De Bello Gallico 3.13

3.13.1Namque ipsōrum nāvēs ad hunc modum factae armātaeque erant: carīnae aliquantō plāniōrēs quam nostrārum nāvium, quō facilius vada ac dēcessum aestūs excipere possent;

For their own ships were built and fitted out in this way: their keels were somewhat flatter than those of our ships, so that they could more easily cope with shallows and the ebbing tide;

Note. quō facilius: purpose clause with a comparative, 'so that more easily'.

3.13.2prōrae admodum ērēctae atque item puppēs, ad magnitūdinem flūctuum tempestātumque accommodātae;

their bows were very high, and likewise their sterns, suited to the size of the waves and storms;

3.13.3nāvēs tōtae factae ex rōbore ad quamvīs vim et contumēliam perferendam;

the ships were made entirely of oak, to bear any force and rough treatment;

3.13.4trānstra ex pedālibus in altitūdinem trabibus, cōnfīxa clāvīs ferreīs digitī pollicis crassitūdine;

the crossbeams were of timbers a foot thick, fastened with iron nails as thick as a thumb;

3.13.5ancorae prō fūnibus ferreīs catēnīs revīnctae;

the anchors were held by iron chains instead of ropes;

3.13.6pellēs prō vēlīs alūtaeque tenuiter cōnfectae, hae sīve propter inopiam līnī atque eius ūsūs īnscientiam, sīve eō, quod est magis vērī simile, quod tantās tempestātēs Ōceanī tantōsque impetūs ventōrum sustinērī ac tanta onera nāvium regī vēlīs nōn satis commodē posse arbitrābantur.

skins and thin, soft leather were used instead of sails, either because they lacked flax and did not know how to use it, or, which is more likely, because they thought that such great storms of the Ocean and such strong winds could not be withstood, nor such heavy ships steered, with sails.

Note. eō, quod est magis vērī simile, quod …: 'because, which is more likely, …'. vērī simile: 'like the truth', probable.

3.13.7Cum hīs nāvibus nostrae classī eius modī congressus erat ut ūnā celeritāte et pulsū rēmōrum praestāret, reliqua prō locī nātūrā, prō vī tempestātum illīs essent aptiōra et accommodātiōra.

In an encounter with these ships, our fleet had the advantage only in speed and the stroke of the oars; in everything else, given the nature of the place and the force of the storms, theirs were better suited and more fit.

Note. ūnā celeritāte … praestāret: 'our fleet was superior in speed alone'.

3.13.8Neque enim iīs nostrae rōstrō nocēre poterant (tanta in iīs erat firmitūdō), neque propter altitūdinem facile tēlum adigēbātur, et eādem dē causā minus commodē cōpulīs continēbantur.

For our ships could not harm them with the ram (so great was their strength), nor could a weapon easily be thrown up at them because of their height, and for the same reason they were less easily held with grappling hooks.

3.13.9Accēdēbat ut, cum saevīre ventus coepisset et sē ventō dedissent, et tempestātem ferrent facilius et in vadīs cōnsisterent tūtius et ab aestū relictae nihil saxa et cōtēs timērent;

Added to this, when the wind began to rage and they ran before it, they both rode out the storm more easily and lay more safely in the shallows, and when left by the tide had nothing to fear from rocks and reefs;

3.13.9quārum rērum omnium nostrīs nāvibus cāsus erat extimēscendus.

all of which our ships had reason to dread.