Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 7
De Bello Gallico 7.3
The massacre at Cenabum
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō7.3.1Ubi ea diēs vēnit, Carnutēs Cotuātō et Conconnetodumnō ducibus, dēspērātīs hominibus, Cēnabum signō datō concurrunt cīvēsque Rōmānōs, quī negōtiandī causā ibi cōnstiterant, in hīs Gāium Fūfium Citam, honestum equitem Rōmānum, quī reī frūmentāriae iussū Caesaris praeerat, interficiunt bonaque eōrum dīripiunt.
When that day came, the Carnutes, led by Cotuatus and Conconnetodumnus, desperate men, rush together to Cenabum at a given signal, kill the Roman citizens who had settled there to trade, among them Gaius Fufius Cita, a respected Roman knight, who on Caesar's orders was in charge of the grain supply, and plunder their goods.
Note. Vbi = Ubi. negōtiandī causā: gerund with causā, 'for the sake of trading'. iussū Caesaris: 'by Caesar's order'.
7.3.2Celeriter ad omnēs Galliae cīvitātēs fāma perfertur.
Rumor is quickly carried to all the states of Gaul.
7.3.2Nam ubicumque maior atque illūstrior incidit rēs, clāmōre per agrōs regiōnēsque significant;
For whenever anything of greater importance and note happens, they signal it by shouting across fields and regions;
7.3.2hunc aliī deinceps excipiunt et proximīs trādunt, ut tum accidit.
others take this up in turn and pass it on to their neighbors, as happened then.
7.3.3Nam quae Cēnabī oriente sōle gesta essent, ante prīmam cōnfectam vigiliam in fīnibus Arvernōrum audīta sunt, quod spatium est mīlium passuum circiter centum LX.
For what had been done at Cenabum at sunrise was heard in the territory of the Arverni before the end of the first watch, a distance of about one hundred and sixty miles.
Note. The news covered about 160 Roman miles (some 240 km) between sunrise and the end of the first watch, a matter of hours.
Vocabulary
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| dux, ducis, m. and f. | leader, commander |
| dēspērō, -spērāre, -spērāvī, -spērātus | despair |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| concurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus | run, rush, or dash together |
| cīvis, -is, m. and f. | citizen, fellow-citizen, subject |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| Rōmānus, -a, -um | Roman |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| negōtior, -ārī, -ātus sum | do business, trade |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| honestus, -a, -um | respected, honourable |
| eques, equitis m. | horseman; (pl.) cavalry |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| frūmentārius, -a, -um | of grain (rēs frūmentāria: grain supply) |
| iussus, -ūs, m. | bidding, command |
| praesum, -esse, -fuī | be before, preside over, have charge of, command |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| bonum, -ī n. | a good thing, advantage; (pl.) goods |
| dīripiō, -ere, -ripuī, -reptum | plunder |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| fāma, -ae, f. | report, rumor |
| perferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear through, bear, endure; weather |
| nam, conj. | for |
| ubicumque (adv.) | wherever |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| illūstris, -e | distinguished, noble |
| incidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall into or upon |
| clāmor, -ōris, m. | shout, cry |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| significō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | show, indicate, signal |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| deinceps (adv.) | one after another, in succession |
| excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take out or up, receive, welcome, entertain |
| proximus, -a, -um | nearest, next |
| trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| orior, -īrī, -tus | arise, come forth, spring up; ortā lūce, at dawn |
| sōl, sōlis, m. | sun |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ante, prep, with acc. and adv. | before |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| vigilia, -ae, f. | watch |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| spatium, -ī, n. | space, interval; space of time, time |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| passus, -ūs, m. | pace (mīlia passuum: miles) |
| circiter, prep. with acc. and adv. | about |
| centum, indecl. adj. | one hundred |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |