Lectitō › Julius Caesar › The Spanish War (Bellum Hispaniense)
Bellum Hispaniense 4
The Feint against Corduba
Anonymous, Bellum Hispaniense. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōB. Hisp. 4.1Hōc missō ad Uliam praesidiō Caesar, ut Pompēium ab eā oppugnātiōne dēdūceret, ad Cordubam contendit, ex quō itinere lōrīcātōs virōs fortīs cum equitātū ante praemīsit.
Having sent this relief to Ulia, Caesar marched on Corduba to draw Pompeius away from that siege, and from that march he sent ahead some brave men in armour along with the cavalry.
Note. Hōc missō … praesidiō: ablative absolute. ut Pompeium … dēdūceret: purpose; the march on Corduba was a feint to draw Gnaeus away from Ulia. ex quō itinere: 'from that march'. lōrīcātōs virōs fortīs: 'brave men in armour'; fortīs is the older accusative plural ending in -īs.
B. Hisp. 4.2Quī simul in cōnspectum oppidī sē dedērunt, cum equīs recipiuntur, hoc ā Cordubēnsibus nēquāquam poterat animadvertī.
As soon as they came into view of the town, they were taken up on the horses, and this could not possibly be noticed by the people of Corduba.
Note. simul (= simul atque) … sē dedērunt: 'as soon as they came into view'. cum equīs recipiuntur: each armoured man was taken up behind a horseman, so that the people of Corduba saw only cavalry approaching. hoc: the trick of the doubled riders.
B. Hisp. 4.2Adpropinquantibus ex oppidō bene magna multitūdō ad equitātum concīdendum cum exīssent, lōrīcātī, ut suprā scrīpsimus, ex equīs dēscendērunt et magnum proelium fēcērunt, sīc utī ex īnfīnītā hominum multitūdine paucī in oppidum sē reciperent.
As they drew near, a very great crowd came out of the town to cut down the cavalry; the armoured men, as we wrote above, got down from the horses and fought a great battle, with the result that out of a vast number of men only a few got back into the town.
Note. Adpropinquantibus: dative, 'when they were drawing near', loosely attached; the following cum-clause has a singular subject (multitūdō) with a plural verb (exīssent), a construction by sense. ad equitātum concīdendum: gerundive of purpose, 'to cut down the cavalry'. ut suprā scrīpsimus: the author refers back to 22, using the 'we' of the narrator. sīc utī: 'so that'.
B. Hisp. 4.3Hōc timōre adductus Sex. Pompēius litterās frātrī mīsit, ut celeriter sibi subsidiō venīret, nē prius Caesar Cordubam caperet, quam ipse illō vēnisset.
Moved by fear of this, Sextus Pompeius sent a letter to his brother asking him to come quickly to his help, so that Caesar should not take Corduba before he himself arrived there.
Note. Hōc timōre: 'by fear of this'. Sex. Pompeius: Sextus, in Corduba. ut … venīret: indirect command. sibi subsidiō: double dative, 'as a help to him'. nē prius … caperet, quam … venīsset: priusquam split into two parts (tmesis), 'before he himself had arrived'. illō: adverb, 'to that place'.
B. Hisp. 4.4Itaque Cn. Pompēius Uliā prope captā litterīs frātris excitus cum cōpiīs ad Cordubam iter facere coepit.
So Gnaeus Pompeius, roused by his brother's letter when Ulia was almost taken, began to march with his forces to Corduba.
Note. Uliā prope captā: ablative absolute, 'when Ulia had almost been taken'. excītus: from exciō, 'roused'. Caesar's feint worked: the siege of Ulia was abandoned.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| oppugnātiō, -ōnis f. | siege, assault on a town |
| dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| lōrīcātus, -a, -um | wearing a breastplate, armoured |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| fortis, -e | brave |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| ante, prep, with acc. and adv. | before |
| praemittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | send ahead |
| simul, adv. | at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| cōnspectus, -ūs, m. | sight |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| equus, -ī, m. | horse |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| nēquāquam (adv.) | by no means, not at all |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| appropinquō, -propinquāre, -propinquāvī, -propinquātus | approach to, approach |
| bene, adv. | well; successfully |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| multitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | multitude |
| concīdō, -ere, concīdī, concīsum | cut down, kill |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| exeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go out |
| suprā, adv. and prep. with acc. | above, before |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
| dēscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb down, descend |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| sīc, adv. | so, thus |
| īnfīnītus, -a, -um | boundless, countless |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead to, bring, take; induce, influence |
| littera, -ae f. | letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing |
| frāter, frātris, m. | brother |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| subsidium, -ī, n. | reserve, reinforcement, support, help |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| prius, adv. | before, first |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| illō (adv.) | to that place, there |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| prope (adv. and prep. + acc.) | near, nearly |
| exciō, -īre, -cīvī, -citus | rouse, stir up; summon |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |