Bellum Hispaniense 19

Ategua surrenders

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B. Hisp. 19.1Vigiliā secundā propter multitūdinem tēlōrum turris lignea, quae nostra fuisset, ab īmō vitium fēcit usque ad tabulātum secundum et tertium.In the second watch, because of the great number of missiles, the wooden tower which was ours was damaged from the bottom up to the second and third storey.Note. vitium fēcit: 'suffered damage', a technical phrase for a building giving way. ab īmō: 'from the bottom'. tabulātum: a storey of the siege-tower. B. Hisp. 19.2Eōdem tempore prō mūrō pugnārunt ācerrimē et turrim nostram ut superiōrem incendērunt, idcircō quod ventum oppidānī secundum habuērunt.At the same time they fought very fiercely in front of the wall and set fire to our tower as if it were the higher one, because the townspeople had the wind in their favour.Note. pugnārunt = pugnāvērunt. ut superiōrem: 'as being the higher', i.e. our tower which overlooked theirs. idcircō quod: 'for the reason that'. secundum: here the adjective, 'favourable' (of a wind). B. Hisp. 19.3Īnsequentī lūce māterfamiliās dē mūrō sē dēiēcit et ad nōs trānsiliit dīxitque sē cum familiā cōnstitūtum habuisse, ut ūnā trānsfugerent ad Caesarem;At dawn the next day the mother of a family threw herself down from the wall and jumped across to us, and said that she had agreed with her household that they would desert together to Caesar;Note. māterfamiliās: an old genitive in -ās survives in this compound. trānsiliit: 'jumped across' (perfect of trānsiliō). sē … cōnstitūtum habuisse: habēre with a perfect participle stresses the completed state, 'had arranged'. ūnā: adverb, 'together'. B. Hisp. 19.3illam oppressam et iugulātam.they had been seized and had their throats cut.Note. illam (familiam) oppressam et iugulātam (esse): 'that they had been seized and murdered'. The feminine agrees with familia.

B. Hisp. 19.4Hōc praeteritō tempore tabellae dē mūrō sunt dēiectae, in quibus scrīptum est inventum: "L. Munātius Caesarī.After this time a writing-tablet was thrown down from the wall, on which was found written: "Lucius Munatius to Caesar.Note. Hōc praeteritō tempore: 'when this time had passed', the author's stock link. tabellae: wax tablets thrown over the wall. L. Munātius Caesarī (salūtem dīcit): the usual letter opening, abbreviated. B. Hisp. 19.4Sī mihi vītam tribuēs, quoniam ab Cn. Pompēiō sum dēsertus, quālem mē illī praestitī, tālī virtūte et cōnstantiā futūrum mē in tē esse praestābō."If you grant me my life, since I have been deserted by Gnaeus Pompey, I shall show myself towards you with the same courage and steadfastness as I showed towards him."Note. tribuēs … praestābō: a future-more-vivid condition. quālem … tālī: 'with the same … as'; quālem mē illī praestitī, 'as I showed myself to him'. futūrum mē … esse: 'that I shall be', the future infinitive. B. Hisp. 19.5Eōdem tempore oppidānī lēgātī, quī anteā exierant, Caesarem adiērunt: sī sibi vītam concēderet, sēsē īnsequentī lūce oppidum esse dēditūrōs.At the same time the envoys of the townspeople who had come out before came to Caesar: if he would grant them their lives, they would surrender the town at dawn the next day.Note. sibi … sēsē: the reflexives refer to the envoys, the subject of the reported condition. dēditūrōs (esse): future infinitive, 'that they would surrender'. B. Hisp. 19.6Quibus respondit sē Caesarem esse fidemque praestātūrum.He replied to them that he was Caesar and would keep his word.Note. sē Caesarem esse fidemque praestātūrum: proudly brief: 'that he was Caesar, and would keep his word' — his name was guarantee enough. B. Hisp. 19.6Ita ante diem XI Kal. Mārt.So, on the eleventh day before the Kalends of March,Note. ante diem xi Kal. Mārt.: 'the eleventh day before the Kalends of March', counting inclusively, i.e. 19 February 45 BC. The date is split from the next sentence because of the abbreviation full stops. B. Hisp. 19.6oppidō potītus imperātor est appellātus.having taken possession of the town, he was hailed as imperator.Note. oppidō potītus: potior with the ablative, 'having taken possession of the town'. imperātor est appellātus: hailed by his troops as victorious general.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×3, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (87 words)

vigilia, -ae, f.	watch
secundus, -a, -um	following, favorable
propter, prep. with acc.	on account of, because of
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
tēlum, -ī, n.	missile, spear, weapon
turris, -is f.	tower; siege tower
ligneus, -a, -um	of wood, wooden
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
noster, -tra, -trum	our
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
īmus, -a, -um	lowest (ab īmō: from the bottom)
vitium, -ī n.	fault, vice
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
ūsque, adv.	all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
tabulātum, -ī n.	floor, story (of a tower)
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
tertius, -a, -um	third
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
mūrus, -ī, m.	wall
pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	fight
ācriter, adv.	sharply, fiercely
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
incendō, -ere, -cendī, -cēnsum	set on fire, burn
idcircō (adv.)	for that reason
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
ventus, -ī, m.	wind
oppidānus, -ī m.	townsman (pl. the people of the town)
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
īnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow upon or up, pursue
lūx, lūcis, f.	light
māterfamiliās, mātrisfamiliās f.	mother of a family, lady of the house; a married woman
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
dēiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw down, cast, drive out of one's course
nōs	plur. of ego
trānsiliō, -īre, -uī	leap over, jump across
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
que, enclitic conj.	and
cum, prep, with abl.	with
familia, -ae f.	household (incl. slaves and dependents)
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
ūnā	together, along
trānsfugiō, -ere, -fūgī	desert, go over to the enemy
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
opprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus	press against, overpower, crush
iugulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	cut the throat of, murder
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
praetereō, -īre, -iī, -itus	pass by
tabella, -ae f.	writing tablet; letter (tablets tied with a thread and sealed)
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come upon, find
sī, conj.	if
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
vīta, -ae, f.	life
tribuō, -ere, tribuī, tribūtum	assign, attribute
quoniam, conj.	since now, since
dēserō, -serere, -seruī, -sertus	desert
quālis, -e	of what sort? what kind of?
praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitus	stand in front; show
tālis, -e	such
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
cōnstantia, -ae f.	steadiness, firmness
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
lēgātus, -ī, m.	ambassador
anteā, adv.	before
exeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go out
adeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go to, approach
concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	grant, yield
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
dēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give away or up
respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsus	reply, answer
fidēs, -eī f.	faith, trust; pledge
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
Kalendae, -ārum f. pl.	the Kalends (1st day of the month)
Mārtius, -a, -um	of Mars; campus Mārtius, the Field of Mars outside the old city
potior, -īrī, -ītus	become master of, get possession of
imperātor, -ōris, m.	commander, general
appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus	call, name

Anonymous, Bellum Hispaniense. Latin text: B. Kübler and E. Wölfflin, C. Iulii Caesaris Commentarii, vol. III (Leipzig: Teubner, 1896–97), public domain; transcribed for this app from the Internet Archive scan. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.