Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.68
Fortune turns
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.68.1Sed fortūna, quae plūrimum potest cum in reliquīs rēbus tum praecipuē in bellō, parvīs mōmentīs magnās rērum commūtātiōnēs efficit;
But fortune, which has the greatest power both in other affairs and above all in war, brings about great changes of fortune by small causes;
Note. Caesar's famous reflection on fortune. cum … tum: 'both … and especially'. parvīs mōmentīs: 'by slight causes', literally 'by small weights' tipping a balance.
BC 3.68.1ut tum accidit.
as happened then.
Note. ut tum accidit: 'as happened then'; ut with the indicative, 'as'.
BC 3.68.2mūnītiōnem, quam pertinēre ā castrīs ad flūmen suprā dēmōnstrāvimus, dextrī Caesaris cornūs cohortēs ignōrantiā locī sunt secūtae, cum portam quaererent castrōrumque eam mūnītiōnem esse arbitrārentur.
The cohorts of Caesar's right wing, not knowing the ground, followed the fortification which, as we showed above, ran from the camp to the river, since they were looking for a gate and thought that it was the fortification of the camp.
Note. dextrī Caesaris cornūs cohortēs: 'the cohorts of Caesar's right wing'. ignōrantiā locī: ablative of cause. They mistook Pompey's wall to the river for the camp wall.
BC 3.68.3quod cum esset animadversum coniūnctam esse flūminī, prōrutīs mūnītiōnibus dēfendente nūllō trānscendērunt, omnisque noster equitātus eās cohortēs est secūtus.
When it was noticed that it joined the river, they broke down the fortifications and crossed over with no one defending them, and all our cavalry followed these cohorts.
Note. quod cum esset animadversum: connecting relative + cum. dēfendente nūllō: ablative absolute, 'with no one defending'.
Vocabulary
| sed, conj. | but |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| multum, -ī, n. | much |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| praecipuē, adv. | especially |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| parvus, -a, -um | little, small |
| mōmentum, -ī n. | weight, importance; levī mōmentō: as a slight matter |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| commūtātiō, -tiōnis, f. | change |
| efficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or work out, accomplish, effect |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| pertineō, -ēre, -uī | extend, reach; tend toward, concern |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| suprā, adv. and prep. with acc. | above, before |
| dēmōnstrō, -mōnstrāre, -mōnstrāvī, -mōnstrātus | point out, show; make known |
| dexter, -tra, -trum | right |
| cornū, -ūs, n. | horn |
| cohors, cohortis f. | cohort (a tenth of a legion); company |
| ignōrantia, -ae f. | ignorance, lack of knowledge |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| sequor, sequī, secūtus | follow |
| porta, -ae, f. | gate; door |
| quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus | seek; ask, inquire |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| coniungō, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus | join together, join |
| prōruō, -ere, -ruī, -rutum | throw down, demolish |
| dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus | ward off; defend |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| trānscendō, -ere, -scendī, -scēnsum | climb over, board |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |