De Bello Civili 2.15

BC 2.15.1Trebōnius ea quae sunt āmissa multō maiōre mīlitum studiō administrāre et reficere īnstituit.

Trebonius began to make good and rebuild what had been lost, with the soldiers much more eager than before.

Note. multō maiōre: 'much greater'; multō is an ablative of degree of difference.

BC 2.15.1nam ubi tantōs suōs labōrēs et apparātūs male cecidisse vīdērunt, indūtiīsque per scelus violātīs suam virtūtem inrīsuī fore perdoluērunt, quod, unde agger omnīnō conportārī posset, nihil erat reliquum, omnibus arboribus longē lātēque in fīnibus Massiliēnsium excīsīs et convectīs, aggerem novī generis atque inaudītum ex laterīciīs duōbus mūrīs sēnum pedum crassitūdine atque eōrum mūrōrum contignātiōne facere īnstituērunt aequā ferē altitūdine, atque ille congesticius ex māteriā fuerat agger.

For when they saw that their great labours and preparations had come to a bad end, and were bitterly resentful that, with the truce wickedly broken, their courage would be laughed at, then, because nothing at all was left from which a ramp could be brought together, since all the trees far and wide in the territory of the Massiliots had been cut down and carried in, they began to make a ramp of a new and unheard-of kind out of two brick walls, each six feet thick, and a flooring over these walls, of about the same height as the earlier ramp heaped up from timber had been.

Note. One of Caesar's longest sentences. The main verb is īnstituērunt; the clauses with ubi and quod explain why. male cecidisse: 'had turned out badly'. inrīsuī fore: double dative, 'would be a laughing-stock'. quod … nihil erat reliquum: 'because there was nothing left'. omnibus arboribus … excīsīs et convectīs: ablative absolute. sēnum pedum: 'of six feet each' (sēnī, distributive). The new ramp was a covered corridor between two brick walls, roofed with timber, so that it needed little wood and could not easily burn.

BC 2.15.2ubi aut spatium inter mūrōs aut imbēcillitās māteriae postulāre vidērētur, pilae interpōnuntur, trāversāria tigna iniciuntur, quae firmāmentō esse possint, et quidquid est contignātum, crātibus cōnsternitur, crātēs lutō integuntur.

Where the space between the walls or the weakness of the timber seemed to require it, pillars are put in between, crossbeams are laid on to act as supports, and whatever is floored over is covered with hurdles, and the hurdles are covered with clay.

Note. pīlae: 'pillars, piers', not the pīla 'ball'. quae firmāmentō esse possint: double dative, 'which could serve as a support'. crātibus: 'with hurdles', wickerwork panels.

BC 2.15.3sub tēctō mīles dextrā ac sinistrā mūrō tēctus, adversus pluteī obiectū, operī quaecumque sunt ūsuī, sine perīculō subportat.

Under this roof the soldier, protected by the wall on the right and the left and in front by the screen set in his way, carries up whatever is useful for the work without danger.

Note. dextrā ac sinistrā: understand parte, 'on the right and left'. adversus: here an adjective, 'facing (the enemy)', protected in front by the screen. quaecumque sunt ūsuī: 'whatever is of use'.

BC 2.15.4celeriter rēs administrātur;

The work is carried out quickly;

Note. administrātur: 'is carried out'.

BC 2.15.4diūturnī labōris dētrīmentum sollertiā et virtūte mīlitum brevī reconciliātur.

the loss from their long labour is soon made good by the soldiers' ingenuity and courage.

Note. brevī (tempore): 'shortly'.

BC 2.15.4portae, quibus locīs vidētur, ēruptiōnis causā in mūrō relinquuntur.

Gates are left in the wall in suitable places for making sallies.

Note. quibus locīs vidētur: 'in whatever places seems (good)'. ēruptiōnis causā: 'for the purpose of a sally'.