Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 4
De Bello Gallico 4.15
The end of the Usipetes and Tencteri
Caesar, De Bello Gallico IV. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō4.15.1Germānī post tergum clāmōre audītō, cum suōs interficī vidērent, armīs abiectīs signīs mīlitāribus relictīs sē ex castrīs ēiēcērunt, et cum ad cōnfluentem Mosae et Rhēnī pervēnissent, reliquā fugā dēspērātā, magnō numerō interfectō, reliquī sē in flūmen praecipitāvērunt atque ibi timōre, lassitūdine, vī flūminis oppressī periērunt.
Hearing the shouting behind them, and seeing their people being killed, the Germans threw away their arms, left their military standards, and rushed out of the camp; and when they reached the meeting of the Meuse and the Rhine, giving up hope of further flight, after a great number had been killed, the rest threw themselves into the river and there perished, overcome by fear, exhaustion and the force of the current.
4.15.3Nostrī ad ūnum omnēs incolumēs, perpaucīs vulnerātīs, ex tantī bellī timōre, cum hostium numerus capitum CCCCXXX mīlium fuisset, sē in castra recēpērunt.
Our men, safe to a man, with very few wounded, freed from the fear of so great a war, though the enemy had numbered four hundred and thirty thousand persons, returned to camp.
Note. ad ūnum omnēs: 'all to a man'. capitum CCCCXXX mīlium: genitive of description; the figure, 430,000, is surely exaggerated.
4.15.4Caesar iīs quōs in castrīs retinuerat discēdendī potestātem fēcit.
Caesar gave those he had held in the camp leave to go.
4.15.5Illī supplicia cruciātūsque Gallōrum veritī, quōrum agrōs vexāverant, remanēre sē apud eum velle dīxērunt.
Fearing punishment and torture from the Gauls, whose fields they had plundered, they said that they wanted to stay with him.
4.15.5Hīs Caesar lībertātem concessit.
Caesar granted them their freedom.
Vocabulary
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| tergum, -ī, n. | back |
| clāmor, -ōris, m. | shout, cry |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| abiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw away |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| mīlitāris, -e | military, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| ēiciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw out; sē ēicere: rush out |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| cōnfluēns, -entis m. | the place where two rivers meet |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| fuga, -ae, f. | flight |
| dēspērō, -spērāre, -spērāvī, -spērātus | despair |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| praecipitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | throw headlong; sē praecipitāre: hurl oneself |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| lassitūdō, -inis, f. | weariness |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| opprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus | press against, overpower, crush |
| pereō, -īre, -ii, -itūrus | pass away, perish |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| incolumis, -e | unhurt, safe |
| perpaucī, -ae, -a | very few |
| vulnerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | wound |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| caput, capitis, n. | head |
| 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; |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast |
| discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go apart, withdraw, depart |
| potestās, -ātis f. | power, authority |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| supplicium, -ī, n. | punishment, torture |
| cruciātus, -ūs, m. | torture |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| vexō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | harass, ravage |
| remaneō, -ēre, -mānsī | stay behind, remain |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| volō, -āre, -āvī, -ātūrus | fly |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| lībertās, -tātis, f. | freedom, liberty |
| concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | grant, yield |