and advanced about a mile from their fortifications, and set their infantry in a second line less than 400 paces from their camp.
Note. minus passūs CCCC: minus 'less than' does not affect the case of passūs, which is accusative of extent.
Vocabulary
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| iugum, -ī, n. | yoke |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tus | teach, explain |
| ascendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb to, ascend, mount |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| ūnusquisque, ūnaquaeque, ūnumquodque | each one, every single one |
| collis, -is m. | hill |
| turris, -is f. | tower; siege tower |
| castellum, -ī n. | fort, redoubt |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| minus, comp. adv. | less |
| sēmihōra, -ae f. | half an hour |
| efficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or work out, accomplish, effect |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| longē, adv. | far |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| ultimus, -a, -um | farthest, last |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| adversārius, -ī m. | opponent, enemy |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| statiō, -ōnis f. | outpost, picket |
| paulisper (adv.) | for a short time |
| commoror, -morārī, -morātus | tarry, linger, delay, stay |
| perspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum | see clearly, observe |
| nātūra, -ae, f. | nature, character |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| dispōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | station here and there, post |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| attribuō, -ere, -tribuī, -tribūtum | assign, allot |
| brachium (bracchium), -ī n. | forearm, arm; branch (of a tree) |
| medius, -a, -um | mid, middle |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| ūsque, adv. | all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō |
| unde, adv. | whence |
| ēgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go out or forth, go ashore, disembark |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| dīrigō (dērigō), -ere, -rēxī, -rēctus | set straight, arrange in line; dērēctus: straight |
| mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | fortify |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| ēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead out, draw |
| aciēs, -ēī, f. | line of battle |
| equester, -tris, -tre | of cavalry |
| īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus | build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish, |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| circiter, prep. with acc. and adv. | about |
| passus, -ūs, m. | pace (mīlia passuum: miles) |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| pedester, -tris, -tre | on foot, infantry (pedestrēs cōpiae: infantry) |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |