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Sallust · Bellum Iugurthinum

Bellum Iugurthinum 99

A dawn attack routs the kings

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Iug. 99.1Plūrumum vērō Marius inperītiā hostium cōnfirmātus quam maxumum silentium habērī iubet, nē signa quidem, utī per vigiliās solēbant, canere.Marius, greatly heartened above all by the inexperience of the enemy, orders the strictest possible silence to be kept, and not even the signals to be sounded, as was usual, at the watches. Iug. 99.1Deinde ubi lūx adventābat, dēfessīs iam hostibus ac paulō ante somnō captīs, dē inprōvīsō vigilēs, item cohortium turmārum legiōnum tubicinēs simul omnīs signa canere, mīlitēs clamōrem tollere atque portīs ērumpere iubet.Then, when daylight was approaching, and the enemy were by now exhausted and had shortly before been overcome by sleep, he orders the sentries, and likewise the trumpeters of the cohorts, squadrons and legions, suddenly all at once to sound the signals, and the soldiers to raise a shout and burst out of the gates. Iug. 99.2Maurī atque Gaetūlī, ignōtō et horribilī sonitū repente excitī, neque fugere neque arma capere neque omnīnō facere aut prōvidēre quicquam poterant: ita cūnctōs strepitū clamōre, nūllō subveniente, nostrīs īnstantibus, tumultū formīdine terror quasi vēcordia cēperat.The Moors and Gaetulians, suddenly roused by the strange and dreadful noise, could neither flee nor take up arms nor do or provide for anything at all: so utterly had terror, almost like madness, seized them all through the din and shouting, with no one coming to their aid, our men pressing on, and the uproar and panic.

Iug. 99.3Dēnique omnēs fūsī fugātīque arma et signa mīlitāria plēraque capta, plūrēsque eō proeliō quam omnibus superiōribus interēmptī.In the end all were routed and put to flight, most of their arms and military standards were taken, and more were killed in that battle than in all the earlier ones. Iug. 99.3Nam somnō et metū īnsolitō impedīta fuga.For their flight was hindered by sleep and unaccustomed fear.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×3

Latin vocabulary for this passage (88 words)
plūrimum (adv.)most, very much (plūrimum posse: be most powerful)
vērō, adv.in truth, indeed; however
imperītia, -ae f.inexperience, lack of skill, ignorance
hostis, -is, m. and f.enemy, foe
cōnfirmō, -firmāre, -firmāvī, -firmātusstrengthen, establish; declare, assert
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
silentium, -ī n.silence; silentiō: in silence, quietly
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussusbid, order, command
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
signum, -ī, n.sign, signal
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
vigilia, -ae, f.watch
soleō, -ēre, solitus sumbe accustomed, usually do
canō, -ere, cecinī, cantussing; of a trumpet: sound (receptuī canere: sound the retreat)
deinde, adv.then, next
ubi, adv.where; conj., when
lūx, lūcis, f.light
adventō, -āre, -āvīcome nearer and nearer, approach
dēfessus, -a, -umworn out, exhausted
iam, adv.now, already
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
paulō, adv.by a little, a little, somewhat
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.before
somnus, -ī, m.sleep, drowsiness
capiō, capere, cēpī, captustake, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
imprōvīsus, -a, -umunexpected (dē imprōvīsō: unexpectedly)
vigil, -is m.watchman, sentry
itemlikewise, also
cohors, cohortis f.cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
turma, -ae f.troop, squadron of cavalry
legiō, -ōnis f.legion
tubicen, -cinis m.trumpeter
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
omnis, -eall, every
mīles, mīlitis, m.soldier
clāmor, -ōris, m.shout, cry
tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātuslift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor
porta, -ae, f.gate; door
ērumpō, -ere, -rūpī, -ruptumburst out, sally
Maurus, -a, -umMoorish, North African
ignōtus, -a, -umunknown
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
horribilis, -edreadful, terrible, horrible
sonitus, -ūs, m.sound, noise
repente (adv.)suddenly
exciō, -īre, -cīvī, -citusrouse, stir up; summon
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrusflee, run away
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.arms, weapons
omnīnō, adv.altogether, wholly, entirely
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
prōvideō, -ēre, -vīdī, -vīsumforesee; provide for
quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron.any one, anything
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
ita, adv.in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
cūnctus, -a, -umall, the whole
strepitus, -ūs m.noise, din
nūllus, -a, -umnot any, none, no
subveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventuscome to help, rescue (+ dat.)
noster, -tra, -trumour
īnstō, -āre, -stitīpress on; be at hand
tumultus, -ūs m.uproar, uprising
formīdō, -inis f.fear, dread; something to be dreaded
terror, -ōris, m.terror, fright
quasi, conj.as if
vēcordia, -ae f.madness, frenzy
dēnique, adv.lastly, finally
fundō, -ere, fūdī, fūsumpour; rout, scatter (an enemy)
fugō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusput to flight, rout
que, enclitic conj.and
mīlitāris, -emilitary, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare
plērīque, plēraeque, plēraquemost, very many
plūrēs, -a, plur. adj.more, many, several
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
proelium, -ī, n.battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
superior, -ius, adj.higher; former, previous, preceding
interimō, -imere, -ēmī, -ēmptusdo away with, kill
nam, conj.for
metus, -ūs m.fear, dread
īnsolitus, -a, -umunaccustomed; unusual, strange
impediō, -pedīre, -pedīvī, -pedītushinder, prevent, impede
fuga, -ae, f.flight
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.