Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 5
De Bello Gallico 5.23
The return to Gaul
Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō5.23.1Obsidibus acceptīs exercitum redūcit ad mare, nāvēs invenit refectās.
When the hostages had been received he leads the army back to the sea and finds the ships repaired.
5.23.2Hīs dēductīs, quod et captīvōrum magnum numerum habēbat, et nōnnūllae tempestāte dēperierant nāvēs, duōbus commeātibus exercitum reportāre īnstituit.
When these had been launched, because he had a great number of prisoners and some ships had been lost in the storm, he decided to take the army back in two trips.
5.23.3Ac sīc accidit, utī ex tantō nāvium numerō tot nāvigātiōnibus neque hōc neque superiōre annō ūlla omnīnō nāvis, quae mīlitēs portāret, dēsīderārētur;
And it so happened that out of so great a number of ships, in so many voyages, neither in this year nor in the year before was a single ship that carried soldiers lost;
Note. neque hōc neque superiōre annō: Caesar had crossed to Britain the year before as well (Book IV).
5.23.4at ex eīs, quae inānēs ex continentī ad eum remitterentur et priōris commeātūs expositīs mīlitibus et quās posteā Labiēnus faciendās cūrāverat numerō LX, perpaucae locum caperent, reliquae ferē omnēs rēicerentur.
but of those which were being sent back to him empty from the mainland, both those of the first trip after the soldiers had been landed and those, sixty in number, which Labienus had later had built, very few reached their destination, and almost all the rest were driven back.
5.23.5Quās cum aliquamdiū Caesar frūstrā exspectāsset, nē annī tempore ā nāvigātiōne exclūderētur, quod aequinoctium suberat, necessāriō angustius mīlitēs collocāvit ac summā tranquillitāte cōnsecūtā, secundā initā cum solvisset vigiliā, prīmā lūce terram attigit omnēsque incolumēs nāvēs perdūxit.
When Caesar had waited for them in vain for some time, so as not to be cut off from sailing by the season, because the equinox was near, he had to pack the soldiers in more tightly, and when a great calm had set in, he set sail at the start of the second watch, reached land at first light and brought all the ships in safely.
Note. secundā initā … vigiliā: 'when the second watch had begun', about nine in the evening.
Vocabulary
| obses, obsidis m./f. | hostage |
| accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| redūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead or bring back; restore |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| mare, maris, n. | sea |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come upon, find |
| reficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make anew, renew, repair |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| captīvus, -a, -um | captive |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| nōnnūllus, -a, -um | not none, some, several |
| tempestās, -tātis, f. | weather; storm, tempest |
| dēpereō, -īre, -iī | be lost, perish |
| duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj. | two |
| commeātus, -ūs, m. | supplies, provisions |
| reportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus | carry or bring back |
| īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | decide upon, determine |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| sīc, adv. | so, thus |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| tot (indecl.) | so many |
| nāvigātiō, -ōnis, f. | sailing, navigation, voyage |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| ūllus, -a, -um | any |
| omnīnō, adv. | altogether, wholly, entirely |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| portō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | carry |
| dēsīderō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | long for, miss; require |
| at, conj. | but |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| inānis, -e | empty |
| continēns, -entis, f. | 'mainland, continent |
| remittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | send back; give up, remit |
| prior, prius | earlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front) |
| expōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put out, set forth; put on shore, land; explain |
| posteā, adv. | after this, afterwards |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | take care of; (+ gerundive) have something done |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| perpaucī, -ae, -a | very few |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| ferē, adv. | nearly, about, almost, for the most part |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| rēiciō, -ere, rēiēcī, rēiectum | throw back, drive back |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| aliquam diū (adv.) | for some time |
| frūstrā, adv. | in vain |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| exclūdō, -clūdere, -clūsī, -clūsus | shut out, hinder, prevent |
| aequinoctium, -ī n. | equinox |
| subsum, -esse | be near, be close by |
| necessāriō (adv.) | of necessity, unavoidably |
| angustē (adv.; comp. angustius) | closely, tightly, in a narrow space |
| collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum | place, station; give in marriage |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| tranquillitās, -tātis, f. | calm |
| cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, follow; overtake |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| ineō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go into, enter; adopt |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| vigilia, -ae, f. | watch |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| lūx, lūcis, f. | light |
| terra, -ae, f. | land, earth |
| attingō, -tingere, -tigī, -tāctus | touch at |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| incolumis, -e | unhurt, safe |
| perdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead or bring through, lead, bring |