agricolae, quī ā pueritiā arma ferre solitī erant, undique statim convenērunt; Germānīsque magnō cum dētrīmentō ex illā prōvinciā discēdere coāctīs, imperātōrem ipsum mox ācerrimē adortī sunt Americānī, quōrum in diēs[1] cōpiae maiōrēs fīēbant.
Quō proeliō victī hostēs, quī iam omnibus ex partibus[2] obsidēbantur, in Canadam redīre prīmō frūstrā cōnātī, postrēmō Americānīs[3] in dēditiōnem vēnērunt. Tum scīlicet colōnī omnēs ecfrēnātē gaudēbant, quod[4] perīculum maximum effūgisse vidēbantur[5]. Sed alibī hostēs ācriter gerēbant[6] bellum; cuius ēventus adhūc maximē dubius[7] erat.
Dum geruntur haec[8], dē quibus modo dixī, Britannī Philadelphiam oppugnāre parābant, quae urbs[9] tum erat caput reī publicae Americānae. Unde Vasingtō, cuius cōpiae numerō[10] erant multō[11] īnferiōrēs, hostēs nūllō modō arcēre poterat; quārē senātus ad aliud oppidum sē recēpit, ac Philadelphia nūllō[12] dēfendente[13] ā Britannīs capta est.
- ↑ in diēs: from day to day.
- ↑ omnibus ex partibus: on all sides.
- ↑ Americānīs: dat. case.
- ↑ quod: conjunction.
- ↑ vidēbantur: sc. sibi, i.e. they seemed to themselves; freely, they thought that they, etc.
- ↑ gerēbant: note the tense.
- ↑ maximē dubius: by the prefixing of maximē, an adj. (or adv.) is raised to the superlative degree.
- ↑ haec: neut. pl.
- ↑ quae urbs: the city which; lit. what?
- ↑ numerō: for syntax, cf. animō, p. 37, l. 20.
- ↑ multō: (by) much.
- ↑ nūllō: supplying the missing abl. of nēmō.
- ↑ dēfendente: sc. eam (i.e. Philadelphiam). For the pres. part. being active in meaning, may take an object even when used, as here, in the abl. absol. construction.
