Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The Spanish War (Bellum Hispaniense)
Bellum Hispaniense 35
Hispalis Received and Lost
Anonymous, Bellum Hispaniense. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Hisp. 35.1Caesar Hispalim cum contendisset, lēgātī dēprecātum vēnērunt.
When Caesar had marched on Hispalis, envoys came to beg for mercy.
Note. Hispalis is modern Seville. dēprecātum: supine in -um after a verb of motion, expressing purpose, 'to beg for mercy'.
B. Hisp. 35.1Ita cum ad oppidum esset ventum, Canīnium cum praesidiō lēgātum intrōmittit: ipse castra ad oppidum pōnit.
So when he reached the town, he sent his legate Caninius in with a garrison, and pitched his own camp by the town.
Note. Canīnium: Gaius Caninius Rebilus, one of Caesar's legates. intrōmittit: 'sends in'.
B. Hisp. 35.2Erat bene magna manus intrā Pompēiānārum partium, quae praesidium receptum indignārētur clam quendam Philōnem, illum, quī Pompēiānārum partium fuisset dēfēnsor ācerrimus— is tōtā Lūsītāniā nōtissimus erat—: hic clam praesidia Lūsītāniam proficīscitur et Caecilium Nigrum, hominem barbarum, ad Lennium convenit, quī bene magnam manum Lūsītānōrum habēret.
Inside there was a very large band of the Pompeian party, who resented the garrison being let in; [secretly] a certain Philo, the man who had been the fiercest champion of the Pompeian party (he was very well known all over Lusitania), slipped away unseen by the garrison to Lusitania and met Caecilius Niger, a native, at Lennium, who had a very large band of Lusitanians.
Note. A long and partly broken sentence. bene magna manus: 'a very large band'. quae … indignārētur: the relative clause of characteristic, 'such as resented'. clam: 'secretly'; the second clam praesidia uses clam as a preposition, 'unknown to the garrison'. hominem barbarum: 'a native', not a Roman. ad Lennium: 'at Lennium', a place in Lusitania.
B. Hisp. 35.4Reversus Hispalim oppidum dēnuō noctū per mūrum recipitur: praesidium, vigilēs iugulant, portās praeclūdunt, dē integrō pugnāre coepērunt.
Returning to Hispalis, he is let into the town again at night over the wall: they cut the throats of the garrison and the sentries, shut the gates, and began to fight all over again.
Note. Reversus: perfect participle of revertor, 'having returned'. dē integrō: 'afresh, all over again'.
Vocabulary
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| dēprecor, -ārī, -ātus sum | beg to be spared, plead |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| intrōmittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | let in, send in |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| bene, adv. | well; successfully |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| intrā, prep. with acc. | within |
| Pompeiānus, -a, -um | of Pompey, Pompeian; Pompeiānī, -ōrum m. pl.: Pompey's men |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| indignor, -ārī, -ātus sum | be indignant, resent |
| clam (adv.) | secretly |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| dēfēnsor, -ōris m. | defender |
| ācer, ācris, ācre | sharp, shrill |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| nōtus, -a, -um | known, well-known, famous |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| niger, nigra, nigrum | black |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| barbarus, -a, -um | barbarian |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertī | turn back, return |
| dēnuō (adv.) | again, anew |
| noctū, adv. | at or by night |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| mūrus, -ī, m. | wall |
| vigil, -is m. | watchman, sentry |
| iugulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | cut the throat of, murder |
| porta, -ae, f. | gate; door |
| praeclūdō, -ere, -clūsī, -clūsum | close, block |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| integer, -gra, -grum | untouched, fresh, whole |
| pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | fight |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |