Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 1
De Bello Civili 1.28
Pompey escapes
Caesar, De Bello Civili I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 1.28.1Brundisīnī Pompēiānōrum mīlitum iniūriīs atque ipsīus Pompēī contumēliīs permōtī Caesaris rēbus favēbant.
The people of Brundisium, provoked by the wrongs done by Pompey's soldiers and by the insults of Pompey himself, favoured Caesar's cause.
Note. Caesaris rēbus favēbant: 'favoured Caesar's cause'.
BC 1.28.2itaque cognitā Pompēī profectiōne concursantibus illīs atque in eā rē occupātīs volgō ex tēctīs significābant.
And so, when they learned of Pompey's departure, while his men were running about and busy with it, they made signs from their roofs everywhere.
Note. concursantibus illīs: ablative absolute, 'while they were running about'. vulgō: 'everywhere'.
BC 1.28.2per quōs rē cognitā Caesar scālās parārī mīlitēsque armārī iubet, nēquam reī gerendae facultātem dīmittat.
Learning of this through them, Caesar orders ladders to be got ready and the soldiers to arm, so as not to lose any chance of action.
Note. nēquam = nē quam: 'so as not to let slip any chance of action'; quam is the indefinite pronoun agreeing with facultātem. reī gerendae: gerundive, 'of action'.
BC 1.28.3Pompēius sub noctem nāvēs solvit.
Pompey sets sail at nightfall.
Note. nāvēs solvit: 'set sail'.
BC 1.28.3quī erant in mūrō custōdiae causā collocātī, eō signō, quod convēnerat, revocantur nōtīsque itineribus ad nāvēs dēcurrunt.
Those who had been posted on the wall as a guard are called back by the agreed signal and run down to the ships by roads they knew.
Note. eō signō, quod convēnerat: 'by the signal that had been agreed'.
BC 1.28.4mīlitēs positīs scālīs mūrōs ascendunt, sed monitī ā Brundisīnīs, ut vallum caecum fossāsque caveant, subsistunt et longō itinere ab hīs circumductī ad portum perveniunt duāsque nāvēs cum mīlitibus, quae ad mōlēs Caesaris adhaeserant, scaphīs lintribusque reprehendunt, reprehēnsās excipiunt.
The soldiers set up their ladders and climb the walls, but, warned by the people of Brundisium to beware of the hidden trench and the ditches, they halt and, led round by a long way by them, reach the harbour; and two ships with soldiers aboard, which had caught on Caesar's moles, they seize with boats and skiffs, and take them once seized.
Note. vallum caecum: a 'blind' (hidden) trench. reprehēnsās excipiunt: 'once seized, they take them'.
Vocabulary
| Pompeiānus, -a, -um | of Pompey, Pompeian; Pompeiānī, -ōrum m. pl.: Pompey's men |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| iniūria, -ae, f. | injury, wrong, hurt, harm |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| contumēlia, -ae f. | insult, outrage |
| permoveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtum | move deeply, influence |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| faveō, -ēre, fāvī, fautum (+ dat.) | favour, support |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| profectiō, -ōnis, f. | departure, start |
| concursō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | run about, rush to and fro |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus | seize; fill |
| vulgō (adv.) | everywhere, commonly |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| tēctum, -ī n. | roof; house |
| significō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | show, indicate, signal |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| scāla, -ae f. (usually pl. scālae) | ladder, scaling ladder |
| parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make ready, prepare |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| armō, -āre, -āvi, -ātus | arm, equip |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| nē quis, nē quid; adj. nē quī, nē qua, nē quod | that no one, that nothing; (adj.) that no …, lest any … |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| facultās, -tātis, f. | possibility, opportunity, chance, means |
| dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose |
| sub, prep. with acc. and abl. | under; sub vesperum, towards evening |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| mūrus, -ī, m. | wall |
| custōdia, -ae f. | guard, protection |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum | place, station; give in marriage |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| revocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | call back, recall |
| nōtus, -a, -um | known, well-known, famous |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| dēcurrō, -currere, -cucurrī, -cursus | run down |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| ascendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb to, ascend, mount |
| sed, conj. | but |
| moneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | warn |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| vallum, -ī n. | rampart, palisade |
| caecus, -a, -um | blind |
| fossa, -ae, f. | ditch, trench |
| caveō, cavēre, cāvī, cautus | beware, take care; be on one's guard against, beware of |
| subsistō, -ere, -stitī | halt, make a stand |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| longus, -a, -um | long; tedious |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| circumdūcō, -ere, -dūxī, -ductum | lead around, draw around |
| portus, -ūs, m. | harbor, haven, port |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj. | two |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| mōlēs, -is f. | mass; dam, breakwater |
| adhaereō, -ēre, -haesī, -haesum | stick to, cling to |
| scapha, -ae, f. | boat, skiff |
| linter, lintris, f. | boat, skiff |
| reprehendō, -ere, -hendī, -hēnsum | blame, criticise |
| excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take out or up, receive, welcome, entertain |