De Bello Civili 3.104

The murder of Pompey

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BC 3.104.1Hīs tum cognitīs rēbus amīcī rēgis, quī propter aetātem eius in prōcūrātiōne erant regnī, sīve timōre adductī, ut posteā praedicābant, sollicitātō exercitū rēgiō, nē Pompēius Alexandrīam Aegyptumque occupāret, sīve dēspectā eius fortūnā, ut plērumque in calamitāte ex amīcīs inimīcī exsistunt, iīs quī erant ab eō missī, palam līberāliter respondērunt eumque ad rēgem venīre iussērunt;When these things were known, the king's friends, who because of his age were acting as regents of the kingdom, either moved by fear, as they afterwards declared, that Pompey might win over the royal army and seize Alexandria and Egypt, or despising his fortune, as in misfortune enemies usually arise from friends, gave a generous answer in public to those whom he had sent, and told him to come to the king;Note. sīve … sīve: 'either … or', giving two possible motives. nē … occupāret: fear that Pompey would win the army and take Egypt. ut plērumque … exsistunt: 'as generally in misfortune enemies arise from friends'. iīs quī erant ab eō missī: dative with respondērunt. BC 3.104.2ipsī clam cōnsiliō initō Achillam, praefectum rēgium, singulārī hominem audāciā, et L. Septimium tribūnum mīlitum ad interficiendum Pompēium mīsērunt.but they themselves, after forming a secret plan, sent Achillas, the king's prefect, a man of remarkable daring, and Lucius Septimius, a military tribune, to kill Pompey.Note. cōnsiliō initō: ablative absolute, 'having formed a plan'. singulārī hominem audāciā: ablative of description, 'a man of remarkable daring'. ad interficiendum Pompeium: gerundive of purpose. BC 3.104.3ab hīs līberāliter ipse appellātus et quādam nōtitiā Septimī perductus, quod bellō praedōnum apud eum ōrdinem dūxerat, nāviculam parvulam cōnscendit cum paucīs suīs;Greeted courteously by them and drawn on by some acquaintance with Septimius, because Septimius had commanded a company under him in the war against the pirates, Pompey boarded a tiny boat with a few of his followers;Note. ab hīs … appellātus: 'greeted by them'. quod … ōrdinem dūxerat: Septimius had been a centurion ('led a rank') under Pompey in the war against the pirates (67 BC). nāviculam parvulam: two diminutives, 'a tiny little boat'. BC 3.104.3ibi ab Achillā et Septimiō interficitur.there he is killed by Achillas and Septimius.Note. interficitur: vivid present. Pompey was killed on 28 September 48 BC as he stepped ashore; Caesar tells it in five words.

BC 3.104.3item L. Lentulus comprehenditur ab rēge et in custōdiā necātur.Lucius Lentulus likewise is arrested by the king and put to death in prison.Note. Lentulus Crus, consul in 49, is the Lentulus of sentence 16.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×4, gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (74 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
tum, adv.	then, at that time
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
rēx, rēgis, m.	king
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
propter, prep. with acc.	on account of, because of
aetās, -tātis, f.	age
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
prōcūrātiō, -ōnis f.	management, charge
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
regnum, -ī, n.	royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm
sīve or seu, conj.	or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or
timor, -ōris, m.	fear
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead to, bring, take; induce, influence
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
posteā, adv.	after this, afterwards
praedīcō, -dīcere, -dīxī, -dictus	say beforehand, foretell, predict
sollicitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	stir up, tempt
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
rēgius, -a, -um	royal, kingly
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
que, enclitic conj.	and
occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus	seize; fill
dēspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum	look down on, despise
fortūna, -ae, f.	fortune
plērumque (adv.)	generally, mostly
calamitās, -tātis, f.	misfortune, calamity, disaster
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
inimīcus, -a, -um	unfriendly, hostile
exsistō, -ere, -stitī	come forth, arise; appear
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
palam (adv.)	openly, publicly
līberāliter (adv.)	generously, kindly
respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsus	reply, answer
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
clam (adv.)	secretly
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
ineō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go into, enter; adopt
praefectus, -ī m.	commander, officer
singulāris, -e	single; remarkable
homō, hominis, m.	man
audācia, -ae, f.	boldness, audacity
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
tribūnus, -ī m.	tribune (tribūnus mīlitum: senior officer of a legion)
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus	call, name
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.	a certain, certain
nōtitia, -ae f.	knowledge, acquaintance
perdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead or bring through, lead, bring
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
bellum, -ī, n.	war
praedō, -ōnis m.	robber, pirate
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
ōrdō, ōrdinis, m.	arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus	lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
nāvicula, -ae f.	small boat
parvulus, -a, -um	very small, petty
cōnscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus	climb; nāvem cōnscendere, to climb the ship, go on board, embark
cum, prep, with abl.	with
paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	few
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
item	likewise, also
comprehendō, -prehendere, -prehendī, -prehēnsus	seize, catch
custōdia, -ae f.	guard, protection
necō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	put to death, slay, kill

Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text: R. du Pontet, C. Iuli Caesaris Commentariorum pars posterior (Oxford, 1901), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.