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Sallust · Bellum Iugurthinum

Bellum Iugurthinum 83

Metellus negotiates with Bocchus

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Iug. 83.1Igitur eō dolōre impedītus et quia stultitiae vidēbātur aliēnam rem perīculō suō cūrāre, lēgātōs ad Bocchum mittit postulātum, nē sine causā hostis populō Rōmānō fieret: habēre tum magnam cōpiam societātis amīcitiaeque coniungundae, quae potior bellō esset, et, quamquam opibus suīs cōnfīderet, tamen nōn dēbēre incerta prō certīs mūtāre.So, hampered by that resentment, and because it seemed folly to manage another man's business at his own risk, he sent envoys to Bocchus to demand that he should not become an enemy of the Roman people without cause: he now had a great opportunity of forming an alliance and friendship, which would be better than war, and although he trusted his own resources, he ought not to exchange the certain for the uncertain. Iug. 83.1Omne bellum sūmī facile, cēterum aegērrumē dēsinere;Every war was easily taken up, but ended only with the greatest difficulty; Iug. 83.1nōn in eiusdem potestāte initium eius et fīnem esse;its beginning and its end did not lie in the power of the same man; Iug. 83.1incipere quoivīs etiam ignāvō licēre, dēpōnī quom victōrēs velint.anyone, even a coward, might start one, but it was laid down when the victors wished.

Iug. 83.1Proinde sibi regnōque suō cōnsuleret neu flōrentīs rēs suās cum Iugurthae perditīs miscēret.He should therefore look to the interests of himself and his kingdom, and not mix his own flourishing fortunes with the ruined fortunes of Jugurtha. Iug. 83.2Ad ea rēx satis placidē verba facit: sēsē pācem cupere, sed Iugurthae fortūnārum miserērī;To this the king replied calmly enough: he wanted peace, but he pitied Jugurtha's fortunes; Iug. 83.2sī eadem illī cōpia fieret, omnia conventūra.if the same opportunity were given to Jugurtha, everything would be agreed. Iug. 83.3Rūrsus imperātor contrā postulāta Bocchī nūntiōs mittit;The commander in turn sent messengers in answer to Bocchus' demands; Iug. 83.3ille probāre partim, alia abnuere.he accepted some points and rejected others. Iug. 83.3Eō modō saepe ab utrōque missīs remissīsque nūntiīs tempus prōcēdere, et ex Metellī voluntāte bellum intāctum trahī.In this way, with messengers often sent and sent back by each side, time went by, and, as Metellus wished, the war was dragged out untouched.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, indirect statement ×2, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (108 words)
igitur, conj.therefore
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
dolor, -ōris, m.pain, grief; anger
impediō, -pedīre, -pedīvī, -pedītushinder, prevent, impede
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
quia (conj.)because
stultitia, -ae f.folly, foolishness
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
aliēnus, -a, -umbelonging to another, out of place
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
perīculum, -ī, n.danger, peril, risk
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumtake care of; (+ gerundive) have something done
lēgātus, -ī, m.ambassador
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missussend
postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusask, request, demand
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
sine, prep. with abl.without
causa, -ae, f.cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
hostis, -is, m. and f.enemy, foe
populus, -ī m.people, nation
Rōmānus, -a, -umRoman
fīō, fierī, factus sumbe done or made, become, happen
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
tum, adv.then, at that time
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
cōpia, -ae, f.supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
societās, -ātis f.alliance, partnership
amīcitia, -ae f.friendship, alliance
que, enclitic conj.and
coniungō, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctusjoin together, join
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
potior, -ius (comp. adj.)better, preferable, more powerful
bellum, -ī, n.war
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
quamquam, conj.however much, although
ops, opis f.; pl. opēs, -umhelp; (pl.) resources, wealth, power
cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sumtrust, be confident
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
nōn, adv.not
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itusowe; with infin., ought
incertus, -a, -umuncertain, unreliable
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
certus, -a, -umdetermined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform
mūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuschange
omnis, -eall, every
sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptustake under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment
facile, adv.easily
cēterum (adv.)but, however; for the rest
aegrē, adv.ill, with difficulty
dēsinō, -sinere, -siī, -situsstop, cease (+ inf.)
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
potestās, -ātis f.power, authority
initium, -ī, n.beginning
fīnis, -is, m.end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country
incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptumbegin
quīvīs, quaevīs, quodvīsany you like, any whatever
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
ignāvus, -a, -umlazy, cowardly
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.is lawful or permitted
dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positusput down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
victor, -ōris m.conqueror, victor
volō, velle, voluīwish
proinde (adv.)therefore, accordingly; so then
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
regnum, -ī, n.royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm
cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tusconsult
nēve or neu, conj.and that not, and not, nor
flōrēns, -entisflourishing, prosperous
cum, prep, with abl.with
perditus, -a, -umabandoned, desperate
misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtusmix, mingle
rēx, rēgis, m.king
satis, adv.enough, sufficiently
placidē (adv.)quietly, calmly
verbum, -ī, n.word
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
pāx, pācis f.peace
cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītusdesire, long for, wish
sed, conj.but
fortūna, -ae, f.fortune
misereor, -ērī, miseritus sumpity, have mercy on (+ gen.)
sī, conj.if
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome together, assemble
rūrsus, adv.again
imperātor, -ōris, m.commander, general
contrā, prep, with acc.against, contrary to
postulātum, -ī n.demand, request
nūntius, -ī, m.messenger; message
probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumprove, show; approve
partim (adv.)partly (partim … partim: some … others)
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
abnuō, -ere, -nuīrefuse, decline, reject
modus, -ī, m.way, manner
saepe, adv.often, frequently
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
uterque, utraque, utrumqueeach, either, both
remittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missumsend back; give up, remit
tempus, temporis, n.time, season
prōcēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessumgo forward, advance
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
voluntās, -tātis, f.wish, will
intāctus, -a, -umuntouched, unharmed
trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctusdraw, drag
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.