De Bello Gallico 8.29

The rout of Dumnacus

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

8.29.1Cum aliquamdiū summā contentiōne dīmicārētur, Dumnacus īnstruit aciem quae suīs esset equitibus in vicem praesidiō, cum repente cōnfertae legiōnēs in cōnspectum hostium veniunt.When the fight had gone on for some time with the greatest effort, Dumnacus draws up his battle line, to support his cavalry in turn, when suddenly the legions in close order come into the enemy's view.Note. quae suīs esset equitibus in vicem praesidiō: 'to serve in turn as a support for his cavalry', a relative clause of purpose with the double dative. cōnfertae: 'in close order'. 8.29.2Quibus vīsīs perculsae barbarōrum turmae ac perterritae aciēs hostium, perturbātō impedīmentōrum agmine, magnō clāmōre discursūque passim fugae sē mandant.At this sight the barbarian squadrons were struck down and the enemy's lines terrified; the baggage column was thrown into confusion, and with a great uproar and running in all directions they take to flight everywhere.Note. Quibus vīsīs: 'when these (the legions) were seen'. fugae sē mandant: 'they commit themselves to flight'. 8.29.3At nostrī equitēs, quī paulō ante cum resistentibus fortissimē cōnflīxerant, laetitiā victōriae ēlātī magnō undique clāmōre sublātō cēdentibus circumfūsī, quantum equōrum vīrēs ad persequendum dextraeque ad caedendum valent, tantum eō proeliō interficiunt.But our cavalry, who a little before had fought most bravely with the men resisting them, were carried away by the joy of victory; raising a great shout on every side, they pour round the men giving way, and kill in that battle as many as the strength of their horses for pursuit and of their right arms for slaughter can manage.Note. laetitiā victōriae ēlātī: 'carried away by the joy of victory'. quantum … tantum: 'as many as'. ad persequendum, ad caedendum: gerunds of purpose.

8.29.4Itaque amplius mīlibus XII aut armātōrum aut eōrum quī eō timōre arma prōiēcerant interfectīs omnis multitūdō capitur impedīmentōrum.So more than twelve thousand were killed, either armed men or men who had thrown away their arms in that panic, and the whole mass of the baggage is captured.Note. amplius mīlibus XII: 'more than twelve thousand'; here amplius is followed by the ablative of comparison. eō timōre: 'in that panic'.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×3, gerunds and gerundives ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (76 words)

cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
aliquam diū (adv.)	for some time
summus, -a, -um	uppermost, highest, greatest
contentiō, -ōnis f.	struggle, dispute
dīmicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	fight
īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus	build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish,
aciēs, -ēī, f.	line of battle
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
vicis (gen.), vicem f.	change, turn; in vicem: in turn
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
repente (adv.)	suddenly
cōnfertus, -a, -um	crowded, close-packed
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
cōnspectus, -ūs, m.	sight
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
percellō, -ere, -culī, -culsus	strike down; dismay, crush
barbarus, -a, -um	barbarian
turma, -ae f.	troop, squadron of cavalry
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus	thoroughly frighten, terrify
perturbō, -turbāre, -turbāvi, -turbātus	greatly disturb, disturb, agitate, throw into confusion
impedīmentum, -ī n.	hindrance; (pl.) baggage
agmen, -minis, n.	band, column
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
clāmor, -ōris, m.	shout, cry
discursus, -ūs m.	running about; a darting movement
que, enclitic conj.	and
passim (adv.)	here and there, in all directions
fuga, -ae, f.	flight
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
mandō, -dāre, -dāvī, -dātus	put in hand, intrust, commit; charge, command
at, conj.	but
noster, -tra, -trum	our
paulō, adv.	by a little, a little, somewhat
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
cum, prep, with abl.	with
resistō, -sistere, -stitī	stand back, resist
fortiter, adv.	bravely
cōnflīgō, -flīgere, -flīxī, -flīctus	dash together
laetitia, -ae, f.	joy
victōria, -ae, f.	victory
efferō, -ferre, extulī, ēlātum	carry out, bring out
undique, adv.	from or on all sides
tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātus	lift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor
cēdō, -ere, cessī, cessum	go, withdraw, give way
circumfundō, -ere, -fūdī, -fūsus	pour around; (passive) crowd around, surround
quantum, adv.	how much? how?
equus, -ī, m.	horse
vīs, vīs, f.	violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
persequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow up, pursue
dextra, -ae, f.	right hand (manus understood)
caedō, -ere, cecīdī, caesum	cut, cut down; kill
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
tantum, adv.	so much or far, only
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
amplius (adv.)	more, further
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
armātus, -a, -um	armed
timor, -ōris, m.	fear
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
prōiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw forth or down, cast away, throw
omnis, -e	all, every
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt

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.