Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The Spanish War (Bellum Hispaniense)
Bellum Hispaniense 17
Envoys from Ategua plead with Caesar
Anonymous, Bellum Hispaniense. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Hisp. 17.1Ita posterō diē Ti. Tullius lēgātus cum Catōne Lūsītānō vēnit et apud Caesarem verba fēcit: "Utinam quidem diī immortālēs fēcissent, ut tuus potius mīles quam Cn. Pompēī factus essem et hanc virtūtis cōnstantiam in tuā victōriā, nōn in illīus calamitāte praestārem.
So the next day Tiberius Tullius came as an envoy with Cato the Lusitanian, and spoke before Caesar: "If only the immortal gods had brought it about that I had become your soldier rather than Gnaeus Pompey's, and that I were showing this steadfast courage in your victory and not in his disaster.
Note. Ti. = Tiberius. The envoys address Caesar; Tullius' speech is reported in direct speech, which is unusual in this work. Utinam … fēcissent: a wish about the past with the pluperfect subjunctive, 'would that the gods had made it so'. ut … factus essem … et … praestārem: result clauses after fēcissent. Cn. Pompēī: Gnaeus the younger, Pompey's son.
B. Hisp. 17.2Cuius fūnestae laudēs quoniam ad hanc fortūnam recidērunt, ut cīvēs Rōmānī indigentēs praesidiī sīmus et propter patriae lūctuōsam perniciem dēmur hostium numerō, quī neque in illīus aciē prīmam fortūnam neque in adversā secundam obtinuimus, legiōnum tot impetūs sustentantēs, nocturnīs diurnīsque operibus gladiōrum ictūs tēlōrumque missūs expectantēs, relictī et dēsertī ā Pompēiō, tuā virtūte superātī salūtem ā tuā clēmentiā dēposcimus petimusque ut…" "Quālem aliēnīs gentibus mē praestitī, similem in cīvium dēditiōne praestābō."
Since his deadly glories have come down to this fortune, that we Roman citizens are in need of protection, and through the grievous ruin of our country are counted among its enemies — we who neither won the first fortune in his battle-line nor the second fortune in his defeat; who withstood the attacks of so many legions and faced the strokes of swords and the volleys of missiles in our works by night and by day; abandoned and deserted by Pompey, and overcome by your courage, we beg for our lives from your mercy and ask that …" "As I have shown myself to foreign nations, so I shall show myself to citizens who surrender."
Note. A tangled sentence, typical of this author. Cuius fūnestae laudēs: 'his deadly glories', i.e. the cause of the younger Pompey. ut … sīmus … et … dēmur: result clause, 'that we are in need … and are counted (dēmur, present subjunctive passive of dō) among the enemy'. quī neque … obtinuimus: 'we who neither had the first fortune in his line nor the second in defeat'. Kübler brackets prosperā and victōriam quī as interpolations; they are left out here. The participles sustentantēs, expectantēs ('enduring', 'awaiting') describe the speakers. The speech breaks off at a gap in the manuscripts (…); the last words are Caesar's reply, its introducing verb lost: 'As I have shown myself to foreign nations, so (similem) I shall show myself in the surrender of citizens.'
Vocabulary
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| posterus, -a, -um | following, next |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| Lūsītānus, -a, -um | Lusitanian, of Lusitania in western Spain |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| verbum, -ī, n. | word |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| utinam (adv.) | if only, would that (with subjunctive) |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| deus, -ī, m. | god |
| immortālis, -e | immortal |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| potius (adv.) | rather |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| virtūs, -tūtis, f. | manliness, courage, bravery |
| cōnstantia, -ae f. | steadiness, firmness |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| victōria, -ae, f. | victory |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| calamitās, -tātis, f. | misfortune, calamity, disaster |
| praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitus | stand in front; show |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| fūnestus, -a, -um | deadly, fatal; bringing death and mourning |
| laus, laudis f. | praise, glory |
| quoniam, conj. | since now, since |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| recidō, -ere, reccidī, -cāsūrus | fall back; (of a matter) come down to, devolve on |
| cīvis, -is, m. and f. | citizen, fellow-citizen, subject |
| Rōmānus, -a, -um | Roman |
| indigeō, -ēre, -uī | need, be in want of (+ gen. or abl.); nōn indiget nisi ut: needs only to |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| propter, prep. with acc. | on account of, because of |
| patria, -ae, f. | fatherland, country |
| lūctuōsus, -a, -um | mournful, causing grief |
| perniciēs, -ēī f. | ruin, destruction |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| aciēs, -ēī, f. | line of battle |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| adversus, -a, -um | facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| tot (indecl.) | so many |
| impetus, -ūs, m. | attack; impetum facere, to charge |
| sustentō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | hold out, endure |
| nocturnus, -a, -um | of night, nocturnal; nocturnum tempus, night-time |
| diurnus, -a, -um | by day, daily |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| gladius, -ī, m. | sword |
| īctus, -ūs, m. | blow |
| tēlum, -ī, n. | missile, spear, weapon |
| missus, -ūs m. | sending (only abl. missū: at someone's bidding) |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| dēserō, -serere, -seruī, -sertus | desert |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| superō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | overcome, defeat, conquer |
| salūs, salūtis, f. | safety, deliverance, escape |
| clēmentia, -ae, f. | mercy, kindness |
| dēposcō, -ere, -poposcī | demand, call for |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| quālis, -e | of what sort? what kind of? |
| aliēnus, -a, -um | belonging to another, out of place |
| gēns, gentis, f. | race, nation |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| similis, -e | like, similar (vērī similis: likely) |
| dēditiō, -ōnis f. | surrender |