Chapter 5.33

Tum dēmum Titūrius, quī nihil ante prōvīdisset, trepidāre et concursāre cohortēsque dispōnere, haec tamen ipsa timidē atque ut eum omnia dēficere vidērentur; quod plērumque eīs accidere cōnsuēvit quī in ipsō negōtiō cōnsilium capere cōguntur. At Cotta, quī cōgitāsset haec posse in itinere accidere atque ob eam causam profectiōnis auctor nōn fuisset, nūllā in rē commūnī salūtī deerat et in appellandīs cohortandīsque mīlitibus imperātōris et in pūgnā mīlitis officia praestābat. Cum propter longitūdinem āgminis minus facile omnia per sē obīre et quid quōque locō faciendum esset providēre possent, iussērunt prōnūntiāre ut impedīmenta relinquerent atque in orbem cōnsisterent. Quod cōnsilium etsī in ēiusmodī cāsū reprehendendum nōn est, tamen incommodē accidit: nam et nostrīs mīlitibus spem minuit et hostēs ad pūgnam alācriōrēs effēcit, quod nōn sine summō timōre et dēspērātiōne id factum vidēbātur. Praetereā accidit, quod fierī necesse erat, ut vulgō mīlitēs ab sīgnīs discēderent, quaeque quisque eōrum cārissima habēret ab impedīmentīs petere atque arripere properāret, clāmōre et flētū omnia complērentur. 

Ambiorix's forces attack the column in a defile.

qui...providisset: relative causal clause: 'because he had anticipated' (Gaisser)(A&G 540.c).

trepidare...concursare...disponere: historical infinitives. Translate as simple past tense: 'he bustled about,' 'he ran in every direction,' 'he lined up.' Historical infinitives are very common in an excited or fast-paced narrative (Gaisser) (A&G 463).

haec tamen ipsa: Supply something like faciebat: 'but he (was doing) these very things' (Gaisser).

ut…viderentur: freely, 'so that it was plain he had lost all presence of mind' (Hodges) (A&G 537).

quod: The antecedent is the general confusion described in the previous sentence: 'And this' (Gaisser).

in ipso negotio: 'in the midst of action'. (Hodges)

qui cogitasset: relative causal clause. cogitasset = cogitavisset (Gaisser).

et...et: 'both...and'; qualifies imperatoris and militis: 'of both a commander and a soldier' (Gaisser) (A&G 323.e).

imperatoris: depends upon officia. (Hodges)

quid ... faciendum esset: indirect question: 'what was to be done' (Gaisser) (A&G 574).

possent: the subject is Cotta and Titurius. (Allen & Greenough)

omnia per se obire: 'attend personally to everything'. (Hodges)

Quod consilium: connecting relative: '[but] this plan' (Gaisser) (A&G 308.f).

accidit…ut: etc., this clause is divided into three parts with the verbs discederent, properaret, complerentur, the first two being connected by –que (quaeque) (Allen & Greenough) (A&G 569).

quod fieri necesse erat: i.e., '[a thing] which was inevitable' (Gaisser).

quaeque: 'and [the things] which' (Gaisser).

dēmum adv: at last, at length, not till then

prō-vĭdĕo, -ēre, -vīdi, -vīsum: to make provision for, procure, secure; attend to

trĕpĭdo, -āre: to be in a flutter

concurso, -āre: to run to and fro

dispōno, -ĕre, -pŏsŭi, -pŏsĭtum: place at intervals

tǐmǐdus, -a, -um: fearful, afraid, cowardly, timid

consǔesco, -ěre, -suēvi, -suētum: to become accustomed

něgōtǐum, ii n.: a business, employment, occupation, affair

prŏfectĭo, -ōnis f.: setting out, departure

cŏhortor, -āri: cheer on, urge, call on

longǐtūdo, ǐnis f.: length

ŏbĕo, -īre, -ĭi, -ĭtum: discharge, attend to

prōvǐděo, -vidēre, -vīdi, -vīsum: to see forwards, to discern, descry

prōnuntĭo, -āre: state publicly, declare; give out orders

impědīmentum, i n.: a hinderence, impediment

etsi: though, although, albeit

ēiusmǒdi: of this kind, such

rĕprĕhendo, -ĕre, -ndi, -nsum: to blame

incommŏdē adv.: disadvantageously

mĭnŭo, -ĕre, -ŭi, ūtum: lessen; decrease

ălăcer, -cris, -cre: eager, brisk, cheerful

dēspērātĭo, -ōnis f.: hopelessness, despair

vulgus, -i n.: the people; vulgo commonly

arrĭpĭo, -ĕre, -rĭpŭi, -reptum: take up hurriedly

flētus, -ūs m.: weeping, wailing

complĕo, -ēre, -ēvi, -ētum: fill

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Christopher Francese, Caesar: Selections from the Gallic War. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2011, revised and enlarged 2018. ISBN: 978-1-947822-02-3. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/caesar/book-5/chapter-5-33