Nepos, Epaminondas 9

Death at Mantinea

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Epam. 9.1Hic extrēmō tempore imperātor apud Mantinēam cum aciē īnstrūctā audācius īnstāret hostēs, cognitus ā Lacedaemoniīs, quod in ūnīus perniciē eius patriae sitam putābant salūtem, ūniversī in ūnum impetum fēcērunt neque prius abscessērunt, quam magnā caede ēditā multīsque occīsīs fortissimē ipsum Epamīnōndam pugnantem, sparō ēminus percussum, concidere vīdērunt.At the end, as commander at Mantinea, when with his line drawn up he was pressing the enemy too boldly, he was recognized by the Spartans; and because they thought their country's safety lay in the destruction of this one man, they all made an attack on him alone, and did not draw back until, after great slaughter and the death of many, they saw Epaminondas himself, fighting most bravely, struck from a distance by a light spear, fall.Note. Mantinea (362 BC) was Epaminondas' last battle. audācius: comparative adverb, 'too boldly'. quod ... sitam putābant salūtem: 'because they thought their country's safety lay in ...'. neque prius ... quam ... vīdērunt: 'did not draw back before they saw'. The accusative and infinitive Epamīnōndam ... concidere depends on vīdērunt. Epam. 9.2Huius cāsū aliquantum retardātī sunt Boeōtī, neque tamen prius pugnā excessērunt, quam repugnantēs prōflīgārunt.His fall held the Boeotians back a little, yet they did not leave the fight before they had routed the enemy who resisted them.Note. aliquantum: 'somewhat'. prius ... quam ... prōflīgārunt (= prōflīgāvērunt): 'before they had routed'. Epam. 9.3At Epamīnōndās, cum animadverteret mortiferum sē vulnus accēpisse simulque, sī ferrum, quod ex hastīlī in corpore remānserat, extrāxisset, animam statim ēmissūrum, usque eō retinuit, quoad renūntiātum est vīcisse Boeōtōs.But Epaminondas, realizing that he had received a mortal wound, and also that if he pulled out the iron point that had stayed in his body from the shaft he would die at once, kept it in until it was reported that the Boeotians had won.Note. sī ... extrāxisset: pluperfect subjunctive standing for a future perfect in indirect speech, 'if he pulled out'. ēmissūrum (esse): future infinitive. ūsque eō ... quoad: 'all the time until'.

Epam. 9.4Id postquam audīvit, satis" inquit "vīxī: invictus enim morior."When he heard this, he said: "I have lived long enough: for I die unconquered."Note. Satis vīxī: a famous last saying; invictus 'unconquered' explains why he can die content. Epam. 9.4Tum ferrō extrāctō cōnfestim exanimātus est.Then the iron was drawn out and he died at once.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×2, ablative absolute ×4, indirect statement ×5

Latin vocabulary for this passage (87 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
extrēmus, -a, -um	last, extreme, furthest
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
imperātor, -ōris, m.	commander, general
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
aciēs, -ēī, f.	line of battle
īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus	build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish,
audācter (adv.; comp. audācius)	boldly
īnstō, -āre, -stitī	press on; be at hand
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
perniciēs, -ēī f.	ruin, destruction
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
patria, -ae, f.	fatherland, country
situs, -a, -um	placed, situated
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
salūs, salūtis, f.	safety, deliverance, escape
ūniversus, -a, -um	all together, whole, entire, all
impetus, -ūs, m.	attack; impetum facere, to charge
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
prius, adv.	before, first
abscēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum	go away, withdraw
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
caedēs, -is, f.	cutting down, killing, slaughter
ēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	put forth, give out, utter
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
que, enclitic conj.	and
occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus	cut down, kill
fortiter, adv.	bravely
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	fight
sparus, -ī m.	a small hunting spear
ēminus (adv.)	at a distance, from afar
percutiō, -cutere, -cussī, -cussus	strike through, strike
concidō, -ere, concidī	fall down, collapse
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
cāsus, -ūs, m.	fall; chance, accident
aliquantum, -quantī, n.	somewhat
retardō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hold back, slow down, check
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
pugna, -ae, f.	fighting, battle, combat
excēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go out or forth, depart
repugnō, -pugnāre, -pugnāvī, -pugnātus	fight against, struggle, resist
prōflīgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	rout, defeat utterly
at, conj.	but
animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus	turn the mind to, observe
mortifer, -fera, -ferum	death-bringing, deadly
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
vulnus, vulneris, n.	wound
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
sī, conj.	if
ferrum, -ī n.	iron; iron point, sword
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
hastīle, -is n.	spear shaft
corpus, corporis, n.	body
remaneō, -ēre, -mānsī	stay behind, remain
extrahō, -trahere, -trāxī, -trāctus	draw or drag out, release, rescue
anima, -ae, f.	breath, soul, life
statim, adv.	on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately
ēmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send out or forth
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)
retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast
quoad (conj.)	as long as; until
renūntiō, -nūntiāre, -nūntiāvī, -nūntiātus	bring back word, report, announce
vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum	conquer, defeat
postquam, conj.	later than, after, when
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	hear; listen or attend to
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb	I say, you say, he says
vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctus	live
invictus, -a, -um	unconquered, unbeaten
enim, conj.	for
morior, morī, mortuus	die
tum, adv.	then, at that time
cōnfestim (adv.)	at once, immediately
exanimō, -animāre, -animāvī, -animātus	put out of breath, fatigue, tire, exhaust; stupefy; kill

Nepos, Epaminondas. Latin text: A. Fleckeisen (Teubner, 1886), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.