De Bello Gallico 5.36

Sabinus asks for terms

In brief. Shaken by these losses, Sabinus sends his interpreter Gnaeus Pompeius to ask Ambiorix for mercy, and Ambiorix promises him safety and invites him to talk. Sabinus urges the wounded Cotta to come too, but Cotta refuses to go to an armed enemy.

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5.36.1Hīs rēbus permōtus Quīntus Titūrius, cum procul Ambiorīgem suōs cohortantem cōnspexisset, interpretem suum Gnaeum Pompēium ad eum mittit rogātum ut sibi mīlitibusque parcat.Deeply troubled by these events, Quintus Titurius, when he had caught sight of Ambiorix in the distance urging on his men, sends his interpreter Gnaeus Pompeius to him to ask him to spare him and his soldiers.Note. rogātum: supine of purpose after mittit, 'to ask'. 5.36.2Ille appellātus respondit: sī velit sēcum colloquī, licēre;Ambiorix, when appealed to, answered: if he wished to talk with him, he was free to do so; 5.36.2spērāre ā multitūdine impetrārī posse, quod ad mīlitum salūtem pertineat;he hoped it could be obtained from the people, as far as concerned the soldiers' safety; 5.36.2ipsī vērō nihil nocitum īrī, inque eam rem sē suam fidem interpōnere.to Titurius himself no harm would be done, and to that he pledged his word.Note. nihil nocitum īrī: the future passive infinitive (supine + īrī), used impersonally, 'no harm would be done'. 5.36.2Ille cum Cotta sauciō commūnicat, sī videātur, pugnā ut excēdant et cum Ambiorīge ūnā colloquantur: spērāre ab eō dē suā ac mīlitum salūte impetrārī posse.Titurius shares this with Cotta, who was wounded: if he agreed, they should leave the fight and talk with Ambiorix together: he hoped that it could be obtained from him for their own safety and that of the soldiers.Note. sī videātur: 'if it seemed good', i.e. 'if he agreed'. ūnā is an adverb, 'together'.

5.36.3Cotta sē ad armātum hostem itūrum negat atque in eō persevērat.Cotta says he will not go to an armed enemy, and holds to that.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, purpose clauses ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (56 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
permoveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtum	move deeply, influence
quīntus, -a, -um	fifth
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
procul, adv.	at or from a distance, far
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
cohortor, -hortārī, -hortātus	encourage, exhort
cōnspiciō, -spicere, -spēxī, -spectus	behold, perceive, see
interpres, -pretis m.	interpreter
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	ask
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
que, enclitic conj.	and
parcō, -ere, pepercī, parsūrus	spare, show mercy to (+ dat.)
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus	call, name
respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsus	reply, answer
sī, conj.	if
volō, velle, voluī	wish
colloquor (conloquor), -ī, -locūtus sum	talk with, confer
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.	is lawful or permitted
spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hope
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
impetrō, -petrāre, -petrāvī, -petrātus	gain one's end, obtain (a request)
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
salūs, salūtis, f.	safety, deliverance, escape
pertineō, -ēre, -uī	extend, reach; tend toward, concern
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
nihil, n., indecl.	nothing
noceō, -ēre, nocuī, nocitum (+ dat.)	harm, hurt
eō, īre, iī, itus	go
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
fidēs, -eī f.	faith, trust; pledge
interpōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum	put between; bring forward (an excuse)
cum, prep, with abl.	with
saucius, -a, -um	wounded
commūnicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	share; in the Gospels also: make common, make (ritually) unclean
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
pugna, -ae, f.	fighting, battle, combat
excēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go out or forth, depart
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
ūnā	together, along
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
armō, -āre, -āvi, -ātus	arm, equip
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
negō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	say no or not, deny, refuse
persevērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	persist

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.