Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The African War (Bellum Africum)
Bellum Africum 68
Caesar takes Zeta
Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Afr. 68.1Oppidum erat Zēta, quod aberat ā Scīpiōne mīlia passuum X, ad eius regiōnem et partem castrōrum conlocātum, ā Caesare autem dīversum ac remōtum, quod erat ab eō longē mīlia passuum XIV. Hūc Scīpiō legiōnēs duās frūmentandī grātiā mīsit.
There was a town, Zeta, ten miles from Scipio, situated towards his side and his part of the camp, but distant and remote from Caesar, being fourteen miles away from him. Scipio sent two legions here to forage.
Note. The editor's text runs two sentences together after the numeral XIV. quod aberat … mīlia passuum X: accusative of extent of space. dīversum ac remōtum: 'out of the way and remote'.
B. Afr. 68.2Quod postquam Caesar ex perfugā cognōvit, castrīs ex campō in collem ac tūtiōra loca conlātīs atque ibi praesidiō relictō ipse quārta vigiliā ēgressus praeter hostium castra proficīscitur cum cōpiīs et oppidō potītur.
When Caesar learned this from a deserter, he moved his camp from the plain onto a hill and safer ground, left a garrison there, went out himself at the fourth watch, marched with his forces past the enemy's camp, and took the town.
Note. Quod postquam … cognōvit: 'after he learned this'. tūtiōra: comparative of tūtus. praeter hostium castra: Caesar slips past the enemy camp at night. oppidō potītur: potior takes the ablative.
B. Afr. 68.3Legiōnēs Scīpiōnis comperit longius in agrīs frūmentārī et, cum eō contendere cōnārētur, animadvertit cōpiās hostium hīs legiōnibus occurrere suppetiās.
He discovered that Scipio's legions were foraging further off in the fields, and when he tried to press on there, he saw that the enemy's forces were hurrying to help these legions.
Note. Indirect statement after comperit: legiōnēs … frūmentārī. cum … cōnārētur: cum with the subjunctive, 'when he was trying'. eō: adverb, 'there'.
B. Afr. 68.3Quae rēs eius impetum retardāvit.
This checked his attack.
Note. Quae rēs: connecting relative, 'this circumstance'.
B. Afr. 68.4Itaque captō C. Minuciō Rēgīnō, equite Rōmānō, Scīpiōnis familiārissimō, quī eī oppidō praeerat, et P. Atriō, equite Rōmānō dē conventū Uticēnsī, et camēlīs XXII rēgis abductīs, praesidiō ibi cum Oppiō lēgātō relictō ipse sē recipere coepit ad castra.
So, having captured Gaius Minucius Reginus, a Roman knight and a very close friend of Scipio's, who was in charge of that town, and Publius Atrius, a Roman knight of the Utica community, and having led away twenty-two of the king's camels, he left a garrison there under his legate Oppius and himself began to return to camp.
Note. C. = Gāius, P. = Pūblius. eques Rōmānus: a member of the equestrian order. dē conventū Uticēnsī: the conventus was the association of Roman citizens living in a provincial town, here Utica. camēlīs … abductīs: the first camels mentioned in the war. sē recipere: 'to withdraw'.
Vocabulary
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| passus, -ūs, m. | pace (mīlia passuum: miles) |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum | place, station; give in marriage |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| dīversus, -a, -um | turned different ways, opposite, contrary, different |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| removeō, -movēre, -mōvī, -mōtus | move back, remove |
| longē, adv. | far |
| hūc, adv. | to this place, hither |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj. | two |
| frūmentor, -ārī, -ātus | fetch grain, forage |
| grātia, -ae, f. | favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| perfuga, -ae m. | deserter |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| campus, -ī, m. | plain, field |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| collis, -is m. | hill |
| tūtus, -a, -um | safe |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus | bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| quartus, -a, -um | fourth |
| vigilia, -ae, f. | watch |
| ēgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go out or forth, go ashore, disembark |
| praeter, prep. with acc. | before, past, by; besides, except |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| potior, -īrī, -ītus | become master of, get possession of |
| comperiō, -īre, comperī, compertum | find out, learn |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| cōnor, -ārī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| occurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus | run against, meet |
| suppetiae, -ārum f. pl. | help, relief (suppetiās venīre: come to the rescue) |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| impetus, -ūs, m. | attack; impetum facere, to charge |
| retardō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | hold back, slow down, check |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| Rōmānus, -a, -um | Roman |
| familiāris, -e; as noun, -is m. | of the household (rēs familiāris: private property); friend |
| praesum, -esse, -fuī | be before, preside over, have charge of, command |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| conventus, -ūs m. | meeting, assembly |
| Uticēnsis, -e | of Utica |
| camēlus, -ī m. | camel |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| abdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead or take away |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |