De Bello Gallico 5.49

5.49.1Gallī rē cognitā per explōrātōrēs obsidiōnem relinquunt, ad Caesarem omnibus cōpiīs contendunt.

The Gauls, learning of this through their scouts, abandon the siege and hurry toward Caesar with all their forces.

5.49.1Hae erant armāta circiter mīlia LX. Cicerō datā facultāte Gallum ab eōdem Verticōne, quem suprā dēmōnstrāvimus, repetit, quī litterās ad Caesarem dēferat;

These were about sixty thousand armed men. Cicero, when the chance was given, asks again from the same Vertico whom we mentioned above for a Gaul to carry a letter to Caesar;

Note. This entry runs two Latin sentences together: the first gives the size of the Gallic army, the second begins with Cicero. quī litterās … dēferat: a relative clause of purpose, 'to carry a letter'.

5.49.2hunc admonet, iter cautē dīligenterque faciat: perscrībit in litterīs hostēs ab sē discessisse omnemque ad eum multitūdinem convertisse.

he warns him to make the journey carefully and attentively; he writes in the letter that the enemy had left him and turned their whole host against Caesar.

5.49.4Quibus litterīs circiter mediā nocte Caesar adlātīs suōs facit certiōrēs eōsque ad dīmicandum animō cōnfirmat.

This letter is brought to Caesar at about midnight; he informs his men and encourages them for the fight.

5.49.5Posterō diē lūce prīmā movet castra et circiter mīlia passuum quattuor prōgressus trāns vallem et rīvum multitūdinem hostium cōnspicātur.

The next day at dawn he breaks camp, and after advancing about four miles he sees the enemy's host across a valley and a stream.

5.49.6Erat magnī perīculī rēs tantulīs cōpiīs inīquō locō dīmicāre;

It was a very dangerous thing to fight on unfavourable ground with such small forces;

5.49.6tum, quoniam obsidiōne līberātum Cicerōnem sciēbat, aequō animō remittendum dē celeritāte exīstimābat: cōnsēdit et quam aequissimō locō potest castra commūnit atque haec, etsī erant exigua per sē vix hominum mīlium septem praesertim nūllīs cum impedīmentīs, tamen angustiīs viārum quam maximē potest contrahit, eō cōnsiliō, ut in summam contemptiōnem hostibus veniat.

then, since he knew Cicero had been freed from the siege, he thought he could calmly slow his pace: he halted and fortified a camp on the most favourable ground he could; and although the camp was small in itself, scarcely for seven thousand men, especially with no baggage, still he contracted it as much as he could by narrowing the streets, with the aim of being held in the utmost contempt by the enemy.

Note. aequō animō remittendum dē celeritāte: an impersonal gerundive, 'that he could calmly relax his speed'. eō cōnsiliō, ut …: 'with this purpose, that …'. Caesar makes his camp look small to invite an attack.

5.49.8Interim speculātōribus in omnēs partēs dīmissīs explōrat quō commodissimē itinere vallem trānsīre possit.

Meanwhile, sending scouts out in every direction, he finds out by what route he can most conveniently cross the valley.