You have now read the passage through carefully, and thought out the vocabulary to the best of your ability. Begin then to translate the opening sentence, and pay great attention to these
[7.] General Rules.—(1) Underline the Principal Verb, Subject (if expressed), and Object (if any).
(2) If the sentence contains only one finite verb, all you have to do is to group round Subject, or Verb, or Object the words and phrases that belong to each of the three.
(3) Translate the sentence literally. Do this mentally, without writing it down.
(4) Then write down the best translation you can.
For example:—
At GERMANI celeriter, consuetudine sua phalange facta, IMPETUS gladiorum EXCEPERUNT.
But the Germans quickly formed into a phalanx, as was their custom, and received the attacks of the swords (i.e. of the Romans with drawn swords).
(5) If the sentence contains one or more subordinate clauses, consider each subordinate clause as if it were bracketed off separately, and then deal with each clause as if it were a principal sentence, finding out its Subject, Verb, Object, and adding to each its enlargements. Then return to the sentence as a whole, and group round its Subject, Predicate, and Object the various subordinate clauses which belong to each.
[8.] Help through Analysis.—Very often analysis will help you to find out the proper relation of the subordinate clauses to the three parts of the Principal Sentence. You need not always analyse on paper, but do it always in your mind. You will find an example of a simple method of analysis at the close of Demonstrations I and IV, pp. 23, 47.