De Bello Civili 2.19

BC 2.19.1Itaque duābus legiōnibus missīs in ulteriōrem Hispāniam cum Q. Cassiō, tribūnō plēbis, ipse cum dc equitibus magnīs itineribus praegreditur ēdictumque praemittit, ad quam diem magistrātūs prīncipēsque omnium cīvitātum sibi esse praestō Cordubae vellet.

So he sent two legions into Further Spain with Quintus Cassius, tribune of the plebs, while he himself went ahead with six hundred cavalry by forced marches and sent an edict in advance, stating the day by which he wished the magistrates and leading men of all the communities to be present before him at Corduba.

Note. Q. = Quīntus; Quintus Cassius Longinus was one of the tribunes who fled to Caesar in January 49. dc: six hundred. magnīs itineribus: 'by forced marches'. ad quam diem: diēs is feminine when it means a fixed date. sibi esse praestō: 'to be at hand for him'. Cordubae: locative.

BC 2.19.2quō ēdictō tōtā prōvinciā pervulgātō nūlla fuit cīvitās, quīn ad id tempus partem senātūs Cordubam mitteret, nōn cīvis Rōmānus paulō nōtior, quīn ad diem convenīret.

When this edict had been published throughout the province, there was no community that did not send part of its senate to Corduba by that time, and no Roman citizen of any note who did not come by the day.

Note. nūlla fuit cīvitās quīn … mitteret: 'there was no community that did not send'; quīn after a negative = quī nōn. paulō nōtior: 'any better known', 'of any note'.

BC 2.19.3simul ipse Cordubae conventus per sē portās Varrōnī clausit, custōdiās vigiliāsque in turribus mūrōque disposuit, cohortīs duās, quae colōnicae appellābantur, cum eō cāsū vēnissent, tuendī oppidī causā apud sē retinuit.

At the same time the association of Roman citizens at Corduba on its own initiative shut the gates against Varro, posted guards and watches on the towers and the wall, and kept with them, to defend the town, two cohorts called the 'colonial' cohorts, since they had come there by chance.

Note. conventus: here the association of Roman citizens living in a provincial town, a formally organized body. per sē: 'on its own initiative'. quae colōnicae appellābantur: raised among the Roman colonists of the province. cum eō cāsū vēnissent: 'since they had happened to come there'.

BC 2.19.4īsdem diēbus Carmōnēnsēs, quae est longē firmissima tōtīus prōvinciae cīvitās, dēductīs tribus in arcem oppidī cohortibus ā Varrōne praesidiō, per sē cohortēs ēiēcit portāsque praeclūsit.

In those same days the people of Carmo, which is by far the strongest community of the whole province, on their own initiative threw out the cohorts, though three cohorts had been brought into the town's citadel by Varro as a garrison, and shut the gates.

Note. Carmōnēnsēs, quae … cīvitās: the relative agrees with cīvitās, not with Carmōnēnsēs. dēductīs … cohortibus: ablative absolute with a concessive sense, 'though cohorts had been brought in'. praesidiō: dative of purpose, 'as a garrison'.