Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 1
De Bello Civili 1.68
Through the mountains
Caesar, De Bello Civili I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 1.68.1Caesar explōrātīs regiōnibus albente caelō omnēs cōpiās castrīs ēdūcit, magnōque circuitū nūllō certō itinere exercitum dūcit.
Caesar, having explored the country, led all his forces out of camp as the sky grew pale, and led the army by a long detour with no fixed road.
Note. albente caelō: ablative absolute, 'as the sky grew pale'. nūllō certō itinere: 'by no fixed road'.
BC 1.68.1nam quae itinera ad Hibērum atque Otogesam pertinēbant, castrīs hostium oppositīs tenēbantur.
For the roads that led to the Ebro and Otogesa were held by the enemy's camp, which lay across them.
Note. quae itinera: 'the roads which'; the antecedent comes inside the relative clause.
BC 1.68.2ipsī erant trānscendendae vallēs maximae ac difficillimae, saxa multīs locīs praerupta iter impediēbant, ut arma per manūs necessāriō trāderentur mīlitēsque inermēs sublevātīque aliī ab aliīs magnam partem itineris cōnficerent.
He himself had to cross very great and very difficult valleys, steep rocks in many places blocked the way, so that weapons had to be handed up from man to man, and the soldiers made a great part of the march unarmed and lifted up by one another.
Note. ipsī: dative, 'for him himself' (Caesar). erant trānscendendae: gerundive of obligation, 'had to be crossed'. alii ab aliīs: 'by one another'.
BC 1.68.3sed hunc labōrem recūsābat nēmō, quod eum omnium labōrum fīnem fore exīstimābant, sī hostem Hibērō interclūdere et frūmentō prohibēre potuissent.
But no one refused this labour, because they thought it would be the end of all their labours if they could cut the enemy off from the Ebro and keep them from grain.
Note. fore = futūrum esse. sī … potuissent: the pluperfect subjunctive represents a future perfect in their thinking.
Vocabulary
| explōrō, -plōrāre, -plōrāvī, -plōrātus | search out, explore |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| albeō, -ēre | be white |
| caelum, -ī, n. | heaven, sky |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| ēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead out, draw |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| circuitus, -ūs m. | way around, circuit |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| nam, conj. | for |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| pertineō, -ēre, -uī | extend, reach; tend toward, concern |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| oppōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positus | set against, place opposite |
| teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus | hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| trānscendō, -ere, -scendī, -scēnsum | climb over, board |
| vallis, -is, f. | valley |
| difficilis, -e | not easy, difficult |
| saxum, -ī, n. | rock, stone |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| praeruptus, -a, -um | steep, precipitous |
| impediō, -pedīre, -pedīvī, -pedītus | hinder, prevent, impede |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| necessāriō (adv.) | of necessity, unavoidably |
| trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| inermis, -e | unarmed |
| sublevō, -levāre, -levāvī, -levātus | lift from beneath, lift, raise |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| sed, conj. | but |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| recūsō, -cūsāre, -cūsāvī, -cūsātus | give a reason against, refuse |
| nēmō, nēminis, m. and f. | no one, nobody |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| sī, conj. | if |
| interclūdō, -ere, -clūsī, -clūsum | cut off, block |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| frūmentum, -ī, n. | grain |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |