De Bello Civili 3.106

Caesar lands at Alexandria

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BC 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'.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, indirect statement ×4, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (100 words)

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

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.