De Bello Civili 3.32

BC 3.32.1Interim acerbissimē imperātae pecūniae tōtā prōvinciā exigēbantur.

Meanwhile the money that had been ordered was exacted most harshly throughout the province.

Note. acerbissimē: superlative adverb. tōtā prōvinciā: ablative of place without in, common with tōtus.

BC 3.32.1multa praetereā generātim ad avāritiam excōgitābantur.

Besides, many devices of every kind were thought up to satisfy greed.

Note. generātim: 'in every category, kind by kind'.

BC 3.32.2in capita singula servōrum ac līberōrum tribūtum impōnēbātur;

A tax was imposed on each head of slaves and free persons;

Note. in capita singula: 'on each head', a poll tax on slaves and free people alike.

BC 3.32.2columnāria ōstiāria frūmentum mīlitēs arma rēmigēs tormenta vectūrae imperābantur;

taxes on columns and on doors, grain, soldiers, arms, rowers, artillery, transport were demanded;

Note. A list without connectives (asyndeton), as if read off a tax roll. columnāria and ōstiāria were taxes on the columns and doors of houses.

BC 3.32.2cuius modo reī nōmen reperīrī poterat, hoc satis esse ad cōgendās pecūniās vidēbātur.

if only a name could be found for a thing, that seemed enough for collecting money.

Note. cuius modo reī nōmen: 'if only a name for the thing (to be taxed) could be found'. hoc satis esse … vidēbātur: 'this seemed enough'.

BC 3.32.3nōn sōlum urbibus, sed paene vīcīs castellīsque singulī cum imperiō praeficiēbantur.

Men were put in command, with authority, not only over cities but over almost every village and fort.

Note. singulī cum imperiō: 'individual men with official power'.

BC 3.32.3quī hōrum quid acerbissimē crūdēlissimēque fēcerat, is et vir et cīvis optimus habēbātur.

Whoever of these had done anything most harshly and most cruelly was thought the best of men and of citizens.

Note. Bitter irony: the cruellest collector was counted the best man. quid: indefinite, 'anything'.

BC 3.32.4erat plēna līctōrum et imperiōrum prōvincia, differta praefectīs atque exāctōribus, quī praeter imperātās pecūniās suō etiam prīvātō conpendiō serviēbant;

The province was full of lictors and commands, crammed with officers and collectors, who besides the money demanded were also serving their own private profit;

Note. līctōrēs: the attendants who carried the fasces before a magistrate; their numbers show how many men held power. differta: 'stuffed', with ablatives. conpendiō: the edition's spelling of compendiō, 'profit'.

BC 3.32.4dictitābant enim sē domō patriāque expulsōs omnibus necessāriīs egēre rēbus, ut honestā praescrīptiōne rem turpissimam tegerent.

for they kept saying that, driven from home and country, they lacked everything they needed, so as to cover a most shameful business with an honourable excuse.

Note. dictitābant: frequentative of dīcō, 'kept saying'. sē … egēre: indirect statement. honestā praescrīptiōne: 'with an honourable pretext'.

BC 3.32.5accēdēbant ad haec gravissimae ūsūrae, quod in bellō plērumque accidere cōnsuēvit ūniversīs imperātīs pecūniīs;

On top of this came very heavy interest, as usually happens in war when money is demanded from everyone;

Note. quod … cōnsuēvit: 'as usually happens'. ūniversīs imperātīs pecūniīs: ablative absolute, 'when money is demanded from everyone at once'.

BC 3.32.5quibus in rēbus prōlātiōnem diēī dōnātiōnem esse dīcēbant.

in these matters they called an extension of the day of payment a gift.

Note. prōlātiōnem diēī: 'an extension of the payment date', which they called a gift, though the debtor paid heavy interest for it.

BC 3.32.5itaque aes aliēnum prōvinciae eō bienniō multiplicātum est.

And so the province's debt was multiplied in those two years.

Note. aes aliēnum: 'debt' (literally 'another's bronze').

BC 3.32.6neque minus ob eam causam cīvibus Rōmānīs eius prōvinciae, sed in singulōs conventūs singulāsque cīvitātēs certae pecūniae imperābantur, mūtuāsque illās ex senātūs cōnsultō exigī dictitābant;

Nor, on that account, were sums any less demanded from the Roman citizens of that province; fixed sums were ordered from each association of citizens and each city, and they kept saying that these were being collected as loans under a decree of the senate;

Note. neque minus: 'nor any less'. mūtuās … exigī: 'that they (the sums) were being collected as loans'. ex senātūs cōnsultō: Pompey's side claimed the authority of the senate, which had followed him out of Italy.

BC 3.32.6pūblicānīs, ut iī sortem fēcerant, īnsequentis annī vectīgal prōmūtuum.

from the tax-farmers, as they had collected the principal, the next year's revenue was taken as an advance loan.

Note. ut iī sortem fēcerant: 'as they had raised the principal' (sors here = capital sum). prōmūtuum: 'advanced as a loan'. The verb (imperābātur or similar) is understood from the sentence before.