← Latin for Soldiers, Sailors and Military Strategists
◊ᴺᵉˣᵃˡ ◊ᴸᵃᵗⁱⁿᵘᵐ ◊ᴸᵃᵗⁱⁿ ◊ᴸᵉˢˢᵒⁿ⁵⁴ ◊ⁿᵒˢᵗᵉʳ
Welcome to Lesson 54 of Latin for Soldiers, Sailors and Military Strategists. Today’s word is the possessive adjective noster, nostra, nostrum, “our.” The Dickinson Core Vocabulary ranks it 51st among all Latin words. Lesson 51 taught the pronoun nōs, “we”; noster is the adjective built on it. In a war narrative it may be the most important adjective of all, because it marks which side is which. The first thing a reader of Caesar has to track is who nostrī are and who hostēs are.
What does noster mean in Latin?
Noster means “our” or “ours.” It is an adjective of the first and second declensions, and like any adjective it agrees with the noun it describes in gender, number and case: imperātor noster (our general), aciēs nostra (our battle line), castra nostra (our camp). Grammatically it describes the thing owned; its meaning points to the people who own it, “us.”
What does nostrī mean in Caesar?
Used on its own as a masculine plural, nostrī means “our men,” in other words the Roman troops. Caesar uses it constantly: Ita nostrī ācriter in hostēs … impetum fēcērunt, “So our men made a fierce attack on the enemy” (Dē Bellō Gallicō 1.52). Caesar tells his own story in the third person (“Caesar did this, Caesar ordered that”), yet the army is always nostrī, “ours.” The narrator stands among the ranks even when he writes about himself as if from outside.
How does Latin differ from English here?
English “our” never changes its form. Latin noster has a separate ending for every gender, number and case, and the ending always follows the noun it describes, never the people who own it. “Our ship” is nāvis nostra, feminine because nāvis is feminine. “Our ships” is nāvēs nostrae. “From our camp” is ex castrīs nostrīs. Latin also leaves noster out when the owner is obvious: mīlitēs gladiōs strīnxērunt means “the soldiers drew their swords,” with no possessive needed. When noster is written, it usually carries weight: this is ours, and not theirs.
Two look-alikes you must not confuse
The pronoun nōs (Lesson 51) has two genitive forms, nostrum and nostrī, and both look exactly like forms of noster. Ūnus nostrum means “one of us” (partitive genitive of nōs). Memor nostrī means “mindful of us” (objective genitive of nōs). Neither of these means “our.” Section D shows how to tell them apart.
Etymology: noster is formed from the stem of nōs with the suffix *-tero-, the suffix that sets one party against another (compare vester “your,” from vōs, and dexter, alter, uter). Noster therefore carries the idea of “our side as opposed to theirs” in its very formation. It lives on in Italian nostro, Spanish nuestro, French notre and nôtre, and in the prayer title Pater Noster, “Our Father.” Mare nostrum, “our sea,” is the Roman name for the Mediterranean.
Key Takeaways
✦ Noster, nostra, nostrum means “our”; it agrees with the thing owned in gender, number and case
✦ Like pulcher, it drops the e outside the masculine nominative singular: noster, but nostrī, nostra, nostrum
✦ Nostrī (masculine plural, standing alone) means “our men,” “our side,” Caesar’s standard term for the Roman troops
✦ Do not confuse the adjective with the genitives of nōs: ūnus nostrum (“one of us”), memor nostrī (“mindful of us”)
✦ Mare nostrum, “our sea,” is the Roman name for the Mediterranean
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noster /ˈnos.ter/: two syllables with the stress on the first, NOS-ter. The o is SHORT, like the o of British “lot,” even though nōs (“we”) has a long ō. The dictionaries (Lewis and Short, the OLD) mark it nŏster.
nostra /ˈnos.tra/, nostrum /ˈnos.trum/, nostrī /ˈnos.triː/, nostrō /ˈnos.troː/, nostrae /ˈnos.trae̯/, nostram /ˈnos.tram/, nostrā /ˈnos.traː/, nostrōs /ˈnos.troːs/, nostrās /ˈnos.traːs/, nostrīs /ˈnos.triːs/: in all two-syllable forms the stress falls on NOS-.
nostrōrum /nosˈtroː.rum/, nostrārum /nosˈtraː.rum/: three syllables. The long vowel of the second syllable draws the stress: nos-TRŌ-rum, nos-TRĀ-rum.
The s is always hissed, as in “sister,” never buzzed as in “rose.” The r is lightly trilled.
Listen for the endings: nostra (short final a) is nominative feminine singular or neuter plural; nostrā (long final ā) is ablative feminine singular. Only the vowel length distinguishes them in speech.
This course gives the restored classical pronunciation: c is always /k/, v is /w/, ae is /ae̯/ as in “eye.”
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54.1a Nostrī our-men vīcērunt conquered
54.1b Nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL vīcērunt /wiːˈkeː.runt/ conquer.3PL.PERF
54.2a Castra the-camp nostra our tūta safe sunt is
54.2b Castra /ˈkas.tra/ camp.NOM.N.PL nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.NOM.N.PL tūta /ˈtuː.ta/ safe.NOM.N.PL sunt /sunt/ be.3PL.PRES
54.3a Nāvis ship nostra our appropinquat is-approaching
54.3b Nāvis /ˈnaː.wis/ ship.NOM.F.SG nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.NOM.F.SG appropinquat /ap.proˈpin.kʷat/ approach.3SG.PRES
54.4a Imperātor general noster our adest is-here
54.4b Imperātor /im.peˈraː.tor/ general.NOM.M.SG noster /ˈnos.ter/ our.NOM.M.SG adest /ˈa.dest/ be-present.3SG.PRES
54.5a Signa standards nostra our sequimur we-follow
54.5b Signa /ˈsiɡ.na/ standard.ACC.N.PL nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.ACC.N.PL sequimur /ˈse.kʷi.mur/ follow.1PL.PRES.DEP
54.6a Hostēs the-enemy nostrōs our-men nāvibus from-the-ships ēgredī to-get-out prohibēbant were-preventing
54.6b Hostēs /ˈhos.teːs/ enemy.NOM.M.PL nostrōs /ˈnos.troːs/ our.ACC.M.PL nāvibus /ˈnaː.wi.bus/ ship.ABL.F.PL ēgredī /ˈeː.ɡre.diː/ go-out.PRES.INF.DEP prohibēbant /pro.hiˈbeː.bant/ prevent.3PL.IMPERF
54.7a Equitēs horsemen nostrī our reliquōs the-rest omnēs all interfēcērunt killed
54.7b Equitēs /ˈe.kʷi.teːs/ horseman.NOM.M.PL nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL reliquōs /reˈli.kʷoːs/ remaining.ACC.M.PL omnēs /ˈom.neːs/ all.ACC.M.PL interfēcērunt /in.ter.feːˈkeː.runt/ kill.3PL.PERF
54.8a Nostrī our-men ācriter fiercely in against hostēs the-enemy impetum an-attack fēcērunt made
54.8b Nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL ācriter /ˈaː.kri.ter/ fiercely.ADV in /in/ against.PREP+ACC hostēs /ˈhos.teːs/ enemy.ACC.M.PL impetum /ˈim.pe.tum/ attack.ACC.M.SG fēcērunt /feːˈkeː.runt/ make.3PL.PERF
54.9a Hostēs the-enemy multitūdine by-the-mass suōrum of-their-own-men nostram our aciem battle-line premēbant were-pressing
54.9b Hostēs /ˈhos.teːs/ enemy.NOM.M.PL multitūdine /mul.tiˈtuː.di.ne/ multitude.ABL.F.SG suōrum /suˈoː.rum/ own.GEN.M.PL nostram /ˈnos.tram/ our.ACC.F.SG aciem /ˈa.ki.em/ battle-line.ACC.F.SG premēbant /preˈmeː.bant/ press.3PL.IMPERF
54.10a Crassus Crassus tertiam the-third aciem line labōrantibus struggling nostrīs to-our-men subsidiō as-a-help mīsit sent
54.10b Crassus /ˈkras.sus/ Crassus.NOM.M.SG tertiam /ˈter.ti.am/ third.ACC.F.SG aciem /ˈa.ki.em/ battle-line.ACC.F.SG labōrantibus /la.boːˈran.ti.bus/ struggle.PRES.PART.DAT.M.PL nostrīs /ˈnos.triːs/ our.DAT.M.PL subsidiō /subˈsi.di.oː/ help.DAT.N.SG mīsit /ˈmiː.sit/ send.3SG.PERF
54.11a Nostrī our-men tamen however quod because neque neither ōrdinēs the-ranks servāre to-keep neque nor signa the-standards subsequī to-follow poterant they-were-able magnopere greatly perturbābantur were-thrown-into-confusion
54.11b Nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL tamen /ˈta.men/ however.ADV quod /kʷod/ because.CONJ neque /ˈne.kʷe/ neither.CONJ ōrdinēs /ˈoːr.di.neːs/ rank.ACC.M.PL servāre /serˈwaː.re/ keep.PRES.INF neque /ˈne.kʷe/ nor.CONJ signa /ˈsiɡ.na/ standard.ACC.N.PL subsequī /ˈsub.se.kʷiː/ follow.PRES.INF.DEP poterant /ˈpo.te.rant/ be-able.3PL.IMPERF magnopere /maɡˈno.pe.re/ greatly.ADV perturbābantur /per.tur.baːˈban.tur/ disturb.3PL.IMPERF.PASS
54.12a Caesar Caesar nāvēs the-ships paulō a-little humiliōrēs lower facit makes quam than quibus those-which in in nostrō our marī sea ūtī to-use cōnsuēvimus we-are-accustomed
54.12b Caesar /ˈkae̯.sar/ Caesar.NOM.M.SG nāvēs /ˈnaː.weːs/ ship.ACC.F.PL paulō /ˈpau̯.loː/ little.ABL.N.SG humiliōrēs /hu.mi.liˈoː.reːs/ low.COMP.ACC.F.PL facit /ˈfa.kit/ make.3SG.PRES quam /kʷam/ than.CONJ quibus /ˈkʷi.bus/ which.ABL.F.PL in /in/ in.PREP+ABL nostrō /ˈnos.troː/ our.ABL.N.SG marī /ˈma.riː/ sea.ABL.N.SG ūtī /ˈuː.tiː/ use.PRES.INF.DEP cōnsuēvimus /koːnˈsweː.wi.mus/ be-accustomed.1PL.PERF
54.13a Ea it fīnīs boundaries habet has ab on-the-side-of occidente the-west fretum the-strait nostrī of-our maris sea et and Ōceanī of-the-Ocean
54.13b Ea /ˈe.a/ she.NOM.F.SG fīnīs /ˈfiː.niːs/ boundary.ACC.M.PL habet /ˈha.bet/ have.3SG.PRES ab /ab/ from.PREP+ABL occidente /ok.kiˈden.te/ west.ABL.M.SG fretum /ˈfre.tum/ strait.ACC.N.SG nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.GEN.N.SG maris /ˈma.ris/ sea.GEN.N.SG et /et/ and.CONJ Ōceanī /oːˈke.a.niː/ Ocean.GEN.M.SG
54.14a Ūnus one nostrum of-us castra the-camp nostra our dēfendet will-defend
54.14b Ūnus /ˈuː.nus/ one.NOM.M.SG nostrum /ˈnos.trum/ we.GEN.PL.PARTITIVE castra /ˈkas.tra/ camp.ACC.N.PL nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.ACC.N.PL dēfendet /deːˈfen.det/ defend.3SG.FUT
54.15a Memor mindful nostrī of-us mīles soldier patriam country nostram our fortiter bravely dēfende defend
54.15b Memor /ˈme.mor/ mindful.NOM.M.SG nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ we.GEN.PL.OBJECTIVE mīles /ˈmiː.les/ soldier.VOC.M.SG patriam /ˈpa.tri.am/ fatherland.ACC.F.SG nostram /ˈnos.tram/ our.ACC.F.SG fortiter /ˈfor.ti.ter/ bravely.ADV dēfende /deːˈfen.de/ defend.2SG.IMP
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54.1 Nostrī vīcērunt. → “Our men have won.”
54.2 Castra nostra tūta sunt. → “Our camp is safe.”
54.3 Nāvis nostra appropinquat. → “Our ship is approaching.”
54.4 Imperātor noster adest. → “Our general is here.”
54.5 Signa nostra sequimur. → “We follow our standards.”
54.6 Hostēs nostrōs nāvibus ēgredī prohibēbant. → “The enemy were trying to stop our men getting out of the ships.” (adapted from Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 4.24)
54.7 Equitēs nostrī reliquōs omnēs interfēcērunt. → “Our cavalry killed all the rest.” (adapted from Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 1.53)
54.8 Nostrī ācriter in hostēs impetum fēcērunt. → “Our men made a fierce attack on the enemy.” (adapted from Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 1.52)
54.9 Hostēs multitūdine suōrum nostram aciem premēbant. → “The enemy were pressing our line with the sheer mass of their own men.” (adapted from Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 1.52)
54.10 Crassus tertiam aciem labōrantibus nostrīs subsidiō mīsit. → “Crassus sent the third line to help our men, who were in difficulty.” (adapted from Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 1.52)
54.11 Nostrī tamen, quod neque ōrdinēs servāre neque signa subsequī poterant, magnopere perturbābantur. → “Our men, however, were thrown into great confusion, because they could neither keep their ranks nor follow their standards.” (Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 4.26, abridged)
54.12 Caesar nāvēs paulō humiliōrēs facit quam quibus in nostrō marī ūtī cōnsuēvimus. → “Caesar builds the ships a little lower than the ones we usually use in our sea.” (adapted from Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 5.1)
54.13 Ea fīnīs habet ab occidente fretum nostrī maris et Ōceanī. → “On the west, Africa is bounded by the strait between our sea and the Ocean.” (Sallust, Bellum Iugurthīnum 17)
54.14 Ūnus nostrum castra nostra dēfendet. → “One of us will defend our camp.”
54.15 Memor nostrī, mīles, patriam nostram fortiter dēfende. → “Remember us, soldier, and defend our country bravely.”
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54.1 Nostrī vīcērunt.
54.2 Castra nostra tūta sunt.
54.3 Nāvis nostra appropinquat.
54.4 Imperātor noster adest.
54.5 Signa nostra sequimur.
54.6 Hostēs nostrōs nāvibus ēgredī prohibēbant.
54.7 Equitēs nostrī reliquōs omnēs interfēcērunt.
54.8 Nostrī ācriter in hostēs impetum fēcērunt.
54.9 Hostēs multitūdine suōrum nostram aciem premēbant.
54.10 Crassus tertiam aciem labōrantibus nostrīs subsidiō mīsit.
54.11 Nostrī tamen, quod neque ōrdinēs servāre neque signa subsequī poterant, magnopere perturbābantur.
54.12 Caesar nāvēs paulō humiliōrēs facit quam quibus in nostrō marī ūtī cōnsuēvimus.
54.13 Ea fīnīs habet ab occidente fretum nostrī maris et Ōceanī.
54.14 Ūnus nostrum castra nostra dēfendet.
54.15 Memor nostrī, mīles, patriam nostram fortiter dēfende.
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These are the grammar rules for noster, nostra, nostrum in Latin:
1. Declension
Noster declines like pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum. The masculine nominative singular ends in -er; every other form drops the e and adds the regular first- and second-declension endings to the stem nostr-.
Masculine singular: noster (nominative), nostrī (genitive), nostrō (dative), nostrum (accusative), nostrō (ablative), noster (vocative)
Feminine singular: nostra (nominative), nostrae (genitive), nostrae (dative), nostram (accusative), nostrā (ablative)
Neuter singular: nostrum (nominative), nostrī (genitive), nostrō (dative), nostrum (accusative), nostrō (ablative)
Masculine plural: nostrī (nominative), nostrōrum (genitive), nostrīs (dative), nostrōs (accusative), nostrīs (ablative)
Feminine plural: nostrae (nominative), nostrārum (genitive), nostrīs (dative), nostrās (accusative), nostrīs (ablative)
Neuter plural: nostra (nominative), nostrōrum (genitive), nostrīs (dative), nostra (accusative), nostrīs (ablative)
2. Agreement: the ending follows the thing owned
Noster takes its gender, number and case from its noun, not from “us.” Nāvis nostra (54.3) is feminine singular because nāvis is. Castra nostra (54.2, 54.14) is neuter plural because castra, “camp,” is a neuter plural noun with a singular meaning. So the Latin plural is right even though the English says “our camp is,” not “are.” Nostram aciem (54.9) is accusative feminine singular, the object of premēbant. In nostrō marī (54.12) is ablative neuter singular after in. Nostrī maris (54.13) is genitive neuter singular.
3. Substantive use: nostrī = “our men”
Without a noun, the masculine plural means “our men, our troops, our side”: nostrī vīcērunt (54.1), nostrōs … prohibēbant (54.6), labōrantibus nostrīs (54.10), nostrī tamen … perturbābantur (54.11). The noun mīlitēs is understood. The same use appears in every case: nostrōrum animī, “the spirits of our men” (54.23). Its opposite in Caesar is usually hostēs, or suī when the enemy commander’s own men are meant (multitūdine suōrum, 54.9).
4. The genitives of nōs are NOT forms of noster
The personal pronoun nōs (Lesson 51) has two genitives, and each looks like a form of noster.
Nostrum is the partitive genitive, “of us” in the sense of “out of our number”: ūnus nostrum, “one of us” (54.14); quis nostrum?, “which of us?”
Nostrī is the objective genitive, used where “us” is the object of the feeling or action in the governing word: memor nostrī, “mindful of us” (54.15). Horace uses the same phrase: et memor nostrī, Galatea, vīvās, “and may you live mindful of us, Galatea” (Odes 3.27.14).
Test: if the word agrees with a noun beside it (castra nostra, nostrī maris), it is the adjective “our.” If it depends on a numeral, a pronoun or an adjective such as memor, and there is no noun for it to agree with, it is the pronoun “of us.” In 54.14 both appear together: ūnus nostrum (pronoun) and castra nostra (adjective).
5. When Latin leaves noster out
Latin does not add a possessive where the owner is obvious. Signa sequimur already means “we follow our standards”; nostra in 54.5 adds emphasis (“our standards, not theirs”). Look at 54.11: Caesar writes signa subsequī, not signa nostra, because the men can only follow their own standards. In 54.9 the enemy’s own men are suōrum, the reflexive (Lesson 27 taught suus), because they belong to the subject of the sentence.
6. Word order
Noster usually follows its noun (imperātor noster, aciēs nostra), which is the neutral order. Placed before the noun it becomes emphatic: nostram aciem premēbant (54.9) puts the stress on “our” line, the one under threat.
Common Mistakes
Adding -us to the stem. There is no form *nostrus. The masculine nominative is noster.
Keeping the e. There is no form nosteram or nosterī. The e appears only in noster itself (and in the vocative, which is identical).
Making noster agree with “we.” Nāvis nostra, not *nāvis nostrī. The ending follows the ship.
Reading nostrum as “our” in ūnus nostrum. It is the genitive plural of nōs, “of us.”
Reading nostrī as “our men” after memor, oblīvīscor, amor and similar words. In memor nostrī it means “of us.”
Using noster where the reflexive suus is required. Noster is only for “our.” “The soldiers defended their camp” is mīlitēs castra sua dēfendērunt, not castra nostra, unless the speaker is one of those soldiers.
Long o. Say NOS-ter with a short o, not “NOHS-ter.”
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Nostrī: the word that tells you whose side you are on
Caesar’s Commentāriī are written in the third person. The general is always “Caesar,” never “I.” The army, however, is always nostrī. A Roman reader who met nostrī was placed in the Roman line, and so is a modern reader. The pattern is regular enough to use in unseen translation: in Caesar, nostrī (standing alone) is the Roman army, hostēs are the enemy, and suī is used for whichever side the subject of the sentence belongs to. Caesar’s account of the landing in Britain in 55 BC (Dē Bellō Gallicō 4.24–26) uses almost every case of the word: the Britons, following up with the rest of their forces, nostrōs nāvibus ēgredī prohibēbant, “were preventing our men from getting out of the ships”; nostrīs mīlitibus cunctantibus, “while our soldiers hesitated,” the eagle-bearer of the Tenth Legion jumps into the sea; and nostrī tamen … magnopere perturbābantur, “our men, however, were badly thrown into confusion” (54.11).
A slip into the first person
In Dē Bellō Gallicō 5.1 Caesar describes the transport ships he had built for the second British expedition. They were made lower than those quibus in nostrō marī ūtī cōnsuēvimus, “which we are accustomed to use in our sea” (54.12). For once the verb is first person plural. Caesar, who never says “I,” here writes as one Roman seaman among many.
Mare nostrum: the sea as possession
Roman writers call the Mediterranean mare nostrum, “our sea,” or mare internum, “the inner sea.” Sallust places Africa between fretum nostrī maris et Ōceanī (54.13), the Strait of Gibraltar, where “our sea” meets the Ocean. The phrase describes a strategic reality as well as a place. After Pompey cleared the pirates in 67 BC, and still more after Actium in 31 BC, Rome controlled every coast of that sea. Navies, grain fleets and legions could move across it without challenge, as if it were an inland lake. The name also sets up a contrast with the Ōceanus outside: a sea that was not “ours,” whose great tides caught the Roman fleet unprepared. Caesar says so himself: nostrīsque id erat incognitum, “and this was unknown to our men” (Dē Bellō Gallicō 4.29), on the night the full-moon spring tide wrecked his ships off Britain.
For sailors
Nāvis nostra, “our ship,” is the fundamental unit of naval loyalty. In the dialogue below the helmsman says nāvis nostra mea cūra est, “our ship is my responsibility” (54.25). In the Roman fleet, as in the legion, the unit of belonging was small and concrete: our ship, our century, our eagle.
Noster in the Christian and modern world
The Lord’s Prayer begins Pater noster, and the first two words became the name of the prayer (and of the rosary bead on which it is said). The Romance languages kept the word: an Italian or Spanish officer still speaks of le nostre truppe or nuestras tropas, “our troops.”
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Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 1.52 (58 BC). The battle against Ariovistus and the Germans in Alsace. Caesar has put a senior officer in command of each legion and opened the battle from his own right wing, where he had noticed that the enemy line was weakest. Text from the Latin Library; the macrons are editorial.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Ita so nostrī our-men ācriter fiercely in against hostēs the-enemy signō the-signal datō having-been-given impetum an-attack fēcērunt made
F.1b Ita /ˈi.ta/ so.ADV nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL ācriter /ˈaː.kri.ter/ fiercely.ADV in /in/ against.PREP+ACC hostēs /ˈhos.teːs/ enemy.ACC.M.PL signō /ˈsiɡ.noː/ signal.ABL.N.SG datō /ˈda.toː/ give.PERF.PART.PASS.ABL.N.SG impetum /ˈim.pe.tum/ attack.ACC.M.SG fēcērunt /feːˈkeː.runt/ make.3PL.PERF
F.2a itaque and-so hostēs the-enemy repente suddenly celeriterque and-swiftly prōcurrērunt ran-forward ut that spatium room pīla javelins in at hostēs the-enemy coiciendī for-throwing nōn not darētur was-given
F.2b itaque /ˈi.ta.kʷe/ and-so.ADV hostēs /ˈhos.teːs/ enemy.NOM.M.PL repente /reˈpen.te/ suddenly.ADV celeriterque /ke.le.riˈter.kʷe/ swiftly.ADV-and prōcurrērunt /proː.kurˈreː.runt/ run-forward.3PL.PERF ut /ut/ that.CONJ spatium /ˈspa.ti.um/ room.NOM.N.SG pīla /ˈpiː.la/ javelin.ACC.N.PL in /in/ at.PREP+ACC hostēs /ˈhos.teːs/ enemy.ACC.M.PL coiciendī /koj.ji.kiˈen.diː/ throw.GERUND.GEN nōn /noːn/ not.ADV darētur /daˈreː.tur/ give.3SG.IMPERF.SUBJ.PASS
F.3a Relictīs having-been-abandoned pīlīs the-javelins comminus hand-to-hand gladiīs with-swords pugnātum fought est it-was
F.3b Relictīs /reˈlik.tiːs/ abandon.PERF.PART.PASS.ABL.N.PL pīlīs /ˈpiː.liːs/ javelin.ABL.N.PL comminus /ˈkom.mi.nus/ hand-to-hand.ADV gladiīs /ˈɡla.di.iːs/ sword.ABL.M.PL pugnātum /puɡˈnaː.tum/ fight.PERF.PART.PASS.NOM.N.SG est /est/ be.3SG.PRES
F.4a At but Germānī the-Germans celeriter quickly ex according-to cōnsuētūdine custom suā their-own phalange a-phalanx factā having-been-made impetūs the-attacks gladiōrum of-the-swords excēpērunt received
F.4b At /at/ but.CONJ Germānī /ɡerˈmaː.niː/ German.NOM.M.PL celeriter /keˈle.ri.ter/ quickly.ADV ex /eks/ from.PREP+ABL cōnsuētūdine /koːn.sweːˈtuː.di.ne/ custom.ABL.F.SG suā /ˈsu.aː/ own.ABL.F.SG phalange /pʰaˈlan.ɡe/ phalanx.ABL.F.SG factā /ˈfak.taː/ make.PERF.PART.PASS.ABL.F.SG impetūs /ˈim.pe.tuːs/ attack.ACC.M.PL gladiōrum /ɡla.diˈoː.rum/ sword.GEN.M.PL excēpērunt /eks.keːˈpeː.runt/ receive.3PL.PERF
F.5a Repertī found sunt were complūrēs several nostrī of-our-men quī who in onto phalanga the-phalanx īnsilīrent leapt et and scūta the-shields manibus with-their-hands revellerent tore-away et and dēsuper from-above vulnerārent wounded
F.5b Repertī /reˈper.tiː/ find.PERF.PART.PASS.NOM.M.PL sunt /sunt/ be.3PL.PRES complūrēs /komˈpluː.reːs/ several.NOM.M.PL nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL quī /kʷiː/ who.NOM.M.PL in /in/ onto.PREP+ACC phalanga /pʰaˈlan.ɡa/ phalanx.ACC.F.SG.GREEK īnsilīrent /iːn.siˈliː.rent/ leap-onto.3PL.IMPERF.SUBJ et /et/ and.CONJ scūta /ˈskuː.ta/ shield.ACC.N.PL manibus /ˈma.ni.bus/ hand.ABL.F.PL revellerent /reˈwel.le.rent/ tear-away.3PL.IMPERF.SUBJ et /et/ and.CONJ dēsuper /ˈdeː.su.per/ from-above.ADV vulnerārent /wul.neˈraː.rent/ wound.3PL.IMPERF.SUBJ
F-B: Natural Text with Translation
Ita nostrī ācriter in hostēs signō datō impetum fēcērunt itaque hostēs repente celeriterque prōcurrērunt, ut spatium pīla in hostēs coiciendī nōn darētur. Relictīs pīlīs comminus gladiīs pugnātum est. At Germānī celeriter ex cōnsuētūdine suā phalange factā impetūs gladiōrum excēpērunt. Repertī sunt complūrēs nostrī quī in phalanga īnsilīrent et scūta manibus revellerent et dēsuper vulnerārent.
“So when the signal was given our men made a fierce attack on the enemy, and the enemy ran forward so suddenly and so fast that there was no room to throw javelins at them. The javelins were dropped and the fighting was hand to hand, with swords. But the Germans quickly formed a phalanx, as was their custom, and took the sword attacks on it. Several of our men were found who leapt onto the phalanx, tore the shields out of the enemy’s hands, and struck at them from above.”
— Caesar, Dē Bellō Gallicō 1.52
F-C: Latin Text Only
Ita nostrī ācriter in hostēs signō datō impetum fēcērunt itaque hostēs repente celeriterque prōcurrērunt, ut spatium pīla in hostēs coiciendī nōn darētur. Relictīs pīlīs comminus gladiīs pugnātum est. At Germānī celeriter ex cōnsuētūdine suā phalange factā impetūs gladiōrum excēpērunt. Repertī sunt complūrēs nostrī quī in phalanga īnsilīrent et scūta manibus revellerent et dēsuper vulnerārent.
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
Noster appears twice in the passage, both times as a substantive: nostrī, “our men.” In the first sentence it is the subject of the whole Roman attack. In the last it is modified by complūrēs, “several of our men,” and becomes the antecedent of a relative clause. The Romans are always nostrī; the enemy are hostēs and then Germānī. The ablative absolutes signō datō (“the signal having been given”), relictīs pīlīs (“the javelins having been dropped”) and phalange factā (“a phalanx having been formed”) move the narrative forward in the short, factual steps typical of Caesar. Pugnātum est is an impersonal passive (“it was fought”), Caesar’s usual way of describing combat without naming a subject. Coiciendī is a gerund in the genitive, depending on spatium: “room for throwing.” The final sentence is a relative clause of characteristic, so its verbs are subjunctive (quī … īnsilīrent, revellerent, vulnerārent), “men of the kind who would leap….” Phalanga is a Greek accusative singular (Greek φάλαγγα); other editions print a different form here, and the wording of this sentence varies slightly between editions. The scene is one of the most vivid in the Commentāriī: legionaries climbing on top of a roof of locked shields and tearing it apart with their bare hands. Caesar does not name these men. They are simply nostrī, and the whole army shares the credit.
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A pedagogical dialogue, composed for this lesson and not a quotation. A centurion and the helmsman of a transport ship talk as the Roman fleet approaches the British coast in 55 BC. The details come from Caesar’s account in Dē Bellō Gallicō 4.23–26: the ships too large to beach, the soldiers weighed down by their armour, the warships sent against the enemy flank, and the eagle-bearer of the Tenth Legion.
Part A: Interlinear Construed Text
54.16a CENTURIŌ: Gubernātor helmsman quandō when nāvis ship nostra our ad to lītus the-shore perveniet will-arrive
54.16b Gubernātor /ɡu.berˈnaː.tor/ helmsman.VOC.M.SG quandō /ˈkʷan.doː/ when.ADV nāvis /ˈnaː.wis/ ship.NOM.F.SG nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.NOM.F.SG ad /ad/ to.PREP+ACC lītus /ˈliː.tus/ shore.ACC.N.SG perveniet /perˈwe.ni.et/ arrive.3SG.FUT
54.17a GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvis ship nostra our prīmā at-first lūce light ad to lītus the-shore perveniet will-arrive
54.17b Nāvis /ˈnaː.wis/ ship.NOM.F.SG nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.NOM.F.SG prīmā /ˈpriː.maː/ first.ABL.F.SG lūce /ˈluː.ke/ light.ABL.F.SG ad /ad/ to.PREP+ACC lītus /ˈliː.tus/ shore.ACC.N.SG perveniet /perˈwe.ni.et/ arrive.3SG.FUT
54.18a CENTURIŌ: Hostēs the-enemy in on collibus the-hills stant are-standing et and nostrōs our-men exspectant are-waiting-for
54.18b Hostēs /ˈhos.teːs/ enemy.NOM.M.PL in /in/ on.PREP+ABL collibus /ˈkol.li.bus/ hill.ABL.M.PL stant /stant/ stand.3PL.PRES et /et/ and.CONJ nostrōs /ˈnos.troːs/ our.ACC.M.PL exspectant /eksˈpek.tant/ await.3PL.PRES
54.19a GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvēs ships nostrae our propter because-of magnitūdinem their-size nisi except in in altō deep-water cōnstituī to-be-stationed nōn not possunt are-able
54.19b Nāvēs /ˈnaː.weːs/ ship.NOM.F.PL nostrae /ˈnos.trae̯/ our.NOM.F.PL propter /ˈprop.ter/ because-of.PREP+ACC magnitūdinem /maɡ.niˈtuː.di.nem/ size.ACC.F.SG nisi /ˈni.si/ except.CONJ in /in/ in.PREP+ABL altō /ˈal.toː/ deep.ABL.N.SG cōnstituī /koːnˈsti.tu.iː/ station.PRES.INF.PASS nōn /noːn/ not.ADV possunt /ˈpos.sunt/ be-able.3PL.PRES
54.20a CENTURIŌ: Mīlitēs the-soldiers nostrī our gravī by-the-heavy armōrum of-arms onere load premuntur are-weighed-down
54.20b Mīlitēs /ˈmiː.li.teːs/ soldier.NOM.M.PL nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL gravī /ˈɡra.wiː/ heavy.ABL.N.SG armōrum /arˈmoː.rum/ arms.GEN.N.PL onere /ˈo.ne.re/ load.ABL.N.SG premuntur /preˈmun.tur/ press.3PL.PRES.PASS
54.21a GUBERNĀTOR: In in nostrō our marī sea aestūs the-tides parvī small sunt are hīc here magnī great sunt they-are
54.21b In /in/ in.PREP+ABL nostrō /ˈnos.troː/ our.ABL.N.SG marī /ˈma.riː/ sea.ABL.N.SG aestūs /ˈae̯s.tuːs/ tide.NOM.M.PL parvī /ˈpar.wiː/ small.NOM.M.PL sunt /sunt/ be.3PL.PRES hīc /hiːk/ here.ADV magnī /ˈmaɡ.niː/ great.NOM.M.PL sunt /sunt/ be.3PL.PRES
54.22a CENTURIŌ: Aquilifer eagle-bearer noster our prīmus first in into aquam the-water dēsiliet will-jump-down
54.22b Aquilifer /aˈkʷi.li.fer/ eagle-bearer.NOM.M.SG noster /ˈnos.ter/ our.NOM.M.SG prīmus /ˈpriː.mus/ first.NOM.M.SG in /in/ into.PREP+ACC aquam /ˈa.kʷam/ water.ACC.F.SG dēsiliet /deːˈsi.li.et/ jump-down.3SG.FUT
54.23a GUBERNĀTOR: Tum then nostrōrum of-our-men animī the-spirits cōnfirmābuntur will-be-strengthened
54.23b Tum /tum/ then.ADV nostrōrum /nosˈtroː.rum/ our.GEN.M.PL animī /ˈa.ni.miː/ spirit.NOM.M.PL cōnfirmābuntur /koːn.fir.maːˈbun.tur/ strengthen.3PL.FUT.PASS
54.24a CENTURIŌ: Ūnus one nostrum of-us in on nāve the-ship manēbit will-stay
54.24b Ūnus /ˈuː.nus/ one.NOM.M.SG nostrum /ˈnos.trum/ we.GEN.PL.PARTITIVE in /in/ on.PREP+ABL nāve /ˈnaː.we/ ship.ABL.F.SG manēbit /maˈneː.bit/ remain.3SG.FUT
54.25a GUBERNĀTOR: Ego I manēbō will-stay nāvis the-ship nostra our mea my cūra care est is
54.25b Ego /ˈe.ɡo/ I.NOM.SG manēbō /maˈneː.boː/ remain.1SG.FUT nāvis /ˈnaː.wis/ ship.NOM.F.SG nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.NOM.F.SG mea /ˈme.a/ my.NOM.F.SG cūra /ˈkuː.ra/ care.NOM.F.SG est /est/ be.3SG.PRES
54.26a CENTURIŌ: Tormenta the-artillery nostra our hostēs the-enemy ā from lītore the-shore submovēbunt will-drive-back
54.26b Tormenta /torˈmen.ta/ artillery.NOM.N.PL nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.NOM.N.PL hostēs /ˈhos.teːs/ enemy.ACC.M.PL ā /aː/ from.PREP+ABL lītore /ˈliː.to.re/ shore.ABL.N.SG submovēbunt /sub.moˈweː.bunt/ drive-back.3PL.FUT
54.27a GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvēs ships longae long nostrae our ad to latus the-flank apertum open hostium of-the-enemy mittentur will-be-sent
54.27b Nāvēs /ˈnaː.weːs/ ship.NOM.F.PL longae /ˈlon.ɡae̯/ long.NOM.F.PL nostrae /ˈnos.trae̯/ our.NOM.F.PL ad /ad/ to.PREP+ACC latus /ˈla.tus/ side.ACC.N.SG apertum /aˈper.tum/ open.ACC.N.SG hostium /ˈhos.ti.um/ enemy.GEN.M.PL mittentur /mitˈten.tur/ send.3PL.FUT.PASS
54.28a CENTURIŌ: Deī the-gods nostrī our nōbīs to-us adsint may-they-be-present
54.28b Deī /ˈde.iː/ god.NOM.M.PL nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL nōbīs /ˈnoː.biːs/ we.DAT.PL adsint /ˈad.sint/ be-present.3PL.PRES.SUBJ
54.29a GUBERNĀTOR: Vidē look nostrī our-men iam already in on lītore the-shore sunt are
54.29b Vidē /ˈwi.deː/ see.2SG.IMP nostrī /ˈnos.triː/ our.NOM.M.PL iam /jam/ already.ADV in /in/ on.PREP+ABL lītore /ˈliː.to.re/ shore.ABL.N.SG sunt /sunt/ be.3PL.PRES
54.30a CENTURIŌ: Valē farewell amīce friend haec this victōria victory nostra ours erit will-be
54.30b Valē /ˈwa.leː/ fare-well.2SG.IMP amīce /aˈmiː.ke/ friend.VOC.M.SG haec /hae̯k/ this.NOM.F.SG victōria /wikˈtoː.ri.a/ victory.NOM.F.SG nostra /ˈnos.tra/ our.NOM.F.SG erit /ˈe.rit/ be.3SG.FUT
Part B: Natural Sentences
54.16 CENTURIŌ: Gubernātor, quandō nāvis nostra ad lītus perveniet? → “Helmsman, when will our ship reach the shore?”
54.17 GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvis nostra prīmā lūce ad lītus perveniet. → “Our ship will reach the shore at first light.”
54.18 CENTURIŌ: Hostēs in collibus stant et nostrōs exspectant. → “The enemy are standing on the hills, waiting for our men.”
54.19 GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvēs nostrae propter magnitūdinem nisi in altō cōnstituī nōn possunt. → “Because of their size, our ships can only be anchored in deep water.”
54.20 CENTURIŌ: Mīlitēs nostrī gravī armōrum onere premuntur. → “Our soldiers are weighed down by the heavy load of their arms.”
54.21 GUBERNĀTOR: In nostrō marī aestūs parvī sunt; hīc magnī sunt. → “In our sea the tides are small; here they are great.”
54.22 CENTURIŌ: Aquilifer noster prīmus in aquam dēsiliet. → “Our eagle-bearer will be the first to jump down into the water.”
54.23 GUBERNĀTOR: Tum nostrōrum animī cōnfirmābuntur. → “Then our men will take heart.”
54.24 CENTURIŌ: Ūnus nostrum in nāve manēbit. → “One of us will stay on the ship.”
54.25 GUBERNĀTOR: Ego manēbō; nāvis nostra mea cūra est. → “I will stay; our ship is my responsibility.”
54.26 CENTURIŌ: Tormenta nostra hostēs ā lītore submovēbunt. → “Our artillery will drive the enemy back from the shore.”
54.27 GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvēs longae nostrae ad latus apertum hostium mittentur. → “Our warships will be sent against the enemy’s open flank.”
54.28 CENTURIŌ: Deī nostrī nōbīs adsint! → “May our gods stand by us!”
54.29 GUBERNĀTOR: Vidē: nostrī iam in lītore sunt! → “Look: our men are already on the shore!”
54.30 CENTURIŌ: Valē, amīce; haec victōria nostra erit. → “Farewell, friend; this victory will be ours.”
Part C: Latin Text Only
54.16 CENTURIŌ: Gubernātor, quandō nāvis nostra ad lītus perveniet?
54.17 GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvis nostra prīmā lūce ad lītus perveniet.
54.18 CENTURIŌ: Hostēs in collibus stant et nostrōs exspectant.
54.19 GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvēs nostrae propter magnitūdinem nisi in altō cōnstituī nōn possunt.
54.20 CENTURIŌ: Mīlitēs nostrī gravī armōrum onere premuntur.
54.21 GUBERNĀTOR: In nostrō marī aestūs parvī sunt; hīc magnī sunt.
54.22 CENTURIŌ: Aquilifer noster prīmus in aquam dēsiliet.
54.23 GUBERNĀTOR: Tum nostrōrum animī cōnfirmābuntur.
54.24 CENTURIŌ: Ūnus nostrum in nāve manēbit.
54.25 GUBERNĀTOR: Ego manēbō; nāvis nostra mea cūra est.
54.26 CENTURIŌ: Tormenta nostra hostēs ā lītore submovēbunt.
54.27 GUBERNĀTOR: Nāvēs longae nostrae ad latus apertum hostium mittentur.
54.28 CENTURIŌ: Deī nostrī nōbīs adsint!
54.29 GUBERNĀTOR: Vidē: nostrī iam in lītore sunt!
54.30 CENTURIŌ: Valē, amīce; haec victōria nostra erit.
Part D: Grammar Notes for Genre Section
The dialogue uses noster in every gender and in four cases. Feminine: nāvis nostra (54.16, 54.17, 54.25), nāvēs nostrae (54.19, 54.27), victōria nostra (54.30). Masculine: mīlitēs nostrī (54.20), aquilifer noster (54.22), deī nostrī (54.28). Neuter: in nostrō marī (54.21), tormenta nostra (54.26). The substantive “our men” appears three times: nostrōs (54.18, accusative), nostrōrum (54.23, genitive), nostrī (54.29, nominative).
Compare 54.24 and 54.25. Ūnus nostrum is the partitive genitive of nōs (“one of us”), while nāvis nostra is the adjective. In 54.30, haec victōria nostra erit, noster is used as a predicate: “this victory will be ours.” Mea (54.25) and nostra stand side by side: the ship belongs to everyone on board, but the helmsman alone is responsible for it.
Other grammar points: 54.19 nisi in altō cōnstituī, “to be stationed only in deep water,” follows Caesar’s own words (Dē Bellō Gallicō 4.24: nāvēs propter magnitūdinem nisi in altō cōnstituī nōn poterant), with altum used as a noun (“the deep”). 54.20 gravī armōrum onere is an ablative of means, with the genitive placed between the adjective and its noun, a very common Latin pattern. 54.21 aestūs is a fourth-declension nominative plural (aestus, -ūs, m.). 54.28 adsint is a present subjunctive expressing a wish. 54.24 nāve is the ablative of nāvis; Caesar also uses the form nāvī.
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Short o in noster. Every form of noster has a short o: NOS-ter, NOS-tra, nos-TRŌ-rum. Only the pronoun nōs and its forms nōbīs and nōs have a long ō. This is the most common pronunciation error in this lesson.
Macrons that change the meaning. Nostra (nominative feminine singular, or nominative and accusative neuter plural) and nostrā (ablative feminine singular) differ only in the length of the final a. In the same way, nostrī is genitive singular or nominative plural, while nostrīs is dative and ablative plural. Learn the macrons with the endings.
Stress with the enclitic -que. Adding -que moves the stress to the syllable just before it: celeriter is ke-LE-ri-ter, but celeriterque is ke-le-ri-TER-que (F.2).
Consonantal u. In cōnsuēvimus (54.12) and cōnsuētūdine (F.4), su before a vowel is pronounced /sw/, as in English “suave”: kōn-SWĒ-wi-mus, kōn-swē-TŪ-di-ne.
Coiciō. The verb coiciō (“to throw together, hurl”) is often printed as conicio. Its i between vowels was pronounced as a double consonant: coiciendī /koj.ji.kiˈen.diː/.
Greek ph. In phalanx, phalange, phalanga the ph is an aspirated p /pʰ/, as in English “pot” said with a strong breath. Latin speakers did not pronounce it as /f/.
Gn. Signa and magnī are written here /ˈsiɡ.na/ and /ˈmaɡ.niː/. Many scholars hold that Romans said [ŋn] (“sing-na”); either pronunciation is acceptable in this course.
Capitalisation. Proper names and nationalities are capitalised (Caesar, Crassus, Germānī, Ōceanus); common nouns such as imperātor and aquilifer are not. The speaker labels in the dialogue (CENTURIŌ, GUBERNĀTOR) are an editorial convention.
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