De Bello Civili 1.80

A running fight

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BC 1.80.1Tālī dum pugnātur modō, lentē atque paulātim prōcēditur crēbrōque, ut sint auxiliō suīs, subsistunt;While the fighting goes on in this way, they make progress slowly and gradually, and they frequently halt to help their men,Note. Talī … modō: 'in this way'. pugnātur and prōcēditur are impersonal passives: 'the fighting goes on', 'progress is made'. ut sint auxiliō suīs: double dative, 'to be a help to their men'. BC 1.80.1ut tum accidit.as happened then. BC 1.80.2mīlia enim prōgressī iiii vehementiusque peragitātī ab equitātū montem excelsum capiunt ibique ūnā fronte contrā hostem castra mūniunt neque iūmentīs onera dēpōnunt.For after advancing four miles, and being harried rather fiercely by the cavalry, they occupy a high hill and fortify a camp there with a single front facing the enemy, without taking the loads off their pack animals.Note. mīlia … iiii: accusative of extent, 'four miles'. ūnā fronte: a camp fortified only on the side facing the enemy. BC 1.80.3ubi Caesaris castra posita tabernāculaque cōnstitūta et dīmissōs equitēs pābulandī causā animum advertērunt, sēsē subitō prōripiunt hōrā circiter sextā eiusdem diēī et spem nactī morae discessū nostrōrum equitum iter facere incipiunt.When they noticed that Caesar's camp had been pitched and the tents set up, and that the cavalry had been sent off to forage, they suddenly burst out at about the sixth hour of the same day and, hoping for some delay from the departure of our cavalry, begin to march.Note. animum advertērunt: 'noticed' (also written animadvertērunt), with the infinitives posita (esse), cōnstitūta (esse), dīmissōs (esse). hōrā circiter sextā: about noon.

BC 1.80.4quā rē animum adversā Caesar refectīs legiōnibus subsequitur, praesidiō impedīmentīs paucās cohortīs relinquit;Noticing this, Caesar follows with his legions refreshed, and leaves a few cohorts to guard the baggage;Note. quā rē animum adversā: 'this being noticed'. refectīs legiōnibus: 'with his legions refreshed'. BC 1.80.4hōrā x subsequī, pābulātōrēs equitēsque revocārī iubet.he orders them to follow at the tenth hour, and the foragers and cavalry to be recalled.Note. hōrā x: the tenth hour, mid-afternoon. BC 1.80.4celeriter equitātus ad cōtīdiānum itineris officium revertitur.The cavalry quickly returns to its daily task on the march. BC 1.80.5pugnātur ācriter ad novissimum agmen, adeō ut paene terga convertant, complūrēsque mīlitēs, etiam nōnnūllī centuriōnēs, interficiuntur.The fighting at the rear is fierce, so that they almost turn and run, and a good many soldiers, and even some centurions, are killed.Note. adeō ut …: 'so much that …'. terga convertant: 'turn their backs', i.e. flee. BC 1.80.5īnstābat agmen Caesaris atque ūniversum inminēbat.Caesar's column pressed on, and the whole of it was bearing down on them.Note. īnstābat … imminēbat: the imperfects describe the pressure building up.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, indirect statement ×1, ablative absolute ×2, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (100 words)

tālis, -e	such
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	fight
modus, -ī, m.	way, manner
lentē (adv.; comp. lentius)	slowly
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
paulātim (adv.)	little by little, gradually
prōcēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum	go forward, advance
crēbrō (adv.)	often, again and again
que, enclitic conj.	and
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
subsistō, -ere, -stitī	halt, make a stand
tum, adv.	then, at that time
accidō, -cidere, -cidī	fall to or upon; befall, happen
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
enim, conj.	for
prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go forward, advance
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
vehementer, adv.	violently, vehemently; earnestly; exceedingly, greatly
peragitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	harass, keep driving on
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
equitātus, -ūs m.	cavalry
mōns, montis, m.	mountain
excelsus, -a, -um	high, tall
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
frōns, frontis, f.	forehead
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	fortify
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
iūmentum, -ī n.	pack animal, beast of burden
onus, oneris n.	load, weight
dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus	place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on
tabernāculum, -ī n.	tent
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
pābulor, -ārī, -ātus sum	gather fodder, forage
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
advertō, -ere, advertī, adversum	turn toward (animum advertere: notice)
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
subitō, adv.	unexpectedly, suddenly
prōripiō, -ere, -ripuī, -reptus	drag forth; sē prōripere: rush out, dash off
hōra, -ae, f.	hour
circiter, prep. with acc. and adv.	about
sextus, -a, -um	sixth
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
spēs, speī, f.	hope
nancīscor, nancīscī, nactus	get, obtain, find
mora, -ae, f.	delay
discessus, -ūs m.	departure
noster, -tra, -trum	our
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum	begin
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
reficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	make anew, renew, repair
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
subsequor, -ī, -secūtus sum	follow closely
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
impedīmentum, -ī n.	hindrance; (pl.) baggage
paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	few
cohors, cohortis f.	cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
pābulātor, -ōris m.	forager
revocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	call back, recall
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
celeriter, adv.	swiftly, quickly
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
cottīdiānus, -a, -um	daily
officium, -ī, n.	service; duty
revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertī	turn back, return
ācriter, adv.	sharply, fiercely
novissimus, -a, -um	last (novissimum agmen: the rear)
agmen, -minis, n.	band, column
adeō (adv.)	so far, to such a degree; so
paene, adv.	almost, nearly
tergum, -ī, n.	back
convertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus	turn round, turn, change; in fugam convertere, to put to flight
complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj.	several, many
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
nōnnūllus, -a, -um	not none, some, several
centuriō, -ōnis m.	centurion (officer commanding about 80 men)
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
īnstō, -āre, -stitī	press on; be at hand
ūniversus, -a, -um	all together, whole, entire, all
immineō, -ēre	hang over; threaten, be close at hand

Caesar, De Bello Civili I. Latin text: R. du Pontet, C. Iuli Caesaris Commentariorum pars posterior (Oxford, 1901), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.