Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The Spanish War (Bellum Hispaniense)
Bellum Hispaniense 34
The Fall of Corduba
Anonymous, Bellum Hispaniense. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Hisp. 34.1Oppidānī autem, simul Caesar castra contrā ad oppidum posuit, discordāre coepērunt, usque eō, ut clāmor in castra nostra pervenīret ferē inter Caesariānōs et inter Pompēiānōs.
As soon as Caesar pitched camp opposite the town, the townspeople began to quarrel among themselves, so much so that the shouting between the Caesarians and the Pompeians almost reached our camp.
Note. simul: 'as soon as'. contrā: here an adverb, 'opposite'. ūsque eō ut: 'to such an extent that'. inter Caesariānōs et inter Pompeiānōs: the repeated inter is colloquial.
B. Hisp. 34.2Erant hīc legiōnēs duae ex perfugīs cōnscrīptae, partim oppidānōrum servī, quī erant ā S.
There were two legions here recruited from deserters, partly slaves of the townspeople who had been freed by Sextus
Note. legiōnēs duae ex perfugīs: 'from deserters'. ā S.: S. is Sextus; the sentence break after the abbreviation is the edition's, and the phrase runs on into the next line.
B. Hisp. 34.2Pompēiō manūmissī;
Pompey;
Note. Pompeiō: Sextus Pompey again. manūmissī: 'freed', as slaves were freed by manumission.
B. Hisp. 34.2quī in Caesaris adventum dissentīre coepērunt.
they began to break away when Caesar arrived.
Note. in Caesaris adventum: 'at Caesar's arrival'. dissentīre: 'to break away, take a different side'.
B. Hisp. 34.3Legiō xiii oppidum dēfendere coepit, nē, cum iam dēpugnārent, turrēs ex parte et mūrum occupārent.
The Thirteenth legion began to defend the town, so that the others should not seize some of the towers and the wall while the fighting was already under way.
Note. Legiō xiii: the Thirteenth, a Pompeian legion. nē … turrēs … et mūrum occupārent: the subject is the deserter legions, 'so that they should not seize'.
B. Hisp. 34.4Dēmum lēgātōs ad Caesarem mittunt, ut sibi legiōnēs subsidiō intrōmitteret.
At last they sent envoys to Caesar, asking him to send legions into the town to help them.
Note. Dēmum: 'at last'. subsidiō: predicative dative, 'as a help'.
B. Hisp. 34.4Hoc cum animadverterent hominēs fugitīvī, oppidum incendere coepērunt.
When the runaways noticed this, they began to set the town on fire.
Note. Hōc cum: the object stands before the cum. fugitīvī: runaway slaves, the men of the deserter legions.
B. Hisp. 34.5Quī superātī ā nostrīs sunt interfectī hominum mīlia xxii, praeterquam extrā mūrum quī periērunt.
Overcome by our men, twenty-two thousand of them were killed, not counting those who died outside the wall.
Note. mīlia xxii: 22,000. praeterquam … quī periērunt: 'apart from those who died'.
B. Hisp. 34.6Ita Caesar oppidō potītur.
So Caesar takes possession of the town.
Note. potītur: potior takes the ablative.
B. Hisp. 34.6Dum hīc dētinētur, ex proeliō quōs circummūnītōs superius dēmōnstrāvimus, ēruptiōnem fēcērunt et bene multīs interfectīs in oppidum sunt redāctī.
While he is held up here, the men from the battle whom we described above as walled in made a sortie, and after a great many had been killed they were driven back into the town.
Note. quōs circummūnītōs superius dēmōnstrāvimus: the men walled in at Munda (chapter 32). bene multīs: bene with an adjective is colloquial for 'very'.
Vocabulary
| oppidānus, -ī m. | townsman (pl. the people of the town) |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| simul, adv. | at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| discordō, -āre | be at odds, quarrel, disagree |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| ūsque, adv. | all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| clāmor, -ōris, m. | shout, cry |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| ferē, adv. | nearly, about, almost, for the most part |
| inter, prep, with acc. | among, between |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| hīc, adv. | here; hereupon |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj. | two |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| perfuga, -ae m. | deserter |
| cōnscrībō, -ere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptum | enlist, enroll |
| partim (adv.) | partly (partim … partim: some … others) |
| servus, -ī, m. | slave, servant |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| manūmittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missus | set free (a slave) |
| adventus, -ūs, m. | approach, arrival |
| dissentiō, -īre, -sēnsī, -sēnsus | disagree, differ |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus | ward off; defend |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| dēpugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | fight it out, fight a pitched battle |
| turris, -is f. | tower; siege tower |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| mūrus, -ī, m. | wall |
| occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus | seize; fill |
| dēmum, adv. | at last |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| subsidium, -ī, n. | reserve, reinforcement, support, help |
| intrōmittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | let in, send in |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| fugitīvus, -ī m. | runaway slave, deserter |
| incendō, -ere, -cendī, -cēnsum | set on fire, burn |
| superō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | overcome, defeat, conquer |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| praeterquam (adv.) | except, besides |
| extrā (prep. + acc.) | outside, beyond |
| pereō, -īre, -ii, -itūrus | pass away, perish |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| potior, -īrī, -ītus | become master of, get possession of |
| dum, conj. | while, as; as long as; until |
| dētineō, -ēre, -tinuī, -tentum | hold back, detain |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| circummūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītum | wall around, enclose |
| superius (comp. adv.) | higher up; earlier, above (in a book) |
| dēmōnstrō, -mōnstrāre, -mōnstrāvī, -mōnstrātus | point out, show; make known |
| ēruptiō, -ōnis f. | sally, sortie |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| bene, adv. | well; successfully |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| redigō, -ere, redēgī, redāctum | bring back; reduce (to a condition) |