Bellum Africum 87

Massacre at Parada and Riot at Utica

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B. Afr. 87.1Equitēs interim Scīpiōnis, quī ex proeliō fūgerant, cum Uticam versus iter facerent, perveniunt ad oppidum Paradae.Meanwhile Scipio's cavalry, who had fled from the battle, were making their way towards Utica when they reached the town of Parada.Note. Uticam versus: 'towards Utica'; versus follows its noun. oppidum Paradae: 'the town of Parada', a genitive of definition. B. Afr. 87.2Ubi cum ab incolīs nōn reciperentur, ideō quod fāma dē victōriā Caesaris praecucurrisset, vī oppidō potītī in mediō forō lignīs coacervātīs omnibusque rēbus eō congestīs ignem subiciunt atque eius oppidī incolās cuiusque generis aetātisque vīvōs cōnstrictōsque in flammam coiciunt atque ita acerbissimō adficiunt suppliciō;When the inhabitants would not let them in, because the news of Caesar's victory had run ahead of them, they took the town by force, piled up wood in the middle of the forum with all the townspeople's goods heaped on it, set it alight, and threw the inhabitants of that town, of every class and age, alive and bound into the flames, and so inflicted the cruellest of punishments on them;Note. fāma … praecucurrisset: subjunctive in a quod-clause because it gives the riders' reason. vī oppidō potītī: potior with the ablative. cuiusque generis aetātisque: genitive of description, 'of every class and age'. acerbissimō … suppliciō: ablative with afficiunt, 'visit them with the cruellest punishment'. B. Afr. 87.2deinde prōtinus Uticam perveniunt.then they went straight on to Utica.Note. The narrative returns to Utica, Cato's headquarters, before telling of his death. B. Afr. 87.3Superiōre tempore M. Catō, quod in Uticēnsibus propter beneficium lēgis Iūliae parum suīs partibus praesidiī esse exīstimāverat, plēbem inermem oppidō ēiēcerat et ante portam bellicam castrīs fossāque parvulā dumtaxat mūnīverat ibique custōdiīs circumdatīs habitāre coēgerat;Some time before, Marcus Cato, believing that the people of Utica gave too little support to his side because of the favour they had received under the Julian law, had driven the unarmed common people out of the town, fortified a camp for them in front of the War Gate with no more than a small ditch, and forced them to live there with guards posted round them;Note. M. Catō: Cato the Younger, the leading Republican, who held Utica for the Pompeians. lēgis Iūliae: a Julian law, probably one of Caesar's from 59 BC, that had favoured the Uticans; Cato therefore suspected them. parum … praesidiī: 'too little support', partitive genitive. portam bellicam: the 'War Gate' of Utica. coēgerat: the diaeresis (ë) in Kübler's text shows that the o and e are pronounced separately. B. Afr. 87.3senātum autem oppidī custōdiā tenēbat.the town council he kept under guard.Note. senātum … oppidī: the town council of Utica, held under guard as hostages for the town's loyalty.

B. Afr. 87.4Eōrum castra illī equitēs adortī expugnāre coepērunt, ideō quod eōs Caesaris partibus fāvisse sciēbant, ut eīs interfectīs eōrum perniciē dolōrem suum ulcīscerentur.These cavalrymen attacked the people's camp and began to storm it, because they knew they had supported Caesar's side, meaning to kill them and avenge their own grief by their destruction.Note. illī equitēs: the Pompeian cavalry from Parada. Caesaris partibus fāvisse: faveō takes the dative. ut … ulcīscerentur: purpose clause; eōrum perniciē, 'by their destruction'. B. Afr. 87.5Uticēnsēs animō additō ex Caesaris victōriā lapidibus fūstibusque equitēs reppulērunt.The people of Utica, emboldened by Caesar's victory, drove the cavalry off with stones and clubs.Note. animō additō: 'with courage added', i.e. 'emboldened'. fūstibus: from fūstis, 'club'. B. Afr. 87.6Itaque posteāquam castra nōn potuerant potīrī, Uticam sē in oppidum coniēcērunt atque ibi multōs Uticēnsēs interfēcērunt domōsque eōrum expugnāvērunt ac dīripuērunt.So, after failing to take the camp, they threw themselves into the town of Utica, killed many of its people, and stormed and plundered their houses.Note. posteāquam = postquam. castra … potīrī: potior here takes an accusative, an older construction. Uticam … in oppidum: 'into the town, Utica'. B. Afr. 87.7Quibus cum Catō persuādēre nūllā ratiōne quīret, ut sēcum oppidum dēfenderent et caede rapīnīsque dēsisterent, et, quid sibi vellent, scīret, sēdandae eōrum importūnitātis grātiā singulīs C dīvīsit.Since Cato could in no way persuade them to defend the town with him and stop their killing and looting, and knew what they wanted, he gave them a hundred sesterces each to calm their unruliness.Note. quīret: imperfect subjunctive of queō, 'be able'. quid sibi vellent: indirect question, 'what they were after'. sēdandae … importūnitātis grātiā: gerundive with grātiā, 'for the sake of calming their unruliness'. singulīs C: 'a hundred (sesterces) each'. B. Afr. 87.8Idem Sylla Faustus fēcit ac dē suā pecūniā largītus est ūnāque cum hīs ab Uticā proficīscitur atque in regnum īre contendit.Faustus Sulla did the same, giving out money from his own purse, and set off from Utica with them, hurrying to march into the kingdom.Note. Sylla Faustus: Faustus Cornelius Sulla, son of the dictator and son-in-law of Pompey; Kübler spells the name Sylla here. largītus est: from the deponent largior, 'give freely'. in regnum: into Juba's kingdom of Numidia.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×3, ablative absolute ×4, indirect statement ×2, purpose clauses ×1, gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (135 words)

eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
interim (adv.)	meanwhile
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus	flee, run away
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
versus (adv.)	toward, in the direction of (often after ad or in + acc.)
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come through, come, arrive, reach
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
incola, -ae, m. and f.	inhabitant
nōn, adv.	not
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
ideō (adv.)	for that reason, therefore
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
fāma, -ae, f.	report, rumor
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
victōria, -ae, f.	victory
praecurrō, -ere, -cucurrī, -cursum	run ahead, hurry on before
vīs, vīs, f.	violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
potior, -īrī, -ītus	become master of, get possession of
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
medius, -a, -um	mid, middle
forum, -ī n.	market place, public square
lignum, -ī, n.	wood
coacervō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	heap up
omnis, -e	all, every
que, enclitic conj.	and
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
eō (adv.)	to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more)
congerō, -ere, -gessī, -gestus	heap up, bring together
ignis, -is, m.	fire
subiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw or place under
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.	each
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
aetās, -tātis, f.	age
vīvus, -a, -um	alive, living
cōnstringō, -ere, -strīnxī, -strictus	bind tight; restrain, hold in check
flamma, -ae, f.	flame
coiciō, -ere, coiēcī, coiectum	throw, hurl
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
acerbus, -a, -um	bitter, harsh, painful
afficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectum	affect, afflict
supplicium, -ī, n.	punishment, torture
deinde, adv.	then, next
prōtinus (adv.)	straight on; at once
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
propter, prep. with acc.	on account of, because of
beneficium, -ī, n.	well-doing, kindness, service, benefit
lēx, lēgis f.	law
Iūlius, -a, -um	of Julius, Julian; lēx Iūlia: a law carried by C. Julius Caesar
parum (comp. minus, superl. minimē)	too little; minimē: least, not at all
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, believe, think
plēbs, plēbis f.	the common people
inermis, -e	unarmed
ēiciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw out; sē ēicere: rush out
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
porta, -ae, f.	gate; door
bellicus, -a, -um	of war, military
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
fossa, -ae, f.	ditch, trench
parvulus, -a, -um	very small, petty
dumtaxat (adv.)	only, merely; at least
mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	fortify
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
custōdia, -ae f.	guard, protection
circumdō, -dare, -dedī, -datus	put around, surround
habitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	dwell, inhabit
cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus	drive together, collect; compel
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
adorior, -īrī, adortus sum	attack
expugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	take by storm, capture
coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action)	have begun, began
faveō, -ēre, fāvī, fautum (+ dat.)	favour, support
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	know
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
perniciēs, -ēī f.	ruin, destruction
dolor, -ōris, m.	pain, grief; anger
ulcīscor, ulcīscī, ultus	avenge
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditus	add, put to
lapis, -idis, m.	stone
fūstis, -is m.	club, cudgel, stick
repellō, repellere, reppulī, repulsus	drive back or away, repulse, repel
itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
posteāquam (conj.)	after
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
coniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw together; throw, cast, hurl
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
dīripiō, -ere, -ripuī, -reptum	plunder
persuādeō, -suādēre, -suāsi, -suāsus	persuade, prevail upon, induce
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
ratiō, -ōnis, f.	plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
queō, -īre, -īvī (-iī)	be able, can
dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus	ward off; defend
caedēs, -is, f.	cutting down, killing, slaughter
rapīna, -ae f.	plundering
dēsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus	set down; leave off, desist, cease, stop
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
volō, velle, voluī	wish
sēdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	settle, calm, put down
importūnitās, -ātis f.	insolence, ruthlessness, unruliness
grātia, -ae, f.	favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
singulī, -ae, -a	one at a time, single
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
dīvidō, -videre, -vīsī, -vīsus	divide, separate
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
pecūnia, -ae, f.	money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
largior, -īrī, -ītus sum	give generously, bribe
ūnā	together, along
cum, prep, with abl.	with
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
regnum, -ī, n.	royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm
eō, īre, iī, itus	go
contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch, hasten

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.