De Bello Civili 3.38

Domitius' ambush

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BC 3.38.1Hīs rēbus gestīs Domitius spērāns Scīpiōnem ad pugnam ēlicī posse simulāvit sēsē angustiīs reī frūmentāriae adductum castra movēre vāsīsque mīlitārī mōre conclāmātīs prōgressus mīlia passuum iii locō idōneō et occultō omnem exercitum equitātumque collocāvit.After this, Domitius, hoping that Scipio could be drawn out to fight, pretended that he was moving camp because of a shortage of grain, gave the signal to pack up in the military way, advanced three miles, and posted his whole army and cavalry in a suitable and hidden place.Note. simulāvit sēsē … castra movēre: 'pretended that he was moving camp'. vāsīs mīlitārī mōre conclāmātīs: giving the usual signal for breaking camp, to make the trick convincing. BC 3.38.1Scīpiō ad sequendum parātus equitātūs magnam partem ad explōrandum iter Domitī et cognōscendum praemīsit.Scipio, ready to follow, sent a large part of his cavalry ahead to explore and learn Domitius' route.Note. ad sequendum: gerund of purpose. ad explōrandum iter … et cognōscendum: gerundives agreeing with iter, 'to explore and learn the route'. BC 3.38.3quī cum essent prōgressī prīmaeque turmae īnsidiās intrāvissent, ex fremitū equōrum inlātā suspīciōne ad suōs sē recipere coepērunt, quīque hōs sequēbantur, celerem eōrum receptum cōnspicātī restitērunt.When they had advanced and the first squadrons had entered the ambush, suspicion was raised by the neighing of the horses and they began to fall back on their own men; and those who were following them, seeing their quick retreat, halted.Note. ex fremitū equōrum: the neighing of Domitius' hidden horses gives the ambush away. quīque hōs sequēbantur: quī + que, 'and those who were following them'.

BC 3.38.4nostrī cognitīs omnēs eārum turmārum aut interfēcērunt aut captōs ad Domitium dēdūxērunt.Our men, once the ambush was discovered, either killed or captured and brought to Domitius all the men of those squadrons.Note. cognitīs: understand īnsidiīs, 'when the ambush had been discovered'. omnēs eārum turmārum: 'all (the men) of those squadrons'.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×2, gerunds and gerundives ×3, cum clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (65 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hope
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
pugna, -ae, f.	fighting, battle, combat
ēliciō, -ere, -uī, -itus	lure out, draw out, entice
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
simulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	pretend
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
angustia, -ae f.	narrowness; (pl.) a narrow place, straits
frūmentārius, -a, -um	of grain (rēs frūmentāria: grain supply)
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead to, bring, take; induce, influence
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
moveō, movēre, mōvī, mōtus	move
vās, vāsis, n., plur. vāsa, -ōrum	vessel
que, enclitic conj.	and
mīlitāris, -e	military, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare
mōs, mōris, m.	way, manner, habit, custom
conclāmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	shout out, cry out
prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go forward, advance
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
passus, -ūs, m.	pace (mīlia passuum: miles)
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
idōneus, -a, -um	suitable, fit; favorable
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
occultus, -a, -um	hidden, secret
omnis, -e	all, every
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
equitātus, -ūs m.	cavalry
collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum	place, station; give in marriage
sequor, sequī, secūtus	follow
parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	make ready, prepare
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
explōrō, -plōrāre, -plōrāvī, -plōrātus	search out, explore
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
praemittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum	send ahead
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
turma, -ae f.	troop, squadron of cavalry
īnsidiae, -ārum, f. plur.	ambush; plot, stratagem
intrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	go within or into, enter
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
fremitus, -ūs, m.	roaring, roar
equus, -ī, m.	horse
īnferō, īnferre, intulī, inlātus	bring in or against, wage against; inflict
suspīciō, -ōnis, f.	suspicion
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action)	have begun, began
celer, celeris, celere	swift, quick
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
receptus, -ūs m.	retreat; place of retreat
cōnspicor, -ārī, -ātus sum	catch sight of
resistō, -sistere, -stitī	stand back, resist
noster, -tra, -trum	our
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship

Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text: R. du Pontet, C. Iuli Caesaris Commentariorum pars posterior (Oxford, 1901), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.