De Bello Civili 3.16

BC 3.16.1Caesar eō tempore cum legiōne ūnā profectus ad recipiendās ulteriōrēs cīvitātēs et rem frūmentāriam expediendam, quā angustē ūtēbātur, erat ad Būthrōtum oppidum oppositum Corcȳrae.

Caesar at that time had set out with one legion to win over the more distant communities and to organise his grain supply, which he was short of, and was at Buthrotum, a town opposite Corcyra.

Note. ad recipiendās … cīvitātēs et rem frūmentāriam expediendam: gerundive phrases of purpose with ad. quā angustē ūtēbātur: 'which he was using sparingly', i.e. he was short of grain. Būthrōtum: a town on the mainland opposite Corcyra.

BC 3.16.2ibi certior ab Acīliō et Murcō per litterās factus dē postulātīs Libōnis et Bibulī legiōnem relinquit;

There, informed by letters from Acilius and Murcus of the demands of Libo and Bibulus, he leaves the legion;

Note. certior … factus: 'made more certain', the regular idiom for 'informed'. postulātīs: neuter plural participle used as a noun, 'demands'.

BC 3.16.2ipse Ōricum revertitur.

he himself returns to Oricum.

Note. revertitur: historic present of the deponent revertor.

BC 3.16.3eō cum vēnisset, ēvocantur illī ad colloquium.

When he had arrived there, they are called out to a conference.

Note. eō: adverb, 'to that place'. illī: Libo and Bibulus. evocantur: historic present passive.

BC 3.16.3prōdit Libō atque excūsat Bibulum, quod is īrācundiā summā erat inimīcitiāsque habēbat etiam prīvātās cum Caesare ex aedīlitāte et praetūrā conceptās;

Libo comes forward and makes excuses for Bibulus: he was a man of very hot temper, and also had personal quarrels with Caesar, begun during their aedileship and praetorship;

Note. From here Libo's words are reported in indirect speech. inimīcitiās … prīvātās: Bibulus had been Caesar's colleague as aedile (65), praetor (62) and consul (59) and had been overshadowed by him each time.

BC 3.16.3ob eam causam colloquium vītāsse, nē rēs maximae speī maximaeque ūtilitātis eius īrācundiā impedīrentur.

for that reason, he said, he had avoided the conference, so that matters of the greatest hope and the greatest benefit should not be hindered by his anger.

Note. vītāsse: contracted perfect infinitive (= vītāvisse). nē … impedīrentur: negative purpose clause. reī maximae speī: genitives of quality, 'of the greatest hope'.

BC 3.16.4Pompēī summam esse ac fuisse semper voluntātem, ut compōnerentur atque ab armīs discēderētur, sed potestātem eius reī nūllam habēre, proptereā quod dē cōnsilī sententiā summam bellī rērumque omnium Pompēiō permīserint.

Pompey's wish was and always had been the strongest that they should be reconciled and that arms should be laid down, but they themselves had no power in this matter, because by decision of the council they had entrusted the supreme direction of the war and of everything else to Pompey.

Note. summam esse ac fuisse … voluntātem: 'Pompey's wish was and had always been the strongest'. ut compōnerentur … discēderētur: noun clauses explaining voluntātem; discēderētur is impersonal passive, 'that there be a withdrawal from arms'. dē cōnsilī sententiā: 'by decision of the council', i.e. of the senators with Pompey.

BC 3.16.5sed postulātīs Caesaris cognitīs missūrōs ad Pompēium, atque illum reliqua per sē āctūrum hortantibus ipsīs.

But once Caesar's demands were known they would send them to Pompey, and he would settle the rest on his own, with their encouragement.

Note. missūrōs (esse) and āctūrum (esse): future infinitives in indirect speech. hortantibus ipsīs: ablative absolute, 'with themselves urging (him)'.

BC 3.16.5intereā manērent indūtiae, dum ab illō redīrī posset, nēve alter alterī nocēret.

In the meantime the truce should remain in force until an answer could come back from him, and neither side should harm the other.

Note. manērent: subjunctive standing for an imperative in indirect speech ('the truce should remain'). dum … posset: 'until it could be returned from him'; redīrī is an impersonal passive. nēve: 'and not'.

BC 3.16.5hūc addit pauca dē causā et dē cōpiīs auxiliīsque suīs.

To this he adds a few words about their cause and about their forces and auxiliaries.

Note. huc addit: compare sentence 5. dē causā: about their cause, i.e. the justice of Pompey's side.