Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 5
De Bello Gallico 5.25
The murder of Tasgetius
Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō5.25.1Erat in Carnutibus summō locō nātus Tasgetius, cuius maiōrēs in suā cīvitāte regnum obtinuerant.
Among the Carnutes there was a man of the highest birth, Tasgetius, whose ancestors had held the kingship in their state.
5.25.2Huic Caesar prō eius virtūte atque in sē benevolentiā, quod in omnibus bellīs singulārī eius operā fuerat ūsus, maiōrum locum restituerat.
Caesar had restored to him the position of his ancestors in return for his courage and his goodwill toward him, because in all his wars he had made use of his outstanding service.
5.25.3Tertium iam hunc annum regnantem inimīcī, multīs palam ex cīvitāte eius auctōribus, eum interfēcērunt.
In the third year of his reign his enemies killed him, with many from his state openly backing them.
Note. Tertium iam hunc annum regnantem: accusative of duration, 'reigning now for this third year'. The extra eum repeats the object after the long phrase.
5.25.4Dēfertur ea rēs ad Caesarem.
The matter is reported to Caesar.
5.25.4Ille veritus, quod ad plūrēs pertinēbat, ne cīvitās eōrum impulsū dēficeret, Lūcium Plancum cum legiōne ex Belgiō celeriter in Carnutēs proficīscī iubet ibique hiemāre quōrumque operā cognōverat Tasgetium interfectum, hōs comprehēnsōs ad sē mittere.
Fearing, because many were involved, that the state might revolt at their instigation, he orders Lucius Plancus to set out quickly with a legion from the Belgic country to the Carnutes, to winter there, and to arrest those by whose help he had learned Tasgetius had been killed and send them to him.
Note. veritus … nē: 'fearing that'; after verbs of fearing nē means 'that'. quōrumque operā … hōs: the relative clause comes first, and hōs picks it up.
5.25.5Interim ab omnibus lēgātīs quaestōreque, quibus legiōnēs trādiderat, certior factus est in hīberna perventum locumque hībernīs esse mūnītum.
Meanwhile he was informed by all the legates and the quaestor to whom he had handed over legions that they had reached their winter quarters and that the place had been fortified for the winter.
Vocabulary
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| nāscor, -ī, nātus sum | be born; rise, begin |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| maiōrēs, -um m. pl. | ancestors |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| regnum, -ī, n. | royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm |
| obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| virtūs, -tūtis, f. | manliness, courage, bravery |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| benevolentia, -ae f. | goodwill, kindness |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| singulāris, -e | single; remarkable |
| opera, -ae, f. | effort, work, labor |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |
| restituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set up again, put back, restore |
| tertius, -a, -um | third |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| regnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | reign, rule |
| inimīcus, -a, -um | unfriendly, hostile |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| palam (adv.) | openly, publicly |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| auctor, -ōris m. | originator, instigator |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| dēferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear or carry away or off |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| pertineō, -ēre, -uī | extend, reach; tend toward, concern |
| ne, enclitic introducing a question | untranslatable |
| impulsus, -ūs m. | push; urging, instigation |
| dēficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | fail |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| hiemō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | spend the winter |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| comprehendō, -prehendere, -prehendī, -prehēnsus | seize, catch |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| interim (adv.) | meanwhile |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| quaestor, -ōris m. | quaestor, a Roman official in charge of an army's funds |
| trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report |
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| hīberna, -ōrum n. pl. | winter quarters |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | fortify |