Bellum Africum 45

The centurion's defiance

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B. Afr. 45.1Hāc habitā ōrātiōne Scīpiō cum exīstimāsset prō suō beneficiō sine dubiō ab hīs grātiās sibi āctum īrī, potestātem iīs dīcundī fēcit.After this speech Scipio thought that they would no doubt thank him for his kindness, and gave them permission to speak.Note. āctum īrī: the future passive infinitive, made from the supine āctum and the passive infinitive of eō; grātiās agere 'to give thanks'. dīcundī: old spelling of dīcendī. B. Afr. 45.2Ex eīs centuriō legiōnis XIV "Prō tuō", inquit, "summō beneficiō, Scīpiō, tibi grātiās agō— nōn enim tē imperātōrem appellō—, quod mihi vītam incolumitātemque bellī iūre captō pollicēris, et forsan istō ūterer beneficiō, sī nōn eī summum scelus adiungerētur.One of them, a centurion of the Fourteenth legion, said: "For your great kindness, Scipio, I thank you — for I do not call you commander — in that you promise me, a prisoner taken by the law of war, my life and safety; and perhaps I would accept that kindness, if it were not joined to the greatest crime.Note. nōn enim tē imperātōrem appellō: the centurion refuses Scipio the title of 'commander'. belli iūre captō: 'taken (prisoner) by the law of war'. forsan: 'perhaps'. ūterer: imperfect subjunctive in a present unreal condition. B. Afr. 45.3Egone contrā Caesarem imperātōrem meum, apud quem ōrdinem dūxī, eiusque exercitum, prō cuius dignitāte victōriāque amplius XXXVI annōs dēpugnāvī, adversus armātusque cōnsistam?Am I to take up arms and stand against Caesar, my commander, under whom I have led a company, and against his army, for whose honour and victory I have fought for more than thirty-six years?Note. Egone … cōnsistam: deliberative subjunctive in an indignant question, with -ne attached to ego. ōrdinem dūcere: 'to command a century', the centurion's post. amplius XXXVI annōs: 'more than 36 years'; amplius does not change the case.

B. Afr. 45.4Neque ego istud factūrus sum et tē magnopere, ut dē negōtiō dēsistās, adhortor.I will not do that, and I strongly urge you to give up the attempt.Note. factūrus sum: the active periphrastic, 'I am not going to do'. B. Afr. 45.4Contrā cuius enim cōpiās contendās, sī minus anteā expertus es, licet nunc cognōscās.For if you have not found out before whose forces you are fighting against, you can learn it now.Note. licet … cognōscās: licet with the subjunctive, 'you may learn'. B. Afr. 45.5Ēlige ex tuīs cohortem ūnam, quam putās esse firmissimam, et cōnstitue contrā mē;Choose from your men the one cohort you think strongest, and set it against me;Note. Ēlige … cōnstitue: imperatives. The challenge is ten veterans against a whole cohort. B. Afr. 45.5ego autem ex meīs commīlitōnibus, quōs nunc in tuā tenēs potestāte, nōn amplius X sūmam.I will take from my comrades, whom you now hold in your power, no more than ten.Note. amplius X: 'more than ten'. B. Afr. 45.5Tunc ex virtūte nostrā intellegēs, quid ex tuīs cōpiīs spērāre dēbeās."Then you will see from our courage what you ought to hope for from your own forces."Note. intellegēs: future indicative.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (96 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
ōrātiō, -ōnis, f.	speech; ōrātiōnem habēre, to deliver an oration, speak
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, believe, think
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
beneficium, -ī, n.	well-doing, kindness, service, benefit
sine, prep. with abl.	without
dubium, -ī n.	doubt; sine dubiō: without doubt
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
grātia, -ae, f.	favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
eō, īre, iī, itus	go
potestās, -ātis f.	power, authority
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
centuriō, -ōnis m.	centurion (officer commanding about 80 men)
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb	I say, you say, he says
summus, -a, -um	uppermost, highest, greatest
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
nōn, adv.	not
enim, conj.	for
imperātor, -ōris, m.	commander, general
appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus	call, name
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
vīta, -ae, f.	life
incolumitās, -ātis f.	safety
que, enclitic conj.	and
bellum, -ī, n.	war
iūs, iūris, n.	right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
polliceor, -licērī, -licitus	promise
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
forsan (adv.)	perhaps
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.	that of yours, that
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus	use
sī, conj.	if
scelus, sceleris, n.	wickedness, crime
adiungo, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus	join to, join
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ōrdō, ōrdinis, m.	arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus	lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
dignitās, -ātis f.	rank, standing, prestige
victōria, -ae, f.	victory
amplius (adv.)	more, further
annus, -ī, m.	year
dēpugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	fight it out, fight a pitched battle
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
armō, -āre, -āvi, -ātus	arm, equip
cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus	station oneself, take one's stand; consist
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
magnopere, adv.	greatly, very much, exceedingly; earnestly
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
negōtium, -ī, n.	business, matter; task, trouble, difficulty
dēsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus	set down; leave off, desist, cease, stop
adhortor, -ārī, -ātus sum	encourage, urge on
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch, hasten
minus, comp. adv.	less
anteā, adv.	before
experior, -īrī, expertus sum	try, test, experience
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.	is lawful or permitted
nunc, adv.	now
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
ēligō, -ere, ēlēgī, ēlēctum	pick out, choose
cohors, cohortis f.	cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
firmus, -a, -um	strong, steadfast
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
commīlitō, -ōnis m.	fellow soldier, comrade
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptus	take under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment
tunc (adv.)	then, at that time
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
noster, -tra, -trum	our
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hope
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	owe; with infin., ought

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.