Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 2
De Bello Gallico 2.6
The attack on Bibrax
Caesar, De Bello Gallico II. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō2.6.1Ab hīs castrīs oppidum Rēmōrum nōmine Bibrax aberat mīlia passuum VIII. Id ex itinere magnō impetū Belgae oppugnāre coepērunt.
Eight miles from this camp was a town of the Remi named Bibrax. The Belgae began to attack it fiercely straight from the march.
2.6.1Aegrē eō diē sustentātum est.
That day it was held only with difficulty.
Note. sustentātum est: an impersonal passive, 'there was a holding out', that is, the town just held out.
2.6.2Gallōrum eadem atque Belgārum oppugnātiō est haec: ubi circumiectā multitūdine hominum tōtīs moenibus undique in mūrum lapidēs iacī coeptī sunt mūrusque dēfēnsōribus nūdātus est, testūdine factā portās succēdunt mūrumque subruunt.
The Gauls and the Belgae besiege a town in the same way, as follows: when a great number of men has been placed around the whole circuit of the walls and stones have begun to be thrown at the wall from every side, and the wall has been stripped of defenders, they form a tortoise, come up to the gates and undermine the wall.
Note. testūdine factā: the attackers held their shields over their heads and locked them together like a tortoise's shell.
2.6.2Quod tum facile fīēbat.
That was easily done then.
2.6.3Nam cum tanta multitūdō lapidēs ac tēla coicerent, in mūrō cōnsistendī potestās erat nūllī.
For when so great a number were throwing stones and weapons, no one could stand on the wall.
Note. in mūrō cōnsistendī potestās erat nūllī: 'no one had the chance to stand on the wall'; nūllī is a dative of possession.
2.6.4Cum fīnem oppugnandī nox fēcisset, Iccius Rēmus, summā nōbilitāte et grātiā inter suōs, quī tum oppidō praeerat, ūnus ex iīs quī lēgātī dē pāce ad Caesarem vēnerant, nūntium ad eum mittit, nisi subsidium sibi submittātur, sēsē diūtius sustinēre nōn posse.
When night put an end to the attack, Iccius, a Reman of the highest rank and influence among his people, who was then in command of the town and was one of those who had come to Caesar as envoys about peace, sends him a message: unless help is sent to him, he cannot hold out any longer.
Vocabulary
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| passus, -ūs, m. | pace (mīlia passuum: miles) |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| impetus, -ūs, m. | attack; impetum facere, to charge |
| oppugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | attack, besiege |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| aegrē, adv. | ill, with difficulty |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| sustentō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | hold out, endure |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| oppugnātiō, -ōnis f. | siege, assault on a town |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| circumiciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectum | throw around, place around |
| multitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | multitude |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| moenia, -ium, n. plur. | walls |
| undique, adv. | from or on all sides |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| mūrus, -ī, m. | wall |
| lapis, -idis, m. | stone |
| iaciō, iacere, iēcī, iactus | throw, cast, hurl |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| dēfēnsor, -ōris m. | defender |
| nūdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | strip, leave bare |
| testūdō, -inis f. | tortoise; 'tortoise' formation of locked shields |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| porta, -ae, f. | gate; door |
| succēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go or come under, follow after, succeed |
| subruō, -ere, -ruī, -rutum | undermine, dig under |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| facile, adv. | easily |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| nam, conj. | for |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| tēlum, -ī, n. | missile, spear, weapon |
| coiciō, -ere, coiēcī, coiectum | throw, hurl |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |
| potestās, -ātis f. | power, authority |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| nōbilitās, -tātis f. | the nobility |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| grātia, -ae, f. | favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite |
| inter, prep, with acc. | among, between |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| praesum, -esse, -fuī | be before, preside over, have charge of, command |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| pāx, pācis f. | peace |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| nūntius, -ī, m. | messenger; message |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| nisi, conj. | if not, unless |
| subsidium, -ī, n. | reserve, reinforcement, support, help |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| submittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | send (as help) |
| diū, adv. | for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp |
| sustineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold or bear up, sustain, withstand |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |