De bello Gallico commentariorum II, III.

conservarentur] conserventur would be more regular, but the other verbs in the sentence being historic, presents are virtually equivalent to past tenses.

impetrant] 'they gain their request'.

CHAP. 13.

primis civitatis] 'the chief men of the state'; so in 3.

Bratuspantium] it is now generally agreed that Bratuspantium was near the modern Breteuil in the department of Oise, perhaps at Montdidier.

accessisset...poneret] observe the change of tense, 'when he had approached the town and was pitching his camp'.

passis manibus] cf. I. 51 where some late editions have crinibus, and VII. 48 where Caesar says matres familiae suos obtestari et more Gallico passum capillum ostentare coeperunt and Verg. Aen. 1. 480; there is no doubt however about the correctness of manibus; cf. B. C. III. 98 passis palmis, so Lucr. V. 1200, Verg. Aen. III. 263.

CHAP. 14.

fecit verba] 'spoke': distinguish between verbum facere 'to utter a word' (generally in a negative or quasi-negative sentence) and verba facere 'to talk' or 'speak': the difference is clearly marked in Cic. Verr. IV. 147 antequam verbum facerem 'before I should utter a word' and a few lines further on quod ego in senatu Graeco verba fecissem.

p. 40. 5 Britanniam] even thus early political refugees found a shelter

in Britain.

sua] 'his well-known clemency and compassion': the same expression occurs again in 31.

quod si fecerit] in or. rect. si haec facies, amplificabis.

si qua] 'to support (the burdens of) whatever wars may have occurred'.

consuerint] the infinitive consuesse would have done equally well, only in that case the clause would have been rather less closely connected with the previous clause than it now is, cf. my n. on IV. 7. Cicero's treatment of these subordinate relative clauses exhibits a similar irregularity, cf. Mr Reid's n. on Cic. Lael. 45.

CHAP. 15.

honoris Divitiaci causa] 'out of respect for Divitiacus'. For the common use of honoris causa in mentioning a living person by name cf. Halm on Cic. Phil. II. 30 (ed. Mayor).

in fidem recepturum] 'receive under his protection'; this is only a polite way of saying that he would receive their submission.

Ambianorum] cf. n. on 4. There can be little doubt but that Caesar passed through Samarobriva (Amiens) the chief stronghold of the Ambiani. Göler places Samarobriva at Bray.

Nervii] the Nervii occupied the districts of Bavay, Hainault and Brabant. They were of Germanic origin; cf. Tac. Germ. 28 Treveri et Nervii circa affectationem Germanicae originis ultro ambitiosi sunt, tanquam per hanc gloriam sanguinis a similitudine et inertia Gallorum separentur. Bagacum, now Bavay, was their chief oppidum.

nihil pati vini] with this compare Caesar's account of the Germans IV. 2 vinum ad se omnino importari non sinunt, quod ea re ad laborem ferendum remollescere homines atque effeminari arbitrantur. On the text of this passage see appendix.

qui se dedidissent] 'for having surrendered themselves'; qui is causal. proiecissent flung away'.

24 confirmare] with this verb se must be supplied; the following sese belongs to missuros.

СНАР. 16.

triduum] acc. of duration of time; when he had marched for three days'. Caesar might equally well have written tridui depending on iter 'a march of three days' duration'. Caesar's route probably lay through Camaracum (Cambrai) and Bagacum (Bavay).

Sabim] the Sambre: the m appears in the name as early as the 4th cent. in the adjective Sambricus.

trans id flumen] it is generally supposed that the Nervii were encamped on the rising ground at the back of the village of Hautmont about two miles south-west of Maubeuge. The river lay between the Romans and the Nervii.

in eum locum] perhaps near Thuin, where there is still much marshland, a few miles north-east of Hautmont on the right bank of the Sambre. Napoleon says at Mons at the confluence of the Haine and the Trouille about ten miles north of Hautmont.

CHAP. 17.

p. 41. 6 eorum consuetudine] notice the strange accumulation of genitives; eorum dierum and itineris both depend on consuetudine while exercitus nostri is the genitive after itineris; cf. 1. 19 sine eius offensione animi.

impedimentorum] 'beasts of burden’.

Each

sarcinis] sarcinae is the baggage carried by the soldiers themselves, while impedimenta is the heavy baggage, tents, machines etc. man had to carry, in addition to his weapons and armour, some stakes (valli, cf. Hor. Epod. IX. 13 fert vallum et arma miles) for the construction of ramparts, saw, basket, spade, hatchet, cooking apparatus with provisions, usually for a fortnight. (From Kraner's Einleitung.) cum...possent] 'since they had no effective mounted force'.

ei rei] 'this branch of the service'.

sed] 'but all their strength lies in their infantry'. teneris...interiectis] I adopt Schneider's text, which Long follows, and to a certain extent his explanation. The trees had their tops lopped off when young (teneris); this made the branches grow out thickly sideways (crebris in latitudinem ramis enatis), these branches were then interlaced (inflexis. Schneider says inflexis quod de binis binarum arborum sibi adversis et in semet incurrentibus ramis accipiendum eandem significationem habet quam implicatis seu implexis: the interweaving of the branches of two opposite trees cannot at least be inferred from Caesar's account), the intervals were then filled up with thornbushes by which a compact and impenetrable hedge was formed. See appendix.

instar] instar is probably an indeclinable noun in apposition to munimenta. See appendix.

21 non modo non] some editors omit the second non. It should be remembered that non modo can only stand for non modo non when a negative follows, as here ne quidem. Madv. on Cic. Fin. I. 10.

CHAP. 18.

loci] it is generally agreed that the high ground between the villages of Neuf-Mesnil on the north, and Hautmont on the south, bank of the Sambre, about two miles south-west of Maubeuge, was the spot selected for the Roman camp. On the right or south bank of the river between the villages of St Remi-mal-Bâti and Louvroil is another hill named after the village of Hautmont.

acclivitate] as Mr Long says, acclivitas denotes the upward, declivitas the downward, slope of a hill.

adversus huic et contrarius] opposite to this and corresponding to it'. contrarius does not add much to the idea contained in adversus.

infimus] at its base'. Caesar means, I think, that the slope was bare of trees for the first 200 paces, not that there was an extent of open ground 200 paces in width before one came to the slope.

introrsus perspici] for perspici with adverb of direction (introrsus =introversus), cf. 17 quo non modo non intrari sed ne perspici quidem posset.

silvas] a considerable part of the hill is still occupied by the Bois du Quesnoy.

p. 42. I ratio ordoque] 'general method and arrangement', cf. 22 rei militaris ratio atque ordo.

aliter ac Belgae detulerant] 'different from what the Belgae had told', 'different from the description given of it by the Belgae'.

hosti] see appendix.

duae legiones] the XIIIth and XIVth, cf. 2; for the funditores and sagittarii cf. 10.

identidem] 'repeatedly'.

quem ad finem]=ad eum finem ad quem. tr. lit. nor did our men venture to pursue them in their retreat further than to the limit to which the stretch of open ground (loca aperta porrecta, the open ground outstretched) extended'. ad finem follows both porrecta and pertinebant. See appendix.

in silvas] these words must be taken with abditi and not with latebant: who having hidden themselves in the wood were lying concealed'.

16 ut constituerant] 'just as they had formed in line', 'with the very formation that they had adopted within the woods and according to their mutual resolve': the sentence scarcely admits of a literal translation; the general sense is 'they sallied forth (provolaverunt) just as they were', i.e. without altering their formation. Cf. 23 ut constiterant. See appendix.

in manibus nostris] we should say 'close at hand', 'just upon us'. Cf. Verg. G. I. 45 in manibus terrae.

CHAP. 20.

vexillum] the vexillum, a red flag, was raised on or near the general's tent as a signal for the men to hold themselves in readiness: cf. B. C. III. 89 se vexillo signum daturum, bell. Alex. 45 vexillo sublato quo pugnandi dabat signum (Kraner).

signum tuba dandum} this was a signal for the soldiers to fall in. aggeris] agger is here used of the material of which the earthwork was constructed; for this meaning cf. B. C. I 42 quod longius erat agger petendus; in Greek xoûs as opposed to xŵua the completed mound.

milites cohortandi] the exhortation was, if possible, never omitted; cf. Cic. Phil. v. 11 faciam igitur ut imperatores instructa acie solent: quanquam paratissimos milites ad proeliandum videant, ut eos tamen

adhortentur.

signum dandum] the signal for the battle to commence: cf. 21 proelii committendi signum dedit.

temporis brevitas] in 21 and 33 we find temporis exiguitas.

subsidio] almost = 'remedy'. Kr. qu. B. C. III. 70 his tantis malis haec subsidia succurrebant.

p. 43. 1 legatos] it should be remembered that the legati were not at this time permanently attached to the legions as they subsequently became. quae videbantur] 'what appeared (to them) needful' 'the needful operations'.

CHAP. 21.

necessariis rebus imperatis] 'having issued instructions for the necessary measures'.

quam in partem fors obtulit] cf. VII. 87 cohortes quas ex proximis praesidiis deductas fors obtulit. quam in partem=in eam partem quam. The Ixth and xth legions were on the left, cf. 23.

devenit] devenio expresses coming by chance', cf. below quam quisque in partem casu devenit.

suae] 'their well-known'.

sustinerent] ut must be supplied with this verb from the preceding clause; for the structure of the sentence cf. V. 34 ut coniciant neu... accedant et...cedant; B. C. III. 92 ut...exciperent neve...moverent aciemque...paterentur.

quam quo]= quam ut eo.

adigi] so Madvig (Adv. 11. 251 sqq) for the adiici of the MSS: cf. n. on IV. 23.

alteram partem] the opposite direction', opposite, that is, to the direction in which he had gone before. He now came to the XIIth and VIIth legions: cf. 23.

pugnantibus occurrit] 'he finds them already in action".

insignia accommodanda] 'putting on ("fitting') their decorations'. induendas] when on the march the Roman soldier carried his helmet suspended from his arm or over his back.

tegimenta detrudenda] 'thrusting off the coverings'. Both the Greeks and Romans had leather coverings for their shields, cf. Xen. An. 1. 2 16, Cic. N. D. II. 37.

tempus defuerit] 'they had found no time'; the perfect defuerit cannot be adequately represented except by a pluperfect in English. A soldier entering upon an engagement may say to himself 'the enemy are so near that I have found no time to put on my helmet' or 'the enemy are so near that I find no time', etc.; so a subsequent narrator of the event may say 'the enemy were so near that the soldier has found (defuerit, 'had found' suits the English idiom better) no time', etc. or 'the enemy were so near that the soldier found no time', etc., in this latter case he would write deesset, which Caesar might very well have done here.

CHAP. 22.

deiectusque collis] cf. 8 collis lateris deiectus habebat. deiectusque collis is merely a farther definition of loci natura as Kraner points out and is not a separate independent enuntiation; this is sufficiently shown by the que. The student should remember the following rule when three or more coordinate words or clauses have to be stated, either (i) no conjunction is put as A, B, C, or (ii) each is connected with the preceding, as A et B et C, or (iii) the conjunction is omitted with the first members and que is annexed to the last as A, B, Cque: thus A, Bque et C would be quite unclassical, at least in prose. R§ 2202.

diversae legiones] see appendix. for diversas in the sense of 'scattered''parted' cf. 24 diversos dissipatosque.

quid opus esset] cf. n. on I. 42.

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