Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 5
De Bello Gallico 5.10
A storm wrecks the fleet
Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō5.10.1Postrīdiē eius diēī māne tripertītō mīlitēs equitēsque in expedītiōnem mīsit, ut eōs quī fūgerant persequerentur.
Early the next day he sent soldiers and cavalry in three divisions on an expedition, to pursue those who had fled.
Note. Postrīdiē eius diēī: Caesar's regular phrase for 'on the next day'. tripertītō: 'in three columns'.
5.10.2Hīs aliquantum itineris prōgressīs, cum iam extrēmī essent in prōspectū, equitēs ā Quīntō Atriō ad Caesarem vēnērunt, quī nūntiārent superiōre nocte maximā coorta tempestāte prope omnēs nāvēs adflīctās atque in lītore ēiectās esse, quod neque ancorae fūnēsque subsisterent, neque nautae gubernātōrēsque vim tempestātis patī possent;
When these had gone some distance and the rearmost were already in sight, horsemen came from Quintus Atrius to Caesar to report that on the previous night a very great storm had arisen and almost all the ships had been damaged and driven up on the shore, because neither the anchors and cables held nor could the sailors and helmsmen withstand the force of the storm;
Note. quī nūntiārent: relative clause of purpose. From superiōre nocte the message is reported in indirect speech.
5.10.3itaque ex eō concursū nāvium magnum esse incommodum acceptum.
so great damage had been suffered from that collision of the ships.
Vocabulary
| postrīdiē, adv. | the day after, the next day |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| māne, adv. | in the morning, early in the morning |
| tripertītō (adv.) | in three divisions |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| expedītiō, -ōnis f. | expedition, raid |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus | flee, run away |
| persequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, pursue |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| aliquantus, -a, -um | some, a fair amount (aliquantum itineris: some way) |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| extrēmus, -a, -um | last, extreme, furthest |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| prōspectus, -ūs m. | view |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| quīntus, -a, -um | fifth |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | report, announce |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| coorior, -orīrī, -ortus | arise |
| tempestās, -tātis, f. | weather; storm, tempest |
| prope (adv. and prep. + acc.) | near, nearly |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| adflīgō, -flīgere, -flīxi, -flīctus | dash to, shatter |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| lītus, lītoris, n. | shore |
| ēiciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw out; sē ēicere: rush out |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| ancora, -ae, f. | anchor; in ancorīs, at anchor |
| fūnis, -is m. | rope, cable |
| subsistō, -ere, -stitī | halt, make a stand |
| nauta, -ae, m. | sailor |
| gubernātor, -ōris m. | helmsman, pilot |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| patior, patī, passus, bear | suffer, allow |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| concursus, -ūs m. | a running together, charge |
| incommodum, -ī, n. | inconvenience |
| accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer |