Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 6
De Bello Gallico 6.38
Publius Sextius Baculus
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VI. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō6.38.1Erat aeger cum praesidiō relictus Pūblius Sextius Baculus, quī prīmum pīlum ad Caesarem dūxerat, cuius mentiōnem superiōribus proeliīs fēcimus, ac diem iam quīntum cibō caruerat.
Publius Sextius Baculus, who had been chief centurion under Caesar, and whom we have mentioned in earlier battles, had been left sick with the garrison, and had now gone without food for five days.
Note. prīmum pīlum dūxerat: he had been the chief centurion (prīmipīlus) of a legion. Baculus was wounded in Book 2 and fought again in Book 3.
6.38.2Hic diffīsus suae atque omnium salūtī inermis ex tabernāculō prōdit: videt imminēre hostēs atque in summō esse rem discrīmine: capit arma ā proximīs atque in portā cōnsistit: cōnsequuntur hunc centuriōnēs eius cohortis quae in statiōne erat: paulisper ūnā proelium sustinent.
Despairing of his own safety and everyone's, he came out of his tent unarmed: he saw that the enemy were close and that the situation was in the greatest danger: he took weapons from those nearest and took his stand in the gate: the centurions of the cohort which was on guard followed him: for a little while they held off the attack together.
6.38.4Relinquit animus Sextium gravibus acceptīs vulneribus: aegrē per manūs trāctus servātur.
Sextius fainted after receiving serious wounds; he was barely saved by being passed from hand to hand.
6.38.5Hōc spatiō interpositō reliquī sēsē cōnfirmant tantum, ut in mūnītiōnibus cōnsistere audeant speciemque dēfēnsōrum praebeant.
In this breathing space the rest took enough courage to dare to stand on the fortifications and give the appearance of defenders.
Vocabulary
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| aeger, -gra, -grum | sick, ill; as noun, a sick man |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| pīlus, -ī m. | maniple of veterans (prīmus pīlus: the chief centurion) |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| mentiō, -ōnis, f. | mention |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| quīntus, -a, -um | fifth |
| cibus, -ī, m. | food |
| careō, -ēre, -uī | be without, lack (+ abl.) |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| diffīdō, -ere, -fīsus sum | distrust, lose confidence in (+ dat.) |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| salūs, salūtis, f. | safety, deliverance, escape |
| inermis, -e | unarmed |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| tabernāculum, -ī n. | tent |
| prōdeō, -īre, prōdiī, prōditum | go forward, come out |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| immineō, -ēre | hang over; threaten, be close at hand |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| discrīmen, -crīminis, n. | crisis, peril, danger |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| porta, -ae, f. | gate; door |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |
| cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, follow; overtake |
| centuriō, -ōnis m. | centurion (officer commanding about 80 men) |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| cohors, cohortis f. | cohort (a tenth of a legion); company |
| statiō, -ōnis f. | outpost, picket |
| paulisper (adv.) | for a short time |
| ūnā | together, along |
| sustineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold or bear up, sustain, withstand |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| gravis, -e | heavy; severe, grievous, serious |
| accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer |
| vulnus, vulneris, n. | wound |
| aegrē, adv. | ill, with difficulty |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus | draw, drag |
| servō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | save, preserve |
| spatium, -ī, n. | space, interval; space of time, time |
| interpōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | put between; bring forward (an excuse) |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| cōnfirmō, -firmāre, -firmāvī, -firmātus | strengthen, establish; declare, assert |
| tantum, adv. | so much or far, only |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| audeō, audēre, ausus sum | dare |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| dēfēnsor, -ōris m. | defender |
| praebeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | hold forth, supply, furnish, give; show, present, exhibit |