Caesar De Bello Gallico 4:26 Course Notes

Latin III:  Caesar DBG

Instructor:  James Ransom

February 17, 2014

Caesar, DBG 4:26
 Course Notes
© 2014 James Ransom, M.A., J.D.

[26]      1       Pugnatum est ab utrisque acriter. Nostri tamen, quod neque ordines servare neque firmiter insistere neque signa subsequi poterant atque alius alia ex navi quibuscumque signis occurrerat se aggregabat, magnopere perturbabantur;     2       hostes vero, notis omnibus vadii, ubi ex litore aliquos singulares ex navi egredientes conspexerant, incitatis equis impeditos adoriebantur, 3 plures paucos circumsistebant, alii ab latere aperto in universos tela coiciebant.     4          Quod cum animadvertisset Caesar, scaphas longarum navium, item speculatoria navigia militibus compleri iussit, et quos laborantes conspexerat, his subsidia submittebat.      5 Nostri, simul in arido constiterunt, suis omnibus consecutis, in hostes impetum fecerunt atque eos in fugam dederunt; neque longius prosequi potuerunt, quod equites cursum tenere atque insulam capere non potuerant. Hoc unum ad pristinam fortunam Caesari defuit.

1  Pugnatum est ab utrisque acriter Both sides fought fiercely;  “pugnatum est” is impersonal perfect passive participle of pugno, pugnare, pugnavi, pugnatum.  Lit.:  “the battle was fought fiercely…”

Nostri tamen, quod neque ordines servare neque firmiter insistere But our men could neither keep in formation nor find a firm foothold; “servare” is present infinitive of servo, servare, servavi, servatum.  “insistere” is present infinitive of insisto, insistere, institi, “to set foot, stand, tread.”  neque signa subsequi poterant nor even to follow their standards; “subsequi” is present infinitive of subsequor.  “poterant” is third person plural imperfect indicative active of the irregular possum, posse, potui.    atque alius alia ex navi quibuscumque signis occurrerat se adgregabat but rather different men from different ships ran toward and congregated around any standard they could reach;  “aggregebat”  is third person singular imperfect indicative active of aggrego, aggregari, aggregavi, aggregatum, “to crowd, flock together.”  “occurrerat” is third person singular imperfect indicative active of occurro, occurrere, occurri, occursum, “to rush to, go to meet, charge.”  magnopere perturbabantur and they were on the verge of panic; “perturbabantur” is third person plural imperfect indicative passive of perturbo, perturbare, perturbavi, perturbatum, “to disturb, trouble, alarm.” 

2  hostes vero, notis omnibus vadii, ubi ex litore aliquos singulares ex navi egredientes conspexerant while the enemy, knowing each shoal and shallow, whenever they spotted from their vantage on the shore any of our men attempting to disembark;  “conspexerant” is third person plural imperfect indicative active of conspicio, conspicere, conspexi, conspectum, “to notice, catch sight of.”  “egredientes” is present active participle of the deponent egredior, egredi, egressus sum, “to come out, disembark, land.”  incitatis equis impeditos adoriebantur they spurred their horses to the attack while our men were struggling; “adoriebantur” is third person plural imperfect indicative active of the deponent adioror, adoriri, adortus sum, “to assault, attack.” 3         plures paucos circumsistebant and many of them were ganging up on one or two of ours; “circumsistebant” is third person plural imperfect indicative active of cirumsisto, circumsistere, circumstiti, circumstatum.  alii ab latere aperto in universos tela coiciebant while others hurled spears at the exposed flank of those men who had achieved formation; “coiciebant” is third person plural imperfect indicative active of coicio, coicere, coieci, coiectum, “to throw.”

4  Quod cum animadvertisset Caesar, scaphas longarum navium, item speculatoria navigia militibus compleri iussit When Caesar analyzed the situation, he ordered the exposed men aboard both the warships and the reconnaissance craft;  “iussit” is third person singular perfect indicative active of iubeo, iubere, iussi, iussum, “to command, order.” “compleri” is present passive infinitive of compleo, complere, complevi, completum,”to fill up completely.”   et quos laborantes conspexerat, his subsidia submittebat and where he saw men in distress, he summoned them assistance; “submittebat” is third person singular imperfect indicative active of submitto, submittere, submissi, submissum. 

5 Nostri, simul in arido constiterunt, suis omnibus consecutis As soon as the first of our men reached the shore, the rest following close behind; “consecutis” is ablative participle of the deponent consequor, consequi, consecutus sum; ablative absolute with “suis omnibus.”  “constiterunt” is third person plural perfect indicative active of consto, constare, constati, constatum, “to stand together, stand firm.” 

in hostes impetum fecerunt atque eos in fugam dederunt they charged the enemy and put them to flight; “dederunt” is third person plural perfect indicative active of do, dare, dedi, datum.  “fecerunt” is third person plural perfect indicative active of facio, facere, feci, factum.  neque longius prosequi potuerunt, quod equites cursum tenere atque insulam capere non potuerant but were unable to sustain the pursuit long, because the cavalry had failed to stay on course and achieve the island.  “potuerant” is third person plural pluperfect indicative active of the irregular possum, posse, potui.  “capere” is present infinitive of capio, capere, cepi, captum, “to capture, seize, take.”  “tenere” is present infinitive active of teneo, tenere, tenui, tentum.  “potuerunt”is third person singular perfect indicative active of possum.  “prosequi” is present infinitive active of the deponent prosequor, prosequi, prosecutus sum. 

Hoc unum ad pristinam fortunam Caesari defuit  Here, for once, Caesar’s wonted luck deserted him; “defuit” is third person singular perfect indicative active of desum, deesse, defui, defuturus, “to abandon, desert, neglect.”