Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 5
De Bello Gallico 5.5
The army gathers at Portus Itius
Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō5.5.1Hīs rēbus cōnstitūtīs Caesar ad portum Itium cum legiōnibus pervenit.
When these matters had been settled, Caesar arrived at Portus Itius with the legions.
5.5.2Ibi cognōscit LX nāvēs, quae in Meldīs factae erant, tempestāte rēiectās cursum tenēre nōn potuisse atque eōdem unde erant profectae revertisse;
There he learned that sixty ships, which had been built among the Meldi, had been driven back by a storm, had been unable to hold their course, and had returned to the place they had set out from;
Note. In indirect statement after cognōscit: the ships, built among the Meldi (probably on the Marne), could not hold their course to Portus Itius.
5.5.2reliquās parātās ad nāvigandum atque omnibus rēbus īnstrūctās invenit.
he found the rest ready for sailing and equipped with everything.
5.5.3Eōdem equitātus tōtīus Galliae convenit, numerō mīlium quattuor, prīncipēsque ex omnibus cīvitātibus.
To the same place came the cavalry of all Gaul, four thousand in number, and the leading men from all the states.
5.5.4Ex quibus perpaucōs, quōrum in sē fidem perspexerat, relinquere in Galliā, reliquōs obsidum locō sēcum dūcere dēcrēverat, quod, cum ipse abesset, mōtum Galliae verēbātur.
Of these he had decided to leave in Gaul a very few whose loyalty to himself he had seen clearly, and to take the rest with him as hostages, because he feared an uprising in Gaul while he himself was away.
Note. obsidum locō: 'as hostages', literally 'in the place of hostages'. cum ipse abesset: subjunctive because the clause gives Caesar's own reason.
Vocabulary
| 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 |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| portus, -ūs, m. | harbor, haven, port |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| tempestās, -tātis, f. | weather; storm, tempest |
| rēiciō, -ere, rēiēcī, rēiectum | throw back, drive back |
| cursus, -ūs, m. | running, speed; course, route, voyage; race |
| teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus | hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| eōdem | to the same place |
| unde, adv. | whence |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertī | turn back, return |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| parātus, -a, -um | prepared, equipped, ready |
| nāvigō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | sail |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus | build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish, |
| inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come upon, find |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| quattuor, indecl. adj. | four |
| prīnceps, -ipis | first, chief; as noun: leader |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| perpaucī, -ae, -a | very few |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| fidēs, -eī f. | faith, trust; pledge |
| perspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum | see clearly, observe |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| obses, obsidis m./f. | hostage |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| dēcernō, -ere, dēcrēvī, dēcrētum | decide, decree |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| mōtus, -ūs m. | motion, movement; uprising |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |