De Bello Gallico 5.15

Fighting on the march

In brief. British cavalry and chariots clash with the Romans on the march and are driven back. Later they surprise the guards in front of the camp, break between two cohorts and escape; the tribune Quintus Laberius Durus is killed before more cohorts drive them off.

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5.15.1Equitēs hostium essedāriīque ācriter proeliō cum equitātū nostrō in itinere cōnflīxērunt, tamen ut nostrī omnibus partibus superiōrēs fuerint atque eōs in silvās collēsque compulerint.The enemy's horsemen and chariot-fighters clashed fiercely with our cavalry on the march, yet in such a way that our men had the upper hand everywhere and drove them into the woods and hills. 5.15.2Sed complūribus interfectīs cupidius īnsecūtī nōnnūllōs ex suīs āmīsērunt.But after killing many, they pursued too eagerly and lost some of their own men. 5.15.3At illī intermissō spatiō imprūdentibus nostrīs atque occupātīs in mūnītiōne castrōrum subitō sē ex silvīs ēiēcērunt, impetūque in eōs factō quī erant in statiōne prō castrīs collocātī, ācriter pugnāvērunt, duābusque missīs subsidiō cohortibus ā Caesare atque eīs prīmīs legiōnum duārum, cum hae perexiguō intermissō locī spatiō inter sē cōnstitissent, novō genere pugnae perterritīs nostrīs per mediōs audācissimē perrūpērunt sēque inde incolumēs recēpērunt.After a pause, while our men were off guard and busy fortifying the camp, the enemy suddenly rushed out of the woods, attacked those who were posted on guard in front of the camp, and fought fiercely; Caesar sent two cohorts to help, the first cohorts of two legions, and when these had taken up position with only a very small gap between them, the enemy, while our men were alarmed by this new kind of fighting, broke through the middle with great daring and got back from there unharmed.Note. A very long sentence: the ablative absolutes (intermissō spatiō, impetū factō, missīs … cohortibus) set the scene before the main verbs pugnāvērunt, perrūpērunt and recēpērunt.

5.15.5Eō diē Quīntus Laberius Dūrus, tribūnus mīlitum, interficitur.That day Quintus Laberius Durus, a military tribune, was killed. 5.15.5Illī plūribus submissīs cohortibus repelluntur.The enemy were driven back when more cohorts were sent up.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×8, cum clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (82 words)

eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
essedārius, -ī m.	chariot-fighter
que, enclitic conj.	and
ācriter, adv.	sharply, fiercely
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
cum, prep, with abl.	with
equitātus, -ūs m.	cavalry
noster, -tra, -trum	our
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
cōnflīgō, -flīgere, -flīxī, -flīctus	dash together
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
omnis, -e	all, every
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
silva, -ae, f.	wood, forest
collis, -is m.	hill
compellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus	drive together, drive
sed, conj.	but
complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj.	several, many
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
cupidē (adv.; comp. cupidius)	eagerly
īnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow upon or up, pursue
nōnnūllus, -a, -um	not none, some, several
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
āmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send away, lose
at, conj.	but
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
intermittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	leave off, interrupt; let pass; pass., be left between, intervene, elapse
spatium, -ī, n.	space, interval; space of time, time
imprūdēns, -entis	off guard, unaware
occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus	seize; fill
mūnītiō, -ōnis f.	fortification, defence works
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
subitō, adv.	unexpectedly, suddenly
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
ēiciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw out; sē ēicere: rush out
impetus, -ūs, m.	attack; impetum facere, to charge
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
statiō, -ōnis f.	outpost, picket
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum	place, station; give in marriage
pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	fight
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
subsidium, -ī, n.	reserve, reinforcement, support, help
cohors, cohortis f.	cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
perexiguus, -a, -um	very small
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus	station oneself, take one's stand; consist
novus, -a, -um	new; novissimus, last
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
pugna, -ae, f.	fighting, battle, combat
perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus	thoroughly frighten, terrify
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
medius, -a, -um	mid, middle
audācter (adv.; comp. audācius)	boldly
perrumpō, -rumpere, -rūpī, -ruptus	break or burst through, break
inde (adv.)	from there; then
incolumis, -e	unhurt, safe
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
quīntus, -a, -um	fifth
dūrus, -a, -um	hard; harsh; difficult
tribūnus, -ī m.	tribune (tribūnus mīlitum: senior officer of a legion)
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
submittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum	send (as help)
repellō, repellere, reppulī, repulsus	drive back or away, repulse, repel

Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. 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.