Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.25
Caesar urges the crossing
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.25.1Multī iam mēnsēs erant et hiems praecipitāverat, neque Brundisiō nāvēs legiōnēsque ad Caesarem veniēbant.
Many months had passed already and winter was hurrying on, and still the ships and legions were not coming from Brundisium to Caesar.
Note. hiems praecipitāverat: 'winter was rushing on' to its end; Caesar has been waiting for reinforcements since early January.
BC 3.25.1ac nōnnūllae eius reī praetermissae occāsiōnēs Caesarī vidēbantur, quod certī saepe flāverant ventī, quibus necessāriō committendum exīstimābat.
And some opportunities for it seemed to Caesar to have been missed, because steady winds had often blown, to which he thought they should certainly have trusted themselves.
Note. eius reī: of crossing over. necessāriō committendum: 'that they should of necessity have trusted themselves (to these winds)', impersonal gerundive.
BC 3.25.2quantōque eius amplius prōcesserat temporis, tantō erant alacriōrēs ad custōdiās, quī classibus praeerant, maiōremque fīdūciam prohibendī habēbant, et crēbrīs Pompēī litterīs castīgābantur, quoniam prīmō venientem Caesarem nōn prohibuissent, ut reliquōs eius exercitūs impedīrent, dūriusque cōtīdiē tempus ad trānsportandum lēniōribus ventīs expectābant.
And the longer the time went on, the keener in their watch were those in command of the fleets, and the greater the confidence they had of stopping them; they were also rebuked in frequent letters from Pompey for not having stopped Caesar when he first came, so that they should at least block the rest of his army; and every day they waited for a season that was harder for crossing, with gentler winds.
Note. quantō … amplius … tantō: 'the more … the more'. eius … temporis: partitive genitive split by the verb. quoniam … nōn prohibuissent: subjunctive because it gives Pompey's reason for rebuking them. dūrius … tempus: 'a harsher season'.
BC 3.25.3quibus rēbus permōtus Caesar Brundisium ad suōs sevērius scrīpsit, nactī idōneum ventum nē occāsiōnem nāvigandī dīmitterent, sī vel ad lītora Apollōniātium cursum dīrigere atque eō nāvēs ēicere possent.
Disturbed by this, Caesar wrote rather sternly to his men at Brundisium that, once they found a suitable wind, they should not let slip the chance of sailing, if they could only steer for the coast of the Apollonians and run their ships aground there.
Note. sevērius: comparative adverb, 'rather sternly'. nē occāsiōnem … dīmitterent: indirect command. sī vel: 'if only'. nāvēs ēicere: 'to run the ships ashore'.
BC 3.25.4haec ā custōdiīs classium loca maximē vacābant, quod sē longius ā portibus committere nōn audērent.
These places were the most free of the fleets' patrols, because they did not dare to venture far from the harbours.
Note. haec … loca: the coast near Apollonia. quod sē … committere nōn audērent: subjunctive because it gives the enemy's reason.
Vocabulary
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| mēnsis, -is m. | month |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| hiems, hiemis f. | winter |
| praecipitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | throw headlong; sē praecipitāre: hurl oneself |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| nōnnūllus, -a, -um | not none, some, several |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| praetermittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missus | let pass, neglect, omit |
| occāsiō, -ōnis, f. | chance, opportunity |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| saepe, adv. | often, frequently |
| flō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | blow |
| ventus, -ī, m. | wind |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| necessāriō (adv.) | of necessity, unavoidably |
| committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| amplius (adv.) | more, further |
| prōcēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | go forward, advance |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| alacer, -cris, -cre | eager, keen |
| custōdia, -ae f. | guard, protection |
| classis, -is f. | fleet |
| praesum, -esse, -fuī | be before, preside over, have charge of, command |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| fīdūcia, -ae f. | confidence, trust, reliance |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| crēber, -bra, -brum | frequent, numerous; close together |
| littera, -ae f. | letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing |
| castīgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | punish, rebuke; correct, check |
| quoniam, conj. | since now, since |
| prīmō, adv. | at first |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| impediō, -pedīre, -pedīvī, -pedītus | hinder, prevent, impede |
| dūrus, -a, -um | hard; harsh; difficult |
| cottīdiē, adv. | daily, every day |
| trānsportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus | carry across or over, transport |
| lēnis, -e | gentle |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| permoveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtum | move deeply, influence |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| sevērē (adv.; comp. sevērius) | strictly, sternly |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
| nancīscor, nancīscī, nactus | get, obtain, find |
| idōneus, -a, -um | suitable, fit; favorable |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| nāvigō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | sail |
| dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose |
| sī, conj. | if |
| vel | or; vel … vel: either … or |
| lītus, lītoris, n. | shore |
| cursus, -ūs, m. | running, speed; course, route, voyage; race |
| dīrigō (dērigō), -ere, -rēxī, -rēctus | set straight, arrange in line; dērēctus: straight |
| eō, īre, iī, itus | go |
| ēiciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw out; sē ēicere: rush out |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| maximē, adv. | very greatly, exceedingly, especially |
| vacō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | be empty, be unoccupied |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| longē, adv. | far |
| portus, -ūs, m. | harbor, haven, port |
| audeō, audēre, ausus sum | dare |