Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 2
De Bello Gallico 2.30
Mocking the siege tower
Caesar, De Bello Gallico II. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō2.30.1Ac prīmō adventū exercitūs nostrī crēbrās ex oppidō excursiōnēs faciēbant parvulīsque proeliīs cum nostrīs contendēbant;
At our army's first arrival they made frequent sallies from the town and fought small skirmishes with our men;
2.30.2posteā vallō pedum XII in circuitū XV mīlium crēbrīsque castellīs circummūnītī oppidō sēsē continēbant.
later, hemmed in by a rampart twelve feet high, fifteen miles round, with numerous forts, they kept inside the town.
2.30.3Ubi vīneīs āctīs aggere extrūctō turrim procul cōnstituī vīdērunt, prīmum inrīdēre ex mūrō atque increpitāre vōcibus, quod tanta māchinātiō ā tantō spatiō īnstituerētur: quibusnam manibus aut quibus vīribus praesertim hominēs tantulae statūrae (nam plērumque omnibus Gallīs prae magnitūdine corporum quōrum brevitās nostra contemptuī est) tantī oneris turrim in mūrō sēsē posse conlocāre cōnfīderent?
When they saw that the sheds had been moved up, the siege ramp built, and a tower being set up some way off, they first laughed from the wall and jeered, calling out: why was such a great machine being built so far away? With what hands, or with what strength, did men so small (for to all the Gauls, compared with the great size of their bodies, our shortness is an object of contempt) expect to set a tower of such weight against the wall?
Note. Indirect question in reported speech: quibusnam manibus …?, 'with what hands, pray …?' contemptuī est: dative of purpose, 'is an object of contempt'.
Vocabulary
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| adventus, -ūs, m. | approach, arrival |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| crēber, -bra, -brum | frequent, numerous; close together |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| excursiō, -ōnis f. | sally, raid |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| parvulus, -a, -um | very small, petty |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| posteā, adv. | after this, afterwards |
| vallum, -ī n. | rampart, palisade |
| pēs, pedis, m. | foot |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| circuitus, -ūs m. | way around, circuit |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| castellum, -ī n. | fort, redoubt |
| circummūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītum | wall around, enclose |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| contineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold together, keep within, shut up in; bound |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| vīnea, -ae f. | shed (a movable shelter for besiegers) |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| agger, aggeris m. | mound, siege ramp |
| exstruō, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus | pile or heap up, build, erect |
| turris, -is f. | tower; siege tower |
| procul, adv. | at or from a distance, far |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| prīmum, adv. | first, in the first place |
| irrīdeō (inrīdeō), -ēre, -rīsī, -rīsum | laugh at, mock |
| mūrus, -ī, m. | wall |
| increpitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | taunt, reproach |
| vōx, vōcis, f. | voice; word |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| māchinātiō, -ōnis f. | machine, device |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| spatium, -ī, n. | space, interval; space of time, time |
| īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | decide upon, determine |
| quisnam, quaenam, quidnam, interrog. pron. | who, which, or what, pray? who? which? what? |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| praesertim (adv.) | especially |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| tantulus, -a, -um | so small |
| statūra, -ae f. | height, size |
| nam, conj. | for |
| plērumque (adv.) | generally, mostly |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| prae (prep. + abl.) | in comparison with; because of |
| magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | greatness, size |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| brevitās, -ātis f. | shortness |
| contemptus, -ūs m. | contempt (contemptuī esse: be despised) |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| onus, oneris n. | load, weight |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum | place, station; give in marriage |
| cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum | trust, be confident |