De Bello Gallico 4.15

The end of the Usipetes and Tencteri

In brief. The Germans throw down their arms and flee to where the Meuse meets the Rhine; many are killed and the rest drown, while Caesar loses no one. The detained leaders, afraid of the Gauls, ask to stay with him.

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

4.15.1Germānī 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.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×3, ablative absolute ×5, indirect statement ×2, gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (70 words)

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

Caesar, De Bello Gallico IV. Latin text: T. Rice Holmes (Oxford, 1914), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.