Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 6
De Bello Gallico 6.3
The Nervii are crushed; a council at Lutetia
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VI. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō6.3.1Itaque nōndum hieme cōnfectā proximīs quattuor coāctīs legiōnibus dē imprōvīsō in fīnēs Nerviōrum contendit et, priusquam illī aut convenīre aut profugere possent, magnō pecoris atque hominum numerō captō atque eā praedā mīlitibus concessā vāstātīsque agrīs in dēditiōnem venīre atque obsidēs sibi dare coēgit.
So, before the winter was over, he gathered the four nearest legions and marched unexpectedly into the territory of the Nervii; and before they could either gather or escape, he captured a great number of cattle and people, gave this booty to the soldiers, laid waste their fields, and forced them to surrender and give him hostages.
Note. dē imprōvīsō: 'unexpectedly'. priusquam … possent: the subjunctive shows Caesar's aim of forestalling them.
6.3.3Eō celeriter cōnfectō negōtiō rūrsus in hīberna legiōnēs redūxit.
That business quickly finished, he led the legions back into winter quarters.
6.3.4Conciliō Galliae prīmō vēre, ut īnstituerat, indictō, cum reliquī praeter Senonēs, Carnutēs Trēverōsque vēnissent, initium bellī ac dēfectiōnis hoc esse arbitrātus, ut omnia postpōnere vidērētur, concilium Lutētiam Parīsiōrum trānsfert.
He called the council of Gaul at the beginning of spring, as he had planned; when all the rest except the Senones, Carnutes and Treveri had come, he judged this to be the beginning of war and revolt, and so that he might seem to put everything else aside, he moved the council to Lutetia of the Parisii.
Note. hoc esse … ut omnia postpōnere vidērētur: the text is compressed; Caesar treats the absence as the start of war and moves the council so that he might seem to put everything else aside for it. Lutētiam Parīsiōrum: the island town in the Seine that became Paris.
6.3.5Cōnfīnēs erant hī Senonibus cīvitātemque patrum memoriā coniūnxerant, sed ab hōc cōnsiliō āfuisse exīstimābantur.
They bordered on the Senones and had joined their state to them in the time of their fathers, but they were thought to have had no part in this plan.
6.3.6Hāc rē prō suggestū prōnūntiātā eōdem diē cum legiōnibus in Senonēs proficīscitur magnīsque itineribus eō pervēnit.
After announcing this from the platform, he set out the same day with the legions against the Senones and reached them by forced marches.
Note. prō suggestū: from the tribunal, the raised platform from which a commander addressed the troops or an assembly.
Vocabulary
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| nōndum, adv. | not yet |
| hiems, hiemis f. | winter |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| quattuor, indecl. adj. | four |
| cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus | drive together, collect; compel |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| imprōvīsus, -a, -um | unexpected (dē imprōvīsō: unexpectedly) |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| priusquam, conj. | before than, sooner than, before |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come together, assemble |
| profugiō, -ere, -fūgī | flee, escape |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| pecus, pecoris, n. | herd, flock, cattle |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| praeda, -ae, f. | booty, spoil, plunder |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | grant, yield |
| vāstō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | lay waste |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| dēditiō, -ōnis f. | surrender |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| obses, obsidis m./f. | hostage |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| negōtium, -ī, n. | business, matter; task, trouble, difficulty |
| rūrsus, adv. | again |
| hīberna, -ōrum n. pl. | winter quarters |
| redūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead or bring back; restore |
| concilium, -ī n. | meeting, council |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| vēr, vēris n. | spring |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | decide upon, determine |
| indīcō, -ere, -dīxī, -dictum | proclaim, call (a meeting) |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| praeter, prep. with acc. | before, past, by; besides, except |
| initium, -ī, n. | beginning |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| dēfectiō, -ōnis f. | revolt, desertion |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| postpōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | put aside, put after |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| trānsferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | carry across, transfer |
| cōnfīnis, -e | bordering on, neighboring |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| pater, patris, m. | father |
| memoria, -ae, f. | memory |
| coniungō, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus | join together, join |
| sed, conj. | but |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| suggestus, -ūs m. | platform, tribunal |
| prōnūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | proclaim, announce |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |