Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The African War (Bellum Africum)
Bellum Africum 44
A captured ship and Scipio's offer
Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Afr. 44.1Intereā ex secundō commeātū, quem ā Siciliā mīserat Alienus, nāvis ūna, in quā fuerat Q. Cōminius et L. Ticida, eques Rōmānus, ab residuā classe cum errāvisset dēlātaque esset ventō ad Thapson, ā Vergiliō scaphīs nāviculīsque āctuāriīs excepta est et ad Scīpiōnem dēducta.
Meanwhile, from the second convoy which Alienus had sent from Sicily, one ship, which carried Quintus Cominius and Lucius Ticida, a Roman knight, had strayed from the rest of the fleet and been carried by the wind to Thapsus; it was taken by Vergilius with skiffs and light fast boats and brought to Scipio.
Note. Thapson: Greek accusative of Thapsus. cum errāvisset dēlātaque esset: cum with the pluperfect subjunctive, 'after it had strayed and been carried'.
B. Afr. 44.2Item altera nāvis triēris ex eādem classe errābunda ac tempestāte dēlāta ad Aegimūrum ā classe Vārī et M. Octāviī est capta, in quā mīlitēs veterānī cum ūnō centuriōne et nōnnūllī tīrōnēs fuērunt;
Likewise another ship from the same fleet, a trireme, wandering and carried by a storm to Aegimurus, was captured by the fleet of Varus and Marcus Octavius; on board were veteran soldiers with one centurion and some recruits;
Note. trierīs: a trireme. errābunda: 'wandering'. P. Attius Varus and M. Octavius commanded the Pompeian fleet.
B. Afr. 44.2quōs Vārus adservātōs sine contumēliā dēdūcendōs cūrāvit ad Scīpiōnem.
Varus kept them under guard and had them brought to Scipio without ill-treatment.
Note. adservātōs … dēdūcendōs cūrāvit: cūrō with a gerundive, 'had them taken'.
B. Afr. 44.3Quī postquam ad eum pervēnērunt et ante suggestum eius cōnstitērunt, "Nōn vestrā", inquit, "sponte vōs certō sciō, sed illīus scelerātī vestrī imperātōris impulsū et imperiō coāctōs cīvēs et optimum quemque nefāriē cōnsectārī.
When they reached him and stood before his platform, he said: "Not of your own will, I am sure, but driven and forced by the command of that criminal general of yours, you are hunting down your fellow citizens and all the best men wickedly.
Note. Nōn vestrā sponte: 'not of your own accord'; sponte is used only in the ablative with a possessive. vōs … coāctōs … cōnsectārī: indirect statement after sciō. optimum quemque: 'all the best men', quisque with a superlative.
B. Afr. 44.4Quōs quoniam fortūna in nostram dētulit potestātem, sī, id quod facere dēbētis, rempūblicam cum optimō quōque dēfendētis, certum est vōbīs vītam et pecūniam dōnāre.
Now that fortune has brought you into our power, if you do what you ought, and defend the republic together with all the best men, I am resolved to grant you your life and money.
Note. certum est: 'I have decided'. cum optimō quōque: as in sentence 62. rem pūblicam is written as one word here.
B. Afr. 44.4Quāpropter, quid sentiātis, prōloquiminī."
So speak out and say what you think."
Note. prōloquiminī: plural imperative of the deponent prōloquor.
Vocabulary
| intereā, adv. | in the meantime, meanwhile |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| commeātus, -ūs, m. | supplies, provisions |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| quīntus, -a, -um | fifth |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| Rōmānus, -a, -um | Roman |
| residuus, -a, -um | remaining, lingering |
| classis, -is f. | fleet |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| errō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | wander, stray; be mistaken |
| dēferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear or carry away or off |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ventus, -ī, m. | wind |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| scapha, -ae, f. | boat, skiff |
| nāvicula, -ae f. | small boat |
| āctuārius, -a, -um | fast (of ships: light, built for speed) |
| excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take out or up, receive, welcome, entertain |
| dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship |
| item | likewise, also |
| alter, -era, -erum | one or the other (of two); another, second |
| triēris, -is f. (also as adj.) | a trireme, a warship with three banks of oars |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| errābundus, -a, -um | wandering, straying about |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| tempestās, -tātis, f. | weather; storm, tempest |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| veterānus, -a, -um | veteran |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| centuriō, -ōnis m. | centurion (officer commanding about 80 men) |
| nōnnūllus, -a, -um | not none, some, several |
| tīrō, -ōnis m. | a recruit, a raw soldier |
| adservō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | keep, guard, hold in custody |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| contumēlia, -ae f. | insult, outrage |
| cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | take care of; (+ gerundive) have something done |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| ante, prep, with acc. and adv. | before |
| suggestus, -ūs m. | platform, tribunal |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| vester, -tra, -trum | your |
| inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb | I say, you say, he says |
| sponte, f. abl. sing., modified by meā, tuā, suā | of one's own accord, voluntarily |
| vōs | plur. of tū |
| certō, adv. | with certainty, for certain, certainly |
| sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | know |
| sed, conj. | but |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| scelerātus, -a, -um | wicked, criminal |
| imperātor, -ōris, m. | commander, general |
| impulsus, -ūs m. | push; urging, instigation |
| imperium, -ī, n. | command; sway, rule |
| cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus | drive together, collect; compel |
| cīvis, -is, m. and f. | citizen, fellow-citizen, subject |
| bonus, -a, -um | good |
| quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron. | each |
| nefāriē, adv. | wickedly, abominably |
| cōnsector, -ārī, -ātus sum | pursue, chase |
| quoniam, conj. | since now, since |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| potestās, -ātis f. | power, authority |
| sī, conj. | if |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | owe; with infin., ought |
| rēspūblica, reīpūblicae f. (rēs pūblica) | the state, the commonwealth, public affairs |
| dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus | ward off; defend |
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| vīta, -ae, f. | life |
| pecūnia, -ae, f. | money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times) |
| dōnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | give; present (someone with something) |
| quāpropter (adv.) | for which reason, wherefore |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus | perceive, feel |
| prōloquor, -ī, -locūtus sum | speak out, declare openly |