Bellum Hispaniense 16

B. Hisp. 16.1Huius diēī extrēmō tempore ā Pompēiānīs clam nostrōs tabellārius est missus, ut eā nocte turrēs aggeremque incenderent et tertiā vigiliā ēruptiōnem facerent.

At the very end of this day a courier was sent by the Pompeians, unseen by our men, telling the townspeople to set fire to the towers and the siege-ramp that night and to make a sortie at the third watch.

Note. The scene is the siege of Ategua (February 45 BC): Caesar is besieging the town, while Pompey's elder son Gnaeus, here simply 'Pompeius', camps nearby. clam nostrōs: clam is used as a preposition with the accusative, 'unknown to our men' (Kübler deletes an ad after it). ut … incenderent … facerent: an indirect command depending on the idea of 'message' in tabellārius est missus. tertiā vigiliā: the night was divided into four watches; the third began around midnight.

B. Hisp. 16.2Ita igne tēlōrumque multitūdine iactā cum bene magnam partem temporis cōnsūmpsissent, portam, quae ē regiōne et in cōnspectū Pompēī castrōrum fuerat, aperuērunt, cōpiaeque tōtae ēruptiōnem fēcērunt sēcumque extulērunt virgulta, crātēs ad fossās complendās et harpagōnēs ad casās, quae strāmenticiae ab nostrīs hībernōrum causā aedificātae erant, dīruendās et incendendās, praetereā argentum, vestīmenta, ut, dum nostrī in praedā dētinentur, illī caede factā ad praesidia Pompēī sē reciperent: nam quod exīstimābat eōs posse cōnātum efficere, nocte tōtā ultrā stābat flūmen Salsum in aciē.

So, after they had spent a good part of the time hurling fire and a great quantity of missiles, they opened the gate which faced Pompey's camp and was in full view of it, and their whole force made a sortie; and they carried out with them brushwood and hurdles for filling the ditches, and hooks for pulling down and burning the huts which our men had built of straw for winter quarters, and besides that silver and clothing, so that while our men were busy with the plunder, they could make a slaughter and get back to Pompey's lines; for because he thought they could carry out the attempt, Pompey stood all night in battle order beyond the river Salsum.

Note. igne tēlōrumque multitūdine iactā: ablative of means, 'by fire and a mass of missiles thrown'. bene magnam: colloquial bene, 'quite, a good'. ad fossās complendās, ad casās … dīruendās et incendendās: gerundive phrases of purpose. hībernōrum causā: 'for (use as) winter quarters'. ut … sē reciperent: purpose clause. The subject of exīstimābat and stābat is Pompey, not the townspeople: he stood in battle order beyond the river Salsum, ready to receive them.

B. Hisp. 16.3Quod factum licet necopīnantibus nostrīs esset gestum, tamen virtūte frētī repulsōs multīsque vulneribus adfectōs oppidō repressērunt, praedam armaque eōrum sunt potītī vīvōsque aliquōs cēpērunt, quī posterō diē sunt interfectī.

Although this was done while our men were off their guard, nevertheless, relying on their courage, they drove the enemy back, wounded many of them, and forced them back into the town; they took possession of their plunder and their weapons, and captured some alive, who were put to death the next day.

Note. Quod factum: a connecting relative, 'this deed'. licet … esset gestum: licet with the subjunctive means 'although'. necopīnantibus nostrīs: ablative absolute, 'our men not expecting it'. oppidō: 'into the town', a loose dative of direction (or ablative 'by means of the town'). praedam armaque … potītī: potior here takes the accusative, an old construction (classical prose has the ablative).

B. Hisp. 16.4Eōdemque tempore trānsfuga nūntiāvit ex oppidō Iūnium, quī in cunīculō fuisset, iugulātiōne oppidānōrum factā clāmāsse facinus sē nefandum et scelus fēcisse: nam eōs nihil meruisse, quārē tālī poenā adficerentur, quī eōs ad ārās et focōs suōs recēpissent, eōsque hospitium scelere contāmināsse;

At the same time a deserter from the town reported that Junius, who had been in the mine, cried out, when the massacre of the townspeople had been carried out, that they had done a wicked deed and a crime: for these people had done nothing to deserve such a punishment, people who had welcomed them to their altars and hearths; and that they had defiled hospitality with a crime;

Note. All of this is reported speech after nūntiāvit. Iūnium … clāmāsse: 'that Junius had cried out'; clāmāsse is the contracted perfect infinitive (clāmāvisse). iugulātiōne … factā: the massacre of the townspeople described at the end of ch. 15: the Pompeian garrison cut the throats of the Ateguans who were Caesar's sympathisers. quī eōs … recēpissent: the subjunctive gives the reason, 'since they had received them'; ad ārās et focōs, 'to their altars and hearths', i.e. into their homes. contāmināsse = contāmināvisse.

B. Hisp. 16.4multa praetereā dīxisse: quā ōrātiōne dēterritōs amplius iugulātiōnem nōn fēcisse.

he had said much else besides, and they had been so shaken by this speech that they had carried the massacre no further.

Note. Still indirect speech: multa … dīxisse ('he had said much else'), and quā ōrātiōne dēterritōs … nōn fēcisse, 'deterred by this speech, they did not carry out the massacre further'. amplius: 'any more'.