Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 8
De Bello Gallico 8.33
Caninius surrounds the town
Hirtius, De Bello Gallico VIII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō8.33.1Quō cum cōnfestim Gāius Canīnius vēnisset animadverteretque omnēs oppidī partēs praeruptissimīs saxīs esse mūnītās, quō dēfendente nūllō tamen armātīs ascendere esset difficile, magna autem impedīmenta oppidānōrum vidēret, quae sī clandestīnā fugā subtrahere cōnārentur, effugere nōn modo equitātum, sed nē legiōnēs quidem possent, tripertītō cohortibus dīvīsīs trīna excelsissimō locō castra fēcit;
When Gaius Caninius had come there quickly and noticed that every part of the town was protected by very steep rocks, so that even with no one defending it, it would be hard for armed men to climb, and when he saw that the townspeople had a great deal of baggage, which, if they tried to remove it in secret flight, they could not get away with past the cavalry, nor even past the legions, he divided his cohorts into three parts and made three camps on very high ground;
Note. quō dēfendente nūllō: 'even with no one defending it', an ablative absolute. trīna … castra: the distributive trīnī is used with castra, which is plural in form: 'three camps'.
8.33.2ā quibus paulātim, quantum cōpiae patiēbantur, vallum in oppidī circuitum dūcere īnstituit.
from these he began, little by little, as far as his forces allowed, to carry a rampart round the town.
Note. quantum cōpiae patiēbantur: 'as far as his forces allowed'. in oppidī circuitum: 'round the town'.
Vocabulary
| quō, adv. | to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long? |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| cōnfestim (adv.) | at once, immediately |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| praeruptus, -a, -um | steep, precipitous |
| saxum, -ī, n. | rock, stone |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| mūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | fortify |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| dēfendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsus | ward off; defend |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| armātus, -a, -um | armed |
| ascendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb to, ascend, mount |
| difficilis, -e | not easy, difficult |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| impedīmentum, -ī n. | hindrance; (pl.) baggage |
| oppidānus, -ī m. | townsman (pl. the people of the town) |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| sī, conj. | if |
| clandestīnus, -a, -um | secret, hidden |
| fuga, -ae, f. | flight |
| subtrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -tractum | take away, withdraw |
| cōnor, -ārī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| effugio, -fugere, -fūgī | flee out or away, escape |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| modo, adv. | only |
| equitātus, -ūs m. | cavalry |
| sed, conj. | but |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| tripertītō (adv.) | in three divisions |
| cohors, cohortis f. | cohort (a tenth of a legion); company |
| dīvidō, -videre, -vīsī, -vīsus | divide, separate |
| trīnī, -ae, -a (distrib. num.) | three each; three (with nouns used only in the plural) |
| excelsus, -a, -um | high, tall |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| castra, -ōrum, n. plur. | camp |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| paulātim (adv.) | little by little, gradually |
| quantum, adv. | how much? how? |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| patior, patī, passus, bear | suffer, allow |
| vallum, -ī n. | rampart, palisade |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| circuitus, -ūs m. | way around, circuit |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | decide upon, determine |