Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 6
De Bello Gallico 6.30
Ambiorix escapes
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VI. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō6.30.1Basilus, ut imperātum est, facit.
Basilus did as he was ordered.
6.30.1Celeriter contrāque omnium opīniōnem cōnfectō itinere multōs in agrīs inopīnantēs dēprehendit: eōrum indiciō ad ipsum Ambiorīgem contendit, quō in locō cum paucīs equitibus esse dīcēbātur.
Having completed his march quickly and contrary to everyone's expectation, he caught many people off guard in the fields; on their information he hurried toward Ambiorix himself, at the place where he was said to be with a few horsemen.
6.30.2Multum cum in omnibus rēbus tum in rē mīlitārī potest fortūna.
Fortune has great power in all things, and especially in war.
Note. cum … tum: 'both … and especially'.
6.30.2Nam sīcut magnō accidit cāsū ut in ipsum incautum etiam atque imparātum incideret, priusque eius adventus ab omnibus vidērētur, quam fāma ac nūntius adferrētur: sīc magnae fuit fortūnae omnī mīlitārī īnstrūmentō, quod circum sē habēbat, ēreptō, raedīs equīsque comprehēnsīs ipsum effugere mortem.
For just as it was a great stroke of luck that he came upon Ambiorix himself unwary and unprepared, and that his arrival was seen by all before any rumor or message of it was brought, so it was great good fortune for Ambiorix that, though all the military equipment he had about him was taken and his carriages and horses were captured, he himself escaped death.
Note. magnō … cāsū: 'by great chance'. magnae fuit fortūnae: genitive of characteristic, 'it was a matter of great good luck'.
6.30.2Sed hoc quoque factum est, quod aedificiō circumdatō silvā, ut sunt ferē domicilia Gallōrum, quī vītandī aestūs causā plērumque silvārum atque flūminum petunt propinquitātēs, comitēs familiārēsque eius angustō in locō paulisper equitum nostrōrum vim sustinuērunt.
But this too came about because his house was surrounded by woods, as the dwellings of the Gauls generally are (to escape the heat they usually seek out places near woods and rivers), and his companions and friends held off the force of our cavalry for a short while in a narrow place.
Note. The parenthesis ut sunt ferē domicilia Gallōrum explains why the house was surrounded by woods.
6.30.4Hīs pugnantibus illum in equum quīdam ex suīs intulit: fugientem silvae tēxērunt.
While they were fighting, one of his men put him on a horse; the woods hid him as he fled.
6.30.4Sīc et ad subeundum perīculum et ad vītandum multum fortūna valuit.
So fortune had great power both in bringing on the danger and in escaping it.
Vocabulary
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| opīniō, -ōnis, f. | opinion, expectation; reputation |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| inopīnāns, -antis | not expecting, off guard |
| dēprehendō, -ere, -hendī, -hēnsus | catch, seize, overtake; detect |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| indicium, -ī n. | information, evidence; an informer's report |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| multum, -ī, n. | much |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| mīlitāris, -e | military, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| nam, conj. | for |
| sīcut (conj.) | just as |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| cāsus, -ūs, m. | fall; chance, accident |
| incautus, -a, -um | off one's guard, careless |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| imparātus, -a, -um | unprepared |
| incidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall into or upon |
| prius, adv. | before, first |
| adventus, -ūs, m. | approach, arrival |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| fāma, -ae, f. | report, rumor |
| nūntius, -ī, m. | messenger; message |
| afferō, afferre, attulī, allātum | bring, bring to; cause |
| sīc, adv. | so, thus |
| īnstrūmentum, -ī n. | tool, equipment; pl. gear, baggage |
| circum, prep. with acc. | around |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| ēripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus | snatch out or away, rescue |
| raeda, -ae f. | wagon, carriage |
| equus, -ī, m. | horse |
| comprehendō, -prehendere, -prehendī, -prehēnsus | seize, catch |
| effugio, -fugere, -fūgī | flee out or away, escape |
| mors, mortīs, f. | death |
| sed, conj. | but |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| quoque, adv. | also |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| aedificium, -ī n. | building |
| circumdō, -dare, -dedī, -datus | put around, surround |
| silva, -ae, f. | wood, forest |
| ferē, adv. | nearly, about, almost, for the most part |
| domicilium, -ī n. | home, dwelling place |
| vītō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | avoid, escape |
| aestus, -ūs m. | heat; tide |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| plērumque (adv.) | generally, mostly |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| propinquitās, -ātis f. | nearness; kinship |
| comes, -itis, m. and f. | companion |
| familiāris, -e; as noun, -is m. | of the household (rēs familiāris: private property); friend |
| angustus, -a, -um | narrow, cramped |
| paulisper (adv.) | for a short time |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| sustineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold or bear up, sustain, withstand |
| pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | fight |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| īnferō, īnferre, intulī, inlātus | bring in or against, wage against; inflict |
| fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus | flee, run away |
| tegō, tegere, tēxī, tēctus | cover |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| subeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go under; undergo, submit to, sustain, bear, endure |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus | be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail |