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Sallust · Bellum Iugurthinum

Bellum Iugurthinum 47

A garrison at Vaga

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Iug. 47.1Erat haud longē ab eō itinere, quō Metellus pergēbat, oppidum Numidārum nōmine Vaga, forum rērum vēnālium tōtīus regnī māxumē celebrātum, ubi et incolere et mercārī cōnsuēverant Italicī generis multī mortālēs.Not far from the route by which Metellus was marching there was a town of the Numidians called Vaga, the most frequented market of the whole kingdom, where many men of Italian stock had been accustomed both to live and to trade. Iug. 47.2Hūc cōnsul, simul temptandī grātiā, sī paterentur, et ob opportūnitātēs locī, praesidium inposuit.Here the consul placed a garrison, both to test them, to see whether they would allow it, and because of the advantages of the place. Iug. 47.2Praetereā imperāvit frūmentum et alia, quae bellō ūsuī forent, conportāre, ratus, id quod rēs monēbat, frequentiam negōtiātōrum et commeātū iuvātūram exercitum et iam parātīs rēbus mūnīmentō fore.Besides this he ordered them to bring in grain and other things which would be of use for the war, thinking, as the situation suggested, that the large number of traders would help the army with supplies and would serve as a protection for the stores already prepared.

Iug. 47.3Inter haec negōtia Iugurtha impēnsius modo lēgātōs supplicēs mittere, pācem ōrāre, praeter suam līberōrumque vītam omnia Metellō dēdere.In the midst of these activities Jugurtha only sent suppliant envoys the more urgently, begging for peace and surrendering everything to Metellus except his own life and his children's. Iug. 47.4Quōs item utī priōrēs cōnsul illectōs ad prōditiōnem domum dīmittēbat, rēgī pācem, quam postulābat, neque abnuere neque pollicērī et inter eās morās prōmissa lēgātōrum expectāre.These too, like the earlier ones, the consul enticed into treachery and sent home; to the king he neither refused nor promised the peace which he asked for, and in the meantime he awaited the fulfilment of the envoys' promises.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×4

Latin vocabulary for this passage (88 words)
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
haud, adv.not at all, by no means, not
longē, adv.far
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
pergō, -ere, perrēxī, perrēctumgo on, press on
oppidum, -ī, n.town
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
forum, -ī n.market place, public square
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
vēnālis, -efor sale; venal, open to bribery
tōtus, -a, -umall the, the whole or entire
regnum, -ī, n.royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm
maximē, adv.very greatly, exceedingly, especially
celebrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusthrong; keep (a festival), celebrate
ubi, adv.where; conj., when
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
incolō, -colere, -coluīinhabit
mercor, -ārī, -ātus sumbuy, purchase; trade
cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētusbecome accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont
Italicus, -a, -umItalian; bellum Italicum: the Social War of 91–88 BC between Rome and its Italian allies
genus, generis, n.kind, nature
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
mortālis, -emortal
hūc, adv.to this place, hither
cōnsul, -ulis m.consul (one of Rome's two chief magistrates)
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
temptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātustry, attempt
grātia, -ae, f.favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
sī, conj.if
patior, patī, passus, bearsuffer, allow
ob, prep. with acc.on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
opportūnitās, -ātis f.advantage, favourable feature
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.place, situation
praesidium, -ī, n.protection; guard, escort
impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positusplace or lay upon, impose; embark
praetereā, adv.besides this, besides, moreover
imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātuscommand, order, enjoin
frūmentum, -ī, n.grain
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
bellum, -ī, n.war
ūsus, -ūs, m.use; experience
comportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātuscarry or bring together, collect
reor, rērī, ratus sumthink, suppose, reckon
moneō, -ēre, -uī, -ituswarn
frequentia, -ae f.crowd, throng; full attendance
negōtiātor, -ōris m.trader, merchant
commeātus, -ūs, m.supplies, provisions
iuvō, -āre, iūvī, iūtumhelp
exercitus, -ūs, m.army
iam, adv.now, already
parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusmake ready, prepare
mūnīmentum, -ī n.defence, barrier
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
negōtium, -ī, n.business, matter; task, trouble, difficulty
impēnsē (adv.)greatly, earnestly; comp. impēnsius, all the more
modo, adv.only
lēgātus, -ī, m.ambassador
supplex, -icisbegging, as a suppliant
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missussend
pāx, pācis f.peace
ōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusspeak; beg, pray
praeter, prep. with acc.before, past, by; besides, except
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
līberī, -ōrum, m. plur.children
que, enclitic conj.and
vīta, -ae, f.life
omnis, -eall, every
dēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive away or up
itemlikewise, also
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
prior, priusearlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front)
illiciō, -licere, -lexī, -lectusentice, lure, seduce
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
prōditiō, -ōnis f.treachery, betrayal
domus, -ūs, f.house, home
dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missussend different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose
rēx, rēgis, m.king
postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusask, request, demand
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
abnuō, -ere, -nuīrefuse, decline, reject
polliceor, -licērī, -licituspromise
mora, -ae, f.delay
prōmissum, -ī n.promise
exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātuslook out for, wait for, await, expect; wait
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.