- 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-lat2:4.37.1-4.37.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
About three hundred landed Roman soldiers were attacked by the Morini, but they defended themselves in a circle until Caesar's cavalry arrived and routed the enemy.
Quibus ex navibus1 cum essent expositi milites circiter CCC atque in castra contenderent, Morini, quos Caesar in Britanniam proficiscens pacatos reliquerat, spe praedae adducti primo non ita magno suorum numero circumsteterunt ac, si sese interfici nollent,2 arma ponere iusserunt.
When about three hundred soldiers had been landed from these ships and were hastening to the camp, the Morini, whom Caesar, when setting out for Britain, had left in a pacified state, inspired by the hope of booty, surrounded them at first with a not very large number of their own men, and ordered them to lay down their arms if they did not wish to be killed.
Cum illi orbe facto3 sese defenderent, celeriter ad clamorem hominum circiter milia VI convenerunt. Qua re nuntiata, Caesar omnem ex castris equitatum suis auxilio4 misit.
While they, having formed a circle, were defending themselves, about six thousand men quickly assembled at the shouting. This circumstance being reported, Caesar sent all the cavalry from the camp to the relief of his men.
Interim nostri milites impetum hostium sustinuerunt atque amplius horis IIII5 fortissime pugnaverunt et paucis vulneribus acceptis complures ex iis occiderunt.
In the meantime, our soldiers withstood the onset of the enemy, and fought most courageously for more than four hours, and, having received only a few wounds, slew many of them.
Postea vero quam equitatus noster in conspectum venit, hostes abiectis armis terga verterunt magnusque eorum numerus est occisus.
But as soon as our cavalry came into sight, the enemy threw down their arms and fled, and a great number of them were slain.
- 4.37.1Quibus ex navibus
The relative pronoun Quibus at the beginning of the sentence functions as a relative connection (connecting relative), referring back to the two transport ships (onerariae duae) mentioned at the end of the previous section (4.36.4).
- 4.37.1si sese interfici nollent
sese (an emphasized form of se) is a reflexive pronoun referring to the subject of the conditional clause (the Roman soldiers, the subject of nollent). interfici is a present passive infinitive, meaning 'if they did not wish themselves to be killed.'
- 4.37.2orbe facto
Ablative absolute consisting of the noun orbe and the participle facto, meaning 'a circle having been formed' or 'forming a circle.' The orbis (circle) was a defensive tactical formation adopted by Roman soldiers when surrounded by a superior force.
- 4.37.2suis auxilio
A 'double dative' construction: suis is the dative of reference/interest ('for his men'), and auxilio is the dative of purpose ('as an aid' or 'for a help'). Combined with the verb misit, it means 'sent as a help to his men.'
- 4.37.3amplius horis IIII
The comparative adverb amplius ('more') is followed by the ablative of comparison horis ('hours'). IIII represents the Roman numeral four. The phrase means 'for more than four hours.'