Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 2
De Bello Civili 2.27
Deserters and rumours
Caesar, De Bello Civili II. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 2.27.1Proximā nocte centuriōnēs Marsī duo ex castrīs Cūriōnis cum manipulāribus suīs xxii ad Attium Vārum perfugiunt.
The next night two Marsian centurions deserted from Curio's camp to Attius Varus with twenty-two men of their maniples.
Note. Marsī: the Marsi, a people of central Italy famous as soldiers. manipulāribus: men of the same maniple.
BC 2.27.2hī sīve vērē quam habuerant opīniōnem ad eum perferunt, sīve etiam auribus Vārī serviunt— nam quae volumus, ea crēdimus libenter, et quae sentīmus ipsī, reliquōs sentīre spērāmus— cōnfirmant quidem certē tōtīus exercitūs animōs aliēnōs esse ā Cūriōne, maximēque opus esse in cōnspectum exercitūs venīre et colloquendī dare facultātem.
Whether they reported to him the opinion they really held, or were telling Varus what he wanted to hear — for what we want, we readily believe, and what we feel ourselves, we hope others feel — they certainly assured him that the minds of the whole army were estranged from Curio, and that it was most important to come into the army's sight and give them a chance to talk.
Note. sīve … sīve: 'whether … or'. auribus … serviunt: 'are slaves to Varus' ears', i.e. tell him what he wants to hear. The parenthesis is one of Caesar's rare general reflections: 'what we want, we readily believe'. colloquendī dare facultātem: 'to give a chance of talking'.
BC 2.27.3quā opīniōne adductus Vārus posterō diē māne legiōnēs ex castrīs ēdūcit.
Led by this belief, Varus brought his legions out of the camp early next morning.
Note. quā opīniōne: 'by this belief'. māne: 'in the morning'.
BC 2.27.3facit idem Cūriō, atque ūnā valle nōn magnā interiectā suās uterque cōpiās īnstruit.
Curio did the same, and each drew up his forces with one small valley between them.
Note. ūnā valle nōn magnā interiectā: ablative absolute, 'with one small valley lying between'.
Vocabulary
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| centuriō, -ōnis m. | centurion (officer commanding about 80 men) |
| Marsus, -a, -um | Marsian, of the Marsi, a hardy people of central Italy |
| duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj. | two |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| manipulāris, -e | of a maniple; as noun: a soldier of the same maniple, comrade |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| perfugiō, -ere, -fūgī | flee for refuge, desert |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| sīve or seu, conj. | or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or |
| vērē (adv.) | truly, really |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| opīniō, -ōnis, f. | opinion, expectation; reputation |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| perferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear through, bear, endure; weather |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| auris, -is, f. | ear |
| serviō, -ire, -īvī, -ītus | be subject to, serve |
| nam, conj. | for |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | believe |
| libenter, adv. | willingly, gladly |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus | perceive, feel |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | hope |
| cōnfirmō, -firmāre, -firmāvī, -firmātus | strengthen, establish; declare, assert |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| certē (adv.) | certainly, surely; at any rate |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| aliēnus, -a, -um | belonging to another, out of place |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| maximē, adv. | very greatly, exceedingly, especially |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| cōnspectus, -ūs, m. | sight |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| colloquor (conloquor), -ī, -locūtus sum | talk with, confer |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| facultās, -tātis, f. | possibility, opportunity, chance, means |
| addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead to, bring, take; induce, influence |
| posterus, -a, -um | following, next |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| māne, adv. | in the morning, early in the morning |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| ēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead out, draw |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| vallis, -is, f. | valley |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| intericiō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectum | put between, interweave |
| uterque, utraque, utrumque | each, either, both |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus | build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish, |