6.39.1Interim 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.
Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 6 › De Bello Gallico 6.39
Caesar · De Bello Gallico VI
De Bello Gallico 6.39
The foragers return
In brief. Hearing the shouting, the foraging party hurries back, but the new recruits only look to their officers for orders. The Germans break off at the sight of the standards, thinking the legions have returned, then attack when they see how few there are.
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×2, indirect statement ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (66 words)
| 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 |
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VI. Latin text: T. Rice Holmes (Oxford, 1914), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.