Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The African War (Bellum Africum)
Bellum Africum 42
Caesar declines battle
Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Afr. 42.1Cum iam prope sōlis occāsum Caesar exspectāvisset neque ex eō locō, quō cōnstiterat, Scīpiōnem prōgredī propius sē animadvertisset locōque sē magis dēfendere, sī rēs coēgisset, quam in campō comminus cōnsistere audēre, nōn est vīsa ratiō propius accēdendī eō diē ad oppidum, quoniam ibi praesidium grande Numidārum esse cognōverat, hostēsque mediam aciem suam oppidō tēxisse et sibi difficile factū esse intellēxit simul et oppidum ūnō tempore oppugnāre et in aciē in cornū dextrō ac sinistrō ex inīquiōre locō pugnāre, praesertim cum mīlitēs ā māne diēī iēiūnī sub armīs stetissent dēfatīgātī.
Caesar waited until it was almost sunset, and he did not see Scipio advance from the place where he had halted any nearer to him, but rather that he dared to defend himself by his position, if need arose, than to stand and fight hand to hand on the plain. It did not seem sensible to move any closer to the town that day, since he had learned that there was a large Numidian garrison there and that the enemy had covered the middle of their line with the town; he also saw that it would be hard to attack the town and at the same time fight on the right and left wings from lower ground, especially as his soldiers had stood under arms without food since early morning and were exhausted.
Note. nōn est vīsa ratiō: 'it did not seem good policy'. difficile factū: supine in -ū after an adjective, 'hard to do'. ā māne diēī: māne used as an indeclinable noun, 'from the early morning'.
B. Afr. 42.2Itaque reductīs suīs cōpiīs in castra posterō diē propius eōrum aciem īnstituit exporrigere mūnītiōnēs.
So he led his forces back into camp, and on the next day he began to extend his fortifications closer to their line.
Note. exporrigere: 'stretch out', extend the lines towards the enemy.
Vocabulary
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| prope (adv. and prep. + acc.) | near, nearly |
| sōl, sōlis, m. | sun |
| occāsus, -ūs, m. | setting |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| propius (comp. adv. and prep. + acc.) | nearer, closer (to) |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| magis, comp. adv. | more, rather |
| dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus | ward off; defend |
| sī, conj. | if |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus | drive together, collect; compel |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| campus, -ī, m. | plain, field |
| comminus (adv.) | hand to hand, at close quarters |
| audeō, audēre, ausus sum | dare |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| ratiō, -ōnis, f. | plan, means, method, manner; reason; account |
| accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum | come near, approach; be added |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| quoniam, conj. | since now, since |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| grandis, -e | large, big |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| medius, -a, -um | mid, middle |
| aciēs, -ēī, f. | line of battle |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| tegō, tegere, tēxī, tēctus | cover |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| difficilis, -e | not easy, difficult |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus | perceive, understand |
| simul, adv. | at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| oppugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | attack, besiege |
| cornū, -ūs, n. | horn |
| dexter, -tra, -trum | right |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| sinister, -tra, -trum | left |
| inīquus, -a, -um | uneven; unfair |
| pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | fight |
| praesertim (adv.) | especially |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| māne, adv. | in the morning, early in the morning |
| iēiūnus, -a, -um | fasting, hungry |
| sub, prep. with acc. and abl. | under; sub vesperum, towards evening |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| stō, stāre, stetī, status | stand |
| dēfatīgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | wear out, exhaust |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| redūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead or bring back; restore |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| posterus, -a, -um | following, next |
| īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | decide upon, determine |
| exporrigō, -ere, -rēxī, -rēctus | stretch out, extend |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |