14.11.24: Level 2; Practice in reading the perfect tense; a First Latin Reader (Vincent) [30]

Posteā multōs diēs erant tempestātēs, quae Rōmānōs in castrīs continēbant et hostēs ā pugnā prohibēbant. Interim Britannī nūntiōs ad partēs multās mīsērunt et auxilium rogāvērunt. Magna multitūdō equitum et peditum ad castra Britannōrum venit. Inde Caesar, quia habēbat trecentōs equitēs, quōs Commius Atrebās trānsportāverat ex Galliā, legiōnēs suās prō castrīs īnstituit. Britannī, quī impetum mīlitum Rōmānōrum sustinēre nōn poterant, terga vertērunt. Inde Caesar, postquam agrōs hostium vastāvit et aedificia multa incendit, cōpiās ad castra dūxit.

Atrebās, Atrebātis [3/m]: Atrabatian, a member of the Atrebātēs, a Celtic tribe

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

īnstituō, -ere, -uī [3]: set up; arrange

Questions

Six of the following statements are correct:

1. A storm prevented the Romans from fighting.
2. Atrebas had brought cavalry from Gaul.
3. Caesar had 300 horses.
4. Caesar led the troops to the camp and destroyed the fields.
5. Caesar’s troops burned a building.
6. Cavalry and infantry came to the aid of the Britons.
7. Legions were inside the camp.
8. Messengers were sent to the Britons.
9. The Britons asked for help.
10. The Britons could not withstand the Romans’ attack.
11. The enemy prevented the Romans from leaving the camp.
12. The enemy’s fields were destroyed.
13. The Romans could not fight because of storms.
14. The Romans could not withstand the Britons’ attack.

Military vocabulary: verbs

If you’re reading a report in a newspaper about, for example, a crime, the same vocabulary and phrases will come up again and again. The same applies to the many accounts of battles in Latin; vocabulary related to the nouns concerning warfare have already been given in five previous posts:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/08/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-1.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/08/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-2.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-3.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-4.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-5.html

Here we can begin to list verbs and phrases that are very common in this type of writing:

(1) dūcō, -ere, dūxī [3]: lead; redūcō: lead back

(2) incendō, -ere, incendī [3]: set (something) on fire; burn

(3) ([i] nuntiōs [ii] lēgātōs) mittō, -ere, mīsī [3]: send ([i] messengers [ii] envoys (ambassadors), people to negotiate)

(4) prohibeō, -ēre, -uī [2]: hold back; prevent; keep (somebody) away from something; tempestatēs … hostēs ā pugnā prohibēbant │ Storms … prevented the enemy from fighting (kept them away from the fight)

(5) (auxilium) rogō, -āre, -āvī [1] ask for (help); English needs ‘for’ whereas the Latin verb is followed by an accusative

(6) (impetum) sustineō, -ēre, -uī [2]: withstand (an attack)

(7) ([i] cōpiās [ii] equitēs [iii] peditēs) trānsportō, -āre, -āvī [1]: transport ([i] troops [ii] cavalry [iii] infantry)

(8) vastō, -āre, -āvī [1]: lay waste; agrōs vastāvit: he laid waste the fields, which sounds rather odd in English but really means he flattened the place!

(9) vertō, -ere, vertī [3]: turn (away); tergum, -ī [2/n]: back; tergum or terga vertērunt: they turned their backs i.e. retreated; were on the run

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Afterwards there were storms for many days, which kept the Romans in their camp and prevented the enemy from fighting. Meanwhile the Britons sent messengers to many parts / everywhere and asked for help. A great multitude / a huge number of cavalry and infantry came to the camp of the Britons. Then Caesar, because he had three hundred horsemen, whom Commius,  an Atrebatian had transported from Gaul, set up his legions before the camp. The Britons, who could not withstand the onslaught of the Romans, turned tail. Then Caesar, after he had laid waste the fields of the enemy and set fire to many buildings, led the troops to the camp.