chapter 1, +certior fīēbat+, followed by +Belgas ... coniūrāre+; in
chap. 4, +reperiēbat+, followed by +Belgas ortos esse+, in complete text.
+Iccius Rēmus+: _Iccius, a Remian_.
13. +sēse+: subject-accusative of +posse+.
PAGE 26,
19. +moenibus ... mūrum ... mūrus ... mūrum+: Cæsar’s haste in writing is often manifest.
20. +coepti sunt+: it may seem strange that the passive should be used instead of the active, +coepērunt+; but see 143, a; H. 297, 1.
22. +Quod+: how is a relative after a period often best rendered? For an example, see note on +qui+, chap. 1, l. 13, simplified text.
24. +nūlli+: mark the emphasis from the position. Many similar cases occur, notwithstanding A. & G., p. 389, Rem.
+oppūgnandi+ = +oppūgnātiōnis+.
25. +summa nōbilitāte et grātia+: a descriptive ablative; _a man of the highest rank and popularity_.
26. +praefuerat+: render as if an imperfect. The meaning is, he had been placed in command and was then in command.
+ex iis+: the same as +eōrum+.
27. +lēgāti+: _as envoy_. Compare the use of +obsides+ as an appositive, p. 25, l. 26.
28. +submittātur+: can you make out the force of the +sub+?
CHAP. 7,
line 2. +subsidio oppidānis+: _to aid the people in the town_. But what literally? For the construction, see 233, a; H. 390.
3. +quōrum adventu+: _in consequence of their coming_.
5. +contendērunt+: the subject is +hostes+, suggested by +hostībus+ in the preceding sentence.
6. +ab+: _distant, off, away_; so used chiefly with numerals.
+ab mīlibus passuum minus duōbus+: a word for word rendering would be, _distant thousands of paces less than two_; that is, _less than two miles distant_.
PAGE 26,
3. +neque ... cōgnōvit+: _and learned from those scouts whom he had sent and from the Remi that they were now not far distant_.
30. +īsdem ducibus+: _the same persons as guides._ Compare +qui lēgāti+, p. 26, l. 27, and note on simplified text.
PAGE 27,
3. +apud oppidum+: +ad+ is more usual.
4. +agros ... dēpopulāti--vīcis aedificiīsque ... incēnsis+: literally, _having laid waste the fields--the villages and buildings having been burned_. Mark how the construction changes for want of a deponent verb in place of +incendo+.
9. +in lātitūdinem+: compare +in altitūdinem+, p. 26, l. 13.
CHAP. 8,
line 2. +eximiam ... virtūtis+: _their eminent reputation for valor_.
3. +quid virtūte posset+: _what their real eminence in valor was_. Compare +quid in bello possent+, chap. 4, l. 2.
7. +tantum ... patēbat quantum loci+: render as if +loci+ depended on +tantum+ instead of +quantum+, _extended over as much space as_.
+adversus+: _facing the enemy_; +adversus+ an adjective, agreeing with +collis+.
+in lātitūdinem+: _laterally._ Compare chap. 7, l. 8.
8. +ex utrāque parte lateris+ = +ex utrōque latere+: _on_, not _from_, _both sides_; so +ab+, below, l. 10.
10. +ad plānitiem redībat+: _gradually resumed_ (impf.) _a level_. Cæsar describes a hill over against the enemy, having steep sides, and a front only broad enough for his army when arranged for battle. In front the hill rose with a gentle ascent, and at the top blended with the plain. It is possible that +lēniter fastīgātus+ means, as the dictionaries define this passage and as many editors say, _gently sloping down_; in which case, +ad plānitiem redībat+ would mean _sank down gradually to the level at its base_. This attributes an improbable meaning to +fastīgātus+.
12. +extrēmas fossas+: _at the ends of the trenches_; compare in chap. 2, l. 2, +interiōrem Galliam+, _the interior of Gaul_.
+castella+: there were, then, four.
17. +ēductas īnstrūxerant+: to make good English, render as if +ēductas+ were a verb followed by +et+; so, very often, when a perfect participle and verb are closely connected.
PAGE 27,
10. +et ... et+: we do not say _both ... and_ so frequently as we find +et ... et+ in Latin; accordingly it will generally be found better to omit in translation the first +et+, and render the second _and also_.
11. +proelio ... proeliis+: _a decisive battle ... skirmishes_.
14. +loco+: ablative absolute, _as there was a place_.
21. +obdūxit+: Cæsar elsewhere commonly uses +perdūco+ of running a wall or trench. Why +obdūco+ here? Because the +fossae+ were dug _against_ the enemy, or to _cover his position_.
24. +cum ... īnstrūxisset+: Cæsar’s thought was, according to Latin idiom, _when I shall have drawn up_, +īnstrūxero+; but such a future perfect of direct speech becomes pluperfect subjunctive in narration, after a past tense in the principal clause.
24. +quod ... poterant+: _because they were so strong in numbers_. Find two other similar uses of +possum+.
27. +si quo opus esset+: _if there should be need of them anywhere_; not, _if there should be need of any thing_.
28. +subsidio+: in meaning and construction like +subsidio+, p. 26, l. 32.
CHAP. 9,
line 2. +si ... trānsīrent+: _to see if our men would cross this_ (+hanc+).
3. +contendēbātur+: _there was fighting._ Compare chap. 6, l. 3, +sustentātum est+.
4. +neutri+: _neither of the two armies_.
5. +secundiōre ... nostris+: _as the cavalry skirmish proved rather favorable to our men_.
9. +castellum+: read over again the last half of chap. 5. Cæsar makes no mention there of a +castellum+.
10. +potuissent+: the thought was, according to the Latin idiom, “if we shall not have been able” (+potuerimus+); but such a future perfect of direct speech becomes a pluperfect subjunctive in narration after a past tense.
PAGE 28,
1. +nostri autem+, etc.: a difficult sentence; but treat it as directed in the Introductory Note, p. 43, only observing that +si+ has its usual meaning of _if_, and +impedītos+, _when they should get stuck fast_, agrees with +hostes+ understood.
2. +ut ... adgrederentur+: expresses the purpose of +parāti in armis erant+.
9. +eo cōnsilio+: _with this design_; explained by +ut castellum ... expūgnārent+.
+possent+: they said to themselves, _if we shall be able_, +poterimus+; _but if we shall not have succeeded_, +si minus potuerimus+; hence +potuissent+, when related. See note on +īnstrūxisset+, p. 27, l. 24.
12. +nōbis ūsui+: compare +subsidio oppidānis+, p. 26, l. 32.
CHAP. 10,
line 3. +pūgnātum est+: contains its own subject, _there was fierce fighting_. See +contendēbātur+, chap. 9, l. 3, and note.
4. +impedītos+: _while they were struggling_.
6. +circumventos interfēcērunt+: _they surrounded and killed_. Read again the note on +ēductas īnstrūxerant+, chap. 8, l. 17.
7. +spem+: subject-accusative of +fefellisse+; but translate, _that they were disappointed in the hope_.
+neque+: take the negative part with +prōgredi+.
8. +ipsos+: that is, +se ipsos+, namely, +hostes+.
10. +quemque+: subject-accusative of +reverti+. See also note on chap. 4, l. 9.
11. +quōrum ... ad eos+: you will very often find the relative clause preceding the antecedent. In almost all such cases the English way of speaking requires us to render the antecedent clause first.
13. +Quod+: _this_, referring to the last two sentences.
+eo cōnsilio+: _with this design_, explained by the following clause.
16. +Hīs persuādēri+: depends on +nōn poterat+. Why did not Cæsar write, +Hi persuādēri ... nōn poterant+, since he means, _these could not be persuaded_? 230; H. 301, 1.
PAGE 28,
19. +reliquos ... cōnantes+: _the rest ... while they were trying_.
21. +Hostes+: subject of +cōnstituērunt+, l. 25, while a pronoun referring to +hostes+ may be mentally supplied as subject of +intellēxērunt+ and +vīdērunt+. This sentence illustrates an important principle of Latin order, attention to which will be of great aid in translation. When the verb of the principal clause and that of the dependent clause have the same subject, it is commonly expressed in the principal, and left out in the dependent, clause. In English we do the opposite. We often begin with the dependent clause; the Latin _frames it into_ the principal clause.
21. +ubi+: repeat mentally with +vīdērunt+ and +coepit+.
28. +ad eos dēfendendos+: illustrates a very common way of expressing a purpose.
CHAP. 11,
line 1. +ea re+: that is, to disperse to their homes; chap. 10, l. 10.
2. +ēgressi+: the subject is +Belgae+, understood.
3. +cōnsimilis+: _altogether like._ What is the force of +con+?
4. +Caesar+: as the subject of +veritus+ and +continuit+, +Caesar+ seems strangely placed in the grip of the ablative absolute; but the position shows by whom the knowledge was got. _Caesar getting wind of this movement immediately through his spies_.
5. +veritus+: try always to render a participle so as to show its logical relation to the main verb, whether of time, cause, contrast, or what not; here, _because he feared_.
+castris+: substantially equivalent to +in castris+.
6. +qui ... morārētur+: compare +qui dēdūceret+, chap. 2, l. 3, and note.
10. +ventum erat+: _they had come._ Compare +sustentātum est+, chap. 6, l. 3; +contendēbātur+, chap. 9, l. 3.
11. +priōres+: _those in advance_.
15. +sub+: _towards._ The idea of _place_ being transferred to that of time.
PAGE 29,
5. +quisque+: see p. 25, l. 3, and note on simplified text.
+prīmum itineris locum+: _the first place on the road_.
8. +qua ... discēderent+: following +quod ... perspēxerat+.
16. +cum ... cōnsisterent+: _since the enemy, at the very extremity of the rear, kept making a stand_.
18. +priōres+: +et+ understood; _while those in advance_.
+quod+: carry on also into the next clause; _and because they were not held together_ (+continērentur+).
21. +sine ūllo perīculo+: two ways of expressing “without any” in this chapter; for above we have +nūllo certo ōrdine+, _without any definite order_.
23. +quantum ... spatium+: _how great a space of time_ (+diēi+) _there was_; that is (they killed as great a number) _as the length of the time allowed_.
24. +sēque in castra ... recēpērunt+: and they and their pitiless commander probably slept well that night.
CHAP. 12,
line 3. +ex itinere+: see chap. 6, l. 2, and note.
+oppūgnāre+: means here _carry by assault_.
5. +omnis ... multitūdo+: notice that an adjective and a noun are often separated by words depending on the noun. Here +ex fuga+ from the position is almost equivalent to +fugientium+.
6. +vīneis+: wooden frames with sloping roof and covered with hides, to protect a number of besiegers.
7. +āctis+: from +ago+, _brought up_; the +vīneae+ were often moved on wheels.
+aggere iacto+: _when earth had been thrown up for a mound_. This was done so that wooden towers could be brought up near the walls.
10. +ut cōnservārentur+: mark how often a dependent clause precedes the one on which it depends. Attention to this will often help in unravelling a long sentence. Now see +qui ... dēdūceret+, chap. 2, l. 3; +quid ... posset et ... audērent+, chap. 8, ll. 3, 4; +qui ... morārētur+, chap. 11, l. 6.
PAGE 29,
32. +paucis dēfendentibus+: _though the defenders were few_.
PAGE 30,
1. +Castris mūnītis+: _after making a fortified camp._ The first and most important thing, after selecting the site of a camp, was to intrench it. That may be all that is meant in this instance.
+vīneas agere+: depends on +coepit+.
+quaeque ... comparāre+: _and to get ready whatever_.
2. +ūsui+: compare +subsidio+, p. 26, l. 32.
5. +quae+: _the like of which_.
CHAP. 13,
line 1. +obsidibus acceptis+: _after receiving hostages_.
+armis ... trāditis+: it was Cæsar’s practice to disarm his conquered enemies.
3. +Qui cum+: the relative is in the right place in Latin, but we cannot translate in this order. The natural place for both words is at the beginning of a clause; but when they come together, the relative takes precedence.
5. +circiter ... quīnque+: _only about five miles_.
6. +abesset+: governed by +cum+.
+māiōres nātu+: _elders_; +seniōres+ would not do.
7. +sēse ... venīre+: _they surrendered to him unconditionally_.
9. +pueri+: _children_, as +homines+ often means _men and women_.
PAGE 30,
9. +atque+: _and besides_, or _and in particular_.
17. +neque ... contendere+: _and that they were not in arms_.
20. +passis manibus+: pitiful!
CHAP. 14,
line 1. +facit verba+: _intercedes_.
2. +in fide ... fuērunt+: _have been faithful and friendly_.
4. +perferre+: _were enduring._ For the tense, see 336, A.
5. +ēius cōnsili prīncipes+: _the prime movers in this plan_: +prīncipes+ = +auctōres+, _authors_.
6. +in Britanniam profūgērunt+: as lately Boulanger and others have done.
8. +clēmentia+: said of one who has power to exercise the opposite, +sevēritas+, +crūdēlitas+.
+mānsuētūdine+: said of one who is humane and gentle, opposed to +feritas+.
9. +fēceris ... amplificābis+: we say, ‘if you do this, you will add to’; in Latin, ‘if you shall have done this, you will add to.’
10. +qua+: 105, d.; H. 190, 1.
+si qua bella+, etc.: _by whose aid and resources they_ (the Ædui) _are accustomed to bear the burden of whatever wars befall them_.
PAGE 30,
26. +perferre ... dēfēcisse+: _were enduring ... had revolted_.
28. +quod intellegerent+: _seeing_.
31. +sua+: emphatic; _his own_, that is, _his well-known_.
32. +quod si fēcerit+: _if he should do this_; the subjunctive of the future perfect, for which there is no separate form; hence the form of the perfect subjunctive is borrowed. If the tense is named by its form, it will be called _perfect subjunctive_; if by its meaning, _future perfect subjunctive_.
PAGE 31,
1. +amplificātūrum (esse)+: the subject must be inferred from the subject of +fēcerit+.
CHAP. 15,
line 1. +honōris ... causa+: _out of regard to Divitiacus_.
3. +māgna ... auctōritāte+: _one of great influence_; a predicate ablative of description; such an ablative must always have a modifier, as here, +māgna+. The genitive may be used in the same way, as below, +māgnae virtūtis+. On the order, see note, chap. 12, l. 5.
6. +quōrum+, etc.: translate closely in the order of the Latin; _about their character and customs, Cæsar, on inquiry_; so, generally, do your best to keep close to the Latin order. Read again the Introductory Note, p. 43.
12. +qui ... dēdissent+: _for having surrendered_; what would be the meaning of +qui ... dēdiderant+?
PAGE 31,
6. +hominum ... praestābat+: _was the most populous_; what is it literally?
12. +pati+: _that they permitted._ Supply +eos+, referring to +Nervii+, as the subject of +pati+, +esse+, +increpitāre+, and +cōnfirmāre+.
13. +quod ... exīstimārent+: observe in the simplified text +quod ... exīstimābant+; why the difference?
16. +qui ... dēdissent ... prōiēcissent+: _for having surrendered and renounced_; literally, _since they had surrendered_.
17. +sēse+: subject-accusative of +mīssūros+.
CHAP. 16,
line 1. +trīduum+: _for three days_, accusative of duration.
2. +Sabim+: now called the Sambre.
6. +quīque+: equivalent to +et eos qui+, _and all such as_.
+per aetātem+: _by reason of their age_; that is, whether too old or too young.
7. +in eum locum ... quo+: _into a place to which._ The idea of the Latin fully expressed would be, _into a place of such a character_ (+eum+) _that to it_ (+quo+) _there would be no access for an army_. 319, 2 and note; H. 500, I. Compare +qui ... vidērentur+, immediately preceding.
8. +exercitui+: _for an army_, not necessarily, _for Cæsar’s army_.
PAGE 31,
19. +Cum ... fēcisset+: a temporal +cum+ clause is not always best rendered by _when_, etc.: _after marching for three days_.
24. +hīs ... persuāserant+: observe on p. 29, l. 1, an example of the impersonal construction of +persuādeo+ in the passive: +hīs persuādēri ... nōn poterat+, _it was not possible for these to be persuaded_.
27. +cōniēcisse+: the verb implies hurried action, and so differs from +dēpōno+, which Cæsar uses in Book IV., 19, of putting women and children in a place of safety.
CHAP. 17,
line 2. +qui ... dēligant+: compare +qui dēdūceret+, chap. 2, l. 3, and note; +qui ... morārētur+, chap. 11, l. 6.
+Cum+: _since._ See note on chap. 6, l. 8.
5. +dēmōnstrārunt+: shortened from +dēmōnstrāvērunt+, 128, a, 1; H. 235.
+inter singulas+: _between each two_; the same mistake, “between each,” is common in English.
6. +neque ... negōti+: _and it was a matter of no difficulty at all_.
7. +cum ... vēnisset+: _when the first legion should reach the camping ground._ In the direct form, +vēnerit+, _shall have reached_; then regularly such a future perfect is changed to the pluperfect subjunctive in indirect discourse after a past tense. See note on chap 9, l. 10.
8. +sarcinis+: “Besides his arms, the Roman soldier carried stakes (+vālli+), used for the palisades of the camp, food and utensils, a saw, a spade, a chain for his prisoners, and other things. He was loaded like a mule.” --LONG.
+qua pulsa+: _if this legion were beaten_.
+futūrum (esse)+: depends on +dēmōnstrārunt+; _the result would be_.
9. +Nervii autem+: _now the Nervii._ +Nervii+ is the subject of +effēcerant+. This long sentence is not so difficult as it at first seems. Follow closely the Latin order to discover the sense, render +quo+ _in order that_, +effēcerant+ _had caused_, and +īnstar+ _like_.
11. +teneris ... ēnātis+: _by lopping the trees when young, and intertwining the branches which grew out thick in a lateral direction_; +ēnātis+ from +ēnāscor+.
12. +interiectis+: it does not appear possible to take this word in the sense given to it in the dictionaries, _thrown or stuffed in_. So Moberly translates, “by throwing in brambles and thorns for the present occasion.” But is it to be supposed that this was done everywhere? If not, how would the Nervii know where to do it? Moreover, what they had done was done +antīquitus+, _from of old_. Translate, therefore, _by planting among them_.
14. +quo nōn modo nōn ... sed ne ... quidem+: this formula, or (without second +nōn+) +nōn modo ... sed ne ... quidem+, is usually awkwardly rendered, _not only not, but not even_. Instead, translate as if the first member were complete in itself (suppressing +modo+), followed by _nay, nor even_, thus: _which it was not possible to pass through, nay, nor even see through_.
15. +Hīs rēbus+: _by these obstacles_.
16. +nōn ... cōnsilium+: _they ought not to disregard the advice_.
PAGE 32,
4. +impedīmentōrum+: here, _baggage animals_; +impedīmentis+, below, _baggage_.
9. +Adiuvābat+: the subject is the long sentence following, +Nervii ... effēcerant+. Translate, _this circumstance favored the advice of those who reported the intelligence, that_ (+quod+).
10. +nihil ... possent+: compare +quid in bello possent+, p. 24, l. 25; +quid virtūte posset+, p. 27, l. 12.
11. +neque enim+: _and in fact ... not._ Observe that +enim+ here does not mean _for_.
12. +pedestribus valent cōpiis+: compare +virtūte ... valēre+, p. 25, l. 5. The ablative is ablative of means.
13. +ad eos+: that is, the Nervii.
CHAP. 18,
line 1. +quem locum+: _I mean the place which_.
3. +Ab eo flūmine+: that is, on the other side.
4. +pari adclīvitāte collis+: _a hill of similar upward slope_; a descriptive ablative.
+ab superiōre parte+: _in the upper part._ +Ab+ not seldom means _on, in, at, by_, because the idea of removal (_from_) implies previous contact or nearness, and the latent idea is sometimes the most important.
5. +ut+: may be considered as referring to an +ita+ suppressed with +silvestris+; _so thickly wooded that_.
+nōn ... posset+: _one could not easily see within._ Impersonal expressions, like +perspici potest+, are common in Latin. Mark the mode of translation.
7. +secundum+: _along_, properly _following_, from +sequor+.
PAGE 32,
24. +adversus huic et contrārius+: _corresponding to this and right opposite_.
25. +passus ... apertus+: _clear of woods for about two hundred paces up from its base_.
+īnfimus+: +ab īnferiōre parte+.
CHAP. 19,
line 1. +omnibus cōpiis+: Cæsar often uses +cum omnibus cōpiis+.
2. +cōnsuētūdine+: _according to custom_; just as frequently +ex cōnsuētūdine+.
4. +conlocārat+: for +conlocāverat+. See +dēmōnstrārunt+, chap. 17, l. 5, and note.
6. +praesidiōque impedīmentis+: compare +subsidio oppidānis+, chap. 7, l. 2, and note.
11. +opere dīmēnso+: _after laying out the work_; the expression refers to marking off the ground preparatory to trenching, making a rampart, etc.
+castra mūnīre+: _to make a camp_.
17. +in manibus nostris+: _close upon us_.
18. +ad+: _towards_; repeat it mentally before +eos+.
+adverso colle+: _straight up the hill_; literally, _with the hill before them_; so perhaps strictly neither an ablative absolute nor an ablative of the “way by which.”
PAGE 32,
32. +ratio ōrdōque āgminis+: _the plan and the order of marching_.
+aliter ... āc+: _otherwise than, different from what_; this strange idiom looks like an abridged, colloquial expression; probably it was, fully expressed, +aliter āc aliter+, _one way and another way_. The order of march was one way and the Belgæ had reported it another way. So I have heard a child say, “This is different and that is different,” meaning “this is different from that.”
PAGE 33,
8. +cum+: _while_; to be repeated mentally with +facerent+.
10. +neque ... cēdentes īnsequi audērent+: _and while our men were hesitating to pursue them when they retreated_.
+quem ad fīnem+: translate as if it were +ad fīnem ad quem+, _to the line to which the level, clear ground extended_.
15. +ut ... cōnfirmāverant+: _as they had arranged their order of battle and ranks within the woods, and as they had encouraged each other to do_.
CHAP. 20,
line 2. +sīgnum tuba dandum (erat)+: in order to call the men to take their places in the ranks. Some might not see the flag.
3. +sīgnum dandum+: this time the signal is for the charge, or perhaps to get ready for a charge.
5. +subsidio+: dative of end or service, but render as if a nominative, which might have been used, _a help_.
7. +commode+: modifies +praescrībere+.
+ipsi sibi praescrībere ... poterant+: they could _direct themselves without any orders_ (+ipsi+).
11. +nihil+: _not ... at all_; stronger than +nōn+.
12. +per se+: _on their own responsibility_.
+quae vidēbantur+: _whatever seemed best_.
PAGE 33,
27. +qui+: does not refer to +mīlites+, but to +ii+ understood.
+aggeris petendi causa+: _for the purpose of seeking materials for a rampart_. Mark the position of +causa+, always following the genitive depending on it.
30. +hīs difficultātibus+: _in this strait_; but the words are in the dative with +subsidio+. Find two other instances of this construction of two datives.
32. +quid fieri oportēret+: the object of +praescrībere+.
CHAP. 21,
line 1. +necessāriis rēbus imperātis+: when you meet with +res+, ask yourself exactly what it means, and then find a proper rendering. Translate, _after giving the necessary orders_.
4. +prīstinae+: this word is often used of what was formerly and still continues.
+neu ... animo+: _and not lose presence of mind_.
6. +quod ... aberant+: gives the reason of the following, not the preceding, clause.
8. +pūgnantibus occurrit+: _he finds them fighting_.
8. +Temporis+: mark how the important word comes first. Take this sentence in thought almost without change in the order of the words, then translate.
+tanta ... exiguitas+: _so great was the littleness_ = _such was the shortness_. Translate, _so short was the time_.
10. +īnsīgnia+: “the crests, feathers red and black, and other decorations which the soldiers had.... On the march the helmet was not carried on the head. The shields had leather coverings when they were not in use.” --LONG.
12. +Quam ... dēvēnit+: _to whatever part of the army each one happened to come_.
+ab opere+: that is, making the camp; see chap. 19, l. 11.
13. +quaeque ... cōnspēxit+: _and whatever standards he caught sight of first_.
PAGE 34,
13. +quo ... posset+: _whither a javelin could be hurled_ = _a javelin throw_.
19. +Quam ... in partem+: compare the second line of the chapter. +quisque+ seems oddly placed, but it is crowded out of the first place, where it would like to stand, by +quam+.
CHAP. 22,
line 2. +rei mīlitāris ... ōrdo+: _military science and arrangement_.
3. +fiēbat+: _the result was_.
+aliae ... parte+: in this idiom the second part only of the thought is expressed. ‘_Other legions were fighting in another part_’ implies ‘some were fighting in one part of the field.’ So +claudus altero pede+, _lame in the other foot_, implies one foot sound.
5. +interiectis+: to be taken with +saepibus+.
6. +ut+: _so that_. +conlocāri+: depends on +possent+.
7. +in+: of reason, _because of_ or _owing to_.
8. +inīquitāte+: usually translated _unfavorable condition_, or by some similar phrase, and such is the common meaning of +inīquitas+; but the context shows that the meaning here is closer to the original sense, that of _unevenness_; hence we may translate, _owing to such inequality in the condition of things_.
PAGE 34,
25. +cum+: _since_, governs +impedīrētur+ as well as +resisterent+.
+dīversis legiōnibus+: +dīversus+ means _turned different ways, not with united line_; hence here, _disjoined_. Translate, _since, owing to the legions being separated_.
28. +neque certa subsidia+: here begins the statement of the result; +certa subsidia+: subject of +poterant+.
+neque quid+, etc.: _nor was it possible to foresee what was needed everywhere_. After +prōvidēri+ supply mentally +poterat+, of which the whole preceding clause is the grammatical subject.
CHAP. 23,
line 1. +ut+: _since_. Would the mode of +cōnstiterant+ have been the same, if +cum+ had been used in place of +ut+?
2. +acie+: an old form of the genitive for +aciēi+.
+Atrebates+: object of +compulērunt+.
6. +Ipsi+: refers to the subject of +interfēcērunt+; that is, +legiōnis nōnae et decimae mīlites+.
8. +dīversae+ = +aliae+; what should it mean from its derivation?
10. +a frōnte+: _along the front_. See chap. 18, l. 4, and note.
11. +ab sinistra parte+: _on the left_. Compare +ā frōnte+, preceding line, and +ab superiōre parte+, chap. 18, l. 4, and note.
+nūdātis castris+: _as the camp was left unguarded_.
13. +aperto latere+: _on their_ (the legions’) _exposed flank_.
14. +summum ... locum+: _the summit occupied by the camp_; +castrōrum+ is a possessive genitive.
PAGE 35,
3. +exanimātos ... cōnfectos+: _breathless and exhausted by wounds_.
+hīs+: the ninth and tenth legions.
4. +ea pars+: that is, +ea pars hostium+.
5. +cōnantes+: accusative, agreeing with +Atrebates+ understood, or a pronoun referring to Atrebates.
8. +resistentes hostes+: object of +cōniēcērunt+.
16. +summam imperi+: _chief command_.
CHAP. 24,
line 2. +cum ... reciperent+: _as they were returning_.
5. +cum respēxissent+: _on looking back_. A +cum+ clause is not always best translated by a full clause.
6. +praecipites ... mandābant+: _ran away as fast as they could._ What literally?
7. +eōrum+: depends on +clāmor fremitusque+.
8. +ferēbantur+: _began to rush._ Observe the imperfects followed by perfects. The imperfect paints, the perfect describes.
10. +auxili causa+: _for the purpose of rendering aid_ = _as auxiliaries_.
11. +cum+: _since._ See note, chap. 6, l. 8.
+complēri+: this and the following infinitives depend on +vīdissent+.
13. +vīdissent+: the subject is +equites Trēveri+.
14. +rēbus+: _fortunes._ How might a clause be substituted here in Latin for the ablative absolute?
15. +pulsos superātōsque+: supply +esse+.
PAGE 35,
21. +pulsos+: supply +esse+.
22. +adversis hostibus occurrēbant+: _came straight against the enemy._ What literally?
23. +cālōnes ... āc summo iugo+: the +porta decumāna+ was the rear gate of the camp, opposite the +porta praetōria+. It appears from this passage that the place for the +cālōnes+ was at the back of the camp, and that in this instance the camp was partly on sloping ground.
30. +virtūtis opīnio+: _reputation for valor_.
PAGE 36,
2. +dīversos dissipātōsque+: _running in different directions and scattered_.
5. +hostes+: subject-accusative of +potītos (esse)+.
CHAP. 25,
line 2. +suos urgēri+: _that his men were hard pressed_; the infinitive depends on +vīdit+.
3. +cōnfertos mīlites+: _that the soldiers by being crowded together_.
+sibi ... impedīmento+: _hindered one another_.
8. +ut ... posset+: _so that he could no longer stand_.
9. +Hīs rēbus+: _for these reasons_.
+tardiōres+: _were losing heart_.
12. +subeuntes intermittere+: _cease mounting the hill_.
12. +ab utrōque latere+: _on both flanks._ Compare +ab superiōre parte+, chap. 18, l. 4.
13. +rem ... angusto+: _that the situation was critical._ What literally?
14. +ūni+: a peculiar use of +ūnus+, quite equivalent to _a_; not to be imitated in writing Latin.
17. +sīgna ... iūssit+: _he ordered them to advance and at the same time to open out their ranks_.
PAGE 36,
7. +Caesar+: subject of +prōcessit+, fifteen lines below. This first sentence extending through eighteen lines looks very formidable; but if it is taken in accordance with the Introductory Note, p. 43, the meaning will be evident. To translate the sentence is more difficult. In translating, repeat “_and saw_” before the words +quartae cohortis+, and render the ablative absolutes by clauses, thus: _and saw that all the captains of the fourth cohort were killed_. Then, +reliquos esse tardiōres+, _that the rest_ (in consequence) _were losing heart_.
8. +sīgnīsque ... conlātis+: _and since the standards were brought together._ Try constantly to make out the relation in thought expressed by participles; that is, whether the idea is that of time, _when, while_, etc.; of cause, _as, since_; of concession, _though, notwithstanding_; or of condition, accompanying circumstances, etc., to be variously rendered.
16. +ab novissimis+: _in the rear_. So below, l. 21. Compare +ab sinistra parte+, p. 35, l. 13. In both places in this chapter it would be easy to make the mistake of taking +ab+ in the sense of +ex+, as a substitute for the partitive genitive.
27. +operam nāvāre cuperet+: “_wished to do his best_.” What literally?
CHAP. 26,
line 3. +ut ... coniungerent+: _for the legions gradually to draw together_.
7. +proelio nūntiāto+: _on the report of the battle_.
+cursu incitāto+: _quickening their speed._ The participle following is causal; they began to run because of the report of the battle.
10. +qui+: refers to +decimam legiōnem+. What is the grammatical irregularity, and how is it to be accounted for?
+cum+: to be taken with +cōgnōvissent+.
+quo in loco res esset+: _what the situation was._ What literally? Account for the subjunctive.
12. +nihil ... fēcērunt+: _left nothing undone in the way of speed_. What literally?
+reliqui+: neuter of +reliquus+. A partitive genitive depending on +nihil+. Find a similar construction in chap. 15.
PAGE 36,
31. +conversa sīgna+: the object of +īnferrent+, but most conveniently rendered as coördinate with it, _to face about and charge_. It is thought that by this movement the twelfth and the seventh legions formed a circle or a square.
PAGE 37,
1. +neque timērent+: repeat +cum+ mentally from the preceding clause; _and since they_ (no longer) _feared_.
+āversi+: literally, _being turned away_; translate, _from their rear being unguarded_.
CHAP. 27,
line 2. +vulneribus cōnfecti+: _badly wounded._ What literally?
+prōcubuissent+: from +prōcumbo+.
3. +vēro+: emphasizes +equites+, but is better left untranslated; say, _while the cavalry_.
4. +se ... praeferrent+: _thrust themselves before_; a result clause, dependent on +tanta ... est facta+.
5. +in extrēma spe salūtis+: “_when all hope of saving themselves was at an end_.” Here a literal translation would be meaningless or misleading.
7. +proximi ... īnsistēbant+: _those nearest would stand upon their prostrate companions_.
8. +hīs deiēctis+: _when these_ (in turn) _were thrown down_.
10. +intercepta remittēbant+: _would catch and hurl back._ See +ēductas īnstrūxerant+, chap. 8, l. 17, and note.
11. +ut+, etc.: _so that one ought to judge that it was not without cause that men of such valor._ On +iūdicāre dēbēret+, compare +perspici posset+, chap. 18, l. 5, and note.
13. +quae ... difficillimis+: _things which, most difficult in themselves_.
+facilia+: a predicate adjective with +redēgerat+.
PAGE 37,
15. +innīxi+: from +innītor+, agrees with +nostri+.
+perterritos+: supply +esse+; the subject-accusative is +hostes+.
16. +inermes+: agrees with +cālōnes+, _even though unarmed_.
23. +qui superessent+: _the survivors._ Supply +ii+ as antecedent of +qui+.
+ut+: _as_. So used p. 34, l. 23.
24. +cōnicerent+: dependent on +tantam virtutem ... ut+; (so that) _those who survived_ (+qui superessent+) _kept hurling_.
CHAP. 28,
line 1. +prope+: modifies +ad+, not +redācto+.
2. +redācto+: see the last word of the preceding chapter.
+māiōres nātu+: see chap. 13, l. 6, and note.
3. +pueris+: see chap. 13, l. 9, and note.
4. +cōnsēnsu ... supererant+: _with the consent of all the survivors_.
7. +vix ad+: _to barely_; for +ad vix+, as some say.
8. +in+: _towards_; +erga+ might have been used.
9. +vidērētur+: not _that he might seem_, but _that he might be seen_.
11. +se ... prohibērent+: _refrain and keep their dependents from_; +prohibēre+ is appropriate to +suos+, but hardly to +se+.
PAGE 37,
31. +aestuāria+: “the country lying to the north (the modern Zealand) is low and marshy, cut up with tidewater inlets and bays.” --ALLEN & GREENOUGH.
32. +cum vīctōribus+, etc.: _since they thought there was no obstacle for the victors, no safety for the vanquished_.
PAGE 38,
4. +mīlibus LX.+: they had promised fifty thousand; see chap. 4. It was natural that they should exaggerate their losses.
CHAP. 29,
line 1. +auxilio Nerviis+: compare +subsidio oppidānis+, chap. 7, l. 2, and note. Find other examples of this construction.
4. +ūnum oppidum+: supposed to be at the junction of the Sambre and Meuse.
5. +ex omnibus in circuitu partibus+: simply, _all round_.
9. +conlocābant+: there is a reading, +conlocārant+. If that is the true reading, +tum+ in the preceding line would mean _besides_.
PAGE 38,
10. +cum+: _while._ Four lines below +cum+ means _though_.
16. +aditus ... pedum+: _an approach of two hundred feet in breadth, not more_; +pedum+ depends on +aditus+.
21. +iis impedīmentis+: take with +dēpositis+, two lines below.
22. +agere āc portāre+: _drive or carry_.
24. +ūna+: _with it_; that is, the plunder.
25. +cum alias+, etc.: _since they carried on now aggressive now defensive war._ What literally?
CHAP. 30,
line 1. +prīmo adventu+ = +cum prīmum advēnisset+, _as soon as our army had got there_.
3. +pedum XII.+: that is, +in altitūdinem+, which is expressed, chap. 5, l. 19.
4. +oppido+: might have been +in oppido+. Cf. +castris+, chap. 11, l. 5.
5. +vīneis āctis+: +āctis+ from +ago+; see chap. 12, l. 6, and note.
+aggere exstrūcto+: an embankment of timber, stones, and earth was begun at a distance from the walls of a town, wide enough to roll one or more towers upon, and was carried forward by soldiers working under the shelter of the +vīneae+ up to the defensive works.
6. +cōnstitui+: _being raised_.
7. +ab tanto spatio+: _so far away._ Compare +ab mīlibus+, chap. 7, l. 6, and note.
8. +quibusnam manibus+: _with what hands, pray_; +nam+ added for emphasis, to point their sarcasm.
10. +conlocāre+: strangely used for +conlocātūros (esse)+. The Aduatuci may have thought that the Romans intended to hoist the tower upon their wall, or they may have been joking. Which is more likely?
PAGE 39,
5. +hominibus ... contemptui+: another pair of datives. Find other examples. The Italians of the present time do not strike one as conspicuously shorter than the Germans.
+māgnitūdine+: being contrasted with +brevitas+, is used in the sense of +altitūdine+.
CHAP. 31,
line 1. +movēri+: _moving._ This word here has suggested a change of +conlocāre+, in the last line of the preceding chapter, to +mōtūros+, a very plausible conjecture, but it spoils the joke of the Aduatuci.
5. +qui+: _since they._ Compare +qui ... dēdidissent+, chap. 15, l. 12, and note.
8. +pro sua clēmentia+: _according to his well-known clemency_. See chap. 14, l. 8, and note. What did they think of his clemency when he sold 53,000 of them into slavery?
11. +trāditis armis+ = +si arma trādidissent+, _if they should surrender their arms_.
13. +per cruciātum interfici+: _to be tortured to death._ What literally?
PAGE 39,
16. +statuisset+: not _had decided_, but _should decide_. No mistake is oftener made by beginners than in the rendering of a pluperfect subjunctive of indirect discourse representing a future perfect of direct discourse. Such a subjunctive is to be rendered by the auxiliary _should_, not _had_. To tell whether a pluperfect subjunctive represents a future perfect, think what form a speaker’s words would take, remembering that the Romans commonly used the future or future perfect of things really future, while we very often use the present.
CHAP. 32,
line 1. +cōnsuētūdine+: ablative of cause.
3. +aries+: “a long, strong beam of wood, furnished with an iron head in the form of a ram’s head. It was suspended from a framework by a strong chain or ropes, and worked by men, who drove it against the wall.” --LONG.
4. +in Nerviis+: _in the case of the Nervii_; a common meaning of +in+ with names of persons.
5. +ne quam ... īnferant+: _not to do any harm to those who had surrendered to the Roman people_.
7. +facere+: one would expect the future with subject-accusative, +se factūros (esse)+. Compare +conlocāre+, for +conlocātūros esse+, chap. 30, l. 10.
9. +prope ... adaequārent+: _came up almost to the very top_; +summam+ with +altitūdinem+. What literally?
12. +pāce sunt ūsi+ = +conquiēvērunt+, _kept quiet_.
CHAP. 33,
line 3. +nostros+: _our commanders_, subject-accusative of +dēductūros+ and +servātūros (esse)+.
+praesidia+: men stationed in the +castella+; see below.
4. +dēductūros ... servātūros+: observe how frequently +esse+ is omitted with the future participle.
+dēnique+: _at any rate._ What is its usual meaning?
5. +tertia vigilia+: the Romans divided the night into four equal divisions, watches, of about three hours each.
9. +eo concursum est+: _the soldiers hurried thither._ What literally? Find similar constructions in chaps. 6, 9, 10, 11.
10. +in extrēma spe salūtis+: compare chap. 27, l. 5, and note. The context shows, however, that the meaning is not quite the same here. Translate, _as their last chance of saving themselves_.
14. +nēmo+: observe the emphasis from its position. Compare in English, “Silver and gold have I none.” +nēmo+ and +nūllus+ are often so placed. Cf. +nūlli+, chap. 6, l. 10.
16. +ab iis qui ēmerant+ = +ab emptōribus+: _by the purchasers_, who were the +mercātōres+, traders who followed the army as hungry sharks follow a ship.
+capitum+: we say “souls.” It depends on +quīnquāginta trium+.
17. +quīnquāginta trium+: 53,000 captives, probably chained in gangs and sent to be sold in the Province and in Italy; a source of great gain to the general.
PAGE 40,
4. +mīlites ... mīlitibus+: another evidence of haste. See p. 26, l. 19, and note.
5. +ne quam ... iniūriam+: see p. 39, l. 28, and note.
9. +iis+: with +armis+. Observe the order of the words.
10. +vīminibus intextis+: repeat mentally +ex+ before these words. Some supply +factis+.
16. +pūgnātumque+, etc.: translate as if +hostibus+ and +viris+ were subjects.
17. +ut ... dēbuit+: _as brave men ought to fight._ What literally?
18. +iacerent+: the subjunctive shows that the remark is a general one. The indicative would have a limiting force. The difference can hardly be brought out in translation. In the former case we may render, _against men who could throw_; in the latter, _against those who were throwing_.
20. +ad+ = +circiter+.
CHAP. 34,
line 2. +mīserat+: _had sent_, that is, before the defeat of the Aduatuci.
5. +diciōnem+: _under the sway_; in some texts, +in dēditiōnem+. If that reading is correct, the meaning would be, _were brought to surrender_.
CHAP. 35,
line 1. +pācāta+: see p. 23, l. 7, and note.
4. +qui ... pollicērentur+: compare p. 23, l. 19, +qui ... dēdūceret+; p. 29, l. 12, +qui ... morārētur+; p. 31, l. 30, +qui ... dēligant+.
6. +inita proxima aestāte+: see p. 23, l. 18, and note.
10. +ex litteris+: _in consequence of the letters_.
11. +supplicātio+: a public, religious festival of thanksgiving, decreed by the senate. “The fifteen days’ rejoicing marks the constant fear of the Gauls which had haunted the Romans ever since the ‘dies Alliensis.’ Kraner remarks that the longest ‘supplicatio’ till this had been one of twelve days, for Pompeius’ success against Mithridates.” --MOBERLY.
+nūlli+: see p. 40, l. 22; also p. 26, l. 24, and note.
EXERCISES ON SIMPLIFIED TEXT.
The references are to the Grammars of Allen and Greenough, and Harkness.
The learner is expected, before writing the Exercises, to review the Latin text, and find therein and commit to memory illustrations of the grammatical principles selected.