De Bello Gallico 3.14

3.14.1Complūribus expugnātīs oppidīs Caesar, ubi intellēxit frūstrā tantum labōrem sūmī neque hostium fugam captīs oppidīs reprimī neque iīs nocērī posse, statuit expectandam classem.

After storming several towns, when Caesar realized that so much effort was being spent in vain, and that the enemy's flight could not be stopped by taking their towns nor could they be harmed, he decided he must wait for the fleet.

Note. exspectandam classem: supply esse, 'that the fleet must be waited for'.

3.14.2Quae ubi convēnit ac prīmum ab hostibus vīsa est, circiter CCXX nāvēs eōrum parātissimae atque omnī genere armōrum ōrnātissimae profectae ex portū nostrīs adversae cōnstitērunt;

As soon as it had assembled and was first sighted by the enemy, about two hundred and twenty of their ships, fully ready and very well equipped with every kind of weapon, sailed out of harbour and took up position facing ours;

3.14.3neque satis Brūtō, quī classī praeerat, vel tribūnīs mīlitum centuriōnibusque, quibus singulae nāvēs erant attribūtae, cōnstābat quid agerent aut quam ratiōnem pugnae īnsisterent.

and neither Brutus, who commanded the fleet, nor the military tribunes and centurions, to whom the individual ships had been assigned, were at all clear what to do or what method of fighting to adopt.

3.14.4Rōstrō enim nocērī nōn posse cognōverant;

For they had learned that the enemy could not be harmed by ramming;

Note. Rōstrō: the ram on the bow of a warship.

3.14.4turribus autem excitātīs tamen hās altitūdō puppium ex barbarīs nāvibus superābat, ut neque ex īnferiōre locō satis commodē tēla adigī possent et missa ā Gallīs gravius acciderent.

and even when towers had been raised, the height of the sterns of the barbarian ships still overtopped them, so that weapons could not be thrown well enough from the lower position, and those thrown by the Gauls fell with greater force.

3.14.5Ūna erat magnō ūsuī rēs praeparāta ā nostrīs, falcēs praeacūtae īnsertae adfīxaeque longuriīs, nōn absimilī fōrmā mūrālium falcium.

One thing prepared by our men was of great use: sharp-pointed hooks set into and fastened to long poles, not unlike the hooks used against walls.

Note. falcēs praeacūtae: hooks fixed on long poles, used to cut the ropes holding the enemy's sails.

3.14.6Hīs cum fūnēs quī antemnās ad mālōs dēstinābant comprehēnsī adductīque erant, nāvigiō rēmīs incitātō praerumpēbantur.

When the ropes that fastened the yards to the masts were caught and pulled taut by these, and the ship was driven hard with the oars, they snapped.

3.14.7Quibus abscīsīs antemnae necessāriō concidēbant, ut, cum omnis Gallicīs nāvibus spēs in vēlīs armāmentīsque cōnsisteret, hīs ēreptīs omnis ūsus nāvium ūnō tempore ēriperētur.

Once these were cut the yards inevitably fell, so that, since all the hope of the Gallic ships lay in their sails and rigging, once these were torn away all use of the ships was taken away at one stroke.

Note. Quibus abscīsīs: connecting relative in an ablative absolute, 'when these were cut'.

3.14.8Reliquum erat certāmen positum in virtūte, quā nostrī mīlitēs facile superābant, atque eō magis quod in cōnspectū Caesaris atque omnis exercitūs rēs gerēbātur, ut nūllum paulō fortius factum latēre posset;

The rest of the contest depended on courage, in which our soldiers were easily superior, all the more because the action took place in sight of Caesar and the whole army, so that no deed a little braver than usual could go unnoticed;

Note. paulō fortius factum: 'a deed a little braver (than usual)'.

3.14.9omnēs enim collēs ac loca superiōra, unde erat propinquus dēspectus in mare, ab exercitū tenēbantur.

for all the hills and higher ground, from which there was a close view down onto the sea, were held by the army.