Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 4
De Bello Gallico 4.3
Empty borders; the Ubii
Caesar, De Bello Gallico IV. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō4.3.1Pūblicē maximam putant esse laudem quam lātissimē ā suīs fīnibus vacāre agrōs: hāc rē significārī magnum numerum cīvitātum suam vim sustinēre nōn posse.
As a nation they think it the greatest glory for the lands to lie empty as far as possible from their borders: by this, they believe, it is shown that a great number of states cannot withstand their power.
Note. vacāre agrōs: subject of esse in indirect statement. hāc rē significārī: another indirect statement depending on putant.
4.3.2Itaque ūnā ex parte ā Suēbīs circiter mīlia passuum C agrī vacāre dīcuntur.
And so on one side of the Suebi the land is said to lie empty for about a hundred miles.
4.3.3Ad alteram partem succēdunt Ubiī, quōrum fuit cīvitās ampla atque flōrēns, ut est captus Germānōrum;
On the other side come the Ubii, whose state was large and prosperous, by German standards;
Note. ut est captus Germānōrum: 'as the grasp of the Germans is', i.e. 'by German standards'.
4.3.3iī paulō, quamquam sunt eiusdem generis, sunt cēterīs hūmāniōrēs, proptereā quod Rhēnum attingunt multumque ad eōs mercātōrēs ventitant et ipsī propter propinquitātem quod Gallicīs sunt mōribus adsuēfactī.
they are somewhat more civilized than the others of the same race, because they border the Rhine and many traders come to them, and they themselves, through being near, have grown used to Gallic ways.
Note. quod Gallicīs: this quod is odd here (Holmes's text does not have it); read 'and they themselves, because of their nearness, have become used to Gallic ways'. multum: adverb, 'often'.
4.3.4Hōs cum Suēbī multīs saepe bellīs expertī propter amplitūdinem gravitatemque cīvitātis fīnibus expellere nōn potuissent, tamen vectīgālēs sibi fēcērunt ac multō humiliōrēs īnfirmioresque redēgērunt.
Although the Suebi, having tried them in many wars, had not been able to drive them from their lands because of the size and strength of their state, they nevertheless made them tributaries and made them much lower and weaker.
Vocabulary
| pūblicē (adv.) | officially, as a state |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | think |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| laus, laudis f. | praise, glory |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| lātē | widely |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| vacō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | be empty, be unoccupied |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| 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 |
| significō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | show, indicate, signal |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| sustineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold or bear up, sustain, withstand |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| circiter, prep. with acc. and adv. | about |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| 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 |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| alter, -era, -erum | one or the other (of two); another, second |
| succēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go or come under, follow after, succeed |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| amplus, -a, -um | large, great; distinguished |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| flōreō, -ēre, -uī | flourish, be prosperous |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| captus, -ūs m. | capacity, grasp; ut est captus: as far as … can grasp |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| paulō, adv. | by a little, a little, somewhat |
| quamquam, conj. | however much, although |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| genus, generis, n. | kind, nature |
| cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | the other, the remaining, the rest of |
| hūmānus, -a, -um | of man, human |
| proptereā | for this reason; proptereā quod: because |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| attingō, -tingere, -tigī, -tāctus | touch at |
| multum, -ī, n. | much |
| mercātor, -ōris, m. | trader, merchant |
| ventitō, -āre, -āvī | come often, keep coming |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| propter, prep. with acc. | on account of, because of |
| propinquitās, -ātis f. | nearness; kinship |
| Gallicus, -a, -um | Gallic, of Gaul |
| mōs, mōris, m. | way, manner, habit, custom |
| assuēfaciō, -ere, -fēcī, -factus | accustom, train |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| saepe, adv. | often, frequently |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| experior, -īrī, expertus sum | try, test, experience |
| amplitūdō, -inis f. | size, greatness |
| gravitās, -ātis f. | weight, heaviness; dignity, seriousness |
| expellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus | drive out, expel |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| vectīgālis, -e | paying tribute, tributary |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| multō, adv. | by much or far, much, far |
| humilis, -e | low; humble, poor |
| īnfirmus, -a, -um | weak |
| redigō, -ere, redēgī, redāctum | bring back; reduce (to a condition) |