Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The African War (Bellum Africum)
Bellum Africum 74
Vaga destroyed by Juba
Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Afr. 74.1Lēgātī interim ex oppidō Vagā, quod fīnitimum fuit Zētae, cuius Caesarem potītum esse dēmōnstrāvimus, veniunt;
Meanwhile envoys came from the town of Vaga, which was near Zeta, the town we have shown that Caesar took;
Note. cuius Caesarem potītum esse dēmōnstrāvimus: potior with the genitive; Zeta was taken in ch. 68. dēmōnstrāvimus: the author's 'we'.
B. Afr. 74.1petunt et obsecrant, ut sibi praesidium mittat: sē rēs complūrēs, quae ūtilēs bellō sint, subministrātūrōs.
they begged and pleaded with him to send them a garrison: they would supply a good many things useful for the war.
Note. Indirect speech: sē … subministrātūrōs (esse), 'they would supply'. quae ūtilēs bellō sint: relative clause in indirect speech.
B. Afr. 74.2Per id tempus deōrum voluntāte studiōque ergā Caesarem trānsfuga suōs cīvēs facit certiōrēs Iubam rēgem celeriter cum cōpiīs suīs, antequam Caesaris praesidium eō pervenīret, ad oppidum adcucurrisse atque advenientem multitūdine circumdatā eō potītum omnibusque eius oppidī incolīs ad ūnum interfectīs dedisse oppidum dīripiendum dēlendumque mīlitibus.
At that time, by the will of the gods and out of goodwill towards Caesar, a deserter informed his fellow citizens that King Juba with his forces had hurried quickly to the town before Caesar's garrison could get there, had surrounded it with a host as he arrived, taken it, killed all the inhabitants of the town to a man, and given the town to his soldiers to plunder and destroy.
Note. The editor marks the opening words as corrupt. adcucurrisse: perfect infinitive of accurrō, with the old reduplication. advenientem … circumdatā: 'surrounding it with his host as he arrived'. dīripiendum dēlendumque: gerundives of purpose with dedisse, 'gave the town to be plundered and destroyed'.
Vocabulary
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| interim (adv.) | meanwhile |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| fīnitimus, -a, -um | neighboring, adjoining |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| potior, -īrī, -ītus | become master of, get possession of |
| dēmōnstrō, -mōnstrāre, -mōnstrāvī, -mōnstrātus | point out, show; make known |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| obsecrō, -secrāre, -secrāvī, -secrātus | beseech, entreat |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj. | several, many |
| ūtilis, -e | useful, advantageous |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| subministrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | supply, furnish |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| deus, -ī, m. | god |
| voluntās, -tātis, f. | wish, will |
| studium, -ī, n. | eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ergā, prep, with acc. | toward, for |
| trānsfuga, -ae m. | deserter |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| cīvis, -is, m. and f. | citizen, fellow-citizen, subject |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| antequam, conj. | before than, sooner than, before |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| accurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus | run to, come up |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| adveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come to or toward, approach, arrive |
| multitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | multitude |
| circumdō, -dare, -dedī, -datus | put around, surround |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| incola, -ae, m. and f. | inhabitant |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| dīripiō, -ere, -ripuī, -reptum | plunder |
| dēleō, -ēre, dēlēvī, dēlētum | destroy, wipe out |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |