De Bello Civili 1.18

BC 1.18.1Interim Caesarī nūntiātur Sulmōnēnsēs, quod oppidum ā Corfīniō vii mīlium intervallō abest, cupere ea facere quae vellet, sed ā Q. Lucrētiō senātōre et Attiō Paelignō prohibērī, quī id oppidum vii cohortium praesidiō tenēbant.

Meanwhile it is reported to Caesar that the people of Sulmo, a town seven miles distant from Corfinium, wished to do what he wanted, but were prevented by Q. Lucretius, a senator, and Attius Paelignus, who were holding that town with a garrison of seven cohorts.

Note. nūntiātur: impersonal passive introducing indirect statement, 'it is reported that …'. quod oppidum: 'a town which'; the relative takes the gender of oppidum. ea facere quae vellet: 'to do what he (Caesar) wanted'.

BC 1.18.2mittit eō M. Antōnium cum legiōnis xiii cohortibus v.

He sends Mark Antony there with five cohorts of the thirteenth legion.

Note. M. Antōnium: Mark Antony, Caesar's officer, later triumvir. Roman numerals stand for the numbers: xiii = tertiae decimae, v = quīnque.

BC 1.18.2Sulmōnēnsēs simulatque signa nostra vīdērunt, portās aperuērunt ūniversīque, et oppidānī et mīlitēs, obviam grātulantēs Antōniō exiērunt.

As soon as the people of Sulmo saw our standards, they opened the gates, and all of them, townspeople and soldiers alike, went out to meet Antony with congratulations.

Note. simulatque: 'as soon as'. ūniversī, et oppidānī et mīlitēs: 'all of them, both townsfolk and soldiers'. obviam … exiērunt: 'went out to meet'. grātulantēs: present participle of the deponent grātulor.

BC 1.18.3Lucrētius et Attius dē mūrō sē dēiēcērunt.

Lucretius and Attius threw themselves down from the wall.

Note. dē mūrō sē dēiēcērunt: 'threw themselves down from the wall', to escape rather than to die; Attius at least survives in the next sentence.

BC 1.18.3Attius ad Antōnium dēductus petit ut ad Caesarem mitterētur.

Attius, brought to Antony, asks to be sent to Caesar.

Note. petit ut … mitterētur: an indirect request; the imperfect subjunctive follows the historic present petit, felt as a past tense.

BC 1.18.3Antōnius cum cohortibus et Attiō eōdem diē quō profectus erat revertitur.

Antony returns with the cohorts and Attius on the same day on which he had set out.

Note. eōdem diē quō profectus erat: 'on the same day as he had set out'. revertitur: from the deponent revertor.

BC 1.18.4Caesar eās cohortēs cum exercitū suō coniūnxit Attiumque incolumem dīmīsit.

Caesar joined those cohorts to his own army and let Attius go unharmed.

Note. Caesar's famous clemency: he lets the Pompeian officer go unharmed (incolumem).

BC 1.18.4Caesar prīmīs diēbus castra magnīs operibus mūnīre et ex fīnitimīs mūnicipiīs frūmentum comportāre reliquāsque cōpiās exspectāre īnstituit.

In the first days Caesar began to fortify his camp with great works, to bring in grain from the neighbouring towns, and to wait for the rest of his forces.

Note. prīmīs diēbus: ablative of time, 'in the first days'. īnstituit takes three infinitives: mūnīre, comportāre, exspectāre.

BC 1.18.5eō trīduō legiō viii ad eum vēnit cohortēsque ex novīs Galliae dīlēctibus xxii equitēsque ab rēge Nōricō circiter ccc.

Within those three days the eighth legion came to him, and twenty-two cohorts from the new levies in Gaul, and about three hundred cavalry from the king of Noricum.

Note. eō trīduō: 'within those three days'. The verb vēnit is singular, agreeing with the first subject, legiō; cohortēs and equitēs are added. rēge Nōricō: the king of Noricum (in modern Austria), an ally of Caesar.

BC 1.18.5quōrum adventū altera castra ad alteram oppidī partem pōnit;

On their arrival he pitches a second camp on the other side of the town;

Note. quōrum adventū: 'on their arrival'; a linking relative. altera castra: a second camp; castra is plural in form but means one camp.

BC 1.18.5hīs castrīs Cūriōnem praefēcit.

he put Curio in command of this camp.

Note. C. Scribonius Curio, the former tribune who had gone over to Caesar. praeficiō takes the person in the accusative and the thing commanded in the dative (hīs castrīs).

BC 1.18.6reliquīs diēbus oppidum vallō castellīsque circumvenīre īnstituit.

In the following days he began to surround the town with a rampart and redoubts.

Note. vallō castellīsque: ablatives of means, 'with a rampart and redoubts'.

BC 1.18.6cuius operis maximā parte effectā eōdem ferē tempore missī ad Pompēium revertuntur.

When the greater part of this work had been completed, at about the same time the men sent to Pompey return.

Note. cuius operis: a linking relative, 'and of this work'. missī: the messengers Domitius had sent to Pompey (5).