Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 5
De Bello Gallico 5.40
The defence
Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō5.40.1Mittuntur ad Caesarem cōnfestim ab Cicerōne litterae magnīs prōpositīs praemiīs, sī pertulissent: obsessīs omnibus viīs missī intercipiuntur.
A letter is at once sent to Caesar by Cicero, with great rewards offered if the bearers got it through: all the roads were watched, and those sent are intercepted.
Note. obsessīs omnibus viīs: ablative absolute; the Nervii watched all the roads, so the messengers were caught.
5.40.2Noctū ex māteriā, quam mūnītiōnis causā comportāverant, turrēs admodum CXX excitantur incrēdibilī celeritāte;
In the night, from the timber they had brought together for the fortifications, as many as a hundred and twenty towers are raised with incredible speed;
5.40.2quae dēesse operī vidēbantur, perficiuntur.
whatever seemed to be lacking in the works is completed.
5.40.3Hostēs posterō diē multō maiōribus coāctīs cōpiīs castra oppugnant, fossam complent.
The next day the enemy, with much larger forces gathered, attack the camp and fill in the ditch.
5.40.3Eādem ratiōne, quā prīdiē, ab nostrīs resistitur: hoc idem reliquīs deinceps fit diēbus.
Our men resist in the same way as the day before: the very same thing happens on the following days in turn.
Note. ab nostrīs resistitur: impersonal passive of resistō, 'resistance is made by our men'.
5.40.5Nūlla pars nocturnī temporis ad labōrem intermittitur;
No part of the night is left free from work;
5.40.5nōn aegrīs, nōn vulnerātīs facultās quiētis datur.
no rest is given to the sick or the wounded.
5.40.6Quaecumque ad proximī diēī oppugnātiōnem opus sunt noctū comparantur;
Whatever is needed for the next day's attack is got ready in the night;
5.40.6multae praeustae sudēs, magnus mūrālium pīlōrum numerus īnstituitur;
many stakes hardened in the fire and a great number of wall javelins are prepared;
5.40.6turrēs contabulantur, pinnae lōrīcaeque ex crātibus attexuntur.
the towers are given floors, and battlements and breastworks of wicker are woven on.
5.40.7Ipse Cicerō, cum tenuissimā valētūdine esset, nē nocturnum quidem sibi tempus ad quiētem relinquēbat, ut ultrō mīlitum concursū ac vōcibus sibi parcere cōgerētur.
Cicero himself, though he was in very poor health, did not leave himself even the night-time for rest, so that he was actually compelled by the soldiers crowding round and their shouts to spare himself.
Note. nē … quidem: 'not even', enclosing the emphasized word. cum … esset: concessive, 'although'.
Vocabulary
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| cōnfestim (adv.) | at once, immediately |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| litterae, -ārum f. pl. | letters (of the alphabet); a letter, dispatch |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| prōpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put or set before, offer, propose; set forth, say |
| praemium, -ī, n. | reward |
| sī, conj. | if |
| perferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear through, bear, endure; weather |
| obsideō, -sidēre, -sēdī, -sessus | beset, besiege |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| via, -ae, f. | road, way |
| intercipiō, -ere, -cēpī, -ceptum | intercept, catch |
| noctū, adv. | at or by night |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| māteria, -ae f. | timber, material |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| comportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus | carry or bring together, collect |
| turris, -is f. | tower; siege tower |
| admodum (adv.) | very, quite |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| excitō, -citāre, -citāvī, -citātus | call out, arouse |
| incrēdibilis, e | incredible |
| celeritās, -tātis, f. | swiftness, quickness, speed |
| dēsum, deesse, dēfuī | be lacking, fail |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| perficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | do or make through, accomplish |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| posterus, -a, -um | following, next |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| multō, adv. | by much or far, much, far |
| cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus | drive together, collect; compel |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| oppugnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | attack, besiege |
| fossa, -ae, f. | ditch, trench |
| compleō, -plēre, -plēvī, -plētus | fill full, fill up |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| ratiō, -ōnis, f. | plan, means, method, manner; reason; account |
| prīdiē (adv.) | the day before |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| resistō, -sistere, -stitī | stand back, resist |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| deinceps (adv.) | one after another, in succession |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| nocturnus, -a, -um | of night, nocturnal; nocturnum tempus, night-time |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| intermittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | leave off, interrupt; let pass; pass., be left between, intervene, elapse |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| aeger, -gra, -grum | sick, ill; as noun, a sick man |
| vulnerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | wound |
| facultās, -tātis, f. | possibility, opportunity, chance, means |
| quiēs, quiētis, f. | rest, repose |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| quīcumque, quaecumque, quodcumque | whoever, whatever |
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| oppugnātiō, -ōnis f. | siege, assault on a town |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| comparō, -parāre, -parāvī, -parātus | prepare, collect |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| praeūrō, -ere, -ussī, -ustus | burn at the end, harden in the fire |
| sudis, -is f. | stake, pile |
| mūrālis, -e | of walls (falcēs mūrālēs: wall-hooks) |
| pīlum, -ī n. | javelin (the Roman heavy spear) |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | decide upon, determine |
| contabulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | floor over, build up in storeys |
| pinna, -ae f. | feather; battlement on a wall |
| lōrīca, -ae f. | breastplate; breastwork, parapet |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| crātēs, -is f. | wickerwork, hurdle |
| attexō, -ere, -texuī, -textus | weave on, add by weaving |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| tenuis, -e | thin |
| valētūdō, -inis f. | health, state of health; ill health |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| ultrō (adv.) | of one's own accord; besides (ultrō citrōque: back and forth) |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| concursus, -ūs m. | a running together, charge |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| vōx, vōcis, f. | voice; word |
| parcō, -ere, pepercī, parsūrus | spare, show mercy to (+ dat.) |