De Bello Gallico 4.22

The fleet is assembled

In brief. The Morini submit and give hostages. Caesar gathers about eighty transports for two legions and eighteen more for the cavalry, and sends the rest of the army against the Menapii and the Morini who have not submitted.

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4.22.1Dum in hīs locīs Caesar nāvium parandārum causā morātur, ex magnā parte Morinōrum ad eum lēgātī vēnērunt, quī sē dē superiōris temporis cōnsiliō excūsārent, quod hominēs barbarī et nostrae cōnsuētūdinis imperītī bellum populō Rōmānō fēcissent, sēque ea quae imperāsset factūrōs pollicērentur.While Caesar was staying in these parts to get ships ready, envoys came to him from a large part of the Morini to excuse their conduct of the previous season, saying that as barbarians unfamiliar with our customs they had made war on the Roman people, and to promise that they would do what he ordered. 4.22.2Hoc sibi Caesar satis oportūnē accidisse arbitrātus, quod neque post tergum hostem relinquere volēbat neque bellī gerendī propter annī tempus facultātem habēbat neque hās tantulārum rērum occupātiōnēs Britanniae antepōnendās iūdicābat, magnum iīs numerum obsidum imperat.Caesar thought this had happened quite conveniently for him, because he did not want to leave an enemy behind him, had no opportunity of waging war because of the time of year, and judged that taking care of such small matters should not come before Britain; so he ordered them to give a large number of hostages.Note. Hoc … accidisse: indirect statement after arbitrātus. Britanniae antepōnendās: 'should be put before Britain' (dative with ante- compound).

4.22.3Quibus adductīs eōs in fidem recipit.When these were brought, he took them under his protection. 4.22.3Nāvibus circiter LXXX onerāriīs coāctīs contrāctīsque, quot satis esse ad duās trānsportandās legiōnēs exīstimābat, quod praetereā nāvium longārum habēbat quaestōrī, lēgātīs praefectīsque distribuit.About eighty transport ships were collected and brought together, enough, he thought, to carry two legions across; whatever warships he had besides, he distributed among the quaestor, the legates and the prefects. 4.22.4Hūc accēdēbant XVIII onerāriae nāvēs, quae ex eō locō ā mīlibus passuum VIII ventō tenēbantur quō minus in eundem portum venīre possent: hās equitibus tribuit.In addition there were eighteen transport ships, which were being held by the wind eight miles from there, so that they could not reach the same harbor; these he assigned to the cavalry.Note. quō minus … possent: after a verb of hindering (tenēbantur), 'so that they could not'. 4.22.5Reliquum exercitum Q. Titūriō Sabīnō et L. Aurunculeiō Cottae lēgātīs in Menapiōs atque in eōs pāgōs Morinōrum ā quibus ad eum lēgātī nōn vēnerant dūcendum dedit;The rest of the army he gave to the legates Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta to lead against the Menapii and against those cantons of the Morini from which no envoys had come to him; 4.22.6Sulpicium Rūfum lēgātum cum eō praesidiō quod satis esse arbitrābātur portum tenēre iussit.he ordered the legate Publius Sulpicius Rufus to hold the harbor with a garrison he thought large enough.

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (102 words)

dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
nāvis, -is, f.	ship
parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	make ready, prepare
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
moror, -ārī, -ātus	delay, linger, stay
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
lēgātus, -ī, m.	ambassador
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
excūsō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	excuse, make excuses for
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
homō, hominis, m.	man
barbarus, -a, -um	barbarian
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
noster, -tra, -trum	our
cōnsuētūdō, -inis f.	custom, habit; way of life
imperītus, -a, -um	inexperienced, unskilled, ignorant
bellum, -ī, n.	war
populus, -ī m.	people, nation
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
que, enclitic conj.	and
imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus	command, order, enjoin
polliceor, -licērī, -licitus	promise
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
opportūnē (adv.)	at the right moment, conveniently
accidō, -cidere, -cidī	fall to or upon; befall, happen
arbitror, -ārī, -ātus	consider, think, judge
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
post, adv.	after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
tergum, -ī, n.	back
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
volō, velle, voluī	wish
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
propter, prep. with acc.	on account of, because of
annus, -ī, m.	year
facultās, -tātis, f.	possibility, opportunity, chance, means
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
tantulus, -a, -um	so small
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
occupātiō, -ōnis f.	business, engagement, being busy
antepōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positus	place before; prefer
iūdicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	judge, decide
numerus, -ī, m.	number
obses, obsidis m./f.	hostage
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead to, bring, take; induce, influence
fidēs, -eī f.	faith, trust; pledge
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
circiter, prep. with acc. and adv.	about
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
onerārius, -a, -um	for freight; nāvis onerāria: transport ship
cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus	drive together, collect; compel
contrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -trāctum	draw together, collect
quot (indecl.)	how many
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
trānsportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus	carry across or over, transport
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, believe, think
praetereā, adv.	besides this, besides, moreover
longus, -a, -um	long; tedious
quaestor, -ōris m.	quaestor, a Roman official in charge of an army's funds
praefectus, -ī m.	commander, officer
distribuō, -ere, -tribuī, -tribūtum	divide up, distribute
hūc, adv.	to this place, hither
accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum	come near, approach; be added
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
passus, -ūs, m.	pace (mīlia passuum: miles)
ventus, -ī, m.	wind
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
minus, comp. adv.	less
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
portus, -ūs, m.	harbor, haven, port
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
tribuō, -ere, tribuī, tribūtum	assign, attribute
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
quīntus, -a, -um	fifth
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
pāgus, -ī m.	district, canton
nōn, adv.	not
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus	lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
cum, prep, with abl.	with
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command

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.