De Bello Gallico 2.8

Caesar prepares for battle

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2.8.1Caesar prīmō et propter multitūdinem hostium et propter eximiam opīniōnem virtūtis proeliō supersedēre statuit;At first, because of the great number of the enemy and their outstanding reputation for courage, Caesar decided to put off a battle; 2.8.2cōtīdiē tamen equestribus proeliīs quid hostis virtūte posset et quid nostrī audērent perīclitābātur.but every day, in cavalry skirmishes, he tested what the enemy could do in courage and what our men dared.Note. quid hostis virtūte posset: an indirect question, 'what the enemy could do in courage'. 2.8.3Ubi nostrōs nōn esse īnferiōrēs intellēxit, locō prō castrīs ad aciem īnstruendam nātūrā oportūnō atque idōneō, quod is collis ubi castra posita erant paululum ex plānitiē ēditus tantum adversus in lātitūdinem patēbat quantum locī aciēs īnstrūcta occupāre poterat, atque ex utrāque parte lateris dēiectūs habēbat et in fronte lēniter fastīgātus paulātim ad plānitiem redībat, ab utrōque latere eius collis trānsversam fossam obdūxit circiter passuum CCCC et ad extrēmās fossās castella cōnstituit ibique tormenta conlocāvit, nē, cum aciem īnstrūxisset, hostēs, quod tantum multitūdine poterant, ab lateribus pugnantēs suōs circumvenīre possent.When he saw that our men were not inferior, in front of the camp there was a place naturally suited and fit for drawing up a battle line: the hill on which the camp stood rose a little above the plain and, facing the enemy, was just as wide as a drawn-up battle line could occupy; it had steep slopes on both sides and in front sloped gently down to the plain; so on each side of the hill he ran a trench across, about four hundred paces long, built redoubts at the ends of the trenches and placed artillery there, so that once he had drawn up his line the enemy, being so strong in numbers, could not surround his men from the sides while they were fighting.Note. This long sentence describes the ground first and then what Caesar did: the main verb comes only with obdūxit. tantum … quantum: 'as much … as'.

2.8.5Hōc factō, duābus legiōnibus quās proximē cōnscrīpserat in castrīs relictīs ut, sī quō opus esset, subsidiō dūcī possent, reliquās VI legiōnēs prō castrīs in aciē cōnstituit.Having done this, he left in camp the two legions he had most recently enrolled, so that they could be brought up as support wherever there was need, and drew up the other six legions in battle line in front of the camp. 2.8.5Hostēs item suās cōpiās ex castrīs ēductās īnstrūxērunt.The enemy likewise led their forces out of camp and drew them up.

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (96 words)

prīmō, adv.	at first
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
propter, prep. with acc.	on account of, because of
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
eximius, -a, -um	outstanding, exceptional
opīniō, -ōnis, f.	opinion, expectation; reputation
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
supersedeō, -ēre, -sēdī, -sessum (+ abl.)	refrain from, avoid
statuō, statuere, statuī, statūtus	cause to stand; decide, resolve
cottīdiē, adv.	daily, every day
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
equester, -tris, -tre	of cavalry
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
noster, -tra, -trum	our
audeō, audēre, ausus sum	dare
perīclitor, -ārī, -ātus sum	try, put to the test
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
nōn, adv.	not
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
īnferior, -ius	lower
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
aciēs, -ēī, f.	line of battle
īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus	build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish,
nātūra, -ae, f.	nature, character
opportūnus, -a, -um	suitable, seasonable, convenient, opportune
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
idōneus, -a, -um	suitable, fit; favorable
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
collis, -is m.	hill
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus	place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on
paululum (adv.)	a little, slightly
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
plānitiēs, -ēī f.	plain, level ground
ēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	put forth, give out, utter
tantum, adv.	so much or far, only
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
lātitūdō, -inis f.	width, breadth
pateō, -ēre, -uī	lie open; extend, stretch
quantum, adv.	how much? how?
occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus	seize; fill
uterque, utraque, utrumque	each, either, both
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
latus, lateris n.	side, flank
dēiectus, -ūs m.	slope, descent
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
frōns, frontis, f.	forehead
lēniter (adv.)	gently
fastīgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	slope (fastīgātus: sloping)
paulātim (adv.)	little by little, gradually
redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go back, return
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
trānsversus, -a, -um	running across, crosswise
fossa, -ae, f.	ditch, trench
obdūcō, -ere, -dūxī, -ductum	draw across, extend
circiter, prep. with acc. and adv.	about
passus, -ūs, m.	pace (mīlia passuum: miles)
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
extrēmus, -a, -um	last, extreme, furthest
castellum, -ī n.	fort, redoubt
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
que, enclitic conj.	and
tormentum, -ī n.	artillery, siege engine
collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum	place, station; give in marriage
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	fight
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
circumveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventum	surround
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
proximē (adv.)	most recently; nearest
cōnscrībō, -ere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptum	enlist, enroll
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
sī, conj.	if
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
opus, operis, n.	work, task
subsidium, -ī, n.	reserve, reinforcement, support, help
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus	lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
item	likewise, also
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
ēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead out, draw

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.