De Bello Gallico 3.21

The Sotiates surrender

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3.21.1Pugnātum 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.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, indirect statement ×2, ablative absolute ×6

Latin vocabulary for this passage (87 words)

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

Caesar, De Bello Gallico III. Latin text: T. Rice Holmes (Oxford, 1914), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.