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Sallust · Bellum Iugurthinum

Bellum Iugurthinum 12

The murder of Hiempsal

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Iug. 12.1Prīmō conventū, quem ab rēgulīs factum suprā memorāvī, propter dissēnsiōnem placuerat dīvidī thēsaurōs fīnīsque imperī singulīs cōnstituī.At the first meeting, held by the princes as I have mentioned above, it had been decided, because of their disagreement, that the treasures should be divided and boundaries of rule fixed for each. Iug. 12.2Itaque tempus ad utramque rem dēcernitur, sed mātūrius ad pecūniam distribuendam.And so a time is appointed for each matter, but an earlier one for distributing the money. Iug. 12.2Rēgulī intereā in loca propinqua thēsaurīs alius aliō concessēre.Meanwhile the princes withdrew, one to one place, another to another, near the treasuries. Iug. 12.3Sed Hiempsal in oppidō Thirmidā forte eius domō ūtēbātur, quī proxumus līctor Iugurthae cārus acceptusque eī semper fuerat.But Hiempsal, in the town of Thirmida, happened to be using the house of a man who, as Jugurtha's chief lictor, had always been dear and welcome to him. Iug. 12.3Quem ille cāsū ministrum oblātum prōmissīs onerat inpellitque, utī tamquam sua vīsēns domum eat, portārum clāvīs adulterīnās paret — nam vērae ad Hiempsalem referēbantur — cēterum, ubi rēs postulāret, sē ipsum cum magnā manū ventūrum.Jugurtha loads this man, offered by chance as his agent, with promises and urges him to go to the house as if to visit his own property and to have false keys made to the gates — for the real ones were handed over to Hiempsal — and he himself, when the matter required it, would come with a large band.

Iug. 12.4Numida mandāta brevī cōnficit atque, utī doctus erat, noctū Iugurthae mīlitēs intrōdūcit.The Numidian quickly carries out his instructions and, as he had been told, lets Jugurtha's soldiers in by night. Iug. 12.5Quī postquam in aedīs inrūpēre, dīvorsī rēgem quaerere, dormientīs aliōs aliōs occursantīs interficere, scrūtārī loca abdita, clausa effringere, strepitū et tumultū omnia miscēre, quom interim Hiempsal reperītur occultāns sē tuguriō mulieris ancillae, quō initiō pavidus et ignārus locī perfūgerat.After they had burst into the house, they scattered in search of the king, killing some while asleep, others as they ran to meet them, searching hidden places, breaking open locked ones, throwing everything into confusion with noise and uproar, when meanwhile Hiempsal is found hiding in the hut of a slave woman, where at the start, terrified and unfamiliar with the place, he had fled. Iug. 12.6Numidae caput eius, utī iussī erant, ad Iugurtham referunt.The Numidians bring his head back to Jugurtha, as they had been ordered.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×6, gerunds and gerundives ×1, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (114 words)
prīmus, -a, -umfirst, foremost
conventus, -ūs m.meeting, assembly
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
rēgulus, -ī m.petty king, prince; a royal official
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
suprā, adv. and prep. with acc.above, before
memorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusremind of, mention
propter, prep. with acc.on account of, because of
dissēnsiō, -ōnis f.disagreement, quarrel
placeō, -ēre, placuī, placitum (+ dat.)please (placuit eī: he decided)
dīvidō, -videre, -vīsī, -vīsusdivide, separate
thēsaurus, -ī m.treasure; storehouse
fīnis, -is, m.end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country
que, enclitic conj.and
imperium, -ī, n.command; sway, rule
singulī, -ae, -aone at a time, single
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtusset together or up; appoint; determine
itaque, adv.and so, accordingly, therefore
tempus, temporis, n.time, season
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
uterque, utraque, utrumqueeach, either, both
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
dēcernō, -ere, dēcrēvī, dēcrētumdecide, decree
sed, conj.but
mātūrē (adv.; superl. mātūrrimē)early, quickly
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
distribuō, -ere, -tribuī, -tribūtumdivide up, distribute
intereā, adv.in the meantime, meanwhile
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.place, situation
propinquus, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m./-a f.near; (noun) relative
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
aliō (adv.)to another place, elsewhere
concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessusgrant, yield
oppidum, -ī, n.town
forte, adv.by chance, accidentally
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
domus, -ūs, f.house, home
ūtor, ūtī, ūsususe
proximus, -a, -umnearest, next
līctor, -ōris m.lictor, an attendant carrying the rods (fascēs) before a magistrate
cārus, -a, -umdear, precious
acceptus, -a, -um (+ dat.)welcome, popular (with)
semper, adv.always
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
cāsus, -ūs, m.fall; chance, accident
minister, -trī m.servant, attendant, helper
offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātusbear to, proffer, offer
prōmissum, -ī n.promise
onerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusload, burden
impellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsusdrive or urge on, incite, urge
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
tamquam (adv., conj.)as, just as; as if
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
vīsō, -ere, vīsī, vīsumgo to see, visit; look at
eō, īre, iī, itusgo
porta, -ae, f.gate; door
clāvis, -is f.key
adulterīnus, -a, -umcounterfeit, forged, false
parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusmake ready, prepare
nam, conj.for
vērus, -a, -umtrue; rē vērā, in truth, in fact
referō, referre, rettulī, relātusbring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia
cēterum (adv.)but, however; for the rest
ubi, adv.where; conj., when
postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusask, request, demand
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
cum, prep, with abl.with
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
manus, -ūs, f.hand
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventuscome
mandātum, -ī n.order, instruction, message
brevis, -eshort
cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectusmake or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tusteach, explain
noctū, adv.at or by night
mīles, mīlitis, m.soldier
intrōdūcō, -ere, -dūxī, -ductumlead in, bring in
postquam, conj.later than, after, when
aedēs, -is f.temple (sg.); house (pl.)
inrumpō, -rumpere, -rūpī, -ruptusburst into or in
dīversus, -a, -umturned different ways, opposite, contrary, different
rēx, rēgis, m.king
quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītusseek; ask, inquire
dormiō, -īre, -īvīsleep
occursō, -āre, -āvīrun to meet, meet; present itself (to the eyes)
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectusput out of the way, kill
scrūtor, -ārī, -ātus sumsearch, examine closely
abdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusput away, hide
claudō, -ere, clausī, clausumclose, shut; (agmen) bring up the rear
effringō, -ere, -frēgī, -frāctusbreak open, smash
strepitus, -ūs m.noise, din
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
tumultus, -ūs m.uproar, uprising
omnis, -eall, every
misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtusmix, mingle
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
interim (adv.)meanwhile
reperiō, reperīre, repperī, repertusfind, discover
occultō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumhide, conceal
tugurium, -ī n.hut, cottage; (of an animal) kennel
mulier, mulieris, f.woman
ancilla, -ae f.maidservant, slave girl
quō, adv.to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
initium, -ī, n.beginning
pavidus, -a, -umfrightened
ignārus, -a, -umignorant
perfugiō, -ere, -fūgīflee for refuge, desert
caput, capitis, n.head
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussusbid, order, command
Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum. Latin text: the Perseus digital text of Sallust's Jugurthine War, with chapter 79 onwards in part from A. W. Ahlberg (Teubner, 1919), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.