Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 8
De Bello Gallico 8.40
Cutting the town off from the river
Hirtius, De Bello Gallico VIII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō8.40.1Cum contrā exspectātiōnem omnium Caesar Uxellodūnum vēnisset oppidumque operibus clausum animadverteret neque ab oppugnātiōne recēdī vidēret ūllā condiciōne posse, magnā autem cōpiā frūmentī abundāre oppidānōs ex perfugīs cognōsset, aquā prohibēre hostem temptāre coepit.
Caesar reached Uxellodunum when no one expected him, and saw that the town was shut in by siege-works and that the siege could on no account be abandoned; and since he had learned from deserters that the townspeople had plenty of grain, he began to try to keep the enemy from water.
Note. Vxellodūnum: accusative of place to which, without a preposition, as with names of towns. cognōsset: contracted form of cognōvisset. aquā prohibēre hostem: prohibeō takes an ablative of separation, 'to keep the enemy from water'.
8.40.2Flūmen īnfimam vallem dīvidēbat, quae tōtum paene montem cingēbat, in quō positum erat praeruptum undique oppidum Uxellodūnum.
A river divided the valley below, which almost surrounded the hill on which stood the town of Uxellodunum, sheer on every side.
Note. Flūmen īnfimam vallem dīvidēbat: the river ran along the bottom of the valley. quae … cingēbat: the antecedent is vallem. praeruptum undique oppidum: the site was a steep hill, almost surrounded by the river.
8.40.3Hoc āvertere locī nātūra prohibēbat: in īnfimīs enim sīc rādīcibus montis ferēbātur, ut nūllam in partem dēpressīs fossīs dērīvārī posset.
The nature of the place made it impossible to divert the river, for it ran so low down at the foot of the hill that it could not be drawn off in any direction by digging trenches.
Note. Hoc āvertere: the river cannot be diverted. ut nūllam in partem … dērīvārī posset: result clause; dēpressīs fossīs, 'by digging trenches down'.
8.40.4Erat autem oppidānīs difficilis et praeruptus eō dēscēnsus, ut prohibentibus nostrīs sine vulneribus ac perīculō vītae neque adīre flūmen neque arduō sē recipere possent ascēnsū.
But the way down to it was hard and steep for the townspeople, so that if our men opposed them, they could neither reach the river nor get back up the steep climb without wounds and danger to their lives.
Note. eō: adverb, 'to that place', with dēscēnsus, 'the way down there'. prohibentibus nostrīs: ablative absolute, 'if our men stopped them'. arduō … ascēnsū: the adjective and noun frame the clause.
8.40.5Quā difficultāte eōrum cognitā Caesar sagittāriīs funditōribusque dispositīs, tormentīs etiam quibusdam locīs contrā facillimōs dēscēnsūs collocātīs aquā flūminis prohibēbat oppidānōs.
Recognizing this difficulty of theirs, Caesar posted archers and slingers, and set up artillery in some places opposite the easiest ways down, and so kept the townspeople from the river water.
Note. sagittāriīs funditōribusque dispositīs, tormentīs … collocātīs: two ablative absolutes describe Caesar's arrangements before the main verb.
Vocabulary
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| exspectātiō, -ōnis f. | waiting, expectation |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| claudō, -ere, clausī, clausum | close, shut; (agmen) bring up the rear |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| oppugnātiō, -ōnis f. | siege, assault on a town |
| recēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | go back, withdraw, retire |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| ūllus, -a, -um | any |
| condiciō, -ōnis f. | terms; condition, status |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| frūmentum, -ī, n. | grain |
| abundō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | overflow; have plenty of, abound in (+ abl.) |
| oppidānus, -ī m. | townsman (pl. the people of the town) |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| perfuga, -ae m. | deserter |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| aqua, -ae, f. | water |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| temptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| īnfimus, -a, -um | lowest (īnfimus collis: the foot of the hill) |
| vallis, -is, f. | valley |
| dīvidō, -videre, -vīsī, -vīsus | divide, separate |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| paene, adv. | almost, nearly |
| mōns, montis, m. | mountain |
| cingō, cingere, cinxī, cinctus | surround, gird |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| praeruptus, -a, -um | steep, precipitous |
| undique, adv. | from or on all sides |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| āvertō, -ere, āvertī, āversum | turn away, turn aside |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| nātūra, -ae, f. | nature, character |
| enim, conj. | for |
| sīc, adv. | so, thus |
| rādīx, -īcis f. | root; (of a hill) foot |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| dēprimō, -ere, -pressī, -pressum | press down, sink; depressus: sunk below ground |
| fossa, -ae, f. | ditch, trench |
| dērīvō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | draw off, divert (water) |
| difficilis, -e | not easy, difficult |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| dēscēnsus, -ūs m. | way down, descent |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| vulnus, vulneris, n. | wound |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| vīta, -ae, f. | life |
| adeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go to, approach |
| arduus, -a, -um | steep, difficult |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| ascēnsus, -ūs m. | way up, climb |
| difficultas, -tātis, f. | difficulty |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| sagittārius, -ī m. | archer |
| funditor, -ōris m. | slinger |
| dispōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | station here and there, post |
| tormentum, -ī n. | artillery, siege engine |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| facilis, -e (comp. facilior) | easy |
| collocō (conlocō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum | place, station; give in marriage |