Level 3+ (review); Dooge LXXV [7] (1) impersonal passive; (2) connecting relative; (3) participial constructions; (4) subjunctive; (5) indirect statement

 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

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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.

Level 3+ (review); Dooge LXXV [2] connecting relative

CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT BETWEEN CÆSAR AND POMPEY; THE BATTLE OF PHARSALIA [1]

Nē cōnfectō quidem bellō Gallicō, bellum cīvīle inter Caesarem et Pompēium exortum est. Nam Pompēius, quī summum imperium petēbat, senātuī persuāserat ut Caesarem reī pūblicae hostem iūdicāret et exercitum eius dīmittī iubēret. Quibus cognitīs rēbus Caesar exercitum suum dīmittere recūsāvit, atque, hortātus mīlitēs ut ducem totiēns victōrem ab inimīcōrum iniūriīs dēfenderent, imperāvit ut sē Rōmam sequerentur. Summā cum alacritāte mīlitēs pāruērunt, et trānsitō Rubicōne initium bellī cīvīlis factum est.

Italiae urbēs quidem omnēs ferē rēbus Caesaris favēbant et eum benignē excēpērunt. Quā rē commōtus Pompēius ante Caesaris adventum Rōmā excessit et Brundisium pervēnit, inde paucīs post diēbus cum omnibus cōpiīs ad Ēpīrum mare trānsiit. Eum Caesar cum septem legiōnibus et quīngentīs equitibus secūtus est, et īnsignis inter Caesaris comitātum erat Pūblius.

review: connecting relative

Quibus cognitīs rēbus …

Quā rē commōtus …

[1] A connecting relative pronoun is a relative pronoun (quī, quae, quod) used at the beginning of a new sentence to link it closely to the previous sentence. In this position it does not introduce a subordinate relative clause in the usual way, nor does it normally translate as “which” but instead continues the narrative by referring back to a person, thing, or idea already mentioned.

It is often rendered in English, depending on context, with a pronoun or demonstrative, for example:

[i] Caesar Rubicōnem trānsiit. [ii] Quī posterā diē adversus Rōmam profectus est.

• [i] Caesar crossed the Rubicon. On the next day [ii] he set out towards Rome.

[2] It is common in translation to connect the two sentences with ‘and’:

[i] Ancilla tandem advēnit. [ii] Quam ubi vīdī, laetissimus eram

• [i] The slave girl arrived. When I saw [ii] her, I was very happy, [or: The slave girl arrived, and when I saw her, …]

Frātrēs [i] amīcum suum vidēre voluērunt; [ii] quem cum vidēre possent, laetī erant.

• The brothers wanted to see their friend. (And) when they were able to see him, they were happy.

[3] In this example the connective relative quod does not refer to a neuter noun, but to the entire thought in the previous sentence.

[i] Imperātor interfectus est. [ii] quod cum mīlitēs vīdissent, fūgērunt.

• The commander was killed. (And) when the soldiers had seen this, they fled.

[4] In the extracts from this text, the connecting relative does not refer back to a specific noun but to an entire idea within the preceding sentence:

Nam Pompēius … senātuī persuāserat ut Caesarem reī pūblicae hostem iūdicāret et exercitum eius dīmittī iubēret. Quibus cognitīs rēbus …

• For Pompey had persuaded the Senate to declare Caesar an enemy of the state and to order that his army be disbanded. When these things had become known… [or: … and when these things had become known …]

Italiae urbēs quidem omnēs ferē rēbus Caesaris favēbant et eum benignē excēpērunt. Quā rē commōtus …

• Almost all the towns of Italy were favouring Caesar’s cause and received him kindly. Moved by this event (fact / matter) …

[5] Examples from earlier sections of the Dooge texts:

Exercitus … multīs perīculīs circumdatus est. Quae perīcula ut vītāret, …

• The army … is surrounded by many dangers. In order to avoid these dangers, …

Tandem … Pūblius, … nūntiāvit partem mūrī ictibus arietis labefactam concidisse. Quā rē audītā …

• Finally … Publius … reported that part of the wall, weakened by the blows of the battering ram, had collapsed. When this (thing / matter) was heard, …

Locus habēbatur idōneus castrīs quī facile dēfendī posset et prope aquam esset. Quā dē causā …

• A site was considered suitable for a camp which could easily be defended and was near water. For this reason, …”

Praesertim vērō ingentem silvam mīrābātur, quae tantae magnitūdinis esse dīcēbātur ut nēmō eam trānsīre posset, nec quisquam scīret aut initium aut fīnem. Quā dē rē plūra cognōverat ā mīlite quōdam …

• Above all, however, he was admiring a vast forest, which was said to be of such great size that no one could cross it, and that no one knew either its beginning or its end. About this matter he had learned more from a certain soldier …”

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/connecting%20relative

____________________

Even before the Gallic War had been brought to an end, a civil war broke out between Caesar and Pompey. For Pompey, who was seeking supreme command, had persuaded the Senate to declare Caesar an enemy of the state and to order that his army be disbanded. When these matters became known, Caesar refused to disband his army and, after urging his soldiers to defend a commander so often victorious from the wrongs of his enemies, ordered them to follow him to Rome. With the greatest eagerness the soldiers obeyed, and, once the Rubicon had been crossed, the beginning of the civil war was made.

Nearly all the towns of Italy, in fact, favoured Caesar’s cause and received him kindly. Moved by this, Pompey left Rome before Caesar’s arrival and reached Brundisium; from there, a few days later, he crossed the sea to Epirus with all his forces. Caesar followed him with seven legions and five hundred cavalry, and among Caesar’s entourage Publius was a notable figure.

Level 3; Reading (review); [33] [i] The magician Circe

Another episode of Odysseus’ journey home:

Ulixēs, postquam magnā cum audāciā diū per undās nāvigāvit, īnsulam Circae intrāvit. Ibi ille vir callidus nōnnūllōs sociōs in vīllam Circae mīsit. Quibus illa dea vīnum venēnō mixtum praebuit; venēnō domitōs in suēs mūtāvit. Ūnus ex iīs, quī venēnum negāverat, ēvāsit docuitque Ulixem. Quem Mercurius quoque dē dolīs Circae docuerat remediumque praebuerat et eī suāserat: “Hōc remediō ā mē datō perīculum dolōsque deae vītābis!” Quibus verbīs monitus Ulixēs illō remediō tūtus vīllam Circae intrāvit, Circam ipsam gladiō ursit, dolōs perniciōsōs eius arcuit. Iussit eam illōs sociōs iam in suēs mūtātōs rūrsus in virōs mūtāre. Sīc ūnā cum sociīs vīvus ex illā īnsulā ēvāsit.

Circa, -ae [1/f]: (alternative to Circē) name of a witch in Greek mythology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe

venēnum, -ī [2/n]: (here) magic potion; poison

sūs, suis [3 m/f]: pig

[1] The connecting relative

[i] The following is incorrect in standard written English:

I bought a book. *Which I gave* to my brother.

English cannot begin a sentence with a relative pronoun that refers to something / someone in the previous sentence. The idea would be expressed in the following ways:

I bought a book which I gave to my brother [i.e. as one sentence, which introducing a subordinate clause]

I bought a book. I gave it to my brother. [i.e. two sentences; English would most commonly avoid repeating the noun by using a pronoun]

 I bought a book and I gave it to my brother [i.e. as one sentence with a coordinating conjunction]

[ii] Latin, however, can begin a sentence with the relatives quī, quae, quod referring to something / someone in the previous sentence, known in grammar as the antecedent:

Ibi ille vir callidus nōnnūllōs sociōs [antecedent] in vīllam Circae mīsit. Quibus [connecting relative] illa dea vīnum venēnō mixtum praebuit; …

Such sentences can be translated in different ways, the choice determined by style and context:

(a)   as separate sentences with the inclusion of a pronoun referring to the antecedent

There, that clever man sent some of his companions into her house. The goddess offered them wine mixed with poison; …

(b)   combining those sentences with ‘and’; that neatly conveys the “connecting” nature of quī, quae, quod

… and the goddess offered them …

(c)   a relative clause

… docuitque Ulixem [antecedent]. Quem [connecting relative] Mercurius quoque dē dolīs Circae docuerat …

… and informed Ulysses whom Mercury had also informed about Circe’s tricks, …

[iii] Translations are not always interchangeable; a common example is when the connecting relative refers to an entire preceding statement where a relative clause would sound clumsy:

“Hōc remediō ā mē datō perīculum dolōsque deae vītābis!” Quibus verbīs monitus Ulixēs …

 “With this remedy given by me, you will avoid the danger and the tricks of the goddess.” Having been warned by these words, Ulysses … [or: …, and having been warned …]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/connecting%20relative

[2] Taking care when translating:

Latin word order is far more flexible than English and so, when translating, be conscious of what is and is not acceptable in standard English translation:

Quibus illa dea vīnum venēnō mixtum praebuit; venēnō domitōs in suēs mūtāvit.

The goddess offered them wine mixed with poison; *having been subdued by the potion*, she changed them into pigs.

Although “having been subdued by the potion” is the correct translation, its position in the English sentence above would indicate that she had been subdued by the potion, which is incorrect. Rewording is needed to be clear who that phrase is referring to:

“… once / after / when they had been subdued by the potion, she changed them …”

____________________

Ulysses, after he had sailed for a long time over the waves with great boldness, entered the island of Circe. There that clever man sent some companions into Circe’s house. The goddess offered them wine mixed with a (magic) potion; after they had been subdued by the potion, she changed them into pigs.

One of them, who had refused the potion, escaped and informed Ulysses. Mercury also had warned him about the tricks of Circe, had provided a remedy, and had advised him: “With this remedy given by me, you will avoid the danger and the tricks of the goddess.”

(Having been) warned by these words, Ulysses, safe because of that remedy [ = protected by that remedy], entered Circe’s house, threatened Circe herself with his sword, and drove away / warded off her deadly tricks. He ordered her to change those companions, who had already been turned into pigs, back into men. Thus he escaped alive from that island together with his companions.