Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 6
De Bello Gallico 6.39
The foragers return
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VI. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō6.39.1Interim cōnfectā frūmentātiōne mīlitēs nostrī clāmōrem exaudiunt: praecurrunt equitēs;
Meanwhile our soldiers, having finished foraging, heard the shouting: the cavalry ran on ahead;
6.39.1quantō rēs sit in perīculō cognōscunt.
they saw how great the danger was.
6.39.2Hīc vērō nūlla mūnītiō est quae perterritōs recipiat: modo cōnscrīptī atque ūsūs mīlitāris imperītī ad tribūnum mīlitum centuriōnēsque ōra convertunt;
But here there was no fortification to take in the frightened men: the recently enrolled soldiers, inexperienced in military practice, turned their faces to the military tribune and the centurions;
6.39.2quid ab hīs praecipiātur exspectant.
they waited to see what orders these would give.
6.39.2Nēmō est tam fortis quīn reī novitāte perturbētur.
No one is so brave that he is not thrown into confusion by something unexpected.
Note. Nēmō est tam fortis quīn … perturbētur: quīn after a negative means 'that … not', 'no one is so brave that he is not shaken'. A general comment from Caesar.
6.39.3Barbarī signa procul cōnspicātī oppugnātiōne dēsistunt: redīsse prīmō legiōnēs crēdunt, quās longius discessisse ex captīvīs cognōverant;
The barbarians, seeing the standards in the distance, broke off the attack: at first they believed that the legions had returned, which they had learned from the prisoners had gone far away;
6.39.4posteā dēspectā paucitāte ex omnibus partibus impetum faciunt.
afterwards, scorning how few there were, they attacked from every side.
Vocabulary
| interim (adv.) | meanwhile |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| frūmentātiō, -ōnis f. | foraging, getting grain |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| clāmor, -ōris, m. | shout, cry |
| exaudiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītum | hear (from a distance) |
| praecurrō, -ere, -cucurrī, -cursum | run ahead, hurry on before |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| hīc, adv. | here; hereupon |
| vērō, adv. | in truth, indeed; however |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus | thoroughly frighten, terrify |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| modo, adv. | only |
| cōnscrībō, -ere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptum | enlist, enroll |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ūsus, -ūs, m. | use; experience |
| mīlitāris, -e | military, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare |
| imperītus, -a, -um | inexperienced, unskilled, ignorant |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| tribūnus, -ī m. | tribune (tribūnus mīlitum: senior officer of a legion) |
| centuriō, -ōnis m. | centurion (officer commanding about 80 men) |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ōs, ōris, n. | mouth |
| convertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn round, turn, change; in fugam convertere, to put to flight |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| praecipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take beforehand, anticipate; order, charge |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| nēmō, nēminis, m. and f. | no one, nobody |
| tam, adv. | so |
| fortis, -e | brave |
| quīn, conj. | so that ... not, but that, but |
| novitās, -tātis, f. | newness, novelty |
| perturbō, -turbāre, -turbāvi, -turbātus | greatly disturb, disturb, agitate, throw into confusion |
| barbarus, -a, -um | barbarian |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| procul, adv. | at or from a distance, far |
| cōnspicor, -ārī, -ātus sum | catch sight of |
| oppugnātiō, -ōnis f. | siege, assault on a town |
| dēsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | set down; leave off, desist, cease, stop |
| redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go back, return |
| prīmō, adv. | at first |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | believe |
| longē, adv. | far |
| discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go apart, withdraw, depart |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| captīvus, -a, -um | captive |
| posteā, adv. | after this, afterwards |
| dēspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum | look down on, despise |
| paucitās, -ātis f. | small number, scarcity |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| impetus, -ūs, m. | attack; impetum facere, to charge |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |