Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 5
De Bello Gallico 5.34
Ambiorix's tactics
Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
Tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and track your reading.
Read in Lectitō5.34.1At barbarīs cōnsilium nōn dēfuit.
But the barbarians did not lack a plan.
5.34.1Nam ducēs eōrum tōtā aciē prōnūntiāre iussērunt, nē quis ab locō discēderet: illōrum esse praedam atque illīs reservārī quaecumque Rōmānī relīquissent: proinde omnia in victōriā posita exīstimārent.
For their leaders ordered word to be passed along the whole line that no one should leave his place: the booty was theirs and whatever the Romans left was being kept for them; so they should consider that everything depended on victory.
Note. illōrum esse praedam: predicate genitive of possession, 'the booty was theirs'.
5.34.2Erant et virtūte et studiō pugnandī parēs;
They were equal both in courage and in eagerness to fight;
5.34.2nostrī, tametsī ab duce et ā fortūnā dēserēbantur, tamen omnem spem salūtis in virtūte pōnēbant, et quotiēns quaeque cohors prōcurrerat, ab eā parte magnus numerus hostium cadēbat.
our men, although they were deserted by their commander and by fortune, still placed all their hope of safety in their courage, and whenever any cohort charged out, a great number of the enemy fell on that side.
5.34.3Quā rē animadversā Ambiorīx prōnūntiārī iubet, ut procul tēla coniciant neu propius accēdant et, quam in partem Rōmānī impetum fēcerint, cēdant (levitāte armōrum et cōtīdiānā exercitātiōne nihil eīs nocērī posse), rūrsus sē ad signa recipientēs īnsequantur.
When he noticed this, Ambiorix orders word to be passed that they should throw their weapons from a distance and not come closer, and that wherever the Romans made a charge they should give way (with their light armour and daily training no harm could be done to them), and follow them again as they fell back to the standards.
Note. neu = et nē. levitāte armōrum … nihil eīs nocērī posse: impersonal passive of noceō, 'no harm could be done to them'.
Vocabulary
| at, conj. | but |
| barbarus, -a, -um | barbarian |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| dēsum, deesse, dēfuī | be lacking, fail |
| nam, conj. | for |
| dux, ducis, m. and f. | leader, commander |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| aciēs, -ēī, f. | line of battle |
| prōnūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | proclaim, announce |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| quis, qua, quid, indef. pron. | any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go apart, withdraw, depart |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| praeda, -ae, f. | booty, spoil, plunder |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| reservō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | keep back, save |
| quīcumque, quaecumque, quodcumque | whoever, whatever |
| Rōmānus, -a, -um | Roman |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| proinde (adv.) | therefore, accordingly; so then |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| victōria, -ae, f. | victory |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| virtūs, -tūtis, f. | manliness, courage, bravery |
| studium, -ī, n. | eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit |
| pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | fight |
| pār, paris | equal |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| tametsī (conj.) | although |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| dēserō, -serere, -seruī, -sertus | desert |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| salūs, salūtis, f. | safety, deliverance, escape |
| quotiēns (adv.) | how many times; as often as |
| quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron. | each |
| cohors, cohortis f. | cohort (a tenth of a legion); company |
| prōcurrō, -ere, prōcucurrī | run forward, charge |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| cadō, cadere, cecidī, cāsūrus | fall |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| procul, adv. | at or from a distance, far |
| tēlum, -ī, n. | missile, spear, weapon |
| coniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw together; throw, cast, hurl |
| nēve or neu, conj. | and that not, and not, nor |
| prope (adv. and prep. + acc.) | near, nearly |
| accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum | come near, approach; be added |
| impetus, -ūs, m. | attack; impetum facere, to charge |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| cēdō, -ere, cessī, cessum | go, withdraw, give way |
| levitās, -ātis f. | lightness; fickleness |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| cottīdiānus, -a, -um | daily |
| exercitātiō, -ōnis, f. | exercise |
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| noceō, -ēre, nocuī, nocitum (+ dat.) | harm, hurt |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| rūrsus, adv. | again |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| īnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow upon or up, pursue |