De Bello Gallico 6.43

6.43.1Caesar rūrsus ad vexandōs hostēs profectus magnō coāctō numerō ex fīnitimīs cīvitātibus in omnēs partēs dīmittit.

Caesar set out again to harass the enemy, and having gathered a great number of men from the neighboring states, he sent them out in all directions.

6.43.2Omnēs vīcī atque omnia aedificia quae quisque cōnspexerat incendēbantur;

All the villages and all the buildings which anyone caught sight of were set on fire;

6.43.2praeda ex omnibus locīs agēbātur;

plunder was driven off from every place;

6.43.3frūmenta nōn sōlum tantā multitūdine iūmentōrum atque hominum cōnsūmēbantur, sed etiam annī tempore atque imbribus prōcubuerant ut, sī quī etiam in praesentiā sē occultāssent, tamen hīs dēductō exercitū rērum omnium inopiā pereundum vidērētur.

the crops were not only consumed by the great number of animals and men, but had also been beaten down by the season and the rains, so that even if any had hidden themselves for the moment, it seemed that once the army was withdrawn they must die from lack of everything.

Note. hīs … pereundum vidērētur: an impersonal gerundive with a dative of agent, 'it seemed that they would have to die'.

6.43.4Ac saepe in eum locum ventum est tantō in omnēs partēs dīvīsō equitātū, ut modo vīsum ab sē Ambiorīgem in fugā circumspicerent captīvī nec plānē etiam abīsse ex cōnspectū contenderent, ut spē cōnsequendī illātā atque īnfīnītō labōre susceptō, quī sē summam ab Caesare grātiam initūrōs putārent, paene nātūram studiō vincerent, semperque paulum ad summam fēlīcitātem dēfuisse vidērētur, atque ille latebrīs aut saltibus sē ēriperet et noctū occultātus aliās regiōnēs partēsque peteret nōn maiōre equitum praesidiō quam quattuor, quibus sōlīs vītam suam committere audēbat.

And often, with the cavalry spread out so widely in every direction, it came to the point that prisoners looked around for Ambiorix, whom they had just seen in flight, and insisted that he had not quite got out of sight, so that, in the hope of overtaking him and with endless labor undertaken, those who thought they would win the greatest gratitude from Caesar almost overcame nature by their zeal, and always it seemed that only a little was lacking for complete success; and he would escape by hiding places or woods and, hidden by night, make for other regions and parts with a guard of no more than four horsemen, to whom alone he dared to trust his life.

Note. The long result clause shows the whole hunt: ut … circumspicerent … contenderent, then a second ut … vincerent … vidērētur, and finally atque ille … ēriperet … peteret for the way Ambiorix always got away.