De Bello Civili 2.17

BC 2.17.1M. Varrō in ulteriōre Hispāniā initiō cognitīs iīs rēbus quae sunt in Ītaliā gestae, diffīdēns Pompēiānīs rēbus amīcissimē dē Caesare loquēbātur: praeoccupātum sēsē lēgātiōne ab Cn. Pompēiō, tenērī obstrictum fidē;

Marcus Varro, in Further Spain, at first, when he learned what had happened in Italy, distrusting Pompey's cause, spoke in a very friendly way about Caesar: he had been engaged beforehand as legate by Gnaeus Pompeius and was held bound by his pledge;

Note. M. = Mārcus; Cn. = Gnaeus. Marcus Terentius Varro was the greatest scholar of his age as well as Pompey's legate. diffīdēns Pompeiānīs rēbus: diffīdō takes the dative, 'distrusting Pompey's cause'. From praeoccupātum onward we are in indirect speech: praeoccupātum sēsē [esse], 'that he had been engaged beforehand'.

BC 2.17.2necessitūdinem quidem sibi nihilō minōrem cum Caesare intercēdere, neque sē ignōrāre, quod esset officium lēgātī, quī fīdūciāriam operam obtinēret, quae vīrēs suae, quae voluntās ergā Caesarem tōtīus prōvinciae.

but there was no less close a tie between himself and Caesar, and he was not unaware what the duty of a legate holding a post of trust was, what his own strength was, and what the feeling of the whole province was towards Caesar.

Note. Still indirect speech. nihilō minōrem: ablative of degree, 'no less'. quod esset officium lēgātī: indirect question, 'what the duty of a legate was'. fīdūciāriam operam: a post held in trust for someone else. quae vīrēs suae, quae voluntās: two more indirect questions with the verb esset understood.

BC 2.17.3haec omnibus ferēbat sermōnibus neque sē in ūllam partem movēbat.

He said this in all his conversations and did not move to either side.

Note. in ūllam partem: 'to either side'. The imperfects (ferēbat, movēbat) describe what he kept doing over a period.

BC 2.17.4posteā vērō quam Caesarem ad Massiliam dētinērī cognōvit, cōpiās Petrēī cum exercitū Afrānī esse coniūnctās, magna auxilia convēnisse, magna esse in spē atque expectārī, et cōnsentīre omnem citeriōrem prōvinciam, quaeque posteā acciderant, dē angustiīs ad Ilerdam reī frūmentāriae accēpit, atque haec ad eum ēlātius atque īnflātius Afrānius perscrībēbat, sē quoque ad mōtūs fortūnae movēre coepit.

But after he learned that Caesar was held up at Massilia, that the forces of Petreius had joined the army of Afranius, that large auxiliary forces had assembled, that great things were hoped for and expected, and that the whole of the Nearer province was of one mind, and when he heard what had happened afterwards about the shortage of grain at Ilerda, and Afranius kept writing these things to him in a rather boastful and exaggerated way, he too began to move with the movements of fortune.

Note. posteā … quam = posteā quam, 'after', split by vērō. The verb of learning (cognōvit) introduces a whole string of indirect statements: Caesarem … dētinērī, cōpiās … coniūnctās [esse], auxilia convēnisse, and so on. quaeque … acciderant = et quae acciderant, 'and what had happened'. ēlātius atque īnflātius: comparative adverbs, 'rather boastfully and with exaggeration'. ad mōtūs fortūnae movēre: a deliberate play on words, 'to move with the movements of fortune'.