Bellum Alexandrinum 73

Caesar seizes the near ridge

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B. Alex. 73.1Caesar cum ab hoste mīlia passuum V castra posuisset vidēretque eās vallēs, quibus rēgia castra mūnīrentur, eōdem intervallō sua castra mūnītūrās, sī modo ea loca hostēs priōrēs nōn cēpissent, quae multō erant propiōra rēgis castrīs, aggerem comportārī iubet intrā mūnītiōnēs.Caesar pitched his camp five miles from the enemy, and when he saw that the valleys which protected the king's camp would protect his own camp at the same distance, provided that the enemy did not seize first the places which were much nearer the king's camp, he ordered earth and timber for a rampart to be carried within his lines.Note. mīlia passuum V: accusative of extent, 'five miles'. eās vallēs … mūnītūrās: future participle in indirect statement, 'would protect'. aggerem: material for building a rampart. B. Alex. 73.2Quō celeriter conlātō proximā nocte vigiliā quārtā legiōnibus omnibus expedītīs impedīmentīsque in castrīs relictīs prīmā lūce neque opīnantibus hostibus eum ipsum locum cēpit, in quō Mithridātēs secundum proelium adversus Triārium fēcerat.When this had been quickly collected, the next night at the fourth watch, he left all the legions without their baggage, leaving the baggage in camp, and at first light, when the enemy were not expecting it, he took the very place where Mithridates had fought his successful battle against Triarius.Note. Quō … conlātō: ablative absolute with a connecting relative. neque opīnantibus hostibus: 'when the enemy were not expecting it'.

B. Alex. 73.3Hōc omnem comportātum aggerem ex castrīs per servitia aggerī iussit, nē quis ab opere mīles discēderet, cum spatiō nōn amplius passuum mīlle intercīsa vallis castra hostium dīvideret ab opere inceptō Caesaris castrōrum.To this place he ordered all the collected rampart material to be carried from the camp by the slaves, so that no soldier should leave the work, since a valley that cut across, at a distance of no more than a mile, separated the enemy camp from the work Caesar had begun on his camp.Note. Hoc: an old adverb, 'hither, to this place' (= hūc). aggerī: present passive infinitive of aggerō, aggerere, 'to be carried'. per servitia: 'by means of the slaves'. nē quis: 'so that no one'.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×2, indirect statement ×1, ablative absolute ×3, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (69 words)

cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
passus, -ūs, m.	pace (mīlia passuum: miles)
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus	place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
que, enclitic conj.	and
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
vallis, -is, f.	valley
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
rēgius, -a, -um	royal, kingly
mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	fortify
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
intervallum, -ī, n.	interval, space, distance
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
sī, conj.	if
modo, adv.	only
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
prior, prius	earlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front)
nōn, adv.	not
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
multō, adv.	by much or far, much, far
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
propior, -ius	nearer (+ dat.)
rēx, rēgis, m.	king
agger, aggeris m.	mound, siege ramp
comportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus	carry or bring together, collect
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
intrā, prep. with acc.	within
mūnītiō, -ōnis f.	fortification, defence works
celeriter, adv.	swiftly, quickly
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus	bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
nox, noctis, f.	night
vigilia, -ae, f.	watch
quartus, -a, -um	fourth
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
omnis, -e	all, every
expedītus, -a, -um	unobstructed, easy; lightly equipped
impedīmentum, -ī n.	hindrance; (pl.) baggage
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
lūx, lūcis, f.	light
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
opīnor, -ārī, -ātus sum	think, suppose; ut opīnor: I imagine
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
secundus, -a, -um	following, favorable
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
hūc, adv.	to this place, hither
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
servitium, -ī n.	slavery; (pl.) slaves
aggerō (adgerō), -gerere, -gessī, -gestus	carry to, bring up, pile up (earth)
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.	any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
opus, operis, n.	work, task
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go apart, withdraw, depart
spatium, -ī, n.	space, interval; space of time, time
amplius (adv.)	more, further
intercīdō, -ere, -cīdī, -cīsus	cut through, cut apart
dīvidō, -videre, -vīsī, -vīsus	divide, separate
incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum	begin

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.