Happy Latin: Caesar’s BattlesHour 10 · Massacre of the Usipetes and Tencteri · DBG 4.14–15

Hour 10 — Massacre of the Usipetes and Tencteri · DBG 4.14–15

Note on sources. The source course-design document (0 Caesar's Latin Course Structure and Task 1-2.docx, funmi/happy latin/) specifies Hour 10 = Massacre of the Usipetes and Tencteri = Wheelock Ch. 10 = 4th Conjugation and 3rd-Conjugation -iō Verbs. No dedicated source .docx exists for this hour (file 10, 10 De Bello Gallico 4.28-29.docx, treats the British-coast storm — a later hour); this hour's specific content — passage chunking, vocabulary list, narrative questions, translation prompts, screening selection — has been constructed in the paradigm of Hours 1–9. Latin text drawn from PerseusDL canonical-latinLit (Holmes, Oxford 1914); English translation adapted from W. A. McDevitte & W. S. Bohn (1869); grammar from Wheelock 6th edn. revised (LaFleur 2005), Ch. 10.

Briefing

From Hour 9 to Hour 10

Hour 9 closed with Crassus's victory in Aquitania. Caesar's fourth campaigning year (55 BC) begins on a darker note. Two German peoples — the Usipetes and the Tencteri — driven from their lands by Suebian pressure, have crossed the lower Rhine in winter with somewhere between 100,000 and 430,000 people (Caesar's figure; modern historians estimate far fewer, perhaps 60,000–100,000 including non-combatants). They settle on the territories of the Menapii, north of where the river meets the Atlantic. Caesar moves north to meet them. The negotiation that follows would, within twenty years, become a war-crime accusation thrown at him in the Roman Senate.

The Germans request land and peace; Caesar offers them territory among the friendly Ubii on condition that they re-cross the Rhine first. Negotiations stall. On the day fixed for German envoys to return with their answer, German cavalry — perhaps without authorization, perhaps not — attacks the Roman cavalry foraging. The Roman cavalry, recently reinforced by Caesar with 4,000 Gallic auxiliaries, panics and breaks. The dead include a young Roman noble, Piso the Aquitanian, whose grandfather had received Roman citizenship from the Senate (DBG 4.12).

Caesar's response is, by his own framing, decisive and just. He treats the cavalry attack as a violation of the truce. The next morning, when a delegation of leading German chiefs arrives at Caesar's camp to apologize, he arrests them all and immediately marches the Roman legions against the German camp. The Germans, without their leaders, are caught by surprise. What follows in DBG 4.14–15 is the rout: the German warriors are killed or fled, the non-combatants (women, children, elderly) are driven toward the Rhine, and the survivors drown attempting to cross. Caesar gives the total casualty figure as 430,000. The campaign — including the subsequent Rhine bridge (which we will read in a later hour) — would seal Caesar's reputation in Rome as both unstoppable and unscrupulous.

Hour 10: Massacre of the Usipetes and Tencteri — Source: DBG 4.14–15

Caesar, after he had seen that they were spinning out delays by treachery, and had learned that his supplies had already arrived — even though the things he was ordering were not being listened to — nevertheless set out at once. And so, having sent the cavalry ahead, he himself, with the legions, joined battle. The enemy, astounded and thrown into disorder by the sudden arrival, began some to take up arms, some to dash out from the camp. After their army had been struck down and put to flight, our cavalry pursued them, and killed a great multitude of them. The rest, having lost all hope of resisting, came to the confluence of the Maas and the Rhine; with the rest of their flight despaired of, and a great number of their own killed, the survivors hurled themselves into the river, and there, overwhelmed by fear, exhaustion, and the force of the river, they perished. Our men, up to that day having received absolutely no wound, withdrew, possessed of victory. Caesar gave to those whom he had detained in his camp the right of departing. These men, fearing the torments of punishment which they feared from the Gauls on account of their cruelty toward Caesar, said that they wished to remain with him. To these, Caesar granted their liberty.

Connection to Wheelock

This hour pairs with Wheelock Chapter 10 — 4th Conjugation and 3rd-Conjugation -iō Verbs. After 3rd-conjugation regulars (Hour 8) and demonstratives (Hour 9), this chapter handles two related verb families:

• 4th conjugation with infinitive in -īre (audīre, venīre, mūnīre)
• 3rd-conjugation -iō verbs with infinitive in -ere but with thematic -i- (capere, facere, cupere, iacere, fugere)

Both groups insert an -i- in places where the regular 3rd conjugation has none.

Today's Task

With the translation and vocabulary provided, identify all the verbs (finite + infinitives) AND all the 4th-conjugation and 3rd-iō verb forms in the given passage. Answer the questions about the text. The codebook rules carried from prior hours continue: rule #1 (indicative red), #4 (infinitive green), #9 (★ on 3rd-decl. nouns).

Grammar Target — 4th Conjugation & 3rd-iō Verbs

Two verb families that pattern together

The 4th conjugation has infinitive in -īre (long ī): audīre "to hear", venīre "to come", mūnīre "to fortify". Its present-stem vowel i stays long: audiō, audīs, audit, audīmus, audītis, audiunt.

The 3rd-conjugation -iō subgroup (a.k.a. "3rd-iō", "mixed", "capiō-type") has infinitive in -ere (short e) like the regular 3rd conjugation, but inserts a thematic i in the 1 sg., 3 pl., and most non-present forms: capiō, capis, capit, capimus, capitis, capiunt. Common 3rd-iō verbs in Caesar: capiō, faciō, fugiō, iaciō, cupiō, accipiō, conspiciō, ēripiō, interficiō, perspiciō, prōficiō.

Paradigm — audiō, audīre (4th conj.)

Paradigm — capiō, capere (3rd-iō)

Three warning signs to memorize

1. The 4th conj. and the 3rd-iō paradigms are nearly identical in the future and imperfect (both use the -iēs, -iet, -iēbam, -iēbat series). The decisive difference is in the present: 4th conj. has audīs, audit, audīmus, audītis with long-ī; 3rd-iō has capis, capit, capimus, capitis with no i in those positions. The infinitive tells you which is which: -īre = 4th, -ere = 3rd-iō.

2. Both families' 3rd-plural present ends in -iunt (audiunt, capiunt). This is the trap: a student reading capiunt may misread it as "they were taking" if they expect capunt (the regular-3rd-conj. agunt-style ending). It's actually "they take" / "they capture."

3. The 3rd-iō infinitive is -ere, NOT -īre. The 1 sg. present capiō looks like a 4th conjugation form (audiō), but the second principal part capere reveals it as 3rd-iō. Always check the dictionary entry.

The 3rd-iō verbs you have already met

You have already seen many 3rd-iō verbs without naming the pattern: capiō (Hour 8: captīs oppidīs); ēripiō (Hour 8: ēriperētur); interficiō (Hour 9: interfectus esset); profugiō (Hour 9: profūgisset); perspiciō, efficiō, cupiō (Hour 9 result, all -iō). The Hour 10 passage gives several more.

Vocabulary

(99 entries with full macrons, English and Chinese glosses, and conjugation/declension badges. See the bilingual HTML for the complete badge-tagged table.)

Selected high-frequency entries from the passage:

Tagging rules in effect this Hour

Carried from previous hours, with no new codebook color this Hour:

• Rule #1 — Indicative (red). Carried.
• Rule #2 — Subjunctive. imperāret (s. 2, indef. relative), tīmerent (s. 11, relative cl. of indirect statement).
• Rule #4 — Infinitive (green). nectere (s. 1), advēnisse (s. 1, perf. infin.), capere, prōripere (s. 4), remanēre, velle (s. 11).
• Rule #5 — Participle. Many — mostly in abl. abs.: praemissō, perturbātī, attonitī, perculsō, coniectō, āmissā, dēspērātā, interfectō, oppressī, acceptō, verītī.
• Rule #7 — Noun-adj phrase. Carried; not focus this hour.
• Rule #8 — Abl. abs. [brackets]. Multiple in this passage; full rule arrives in Hour 26.
• Rule #9 — Noun-case ★ — 3rd-decl. only. Carried.

New this hour: the Battle Task's second toggle isolates 4th-conj. and 3rd-iō verb forms — the Wheelock-Ch.10 grammar focus.

Battle Task — Identify all verbs, and the 4th-conj. + 3rd-iō verb forms

Hour 10 Passage on the Massacre of the Usipetes and Tencteri

1. Caesar, postquam vīdit illōs perfidiā morās nectere, ac sua cōpia iam advēnisse cognōvit,
2. etsi quae imperāret nōn audiēbantur, tamen statim profectus est.
3. Itaque, [equitātū praemissō], ipse cum legiōnibus signa contulit.
4. [Repentīnō adventū attonitī et perturbātī hostēs], partim arma capere, partim ex castrīs sē prōripere coepērunt.
5. Quōrum perculsō exercitū et in fugam coniectō, nostrī equitēs cōnsecūtī sunt, et magnam multitūdinem eōrum interfēcērunt.
6. Reliquī, [āmissā omnī spē resistendī], ad cōnfluentem Mosae et Rhēnī pervēnērunt;
7. reliquā fugā dēspērātā, magnō numerō suōrum interfectō, reliquī sē in flūmen praecipitāvērunt,
8. atque ibi timōre, lassitūdine, vī flūminis oppressī periērunt.
9. Nostrī, ad eum diem nūllō prōrsus vulnere acceptō, victōriae compōtēs discēssērunt.
10. Caesar eīs quōs in castrīs retinuerat discēdendī potestātem fēcit.
11. Illī, suppliciōrum cruciātūs verītī, quōs ā Gallīs ob suam in eum crūdēlitātem tīmerent, sē apud eum remanēre velle dīxērunt.
12. Hīs Caesar lībertātem concessit.

Answer Key — 4th-conj. and 3rd-iō verb forms (10 forms)

Answer Key — Finite Verbs (the rest, 24 forms)

S. 1: vīdit, cognōvit (perf. ind.); nectere (pres. infin., 3rd-conj.) S. 2: imperāret (impf. subj.); profectus est (perf. dep. ind.) S. 3: praemissō (perf. pass. part., abl. abs.); contulit (perf. ind., irreg.) S. 4: attonitī, perturbātī (perf. pass. parts., abl. abs.); coepērunt (perf. ind., defective) S. 5: perculsō (perf. pass. part., abl. abs.); cōnsecūtī sunt (perf. dep. ind.) S. 6: resistendī (gerund, gen.); āmissā (perf. pass. part., abl. abs.) S. 7: dēspērātā (perf. pass. part., abl. abs.); praecipitāvērunt (perf. ind., 1st conj. refl.) S. 8: oppressī (perf. pass. part., w/ periērunt); periērunt (perf. ind., pereō irreg.) S. 9: discēssērunt (perf. ind., 3rd-conj.) S. 10: retinuerat (pluperf. ind., 2nd-conj.) S. 11: verītī (perf. dep. part.); tīmerent (impf. subj., 2nd-conj.); remanēre, velle (pres. infinitives, 2nd-conj. and irreg.); dīxērunt (perf. ind., 3rd-conj.) S. 12: concessit (perf. ind., 3rd-conj.)

Questions on the Narrative

1. What two events caused Caesar to "set out at once" (s. 2)?
2. What is the literal sense of signa cōnferre (s. 3)? What does it mean idiomatically?
3. What does the abl. abs. [in fugam coniectō] (s. 5) tell us about the German army's state?
4. Where physically is the action of ss. 6–8 set? What two rivers meet there?
5. Sentence 9 reports Roman casualties — what number? What does the intensifier prōrsus contribute?
6. In s. 10, what does discēdendī potestātem facere mean? Who is the dative eīs?
7. Why do the German chiefs (s. 11) decline the freedom Caesar offers in s. 12? Or do they accept and decline different things?

Further Questions — Translation

Translate sentences 5, 7, 9 into idiomatic English. Pay attention to: - The ablative absolute chain in s. 5 — how do you render two abl. abs. in succession without sounding clunky? - The cluster of nominal datives in s. 7 — timōre, lassitūdine, vī flūminis — three causes of the same verb oppressī. - The intensifier prōrsus in s. 9 — does English allow you to be this emphatic?

Screening

Proposed clip: For this hour, the instructor may choose to screen a documentary discussion rather than a dramatization, because the moral weight of DBG 4.14–15 deserves direct engagement. BBC I, Caesar (1997) episode 1 — covers the Usipetes/Tencteri controversy with Mary Beard and Adrian Goldsworthy commentary. As a dramatized counterpoint: HBO's Rome Season 1, Episode 3 ("An Owl in a Thornbush"). Subject to instructor confirmation.

Discussion

1. Caesar's narrative arc here depends on one premise: that the German cavalry's skirmish during the truce broke the truce, retroactively justifying the next morning's surprise attack on a delegation that came to apologize. Is this an honest reading of perfidia?

2. The Roman senator Cato the Younger demanded in 55 BC that Caesar be handed over to the Germans as expiation for what happened in DBG 4.14–15 (Plutarch, Caesar 22; Suetonius, Iulius 24.3). Cato's argument was that Caesar's perfidia in arresting the German chiefs voided their inviolable status as ambassadors. Was Cato right?

3. Sentence 11 has Caesar's prisoners — the German chiefs he had arrested — choosing to remain with him rather than face Gallic revenge. Caesar reports this without comment. Is the silence rhetorically effective?

4. The casualty figure Caesar gives elsewhere for this massacre — 430,000 — is widely regarded by modern historians as inflated. Yet the passage we read shows zero Roman casualties. What is the rhetorical economy of a war narrative that inflates enemy losses and elides own losses?

Intermission

Break before Hour 11 (the Rhine Bridge — Wheelock Ch. 11, Personal Pronouns ego, tū, is; Caesar's spectacular engineering response to the German question).

Sources

• Latin text: PerseusDL canonical-latinLit (Holmes, Oxford 1914), phi0448.phi001.perseus-lat2.xml.
• English translation: McDevitte & Bohn (1869), lightly adapted to track chunks.
• Grammar: Wheelock 6th edn. revised (LaFleur 2005), Ch. 10.
• Course design: 0 Caesar's Latin Course Structure and Task 1-2 .docx (Hour 10 entry on the course schedule).
• Discussion context: Plutarch Caesar 22; Suetonius Iulius 24.3; Adrian Goldsworthy, Caesar: Life of a Colossus (2006), Ch. 11; Kurt A. Raaflaub, "Caesar the Liberator? Factional Politics, Civil War, and Ideology" (2003).