Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Civil War, Book 3
De Bello Civili 3.91
Crastinus
Caesar, De Bello Civili III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōBC 3.91.1Erat Crāstinus ēvocātus in exercitū Caesaris, quī superiōre annō apud eum prīmum pīlum in legiōne x dūxerat, vir singulārī virtūte.
There was in Caesar's army a re-enlisted veteran, Crastinus, who the year before had been chief centurion in the Tenth legion under him, a man of exceptional courage.
Note. ēvocātus: a veteran recalled to service. prīmum pīlum dūxerat: 'had been chief centurion' (prīmus pīlus) of the Tenth legion.
BC 3.91.2hic signō datō "sequiminī mē," inquit "manipulārēs meī quī fuistis, et vestrō imperātōrī, quam cōnstituistis, operam date.
When the signal was given, he said, 'Follow me, you who were my comrades, and give your general the service you have pledged.
Note. manipulārēs meī quī fuistis: 'you who were my comrades'; manipulārēs is vocative. quam cōnstituistis: 'which you have pledged'.
BC 3.91.2ūnum hoc proelium superest;
Only this one battle remains;
BC 3.91.2quō cōnfectō et ille suam dignitātem et nōs nostram lībertātem recuperābimus."
when it is finished, he will recover his dignity and we our freedom.'
Note. quō cōnfectō: ablative absolute, 'when it is finished'. dignitātem: Caesar's honour and standing, which he claimed his enemies had attacked.
BC 3.91.3simul respiciēns Caesarem "faciam," inquit "hodiē, imperātor, ut aut vīvō mihi aut mortuō grātiās agās."
At the same time, looking back at Caesar, he said, 'I will see to it today, general, that you thank me either alive or dead.'
Note. faciam … ut … grātiās agās: 'I will see to it that you thank me'. vīvō mihi aut mortuō: 'me alive or dead'.
BC 3.91.4haec cum dīxisset, prīmus ex dextrō cornū prōcucurrit atque eum ēlēctī mīlitēs circiter cxx voluntāriī eiusdem centuriae sunt prōsecūtī.
When he had said this, he ran forward first from the right wing, and about 120 picked volunteers of the same century followed him.
Note. prōcucurrit: perfect of prōcurrō. cxx: 120. ēlēctī … voluntāriī: picked volunteers.
Vocabulary
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| crāstinus, -a, -um | of tomorrow; in crāstinum (diem): on the next day |
| ēvocō, -vocāre, -vocāvī, -vocātus | call out, challenge |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| pīlus, -ī m. | maniple of veterans (prīmus pīlus: the chief centurion) |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| singulāris, -e | single; remarkable |
| virtūs, -tūtis, f. | manliness, courage, bravery |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| sequor, sequī, secūtus | follow |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb | I say, you say, he says |
| manipulāris, -e | of a maniple; as noun: a soldier of the same maniple, comrade |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| vester, -tra, -trum | your |
| imperātor, -ōris, m. | commander, general |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| opera, -ae, f. | effort, work, labor |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| supersum, -esse, -fuī | be over or left, remain |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| dignitās, -ātis f. | rank, standing, prestige |
| nōs | plur. of ego |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| lībertās, -tātis, f. | freedom, liberty |
| recuperō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | recover |
| simul, adv. | at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as |
| respiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum | look back |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| hodiē (adv.) | today |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| vīvus, -a, -um | alive, living |
| mortuus, -a, -um | dead |
| grātia, -ae, f. | favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| dexter, -tra, -trum | right |
| cornū, -ūs, n. | horn |
| prōcurrō, -ere, prōcucurrī | run forward, charge |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ēligō, -ere, ēlēgī, ēlēctum | pick out, choose |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| circiter, prep. with acc. and adv. | about |
| voluntārius, -a, -um | willing; (m. pl. as noun) volunteers |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| centuria, -ae f. | century, a division of a hundred (of men, of cavalry) |
| prōsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow forward, follow |