Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 2
De Bello Gallico 2.28
The Nervii surrender
Caesar, De Bello Gallico II. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō2.28.1Hōc proeliō factō et prope ad interneciōnem gente ac nōmine Nerviōrum redāctō, maiōrēs nātū, quōs ūnā cum puerīs mulieribusque in aestuāria ac palūdēs coniectōs dīxerāmus, hāc pugnā nūntiātā, cum victōribus nihil impedītum, victīs nihil tūtum arbitrārentur, omnium quī supererant cōnsēnsū lēgātōs ad Caesarem mīsērunt sēque eī dēdidērunt;
After this battle, when the people and name of the Nervii had been brought almost to extinction, the elders, who we said had been gathered with the children and women in the tidal inlets and marshes, heard of the battle; since they thought nothing could stop the victors and nothing was safe for the defeated, with the agreement of all the survivors they sent envoys to Caesar and surrendered to him;
Note. maiōrēs nātū: 'the elders', literally 'greater by birth'. victōribus nihil impedītum: 'nothing was impassable for the victors'.
2.28.2et in commemorandā cīvitātis calamitāte ex DC ad trēs senātōrēs, ex hominum mīlibus LX vix ad D, quī arma ferre possent, sēsē redāctōs esse dīxērunt.
and in describing the disaster of their state they said that they had been reduced from six hundred councillors to three, and from sixty thousand men to barely five hundred who could bear arms.
2.28.3Quōs Caesar, ut in miserōs ac supplicēs ūsus misericordiā vidērētur, dīligentissimē cōnservāvit suīsque fīnibus atque oppidīs utī iussit et fīnitimīs imperāvit ut ab iniūriā et maleficiō sē suōsque prohibērent.
So that he would be seen to show mercy to the wretched and to suppliants, Caesar took great care to spare them; he ordered them to keep their own lands and towns, and ordered their neighbours to keep themselves and their people from doing them any wrong or harm.
Note. ut … ūsus misericordiā vidērētur: 'so that he would be seen to have shown mercy'; ūtor takes the ablative.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| prope (adv. and prep. + acc.) | near, nearly |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| interneciō, -ōnis f. | slaughter, annihilation |
| gēns, gentis, f. | race, nation |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| redigō, -ere, redēgī, redāctum | bring back; reduce (to a condition) |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| nātū (abl. only) | by birth (maiōrēs nātū: the elders) |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ūnā | together, along |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| puer, puerī, m. | boy |
| mulier, mulieris, f. | woman |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| aestuārium, -ī n. | marsh, tidal inlet |
| palūs, -ūdis, f. | swamp, marsh |
| coniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw together; throw, cast, hurl |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| pugna, -ae, f. | fighting, battle, combat |
| nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | report, announce |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| victor, -ōris m. | conqueror, victor |
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| impedītus, -a, -um | hindered; hard to cross, impassable |
| vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum | conquer, defeat |
| tūtus, -a, -um | safe |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| supersum, -esse, -fuī | be over or left, remain |
| cōnsēnsus, -ūs, m. | agreement, consent |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| dēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give away or up |
| commemorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | mention, recount |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| calamitās, -tātis, f. | misfortune, calamity, disaster |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| trēs, tria, plur. adj. | three |
| senātor, -ōris m. | senator, elder |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| miser, misera, miserum | wretched, unhappy |
| supplex, -icis | begging, as a suppliant |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |
| misericordia, -ae, f; | pity, compassion |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| dīligenter, adv. | carefully, diligently |
| cōnservō, -servāre, -servāvī, -servātus | preserve, keep |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| fīnitimus, -a, -um | neighboring, adjoining |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| iniūria, -ae, f. | injury, wrong, hurt, harm |
| maleficium, -ī n. | harm, wrongdoing |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |