De Bello Gallico 7.73

7.73.1Erat eōdem tempore et māteriārī et frūmentārī et tantās mūnītiōnēs fierī necesse dēminūtīs nostrīs cōpiīs quae longius ab castrīs prōgrediēbantur: ac nōn numquam opera nostra Gallī temptāre atque ēruptiōnem ex oppidō plūribus portīs summā vī facere cōnābantur.

At the same time it was necessary both to fetch timber and to gather grain and to build such great fortifications, with our forces reduced, since they were going rather far from the camp; and sometimes the Gauls tried to attack our works and to make a sally from the town through several gates with the greatest force.

Note. Erat … necesse: 'it was necessary', with the infinitives māteriārī, frūmentārī and fierī as subject. māteriārī and frūmentārī are deponents: 'to fetch timber', 'to forage for grain'. nōn numquam: 'not never', i.e. 'sometimes'.

7.73.2Quā rē ad haec rūrsus opera addendum Caesar putāvit, quō minōre numerō mīlitum mūnītiōnēs dēfendī possent.

Therefore Caesar thought that something more should be added to these works, so that the fortifications could be defended by a smaller number of soldiers.

Note. addendum: impersonal gerundive with esse understood, 'that something must be added'. quō minōre numerō: quō introduces a purpose clause containing a comparative, 'so that by a smaller number'.

7.73.2Itaque truncīs arborum aut admodum firmīs rāmīs abscīsīs atque hōrum dēlībrātīs ac praeacūtīs cacūminibus perpetuae fossae quīnōs pedēs altae dūcēbantur.

And so, after cutting down tree trunks or very strong branches and stripping and sharpening their tops, continuous trenches five feet deep were dug.

7.73.3Hūc illī stīpitēs dēmissī et ab īnfimō revīnctī, nē revellī possent, ab rāmīs ēminēbant.

Into these the stakes were sunk and fastened at the bottom so that they could not be pulled out, and their branches stuck out above the ground.

Note. nē revellī possent: a purpose clause, 'so that they could not be pulled out'.

7.73.4Quīnī erant ōrdinēs coniūnctī inter sē atque implicātī;

There were five rows of them, joined and interlaced with one another;

7.73.4quō quī intrāverant, sē ipsī acūtissimīs vallīs induēbant.

anyone who had gone in among them would impale himself on the very sharp stakes.

Note. quō quī intrāverant: 'anyone who had entered there'. The pluperfect with the imperfect induēbant describes what happened each time: 'whoever went in would impale himself'.

7.73.5Hōs cippōs appellābant.

These they called 'gravestones'.

7.73.5Ante quōs oblīquīs ōrdinibus in quīncūncem dispositīs scrobēs trēs in altitūdinem pedēs fodiēbantur paulātim angustiōre ad īnfimum fastīgiō.

In front of these, pits three feet deep were dug in slanting rows arranged in a quincunx, narrowing little by little toward the bottom.

Note. in quīncuncem: in a pattern like the five on a die, so that each row covers the gaps of the row in front. paulātim angustiōre … fastīgiō: ablative of description, 'with a slope narrowing gradually'.

7.73.6Hūc teretēs stīpitēs feminis crassitūdine ab summō praeacūtī et praeūstī dēmittēbantur, ita ut nōn amplius digitīs quattuor ex terrā ēminērent;

Into these were let down smooth stakes as thick as a man's thigh, sharpened at the top and hardened in the fire, so that they stood out of the ground no more than four fingers;

Note. feminis crassitūdine: 'of the thickness of a thigh'; feminis is an old genitive of femur. digitīs quattuor: ablative of degree of difference after amplius, 'no more than four fingers'.

7.73.7simul cōnfirmandī et stabiliendī causā singulī ab īnfimō solō pedēs terrā exculcābantur, reliqua pars scrobis ad occultandās īnsidiās vīminibus ac virgultīs integēbātur.

at the same time, to fix and strengthen them, the earth was trodden down a foot deep from the bottom of the pit; the rest of the pit was covered over with twigs and brushwood to hide the trap.

7.73.8Huius generis octōnī ōrdinēs ductī ternōs inter sē pedēs distābant.

Eight rows of this kind were made, three feet apart from one another.

7.73.9Id ex similitūdine flōris līlium appellābant.

From its likeness to the flower they called this the 'lily'.

7.73.9Ante haec tāleae pedem longae ferreīs hāmīs īnfīxīs tōtae in terram īnfodiēbantur mediocribusque intermissīs spatiīs omnibus locīs disserēbantur;

In front of these, blocks a foot long with iron hooks fixed in them were buried whole in the ground and scattered everywhere at moderate intervals;

Note. pedem longae: accusative of extent, 'a foot long'. Caesar's soldiers gave the traps nicknames: cippī ('gravestones'), līlium ('lily'), stimulī ('spurs').

7.73.9quōs stimulōs nōminābant.

these they called 'spurs'.