Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 7
De Bello Gallico 7.58
Labienus takes Metiosedum
Caesar, De Bello Gallico VII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō7.58.1Labiēnus prīmō vīneās agere, crātibus atque aggere palūdem explēre atque iter mūnīre cōnābātur.
Labienus at first tried to move up sheds, fill in the marsh with hurdles and earth, and build a road.
7.58.2Postquam id difficilius cōnfierī animadvertit, silentiō ē castrīs tertiā vigiliā ēgressus eōdem quō vēnerat itinere Metiosēdum pervēnit.
When he saw that this was too difficult to accomplish, he left the camp in silence at the third watch and reached Metiosedum by the same road by which he had come.
Note. eōdem quō vēnerat itinere: the relative clause is tucked inside eōdem … itinere, 'by the same road by which he had come'.
7.58.3Id est oppidum Senonum in īnsulā Sēquanae positum, ut paulō ante dē Lutētiā dīximus.
This is a town of the Senones placed on an island in the Seine, as we said a little earlier of Lutetia.
7.58.3Dēprēnsīs nāvibus circiter quīnquāgintā celeriterque coniūnctīs atque eō mīlitibus iniectīs et reī novitāte perterritīs oppidānīs, quōrum magna pars erat ad bellum ēvocāta, sine contentiōne oppidō potītur.
About fifty boats were seized and quickly fastened together, soldiers were put on board, and the townspeople, a large part of whom had been called out to the war, were terrified by the surprise of it; so he took the town without a struggle.
7.58.5Refectō ponte, quem superiōribus diēbus hostēs resciderant, exercitum trādūcit et secundō flūmine ad Lutētiam iter facere coepit.
He repaired the bridge which the enemy had cut down in the previous days, led the army across, and began to march downstream to Lutetia.
Note. secundō flūmine: 'with the river following', i.e. downstream; adversō flūmine in 7.60 is 'upstream'.
7.58.6Hostēs rē cognitā ab eīs, quī Metiosēdō fūgerant, Lutētiam incendī pontēsque eius oppidī rescindī iubent;
The enemy, learning of this from those who had fled from Metiosedum, ordered Lutetia to be burned and the bridges of that town to be cut down;
7.58.6ipsī profectī ā palūde ad rīpās Sēquanae ē regiōne Lutētiae contrā Labiēnī castra cōnsīdunt.
they themselves set out from the marsh and encamped on the banks of the Seine opposite Lutetia, facing Labienus' camp.
Vocabulary
| prīmō, adv. | at first |
| vīnea, -ae f. | shed (a movable shelter for besiegers) |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| crātēs, -is f. | wickerwork, hurdle |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| agger, aggeris m. | mound, siege ramp |
| palūs, -ūdis, f. | swamp, marsh |
| expleō, -ēre, -plēvī, -plētus | fill up, complete; make good |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | fortify |
| cōnor, -ārī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| difficilis, -e | not easy, difficult |
| cōnfīō, -fierī | be done, be accomplished (used as passive of cōnficiō) |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| silentium, -ī n. | silence; silentiō: in silence, quietly |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| tertius, -a, -um | third |
| vigilia, -ae, f. | watch |
| ēgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go out or forth, go ashore, disembark |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| īnsula, -ae, f. | island |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| paulō, adv. | by a little, a little, somewhat |
| ante, prep, with acc. and adv. | before |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| dēprendō, -prendere, -prendī, -prēnsus | seize, catch; take by surprise |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| circiter, prep. with acc. and adv. | about |
| quīnquāgintā, indecl. adj. | fifty |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| coniungō, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus | join together, join |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| iniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw in or upon; cause, inspire |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| novitās, -tātis, f. | newness, novelty |
| perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus | thoroughly frighten, terrify |
| oppidānus, -ī m. | townsman (pl. the people of the town) |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| ēvocō, -vocāre, -vocāvī, -vocātus | call out, challenge |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| contentiō, -ōnis f. | struggle, dispute |
| potior, -īrī, -ītus | become master of, get possession of |
| reficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make anew, renew, repair |
| pōns, pontis, m. | bridge |
| superus, -a, -um; comp. superior, superl. summus or suprēmus | above, upper; comp. higher, earlier, previous; superior; superl. highest, top of |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| rescindō, -ere, -scidī, -scissum | cut down, break down |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| trādūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead across |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus | flee, run away |
| incendō, -ere, -cendī, -cēnsum | set on fire, burn |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum | set out, depart, march |
| rīpa, -ae, f. | bank |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| cōnsīdō, -sīdere, -sēdī, -sessus | sit down |