Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.33
The treasure of Ephesus
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.33.1Praetereā Ephesī ā fānō Diānae dēpositās antīquitus pecūniās Scīpiō tollī iubēbat.
Besides this, Scipio was ordering the money deposited long ago in the temple of Diana at Ephesus to be taken away.
Note. Ephesī: locative. The temple of Diana (Artemis) at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders and a great treasury. tollī iubēbat: imperfect, 'was ordering', i.e. was about to.
BC 3.33.1certāque eius reī diē cōnstitūtā cum in fānum ventum esset adhibitīs complūribus ōrdinis senātōriī, quōs advocāverat Scīpiō, litterae eī redduntur ā Pompēiō, mare trānsīsse cum legiōnibus Caesarem;
And when a certain day had been fixed for the matter and they had come to the temple, with several men of senatorial rank whom Scipio had summoned in attendance, a letter from Pompey was handed to him: Caesar had crossed the sea with his legions;
Note. certā … diē: diēs is feminine when it means an appointed day. cum in fānum ventum esset: impersonal passive, 'when they had come into the temple'. litterae … redduntur: 'a letter is delivered'. The content follows in indirect speech: mare trānsīsse … Caesarem.
BC 3.33.1properāret ad sē cum exercitū venīre omniaque post habēret.
he should hurry to come to him with his army and put everything else second.
Note. Still Pompey's letter in indirect speech: properāret, 'he should hurry'; omnia post habēret, 'should put everything else second'.
BC 3.33.2hīs litterīs acceptīs, quōs advocāverat, dīmittit;
On receiving this letter he dismissed those whom he had summoned;
Note. quōs advocāverat: the object of dīmittit, 'he dismissed those whom he had summoned'.
BC 3.33.2ipse iter in Macedoniam parāre incipit paucīsque post diēbus est profectus.
he himself began to prepare his march into Macedonia and set out a few days later.
Note. paucīs post diēbus: 'a few days later' (post as adverb).
BC 3.33.2haec rēs Ephesiae pecūniae salūtem adtulit.
This event saved the money of Ephesus.
Note. A dry comment: the war saved the temple's money from the man supposed to protect it.
Vocabulary
| praetereā, adv. | besides this, besides, moreover |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| fānum, -ī n. | shrine, sanctuary |
| dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget |
| antīquitus (adv.) | long ago, from ancient times |
| pecūnia, -ae, f. | money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times) |
| tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātus | lift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| 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 |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| adhibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold to, employ, show |
| complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj. | several, many |
| ōrdō, ōrdinis, m. | arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order |
| senātōrius, -a, -um | of a senator, senatorial |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| advocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | call, summon (contiōnem advocāre: call an assembly) |
| littera, -ae f. | letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing |
| reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give back, return, restore; render |
| mare, maris, n. | sea |
| trānseō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go across or over, cross |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| properō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | hasten |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer |
| dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make ready, prepare |
| incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum | begin |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| Ephesius, -a, -um | of Ephesus, the Greek city in Asia Minor with the great temple of Diana (Artemis) |
| salūs, salūtis, f. | safety, deliverance, escape |
| afferō, afferre, attulī, allātum | bring, bring to; cause |