Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 2
De Bello Civili 2.40
Juba's trap
Caesar, De Bello Civili II. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 2.40.1Iuba certior factus ā Saburrā dē nocturnō proeliō ii mīlia Hispānōrum et Gallōrum equitum, quōs suae custōdiae causā circum sē habēre cōnsuērat, et peditum eam partem, cui maximē cōnfīdēbat, Saburrae summittit;
Juba, told by Saburra of the night battle, sent Saburra two thousand Spanish and Gallic horsemen, whom he used to keep about him as a bodyguard, and the part of his infantry he trusted most;
Note. certior factus: 'informed'. II mīlia Hispānōrum et Gallōrum equitum: Juba's bodyguard of Spanish and Gallic cavalry. cōnsuērat: contracted pluperfect of cōnsuēscō, 'he had been accustomed'.
BC 2.40.1ipse cum reliquīs cōpiīs elephantīsque lx lentius subsequitur.
he himself followed more slowly with the rest of his forces and sixty elephants.
Note. elephantīs … LX: war elephants were a regular part of Numidian armies.
BC 2.40.2suspicātus praemissīs equitibus ipsum adfore Cūriōnem Saburra cōpiās equitum peditumque īnstruit atque hīs imperat, ut simulātiōne timōris paulātim cēdant ac pedem referant;
Suspecting, now that the cavalry had been sent ahead, that Curio himself would soon be there, Saburra drew up his cavalry and infantry and ordered them to give way little by little, pretending to be afraid, and to fall back;
Note. adfore: future infinitive of adsum, 'would be present'. ut … cēdant ac pedem referant: indirect command, 'to give ground and fall back', part of the trap.
BC 2.40.2sēsē, cum opus esset, signum proeliī datūrum et quod rem postulāre cognōvisset imperātūrum.
he would give the signal for battle when it was needed, and give whatever orders he saw the situation required.
Note. sēsē … datūrum … imperātūrum: indirect statement, Saburra's promise. quod rem postulāre cognōvisset: 'what he saw the situation required'.
BC 2.40.3Cūriō ad superiōrem spem additā praesentis temporis opīniōne hostēs fugere arbitrātus cōpiās ex locīs superiōribus in campum dēdūcit.
Curio, his earlier hopes now increased by his impression of the present moment, believed the enemy were fleeing and led his forces down from the high ground into the plain.
Note. ad superiōrem spem: 'in addition to his earlier hopes'. hostēs fugere arbitrātus: 'thinking the enemy were fleeing', exactly what Saburra intended.
Vocabulary
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| nocturnus, -a, -um | of night, nocturnal; nocturnum tempus, night-time |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| custōdia, -ae f. | guard, protection |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| circum, prep. with acc. | around |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētus | become accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont |
| pedes, peditis m. | foot soldier |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| maximē, adv. | very greatly, exceedingly, especially |
| cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum | trust, be confident |
| submittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | send (as help) |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| elephantus, -ī m. | elephant |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| lentē (adv.; comp. lentius) | slowly |
| subsequor, -ī, -secūtus sum | follow closely |
| suspicor, -spicārī, -spicātus | suspect |
| praemittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | send ahead |
| adsum, adesse, adfuī | be present, be at hand |
| īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus | build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish, |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| simulātiō, -ōnis f. | pretence |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| paulātim (adv.) | little by little, gradually |
| cēdō, -ere, cessī, cessum | go, withdraw, give way |
| pēs, pedis, m. | foot |
| referō, referre, rettulī, relātus | bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | ask, request, demand |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| addō, -ere, -didī, -ditus | add, put to |
| praesēns, -sentis, adj. | present, immediate, imminent |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| opīniō, -ōnis, f. | opinion, expectation; reputation |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus | flee, run away |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| campus, -ī, m. | plain, field |
| dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship |