Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.48
Bread from the chara root
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.48.1Est etiam genus rādīcis inventum ab iīs quī fuerant ab alebribus, quod appellātur chara, quod admixtum lacte multum inopiam levābat.
There was also a kind of root, found by those who had been in the 'alebres' (?), called chara, which, mixed with milk, greatly relieved their hunger.
Note. ab alebribus: the manuscripts are corrupt here and no one knows what the word was; editors guess at a place or at 'those who had been with Valerius'. chara: an unknown root, perhaps a kind of wild cabbage. admixtum lacte: 'mixed with milk'.
BC 3.48.1id ad similitūdinem pānis efficiēbant.
They made it into something like bread.
Note. ad similitūdinem pānis: 'into the likeness of bread'.
BC 3.48.2eius erat magna cōpia.
There was a great quantity of it.
Note. eius: 'of it', the root.
BC 3.48.2ex hōc effectōs pānēs.
Loaves made from this...
Note. The sentence is incomplete in the manuscripts; something like 'they made loaves from this' has been lost before the next sentence.
BC 3.48.2cum in colloquiīs Pompēiānī famem nostrīs obiectārent, vulgō in eōs iaciēbant, ut spem eōrum minuerent.
When in their talks across the lines the Pompeians taunted our men with their hunger, our men used to throw these loaves at them everywhere, to lessen their hopes.
Note. in colloquiīs: soldiers on the two sides talked across the lines. vulgō: 'everywhere, commonly'. Our men threw the chara-loaves at the enemy to show they could not be starved out.
Vocabulary
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| genus, generis, n. | kind, nature |
| rādīx, -īcis f. | root; (of a hill) foot |
| inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come upon, find |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus | call, name |
| chara, n. (indecl.) | chara, an edible root (perhaps wild cabbage) eaten by Caesar's starving troops |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| admisceō, -ēre, -miscuī, -mixtus | mix in, add to |
| lāc, lactis, n. | milk |
| multum, -ī, n. | much |
| inopia, -ae f. | lack, want, scarcity |
| levō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | lift; lighten, relieve |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| similitūdō, -inis f. | likeness, resemblance |
| pānis, -is m. | bread, loaf |
| efficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or work out, accomplish, effect |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| colloquium (conloquium), -ī n. | conference, talk |
| famēs, -is, abl. famē, f. | hunger |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| obiectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | throw in the way, expose |
| vulgō (adv.) | everywhere, commonly |
| iaciō, iacere, iēcī, iactus | throw, cast, hurl |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| minuō, -ere, minuī, minūtum | lessen, reduce |