Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 3
De Bello Gallico 3.21
The Sotiates surrender
Caesar, De Bello Gallico III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō3.21.1Pugnātum est diū atque ācriter, cum Sotiātēs superiōribus victōriīs frētī in suā virtūte tōtīus Aquītāniae salūtem positam putārent, nostrī autem quid sine imperātōre et sine reliquīs legiōnibus adulēscentulō duce efficere possent perspicī cuperent;
The fighting was long and fierce, since the Sotiates, relying on earlier victories, thought that the safety of all Aquitania rested on their courage, while our men were eager to show what they could do without their commander-in-chief and the other legions, with a very young man as leader;
Note. superiōribus victōriīs frētī: frētus takes the ablative, 'relying on'. adulēscentulō duce: an ablative absolute without a participle, 'with a very young man as leader'.
3.21.1tandem cōnfectī vulneribus hostēs terga vertērunt.
at last the enemy, worn out by wounds, turned and fled.
3.21.2Quōrum magnō numerō interfectō Crassus ex itinere oppidum Sotiātium oppugnāre coepit.
After killing a great number of them, Crassus began straight from the march to attack the town of the Sotiates.
3.21.2Quibus fortiter resistentibus vīneās turrēsque ēgit.
When they resisted bravely, he brought up mantlets and towers.
3.21.3Illī aliās ēruptiōne temptātā, aliās cunīculīs ad aggerem vīneāsque āctīs (cuius reī sunt longē perītissimī Aquītānī, proptereā quod multīs locīs apud eōs aerāriae sectūraeque sunt), ubi dīligentiā nostrōrum nihil hīs rēbus prōficī posse intellēxērunt, lēgātōs ad Crassum mittunt sēque in dēditiōnem ut recipiat petunt.
They tried now a sally, now tunnels driven toward the siege ramp and mantlets (the Aquitani are by far the most skilled at this, because in many places among them there are copper mines and quarries); when they realised that because of our men's care nothing could be achieved by these means, they send envoys to Crassus and ask him to accept their surrender.
Note. aliās … aliās: 'at one time … at another'. cuius reī: 'in which thing', genitive with perītissimī.
3.21.3Quā rē impetrātā arma trādere iussī faciunt.
When this was granted, they were ordered to hand over their weapons and do so.
Vocabulary
| pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | fight |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| diū, adv. | for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ācriter, adv. | sharply, fiercely |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| victōria, -ae, f. | victory |
| frētus, -a, -um (+ abl.) | relying on |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| virtūs, -tūtis, f. | manliness, courage, bravery |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| salūs, salūtis, f. | safety, deliverance, escape |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | think |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| imperātor, -ōris, m. | commander, general |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| adulēscentulus, -ī m. | a very young man |
| dux, ducis, m. and f. | leader, commander |
| efficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or work out, accomplish, effect |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| perspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum | see clearly, observe |
| cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus | desire, long for, wish |
| tandem, adv. | at length or last, finally |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| vulnus, vulneris, n. | wound |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| tergum, -ī, n. | back |
| vertō, vertere, vertī, versus | turn |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| oppugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | attack, besiege |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| fortiter, adv. | bravely |
| resistō, -sistere, -stitī | stand back, resist |
| vīnea, -ae f. | shed (a movable shelter for besiegers) |
| turris, -is f. | tower; siege tower |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| aliās (adv.) | at another time (aliās … aliās: sometimes … sometimes) |
| ēruptiō, -ōnis f. | sally, sortie |
| temptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| cunīculus, -ī m. | underground tunnel, mine |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| agger, aggeris m. | mound, siege ramp |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| longē, adv. | far |
| perītus, -a, -um (+ gen.) | skilled, experienced (in) |
| proptereā | for this reason; proptereā quod: because |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| aerāria, -ae f. | copper mine |
| sectūra, -ae f. | mine, quarry (usu. pl.) |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| dīligentia, -ae, f. | care, diligence, industry |
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| prōficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectum | accomplish, make progress |
| intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus | perceive, understand |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| dēditiō, -ōnis f. | surrender |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| impetrō, -petrāre, -petrāvī, -petrātus | gain one's end, obtain (a request) |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |