De Bello Gallico 8.13

The Germans' panic

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8.13.1Nōn intermittunt interim cōtīdiāna proelia in cōnspectū utrōrumque castrōrum, quae ad vada trānsitūsque fīēbant palūdis.Meanwhile the daily fights within sight of both camps do not stop; they took place at the fords and crossings of the marsh.Note. utrōrumque castrōrum: uterque is used in the plural with plural-only nouns like castra, 'of both camps'. 8.13.2Quā contentiōne Germānī, quōs proptereā Caesar trādūxerat Rhēnum ut equitibus interpositī proeliārentur, cum cōnstantius ūniversī palūdem trānsīssent paucīsque resistentibus interfectīs pertinācius reliquam multitūdinem essent īnsecūtī, perterritī nōn sōlum eī quī aut comminus opprimēbantur aut ēminus vulnerābantur, sed etiam quī longius subsidiārī cōnsuērant, turpiter refūgērunt, nec prius fīnem fugae fēcērunt saepe āmissīs superiōribus locīs quam sē aut in castra suōrum reciperent, aut nōnnūllī pudōre coāctī longius profugerent.In one such fight the Germans, whom Caesar had brought across the Rhine for the purpose of fighting mixed with the cavalry, all crossed the marsh together quite resolutely, killed the few who resisted and pursued the rest of the host rather stubbornly; then they took fright, and not only those who were being overwhelmed at close quarters or wounded from a distance, but even those who had been used to standing in reserve further back, fled shamefully, and often losing the higher ground, they did not stop their flight until they had got back into the camp of their own side, or some, compelled by shame, fled further.Note. A very long sentence describing a panic. ut … proeliārentur: purpose clause; Caesar used German horsemen mixed with infantry. The main verb is refūgērunt; the cum clause tells what happened first. nec prius … quam: 'and did not … until'.

8.13.4Quōrum perīculō sīc omnēs cōpiae sunt perturbātae ut vix iūdicārī posset, utrum secundīs minimīsque rēbus īnsolentiōrēs an adversō mediocrī cāsū timidiōrēs essent.By their danger all the enemy forces were so thrown off balance that it could scarcely be judged whether they were more arrogant after a success and a very small one, or more timid after a moderate setback.Note. utrum … an: 'whether … or', an indirect alternative question. secundīs minimīsque rēbus: 'after a success, and a very small one'. The Gauls are mocked for swinging between arrogance and panic.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (85 words)

nōn, adv.	not
intermittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	leave off, interrupt; let pass; pass., be left between, intervene, elapse
interim (adv.)	meanwhile
cottīdiānus, -a, -um	daily
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
cōnspectus, -ūs, m.	sight
uterque, utraque, utrumque	each, either, both
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
vadum, -ī n.	ford, shallow place
trānsitus, -ūs m.	crossing, passage
que, enclitic conj.	and
fīō, fierī, factus sum	be done or made, become, happen
pālus, -ī, m.	stake
contentiō, -ōnis f.	struggle, dispute
proptereā	for this reason; proptereā quod: because
trādūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead across
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
interpōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum	put between; bring forward (an excuse)
proelior, -ārī, -ātus sum	fight a battle
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
cōnstanter (adv.)	steadily, consistently
ūniversus, -a, -um	all together, whole, entire, all
trānseō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go across or over, cross
paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	few
resistō, -sistere, -stitī	stand back, resist
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
pertināciter (adv.)	stubbornly, persistently
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
īnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow upon or up, pursue
perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus	thoroughly frighten, terrify
sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n.	only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
comminus (adv.)	hand to hand, at close quarters
opprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus	press against, overpower, crush
ēminus (adv.)	at a distance, from afar
vulnerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	wound
sed, conj.	but
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
longē, adv.	far
subsidior, -ārī, -ātus sum	act as a reserve, stand in support
cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētus	become accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont
turpiter (adv.)	shamefully, disgracefully
refugiō, -fugere, -fūgī	flee back, run away, retreat
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
prius, adv.	before, first
fīnis, -is, m.	end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country
fuga, -ae, f.	flight
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
saepe, adv.	often, frequently
āmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send away, lose
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
nōnnūllus, -a, -um	not none, some, several
pudor, -ōris m.	shame, sense of honour
cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus	drive together, collect; compel
profugiō, -ere, -fūgī	flee, escape
perīculum, -ī, n.	danger, peril, risk
sīc, adv.	so, thus
omnis, -e	all, every
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
perturbō, -turbāre, -turbāvi, -turbātus	greatly disturb, disturb, agitate, throw into confusion
vix, adv.	with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely
iūdicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	judge, decide
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
utrum (conj.)	whether (utrum … an: whether … or)
secundus, -a, -um	following, favorable
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
īnsolēns, -entis	unaccustomed (to: gen.); excessive, arrogant
an, conj.	or (in questions)
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
mediocris, -e	moderate, ordinary
cāsus, -ūs, m.	fall; chance, accident
timidus, -a, -um	fearful, timid

Hirtius, De Bello Gallico VIII. Latin text: T. Rice Holmes, C. Iuli Commentarii Rerum in Gallia Gestarum VII, A. Hirti Commentarius VIII (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. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.