- Source
- Julius Caesar. Aulus Hirtius. C. Iuli Commentarii Rerum in Gallia Gestarum VII A. Hirti Commentarius VII. Holmes, T. Rice (Thomas Rice), editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.18.1-2.18.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Caesar describes the topography of the site chosen for the Roman camp, depicting two facing hills separated by a river, one open and the other wooded, where the enemy lay hidden.
Loci natura erat haec, quem locum1 nostri castris delegerant. Collis ab summo aequaliter declivis ad flumen Sabim, quod supra nominavimus, vergebat.
The nature of the ground which our men had selected for a camp was as follows. A hill, sloping down evenly from its summit, ran down to the river Sabis, which we have mentioned above.
Ab eo flumine pari acclivitate2 collis nascebatur adversus huic et contrarius, passus circiter CC3 infimus apertus, ab superiore parte silvestris, ut non facile introrsus perspici posset.4
From that river, another hill rose with an equal slope, facing and opposite to this one, open at its lowest part for about two hundred paces, but wooded in its upper part, so that it was not easy to see inside.
Intra eas silvas hostes in occulto sese continebant; in aperto loco secundum flumen paucae stationes equitum videbantur. Fluminis erat altitudo pedum circiter trium.
Within these woods, the enemy kept themselves in concealment; in the open ground along the river, a few outposts of cavalry were to be seen. The depth of the river was about three feet.
- 2.18.1quem locum
The relative pronoun is used adjectivally, repeating the antecedent loci as locum within the relative clause. This is a common construction in Latin prose, especially in Caesar, to secure clear reference.
- 2.18.2pari acclivitate
An ablative of description, modifying nascebatur to explain the nature of the slope of the opposing hill. It corresponds to aequaliter declivis (sloping down evenly) in the preceding sentence.
- 2.18.2passus circiter CC
An accusative of extent of space, indicating the distance (about two hundred paces) over which the open ground (apertus) extended from the lowest part.
- 2.18.2perspici posset
Imperfect subjunctive in a clause of result introduced by ut. The passive infinitive perspici is used impersonally, meaning 'it could be seen into' or 'one could see inside'.