Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 2
De Bello Civili 2.24
The Cornelian Camp
Caesar, De Bello Civili II. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 2.24.1Cūriō Mārcium Uticam nāvibus praemittit;
Curio sent Marcius ahead to Utica with the ships;
Note. Uticam: Utica, the capital of the province of Africa.
BC 2.24.1ipse eōdem cum exercitū proficīscitur bīduīque iter prōgressus ad flūmen Bagradam pervēnit.
he himself set out for the same place with the army, and after two days' march reached the river Bagradas.
Note. eōdem: adverb, 'to the same place'. biduī iter: 'a two days' march'. Bagradam: the Bagradas, a river of north Africa.
BC 2.24.2ibi C. Canīnium Rebilum lēgātum cum legiōnibus relinquit;
There he left Gaius Caninius Rebilus, his legate, with the legions;
Note. C. Canīnius Rebilus also appears as one of Caesar's legates in the Gallic War.
BC 2.24.2ipse cum equitātū antecēdit ad Castra explōranda Cornēlia, quod is locus perīdōneus castrīs habēbātur.
he himself went ahead with the cavalry to reconnoitre the Cornelian Camp, because that place was thought to be very well suited for a camp.
Note. Castra … Cornēlia: 'the Cornelian Camp', the site where P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus had camped in 204 BC; note the word order, with exploranda between noun and adjective. perīdōneus: 'very suitable', per- intensifying.
BC 2.24.3id autem est iugum dērēctum ēminēns in mare, utrāque ex parte praeruptum atque asperum, sed tamen paulō lēniōre fastīgiō ab eā parte, quae ad Uticam vergit.
It is a straight ridge projecting into the sea, steep and rough on both sides, but with a somewhat gentler slope on the side that faces Utica.
Note. iugum dērēctum: 'a ridge running straight'. utrāque ex parte: 'on both sides'. lēniōre fastīgiō: ablative of description, 'with a gentler slope'.
BC 2.24.4abest dērēctō itinere ab Uticā paulō amplius passūs mīlle.
By the direct route it is a little more than a mile from Utica.
Note. paulō amplius passūs mīlle: 'a little more than a thousand paces'. amplius does not change the case of the number (passūs is accusative of extent).
BC 2.24.4sed hōc itinere est fōns, quō mare succēdit longius, lātēque is locus restagnat;
But on this route there is a spring, where the sea comes in quite far, and the place is flooded over a wide area;
Note. quō mare succēdit longius: 'where the sea comes in quite far'.
BC 2.24.4quem sīquī vītāre voluerit, vi mīlium circuitū in oppidum pervenit.
if anyone wants to avoid it, he reaches the town by a detour of six miles.
Note. sīquī = sī quis, 'if anyone'. vī mīlium circuitū: 'by a detour of six miles'; mīlium is genitive of mīlle (understand passuum).
Vocabulary
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| praemittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | send ahead |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| eōdem | to the same place |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| bīduum, -ī n. | two days |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| antecēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | go before; surpass |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| explōrō, -plōrāre, -plōrāvī, -plōrātus | search out, explore |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| perīdōneus, -a, -um | very suitable, well suited |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| iugum, -ī, n. | yoke |
| dīrēctus (dērēctus), -a, -um | straight; direct; steep, sheer |
| ēmineō, -ēre, -uī | stand out, project |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| mare, maris, n. | sea |
| uterque, utraque, utrumque | each, either, both |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| praeruptus, -a, -um | steep, precipitous |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| asper, -era, -erum | rough, harsh; difficult |
| sed, conj. | but |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| paulō, adv. | by a little, a little, somewhat |
| lēnis, -e | gentle |
| fastīgium, -ī n. | top, summit; slope; height |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| vergō, -ere | slope, lie (toward) |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| amplē (adv.; superl. amplissimē) | generously, handsomely |
| passus, -ūs, m. | pace (mīlia passuum: miles) |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| fōns, fontis, m. | fountain, spring |
| succēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go or come under, follow after, succeed |
| longē, adv. | far |
| lātē | widely |
| restagnō, -āre | overflow, form a pool or marsh |
| sī quis, sī qua, sī quid | if anyone, if any (sī + the indefinite quis) |
| vītō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | avoid, escape |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| circuitus, -ūs m. | way around, circuit |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |