Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.14
Calenus turns back
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.14.1Calēnus legiōnibus equitibusque Brundisī in nāvīs inpositīs, ut erat praeceptum ā Caesare, quantam nāvium facultātem habēbat, nāvīs solvit paulumque ā portū prōgressus litterās ā Caesare accēpit, quibus est certior factus portūs lītoraque omnia classibus adversāriōrum tenērī.
Calenus, having embarked the legions and cavalry on the ships at Brundisium as Caesar had instructed, set sail with as many ships as he had available, and having gone a little way out of the harbour he received a letter from Caesar, by which he was informed that all the harbours and shores were held by the enemy's fleets.
Note. Brundisī: locative. quantam nāvium facultātem habēbat: 'as great a supply of ships as he had'. nāvīs solvit: 'set sail'; nāvīs is the older accusative plural ending -īs.
BC 3.14.2quō cognitō sē in portum recipit nāvīsque omnīs revocat.
Learning this, he returns to harbour and recalls all the ships.
Note. quō cognitō: connecting relative in an ablative absolute. omnīs: accusative plural.
BC 3.14.2Ūna ex hīs quae persevērāvit neque imperiō Calēnī obtemperāvit, quod erat sine mīlitibus prīvātōque cōnsiliō administrābātur, dēlāta Ōricum atque ā Bibulō expugnāta est;
One of them, which kept on and did not obey Calenus' order, because it had no soldiers on board and was being run on private authority, was carried to Oricum and taken by Bibulus;
Note. quae persevērāvit: 'which kept on'. prīvātō cōnsiliō: 'by private decision', not under orders. dēlāta: 'carried' (by the wind).
BC 3.14.3quī dē servīs līberīsque omnibus ad impūberēs supplicium sūmit et ad ūnum interficit.
he executed everyone on board, slaves and free men, down to the boys, and killed them to a man.
Note. quī: Bibulus. ad impūberēs: 'down to the boys', those not yet of military age. ad ūnum: 'to a man'.
BC 3.14.3Ita in exiguō tempore magnōque cāsū tōtīus exercitūs salūs cōnstitit.
So narrow a margin of time and so great a stroke of chance decided the safety of the whole army.
Note. in exiguō tempore magnōque cāsū: 'on a small margin of time and a great chance'. cōnstitit: 'depended, rested' (cōnsistō in).
Vocabulary
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | place or lay upon, impose; embark |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| praecipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take beforehand, anticipate; order, charge |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| facultās, -tātis, f. | possibility, opportunity, chance, means |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| paulum, adv. | a little, somewhat |
| portus, -ūs, m. | harbor, haven, port |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| littera, -ae f. | letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing |
| accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| lītus, lītoris, n. | shore |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| classis, -is f. | fleet |
| adversārius, -ī m. | opponent, enemy |
| teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus | hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| revocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | call back, recall |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| persevērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | persist |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| imperium, -ī, n. | command; sway, rule |
| obtemperō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | obey, comply with (+ dat.) |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| prīvātus, -a, -um | private |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| administrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | manage, carry out |
| dēferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear or carry away or off |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| expugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | take by storm, capture |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| servus, -ī, m. | slave, servant |
| līber, lībera, līberum | free |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| impūbēs, -eris | under the age of puberty; chaste |
| supplicium, -ī, n. | punishment, torture |
| sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptus | take under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| exiguus, -a, -um | small, scanty, short |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| cāsus, -ūs, m. | fall; chance, accident |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| salūs, salūtis, f. | safety, deliverance, escape |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |