Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The African War (Bellum Africum)
Bellum Africum 8
Caesar sends for supplies and reinforcements
Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Afr. 8.1Caesar interim in Sardiniam nūntiōs cum litterīs et in reliquās prōvinciās fīnitimās dīmīsit, ut sibi auxilia, commeātūs, frūmentum, simulatque litterās lēgissent, mittenda cūrārent, exonerātīsque partim nāvibus longīs Rabīrium Postumum in Siciliam ad secundum commeātum arcessendum mittit.
Meanwhile Caesar sent messengers with letters to Sardinia and to the other neighbouring provinces, telling them to see that reinforcements, supplies and grain were sent to him as soon as they had read the letters; and having partly unloaded the warships, he sent Rabirius Postumus to Sicily to fetch the second convoy.
Note. simulatque … lēgissent: 'as soon as they had read'. mittenda cūrārent: 'should see to their being sent', gerundive with cūrō. Rabīrium Postumum: Gaius Rabirius Postumus, a banker and friend of Caesar. ad secundum commeātum arcessendum: 'to fetch the second convoy'.
B. Afr. 8.2Interim… cum X nāvibus longīs ad reliquās nāvēs onerāriās conquīrendās, quae dēerrāssent, et simul mare tuendum ab hostibus iubet proficīscī.
Meanwhile he ordered ... to set out with ten warships to search for the rest of the transports, which had gone astray, and at the same time to protect the sea from the enemy.
Note. The name of the officer sent has been lost from the manuscripts (marked …). ad … nāvēs conquīrendās … et … mare tuendum: two gerundive phrases of purpose, joined by et simul. dēerrāssent = dēerrāvissent.
B. Afr. 8.3Item C. Sallustium Crispum praetōrem ad Cercinam īnsulam versus, quam adversāriī tenēbant, cum parte nāvium īre iubet, quod ibi magnum numerum frūmentī esse audiēbat.
Likewise he ordered the praetor Gaius Sallustius Crispus to go with part of the ships towards the island of Cercina, which the enemy held, because he heard that there was a great quantity of grain there.
Note. C. Sallustium Crispum: the historian Sallust, praetor in 46 BC, who after the war became governor of Africa Nova. ad Cercīnam īnsulam versus: 'towards the island of Cercina'.
B. Afr. 8.4Haec ita imperābat ūnīcuique, ita praecipiēbat, utī fierī possent neque locum excūsātiō nūllum habēret nec moram tergiversātiō.
He gave these orders and instructions to each man in such a way that they could be carried out, and that excuses had no room and evasion no chance of delay.
Note. Haec: neuter plural, 'these things'. ūtī fierī possent: 'in such a way that they could be done'. locum excūsātiō … nec moram tergiversātiō: an elegant parallel phrase with haberet understood in the second half: excuses had no place, evasion no means of delay.
B. Afr. 8.5Ipse intereā ex perfugīs et incolīs cognitīs condiciōnibus Scīpiōnis, et quī cum eō bellum contrā sē gerēbant, mīrārī— rēgium enim equitātum Scīpiō ex prōvinciā Āfricā alēbat— tantā hominēs esse dēmentiā, ut mālint rēgis esse vectīgālēs quam cum cīvibus in patriā in suīs fortūnīs esse incolumēs.
He himself meanwhile, having learned from deserters and inhabitants the conditions of Scipio and of those who were waging war against him with him, wondered (for Scipio was maintaining the king's cavalry out of the province of Africa) that men could be so mad as to prefer being tributaries of a king to living safely among their fellow-citizens in their homeland and in their own fortunes.
Note. mīrārī: historical infinitive. condiciōnibus: here 'situation, circumstances'. et quī: 'and (the circumstances) of those who'. rēgium … equitātum: the cavalry of King Juba. tantā … dēmentiā: ablative of quality, 'of such madness'. ut mālint: result clause; mālō takes quam. rēgis … vectīgālēs: 'tributaries of a king'.
Vocabulary
| interim (adv.) | meanwhile |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| nūntius, -ī, m. | messenger; message |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| littera, -ae f. | letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| prōvincia, -ae f. | province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul |
| fīnitimus, -a, -um | neighboring, adjoining |
| dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| commeātus, -ūs, m. | supplies, provisions |
| frūmentum, -ī, n. | grain |
| simul atque (simulatque), conj. | as soon as |
| legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus | choose, pick out; read |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | take care of; (+ gerundive) have something done |
| exonerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | unload, discharge (a ship) |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| partim (adv.) | partly (partim … partim: some … others) |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| longus, -a, -um | long; tedious |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| arcessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus | call, summon, fetch |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| onerārius, -a, -um | for freight; nāvis onerāria: transport ship |
| conquīrō, -ere, -quīsīvī, -quīsītum | search out, hunt down |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| dēerrō, -āre, -āvī | go astray, lose one's way |
| simul, adv. | at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as |
| mare, maris, n. | sea |
| tueor, -ērī, tuitus sum | watch over, protect, defend |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| item | likewise, also |
| praetor, -ōris m. | praetor (legātus prō praetōre: officer with a praetor's powers) |
| īnsula, -ae, f. | island |
| versus (adv.) | toward, in the direction of (often after ad or in + acc.) |
| adversārius, -ī m. | opponent, enemy |
| teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus | hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| eō, īre, iī, itus | go |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| ūnusquisque, ūnaquaeque, ūnumquodque | each one, every single one |
| praecipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take beforehand, anticipate; order, charge |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| excūsātiō, -ōnis f. | excuse, plea |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| mora, -ae, f. | delay |
| tergiversātiō, -ōnis f. | evasion, shuffling, delay |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| intereā, adv. | in the meantime, meanwhile |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| perfuga, -ae m. | deserter |
| incola, -ae, m. and f. | inhabitant |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| condiciō, -ōnis f. | terms; condition, status |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| mīror, -ārī, -ātus | wonder, wonder at |
| rēgius, -a, -um | royal, kingly |
| enim, conj. | for |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| alō, -ere, -uī, -tus | nourish |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| dēmentia, -ae f. | madness, folly |
| mālō, mālle, māluī | wish rather, prefer |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| vectīgālis, -e | paying tribute, tributary |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| cīvis, -is, m. and f. | citizen, fellow-citizen, subject |
| patria, -ae, f. | fatherland, country |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| incolumis, -e | unhurt, safe |