Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 5
De Bello Gallico 5.30
Sabinus loses his temper
Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō5.30.1Hāc in utramque partem disputātiōne habitā, cum ā Cottā prīmīsque ōrdinibus ācriter resisterētur, "Vincite," inquit, "sī ita vultis," Sabīnus, et id clāriōre vōce, ut magna pars mīlitum exaudīret;
When this debate on both sides had been held, and Cotta and the first ranks were resisting strongly, Sabinus said, 'Have it your way, if that is what you want,' and said it in a rather loud voice, so that a large part of the soldiers could hear;
Note. Vincite: literally 'win', i.e. 'have it your way'. inquit stands inside the quotation, as usual.
5.30.2"neque is sum," inquit, "quī gravissimē ex vōbīs mortis perīculō terrear: hī sapient;
'I am not the man,' he said, 'to be the most frightened of you all by the danger of death: these men will understand;
Note. quī … terrear: a relative clause of characteristic, 'the sort of man to be frightened'. hī sapient: 'these men will know', pointing at the soldiers.
5.30.2sī gravius quid acciderit, abs tē ratiōnem reposcent, quī, sī per tē liceat, perendinō diē cum proximīs hībernīs coniūnctī commūnem cum reliquīs bellī cāsum sustineant, nōn rēiectī et relēgātī longē ab cēterīs aut ferrō aut fame intereant."
if anything more serious happens, they will demand an account from you, men who, if you allowed it, could the day after tomorrow join the nearest winter camp and share the common fortune of war with the rest, instead of perishing by the sword or by hunger, cast out and banished far from the others.'
Note. abs is an old form of ab used before tē. quī … sustineant … intereant: characteristic clause, 'men who could share … instead of perishing'.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| uterque, utraque, utrumque | each, either, both |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| disputātiō, -ōnis f. | argument, debate |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ōrdō, ōrdinis, m. | arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order |
| ācriter, adv. | sharply, fiercely |
| resistō, -sistere, -stitī | stand back, resist |
| vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum | conquer, defeat |
| inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb | I say, you say, he says |
| sī, conj. | if |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| clārus, -a, -um | clear, loud; famous |
| vōx, vōcis, f. | voice; word |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| exaudiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītum | hear (from a distance) |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| graviter, adv. | severely, seriously |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| vōs | plur. of tū |
| mors, mortīs, f. | death |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| terreō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | frighten, terrify |
| sapiō, -ere, -īvī | be wise, have sense |
| gravis, -e | heavy; severe, grievous, serious |
| quis, qua, quid, indef. pron. | any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| ratiō, -ōnis, f. | plan, means, method, manner; reason; account |
| reposcō, -ere | demand back, claim |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers. | is lawful or permitted |
| perendinus, -a, -um | of the day after tomorrow |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| hīberna, -ōrum n. pl. | winter quarters |
| coniungō, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus | join together, join |
| commūnis, -e | common, shared, public |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| cāsus, -ūs, m. | fall; chance, accident |
| sustineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold or bear up, sustain, withstand |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| rēiciō, -ere, rēiēcī, rēiectum | throw back, drive back |
| relēgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | send away, remove; banish |
| longē, adv. | far |
| cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | the other, the remaining, the rest of |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| ferrum, -ī n. | iron; iron point, sword |
| famēs, -is, abl. famē, f. | hunger |
| intereō, -īre, -iī, -itūrus | perish, die |