De Bello Civili 3.63

BC 3.63.1Erat eō locō fossā pedum xv et vallum contrā hostem in altitūdinem pedum x, tantundemque eius vallī agger in lātitūdinem patēbat.

At that place there was a ditch fifteen feet wide and a rampart ten feet high facing the enemy, and the earthwork of this rampart extended as far again in width.

Note. pedum xv: genitive of measure, 'of fifteen feet'. tantundem … in lātitūdinem patēbat: the rampart's base was as wide as it was high.

BC 3.63.1ab eō intermissō spatiō pedum dc alter conversus in contrāriam partem erat vallus humiliōre paulō mūnītiōne.

Six hundred feet away from it there was a second rampart facing the opposite way, with a somewhat lower fortification.

Note. alter … vallus: Caesar uses vallus (masculine) here for a second rampart facing the other way, towards the sea. humiliōre paulō mūnītiōne: ablative of description.

BC 3.63.2hoc enim superiōribus diēbus timēns Caesar, ne nāvibus nostrī circumvenīrentur, duplicem eō locō fēcerat vallum, ut sī ancipitī proeliō dīmicārētur, posset resistī.

For in the preceding days Caesar, fearing that our men might be surrounded by ships, had built a double rampart at that place, so that if there were fighting on two fronts, resistance could be made.

Note. nē … circumvenīrentur: fear clause, 'that they might be surrounded'. ancipitī proeliō: 'in a two-sided battle', fought front and rear. posset resistī: impersonal passive, 'resistance could be made'.

BC 3.63.3sed operum magnitūdō et continēns omnium diērum labor, quod mīlia passuum in circuitū xvii mūnītiōne erat conplexus, perficiendī spatium nōn dabat.

But the size of the works and the continuous toil of every day, because he had enclosed seventeen miles in circuit with fortifications, did not give time to finish them.

Note. quod … erat complexus: Caesar's lines ran seventeen Roman miles. perficiendī: gerund in the genitive with spatium, 'time for finishing'.

BC 3.63.4itaque contrā mare trānsversum vallum, quī hās duās mūnītiōnēs contingeret, nōndum perfēcerat.

So he had not yet completed the cross-rampart facing the sea, which was to join these two lines.

Note. trānsversum vallum: the cross-wall that would have joined the two lines at the sea. quī … contingeret: relative clause of purpose, 'which was to join'.

BC 3.63.5quae rēs nōta erat Pompēiō, dēlāta per Allobrogēs perfugās, magnumque nostrīs attulerat incommodum.

This fact was known to Pompey, reported by the Allobrogian deserters, and had caused our men great harm.

Note. quae rēs: connecting relative, 'this fact'. per Allobrogēs perfugās: the two deserting brothers and their followers.

BC 3.63.6nam ut ad mare nostrae cohortēs nōnae legiōnis excubuerant, accessēre subitō prīmā lūce Pompēiānī;

For when our cohorts of the ninth legion had kept watch by the sea, the Pompeians suddenly arrived at first light;

Note. ut … excubuerant: ut with the indicative means 'when'. accessēre = accessērunt.

BC 3.63.6simul nāvibus circumvectī mīlitēs in exteriōrem vallum tēla iaciēbant, fossaeque aggere complēbantur, et legiōnāriī interiōris mūnītiōnis dēfēnsōrēs scālīs admōtīs tormentīs cuiusque generis tēlīsque terrēbant, magnaque multitūdō sagittāriōrum ab utrāque parte circumfundēbātur.

at the same time soldiers who had sailed round in ships were throwing missiles at the outer rampart, the ditches were being filled with earth, and the legionaries were terrifying the defenders of the inner fortification by placing ladders against it and with artillery and missiles of every kind, while a great host of archers poured round on both sides.

Note. simul: the attack came from three directions at once: from the sea, against the outer wall, and against the inner wall.

BC 3.63.7multum autem ab ictū lapidum, quod ūnum nostrīs erat tēlum, vīminea tegimenta galeīs inposita dēfendēbant.

But the wicker coverings placed on their helmets gave much protection from the blows of stones, which were our men's only weapon.

Note. multum … dēfendēbant: 'protected (them) much'. quod ūnum nostrīs erat tēlum: Caesar's men at the wall had nothing to throw but stones.

BC 3.63.8itaque cum omnibus rēbus nostrī premerentur atque aegrē resisterent, animadversum est vitium mūnītiōnis, quod suprā dēmōnstrātum est, atque inter duōs vallōs, quā perfectum opus nōn erat, per mare nāvibus expositī in āversōs nostrōs impetum fēcērunt atque ex utrāque mūnītiōne dēiectōs terga vertere coēgērunt.

So when our men were hard pressed in every way and were resisting with difficulty, the weak point in the fortifications, mentioned above, was noticed, and men landed from ships between the two ramparts, where the work was unfinished, attacked our men from behind, drove them off both lines and forced them to turn and run.

Note. vitium mūnītiōnis: the unfinished gap at the sea. in āversōs nostrōs: 'against our men from behind'. dēiectōs … coēgērunt: 'drove them down and forced them'.