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De Bello Gallico 5.20

The Trinobantes come over

Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.

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5.20.1Interim Trinobantēs, prope firmissima eārum regiōnum cīvitās, ex quā Mandubracius adulēscēns Caesaris fidem secūtus ad eum in continentem Galliam vēnerat, cuius pater in eā cīvitāte regnum obtinuerat interfectusque erat ā Cassivellaunō, ipse fugā mortem vītāverat, lēgātōs ad Caesarem mittunt pollicenturque sēsē eī dēditūrōs atque imperāta factūrōs;

Meanwhile the Trinobantes, almost the strongest state in those parts, send envoys to Caesar and promise to surrender to him and to do what he orders; from this state the young Mandubracius had come to Caesar on the mainland of Gaul, putting himself under his protection, after his father, who had held the kingship in that state, was killed by Cassivellaunus, and he himself had escaped death by flight;

Note. dēditūrōs atque imperāta factūrōs: future infinitives with esse left out, in indirect statement after pollicentur.

5.20.2petunt ut Mandubracium ab iniūriā Cassivellaunī dēfendat atque in cīvitātem mittat, quī praesit imperiumque obtineat.

they ask him to protect Mandubracius from Cassivellaunus' violence and send him to their state to rule and hold power.

5.20.3Hīs Caesar imperat obsidēs quadrāgintā frūmentumque exercituī Mandubraciumque ad eōs mittit.

Caesar demands from them forty hostages and grain for the army, and sends Mandubracius to them.

5.20.4Illī imperāta celeriter fēcērunt, obsidēs ad numerum frūmentumque mīsērunt.

They quickly did what they were told and sent the full number of hostages and the grain.

Vocabulary

interim (adv.)meanwhile
prope (adv. and prep. + acc.)near, nearly
firmus, -a, -umstrong, steadfast
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
regiō, -ōnis, f.direction; country, region
cīvitās, -tātis, f.state
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
adulēscēns, -entis, m.youth, young man
fidēs, -eī f.faith, trust; pledge
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
continēns, -entis, f.'mainland, continent
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventuscome
pater, patris, m.father
regnum, -ī, n.royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm
obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentushold
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectusput out of the way, kill
que, enclitic conj.and
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
fuga, -ae, f.flight
mors, mortīs, f.death
vītō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusavoid, escape
lēgātus, -ī, m.ambassador
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missussend
polliceor, -licērī, -licituspromise
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
dēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive away or up
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātuscommand, order, enjoin
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītusseek, ask; attack
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
iniūria, -ae, f.injury, wrong, hurt, harm
dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsusward off; defend
praesum, -esse, -fuībe before, preside over, have charge of, command
imperium, -ī, n.command; sway, rule
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
obses, obsidis m./f.hostage
quadrāgintā (indecl.)forty
frūmentum, -ī, n.grain
exercitus, -ūs, m.army
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
celeriter, adv.swiftly, quickly
numerus, -ī, m.number
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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.