Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 1
De Bello Civili 1.8
Pompey's private message
Caesar, De Bello Civili I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 1.8.1Cognitā mīlitum voluntāte Arīminum cum eā legiōne proficīscitur, ibique tribūnōs plēbis, quī ad eum cōnfūgerant, convenit.
Having learned the soldiers' will, he sets out with that legion to Ariminum, and there he meets the tribunes of the plebs who had fled to him.
Note. Ariminum (Rimini) lay just across the Rubicon, the border of Caesar's province: entering it with an army was an act of war.
BC 1.8.1reliquās legiōnēs ex hībernīs ēvocat et subsequī iubet.
He calls the other legions out of winter quarters and orders them to follow.
Note. ex hībernīs ēvocat: from winter quarters in Gaul.
BC 1.8.2eō L. Caesar adulēscēns vēnit, cuius pater Caesaris erat lēgātus.
There the young Lucius Caesar comes to him, whose father was a legate of Caesar.
Note. L. Caesar adulēscēns: a distant cousin; his father was one of Caesar's legates in Gaul.
BC 1.8.2is reliquō sermōne cōnfectō, cuius reī causā vēnerat, habēre sē ā Pompēiō ad eum prīvātī officiī mandāta dēmōnstrat: velle Pompēium sē Caesarī pūrgātum, nē ea, quae reī pūblicae causā ēgerit, in suam contumēliam vertat.
Having finished the rest of his talk, the purpose for which he had come, he explains that he has a private message from Pompey to Caesar: Pompey wishes to clear himself in Caesar's eyes, so that Caesar should not take as an insult to himself what Pompey had done for the sake of the republic.
Note. cuius reī causā vēnerat: 'for which purpose he had come'. sē Caesarī purgātum: 'that he wished himself cleared in Caesar's eyes'.
BC 1.8.3semper sē reī pūblicae commoda prīvātīs necessitūdinibus habuisse potiōra.
He had always held the interests of the republic above private ties.
Note. prīvātīs necessitūdinibus: ablative of comparison with potiōra, 'more important than private ties'.
BC 1.8.3Caesarem quoque prō suā dignitāte dēbēre et studium et īrācundiam suam reī pūblicae dīmittere neque adeō graviter īrāscī inimīcīs, ut cum illīs nocēre sē spēret, reī pūblicae noceat.
Caesar too, in keeping with his dignity, should give up his zeal and his anger for the sake of the republic, and not be so fiercely angry with his enemies that, in hoping to harm them, he harms the republic.
Note. et studium et īrācundiam: 'both his partisanship and his anger'. ut cum illīs nocēre sē spēret: 'that while he hopes to harm them'.
BC 1.8.4pauca eiusdem generis addit cum excūsātiōne Pompēī coniūncta.
He adds a few things of the same kind, joined with excuses for Pompey.
Note. excūsātiōne Pompēī: 'with an excuse for Pompey'.
BC 1.8.4eadem ferē atque eīsdem verbīs praetor Roscius agit cum Caesare sibique Pompēium commemorāsse dēmōnstrat.
The praetor Roscius deals with Caesar on almost the same matters and in the same words, and explains that Pompey had told him so.
Note. praetor Roscius: L. Roscius, who had offered to go to Caesar (sentence 27).
Vocabulary
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| voluntās, -tātis, f. | wish, will |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| tribūnus, -ī m. | tribune (tribūnus mīlitum: senior officer of a legion) |
| plēbs, plēbis f. | the common people |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| cōnfugiō, -fugere, -fūgī | flee for refuge |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| hīberna, -ōrum n. pl. | winter quarters |
| ēvocō, -vocāre, -vocāvī, -vocātus | call out, challenge |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| subsequor, -ī, -secūtus sum | follow closely |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| eō, īre, iī, itus | go |
| adulēscēns, -entis, m. | youth, young man |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| pater, patris, m. | father |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| sermō, -ōnis, m. | conversation, talk, speech |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| prīvātus, -a, -um | private |
| officium, -ī, n. | service; duty |
| mandātum, -ī n. | order, instruction, message |
| dēmōnstrō, -mōnstrāre, -mōnstrāvī, -mōnstrātus | point out, show; make known |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| pūrgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make clean, clean, cleanse |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| pūblicus, -a, -um | public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state) |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| contumēlia, -ae f. | insult, outrage |
| vertō, vertere, vertī, versus | turn |
| semper, adv. | always |
| commodum, -ī n. | advantage, interest |
| necessitūdō, -inis f. | close tie, relationship |
| potior, -ius (comp. adj.) | better, preferable, more powerful |
| quoque, adv. | also |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| dignitās, -ātis f. | rank, standing, prestige |
| dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | owe; with infin., ought |
| studium, -ī, n. | eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit |
| īrācundia, -ae f. | anger, hot temper |
| dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| adeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go to, approach |
| graviter, adv. | severely, seriously |
| īrāscor, īrāscī, īrātus | be angry |
| inimīcus, -a, -um | unfriendly, hostile |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| noceō, -ēre, nocuī, nocitum (+ dat.) | harm, hurt |
| spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | hope |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| genus, generis, n. | kind, nature |
| addō, -ere, -didī, -ditus | add, put to |
| excūsātiō, -ōnis f. | excuse, plea |
| coniungō, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus | join together, join |
| ferē, adv. | nearly, about, almost, for the most part |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| verbum, -ī, n. | word |
| praetor, -ōris m. | praetor (legātus prō praetōre: officer with a praetor's powers) |
| commemorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | mention, recount |