Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 3
De Bello Gallico 3.22
Adiatunnus and his sworn men
Caesar, De Bello Gallico III. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō3.22.1Atque in eam rem omnium nostrōrum intentīs animīs aliā ex parte oppidī Adiatunnus, quī summam imperiī tenēbat, cum DC dēvōtīs, quōs illī soldūriōs appellant, quōrum haec est condiciō, ut omnibus in vītā commodīs ūnā cum iīs fruantur quōrum sē amīcitiae dēdiderint, sī quid hīs per vim accidat, aut eundem cāsum ūnā ferant aut sibi mortem cōnscīscant;
And while all our men's attention was fixed on this, from another part of the town Adiatunnus, who held supreme command, with six hundred devoted followers whom they call soldurii — their rule is that they share all the comforts of life with those to whose friendship they have pledged themselves, and if anything violent happens to these, they either suffer the same fate with them or take their own lives;
Note. The sentence breaks off after the description of the soldurii (an anacoluthon); Caesar picks it up again with cum hīs Adiatunnus in the next sentence.
3.22.3neque adhūc hominum memoriā repertus est quisquam quī, eō interfectō cuius sē amīcitiae dēvōvisset, mortem recūsāret— cum hīs Adiatunnus ēruptiōnem facere cōnātus clāmōre ab eā parte mūnītiōnis sublātō cum ad arma mīlitēs concurrissent vehementerque ibi pugnātum esset, repulsus in oppidum tamen utī eādem dēditiōnis condiciōne ūterētur ā Crassō impetrāvit.
and within human memory no one has yet been found who, when the man to whose friendship he had sworn himself was killed, refused to die — with these Adiatunnus tried to make a sally; but a shout went up on that side of the fortifications, the soldiers ran to arms, and there was fierce fighting there; he was driven back into the town, yet he obtained from Crassus the same terms of surrender.
Vocabulary
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| intendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch out; stretch, draw, aim |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| summa, -ae f. | total, sum; supreme command |
| imperium, -ī, n. | command; sway, rule |
| teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus | hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| dēvōtus, -a, -um | devoted, sworn to someone's service |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| soldūriī, -ōrum m. pl. | sworn retainers (Gallic word) |
| appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus | call, name |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| condiciō, -ōnis f. | terms; condition, status |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| vīta, -ae, f. | life |
| commodum, -ī n. | advantage, interest |
| ūnā | together, along |
| fruor, -ī, frūctus sum (+ abl.) | enjoy |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| amīcitia, -ae f. | friendship, alliance |
| dēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give away or up |
| sī, conj. | if |
| quis, qua, quid, indef. pron. | any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| cāsus, -ūs, m. | fall; chance, accident |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| mors, mortīs, f. | death |
| cōnscīscō, -ere, -scīvī, -scītum | inflict (mortem sibi cōnscīscere: kill oneself) |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| adhūc, adv. | to this point, up to this time, yet, still |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| memoria, -ae, f. | memory |
| reperiō, reperīre, repperī, repertus | find, discover |
| quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron. | any one, anything |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| dēvoveō, -ēre, -vōvī, -vōtum | vow, devote |
| recūsō, -cūsāre, -cūsāvī, -cūsātus | give a reason against, refuse |
| ēruptiō, -ōnis f. | sally, sortie |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| cōnor, -ārī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| clāmor, -ōris, m. | shout, cry |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātus | lift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| concurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus | run, rush, or dash together |
| vehementer, adv. | violently, vehemently; earnestly; exceedingly, greatly |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| pugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | fight |
| repellō, repellere, reppulī, repulsus | drive back or away, repulse, repel |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| dēditiō, -ōnis f. | surrender |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |
| impetrō, -petrāre, -petrāvī, -petrātus | gain one's end, obtain (a request) |