10.09.24: Level 2; Practice in reading the perfect tense; a First Latin Reader (Vincent) [20]

Caesar, postquam suās cōpiās ex Ītaliā dūxit, Helvētiōs superāvit; inde Ariovistum, quī erat dux Germānōrum, trāns Rhēnum expulit; annō tertiō, postquam classem aedificāvit, nāvēs Gallōrum dēlēvit. Annō quārtō, quod Germānī auxilium ad Gallōs miserant et impetūs contrā gentēs Gallōrum semper faciēbant, Caesar pontem in Rhēnō fēcit. Caesar, postquam gentēs multās vīcit, oppida Germānōrum incendit et agrōs vastāvit. Interim Britannī classem mīserant et auxilium ad Belgās, quī bellum contrā Caesarem gerēbant. Itaque Caesar impetum contrā Britanniam parābat.

[1] Tense usage

Caesar, ¦ postquam suās cōpiās ex Ītaliā dūxit [perfect], ¦ Helvētiōs superāvit. │ Caesar, after he had led [past perfect] his troops out of Italy, conquered the Helvetii.

Annō tertiō, ¦ postquam classem aedificāvit [perfect], ¦ nāvēs Gallōrum dēlēvit. │ In the third year, after he had built [past perfect] a fleet, he destroyed the ships of the Gauls.

Caesar, ¦ postquam gentēs multās vīcit [perfect], ¦ oppida Germānōrum incendit …│ Caesar, after he had conquered [past perfect] many tribes, set fire to the Germans’ towns…

[i] ubi; postquam: note again that, in translation, English would tend to use the past perfect tense (had done something) in the subordinate clause of time whereas Latin generally uses the perfect (rather than the pluperfect) in constructions with ubi and postquam.

[ii] Look at how the three tenses are working together in the same sentence.

[a] Annō quārtō, quod ¦ [ī] Germānī auxilium ad Gallōs mīserant [pluperfect: an action that had finished before the next past action began]¦ et impetūs contrā gentēs Gallōrum semper [iī] faciēbant [imperfect: an action that was ongoing at that point in the narrative], Caesar pontem in Rhēnō [iīī] fēcit [perfect: a single, completed action in the past ].

In the fourth year, because [i] the Germans had sent aid to the Gauls and [ii] were always making attacks against the tribes of the Gauls [iii] Caesar built a bridge on the Rhine.

[b] Caesar, …, oppida Germānōrum incendit et agrōs vastāvit. Interim Britannī classem mīserant [pluperfect] et auxilium ad Belgās, quī bellum contrā Caesarem gerēbant.

Caesar … set fire to the Germans’ towns and laid waste the fields. Meanwhile, the Britons had sent a fleet and aid to the Belgae, who were waging war against Caesar.

[iii] Itaque Caesar impetum contrā Britanniam parābat.

The imperfect tense can denote the beginning of an action; in grammar this is known as inceptive. In the context here, it would be an appropriate translation i.e. Caesar began preparing an attack against Britannia because of what had been happening up to that point:

Interim Britannī classem mīserant et auxilium ad Belgās, quī bellum contrā Caesarem gerēbant. Itaque Caesar impetum contrā Britanniam parābat.

Meanwhile the Britons had sent a fleet and aid to the Belgae who were waging war against Caesar. Therefore, Caesar began preparing an attack against Britain.

[2] Differences in English and Latin word order

Caesar, ¦ postquam suās cōpiās ex Ītaliā dūxit, │ Caesar, after he had led his troops out of Italy …

Caesar, ¦ postquam gentēs multās vīcit, …  │ Caesar, after he had conquered many nations …

A more fluent rendering of the sentences in English would be:

After Caesar had led his troops out of Italy …

After Caesar had conquered many nations …

Latin, however, likes to keep the subject first at the beginning of the sentence.

[3] ablative of time when

annus tertius > annō tertiō: in the third year

annus quārtus > annō quārtō: in the fourth year

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Caesar, after he had led his troops from Italy, overcame the Helvetii; thence he expelled Ariovistus, who was the leader of the Germans, across the Rhine; In the third year, after he had built a fleet, he destroyed the ships of the Gauls. In the fourth year, when the Germans had sent aid to the Gauls and were constantly making attacks against the tribes of the Gauls, Caesar built a bridge over the Rhine. Caesar, after he had defeated many nations, burned the towns of the Germans and laid waste the fields. Meanwhile the Britons had sent a fleet and aid to the Belgae, who were waging war against Caesar. Therefore, Caesar was preparing [began preparing] an attack against Britain.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvetii

Early 18^th century map of Transalpine Gaul, the location of the Helvetii to the right

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariovistus