De Bello Civili 3.11

Oricum surrenders

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BC 3.11.1Vibullius expositus Corcȳrae nōn minus necessārium esse exīstimāvit dē repentīnō adventū Caesaris Pompēium fierī certiōrem, utī ad id cōnsilium capere posset, ante quam dē mandātīs agī inciperētur, atque ideō continuātō nocte ac diē itinere atque omnibus oppidīs mūtātīs ad celeritātem iūmentīs ad Pompēium contendit, ut adesse Caesarem nūntiāret.Vibullius, having been landed at Corcyra, thought it no less necessary that Pompey should be told of Caesar's sudden arrival, so that he could take measures for it, before negotiations on the instructions began; and so, travelling night and day without a break and changing pack-animals at every town for speed, he hurried to Pompey to report that Caesar was at hand.Note. expositus Corcȳrae: 'landed at Corcyra'. dē repentīnō adventū … certiōrem fierī: 'be informed of the sudden arrival'. ante quam … inciperētur: 'before negotiations began'. mūtātīs … iūmentīs: 'changing pack-animals'. BC 3.11.2Pompēius erat eō tempore in Candāviā iterque ex Macedoniā in hīberna Apollōniam Dyrrachiumque habēbat.Pompey was at that time in Candavia and was on his way from Macedonia to winter quarters at Apollonia and Dyrrachium.Note. in hīberna: 'into winter quarters'. iter … habēbat: 'was on his way'. BC 3.11.2sed rē novā perturbātus maiōribus itineribus Apollōniam petere coepit, ne Caesar ōrae maritimae cīvitātēs occupāret.But alarmed by the news, he began to make for Apollonia by forced marches, so that Caesar should not seize the states of the coast.Note. maiōribus itineribus: 'by forced marches', literally 'by greater marches'. nē … occupāret: 'so that Caesar should not seize'. BC 3.11.3at ille expositīs mīlitibus eōdem diē Ōricum proficīscitur.But Caesar, having landed his soldiers, sets out for Oricum the same day.Note. ille: Caesar. eōdem diē: on the same day he landed.

BC 3.11.3quō cum vēnisset, L. Torquātus, quī iussū Pompēī oppidō praeerat praesidiumque ibi Parthīnōrum habēbat, cōnātus portīs clausīs oppidum dēfendere, cum Graecōs mūrum ascendere atque arma capere iubēret, illī autem sē contrā imperium populī Rōmānī pugnātūrōs negārent, oppidānī autem etiam suā sponte Caesarem recipere cōnārentur, dēspērātīs omnibus auxiliīs portās aperuit et sē atque oppidum Caesarī dēdidit incolumisque ab eō cōnservātus est.When he arrived there, Lucius Torquatus, who commanded the town on Pompey's orders and had a garrison of Parthini there, tried to defend the town with the gates shut; but when he ordered the Greeks to mount the wall and take up arms, and they said they would not fight against the authority of the Roman people, while the townspeople were even trying of their own accord to admit Caesar, he gave up all hope of help, opened the gates, surrendered himself and the town to Caesar, and was kept unharmed by him.Note. L. Torquātus: Lucius Manlius Torquatus, praetor in 49 BC. Parthīnōrum: an Illyrian people. cum Graecōs … iubēret: 'when he ordered the Greeks'. illī … negārent: 'they said they would not'. contrā imperium populī Rōmānī: Caesar, as consul, now represented the authority of the Roman people. dēspērātīs omnibus auxiliīs: ablative absolute. incolumis: 'unharmed'.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×5, indirect statement ×2, cum clauses ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (96 words)

expōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put out, set forth; put on shore, land; explain
nōn, adv.	not
minus, comp. adv.	less
necessārius, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m.	necessary, critical; (noun) close friend, relative
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, believe, think
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
repentīnus, -a, -um	sudden
adventus, -ūs, m.	approach, arrival
fīō, fierī, factus sum	be done or made, become, happen
certus, -a, -um	determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
mandātum, -ī n.	order, instruction, message
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum	begin
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
ideō (adv.)	for that reason, therefore
continuō (adv.)	at once, immediately
nox, noctis, f.	night
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
omnis, -e	all, every
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
mūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	change
celeritās, -tātis, f.	swiftness, quickness, speed
iūmentum, -ī n.	pack animal, beast of burden
contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch, hasten
adsum, adesse, adfuī	be present, be at hand
nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	report, announce
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
que, enclitic conj.	and
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
hīberna, -ōrum n. pl.	winter quarters
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
sed, conj.	but
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
novus, -a, -um	new; novissimus, last
perturbō, -turbāre, -turbāvi, -turbātus	greatly disturb, disturb, agitate, throw into confusion
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus	seek, ask; attack
coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action)	have begun, began
ne, enclitic introducing a question	untranslatable
ōra, -ae f.	coast, shore
maritimus, -a, -um	of the sea, coastal
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus	seize; fill
at, conj.	but
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
iussus, -ūs, m.	bidding, command
praesum, -esse, -fuī	be before, preside over, have charge of, command
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
cōnor, -ārī, -ātus	try, attempt
porta, -ae, f.	gate; door
claudō, -ere, clausī, clausum	close, shut; (agmen) bring up the rear
dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus	ward off; defend
mūrus, -ī, m.	wall
ascendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus	climb to, ascend, mount
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
imperium, -ī, n.	command; sway, rule
populus, -ī m.	people, nation
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	fight
negō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	say no or not, deny, refuse
oppidānus, -ī m.	townsman (pl. the people of the town)
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
sponte, f. abl. sing., modified by meā, tuā, suā	of one's own accord, voluntarily
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
dēspērō, -spērāre, -spērāvī, -spērātus	despair
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
aperiō, -īre, -uī, -tus	open
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
dēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give away or up
incolumis, -e	unhurt, safe
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
cōnservō, -servāre, -servāvī, -servātus	preserve, keep

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.