Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 5
De Bello Gallico 5.17
An attack on the foragers
Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō5.17.1Posterō diē procul ā castrīs hostēs in collibus cōnstitērunt rārīque sē ostendere et lēnius quam prīdiē nostrōs equitēs proeliō lacessere coepērunt.
The next day the enemy halted on the hills far from the camp, and began to show themselves in small groups and to harass our cavalry less fiercely than the day before.
5.17.2Sed merīdiē, cum Caesar pābulandī causā trēs legiōnēs atque omnem equitātum cum Gāiō Trebōniō lēgātō mīsisset, repente ex omnibus partibus ad pābulātōrēs advolāvērunt, sīc utī ab signīs legiōnibusque nōn absisterent.
But at midday, when Caesar had sent three legions and all the cavalry under his officer Gaius Trebonius to gather fodder, they suddenly swooped on the foragers from every side, so that they did not even keep away from the standards and the legions.
Note. sīc utī … nōn absisterent: a result clause, 'so that they did not keep away from'.
5.17.3Nostrī ācriter in eōs impetū factō reppulērunt neque fīnem sequendī fēcērunt, quoad subsidiō cōnfīsī equitēs, cum post sē legiōnēs vidērent, praecipitēs hostēs ēgērunt magnōque eōrum numerō interfectō neque suī colligendī neque cōnsistendī aut ex essedīs dēsiliendī facultātem dedērunt.
Our men charged them fiercely and drove them back, and did not stop the pursuit until the cavalry, trusting in the support and seeing the legions behind them, drove the enemy headlong, killed a large number of them, and gave them no chance to rally, to make a stand or to jump down from their chariots.
Note. neque suī colligendī … facultātem: 'no chance of rallying', literally 'of gathering themselves'; suī colligendī is a gerundive phrase.
5.17.5Ex hāc fugā prōtinus, quae undique convēnerant, auxilia discessērunt, neque post id tempus umquam summīs nōbīscum cōpiīs hostēs contendērunt.
After this rout the reinforcements which had gathered from every side at once went away, and from that time the enemy never again fought us with their full forces.
Vocabulary
| posterus, -a, -um | following, next |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| procul, adv. | at or from a distance, far |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| collis, -is m. | hill |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |
| rārus, -a, -um | scattered, few |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| ostendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch out before, show, explain |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| lēniter (adv.) | gently |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| prīdiē (adv.) | the day before |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| lacessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītum | provoke, harass |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| sed, conj. | but |
| merīdiēs, -ēī, m. | midday, noon; south |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| pābulor, -ārī, -ātus sum | gather fodder, forage |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| trēs, tria, plur. adj. | three |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| repente (adv.) | suddenly |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| pābulātor, -ōris m. | forager |
| advolō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | fly at, rush at |
| sīc, adv. | so, thus |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| absistō, -ere, abstitī | stand away from, keep off |
| ācriter, adv. | sharply, fiercely |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| impetus, -ūs, m. | attack; impetum facere, to charge |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| repellō, repellere, reppulī, repulsus | drive back or away, repulse, repel |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| sequor, sequī, secūtus | follow |
| quoad (conj.) | as long as; until |
| subsidium, -ī, n. | reserve, reinforcement, support, help |
| cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum | trust, be confident |
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| praeceps, -cipitis | headlong |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| colligō, -ere, -lēgī, -lēctum | gather, collect (sē colligere: recover oneself) |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| essedum, -ī n. | war chariot (of the Britons and Gauls) |
| dēsiliō, -silīre, -siluī, -sultus | leap down |
| facultās, -tātis, f. | possibility, opportunity, chance, means |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| fuga, -ae, f. | flight |
| prōtinus (adv.) | straight on; at once |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| undique, adv. | from or on all sides |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go apart, withdraw, depart |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| umquam, adv. | ever |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| nōs | plur. of ego |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |