Bellum Alexandrinum 37

Pharnaces draws up his line

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B. Alex. 37.1Haec cum administrāret, numquam tamen intermittēbat lēgātōs dē pāce atque amīcitiā mittere ad Domitium, cum hōc ipsō crēderet facilius eum dēcipī posse.While he was arranging this, he never stopped sending envoys to Domitius about peace and friendship, believing that by this very means Domitius could be more easily deceived.Note. Haec cum administrāret: 'while he was arranging this'. hōc ipsō: 'by this very means'. facilius eum dēcipī posse: indirect statement after crēderet. B. Alex. 37.2At contrā spēs pācis Domitiō in eīsdem castrīs morandī attulit causam.But the hope of peace, on the contrary, gave Domitius a reason to linger in the same camp.Note. morandī … causam: genitive of the gerund, 'a reason for delaying'. B. Alex. 37.2Ita Pharnacēs āmissā proximī temporis occāsiōne veritus, nē cognōscerentur īnsidiae, suōs in castra revocāvit.So Pharnaces, having lost the opportunity of the moment and fearing that the ambush would be discovered, recalled his men to camp.Note. amissā … occāsiōne: ablative absolute. veritus: perfect participle of the deponent vereor, with present sense. nē cognōscerentur: fear clause, 'that … might be discovered'. B. Alex. 37.3Domitius posterō diē propius Nīcopolim accessit castraque oppidō contulit.The next day Domitius came closer to Nicopolis and moved his camp up to the town.Note. postero diē: 'on the next day'. castra oppidō contulit: 'brought his camp up to the town'; the dative oppidō expresses direction. B. Alex. 37.3Quae dum mūniunt nostrī, Pharnacēs aciem īnstrūxit suō mōre atque īnstitūtō.While our men were fortifying it, Pharnaces drew up his battle line in his usual fashion.Note. Quae dum mūniunt: dum with the present indicative, 'while', even in past narrative. suō mōre atque īnstitūtō: 'in his own fashion and custom'. B. Alex. 37.4In fronte enim simplicī dērēctā aciē cornua trīnīs firmābantur subsidiīs;His front was formed in a single straight line, and the wings were strengthened with three lines of reserves;Note. simplicī dērēctā aciē: ablative absolute, 'the line being drawn up straight and single'. trīnīs … subsidiīs: distributive numeral, 'with triple reserves'. B. Alex. 37.4eādem ratiōne haec mediā collocābantur aciē duōbus dextrā sinistrāque intervallīs simplicibus ōrdinibus īnstrūctīs.in the same way the centre was arranged, with single ranks drawn up in two intervals to right and left.Note. eādem ratiōne: 'in the same way'. haec media: 'the centre'. dextrā sinistrāque: 'on right and left'. The exact formation is not wholly clear.

B. Alex. 37.5Perfēcit inceptum castrōrum opus Domitius parte cōpiārum prō vallō cōnstitūta.Domitius finished the work on the camp he had begun, with part of his forces posted in front of the rampart.Note. inceptum … opus: 'the work he had begun'. parte cōpiārum … cōnstitūtā: ablative absolute.

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (78 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
administrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	manage, carry out
numquam, adv.	never
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
intermittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	leave off, interrupt; let pass; pass., be left between, intervene, elapse
lēgātus, -ī, m.	ambassador
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
pāx, pācis f.	peace
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
amīcitia, -ae f.	friendship, alliance
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	believe
facile, adv.	easily
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
dēcipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	catch, deceive
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
at, conj.	but
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
spēs, speī, f.	hope
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
moror, -ārī, -ātus	delay, linger, stay
afferō, afferre, attulī, allātum	bring, bring to; cause
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
āmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send away, lose
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
occāsiō, -ōnis, f.	chance, opportunity
vereor, -ērī, -itus	fear
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
īnsidiae, -ārum, f. plur.	ambush; plot, stratagem
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
revocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	call back, recall
posterus, -a, -um	following, next
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
propius (comp. adv. and prep. + acc.)	nearer, closer (to)
accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum	come near, approach; be added
que, enclitic conj.	and
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus	bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	fortify
noster, -tra, -trum	our
aciēs, -ēī, f.	line of battle
īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus	build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish,
mōs, mōris, m.	way, manner, habit, custom
īnstitūtum, -ī n.	custom, institution
frōns, frontis, f.	forehead
enim, conj.	for
simplex, -icis	simple, unmixed, pure
dīrigō (dērigō), -ere, -rēxī, -rēctus	set straight, arrange in line; dērēctus: straight
cornū, -ūs, n.	horn
trīnī, -ae, -a (distrib. num.)	three each; three (with nouns used only in the plural)
firmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	strengthen, secure
subsidium, -ī, n.	reserve, reinforcement, support, help
ratiō, -ōnis, f.	plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
medius, -a, -um	mid, middle
collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum	place, station; give in marriage
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
dextra, -ae, f.	right hand (manus understood)
sinistra, -ae, f.	left hand (manus understood)
intervallum, -ī, n.	interval, space, distance
ōrdō, ōrdinis, m.	arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order
perficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	do or make through, accomplish
incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum	begin
opus, operis, n.	work, task
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
vallum, -ī n.	rampart, palisade
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine

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.