Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [15]: a cavalry skirmish

Language focus: passive

Posterō diē hostēs castra ex eō locō movent. Caesar dē consiliīs hostium cognoscere voluit. Itaque equitātus, quī coactus erat ex omnī prōvinciā et Aeduīs atque eōrum sociīs, praemittitur. Equitēs Rōmānī cum equitātū Helvētiōrum proelium committunt; et paucī dē nostrīs interficiuntur. Caesar, quī impetum contrā hostēs omnibus cum cōpiīs eō tempore facere nōlēbat, suōs ā proeliō continēbat.

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On the following day the enemy move their camp from that place. Caesar wished to learn about the plans of the enemy. Therefore the cavalry, which had been gathered from the whole province and from the Aedui and their allies, is sent ahead. The Roman horsemen engage in battle with the cavalry of the Helvetii; and a few of our men are killed. Caesar, who did not wish at that time to make an attack against the enemy with all his forces, kept his men back from the battle.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [10]: Attempt to Cross the Rhône

 Language focus: passive and deponent forms

Anteā L. Cassius cōnsul necātus est atque exercitus Rōmānus ab Helvētiīs repulsus sub iugum est missus. Caesar eīs rēbus mōtus Helvētiōs iter per prōvinciam nostram facere prohibuit. Inde hostēs, eā spē dēiectī, trānsgredī cōnābantur; profectī igitur omnibus cum cōpiīs ad flūmen Rhodanum convēnērunt; ibi nāvēs ab Helvētiīs iunctae sunt ratēsque multae sunt factae. Sed hostēs, suās cōpiās trādūcere cōnātī, mūnītiōne et tēlīs mīlitum sunt repulsī. Itaque ūna per Sēquanōs via relinquēbātur.

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Earlier, the consul Lucius Cassius was killed, and the Roman army, having been driven back by the Helvetii, was sent under the yoke. Caesar, moved by these events, forbade the Helvetii to make a route through our province. Then the enemy, having been cast down from that hope, were attempting to cross; having set out, therefore, they came with all their forces to the river Rhone; there ships were joined together by the Helvetii, and many rafts were made. But the enemy, having attempted to lead their forces across, were driven back by the fortification and the weapons of the soldiers. And so one route through the Sequani was left.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [9]: a Great Wall

Language focus: passive and deponent forms

Inde Caesar, postquam pauca lēgātīs respondīt, suōs mīlitēs hortātus, mūnītiōnem magnam aedificāre cōnstituit. Eā legiōne, quam sēcum habēbat, atque mīlitibus, quī ex prōvinciā convēnerant, ā lacū Lemannō ad montem Iūram, quō fīnēs Sēquanōrum ab Helvētiīs dīviduntur, mūrum et fossam perdūcit. Ā Caesare, ubi id opus perfectum est, praesidia distribuuntur atque turrēs mūniuntur. Itaque hostēs, hāc mūnītiōne impedītī, suās cōpiās facile transportāre nōn poterant.

The text shifts from past tense to present tense forms; this is a common feature of classical narrative, in which the present tense — known as the historical present — is used to describe past events in order to give the narrative greater vividness and immediacy.

The translation below reflects the tenses actually used, though it would also be possible to translate the entire passage using past tenses.

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Then Caesar, after he said a few words to the envoys, and having encouraged his soldiers, decided to construct a great fortification. With that legion which he had with him, and with the soldiers who had assembled from the province, from Lake Geneva to Mount Jura, by which the borders of the Sequani are divided from the Helvetii, he extends a wall and a ditch. When that work was completed, garrisons are distributed by Caesar, and towers are fortified. And so the enemy, hindered by this fortification, were not able easily to transport their forces.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [8]: Opposition by Caesar

 Language focus: passive and deponent forms

Itaque Caesar hīs rēbus mōtus ab urbe in Galliam ulteriōrem profectus est atque ad Genāvam pervēnit; numerus magnus mīlitum convocātur atque pons, quī erat ad Genāvam, dēlētur. Helvētiī enim iter per prōvinciam nostram facere cupiēbant, quod nullum aliud iter habēbant. Sed dē Caesaris adventū certiōrēs factī lēgātōs ad eum mittunt: cuius lēgātiōnis Nammeius et Verucloetius erant prīncipēs. Nec tamen respōnsum lēgātīs ā Caesare statim est datum. Mīlitēs enim, quī ē prōvinciā arcessītī erant, nōndum convēnerant.

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And so Caesar, having been moved by these matters, set out from the city into Further Gaul and arrived at Geneva; a great number of soldiers is summoned, and the bridge, which was at Geneva, is destroyed. For the Helvetii were wishing to make a route through our province, because they had no other route. But, having been informed about Caesar’s arrival, they send envoys to him, and Nammeius and Verucloetius were the leaders of . And yet a reply was not given at once by Caesar to the envoys. For the soldiers, who had been summoned from the province, had not yet assembled.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [7]: the Route taken by the Helvetii

 Language focus: passive and deponent forms

Inde eae gentēs, eōdem consiliō ūsāe, omnia oppida et aedificia incendērunt atque cum Helvētiīs proficīscī cōnstituērunt. Erant duo itinera: ūnum per Sēquanōs, angustum et difficile, inter montem Iūram et flūmen Rhodanum; propter altitūdinem montis paucī multōs facile prohibēre poterant; alterum per prōvinciam nostram, multō facilius, quod inter fīnēs Helvētiōrum et Allobrogum, quī superātī erant, Rhodanus fluit, atque cōpiae nōnullīs locīs trādūcī possunt. Genāva est extrēmum oppidum Allobrogum et proximum fīnibus Helvētiōrum.

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Then those peoples, having used the same plan, burned all their towns and buildings and decided to set out with the Helvetii. There were two routes: one through the Sequani, narrow and difficult, between Mount Jura and the river Rhône; because of the height of the mountain, a few men could easily prevent many; the other through our province, much easier, because between the territory of the Helvetii and that of the Allobroges, who had been defeated, the Rhône flows, and forces can be led across at several places. Geneva is the furthest town of the Allobroges and nearest to the borders of the Helvetii.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [6]: the Death of Orgetorix

Language focus: passive

Propter eās rēs Orgetorīx ab Helvētiīs est accūsātus atque ipse, ut Helvētiī putant, sibi mortem cōnscīvit. Sed Helvētiī post eius mortem cōpiās omnēs ē fīnibus suīs dūcere cōnstituērunt. Inde oppida omnia, aedificia incensa sunt atque omne frūmentum, praeterquam quod sēcum portābant. Postea Rauricī et Tulingī et Latovicī et Boiī, quī trāns Rhēnum incoluerant, impetum contrā Gallōs facere cōnstituērunt.

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For these reasons Orgetorix was accused by the Helvetii and he himself, as the Helvetii think, took his own life. But after his death the Helvetii decided to lead all their forces out of their territory. Then all the towns and buildings were set on fire, and all the grain, except what they were carrying with them. Afterwards the Raurici and the Tulingi and the Latovici and the Boii, who had lived across the Rhine, decided to make an attack against the Gauls.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [5]: the Emigration of the Helvetii (ii)

 Language focus: passive

Hīs rēbus Helvētiī adductī sunt et auctōritāte Orgetorīgīs movēbantur; cōnstituērunt igitur omnēs equitēs et peditēs colligere, magnam cōpiam frūmentī comparāre, pācem et amīcitiam cum proximīs cīvitātibus cōnfirmāre. Inde ad eās cīvitātēs Orgetorīx lēgātus est missus. In eō itinere persuādet Casticō, cuius pater ā senātū populī Rōmānī amīcus appellātus erat; atque Dumnorigī, frātrī Divitiacī, quī eō tempore tenēbat principātum in cīvitāte, persuādet.

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The Helvetii were prompted by these events and were influenced by the authority of Orgetorix; they therefore decided to gather all the cavalry and infantry, to collect a large supply of grain, and to secure peace and friendship with the neighbouring states. From there Orgetorix was sent as an envoy to those states. On that journey he persuades Casticus, whose father had been called a friend by the senate of the Roman people, and also Dumnorix, the brother of Divitiacus, who at that time held power in the state.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [4]: the Emigration of the Helvetii (i)

Language focus: passive

Ūnā ex parte Helvētiī continentur flūmine Rhēnō, lātō atque altō, quī agrum Helvētiōrum ā Germānīs dīvidit; alterā ex parte monte Iūrā, quī est inter Sēquanōs et Helvētiōs; tertiā ex parte lacū Lemannō et flūmine Rhodanō, quī prōvinciam nostram ab Helvētiīs dīvidit. Itaque Helvētiī bellum contrā fīnitimōs gerere nōn poterant; hominēs igitur magnō dolōre erant plēnī atque impetūs in Gallōs facere cupiēbant.

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On one side the Helvetii are hemmed in by the river Rhine, wide and deep, which separates the land of the Helvetii from the Germans; on another side by Mount Jura, which lies between the Sequani and the Helvetii; on the third side by Lake Geneva and the river Rhône, which separates our province from the Helvetii. And so the Helvetii were not able to wage war against their neighbours; therefore the people were full of great resentment and were eager to make attacks upon the Gauls.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [3]: Orgetorix

Language focus: passive

Anteā exercitus Rōmānus ab Helvētiīs erat superātus atque propter hanc causam Rōmānī ab Helvētiīs nōn timēbantur. Apud Helvētiōs longē nōbilissimus erat Orgetorīx. Is rēgnī studiō adductus est atque coniūrātiōnem fēcit. Orgetorīx Helvētiōs cum omnibus cōpiīs dē fīnibus suīs in Galliam dūcere cupiēbat atque omnēs gentēs superāre. Suīs facile persuāsit, quod Helvētiī nātūrā locī undique continentur.

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Previously the Roman army had been defeated by the Helvetii, and for this reason the Romans were not feared by the Helvetii. Among the Helvetii, Orgetorix was by far the noblest. He, having been driven on by desire for kingship, formed a conspiracy. Orgetorix wished to lead the Helvetii with all their forces out of their own territory into Gaul and to overpower all the tribes. He easily persuaded his people that the Helvetii are hemmed in on all sides by the nature of their location.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [2]: Description of Gaul (ii)

Language focus: passive

Quā dē causā Helvētiī quoque sunt fortiōrēs reliquīs Gallīs, quod proeliīs cum Germānīs saepe contendunt; aut eōs suīs fīnibus prohibent aut ipsī in eōrum fīnibus bellum gerunt. Ūna pars, quae ā Gallīs tenētur, initium capit ā flūmine Rhodanō; continētur Garumnā flūmine, Ōceanō, fīnibus Belgārum. Inferior pars flūminis Rhēnī ā Belgīs incolitur. Aquītānia continētur Garumnā flūmine et Pyrēnaeīs montibus atque Ōceanō.

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For this reason the Helvetii also are braver than the rest of the Gauls, because they often fight in battles with the Germans; either they keep them out of their own territory or they themselves wage war in the Germans’ territory. One part, which is held by the Gauls, takes its beginning from the river Rhône; it is bounded by the river Garonne, the Ocean, and the territory of the Belgae. The lower part of the river Rhine is inhabited by the Belgae. Aquitania is bounded by the river Garonne and the Pyrenaean mountains and the Ocean.

Level 3 (review); a Second Latin Reader (Vincent) [1]: Description of Gaul (i)

Language focus: passive

Gallia omnis est dīvīsa in partēs trēs, quārum ūna incolitur ā Belgīs, alia ab Aquītānīs, tertia ab eīs quī ā nōbīs Gallī appellantur. Gallī ab Aquītānīs Garumnā flūmine, ā Belgīs Matronā et Sēquanā dīviduntur. Hōrum omnium fortissimī sunt Belgae, quod proximī sunt Germānīs, quī trāns Rhēnum incolunt, quibuscum bellum semper geritur.

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All Gaul has been divided (or: is divided*) into three parts, one of which is inhabited by the Belgae, another by the Aquitani, and the third by those who are called Gauls by us. The Gauls are separated from the Aquitani by the river Garonne, and from the Belgae by the Marne and the Seine. Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are nearest to the Germans, who live across the Rhine, and with whom war is continually waged.

*more appropriate in this context