Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 4
De Bello Gallico 4.11
More delay
Caesar, De Bello Gallico IV. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
Tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and track your reading.
Read in Lectitō4.11.1Caesar cum ab hoste nōn amplius passuum XII mīlibus abesset, ut erat cōnstitūtum, ad eum lēgātī revertuntur;
When Caesar was no more than twelve miles from the enemy, the envoys came back to him, as had been arranged;
Note. nōn amplius passuum XII mīlibus: amplius is used without quam and does not affect the case.
4.11.1quī in itinere congressī magnopere nē longius prōgrederētur ōrābant.
meeting him on the march, they begged him earnestly not to advance any farther.
4.11.2Cum id nōn impetrāssent, petēbant utī ad eōs equitēs quī agmen antecessissent praemitteret eōsque pugnā prohibēret, sibique ut potestātem faceret in Ubiōs lēgātōs mittendī;
When they had not obtained this, they asked him to send word to the cavalry who had gone ahead of the column and keep them from fighting, and to give them leave to send envoys to the Ubii;
4.11.3quōrum sī prīncipēs ac senātus sibi iūre iūrandō fidem fēcisset, eā condiciōne quae ā Caesare ferrētur sē ūsūrōs ostendēbant: ad hās rēs cōnficiendās sibi trīduī spatium daret.
and they declared that if the leaders and senate of the Ubii gave them a pledge on oath, they would accept the terms Caesar offered: he should give them three days' time to settle these matters.
Note. quōrum … sī prīncipēs: 'and if their leaders'. iūre iūrandō: 'by oath'. daret: jussive subjunctive in reported speech.
4.11.4Haec omnia Caesar eōdem illō pertinēre arbitrābātur ut trīduī morā interpositā equitēs eōrum quī abessent reverterentur;
Caesar thought that all this pointed to the same end, that by the three days' delay their horsemen who were away might return;
4.11.4tamen sēsē nōn longius mīlibus passuum IIII aquātiōnis causā prōcessūrum eō diē dīxit: hūc posterō diē quam frequentissimī convenīrent, ut dē eōrum postulātīs cognōsceret.
nevertheless he said that he would advance no more than four miles that day to reach water: they should gather there the next day in as great numbers as possible, so that he could hear their demands.
Note. quam frequentissimī: quam with a superlative, 'in as great numbers as possible'.
4.11.6Interim ad praefectōs, quī cum omnī equitātū antecesserant, mittit quī nūntiārent nē hostēs proeliō lacesserent, et sī ipsī lacesserentur, sustinērent quoad ipse cum exercitū propius accessisset.
Meanwhile he sent men to the cavalry officers who had gone ahead with all the cavalry, to tell them not to provoke the enemy to battle, and, if they themselves were provoked, to hold out until he came nearer with the army.
Vocabulary
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| amplius (adv.) | more, further |
| 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 |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertī | turn back, return |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| congredior, -ī, -gressus sum | meet; come to grips, fight |
| magnopere, adv. | greatly, very much, exceedingly; earnestly |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| longē, adv. | far |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| ōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | speak; beg, pray |
| impetrō, -petrāre, -petrāvī, -petrātus | gain one's end, obtain (a request) |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| agmen, -minis, n. | band, column |
| antecēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | go before; surpass |
| praemittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | send ahead |
| pugna, -ae, f. | fighting, battle, combat |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| potestās, -ātis f. | power, authority |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| sī, conj. | if |
| prīnceps, -ipis | first, chief; as noun: leader |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| senātus, -ūs m. | senate |
| iūs, iūris, n. | right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath |
| iūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | swear; iūs iūrandum, oath |
| fidēs, -eī f. | faith, trust; pledge |
| condiciō, -ōnis f. | terms; condition, status |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |
| ostendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch out before, show, explain |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| trīduum, -ī n. | three days |
| spatium, -ī, n. | space, interval; space of time, time |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| eōdem | to the same place |
| illō (adv.) | to that place, there |
| pertineō, -ēre, -uī | extend, reach; tend toward, concern |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| mora, -ae, f. | delay |
| interpōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | put between; bring forward (an excuse) |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| aquātiō, -ōnis f. | fetching water; a watering place |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| prōcēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | go forward, advance |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| hūc, adv. | to this place, hither |
| posterus, -a, -um | following, next |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| frequēns, -entis | crowded, in great numbers; frequent |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| postulātum, -ī n. | demand, request |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| interim (adv.) | meanwhile |
| praefectus, -ī m. | commander, officer |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | report, announce |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| lacessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītum | provoke, harass |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| sustineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold or bear up, sustain, withstand |
| quoad (conj.) | as long as; until |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| prope (adv. and prep. + acc.) | near, nearly |
| accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum | come near, approach; be added |