Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.74
The army burns to make amends
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.74.1Hāc habitā cōntiōne nōnnūllōs signiferōs ignōminiā notāvit ac locō mōvit.
After this speech he publicly disgraced some standard-bearers and removed them from their posts.
Note. ignōminiā notāvit: 'marked with disgrace', a formal punishment. locō mōvit: 'removed from their post'.
BC 3.74.2exercituī quidem omnī tantus incessit ex incommodō dolor tantumque studium īnfāmiae sarciendae, ut nēmō aut tribūnī aut centuriōnis imperium dēsīderāret et sibi quisque etiam poenae locō graviōrēs inpōneret labōrēs simulque omnēs ārdērent cupiditāte pugnandī, cum superiōris etiam ōrdinis nōnnūllī ratiōne permōtī manendum eō locō et rem proeliō committendam exīstimārent.
Such grief at the defeat came over the whole army, and such eagerness to make good the disgrace, that no one waited for an order from a tribune or a centurion: each man imposed heavier labours on himself as a kind of punishment, and all at once burned with the desire to fight, while even some officers of higher rank, moved by reason, thought that they should stay where they were and risk a battle.
Note. tantus … tantumque … ut: result clause. nēmō … imperium dēsīderāret: 'no one waited for an order'. poenae locō: 'by way of punishment'. superiōris ōrdinis: centurions of higher rank. manendum (esse) … committendam (esse): impersonal and personal gerundives in indirect statement.
BC 3.74.3contrā ea Caesar neque satis mīlitibus perterritīs cōnfīdēbat spatiumque interpōnendum ad recreandōs animōs putābat, relictīsque mūnītiōnibus magnopere reī frūmentāriae timēbat.
Caesar, on the other hand, did not trust the frightened soldiers enough, thought that time should be allowed for their spirits to recover, and, now that the siege works had been abandoned, was very anxious about his food supply.
Note. contrā ea: 'on the other hand'. spatium interpōnendum (esse): 'that time should be put in between'. ad recreandōs animōs: gerundive of purpose, 'to restore their spirits'. timēbat + dative: 'was anxious for'.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| cōntiō, -ōnis f. | assembly, meeting; speech to an assembly |
| nōnnūllus, -a, -um | not none, some, several |
| signifer, -ferī m. | standard-bearer |
| ignōminia, -ae f. | disgrace, dishonor |
| notō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | mark, note; single out |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| moveō, movēre, mōvī, mōtus | move |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| incēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | walk, step, advance |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| incommodum, -ī, n. | inconvenience |
| dolor, -ōris, m. | pain, grief; anger |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| studium, -ī, n. | eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit |
| īnfāmia, -ae f. | disgrace, dishonor |
| sarciō, -īre, sarsī, sartus | patch, repair; make good (a loss) |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| nēmō, nēminis, m. and f. | no one, nobody |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| tribūnus, -ī m. | tribune (tribūnus mīlitum: senior officer of a legion) |
| centuriō, -ōnis m. | centurion (officer commanding about 80 men) |
| imperium, -ī, n. | command; sway, rule |
| dēsīderō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | long for, miss; require |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron. | each |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| poena, -ae, f. | penalty, punishment |
| gravis, -e | heavy; severe, grievous, serious |
| impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | place or lay upon, impose; embark |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| simul, adv. | at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as |
| ārdeō, ārdēre, ārsī, ārsus | be on fire, burn |
| cupiditās, -tātis, f. | desire, longing, eagerness |
| pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | fight |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| ōrdō, ōrdinis, m. | arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order |
| ratiō, -ōnis, f. | plan, means, method, manner; reason; account |
| permoveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtum | move deeply, influence |
| maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsus | remain |
| 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 |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| satis, adv. | enough, sufficiently |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus | thoroughly frighten, terrify |
| cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum | trust, be confident |
| spatium, -ī, n. | space, interval; space of time, time |
| interpōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | put between; bring forward (an excuse) |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| recreō, -creāre, -creāvī, -creātus | make anew, renew, refresh |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | think |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| magnopere, adv. | greatly, very much, exceedingly; earnestly |
| frūmentārius, -a, -um | of grain (rēs frūmentāria: grain supply) |
| timeō, -ēre, -uī | fear |