Bellum Hispaniense 42

B. Hisp. 42.1Dum haec ad Mundam geruntur et Ursaōnem, Caesar, ad Hispalim cum Gādibus sē recēpisset, īnsequentī diē cōntiōne advocātā commemorat: Initiō quaestūrae suae eam prōvinciam ex omnibus prōvinciīs pecūliārem sibi cōnstituisse et, quae potuisset eō tempore, beneficia largītum esse;

While this is going on at Munda and Urso, Caesar, after returning from Gades to Hispalis, called an assembly on the next day and reminded them: at the start of his quaestorship he had made that province his special charge above all the provinces, and had lavished on it what benefits he could at that time;

Note. The last chapter: Caesar's speech to the people of Hispalis. cum Gādibus sē recēpisset: cum is the conjunction, 'when he had returned from Gades'. Initiō quaestūrae suae: Caesar was quaestor in Further Spain in 69 BC. The speech is reported in indirect statement, with sē and sibi referring to Caesar. largītum esse: perfect infinitive of the deponent largior.

B. Hisp. 42.2īnsequente praetūrā ampliātō honōre vectīgālia, quae Metellus inposuisset, ā senātū petīsse abolenda et eius pecūniae prōvinciam līberāsse simulque patrōciniō susceptō multīs lēgātiōnibus ab sē in senātum inductīs simul prō pūblicīs prīvātīsque causīs multōrum inimīcitiīs susceptīs dēfendisse;

in his following praetorship, when his office was enlarged, he had asked the senate to abolish the taxes Metellus had imposed and had freed the province from paying that money; at the same time, having taken up its defence, he had brought many embassies before the senate and had defended it in public and private cases, taking on many men's hostility;

Note. insequente praetūrā: Caesar governed Further Spain after his praetorship, in 61–60 BC. Metellus: Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, governor there during the war against Sertorius, who had imposed heavy taxes. petisse: syncopated for petīvisse. abolenda: gerundive with petō, 'asked that they be abolished'. patrōciniō susceptō: 'having taken up its defence' (as its patron).

B. Hisp. 42.3suō item in cōnsulātū absentem, quae potuisset, commoda prōvinciae tribuisse: eōrum omnium commodōrum et immemorēs et ingrātōs in sē et in populum Rōmānum hōc bellō et praeteritō tempore cognōsse.

likewise in his consulship, though absent, he had granted the province what advantages he could; and he had found them both forgetful of all these benefits and ungrateful to himself and the Roman people, in this war and in time past.

Note. absentem: Caesar was away in Gaul during the later years of his consular command. commoda: 'advantages, benefits'. cognōsse: syncopated for cognōvisse.

B. Hisp. 42.4"Vōs iūre gentium cīviumque Rōmānōrum īnstitūtīs cognitīs mōre barbarōrum populī Rōmānī magistrātibus sacrōsānctīs manūs semel et saepius attulistis et lūce clārā Cassium in mediō forō nefāriē interficere voluistis.

"You, who knew the law of nations and the institutions of Roman citizens, laid violent hands like barbarians on the sacrosanct magistrates of the Roman people, not once but many times, and in broad daylight, in the middle of the forum, you tried wickedly to murder Cassius.

Note. The speech now turns to direct address. iūre gentium … cognitīs: ablative absolute, 'though you knew the law of nations'. sacrōsānctīs: magistrates such as tribunes were legally inviolable. Cassium: Quintus Cassius Longinus, Caesar's harsh governor of Further Spain, whom provincials tried to assassinate in 48 BC.

B. Hisp. 42.5Vōs ita pācem semper ōdistis, ut nūllō tempore legiōnēs dēsitae sint populī Rōmānī in hāc prōvinciā habērī.

You have always hated peace so much that the legions of the Roman people have never been able to stop being kept in this province.

Note. dēsitae sint: dēsinō is passive when used with a passive infinitive.

B. Hisp. 42.5Apud vōs beneficia prō maleficiīs, maleficia prō beneficiīs habentur.

With you, benefits count as injuries, and injuries as benefits.

Note. A neat chiasmus: beneficia prō maleficiīs, maleficia prō beneficiīs.

B. Hisp. 42.5Ita neque in ōtiō concordiam neque in bellō virtūtem ūllō tempore retinēre potuistis.

So you have never been able to keep either harmony in peace or courage in war.

Note. neque … neque: 'neither … nor'.

B. Hisp. 42.6Prīvātus ex fugā Cn. Pompēius adulēscēns ā vōbīs receptus fascēs imperiumque sibi arripuit, multīs interfectīs cīvibus auxilia contrā populum Rōmānum conparāvit, agrōs prōvinciamque vestrō inpulsū dēpopulāvit.

You took in the young Gnaeus Pompey as a private citizen in flight; he seized the fasces and supreme command for himself, killed many citizens, raised forces against the Roman people, and at your urging laid waste the countryside and the province.

Note. Prīvātus: Gnaeus Pompey held no office, so his taking the fasces was illegal. dēpopulāvit: an active form of the usual deponent dēpopulor. vestrō inpulsū: 'at your urging'.

B. Hisp. 42.7In quō vōs victōrēs exstābātis?

In what were you the victors?

Note. In quō: 'in what (respect)'. exstābātis: 'did you stand out'.

B. Hisp. 42.7An mē dēlētō nōn animum advertēbātis decem habēre legiōnēs populum Rōmānum, quae nōn sōlum vōbīs obsistere, sed etiam caelum dīruere possent?

Did you not realise that even if I were destroyed, the Roman people had ten legions which could not only resist you but even pull down the sky?

Note. An … nōn: 'surely you did not fail to realise…?' mē dēlētō: ablative absolute, 'if I were destroyed'. caelum dīruere: 'pull down the sky', a deliberately extravagant boast.

B. Hisp. 42.7Quārum laudibus est virtūte…

By their praises and courage …

Note. Here the text breaks off: the manuscripts of the Bellum Hispaniense are mutilated at the end, and nothing more of the speech or the war survives. Quārum: the legions'.