Bellum Africum 76

Sarsura taken; Thysdra too strong

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B. Afr. 76.1Postquam Caesar ad oppidum Sarsūram vēnit, īnspectantibus adversāriīs interfectō praesidiō Scīpiōnis, cum suīs auxilium ferre nōn audērent, fortiter repugnante P. Cornēliō, ēvocātō Scīpiōnis, quī ibi praeerat, atque ā multitūdine circumventō interfectōque oppidō potītur atque ibi frūmentō exercituī datō posterō diē ad oppidum Thysdram pervenit;When Caesar came to the town of Sarsura, he killed Scipio's garrison while his opponents looked on, since they did not dare to help their men; Publius Cornelius, a recalled veteran of Scipio's who was in command there, fought bravely but was surrounded by the crowd and killed; Caesar took the town, gave the grain there to the army, and on the next day reached the town of Thysdra;Note. A crowded sentence of ablatives absolute: īnspectantibus adversāriīs, interfectō praesidiō, repugnante P. Cornēliō. ēvocātus: a veteran called back to service after his discharge. cum … nōn audērent: causal cum, 'since they did not dare'. B. Afr. 76.1in quō Cōnsidius per id tempus fuerat cum grandī praesidiō cohorteque suā gladiātōrum.in it at that time was Considius with a large garrison and his own cohort of gladiators.Note. Cōnsidius: C. Considius Longus, the Pompeian who had held Hadrumetum against Caesar earlier in the war. cohorte suā gladiātōrum: his private troop of gladiators. B. Afr. 76.2Caesar oppidī nātūrā perspectā aquae inopiā ab oppugnātiōne eius dēterritus prōtinus profectus circiter mīlia passuum IV ad aquam facit castra atque inde quārtā vigiliā ēgressus redit rūrsus ad ea castra, quae ad Aggar habuerat.Caesar, having looked over the nature of the town and been deterred from besieging it by the lack of water, set off straight away, made camp by water about four miles off, and leaving from there at the fourth watch he returned again to the camp he had had at Aggar.Note. oppidī nātūrā perspectā: ablative absolute. ab oppugnātiōne … dēterritus: 'deterred from attacking it'. ad aquam: 'by water', i.e. where there was water.

B. Afr. 76.2Idem facit Scīpiō atque in antīqua castra cōpiās redūcit.Scipio did the same and led his forces back into his old camp.Note. Idem facit Scīpiō: Scipio too returns to his former camp.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×4

Latin vocabulary for this passage (66 words)

postquam, conj.	later than, after, when
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
īnspectō, -āre	look on, watch
adversārius, -ī m.	opponent, enemy
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
nōn, adv.	not
audeō, audēre, ausus sum	dare
fortiter, adv.	bravely
repugnō, -pugnāre, -pugnāvī, -pugnātus	fight against, struggle, resist
ēvocātus, -ī m.	a veteran recalled to service, a re-enlisted veteran
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
praesum, -esse, -fuī	be before, preside over, have charge of, command
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
circumveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventum	surround
que, enclitic conj.	and
potior, -īrī, -ītus	become master of, get possession of
frūmentum, -ī, n.	grain
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
posterus, -a, -um	following, next
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come through, come, arrive, reach
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
cum, prep, with abl.	with
grandis, -e	large, big
cohors, cohortis f.	cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
gladiātor, -ōris m.	gladiator; as an insult: cutthroat, ruffian
nātūra, -ae, f.	nature, character
perspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum	see clearly, observe
aqua, -ae, f.	water
inopia, -ae f.	lack, want, scarcity
oppugnātiō, -ōnis f.	siege, assault on a town
dēterreō, -terrēre, -terruī, -territus	frighten off, deter
prōtinus (adv.)	straight on; at once
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
circiter, prep. with acc. and adv.	about
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
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
inde (adv.)	from there; then
quartus, -a, -um	fourth
vigilia, -ae, f.	watch
ēgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go out or forth, go ashore, disembark
redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go back, return
rūrsus, adv.	again
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
antīquus, -a, -um	ancient
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
redūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead or bring back; restore

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.