De Bello Civili 1.22

BC 1.22.1Quārta vigiliā circiter Lentulus Spinthēr dē mūrō cum vigiliīs custōdibusque nostrīs colloquitur: velle, sī sibi fīat potestās, Caesarem convenīre.

At about the fourth watch Lentulus Spinther talks from the wall with our sentries and guards: he wished, if he were given the chance, to meet Caesar.

Note. P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, consul in 57 BC. quārtā vigiliā: the fourth watch of the night, the hours before dawn. velle … convenīre: indirect speech, 'he wished to meet Caesar'.

BC 1.22.2factā potestāte ex oppidō mittitur, neque ab eō prius Domitiānī mīlitēs discēdunt, quam in cōnspectum Caesaris dēdūcātur.

Permission granted, he is sent out of the town, and Domitius' soldiers do not leave him until he is brought into Caesar's sight.

Note. prius … quam … dēdūcātur: 'until he is brought'; priusquam is split into two words.

BC 1.22.3cum eō dē salūte suā ōrat atque obsecrat ut sibi parcat veteremque amīcitiam commemorat Caesarisque in sē beneficia expōnit, quae erant maxima: quod per eum in collēgium pontificum vēnerat, quod prōvinciam Hispāniam ex praetūrā habuerat, quod in petītiōne cōnsulātūs erat sublevātus.

He pleads with him for his life and begs him to spare him, and recalls their old friendship and sets out Caesar's kindnesses to him, which had been very great: that through him he had entered the college of pontiffs, that he had held the province of Spain after his praetorship, that he had been helped in his candidacy for the consulship.

Note. Caesar had helped Lentulus' career: membership of the college of pontiffs (Caesar himself was pontifex maximus), the governorship of Nearer Spain, and support in the consular election.

BC 1.22.5cuius ōrātiōnem Caesar interpellat: sē nōn maleficiī causā ex prōvinciā ēgressum, sed utī sē ā contumēliīs inimīcōrum dēfenderet, ut tribūnōs plēbis in eā rē ex cīvitāte expulsōs in suam dignitātem restitueret, et sē et populum Rōmānum factiōne paucōrum oppressum in lībertātem vindicāret.

Caesar interrupts his speech: he had not left his province to do harm, but to defend himself from the insults of his enemies, to restore to their rank the tribunes of the plebs who had been driven from the city over that affair, and to set himself and the Roman people, oppressed by the faction of a few, at liberty.

Note. Caesar's justification of the war in indirect speech. tribūnōs plēbis … expulsōs: Antony and Cassius, who had fled to Caesar in January 49 BC. factiōne paucōrum: 'by the faction of a few', Caesar's term for his opponents.

BC 1.22.6cuius ōrātiōne cōnfirmātus Lentulus, ut in oppidum revertī liceat, petit: quod dē suā salūte inpetrāverit, fore etiam reliquīs ad suam spem sōlāciō;

Reassured by his words, Lentulus asks to be allowed to return into the town: what he had obtained for his own safety would also be a comfort to the rest in their hopes;

Note. quod … impetrāverit: 'what he had obtained'. fore … sōlāciō: a predicative dative, 'would be a comfort'. fore = futūrum esse.

BC 1.22.6adeō esse perterritōs nōnnūllōs, ut suae vītae dūrius cōnsulere cōgantur.

some were so terrified that they were being driven to take desperate measures about their lives.

Note. dūrius cōnsulere: 'to take drastic measures', a hint at suicide. Domitius had in fact asked his doctor for poison.

BC 1.22.6factā potestāte discēdit.

Permission granted, he leaves.

Note. factā potestāte: ablative absolute, 'permission granted'.