Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 4
De Bello Gallico 4.2
German customs
Caesar, De Bello Gallico IV. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō4.2.1Mercātōribus est aditus magis eō ut quae bellō cēperint quibus vēndant habeant, quam quō ūllam rem ad sē importārī dēsīderent.
Traders have access to them more so that they may have people to whom they can sell what they have taken in war than because they want any goods to be brought in to them.
Note. magis eō ut … quam quō: 'more for this purpose, that … than because'. quibus vendant: relative clause of purpose, 'people to whom to sell'.
4.2.2Quīn etiam iūmentīs, quibus maximē Gallī dēlectantur quaeque impēnsō parant pretiō, Germānī importātīs nōn ūtuntur, sed quae sunt apud eōs nāta, parva atque dēfōrmia, haec cōtīdiānā exercitātiōne summī ut sint labōris efficiunt.
Indeed, the Germans do not even use imported draught horses, in which the Gauls take very great delight and which they buy at a high price; instead, the horses born among them, small and ugly, they make capable of the greatest labor by daily exercise.
Note. summī ut sint labōris: genitive of description, 'that they are (capable) of the greatest labor'; ut is placed late in its clause.
4.2.3Equestribus proeliīs saepe ex equīs dēsiliunt ac pedibus proeliantur, equōs eōdem remanēre vestīgiō adsuēfēcērunt, ad quōs sē celeriter, cum ūsus est, recipiunt: neque eōrum mōribus turpius quicquam aut inertius habētur quam ephippiīs utī.
In cavalry battles they often leap down from their horses and fight on foot, and they have trained the horses to stay on the same spot, and they retreat to them quickly when there is need; and by their customs nothing is thought more shameful or more unmanly than to use saddles.
4.2.5Itaque ad quemvīs numerum ephippiātōrum equitum quamvīs paucī adīre audent.
And so, however few they are, they dare to attack any number of horsemen riding on saddles.
Note. quamvīs paucī: 'however few'. quamvīs here is an adverb modifying paucī, not a concessive conjunction.
4.2.6Vīnum omnīnō ad sē importārī nōn patiuntur, quod eā rē ad labōrem ferendum remollēscere hominēs atque effēminārī arbitrantur.
They do not allow wine to be brought in to them at all, because they think that men are made soft by it and unmanned for enduring hardship.
Vocabulary
| mercātor, -ōris, m. | trader, merchant |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| aditus, -ūs, m. | approach, entrance |
| magis, comp. adv. | more, rather |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| vēndō, -ere, vēndidī, vēnditum | sell |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| quō, adv. | to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long? |
| ūllus, -a, -um | any |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| importō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | bring in, import |
| dēsīderō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | long for, miss; require |
| quīn, conj. | so that ... not, but that, but |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| iūmentum, -ī n. | pack animal, beast of burden |
| maximē, adv. | very greatly, exceedingly, especially |
| dēlectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | please, delight; passive: enjoy, take pleasure in |
| impēnsus, -a, -um | great, high (of price) |
| parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make ready, prepare |
| pretium, -ī, n. | price, charge |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |
| sed, conj. | but |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| nāscor, -ī, nātus sum | be born; rise, begin |
| parvus, -a, -um | little, small |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| dēfōrmis, -e | misshapen, ugly |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| cottīdiānus, -a, -um | daily |
| exercitātiō, -ōnis, f. | exercise |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| efficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or work out, accomplish, effect |
| equester, -tris, -tre | of cavalry |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| saepe, adv. | often, frequently |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| equus, -ī, m. | horse |
| dēsiliō, -silīre, -siluī, -sultus | leap down |
| pēs, pedis, m. | foot |
| proelior, -ārī, -ātus sum | fight a battle |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| remaneō, -ēre, -mānsī | stay behind, remain |
| vestīgium, -ī, n. | track, foot-print |
| assuēfaciō, -ere, -fēcī, -factus | accustom, train |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ūsus, -ūs, m. | use; experience |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| mōs, mōris, m. | way, manner, habit, custom |
| turpis, -e | disgraceful |
| quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron. | any one, anything |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| iners, -ertis | sluggish, idle, unmanly |
| ephippium, -ī n. | saddle, saddle-cloth |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| quīvīs, quaevīs, quodvīs | any you like, any whatever |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| ephippiātus, -a, -um | riding on a saddle |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| quamvīs (adv.) | however much, as … as you like |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| adeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go to, approach |
| audeō, audēre, ausus sum | dare |
| vīnum, -ī, n. | wine |
| omnīnō, adv. | altogether, wholly, entirely |
| patior, patī, passus, bear | suffer, allow |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| remollēscō, -ere | grow soft, become weak |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| effēminō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | make womanish, weaken |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |