Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 7
De Bello Gallico 7.46
The Romans storm the Gallic camps
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
Tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and track your reading.
Read in Lectitō7.46.1Oppidī mūrus ab plānitiē atque initiō ascēnsūs rēctā regiōne, sī nūllus ānfrāctus intercēderet, MCC passūs aberat: quidquid hūc circuitūs ad molliendum clīvum accesserat, id spatium itineris augēbat.
The town wall was twelve hundred paces from the plain and the beginning of the ascent in a straight line, if no bend came in between: whatever was added by winding to ease the slope increased the length of the route.
Note. rēctā regiōne: 'in a straight line'. MCC passūs: accusative of extent, twelve hundred paces, about 1.8 km. quidquid … circuitūs: partitive genitive, 'whatever of winding'.
7.46.3Ā mediō ferē colle in longitūdinem, ut nātūra montis ferēbat, ex grandibus saxīs sex pedum mūrum quī nostrōrum impetum tardāret praedūxerant Gallī, atque īnferiōre omnī spatiō vacuō relictō superiōrem partem collis usque ad mūrum oppidī dēnsissimīs castrīs complēverant.
About halfway up the hill, along its length, as the nature of the mountain allowed, the Gauls had built a wall six feet high of large stones in front of them, to slow down the attack of our men; and leaving all the lower ground empty, they had filled the upper part of the hill, up to the wall of the town, with camps set very close together.
7.46.4Mīlitēs datō signō celeriter ad mūnītiōnem perveniunt eamque trānsgressī trīnīs castrīs potiuntur;
At the signal the soldiers quickly reach the fortification, cross it, and take possession of three camps;
7.46.5ac tanta fuit in castrīs capiendīs celeritās, ut Teutomatus, rēx Nitiobrigum, subitō in tabernāculō oppressus, ut merīdiē conquiēverat, superiōre corporis parte nūdātā vulnerātō equō vix sē ex manibus praedantium mīlitum ēriperet.
and so great was the speed in taking the camps that Teutomatus, king of the Nitiobriges, caught suddenly in his tent, where he had been resting at midday, with the upper part of his body bare and his horse wounded, barely escaped from the hands of the plundering soldiers.
Note. ut merīdiē conquiēverat: 'as he had been taking his midday rest'; ut with the indicative. vix sē … ēriperet: result clause after tanta.
Vocabulary
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| mūrus, -ī, m. | wall |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| plānitiēs, -ēī f. | plain, level ground |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| initium, -ī, n. | beginning |
| ascēnsus, -ūs m. | way up, climb |
| rēctus, -a, -um | direct, straight |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| sī, conj. | if |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| anfrāctus, -ūs m. | bend, winding (of a road) |
| intercēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | come between, pass (of time) |
| Roman numeral | a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000 |
| passus, -ūs, m. | pace (mīlia passuum: miles) |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| quisquis, quidquid (quicquid) | whoever, whatever |
| hūc, adv. | to this place, hither |
| circuitus, -ūs m. | way around, circuit |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| molliō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | soften; make (a slope) easier |
| clīvus, -ī m. | slope, hillside |
| accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum | come near, approach; be added |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| spatium, -ī, n. | space, interval; space of time, time |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| augeō, -ēre, auxī, auctum | increase, enlarge |
| medius, -a, -um | mid, middle |
| ferē, adv. | nearly, about, almost, for the most part |
| collis, -is m. | hill |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| longitūdō, -inis f. | length |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| nātūra, -ae, f. | nature, character |
| mōns, montis, m. | mountain |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| grandis, -e | large, big |
| saxum, -ī, n. | rock, stone |
| sex (indecl.) | six |
| pēs, pedis, m. | foot |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| impetus, -ūs, m. | attack; impetum facere, to charge |
| tardō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | slow down, check |
| praedūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | draw or extend in front |
| īnferior, -ius | lower |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| vacuus, -a, -um | empty |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| ūsque, adv. | all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō |
| dēnsus, -a, -um | thick |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| compleō, -plēre, -plēvī, -plētus | fill full, fill up |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| trānsgredior, -ī, -gressus sum | cross over |
| trīnī, -ae, -a | three each, threefold |
| potior, -īrī, -ītus | become master of, get possession of |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| celeritās, -tātis, f. | swiftness, quickness, speed |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| subitō, adv. | unexpectedly, suddenly |
| tabernāculum, -ī n. | tent |
| opprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus | press against, overpower, crush |
| merīdiēs, -ēī, m. | midday, noon; south |
| conquiēscō, -ere, -quiēvī, -quiētus | rest, take rest |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| nūdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | strip, leave bare |
| vulnerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | wound |
| equus, -ī, m. | horse |
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| praedor, -ārī, -ātus | plunder |
| ēripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus | snatch out or away, rescue |