Bellum Africum 68

Caesar takes Zeta

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B. 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 quārtā 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'.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×3, cum clauses ×1, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (78 words)

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

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.