CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT BETWEEN CÆSAR AND POMPEY; THE BATTLE OF
PHARSALIA [2]
Plūribus leviōribus proeliīs factīs, tandem cōpiae
adversae ad Pharsālum in Thessaliā sitam castra posuērunt. Cum Pompeī
exercitus esset bis tantus quantus Caesaris, tamen erant multī
quī veterānās legiōnēs quae Gallōs et Germānōs superāverant vehementer
timēbant. Quōs ante proelium commissum Labiēnus lēgātus, quī ab Caesare
nūper dēfēcerat, ita adlocūtus est: “Nōlīte exīstimāre hunc esse
exercitum veterānōrum mīlitum. Omnibus interfuī proeliīs neque temerē
incognitam rem prōnūntiō. Perexigua pars illīus exercitūs quī Gallōs superāvit
adhūc superest. Magna pars occīsa est, multī domum discessērunt, multī sunt
relictī in Italiā. Hae cōpiae quās vidētis in citeriōre Galliā nūper
cōnscrīptae sunt.” Haec cum dīxisset, iūrāvit sē nisi victōrem in castra
nōn reversūrum esse. Hoc idem Pompēius et omnēs reliquī iūrāvērunt, et
magnā spē et laetitiā, sīcut certam ad victōriam, cōpiae ē castrīs exiērunt.
Item Caesar, animō ad dīmicandum parātus, exercitum suum
ēdūxit et septem cohortibus praesidiō castrīs relictīs cōpiās triplicī
aciē īnstrūxit. Tum, mīlitibus studiō pugnae ārdentibus, tubā signum
dedit. Mīlitēs prōcurrērunt et pīlīs missīs gladiōs strīnxērunt. Neque
vērō virtūs hostibus dēfuit. Nam et tēla missa sustinuērunt et impetum
gladiōrum excēpērunt et ōrdinēs cōnservāvērunt. Utrimque diū et ācriter pugnātum
est nec quisquam pedem rettulit. Tum equitēs Pompēī aciem Caesaris
circumīre cōnātī sunt. Quod ubi Caesar animadvertit, tertiam
aciem, quae ad id tempus quiēta fuerat, prōcurrere iussit. Tum vērō integrōrum
impetum dēfessī hostēs sustinēre nōn potuērunt et omnēs terga vertērunt. Sed
Pompēius dē fortūnīs suīs dēspērāns sē in castra equō contulit, inde mox
cum paucīs equitibus effūgit.
(1) review: impersonal passive
Utrimque diū et ācriter pugnātum est | on both sides there
was a long and fierce battle
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/impersonal%20passive
pugnō, -āre: fight; it is an intransitive verb, meaning
that it cannot take a direct object. Other examples of intransitive verbs
include:
currō, -ere: run
dormiō, -īre: sleep
eō, īre: go
veniō, -īre: come
Intransitive verbs cannot have passive forms with a subject
e.g. *he has been slept*, *they were being run*. However, passive forms of
intransitive verbs without a subject are used to convey impersonal ideas.
pugnātum est | literally: it was fought
Translations will vary but focus not on who performed the
action, but on the action itself:
> There was fighting going on / people were fighting /
‘they’ fought / a battle was taking place
Pugnātum est ab utrīsque ācriter
(Caesar)
- There was fierce fighting on both
sides [ literally: ‘it’ was fought bitterly …]
Ea mē spectātum tulerat per Dionȳsia.
postquam illō ventum est, iam,
ut mē collocāverat,
exorītur ventus turbō
(Plautus)
- She had taken me to see (the show) at the Dionysiac festival.
After we’d arrived there, just as she had settled me, a storm wind
arose.
Ergō ex omnibus locīs urbis in forum curritur (Livy)
- Therefore, from all parts of the city people are running
into the forum.
Macte novā virtūte, puer: Sīc ītur ad astra (Vergil)
- Be blessed in your new courage, boy; this is the way to
the stars / one goes to … [literally: In this way it is being gone …]
Ad arma conclāmātum est (Livy)
- The cry ‘to arms!’ was raised.
Et Rōmam inde frequenter migrātum est, ā parentibus
maximē ac propinquīs raptārum (Livy)
- And from there, there was frequent migration to Rome,
especially by the parents and relatives of those / the women who had been
abducted.
Magnīs opibus dormītur in urbe (Juvenal)
- Only with great wealth is it possible to sleep / do people
sleep in the city.
(2) review: connecting relative pronouns
[i] Quōs … Labiēnus lēgātus … ita adlocūtus est:
[ii] Quod ubi Caesar animadvertit, …
(3) review: participial constructions
[i] Pompēius dē fortūnīs suīs dēspērāns …
[ii] mīlitibus studiō pugnae ārdentibus …
[iii] plūribus leviōribus proeliīs factīs, …
[iv] septem cohortibus … relictīs …
[v] pīlīs missīs gladiōs strīnxērunt …
[vi] tēla missa sustinuērunt …
(4) review: subjunctive
[i] Haec cum dīxisset, …
[ii] Cum Pompeī exercitus esset bis tantus
quantus Caesaris, tamen erant multī …
(5) review: indirect statement
[i] Nōlīte exīstimāre hunc esse exercitum veterānōrum
mīlitum
[ii] iūrāvit sē … in castra nōn reversūrum esse
____________________
After several lighter engagements had been fought, at last
the opposing forces pitched camp at Pharsalus, situated in Thessaly. Although
Pompey’s army was twice as large as Caesar’s, there were nevertheless many
who greatly feared the veteran legions that had defeated the Gauls and the
Germans. Before the battle was joined, Labienus, the lieutenant who had
recently defected from Caesar, addressed them as follows:
“Do not suppose that this is an army of veteran soldiers.
I have been present at all the battles, and I do not rashly pronounce on a
matter I do not know. A very small part of that army which defeated the Gauls
still survives. A large part has been killed; many have gone home; many have
been left behind in Italy. These forces which you see in Cisalpine Gaul have
recently been levied.”
When he had said this, he
swore that he would not return to camp unless as victor. Pompey himself and
all the rest swore the same, and with great hope and joy, as though victory
were certain, the troops marched out from the camp.
Caesar likewise, his mind prepared for battle, led out his
army and, seven cohorts having been left behind to guard the camp, drew
up his forces in a triple line. Then, as the soldiers were burning with
eagerness to fight, he gave the signal with the trumpet. The soldiers
charged forward and once the javelins had been thrown, drew their
swords. Nor indeed did courage fail the enemy: they both withstood the
missiles that had been hurled, met the assault of the swords, and kept
their ranks. On both sides the fighting went on long and fiercely, and no one
gave ground. Then Pompey’s cavalry tried to outflank Caesar’s line. When
Caesar noticed this, he ordered the third line, which up to that time had
been at rest, to charge. Then indeed the exhausted enemy could not withstand
the attack of fresh troops, and all turned their backs. But Pompey,
despairing of his fortunes, made his way on horseback to the camp, and soon
afterwards fled from there with a few horsemen.
