De Bello Civili 1.84

Afranius asks for terms

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BC 1.84.1Tandem omnibus rēbus obsessī quārtum iam diem sine pābulō retentīs iūmentīs, aquae lignōrum frūmentī inopiā, colloquium petunt et id, sī fierī possit, sēmōtō ā mīlitibus locō.At last, besieged on every side, their pack animals kept for the fourth day without fodder, and in want of water, wood and corn, they ask for a conference, and that, if possible, in a place away from the soldiers.Note. quārtum iam diem: accusative of duration, 'now for the fourth day'. sēmōtō … locō: 'in a secluded place'. BC 1.84.2ubi id ā Caesare negātum, et palam sī colloquī vellent, concessum est, datur obsidis locō Caesarī fīlius Afrānī.When this was refused by Caesar, and it was granted if they wanted to talk in the open, Afranius' son is handed over to Caesar as a hostage.Note. obsidis locō: 'as a hostage'. BC 1.84.2venītur in eum locum quem Caesar dēlēgit.They come to the place that Caesar chose.Note. ventum est / venītur: impersonal passive, 'they came'. BC 1.84.3audiente utrōque exercitū loquitur Afrānius: nōn esse aut ipsīs aut mīlitibus suscēnsendum, quod fidem ergā imperātōrem suum Cn. Pompēium cōnservāre voluerint.In the hearing of both armies Afranius speaks: neither they nor their soldiers should be blamed for having wanted to keep faith with their general, Gnaeus Pompey.Note. Afranius' speech is in reported form: nōn esse … suscēnsendum, impersonal gerundive with the datives ipsīs and mīlitibus, 'no one should be angry with them'. BC 1.84.4sed satis iam fēcisse officiō satisque suppliciī tulisse perpessōs omnium rērum inopiam.But they had now done enough for duty and suffered punishment enough, having endured the lack of everything.Note. satis … officiō: 'enough for duty'. satis suppliciī: partitive genitive, 'enough punishment'.

BC 1.84.4nunc vērō paene ut ferās circummūnītōs prohibērī aquā, prohibērī ingressū, neque corpore dolōrem neque animō ignōminiam ferre posse.Now they were shut in almost like wild beasts, kept from water and kept from moving, and they could bear neither the pain in their bodies nor the disgrace in their minds.Note. paene ut ferās: 'almost like wild beasts'. BC 1.84.5itaque sē victōs cōnfitērī;So they admitted they were beaten; BC 1.84.5ōrāre atque obsecrāre, sīquī locus misericordiae relinquātur, nē ad ultimum supplicium prōgredī necesse habeant.they begged and implored that, if any room for mercy remained, they should not have to go on to the last extremity.Note. sīquī locus: 'if any room' (sī + quī). ad ultimum supplicium: 'to the last extremity'. BC 1.84.5haec quam potest dēmississimē et subiectissimē expōnit.He sets this out as humbly and submissively as he can.Note. quam potest dēmississimē: quam with a superlative adverb, 'as humbly as he can'.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (96 words)

tandem, adv.	at length or last, finally
omnis, -e	all, every
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
obsideō, -sidēre, -sēdī, -sessus	beset, besiege
quartus, -a, -um	fourth
iam, adv.	now, already
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
sine, prep. with abl.	without
pābulum, -ī, n.	food, fodder
retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast
iūmentum, -ī n.	pack animal, beast of burden
aqua, -ae, f.	water
lignum, -ī, n.	wood
frūmentum, -ī, n.	grain
inopia, -ae f.	lack, want, scarcity
colloquium (conloquium), -ī n.	conference, talk
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus	seek, ask; attack
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
sī, conj.	if
fīō, fierī, factus sum	be done or made, become, happen
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
sēmoveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtus	move apart, set aside; sēmōtus: remote, out of the way
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
negō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	say no or not, deny, refuse
palam (adv.)	openly, publicly
colloquor (conloquor), -ī, -locūtus sum	talk with, confer
volō, velle, voluī	wish
concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	grant, yield
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
obses, obsidis m./f.	hostage
fīlius, -ī, m.	son
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
dēligō, -ligere, -lēgī, -lēctus	choose out, choose, select
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	hear; listen or attend to
uterque, utraque, utrumque	each, either, both
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
loquor, loquī, locūtus	speak
nōn, adv.	not
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
suscēnseō, -ēre, -cēnsuī	be angry, be indignant (with: dat.)
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
fidēs, -eī f.	faith, trust; pledge
ergā, prep, with acc.	toward, for
imperātor, -ōris, m.	commander, general
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
cōnservō, -servāre, -servāvī, -servātus	preserve, keep
sed, conj.	but
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
officium, -ī, n.	service; duty
que, enclitic conj.	and
supplicium, -ī, n.	punishment, torture
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
perpetior, -petī, -pessus sum	endure, bear to the end
nunc, adv.	now
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
paene, adv.	almost, nearly
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
fera, -ae, f.	wild animal, beast
circummūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītum	wall around, enclose
prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus	hold back, prevent, hinder
ingressus, -ūs m.	a going in, entrance; access
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
corpus, corporis, n.	body
dolor, -ōris, m.	pain, grief; anger
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
ignōminia, -ae f.	disgrace, dishonor
itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum	conquer, defeat
cōnfiteor, -ērī, -fessus sum	admit, confess
ōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	speak; beg, pray
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
obsecrō, -secrāre, -secrāvī, -secrātus	beseech, entreat
sī quis, sī qua, sī quid	if anyone, if any (sī + the indefinite quis)
misericordia, -ae, f;	pity, compassion
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
ultimus, -a, -um	farthest, last
prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go forward, advance
necesse, indecl. adj.	necessary
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
dēmissē (adv.)	humbly, meekly
subiectē (adv.)	submissively
expōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put out, set forth; put on shore, land; explain

Caesar, De Bello Civili I. Latin text: R. du Pontet, C. Iuli Caesaris Commentariorum pars posterior (Oxford, 1901), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.