Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.106
Caesar lands at Alexandria
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.106.1Caesar paucōs diēs in Asiā morātus cum audīsset Pompēium Cyprī vīsum, coniectāns eum Aegyptum iter habēre propter necessitūdinēs regnī reliquāsque eius locī opportūnitātēs cum legiōne ūnā, quam sē ex Thessaliā sequī iusserat, et alterā, quam ex Achāiā ā Q. Fūfiō lēgātō ēvocāverat, equitibusque dccc et nāvibus longīs Rhodiīs x et Asiāticīs paucīs Alexandrīam pervēnit.
Caesar stayed a few days in Asia, and when he heard that Pompey had been seen in Cyprus, guessing that he was making for Egypt because of his ties with that kingdom and the other advantages of the place, he reached Alexandria with one legion which he had ordered to follow him from Thessaly and another which he had summoned from Achaea from his legate Quintus Fufius, with eight hundred cavalry, ten Rhodian warships and a few from Asia.
Note. Caesar paucōs diēs … morātus: 'having stayed a few days'. Cyprī: locative. coniectāns: 'guessing'. propter necessitūdinēs regnī: Pompey's ties with the Egyptian royal house. dccc and x are numerals: 800 and 10. nāvibus longīs: warships.
BC 3.106.2in hīs erant legiōnāriōrum mīlia tria cc;
In these there were three thousand two hundred legionaries;
Note. mīlia tria cc: 3,200 men, a tiny force for the conquest of a capital city.
BC 3.106.2reliquī vulneribus ex proeliīs et labōre ac magnitūdine itineris cōnfectī cōnsequī nōn potuerant.
the rest, worn out by wounds from the battles and by the toil and length of the march, had not been able to follow.
Note. reliquī: the rest of the two legions. cōnfectī: 'worn out'.
BC 3.106.3sed Caesar cōnfīsus fāmā rērum gestārum īnfirmīs auxiliīs proficīscī nōn dubitāverat aequē omnem sibi locum tūtum fore exīstimāns.
But Caesar, trusting in the fame of his achievements, had not hesitated to set out with weak forces, thinking that every place would be equally safe for him.
Note. cōnfīsus: perfect participle of the semi-deponent cōnfīdō, with the ablative fāmā, 'trusting in the fame'. rērum gestārum: 'of his achievements'. fore = futūrum esse.
BC 3.106.4Alexandrīae dē Pompēī morte cognōscit atque ibi prīmum ē nāvī ēgrediēns clāmōrem mīlitum audit, quōs rēx in oppidō praesidiī causā relīquerat, et concursum ad sē fierī videt, quod fascēs anteferrentur.
At Alexandria he learns of Pompey's death, and there, as soon as he steps off the ship, he hears the shouting of the soldiers whom the king had left in the town as a garrison, and sees a crowd running towards him because the fasces were being carried before him.
Note. ē nāvī ēgrediēns: 'as he stepped out of the ship'. fascēs: the bundles of rods carried before a consul, the symbol of Roman authority. quod … anteferrentur: subjunctive because it gives the crowd's reason.
BC 3.106.4in hōc omnis multitūdō maiestātem rēgiam minuī praedicābat.
In this the whole multitude declared that the king's majesty was being diminished.
Note. in hōc: 'in this', i.e. by this act. maiestātem rēgiam minuī: indirect statement, 'that the king's majesty was being diminished'.
BC 3.106.5hōc sēdātō tumultū crēbrae continuīs diēbus ex concursū multitūdinis concitātiōnēs fīēbant conplūrēsque mīlitēs in viīs urbis omnibus partibus interficiēbantur.
When this uproar had been calmed, frequent riots arose on following days from the gathering of the crowd, and a number of soldiers were killed in the streets in all parts of the city.
Note. hōc sēdātō tumultū: ablative absolute. continuīs diēbus: 'on the following days'. concitātiōnēs: 'riots'.
Vocabulary
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| moror, -ārī, -ātus | delay, linger, stay |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| coniectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | infer, conclude, guess |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| propter, prep. with acc. | on account of, because of |
| necessitūdō, -inis f. | close tie, relationship |
| regnum, -ī, n. | royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| opportūnitās, -ātis f. | advantage, favourable feature |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| sequor, sequī, secūtus | follow |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| alter, -era, -erum | one or the other (of two); another, second |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| quīntus, -a, -um | fifth |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| ēvocō, -vocāre, -vocāvī, -vocātus | call out, challenge |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| longus, -a, -um | long; tedious |
| Rhodius, -a, -um | of Rhodes, Rhodian |
| Asiāticus, -a, -um | of Asia (the Roman province in western Asia Minor), Asiatic |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| legiōnārius, -a, -um | of a legion, legionary |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| trēs, tria, plur. adj. | three |
| vulnus, vulneris, n. | wound |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | greatness, size |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, follow; overtake |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| sed, conj. | but |
| cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum | trust, be confident |
| fāma, -ae, f. | report, rumor |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| īnfirmus, -a, -um | weak |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| dubitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | doubt, hesitate |
| aequē (adv.) | equally, just as; aequē ac: just as |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| tūtus, -a, -um | safe |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| mors, mortīs, f. | death |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| prīmum, adv. | first, in the first place |
| ēgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go out or forth, go ashore, disembark |
| clāmor, -ōris, m. | shout, cry |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| concursus, -ūs m. | a running together, charge |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| fascis, -is m. | bundle; pl. fascēs: the rods and axe carried before a magistrate |
| anteferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | carry in front; prefer, rank above |
| multitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | multitude |
| maiestās, -ātis f. | greatness, dignity, majesty |
| rēgius, -a, -um | royal, kingly |
| minuō, -ere, minuī, minūtum | lessen, reduce |
| praedīcō, -dīcere, -dīxī, -dictus | say beforehand, foretell, predict |
| sēdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | settle, calm, put down |
| tumultus, -ūs m. | uproar, uprising |
| crēber, -bra, -brum | frequent, numerous; close together |
| continuus, -a, -um | continuous, successive |
| concitātiō, -ōnis f. | violent outburst, riot |
| complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj. | several, many |
| via, -ae, f. | road, way |
| urbs, urbis, f. | city |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |