Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 6
De Bello Gallico 6.28
Aurochs
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VI. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō6.28.1Tertium est genus eōrum, quī ūrī appellantur.
The third kind is those called aurochs.
Note. ūrī: the aurochs, the wild ancestor of domestic cattle; the last ones died out in Poland in the 17th century.
6.28.1Hī sunt magnitūdine paulō īnfrā elephantōs, speciē et colōre et figūrā taurī.
In size these are a little smaller than elephants; in appearance, color and shape they are bulls.
6.28.2Magna vīs eōrum est et magna vēlōcitās, neque hominī neque ferae quam cōnspexērunt parcunt.
Their strength and their speed are great, and they spare neither man nor beast once they have caught sight of it.
6.28.2Hōs studiōsē foveīs captōs interficiunt.
These the Germans carefully trap in pits and kill.
6.28.3Hōc sē labōre dūrant adulēscentēs atque hōc genere vēnātiōnis exercent, et quī plūrimōs ex hīs interfēcērunt, relātīs in pūblicum cornibus, quae sint testimōniō, magnam ferunt laudem.
The young men toughen themselves by this labor and train themselves by this kind of hunting, and those who have killed the most of them win great praise when they bring the horns out in public as proof.
6.28.4Sed adsuēscere ad hominēs et mānsuēfierī nē parvulī quidem exceptī possunt.
But they cannot grow used to men or be tamed, not even when taken young.
Note. nē parvulī quidem exceptī: 'not even if caught young'.
6.28.5Amplitūdō cornuum et figūra et speciēs multum ā nostrōrum boum cornibus differt.
The size, shape and look of the horns are very different from the horns of our cattle.
6.28.6Haec studiōsē conquīsīta ab labrīs argentō circumclūdunt atque in amplissimīs epulīs prō pōculīs ūtuntur.
These horns they eagerly seek out, rim them with silver, and use them as drinking cups at their grandest feasts.
Note. ab labrīs: 'at the rims'. Drinking horns rimmed with silver have been found in Germanic graves.
Vocabulary
| tertius, -a, -um | third |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| genus, generis, n. | kind, nature |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ūrus, -ī m. | aurochs, wild ox |
| appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus | call, name |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | greatness, size |
| paulō, adv. | by a little, a little, somewhat |
| īnfrā (adv. and prep. + acc.) | below, further down |
| elephantus, -ī m. | elephant |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| color, -ōris, m. | color |
| figūra, -ae, f. | form, shape, figure |
| taurus, -ī, m. | bull |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| vēlōcitās, -ātis f. | speed, swiftness |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| ferus, -a, -um | wild, savage |
| cōnspiciō, -spicere, -spēxī, -spectus | behold, perceive, see |
| parcō, -ere, pepercī, parsūrus | spare, show mercy to (+ dat.) |
| studiōsē (adv.) | eagerly, carefully |
| fovea, -ae f. | pit, pitfall |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| dūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | harden, toughen |
| adulēscēns, -entis, m. | youth, young man |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| vēnātiō, -ōnis, f. | hunting |
| exerceō, -ercēre, -ercuī, -ercitus | exercise |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| referō, referre, rettulī, relātus | bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| pūblicus, -a, -um | public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state) |
| cornū, -ūs, n. | horn |
| testimōnium, -ī n. | evidence, proof |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| laus, laudis f. | praise, glory |
| sed, conj. | but |
| assuēscō, -ere, -suēvī, -suētus | become accustomed, get used to |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| mānsuēfīō, -fierī, -factus sum | become tame |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| parvulus, -a, -um | very small, petty |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take out or up, receive, welcome, entertain |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| amplitūdō, -inis f. | size, greatness |
| multum, -ī, n. | much |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| bōs, bovis, gen. plur. boum, dat. and abl. plur. bōbus, m. and f. | ox, bull, cow |
| differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum | differ; scatter, put off |
| conquīrō, -ere, -quīsīvī, -quīsītum | search out, hunt down |
| labrum, -ī n. | lip |
| argentum, -ī, n. | silver |
| circumclūdō, -ere, -clūsī, -clūsus | surround, encircle |
| amplus, -a, -um | large, great; distinguished |
| epulae, -ārum f. pl. | feast, banquet |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| pōculum, -ī, n. | cup |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |