Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 8
De Bello Gallico 8.37
The siege of Uxellodunum resumes
Hirtius, De Bello Gallico VIII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō8.37.1Canīnius fēlīcissimē rē gestā sine ūllō paene mīlitis vulnere ad obsidendōs oppidānōs revertitur externōque hoste dēlētō, cuius timōre anteā dīvidere praesidia et mūnītiōne oppidānōs circumdare prohibitus erat, opera undique imperat administrārī.
Caninius, having won this great success with hardly a soldier wounded, returned to the blockade of the townspeople; and now that the enemy outside had been destroyed, fear of whom had earlier kept him from dividing his garrisons and encircling the townspeople with siege-works, he ordered the works to be carried on all round.
Note. sine ūllō paene mīlitis vulnere: 'with hardly a single wound to a soldier'. ad obsidendōs oppidānōs: gerundive of purpose. cuius timōre: cuius refers back to externō hoste; the objective genitive means 'fear of whom'. opera … administrārī: passive infinitive with imperat, 'he orders the works to be carried out'.
8.37.2Venit eōdem cum suīs cōpiīs posterō diē Gāius Fabius partemque oppidī sūmit ad obsidendum.
Gaius Fabius arrived there with his forces the next day and took a part of the town to besiege.
Note. Gaius Fabius: one of Caesar's legates, who had been operating against the rebels in the west of Gaul. ad obsidendum: gerund of purpose.
Vocabulary
| fēlīciter, adv. | happily, fortunately, successfully |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| ūllus, -a, -um | any |
| paene, adv. | almost, nearly |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| vulnus, vulneris, n. | wound |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| obsideō, -sidēre, -sēdī, -sessus | beset, besiege |
| oppidānus, -ī m. | townsman (pl. the people of the town) |
| revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertī | turn back, return |
| externus, -a, -um | outside, foreign |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| dēleō, -ēre, dēlēvī, dēlētum | destroy, wipe out |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| anteā, adv. | before |
| dīvidō, -videre, -vīsī, -vīsus | divide, separate |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| mūnītiō, -ōnis f. | fortification, defence works |
| circumdō, -dare, -dedī, -datus | put around, surround |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| undique, adv. | from or on all sides |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| administrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | manage, carry out |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| eōdem | to the same place |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| posterus, -a, -um | following, next |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptus | take under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment |