De Bello Gallico 4.3

Empty borders; the Ubii

In brief. The Suebi take pride in a wide belt of empty land around their borders. Their neighbors the Ubii, a large people made more civilized by Rhine trade, have been forced to pay them tribute.

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

4.3.1Pūblicē 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.

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: indirect statement ×4, cum clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (75 words)

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)

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.