Bellum Alexandrinum 18

The fall of Pharos

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B. Alex. 18.1Neque vērō diūtius eā mūnītiōne sē continēre potuērunt, etsī erat nōn dissimile atque Alexandrīae genus aedificiōrum, ut minōra maiōribus cōnferantur, turrēsque ēditae et coniūnctae mūrī locum obtinēbant, neque nostrī aut scālīs aut crātibus aut reliquīs rēbus parātī vēnerant ad oppugnandum.But they could not hold out any longer in that defence, even though the style of building was not unlike that of Alexandria, to compare small things with great, and lofty towers joined together served in place of a wall, and our men had not come prepared for an assault with ladders or wicker screens or other equipment.Note. nōn dissimile atque Alexandrīae: 'not unlike (that) of Alexandria'; dissimilis … atque. ut minōra maiōribus cōnferantur: 'to compare small with great'. mūrī locum obtinēbant: 'served as a wall'. B. Alex. 18.2Sed terror hominibus mentem cōnsiliumque ēripit et membra dēbilitat;But terror robs men of their wits and judgement and weakens their limbs;Note. A general remark (sententia), with present tenses. B. Alex. 18.2ut tum accidit.as happened then.Note. ut tum accidit: 'as happened then'; ut with the indicative = 'as'. B. Alex. 18.3Quī sē in aequō locō ac plānō parēs esse cōnfīdēbant, īdem perterritī fugā suōrum et caede paucōrum XXX pedum altitūdine in aedificiīs cōnsistere ausī nōn sunt sēque per mōlem in mare praecipitāvērunt et DCCCC passuum intervallum ad oppidum ēnatāvērunt.Those same men who had trusted that they were a match for us on level and even ground were terrified by the flight of their comrades and the slaughter of a few, and did not dare to stand in buildings thirty feet high; they flung themselves from the mole into the sea and swam the nine hundred paces to the town.Note. īdem: nominative plural, 'these same men'. xxx pedum altitūdine: genitive of measure inside an ablative of description. dcccc passuum: 900 paces, about 1.3 km.

B. Alex. 18.4Multī tamen ex hīs captī interfectīque sunt;Many of them, however, were captured or killed;Note. captī interfectīque sunt: 'were captured or killed'. B. Alex. 18.4sed numerus captīvōrum omnīnō fuit sex mīlium.but the number of prisoners came to six thousand in all.Note. sex mīlium: genitive of description, 'of six thousand'.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (83 words)

neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
diū, adv.	for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
mūnītiō, -ōnis f.	fortification, defence works
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
contineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold together, keep within, shut up in; bound
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
etsī, conj.	even if, although
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
nōn, adv.	not
dissimilis, -e	unlike, different
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
aedificium, -ī n.	building
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus	bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
turris, -is f.	tower; siege tower
que, enclitic conj.	and
ēditus, -a, -um	raised, high
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
coniungō, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus	join together, join
mūrus, -ī, m.	wall
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold
noster, -tra, -trum	our
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
scāla, -ae f. (usually pl. scālae)	ladder, scaling ladder
crātēs, -is f.	wickerwork, hurdle
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
parātus, -a, -um	prepared, equipped, ready
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
oppugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	attack, besiege
sed, conj.	but
terror, -ōris, m.	terror, fright
homō, hominis, m.	man
mēns, mentis f.	mind, spirit
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
ēripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus	snatch out or away, rescue
membrum, -ī, n.	limb, member
dēbilitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	weaken, cripple, unnerve
tum, adv.	then, at that time
accidō, -cidere, -cidī	fall to or upon; befall, happen
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
aequus, -a, -um	level; equal; fair
plānus, -a, -um	flat, level
pār, paris	equal
cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum	trust, be confident
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus	thoroughly frighten, terrify
fuga, -ae, f.	flight
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
caedēs, -is, f.	cutting down, killing, slaughter
paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	few
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
pēs, pedis, m.	foot
altitūdō, -inis f.	height; depth
cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus	station oneself, take one's stand; consist
audeō, audēre, ausus sum	dare
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
mōlēs, -is f.	mass; dam, breakwater
mare, maris, n.	sea
praecipitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	throw headlong; sē praecipitāre: hurl oneself
passus, -ūs, m.	pace (mīlia passuum: miles)
intervallum, -ī, n.	interval, space, distance
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
ēnatō, -āre, -āvī	swim out, escape by swimming
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
numerus, -ī, m.	number
captīvus, -a, -um	captive
omnīnō, adv.	altogether, wholly, entirely
sex (indecl.)	six
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;

Hirtius, Bellum Alexandrinum. 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.