(1) Numquam adhūc Rōmānae cōpiae in ūnum neque maiōrēs neque meliōribus ducibus convēnerant tōtum terrārum orbem facile subāctūrae, sī contrā barbarōs dūcerentur.
(2) Pūgnātum tamen est ingentī contentiōne victusque ad postrēmum Pompēius et castra eius dīrepta sunt.
(3) Ipse fugātus Alexandrīam petiit, ut ā rēge Aegyptī, cuī tūtor ā senātū datus fuerat propter iuvenīlem eius aetātem, acciperet auxilia. Quī fortūnam magis quam amīcitiam secūtus occīdit Pompēium, caput eius et ānulum Caesarī mīsit. Quō cōnspectō Caesar etiam lacrimās fūdisse dīcitur, tantī virī intuēns caput et generī quondam suī.
notes
Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey is defeated, flees to Egypt, and is slain (48 BCE)
(1) Numquam adhūc: "never before." A general negative may be subdivided by neque...neque... or aut...aut... (Hazzard)
subāctūrae: "which would have conquered," the future participle (LS subigo II.A), serving in effect as the apodosis of the following conditional.
sī ... dūcerentur: "if they had been led," past contrary-to-fact conditional clause with imperfect subjunctive instead of the expected pluperfect subjunctive (AG 514.C.1).
(2) Pūgnātum tamen est: impersonal passive (AG 207.d). Pompey would have refused battle, but was urged on by his followers. The knights and senators who fought in the Pompeian ranks soon broke and fled. At the first attack Pompey fled to his camp, where he tried to rally his routed forces, but he was unsuccessful. Leaping on his horse at the last moment, he escaped through the rear gate of the camp, nor did he draw rein until he reached Larissa. Thence he hastened to the coast, where he took ship for Egypt (Hazzard).
castra eius dīrepta sunt: In his De bello civili, Julius Caesar takes the condition of Pompey’s camp as an indication of the Pompeians' overconfidence:
Details
In the camp of Pompey one might see bowers constructed, a great weight of silver plate set out, soldiers' huts laid with freshly cut turf, and those of Lucius Lentulus and some others covered over with ivy, and many other indications of excessive luxury and confidence of victory, so that it could easily be supposed that they had felt no fear about the issue of the day, inasmuch as they sought out unnecessary indulgences (3.96; Trans. by A. G. Peskett).
(3) Alexandrīam: see Alexandria
ā rēge Aegyptī: Ptolemy XIII was only a nominal king. Egypt will be made a province by Augustus (Hazzard; cf. Brev. 7.7) in 30 BCE.
cuī tūtor ā senātū datus fuerat: "to whom...he had been appointed guardian by the senate" (Bird). datus fuerat refers to Pompey, cuī refers to Ptolemy.
ut ... acciperet auxilia: purpose clause (AG 531)
Quī: connecting relative referring to rēge Aegyptī, above (AG 308.f)
fortūnam magis quam amīcitiam secūtus: "considering fortune more important than friendship." LS sequor II.B.2.
occīdit Pompēium: Ptolemy XIII had Pompey executed, and his head was sent to Caesar.
caput eius et ānulum Caesarī mīsit: Caesar’s humanity at the sight of the severed head of his enemy became such a famous trope that it was used as a template for later historians in describing the outcome of Avidius Cassius' failed rebellion under the reign of Marcus Aurelius:
Details
And when his head was brought to Antoninus he did not rejoice or exult, but rather was grieved that he had lost an opportunity for showing mercy; for he said that he had wished to take him alive, so that he might reproach him with the kindness he had shown him in the past, and then spare his life (SHA Vit. Avid. Cass. 8.1; Trans. by David Magie).
Quō cōnspectō: "at the sight of this," ablative absolute using a connecting relative referring to caput (AG 419, 308.f)
lacrimās fūdisse dīcitur: indirect discourse depending on dīcitur.
et generī quondam suī: Pompey had married Julia, the daughter of Caesar, in 60 BCE. It was her death in 54 BCE that tended to loosen the bond existing between them (Hazzard).
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
| facile [facilis, easy], adv., comp. facilius | easily; readily |
| subigō, ere, ēgī, āctus |
to drive under, put down, conquer |
| contentiō, ōnis [contendō], f. |
exertion, struggle; contest, contention |
| posterior, us, gen. ōris, comp. | later |
| Pompēius, ī, m. |
(1) Cn. Pompēius, consul 89 B.C.; (2) Cn. Pompēius, surnamed Magnus, the triumvir, consul 70 B.C.; (3) Cn. Pompēius, son of the triumvir; (4) Q. Pompēius, consul 141 B.C.; (5) Sex. Pompēius, younger son of the triumvir |
| castrum, ī, n. |
a fortified place, town; pl. castra, ōrum, pl. n., a camp; a campaign |
| dīripiō, ere, uī, reptus | to tear asunder, ravage, plunder |
| Alexandrīa, ae, f. |
a city in Egypt, at the mouth of the Nile, founded by Alexander the Great, 331 B.C. |
| Aegyptus, ī, m. | Egypt |
| tūtor, ōris [tueor], m. | a guardian, tutor |
| iuvenīlis, e [iuvenis], adj. | youthful |
| ānulus, ī [dim. of ānus, a circle], m. | a ring |
| Caesar, aris, m. |
a family name in the Julian gens. (1) C. Iūlius Caesar, the famous dictator; (2) Sex. Iūlius Caesar, uncle of the dictator. Consul 91 B.C.; (3) C. Octāviānus, the emperor Augustus |
| cōnspiciō, ere, spēxī, spectus | to catch sight of, spy; see |
| intueor, ērī, itus sum | to look closely at or upon; gaze at |
| gener, erī, m. | a son-in-law |