- 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-lat2:3.21.1-3.21.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
After a fierce battle, the Sotiates are defeated and retreat to their town, which Crassus immediately besieges. Despite attempting sallies and mining operations, the enemy eventually sues for surrender.
Pugnatum est1 diu atque acriter, cum Sotiates superioribus victoriis freti in sua virtute totius Aquitaniae salutem positam putarent, nostri autem quid sine imperatore et sine reliquis legionibus adulescentulo duce2 efficere possent perspici cuperent; tandem confecti vulneribus hostes terga verterunt.
The battle was fought for a long time and fiercely, since the Sotiates, relying on their former victories, believed that the safety of all Aquitania depended on their courage, while our men, on the other hand, desired it to be seen what they could achieve without their commander and without the remaining legions, under a very young leader; at length, exhausted by wounds, the enemy turned their backs.
Quorum magno numero interfecto Crassus ex itinere3 oppidum Sotiatium oppugnare coepit. Quibus fortiter resistentibus vineas turresque egit.
A great number of them having been slain, Crassus began to assault the town of the Sotiates directly from his march. As they resisted courageously, he brought up vineae and towers.
Illi alias eruptione temptata, alias cuniculis ad aggerem vineasque actis4 (cuius rei sunt longe peritissimi Aquitani, propterea quod multis locis apud eos aerariae secturaeque sunt), ubi diligentia nostrorum nihil his rebus profici posse intellexerunt, legatos ad Crassum mittunt seque in deditionem ut recipiat petunt. Qua re impetrata arma tradere iussi faciunt.
They at one time attempting a sally, at another driving mines to the mound and the vineae (in which art the Aquitani are by far the most skilled, because in many places among them there are copper mines and excavations), when they perceived that by the diligence of our men nothing could be gained by these means, they sent deputies to Crassus and begged that he would receive them into surrender. This request being granted, having been ordered to deliver up their arms, they did so.
- 3.21.1Pugnatum est
Third-person singular perfect passive of the verb pugnare, used impersonally. It describes the occurrence and intensity of the battle ("the battle was fought").
- 3.21.1adulescentulo duce
An ablative absolute consisting of a noun (or adjective) and a noun, lacking the participle of the copula "to be". It indicates the circumstance "under a very young leader," referring to P. Crassus who was in his mid-twenties.
- 3.21.2ex itinere
An idiomatic phrase meaning "on the march" or "directly from the march." It indicates that the assault began immediately upon arrival, without first setting up a formal camp or pausing.
- 3.21.3cuniculis ad aggerem vineasque actis
Ablative absolute construction. The perfect passive participle actis of the verb agere (here meaning "to drive" or "dig" a tunnel) agrees with cuniculis, indicating that mines/tunnels were driven towards the Roman siege works (mound and vineae).