De Bello Gallico 4.34

Caesar comes to the rescue

In brief. Caesar's arrival saves the legion, and he leads it back to camp. After several days of storms, the Britons gather a large force to attack the camp.

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4.34.1Quibus rēbus perturbātīs nostrīs novitāte pugnae tempore oportūnissimō Caesar auxilium tulit: namque eius adventū hostēs cōnstitērunt, nostrī sē ex timōre recēpērunt.While our men were thrown into confusion by these tactics and the novelty of the fighting, Caesar brought help at the most opportune moment: for at his arrival the enemy halted, and our men recovered from their fear.Note. Quibus rēbus perturbātīs nostrīs: the ablative absolute is nostrīs perturbātīs; quibus rēbus is the ablative of cause. 4.34.2Quō factō, ad lacessendum hostem et committendum proelium aliēnum esse tempus arbitrātus suō sē locō continuit et brevī tempore intermissō in castra legiōnēs redūxit.After this, thinking the moment unsuitable for provoking the enemy and joining battle, he kept to his own position, and after a short time led the legions back into camp. 4.34.3Dum haec geruntur, nostrīs omnibus occupātīs quī erant in agrīs reliquī discessērunt.While this was going on, and all our men were busy, the rest of the Britons who were in the fields went away. 4.34.4Secūtae sunt continuōs complūrēs diēs tempestātēs, quae et nostrōs in castrīs continērent et hostem ā pugnā prohibērent.Storms followed for several days in a row, which kept our men in camp and held the enemy back from fighting.

4.34.5Interim barbarī nūntiōs in omnēs partēs dīmīsērunt paucitātemque nostrōrum mīlitum suīs praedicāvērunt et quanta praedae faciendae atque in perpetuum suī līberandī facultās darētur, sī Rōmānōs castrīs expulissent, dēmōnstrāvērunt.Meanwhile the natives sent messengers in all directions, told their people how few our soldiers were, and pointed out how great a chance was being given of taking plunder and of freeing themselves for ever, if they drove the Romans from their camp.Note. quanta … facultās darētur: indirect question. praedae faciendae … suī līberandī: gerundive phrases in the genitive with facultās. 4.34.5Hīs rēbus celeriter magnā multitūdine peditātūs equitātūsque coāctā ad castra vēnērunt.In this way a great number of infantry and cavalry was quickly gathered, and they came to the camp.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×5, gerunds and gerundives ×4, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (79 words)

quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
perturbō, -turbāre, -turbāvi, -turbātus	greatly disturb, disturb, agitate, throw into confusion
noster, -tra, -trum	our
novitās, -tātis, f.	newness, novelty
pugna, -ae, f.	fighting, battle, combat
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
opportūnus, -a, -um	suitable, seasonable, convenient, opportune
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
namque, conj.	for
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
adventus, -ūs, m.	approach, arrival
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus	station oneself, take one's stand; consist
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
timor, -ōris, m.	fear
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
lacessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītum	provoke, harass
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
aliēnus, -a, -um	belonging to another, out of place
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
arbitror, -ārī, -ātus	consider, think, judge
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
contineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold together, keep within, shut up in; bound
brevis, -e	short
intermittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	leave off, interrupt; let pass; pass., be left between, intervene, elapse
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
redūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead or bring back; restore
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
omnis, -e	all, every
occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus	seize; fill
ager, agri, m.	field, land
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go apart, withdraw, depart
sequor, sequī, secūtus	follow
continuus, -a, -um	continuous, successive
complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj.	several, many
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
tempestās, -tātis, f.	weather; storm, tempest
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus	hold back, prevent, hinder
interim (adv.)	meanwhile
barbarus, -a, -um	barbarian
nūntius, -ī, m.	messenger; message
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose
paucitās, -ātis f.	small number, scarcity
que, enclitic conj.	and
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
praedīcō, -dīcere, -dīxī, -dictus	say beforehand, foretell, predict
quantus, -a, -um	how great or much?
praeda, -ae, f.	booty, spoil, plunder
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
perpetuus, -a, -um	continuous, perpetual; in perpetuum, for all time, forever
līberō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	set free, free, liberate, release
facultās, -tātis, f.	possibility, opportunity, chance, means
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
sī, conj.	if
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
expellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus	drive out, expel
dēmōnstrō, -mōnstrāre, -mōnstrāvī, -mōnstrātus	point out, show; make known
celeriter, adv.	swiftly, quickly
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
peditātus, -ūs m.	infantry, foot soldiers
equitātus, -ūs m.	cavalry
cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus	drive together, collect; compel
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come

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.