- 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-lat2:5.45.1-5.45.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
As the siege of Cicero's camp intensifies and defenders grow scarce, Vertico, a loyal Nervian, persuades a slave to carry a letter to Caesar, delivering news of their desperate situation.
Quanto erat in dies gravior atque asperior oppugnatio, et maxime quod magna parte militum confecta vulneribus1 res ad paucitatem defensorum pervenerat, tanto2 crebriores litterae nuntiique ad Caesarem mittebantur; quorum pars deprehensa in conspectu nostrorum militum cum cruciatu necabatur.
The more severe and difficult the siege became day by day, and especially because, with a great part of the soldiers exhausted by wounds, the matter had come to a scarcity of defenders, the more frequently letters and messengers were sent to Caesar; some of whom, when captured, were put to death with torture in the sight of our soldiers.
Erat unus intus Nervius nomine Vertico, loco natus honesto,3 qui a prima obsidione ad Ciceronem perfugerat suamque ei fidem praestiterat.
There was within a certain Nervian named Vertico, born of an honorable family, who from the beginning of the siege had fled to Cicero and had proven his loyalty to him.
Hic servo spe libertatis magnisque persuadet praemiis, ut litteras ad Caesarem deferat.
This man persuaded a slave, by the hope of freedom and great rewards, to carry letters to Caesar.
Has ille in iaculo illigatas effert et Gallus inter Gallos sine ulla suspicione versatus ad Caesarem pervenit.
He carried them out bound on a javelin, and, moving about as a Gaul among Gauls without any suspicion, reached Caesar.
Ab eo de periculis Ciceronis legionisque cognoscitur.4
From him, information was obtained concerning the dangers of Cicero and the legion.
- 5.45.1magna parte militum confecta vulneribus
An ablative absolute clause ("with a great part of the soldiers having been worn out by wounds"). "confecta" is the perfect passive participle of "conficere" in the feminine ablative singular, agreeing with "parte". It is nested inside the causal "quod" clause.
- 5.45.1Quanto ... tanto
A correlative construction meaning "the more... the more...". Both "quanto" and "tanto" are ablatives of degree of difference modifying the comparative adjectives "gravior" and "crebriores" respectively.
- 5.45.2loco natus honesto
Meaning "born of an honorable family." The prepositionless ablative "loco" is used to express origin or parentage (ablative of origin) with the participle "natus" (from "nascor").
- 5.45.5Ab eo de periculis Ciceronis legionisque cognoscitur
The passive form "cognoscitur" is used impersonally ("it is learned from him about..."). While literally "it is known from him," in context it active-vocalizes as "Caesar learns of the dangers from him."