Bellum Africum 48

Juba arrives

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B. Afr. 48.1Rēx interim Iuba dē equestrī proeliō Scīpiōnis certior factus ēvocātusque ab eōdem litterīs praefectō Saburrā cum parte exercitūs contrā Sittium relictō, ut sēcum ipse aliquid auctōritātis adderet exercituī Scīpiōnis ac terrōrem Caesaris, cum tribus legiōnibus equitibusque frēnātīs DCCC, Numidīs sine frēnīs peditibusque levis armātūrae grandī numerō, elephantīs XXX ēgressus ē regnō ad Scīpiōnem est profectus.Meanwhile King Juba, informed of Scipio's cavalry battle and summoned by him by letter, left his commander Saburra with part of his army to face Sittius, and to add some weight to Scipio's army by his own presence, and terror to Caesar's, he left his kingdom and set out to join Scipio with three legions, 800 bridled cavalry, a great number of Numidians riding without bridles and of light-armed foot soldiers, and thirty elephants.Note. ut … adderet: purpose clause; the author means Juba would add authority to Scipio's army and terror to Caesar's. equitibus frēnātīs … Numidīs sine frēnīs: the Numidians famously rode without bridles. secum: 'with him', the reflexive with cum attached. B. Afr. 48.2Postquam ad eum pervēnit, castrīs rēgiīs sēorsum positīs cum eīs cōpiīs, quās commemorāvī, haud ita longē ab Scīpiōne cōnsēdit.When he reached him, he pitched a royal camp apart with the forces I have mentioned and settled not very far from Scipio.Note. castrīs rēgiīs seorsum positīs: 'pitching a royal camp apart'. quās commemorāvī: the author again speaks in the first person. B. Afr. 48.2—Erat in castrīs Caesaris superiōre tempore magnus terror, et exspectātiōne cōpiārum rēgiārum exercitus eius magis suspēnsiōre animō ante adventum Iubae commovēbātur;There had been great alarm in Caesar's camp in the earlier period, and before Juba's arrival his army had been rather anxious and disturbed while it waited for the royal forces;Note. magis suspēnsiōre animō: a doubled comparative, 'in a more anxious state of mind'. B. Afr. 48.3postquam vērō castra castrīs contulit, dēspectīs eius cōpiīs omnem timōrem dēpōnit.but once Juba brought his camp near theirs, they looked down on his forces and lost all their fear.Note. castra castrīs contulit: 'brought camp near camp'. dēspectīs eius cōpiīs: once they saw Juba's forces, Caesar's men despised them.

B. Afr. 48.3Ita quam anteā absēns habuerat auctōritātem, eam omnem praesēns dīmīserat.So all the authority he had had while absent, he lost once present.Note. quam … auctōritātem, eam omnem: the relative clause comes first and incorporates its noun. absēns … praesēns: a neat antithesis. B. Afr. 48.3—Quō factō cuivīs facile fuit intellēctū Scīpiōnī additum animum fīdūciamque rēgis adventū.After this anyone could easily see that the king's arrival had given Scipio new spirit and confidence.Note. facile fuit intellēctū: supine in -ū, 'it was easy to see'. B. Afr. 48.5Nam posterō diē ūniversās suās rēgisque cōpiās cum elephantīs LX prōductās in aciem, quam speciōsissimē potuit, īnstrūxit ac paulō longius prōgressus ab suīs mūnītiōnibus haud ita diū commorātus sē recēpit in castra.For on the next day he brought out all his own and the king's forces with sixty elephants, drew them up in line as showily as he could, advanced a little further than usual from his fortifications, and after waiting there not very long withdrew into camp.Note. quam speciōsissimē potuit: quam with a superlative, 'as showily as he could'.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×5

Latin vocabulary for this passage (103 words)

rēx, rēgis, m.	king
interim (adv.)	meanwhile
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
equester, -tris, -tre	of cavalry
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
certus, -a, -um	determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
ēvocō, -vocāre, -vocāvī, -vocātus	call out, challenge
que, enclitic conj.	and
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
littera, -ae f.	letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing
praefectus, -ī m.	commander, officer
cum, prep, with abl.	with
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
auctōritās, -tātis f.	influence, authority, prestige
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditus	add, put to
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
terror, -ōris, m.	terror, fright
trēs, tria, plur. adj.	three
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
frēnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	bridle, restrain
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
sine, prep. with abl.	without
frēnum, -ī n.	bridle, rein
pedes, peditis m.	foot soldier
levis, -e	light, slight
armātūra, -ae f.	armour, equipment (levis armātūra: light-armed troops)
grandis, -e	large, big
numerus, -ī, m.	number
elephantus, -ī m.	elephant
ēgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go out or forth, go ashore, disembark
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
regnum, -ī, n.	royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
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
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
rēgius, -a, -um	royal, kingly
seorsum (adv.)	apart, separately, on one's own
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus	place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
commemorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	mention, recount
haud, adv.	not at all, by no means, not
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
longē, adv.	far
cōnsīdō, -sīdere, -sēdī, -sessus	sit down
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
exspectātiō, -ōnis f.	waiting, expectation
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
suspēnsus, -a, -um	raised up; in suspense, anxious, uncertain
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
adventus, -ūs, m.	approach, arrival
commoveō, -movēre, -mōvī, -mōtus	move, rouse; disturb
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus	bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
dēspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum	look down on, despise
omnis, -e	all, every
timor, -ōris, m.	fear
dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget
anteā, adv.	before
absēns, -entis	absent, away
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
praesēns, -sentis, adj.	present, immediate, imminent
dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose
quīvīs, quaevīs, quodvīs	any you like, any whatever
facilis, -e (comp. facilior)	easy
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
fīdūcia, -ae f.	confidence, trust, reliance
nam, conj.	for
posterus, -a, -um	following, next
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
ūniversus, -a, -um	all together, whole, entire, all
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
prōdūcō, -ere, -dūxī, -ductum	lead out, bring out
aciēs, -ēī, f.	line of battle
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
speciōsē (adv.)	showily, splendidly
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus	build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish,
paulō, adv.	by a little, a little, somewhat
prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go forward, advance
mūnītiō, -ōnis f.	fortification, defence works
diū, adv.	for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
commoror, -morārī, -morātus	tarry, linger, delay, stay
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover

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.