Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 4
De Bello Gallico 4.36
Peace and the return to Gaul
Caesar, De Bello Gallico IV. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō4.36.1Eōdem diē lēgātī ab hostibus missī ad Caesarem dē pāce vēnērunt.
That same day envoys sent by the enemy came to Caesar to ask for peace.
4.36.2Hīs Caesar numerum obsidum quem ante imperāverat duplicāvit eōsque in continentem addūcī iussit, quod propinquā diē aequinoctiī īnfirmīs nāvibus hiemī nāvigātiōnem subiciendam nōn exīstimābat.
Caesar doubled the number of hostages he had ordered from them before and ordered them to be brought to the mainland, because, with the day of the equinox near, he did not think a voyage with damaged ships should be exposed to winter weather.
Note. propinquā diē aequinoctiī: ablative absolute; the autumn equinox brought stormy weather. hiemī nāvigātiōnem subiciendam: 'that the voyage should be exposed to the winter'.
4.36.3Ipse idōneam tempestātem nactus paulō post mediam noctem nāvēs solvit, quae omnēs incolumēs ad continentem pervēnērunt;
He himself found suitable weather and set sail a little after midnight, and all the ships reached the mainland safely;
4.36.4sed ex iīs onerāriae duae eōsdem portūs quōs reliquae capere nōn potuērunt et paulō īnfrā dēlātae sunt.
but two of the transports could not make the same harbors as the rest and were carried a little farther down the coast.
Vocabulary
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| pāx, pācis f. | peace |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| obses, obsidis m./f. | hostage |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ante, prep, with acc. and adv. | before |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| duplicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | double |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| continēns, -entis, f. | 'mainland, continent |
| addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead to, bring, take; induce, influence |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| propinquus, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m./-a f. | near; (noun) relative |
| aequinoctium, -ī n. | equinox |
| īnfirmus, -a, -um | weak |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| hiems, hiemis f. | winter |
| nāvigātiō, -ōnis, f. | sailing, navigation, voyage |
| subiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw or place under |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| idōneus, -a, -um | suitable, fit; favorable |
| tempestās, -tātis, f. | weather; storm, tempest |
| nancīscor, nancīscī, nactus | get, obtain, find |
| paulō, adv. | by a little, a little, somewhat |
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| medius, -a, -um | mid, middle |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| incolumis, -e | unhurt, safe |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| sed, conj. | but |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| onerārius, -a, -um | for freight; nāvis onerāria: transport ship |
| duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj. | two |
| portus, -ūs, m. | harbor, haven, port |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| īnfrā (adv. and prep. + acc.) | below, further down |
| dēferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear or carry away or off |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |