De Bello Gallico 5.40

The defence

In brief. Cicero's messengers to Caesar are intercepted; overnight the Romans raise as many as 120 towers, and they fight off daily attacks while working every night on the defenses. Cicero, though in poor health, rests only when his soldiers insist.

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5.40.1Mittuntur 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'.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×3, cum clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (95 words)

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.)

Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. 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.