Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.81
Thessaly submits
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.81.1Mētropolītae prīmum eōdem ūsī cōnsiliō, īsdem permōtī rūmōribus portās clausērunt mūrōsque armātīs complēvērunt, sed posteā cāsū cīvitātis Gomphēnsis cognitō ex captīvīs, quōs Caesar ad mūrum prōdūcendōs cūrāverat, portās aperuērunt.
The people of Metropolis at first followed the same policy and, moved by the same rumours, shut their gates and manned their walls with armed men; but later, when they learned the fate of the town of Gomphi from prisoners whom Caesar had arranged to have brought up to the wall, they opened the gates.
Note. isdem … rūmōribus: isdem is an old form of eīsdem. casū cīvitātis Gomphēnsis cognitō: 'having learned the fate of the town of Gomphi'.
BC 3.81.2quibus dīligentissimē cōnservātīs, collātā fortūnā Mētropolītum cum cāsū Gomphēnsium nūlla Thessaliae fuit cīvitās praeter Lārīsaeōs, quī magnīs exercitibus Scīpiōnis tenēbantur, quīn Caesarī pārērent atque imperāta facerent.
They were spared with the greatest care, and when the fortune of the Metropolitans was compared with the fate of the Gomphians, there was no state in Thessaly, except the Larisaeans, who were held down by large armies of Scipio, that did not obey Caesar and do as they were ordered.
Note. quibus … cōnservātīs: 'they were spared' — the contrast with Gomphi is the point. collātā fortūnā … cum cāsū: 'when the fortune of the Metropolitans was compared with the fate of the Gomphians'. quīn … pārērent: after a negative, 'that did not obey'.
BC 3.81.3ille idōneum locum in agrīs nactus, ibi adventum expectāre Pompēī eōque omnem bellī ratiōnem cōnferre cōnstituit.
He found a suitable place in the farmland and decided to wait there for Pompey's arrival and to make it the centre of all his operations.
Note. eōque … cōnferre: 'and to bring the whole conduct of the war to that place'. Caesar is now in the plain of Pharsalus.
Vocabulary
| prīmum, adv. | first, in the first place |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| permoveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtum | move deeply, influence |
| rūmor, -ōris m. | rumour, report |
| porta, -ae, f. | gate; door |
| claudō, -ere, clausī, clausum | close, shut; (agmen) bring up the rear |
| mūrus, -ī, m. | wall |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| armātus, -a, -um | armed |
| compleō, -plēre, -plēvī, -plētus | fill full, fill up |
| sed, conj. | but |
| posteā, adv. | after this, afterwards |
| cāsus, -ūs, m. | fall; chance, accident |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| Gomphēnsis, -e | of Gomphi |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| captīvus, -a, -um | captive |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| prōdūcō, -ere, -dūxī, -ductum | lead out, bring out |
| cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | take care of; (+ gerundive) have something done |
| aperiō, -īre, -uī, -tus | open |
| dīligenter, adv. | carefully, diligently |
| cōnservō, -servāre, -servāvī, -servātus | preserve, keep |
| cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus | bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| praeter, prep. with acc. | before, past, by; besides, except |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus | hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop |
| quīn, conj. | so that ... not, but that, but |
| pāreō, -ēre, -uī | obey |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| idōneus, -a, -um | suitable, fit; favorable |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| nancīscor, nancīscī, nactus | get, obtain, find |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| adventus, -ūs, m. | approach, arrival |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| ratiō, -ōnis, f. | plan, means, method, manner; reason; account |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |