De Bello Civili 3.53

BC 3.53.1Ita ūnō diē sex proeliīs factīs, tribus ad Dyrrachium, tribus ad mūnītiōnēs, cum hōrum omnium ratiō habērētur, ad duo mīlia numerō ex Pompēiānīs cecidisse reperiēbāmus, ēvocātōs centuriōnēsque complūrēs;

So in one day six battles were fought, three at Dyrrachium and three at the fortifications; when the count of all of them was made, we found that about two thousand of the Pompeians had fallen, including several re-enlisted veterans and centurions;

Note. cum hōrum omnium ratiō habērētur: 'when an account of all of these was made'. ēvocātōs: veterans who had re-enlisted at the general's request, highly valued soldiers.

BC 3.53.1in eō fuit numerō Valerius Flaccus L. fīlius eius, quī praetor Asiam obtinuerat;

among them was Valerius Flaccus, son of the Lucius who had governed Asia as praetor;

Note. Valerius Flaccus L. fīlius: 'Valerius Flaccus, son of Lucius'. His father, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, governed Asia as praetor in 62 BC and was later defended by Cicero.

BC 3.53.1signaque sunt mīlitāria sex relāta.

and six military standards were brought back.

Note. signa … mīlitāria sex relāta: 'six military standards were brought back' (captured from the enemy).

BC 3.53.2nostrī nōn amplius xx omnibus sunt proeliīs dēsīderātī.

Of our men no more than twenty were lost in all the battles.

Note. nōn amplius xx: 'not more than twenty'. dēsīderātī: 'were missed', i.e. were lost.

BC 3.53.3sed in castellō nēmō fuit omnīnō mīlitum quīn vulnerārētur, quattuorque ex ūnā cohorte centuriōnēs oculōs āmīsērunt.

But in the fort there was not a single soldier who was not wounded, and four centurions from one cohort lost their eyes.

Note. nēmō … quīn vulnerārētur: 'no one who was not wounded'.

BC 3.53.4et cum labōris suī perīculīque testimōnium adferre vellent, mīlia sagittārum circiter xxx in castellum coniecta Caesarī renumerāvērunt, scūtōque ad eum relātō Scaevae centuriōnis inventa sunt in eō forāmina cxx.

And when they wanted to bring proof of their toil and danger, they counted out to Caesar about thirty thousand arrows that had been shot into the fort, and when the shield of the centurion Scaeva was brought to him, one hundred and twenty holes were found in it.

Note. mīlia sagittārum circiter xxx: 'about thirty thousand arrows'. renumerāvērunt: 'counted out (to him)'. Scaeva became famous; the poet Lucan later made him a hero of savage courage.

BC 3.53.5quem Caesar, ut erat dē sē meritus et dē rē pūblicā, dōnātum mīlibus cc ab octāvīs ōrdinibus ad prīmum pīlum sē trādūcere prōnūntiāvit— eius enim ope castellum magnā ex parte cōnservātum esse cōnstābat— cohortemque posteā duplicī stīpendiō, frūmentō, veste, cibāriīs mīlitāribusque dōnīs amplissimē dōnāvit.

Caesar, as Scaeva had deserved well of him and of the state, presented him with two hundred thousand sesterces and announced that he was promoting him from the eighth rank to chief centurion (for it was agreed that the fort had been saved largely by his efforts), and afterwards rewarded the cohort most generously with double pay, grain, clothing, rations and military decorations.

Note. ut erat dē sē meritus: 'as he had deserved well of him'. mīlibus cc: 200,000 sesterces, a fortune. ab octāvīs ōrdinibus ad prīmum pīlum: 'from the eighth rank to chief centurion', the highest centurion's post in a legion.