De Bello Gallico 5.42

5.42.1Ab hāc spē repulsī Nerviī vallō pedum IX et fossā pedum XV hīberna cingunt.

Driven back from this hope, the Nervii surround the winter camp with a rampart nine feet high and a ditch fifteen feet wide.

Note. vallō pedum IX et fossā pedum XV: genitives of measure, 'a rampart of nine feet, a ditch of fifteen feet'. The present cingunt is a historic present: Caesar narrates past events in the present for vividness.

5.42.2Haec et superiōrum annōrum cōnsuētūdine ab nōbīs cognōverant et, quōsdam dē exercitū habēbant captīvōs, ab eīs docēbantur;

They had learned these things from us through their dealings in earlier years, and, having some prisoners from our army, they were being taught by them;

5.42.3sed nūllā ferrāmentōrum cōpiā quae esset ad hunc ūsum idōnea, gladiīs caespitēs circumcīdere, manibus sagulīsque terram exhaurīre nītēbantur.

but having no supply of iron tools suitable for this work, they were forced to cut the turf with their swords and to scoop out the earth with their hands and their cloaks.

Note. nūllā ferrāmentōrum cōpiā: an ablative absolute without a participle, 'there being no supply of tools'. quae esset … idōnea: a relative clause of characteristic, 'of the kind that was suitable'.

5.42.4Quā quidem ex rē hominum multitūdō cognōscī potuit: nam minus hōrīs tribus mīlium pedum XV in circuitū mūnītiōnem perfēcērunt reliquīsque diēbus turrēs ad altitūdinem vallī, falcēs testūdinēsque, quās īdem captīvī docuerant, parāre ac facere coepērunt.

From this, indeed, the number of men could be judged: for in less than three hours they completed a fortification fifteen thousand feet in circumference, and in the following days they began to prepare and build towers to the height of the rampart, hooks and sheds, which the same prisoners had taught them.

Note. minus hōrīs tribus: 'in less than three hours'; after minus, quam is often left out. mīlium pedum XV in circuitū: 'of fifteen thousand feet in circumference', i.e. about three Roman miles.