C. Iulius Caesar, Commentariī dē Bellō Civilī, 1.7 - 1.8

1.7 cont.

quarum rerum illo tempore nihil factum, ne cogitatum quidem. hortatur, cuius imperatoris ductu VIIII annis rem publicam felicissime gesserint plurimaque proelia secunda fecerint, omnem Galliam Germaniamque pacaverint, ut eius existimationem dignitatemque ab inimicis defendant. conclamant legionis XIII, quae aderat, milites—hanc enim initio tumultus evocaverat, reliquae nondum convenerant—sese paratos esse imperatoris sui tribunorumque plebis iniurias defendere.

1.8

cognita militum voluntate Ariminum cum ea legione proficiscitur ibique tribunos plebis, qui ad eum profugerant, convenit; reliquas legiones ex hibernis evocat et subsequi iubet. eo L. Caesar adulescens venit, cuius pater Caesaris erat legatus. is reliquo sermone confecto, cuius rei causa venerat, habere se a Pompeio ad eum privati officii mandata demonstrat: velle Pompeium se Caesari purgatum, ne ea, quae rei publicae causa egerit, in suam contumeliam vertat. semper se rei publicae commoda privatis necessitudinibus habuisse potiora. Caesarem quoque pro sua dignitate debere et studium et iracundiam suam rei publicae dimittere neque adeo graviter irasci inimicis, ut, cum illis nocere se speret, rei publicae noceat. pauca eiusdem generis addit cum excusatione Pompei coniuncta.

Operatives, over the last several missions you have seen several different kinds of subjunctive verb clauses. Now is the opportune time to review them:

Cum Clauses,

cum Cogidubnus in sellā sedēret, omnēs stābant.
While Cogidubnus was sitting in the chair, everyone was standing.

cum virī ā vēnātiōne rediissent, omnēs cēnāverunt.
When the men had returned from the hunt, everyone ate dinner.

Notice that in these statements, cum is not a preposition, but rather a conjunction introducing a subordinate subjunctive clause and is best translated as when, since, because or although. Remember that subordinate clauses are dependent, i.e. they cannot exist without a main idea.

Indirect Question,

nēmō scīvit ubī Tiberius sē cēlāvisset.

No one knew where Tiberius had hidden himself.

Recentiī cognōvērunt quis contrā eos consilia caperet.

The Recentii got to know who was making plans against them.

Operatives, note that in indirect questions the verb in the main clause is a verb of asking, wondering or knowing. The indirect question itself begins with a question word such as quis, ubi, cur, unde, quid, or quomodo and the verb in the indirect question is in the subjunctive.

Ut clauses:

Purpose,

mīlitēs oppidum pūgnāvērunt ut horrea incenderent.
The soldiers attacked the town in order to burn the granaries.

Bellātor esse fortis vult ut fortius pūgnet.
Bellator wants to be strong in order to fight more bravely.

Notice that purpose clauses answer the question why. In the first example the main clause of the sentence says that the soldiers attacked the town. Why; in order to burn the granaries. Purpose clauses are the least complicated of ut clauses as there are no trigger words or certain verbs you have to look out for which introduce them. A purpose clause simply states the reason for which some action in the main clause is done.

Indirect Command,

Marcus mīlitibus imperāvit ut Tiberiō comprehenderent.
Marcus ordered the soldiers to seize Tiberius.

Septimus Recentiōs obsecrāvit ut urbem fugerent.
Septimus begged the Recentii to flee the city.

Operatives, remember that indirect commands are introduced by a verb in the main clause of bidding, ordering or requesting and then ut and a verb in the subjunctive. Also recall that the easiest way to translate ut in these clauses is "to".

Result clauses,

Bellātor tam dēfessus erat ut diūtius gladium tenēre nōn posset.
Bellator was so tired that he was not able to hold his sword any longer.

Clōdia adeō laeta erat ut frātrem amplexū tenēret.
Clodia was so happy that she was holding her brother in an embrace. (She was hugging her brother)

Operatives, the key to recognizing result clauses is knowing that they are "triggered" by certain words such as adeō, tam, sīc, et al. Result clauses express actions which happen because of the main clause of the sentence. They are often called consecutive (from the latin verb sequor - to follow) clauses because their actions follow, or are the "result" of the actions of the main clause of the sentence.

Operative, we've been thinking for quite a while that Cleopatra would be involved. What a story!

We suggest using what you find here even in the first part of episode 3--Caesar may be swayed by intimations of the chaos to come, in Egypt. This is especially true of the Siege of Alexandria and the Battle of the Nile.

Of course, you could always make use of the Battle of Pharsalus in your argument as well.

Lastly, many Roman senators would soon have to make a difficult decision based on the actions of Caesar in the next few years...

CULTURALIA Comprehension Questions


Directions: Using the CULTURALIA section of your CODEX as a guide, answer the following questions:


dē Pharsālō

1. When and where was the Battle of Pharsalus fought? Who were the combatants and how many soldiers did each side roughly have?

2. How did Caesar arrange his battle lines in an attempt to overcome Pompey outnumbering his forces?

3. What unconventional move did Caesar make against Pompey’s cavalry? What was the result?

4. How did Pompey react? How do you think this was received by his troops?

5. To where did Pompey go following the battle? What happened to him?

dē Alexandriā et Cleopātrā

1. Briefly describe how Cleopatra becomes allied with Caesar.

2. While Caesar is besieged in Alexandria, who comes to his aid?

3. Where is the final pitched battle fought? What is the outcome?

4. What does Caesar uncharacteristically do after his victory? Why is this odd given the circumstances for Caesar?