Bellum Alexandrinum 10

B. Alex. 10.1Caesar, ut per sē cōnsilium caperet, quid faciendum vidērētur, nāvem cōnscendit atque omnem classem sē sequī iussit nūllīs nostrīs mīlitibus impositīs, quod, cum longius paulō discēderet, mūnītiōnēs nūdāre nōlēbat.

Caesar, in order to decide for himself what seemed best to do, boarded a ship and ordered the whole fleet to follow him, with none of our soldiers put on board, because, as he would be going rather far away, he did not want to strip the fortifications.

Note. ut per sē cōnsilium caperet: 'in order to decide for himself'. quid faciendum vidērētur: indirect question. nūllīs nostrīs mīlitibus impositīs: ablative absolute. longius paulō: 'rather too far'.

B. Alex. 10.2Cumque ad eum locum accessisset, quī appellātur Chersonēnsus, aquandīque causā rēmigēs in terram exposuisset, nōnnūllī ex eō numerō, cum longius ā nāvibus praedātum prōcessissent, ab equitibus hostium sunt exceptī.

And when he had reached the place called Chersonensus and had put the rowers ashore to fetch water, some of their number, having gone rather far from the ships to plunder, were caught by the enemy's cavalry.

Note. Cumque: cum + -que. Chersonēnsus: so Kübler prints; a 'peninsula' west of Alexandria. aquandī causā: gerund, 'to fetch water'. praedātum: supine of purpose after a verb of motion, 'to plunder'.

B. Alex. 10.3Ex hīs cognōvērunt Caesarem ipsum in classe vēnisse nec ūllōs mīlitēs in nāvibus habēre.

From them the enemy learned that Caesar himself had come with the fleet and had no soldiers on board.

Note. Ex hīs: from the captured rowers. Caesarem ipsum … vēnisse nec … habēre: indirect statement.

B. Alex. 10.3Quā rē compertā magnam sibi facultātem Fortūnam obtulisse bene gerendae reī crēdidērunt.

When they discovered this, they believed that Fortune had offered them a great opportunity of striking a successful blow.

Note. Quā rē compertā: 'when this was found out'. bene gerendae reī: gerundive, 'of doing the business well', i.e. of a successful stroke. Fortūnam: Fortune as a goddess.

B. Alex. 10.4Itaque nāvēs omnēs, quās parātās habuerant ad nāvigandum, prōpugnātōribus īnstrūxērunt Caesarīque redeuntī cum classe occurrērunt.

So they manned with fighters all the ships they had kept ready for sailing, and met Caesar with his fleet as he was returning.

Note. Caesarī … redeuntī: dative with occurrērunt; redeuntī is the present participle of redeō.

B. Alex. 10.5Quī duābus dē causīs eō diē dīmicāre nōlēbat, quod et nūllōs mīlitēs in nāvibus habēbat, et post hōram X diēī rēs agēbātur, nox autem adlātūra vidēbātur maiōrem fīdūciam illīs, quī locōrum nōtitiā cōnfīdēbant;

He did not want to fight that day for two reasons: because he had no soldiers on board, and because the action was taking place after the tenth hour of the day, and night seemed likely to bring greater confidence to the enemy, who relied on their knowledge of the area;

Note. Quī: Caesar. duābus dē causīs: the two reasons follow with quod et … et. post hōram x diēī: after the tenth hour, i.e. late afternoon. adlātūra: future participle of afferō.

B. Alex. 10.5sibi etiam hortandī suōs auxilium dēfutūrum, quod nūlla satis idōnea esset hortātiō, quae neque virtūtem posset notāre neque inertiam.

also, he himself would lack the help of encouraging his men, since no encouragement would be quite suitable that could not mark out either courage or cowardice.

Note. sibī … dēfutūrum: still part of Caesar's reasoning, 'he himself would lack'. hortandī suōs auxilium: 'the help of encouraging his men'. quae neque … posset: in the dark, encouragement could not single out bravery or cowardice.

B. Alex. 10.6Quibus dē causīs nāvēs, quās potuit, Caesar ad terram dētrahit, quem in locum illōs successūrōs nōn exīstimābat.

For these reasons Caesar drew the ships he could to the shore, to a place where he thought the enemy would not follow.

Note. quem in locum: the antecedent is drawn into the relative clause, 'to a place to which'. successūrōs: future infinitive, 'would come up'.