De Bello Gallico 2.29

The Atuatuci and their stronghold

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2.29.1Atuatucī, dē quibus suprā dīximus, cum omnibus cōpiīs auxiliō Nerviīs venīrent, hāc pugnā nūntiātā ex itinere domum revertērunt;The Atuatuci, whom we mentioned above, were coming with all their forces to help the Nervii; hearing of this battle, they turned back home from the march; 2.29.2cūnctīs oppidīs castellīsque dēsertīs sua omnia in ūnum oppidum ēgregiē nātūrā mūnītum contulērunt.they abandoned all their towns and forts and brought all their possessions together into one town, which was excellently fortified by nature. 2.29.3Quod cum ex omnibus in circuitū partibus altissimās rūpēs dēiectūsque habēret, ūnā ex parte lēniter acclīvis aditus in lātitūdinem nōn amplius pedum CC relinquēbātur;This town had very high rocks and cliffs on every side all round, but on one side there was left an approach with a gentle slope, no more than two hundred feet wide; 2.29.3quem locum duplicī altissimō mūrō mūnierant;this place they had fortified with a very high double wall; 2.29.3tum magnī ponderis saxa et praeacūtās trabēs in mūrō conlocābant.and they were placing stones of great weight and sharpened beams on the wall. 2.29.4Ipsī erant ex Cimbrīs Teutonīsque prognātī, quī, cum iter in prōvinciam nostram atque Ītaliam;They were themselves descended from the Cimbri and Teutoni, who, when they were making their way into our Province and Italy,Note. The Perseus text breaks this sentence with a stray semicolon after Italiam; read it straight on into the next sentence: cum iter … facerent, 'when they were marching'. 2.29.4facerent, iīs impedīmentīs quae sēcum agere ac portāre nōn poterant citrā flūmen Rhēnum dēpositīs custōdiae ex suīs ac praesidiō VI mīlia hominum ūnā relīquerant.had left behind on this side of the Rhine the baggage they could not drive or carry with them, and six thousand of their own men with it as guard and protection.

2.29.5Hī post eōrum obitum multōs annōs ā fīnitimīs exagitātī, cum aliās bellum īnferrent, aliās inlātum dēfenderent, cōnsēnsū eōrum omnium pāce factā hunc sibi domiciliō locum dēlēgerant.After the death of the others these men were harassed for many years by their neighbours, sometimes making war, sometimes defending themselves from war made on them; then peace was made with the agreement of all of them, and they had chosen this place as their home.Note. aliās … aliās: 'at one time … at another'. inlātum (bellum): 'war made on them'.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×3, ablative absolute ×3

Latin vocabulary for this passage (90 words)

dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
suprā, adv. and prep. with acc.	above, before
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
omnis, -e	all, every
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
pugna, -ae, f.	fighting, battle, combat
nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	report, announce
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertī	turn back, return
cūnctus, -a, -um	all, the whole
oppidum, -ī, n.	town
castellum, -ī n.	fort, redoubt
que, enclitic conj.	and
dēserō, -serere, -seruī, -sertus	desert
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
ēgregiē, adv.	excellently, splendidly, admirably
nātūra, -ae, f.	nature, character
mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	fortify
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus	bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
circuitus, -ūs m.	way around, circuit
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
altus, -a, -um	high, deep; altum, -ī, n., the deep
rūpēs, -is, f.	rock, cliff; reef
dēiectus, -ūs m.	slope, descent
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
lēniter (adv.)	gently
acclīvis, -e	sloping upward
aditus, -ūs, m.	approach, entrance
lātitūdō, -inis f.	width, breadth
nōn, adv.	not
amplius (adv.)	more, further
pēs, pedis, m.	foot
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
duplex, -icis	double
mūrus, -ī, m.	wall
tum, adv.	then, at that time
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
pondus, ponderis, n.	weight
saxum, -ī, n.	rock, stone
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
praeacūtus, -a, -um	sharp at the end, pointed, sharp
trabs, trabis f.	beam
collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum	place, station; give in marriage
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
prognātus, -a, -um	descended (from)
prōvincia, -ae f.	province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
noster, -tra, -trum	our
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
impedīmentum, -ī n.	hindrance; (pl.) baggage
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
portō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	carry
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
citrā (prep. + acc.)	on this side of
flūmen, -minis, n.	river
dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget
custōdia, -ae f.	guard, protection
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
homō, hominis, m.	man
ūnā	together, along
post, adv.	after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
obitus, -ūs m.	death
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
annus, -ī, m.	year
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
fīnitimus, -a, -um	neighboring, adjoining
exagitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	harass, drive about
aliās (adv.)	at another time (aliās … aliās: sometimes … sometimes)
bellum, -ī, n.	war
īnferō, īnferre, intulī, inlātus	bring in or against, wage against; inflict
dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus	ward off; defend
cōnsēnsus, -ūs, m.	agreement, consent
pāx, pācis f.	peace
domicilium, -ī n.	home, dwelling place
dēligō, -ligere, -lēgī, -lēctus	choose out, choose, select

Caesar, De Bello Gallico II. Latin text: T. Rice Holmes (Oxford, 1914), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.