Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 8
De Bello Gallico 8.16
Escape behind a wall of fire
Hirtius, De Bello Gallico VIII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō8.16.1Caesar, etsī discessum hostium animadvertere nōn poterat incendiīs oppositīs, tamen id cōnsilium cum fugae causā initum suspicārētur, legiōnēs prōmovet, turmās mittit ad īnsequendum;
Caesar, although he could not see the enemy's departure because of the fires set in his way, still, since he suspected that the plan had been adopted for the sake of flight, moves the legions forward and sends cavalry squadrons to pursue;
Note. Book VIII was written after Caesar's death by his officer Aulus Hirtius, to fill the gap between Book VII and the Civil War. The Bellovaci have just escaped behind a line of burning bundles. incendiīs oppositīs: ablative absolute, 'with fires set in the way'. ad īnsequendum: gerund of purpose, 'to pursue'.
8.16.1ipse veritus īnsidiās, nē forte in eōdem locō subsistere hostis atque ēlicere nostrōs in locum cōnārētur inīquum, tardius prōcēdit.
he himself, fearing an ambush, in case the enemy might be trying to make a stand in the same place and lure our men into unfavourable ground, advances rather slowly.
Note. veritus: perfect participle of the deponent vereor, but present in sense, 'fearing'. nē … cōnārētur after a word of fearing: 'that the enemy might try'. tardius: comparative adverb, 'rather slowly'.
8.16.2Equitēs cum intrāre fūmum et flammam dēnsissimam timērent ac, sī quī cupidius intrāverant, vix suōrum ipsī priōrēs partēs animadverterent equōrum, īnsidiās veritī līberam facultātem suī recipiendī Bellovacīs dedērunt.
The cavalry were afraid to ride into the smoke and the very dense flames, and those who had pushed in too eagerly could hardly see even the front parts of their own horses; so, fearing an ambush, they gave the Bellovaci a free chance to get away.
Note. sī quī: quī after sī is the indefinite 'any' (sī quis, sī quī). suōrum … equōrum: the words are split far apart; 'the front parts of their own horses'. suī recipiendī: gerundive with the reflexive, 'of withdrawing themselves'.
8.16.3Ita fuga timōris simul calliditātisque plēna sine ūllō dētrīmentō mīlia nōn amplius decem prōgressī hostēs locō mūnītissimō castra posuērunt.
So by a flight full both of fear and of cunning the enemy, without any loss, advanced no more than ten miles and pitched camp in a very strongly defended place.
Note. timōris … calliditātisque plēna: 'full of fear and cunning', genitives with plēnus. mīlia nōn amplius decem: amplius ('more') does not change the case of mīlia, the accusative of extent. locō mūnītissimō: ablative of place without in, common with locus.
8.16.4Inde cum saepe in īnsidiīs equitēs peditēsque dispōnerent, magna dētrīmenta Rōmānīs in pābulātiōnibus īnferēbant.
From there, by often posting cavalry and infantry in ambush, they inflicted heavy losses on the Romans when they went foraging.
Note. Inde: 'from there' (their new camp). in īnsidiīs: 'in ambush'. Rōmānīs: dative of disadvantage with īnferēbant, 'inflicted on the Romans'.
Vocabulary
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| discessus, -ūs m. | departure |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| incendium, -ī n. | fire, burning |
| oppōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positus | set against, place opposite |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| fuga, -ae, f. | flight |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| ineō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go into, enter; adopt |
| suspicor, -spicārī, -spicātus | suspect |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| prōmoveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtum | move forward |
| turma, -ae f. | troop, squadron of cavalry |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| īnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow upon or up, pursue |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| īnsidiae, -ārum, f. plur. | ambush; plot, stratagem |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| forte, adv. | by chance, accidentally |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| subsistō, -ere, -stitī | halt, make a stand |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ēliciō, -ere, -uī, -itus | lure out, draw out, entice |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| cōnor, -ārī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| inīquus, -a, -um | uneven; unfair |
| tardē (adv.) | slowly; comp. tardius |
| prōcēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | go forward, advance |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| intrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | go within or into, enter |
| fūmus, -ī, m. | smoke |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| flamma, -ae, f. | flame |
| dēnsus, -a, -um | thick |
| timeō, -ēre, -uī | fear |
| sī, conj. | if |
| quis, qua, quid, indef. pron. | any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something |
| cupidē (adv.; comp. cupidius) | eagerly |
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| prior, prius | earlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front) |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| equus, -ī, m. | horse |
| līber, lībera, līberum | free |
| facultās, -tātis, f. | possibility, opportunity, chance, means |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| simul, adv. | at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as |
| calliditās, -ātis f. | shrewdness, cunning |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| plēnus, -a, -um | full |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| ūllus, -a, -um | any |
| dētrīmentum, -ī n. | loss, harm |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| amplius (adv.) | more, further |
| decem, indecl. adj. | ten |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| mūnītus, -a, -um | fortified, defended, protected |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| inde (adv.) | from there; then |
| saepe, adv. | often, frequently |
| pedes, peditis m. | foot soldier |
| dispōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | station here and there, post |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| Rōmānus, -a, -um | Roman |
| pābulātiō, -ōnis f. | foraging |
| īnferō, īnferre, intulī, inlātus | bring in or against, wage against; inflict |