- Source
- Julius Caesar. Aulus Hirtius. C. Iuli Commentarii Rerum in Gallia Gestarum VII A. Hirti Commentarius VII. Holmes, T. Rice (Thomas Rice), editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.13.1-3.13.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Describes the sturdy construction of the Veneti's ships and their various advantages over the Roman vessels, explaining the difficulties the Romans faced in naval combat.
Namque ipsorum naves ad hunc modum factae armataeque erant: carinae aliquanto planiores quam nostrarum navium, quo facilius vada ac decessum aestus excipere possent;1
For their own ships were built and equipped in this manner: their keels were somewhat flatter than those of our ships, so that they could more easily encounter the shallows and the ebbing tide;
prorae admodum erectae atque item puppes, ad magnitudinem fluctuum tempestatumque accommodatae;
their prows were extremely high, and likewise their sterns, adapted to the greatness of the waves and storms;
naves totae factae ex robore ad quamvis vim et contumeliam perferendam;2
the ships were made entirely of oak to endure any violence and rough usage;
transtra ex pedalibus in altitudinem trabibus, confixa clavis ferreis digiti pollicis crassitudine;
the cross-beams, made of timber a foot in thickness, were fastened with iron bolts of the thickness of a thumb;
ancorae pro funibus ferreis catenis revinctae;
their anchors were secured by iron chains instead of cables;
pelles pro velis alutaeque tenuiter confectae, [hae] sive propter inopiam lini atque eius usus inscientiam, sive eo, quod3 est magis veri simile, quod tantas tempestates Oceani tantosque impetus ventorum sustineri ac tanta onera navium regi velis non satis commode posse arbitrabantur.
skins and thinly dressed leather were used for sails, [these] either on account of the lack of flax and ignorance of its use, or because, which is more probable, they thought that such violent storms of the Ocean and such great forces of the winds could not be sustained, nor such heavy ships be managed with sufficient convenience by sails.
Cum his navibus nostrae classi eius modi congressus erat ut una celeritate et pulsu remorum praestaret, reliqua pro loci natura, pro vi tempestatum illis essent aptiora4 et accommodatiora.
The encounter of our fleet with these ships was of such a nature that our fleet excelled in speed alone and the impulse of the oars, while all other things, according to the nature of the place and the violence of the storms, were more suitable and adapted to theirs.
Neque enim iis nostrae rostro nocere poterant (tanta in iis erat firmitudo), neque propter altitudinem facile telum adigebatur, et eadem de causa minus commode copulis continebantur.
For neither could our ships injure them with their beaks (so great was their strength), nor was a missile easily cast upon them because of their height, and for the same reason they were less conveniently held by grappling irons.
Accedebat ut,5 cum [saevire ventus coepisset et] se vento dedissent, et tempestatem ferrent facilius et in vadis consisterent tutius et ab aestu relictae nihil saxa et cotes timerent;6 quarum rerum omnium nostris navibus casus erat extimescendus.
There was added this advantage that, when [the wind had begun to rage and] they had given themselves to the wind, they both endured the storm more easily and remained more safely in the shallows, and when left by the tide, they feared nothing from rocks and reefs; of all which circumstances, the risk was to be dreaded by our ships.
- 3.13.1quo facilius vada ac decessum aestus excipere possent
A clause of purpose introduced by quo with a comparative (facilius) and the subjunctive (possent). The use of quo instead of ut is standard when the clause contains a comparative. The verb excipere here means 'to encounter' or 'to withstand' the shallows and tide.
- 3.13.3ad quamvis vim et contumeliam perferendam
An expression of purpose using the preposition ad with the accusative of the gerundive (perferendam). The word contumelia is used here metaphorically to mean 'rough usage' or 'violence' of the elements, rather than personal 'insult'.
- 3.13.6sive eo, quod est magis veri simile, quod
The ablative of cause eo followed by an appositive quod-clause explaining its content. The construction is parallel: sive propter... (a prepositional phrase of cause) and sive eo, quod... (the ablative of a demonstrative pronoun with an appositive clause).
- 3.13.7reliqua pro loci natura... illis essent aptiora
The word reliqua is a neuter plural nominative used substantively to mean 'all other things' or 'the remaining aspects'. The dative illis refers to the ships of the Veneti and functions as the complement of the comparatives (aptiora et accommodatiora).
- 3.13.9Accedebat ut
The conjunction ut introducing a substantive clause of result which acts as the subject of the impersonal verb accedebat ('it was added that...'). Inside this substantive clause are embedded the cum-clause and multiple coordinated verbs (ferrent, consisterent, timerent).
- 3.13.9ab aestu relictae nihil saxa et cotes timerent
The direct objects of timerent are saxa et cotes, while nihil functions adverbially as an 'adverbial (or internal) accusative' meaning 'not at all'. The participle relictae is a perfect passive participle agreeing with the implied subject naves (feminine plural).