Bellum Alexandrinum 31

B. Alex. 31.1Caesar cum vidēret mīlitēs ācrius proeliārī nōn posse nec tamen multum prōficī propter locōrum difficultātem, cumque animum adverteret excelsissimum locum castrōrum relictum esse ab Alexandrīnīs, quod et per sē mūnītus esset et studiō partim pugnandī partim spectandī dēcucurrissent in eum locum, in quō pugnābātur, cohortēs III circumīre castra et summum locum adgredī iussit iīsque Carfulēnum praefēcit, et animī magnitūdine et reī mīlitāris scientiā virum praestantem.

Caesar saw that his soldiers could not fight more fiercely and yet were making little headway because of the difficulty of the ground; he also noticed that the Alexandrians had left the highest part of their camp unguarded, both because it was protected by its own strength and because, partly from eagerness to fight and partly from eagerness to watch, they had run down to the place where the fighting was going on. So he ordered three cohorts to go round the camp and attack its highest point, and he put Carfulenus in command of them, a man outstanding both for courage and for knowledge of warfare.

Note. The author is not Caesar but one of his officers, probably Aulus Hirtius; the narrative picks up the battle on the Nile in which the Alexandrian army was beaten (early 47 BC). cum vidēret … cumque … adverteret: two causal cum clauses before the main verb iussit. animum adverteret: 'noticed' (animadvertō written as two words). quod … mūnītus esset … dēcucurrissent: the subjunctives give the reason as Caesar saw it. partim pugnandī partim spectandī: gerunds in the genitive with studiō, 'from eagerness partly to fight, partly to watch'. iīsque Carfulēnum praefēcit: praeficiō takes accusative of the person put in charge and dative of what he commands.

B. Alex. 31.2Quō ut ventum est, paucīs dēfendentibus mūnītiōnem, nostrīs contrā mīlitibus ācerrimē pugnantibus, dīversō clāmōre et proeliō perterritī Alexandrīnī trepidantēs in omnēs partēs castrōrum discurrere coepērunt.

When they reached it, with only a few men defending the fortification and our soldiers on the other side fighting very fiercely, the Alexandrians, terrified by the shouting and fighting on different sides, began to run in panic to every part of the camp.

Note. Quō ut ventum est: impersonal passive, literally 'when it was come there', i.e. 'when they got there'. Two ablative absolutes with present participles follow: paucīs dēfendentibus and nostrīs … pugnantibus. dīversō clāmōre et proeliō: shouting and fighting from different directions at once.

B. Alex. 31.3Quōrum perturbātiōne nostrōrum animī adeō sunt incitātī, ut paene eōdem tempore ex omnibus partibus impetus fieret, prīmī tamen ēditissimum locum castrōrum caperent;

Their confusion so fired the spirits of our men that an attack was made from all sides almost at the same moment, though the first to arrive took the highest part of the camp;

Note. Quōrum: connecting relative, 'their'. adeō … ut: result clause. impetus fieret: impetum facere, 'to attack', here in the passive. prīmī … caperent: the second result, 'though the first men took …'.

B. Alex. 31.3ex quō dēcurrentēs magnam multitūdinem hostium in castrīs interfēcērunt.

running down from there, they killed a great number of the enemy inside the camp.

Note. ex quō: from the high point of the camp they had just taken. dēcurrentēs: present participle, 'running down'.

B. Alex. 31.4Quod perīculum plērīque Alexandrīnī fugientēs acervātim sē dē vallō praecipitārunt in eam partem, quae flūminī erat adiūncta.

To escape this danger most of the Alexandrians, as they fled, threw themselves in heaps from the rampart on the side that adjoined the river.

Note. Quod perīculum … fugientēs: fugiō here takes a direct object, 'fleeing this danger'. praecipitārunt: contracted perfect (= praecipitāvērunt). flūminī: dative with adiūncta, the Nile.

B. Alex. 31.5Hōrum prīmīs in ipsā fossā mūnītiōnis magnā ruīnā oppressīs cēterī faciliōrem fugam habuērunt.

The first of them were crushed by a great collapse in the very ditch of the fortification, and the rest had an easier escape.

Note. Horum prīmīs … oppressīs: ablative absolute. ruīnā: the 'fall' or crush of bodies falling into the ditch. faciliōrem fugam: their bodies filled the ditch for those behind.

B. Alex. 31.6Cōnstat fūgisse ex castrīs rēgem ipsum receptumque in nāvem multitūdine eōrum, quī ad proximās nāvēs adnatābant, dēmersō nāvigiō perīsse.

It is well established that the king himself fled from the camp, was taken on board a ship, and drowned when the vessel sank under the number of men swimming out to the nearest ships.

Note. Cōnstat: impersonal, 'it is agreed', followed by the indirect statement rēgem … fūgisse … perīsse. perīsse: contracted perfect infinitive (= periisse). multitūdine eōrum: ablative of cause with dēmersō nāvigiō, 'the boat having been sunk by the number of those who …'. This is the death of the boy king Ptolemy XIII.