Bellum Alexandrinum 51

Orders to cross to Africa

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B. Alex. 51.1Interim litterās accēpit ā Caesare, ut in Āfricam exercitum trāiceret perque Mauretāniam ad fīnēs Numidiae pervenīret, quod magna Cn. Pompēiō Iuba mīserat auxilia maiōraque missūrus exīstimābātur.Meanwhile he received a letter from Caesar telling him to take his army across to Africa and to reach the borders of Numidia by way of Mauretania, because Juba had sent large forces to Gnaeus Pompeius and was thought likely to send larger ones.Note. litterās … ut … trāiceret … pervenīret: an indirect command depending on the idea of instruction in litterās. Mauretania lay west of Numidia, so Cassius was to strike at King Juba from behind. Iuba: king of Numidia, ally of the Pompeians, who had destroyed Curio's army in 49. missūrus: future participle, 'likely to send'. B. Alex. 51.2Quibus litterīs acceptīs īnsolentī voluptāte efferēbātur, quod sibi novārum prōvinciārum et fertilissimī regnī tanta oblāta esset facultās.When he received this letter, he was carried away by an extravagant delight, because so great an opportunity had been offered him of new provinces and a very fertile kingdom.Note. Quibus litterīs acceptīs: connecting relative in an ablative absolute. īnsolentī voluptāte efferēbātur: 'he was carried away by an extravagant delight'. quod … oblāta esset: the subjunctive gives Cassius' own reason. novārum prōvinciārum et fertilissimī regnī: objective genitives with facultās. B. Alex. 51.3Itaque ipse in Lūsītāniam proficīscitur ad legiōnēs arcessendās auxiliaque addūcenda;So he himself set out into Lusitania to fetch the legions and bring up the auxiliaries;Note. ad legiōnēs arcessendās auxiliaque addūcenda: gerundives of purpose with ad. B. Alex. 51.3certīs hominibus dat negōtium, ut frūmentum nāvēsque C praeparārentur pecūniaeque discrīberentur atque imperārentur, nē qua rēs, cum redīsset, morārētur.he gave chosen men the task of having grain and a hundred ships made ready and of assessing and levying sums of money, so that nothing should cause delay when he returned.Note. dat negōtium ut …: 'gave the task of …'. nāvēsque c: a hundred ships. discrīberentur: 'be apportioned' among the communities. nē qua rēs … morārētur: purpose clause; qua is the indefinite quis after nē. redīsset = rediisset.

B. Alex. 51.4Reditus eius fuit celerior omnium opīniōne: nōn enim labor aut vigilantia cupientī praesertim aliquid Cassiō dēerat.His return was quicker than anyone had expected: for neither toil nor watchfulness was lacking in Cassius, especially when he wanted something.Note. celerior omnium opīniōne: 'quicker than anyone expected'; opīniōne is an ablative of comparison. cupientī praesertim aliquid Cassiō: 'in Cassius, especially when he wanted something'; dative with deerat.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×3, ablative absolute ×1, gerunds and gerundives ×2, cum clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (70 words)

interim (adv.)	meanwhile
littera, -ae f.	letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
trāiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw across, strike through, pierce
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
que, enclitic conj.	and
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
fīnis, -is, m.	end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country
perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come through, come, arrive, reach
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, believe, think
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
īnsolēns, -entis	unaccustomed (to: gen.); excessive, arrogant
voluptās, -tātis, f.	pleasure
efferō, -ferre, extulī, ēlātum	carry out, bring out
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
novus, -a, -um	new; novissimus, last
prōvincia, -ae f.	province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
fertilis, -e	fertile, fruitful
regnum, -ī, n.	royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātus	bear to, proffer, offer
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
facultās, -tātis, f.	possibility, opportunity, chance, means
itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
arcessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus	call, summon, fetch
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead to, bring, take; induce, influence
certus, -a, -um	determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform
homō, hominis, m.	man
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
negōtium, -ī, n.	business, matter; task, trouble, difficulty
frūmentum, -ī, n.	grain
nāvis, -is, f.	ship
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
praeparō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	prepare beforehand
pecūnia, -ae, f.	money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
discrībō, -ere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptus	divide up, assign, allot
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus	command, order, enjoin
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.	any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go back, return
moror, -ārī, -ātus	delay, linger, stay
reditus, -ūs, m.	return
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
celer, celeris, celere	swift, quick
omnis, -e	all, every
opīniō, -ōnis, f.	opinion, expectation; reputation
nōn, adv.	not
enim, conj.	for
labor, -ōris, m.	labor, toil
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
vigilantia, -ae f.	wakefulness; watchfulness, vigilance
cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus	desire, long for, wish
praesertim (adv.)	especially
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
dēsum, deesse, dēfuī	be lacking, fail

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.