Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 3
De Bello Gallico 3.26
Victory over the Aquitani
Caesar, De Bello Gallico III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō3.26.1Crassus equitum praefectōs cohortātus, ut magnīs praemiīs pollicitātiōnibusque suōs excitārent, quid fierī vellet ostendit.
Crassus urged the cavalry commanders to rouse their men with great rewards and promises, and shows them what he wants done.
3.26.2Illī, ut erat imperātum, ēductīs iīs cohortibus quae praesidiō castrīs relictae intrītae ab labōre erant, et longiōre itinere circumductīs, nē ex hostium castrīs cōnspicī possent, omnium oculīs mentibusque ad pugnam intentīs celeriter ad eās quās dīximus mūnītiōnēs pervēnērunt atque hīs prōrutīs prius in hostium castrīs cōnstitērunt quam plānē ab hīs vidērī aut quid reī gererētur cognōscī posset.
They, as they had been ordered, led out the cohorts that had been left to guard the camp and were fresh from any effort, took them round by a longer route so that they could not be seen from the enemy's camp, and, while everyone's eyes and minds were fixed on the battle, quickly reached the fortifications we mentioned; they broke these down and were standing in the enemy's camp before they could be clearly seen by them or anyone could tell what was going on.
Note. intrītae ab labōre: 'untouched by toil', i.e. fresh. prius … quam: 'before'.
3.26.4Tum vērō clāmōre ab eā parte audītō nostrī redintegrātīs vīribus, quod plērumque in spē victōriae accidere cōnsuēvit, ācrius impugnāre coepērunt.
Then indeed, when a shout was heard from that side, our men's strength was renewed, as usually happens when there is hope of victory, and they began to attack more fiercely.
3.26.5Hostēs undique circumventī dēspērātīs omnibus rēbus sē per mūnītiōnēs dēicere et fugā salūtem petere contendērunt.
The enemy, surrounded on all sides and despairing of everything, tried to throw themselves down over the fortifications and save themselves by flight.
3.26.6Quōs equitātus apertissimīs campīs cōnsectātus ex mīlium L numerō, quae ex Aquītāniā Cantabrīsque convēnisse cōnstābat, vix quārta parte relictā, multā nocte sē in castra recēpit.
The cavalry pursued them over very open plains and, leaving barely a quarter out of a number of fifty thousand, which were known to have come from Aquitania and the Cantabri, returned to camp late at night.
Note. multā nocte: 'late at night'.
Vocabulary
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| praefectus, -ī m. | commander, officer |
| cohortor, -hortārī, -hortātus | encourage, exhort |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| praemium, -ī, n. | reward |
| pollicitātiō, -ōnis f. | promise |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| excitō, -citāre, -citāvī, -citātus | call out, arouse |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| ostendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch out before, show, explain |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| ēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead out, draw |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| cohors, cohortis f. | cohort (a tenth of a legion); company |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| intrītus, -a, -um | unworn, fresh |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| longus, -a, -um | long; tedious |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| circumdūcō, -ere, -dūxī, -ductum | lead around, draw around |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| cōnspiciō, -spicere, -spēxī, -spectus | behold, perceive, see |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| oculus, -ī, m. | eye |
| mēns, mentis f. | mind, spirit |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| pugna, -ae, f. | fighting, battle, combat |
| intendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch out; stretch, draw, aim |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| prōruō, -ere, -ruī, -rutum | throw down, demolish |
| prius, adv. | before, first |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| plānē (adv.) | clearly, plainly |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| vērō, adv. | in truth, indeed; however |
| clāmor, -ōris, m. | shout, cry |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| redintegrō, -integrāre, -integrāvī, -integrātus | make whole again, renew |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| plērumque (adv.) | generally, mostly |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| victōria, -ae, f. | victory |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētus | become accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont |
| ācriter, adv. | sharply, fiercely |
| impugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | attack |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| undique, adv. | from or on all sides |
| circumveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventum | surround |
| dēspērō, -spērāre, -spērāvī, -spērātus | despair |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| dēiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw down, cast, drive out of one's course |
| fuga, -ae, f. | flight |
| salūs, salūtis, f. | safety, deliverance, escape |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| apertus, -a, -um | open |
| campus, -ī, m. | plain, field |
| cōnsector, -ārī, -ātus sum | pursue, chase |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| cōnstō, -stāre, -stitī, -stātūrus | stand together, agree; consist; |
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| quartus, -a, -um | fourth |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |