Mīlitēs Rōmānī propter altitūdinem maris in aquam dēsilīre nōn audēbant. Inde mīles, quī aquilam decimae legiōnis ferēbat, Rōmānōs ex timōre excitāvit. ‘Dēsilīte, mīlitēs,’ inquit, ‘nisi aquilam hostibus prōdere vultis: ego officium cīvitātī et imperātōrī praestābō.’ Inde, ubi in aquam dēsiluerat, in hostēs aquilam ferēbat. Tum mīlitēs Rōmānī ex nāvī dēsiluērunt atque cēterī, ubi virtūtem mīlitum cōnspexērunt, hostibus appropinquābant.
Vocabulary
dēsiliō, -īre, dēsiluī [4]: [i] (here)
jump down; [ii] dismount
imperator, imperatōris [3/m]: our
first reaction when seeing this noun is “emperor” which, given the time during
which this incident happened, could not be applied to any Roman head of state;
the loyalty which the standard-bearer expresses is to Caesar, the commander-in-chief
of the army; it was also a term of honour conferred during the period of the Republic on a general after a major victory.
nisi: unless
officium, -ī [2/n]: (here) duty
praestō, -āre, praestitī [1]:
(here) show
prōdō, -ere, prōdidī [3]: (here) give
up; surrender; abandon, or betray
timor, timōris [3/m]: fear
Questions
- Why did the Romans not want to jump into the sea? [1]
- What was one soldier carrying? [2]
- In your own words, what did the soldier say to encourage the others? [7] ‘[i] Dēsilīte, mīlitēs,’ inquit, ‘[ii] nisi [iii] aquilam [iv] hostibus prōdere vultis: [v] ego officium ¦ [vi] cīvitātī ¦ et [vii] imperātōrī ¦ praestābō.’
- What did the soldier do after he had jumped into the water? [1]
- How did the other soldiers react? [2]
- Why did the others approach the enemy? [2]
Grammar review
Give the nominative singular of the following 3rd declension nouns in the text (answers are at the end of the post):
- altitūdinem
- cīvitātī
- hostibus
- imperātōrī
- legiōnis
- maris
- nāvī
- virtūtem
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Because of the depth of the sea,
the Roman soldiers did not dare to jump into the water. Then a soldier, who
carried the eagle of the tenth legion, roused the Romans from (their) fear. 'Jump
down, soldiers,' he said, 'unless you wish to betray the eagle to the enemies:
I will show my duty to the state and to the general.' Then the Roman soldiers
jumped down from the ship, and the rest, when they saw the courage of the Roman
soldiers, approached the enemy.
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The text is referring to an incident in Caesar’s Dē Bellō Gallicō (4.5). When they were attempting to land, the Romans were attacked by the Britons from the shore. Since the large Roman ships could not get too close to the coast, the troops needed to jump into deep water and, therefore, were reluctant to attack. However, in Caesar’s account, one officer – an aquilifer (standard-bearer) of the Tenth Legion – leapt into the water while encouraging the men to follow. Caesar does not name him but recounts what he says. These are the actual words from Dē Bellō Gallicō 4.5:
‘Dēsilīte', inquit, 'mīlitēs, nisi vultis aquilam hostibus
prōdere; ego certē meum reī pūblicae atque imperātōrī officium praestiterō.’ │ "Leap,
fellow soldiers, unless you wish to betray your eagle to the enemy. I certainly
[= I at least] shall have performed my
duty to the republic and my general."
To lose a standard to the enemy would be a great dishonour
and so the Romans jumped into the water after him. Through this act of bravery,
a single soldier acted as an inspiration for all the others.
If you’re moving into the literature, these incidents are
worth bearing in mind because they show part of the Roman value system: loyalty
to the nation and to the commander, and, of course, bravery, even to the point
of audācia which can imply recklessness i.e. possibly against all odds
and with no thought of the consequences for oneself.
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