Bellum Alexandrinum 47

B. Alex. 47.1At Vatīnius rē bene gestā receptuī cecinit suīsque omnibus incolumibus in eum sē portum victor recēpit, quō ex portū classis Octāviī ad dīmicandum prōcesserat.

But Vatinius, having succeeded, sounded the recall, and with all his men unharmed he returned victorious into the harbour from which Octavius' fleet had come out to fight.

Note. rē bene gestā: ablative absolute, 'having succeeded'. receptuī cecinit: 'sounded the retreat' (literally 'sang for the retreat'); receptuī is a dative of purpose. suīs omnibus incolumibus: ablative absolute. quō ex portū: the relative repeats its antecedent, a habit of Caesarian style.

B. Alex. 47.2Capit ex eō proeliō pentērem ūnam, trirēmēs duās, dicrotās VIII complūrēsque rēmigēs Octāviānōs posterōque ibi diē, dum suās captīvāsque nāvēs reficeret, cōnsūmptō post diem tertium contendit in īnsulam Issam, quod eō sē recēpisse ex fugā crēdēbat Octāvium.

From that battle he took one quinquereme, two triremes, eight biremes and a good number of Octavius' rowers, and after spending the next day there while he repaired his own ships and the captured ones, two days later he made for the island of Issa, because he believed that Octavius had taken refuge there after his flight.

Note. pentērem: a Greek word for a quinquereme. dīcrotās viii: light galleys with two banks of oars. posterō … diē … cōnsūmptō: ablative absolute framing a dum-clause; dum with the subjunctive here gives the purpose of his stay. post diem tertium: by Roman inclusive counting, 'two days later'. Issa (modern Vis) lies off the Dalmatian coast.

B. Alex. 47.3Erat in eā nōbilissimum regiōnum eārum oppidum coniūnctissimumque Octāviō.

There was on that island the most famous town of those parts, and one very closely attached to Octavius.

Note. in eā: 'on it' (the island). regiōnum eārum: partitive genitive with the superlative. coniūnctissimum … Octāviō: 'very closely attached to Octavius'.

B. Alex. 47.4Quō ut vēnit, oppidānī supplicēs sē Vatīniō dēdidērunt, comperitque ipsum Octāvium parvīs paucīsque nāvigiīs ventō secundō regiōnem Graeciae petīsse, inde ut Siciliam, deinde Āfricam caperet.

When he arrived there, the townspeople surrendered to Vatinius as suppliants, and he learned that Octavius himself, with a few small vessels and a favourable wind, had made for the region of Greece, intending to go on from there to Sicily, and then to Africa.

Note. Quō ut vēnit: 'when he arrived there'; ut with the indicative means 'when'. supplicēs: in apposition to oppidānī, 'as suppliants'. petīsse = petīvisse. inde ut Siciliam, deinde Āfricam caperet: purpose clause; capere here means 'to make for, reach'. The Pompeian fleet was regrouping in Africa after Pharsalus.

B. Alex. 47.5Ita brevī spatiō rē praeclārissimē gestā prōvinciā receptā et Cornificiō redditā, classe adversāriōrum ex illō tōtō sinū expulsā victor sē Brundisium incolumī exercitū et classe recēpit.

So in a short time, having achieved a splendid success, recovered the province and handed it back to Cornificius, and driven the enemy's fleet out of that whole gulf, he returned victorious to Brundisium with his army and fleet unharmed.

Note. A string of ablative absolutes summing up the campaign: rē … gestā, prōvinciā receptā et … redditā, classe … expulsā. Cornificius was Caesar's quaestor in charge of Illyricum. sinū: the 'gulf', i.e. the Adriatic. Brundisium: accusative of motion towards a town, no preposition needed.