Bellum Alexandrinum 6

Ganymedes fouls the water

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B. Alex. 6.1Hōc probātō cōnsiliō magnum ac difficile opus adgreditur.Having approved this plan, he set about a great and difficult work.Note. aggreditur (Kübler adgreditur): deponent, 'he set about'. B. Alex. 6.1Interseptīs enim specibus atque omnibus urbis partibus exclūsīs, quae ab ipsō tenēbantur, aquae magnam vim ex marī rotīs ac māchinātiōnibus exprimere contendit;For he blocked off the channels and shut off all the parts of the city that he himself held, and set about forcing a great quantity of water out of the sea with wheels and machinery;Note. Interseptīs … specibus … exclūsīs partibus: two ablatives absolute. quae ab ipsō tenēbantur: ipsō is Ganymedes. rotīs ac māchinātiōnibus: water-wheels and lifting machines. B. Alex. 6.1hanc locīs superiōribus fundere in partem Caesaris nōn intermittēbat.he kept pouring this from the higher ground into Caesar's part without a break.Note. hanc (aquam) … fundere … nōn intermittēbat: 'he did not stop pouring'. locīs superiōribus: ablative of place, 'from higher ground'. B. Alex. 6.2Quam ob causam salsior paulō praeter cōnsuētūdinem aqua trahēbātur ex proximīs aedificiīs magnamque hominibus admīrātiōnem praebēbat, quam ob rem id accidisset;For this reason the water drawn from the nearest buildings was somewhat saltier than usual, and caused men great surprise at why this had happened;Note. salsior paulō praeter cōnsuētūdinem: 'somewhat saltier than usual'; paulō is ablative of degree of difference. quam ob rem id accidisset: indirect question. B. Alex. 6.2nec satis sibi ipsī crēdēbant, cum sē īnferiōrēs eiusdem generis ac sapōris aquā dīcerent utī, atque ante cōnsuēssent, vulgōque inter sē cōnferēbant et dēgustandō, quantum inter sē differrent aquae, cognōscēbant.and they did not quite trust themselves, since those lower down said they were using water of the same kind and taste as before, and they compared it openly with one another and, by tasting, learned how much the waters differed.Note. cum … dīcerent: causal cum. sē īnferiōrēs: 'they, the ones lower down'. vulgō: 'openly, all together'. dēgustandō: gerund, 'by tasting'. quantum … differrent: indirect question.

B. Alex. 6.3Parvō vērō temporis spatiō haec propior bibī omnīnō nōn poterat, illa īnferior corruptior iam salsiorque reperiēbātur.But in a short time the nearer water could not be drunk at all, and the lower was found to be already fouler and saltier.Note. haec propior … illa īnferior: 'this nearer (water) … that lower (water)'. bibī: present passive infinitive.

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (83 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	prove, show; approve
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
difficilis, -e	not easy, difficult
opus, operis, n.	work, task
adgredior, -gredī, -gressus sum	approach; address; attack; undertake
intersaepiō, -īre, -saepsī, -saeptus	fence off, block, cut off
enim, conj.	for
specus, -ūs m.	cave, grotto
omnis, -e	all, every
urbs, urbis, f.	city
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
exclūdō, -clūdere, -clūsī, -clūsus	shut out, hinder, prevent
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
aqua, -ae, f.	water
vīs, vīs, f.	violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
mare, maris, n.	sea
rota, -ae f.	wheel
māchinātiō, -ōnis f.	machine, device
exprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus	press out
contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch, hasten
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
fundō, -ere, fūdī, fūsum	pour; rout, scatter (an enemy)
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
nōn, adv.	not
intermittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	leave off, interrupt; let pass; pass., be left between, intervene, elapse
ob, prep. with acc.	on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
salsus, -a, -um	salted, salt
paulō, adv.	by a little, a little, somewhat
praeter, prep. with acc.	before, past, by; besides, except
cōnsuētūdō, -inis f.	custom, habit; way of life
trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus	draw, drag
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
aedificium, -ī n.	building
que, enclitic conj.	and
homō, hominis, m.	man
admīrātiō, -ōnis f.	wonder, admiration
praebeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	hold forth, supply, furnish, give; show, present, exhibit
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.	what?
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
accidō, -cidere, -cidī	fall to or upon; befall, happen
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	believe
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
īnferior, -ius	lower
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
sapor, -ōris m.	taste, flavour
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus	use
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētus	become accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont
vulgō (adv.)	everywhere, commonly
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus	bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
dēgustō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	taste, take a taste of
quantum, adv.	how much? how?
differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum	differ; scatter, put off
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
spatium, -ī, n.	space, interval; space of time, time
propior, -ius	nearer (+ dat.)
bibō, bibere, bibī	drink
omnīnō, adv.	altogether, wholly, entirely
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
corruptus, -a, -um	spoiled, tainted, corrupt
iam, adv.	now, already
reperiō, reperīre, repperī, repertus	find, discover

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.