- 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-lat2:7.11.1-7.11.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
Caesar besieges and forces the surrender of the Senonian town Vellaunodunum within two days, then rapidly marches to Cenabum of the Carnutes, captures and burns it, and crosses the Liger to enter the territory of the Bituriges.
Altero die cum ad oppidum Senonum Vellaunodunum venisset, ne quem post se hostem relinqueret, quo expeditiore re frumentaria uteretur,1 oppugnare instituit idque biduo circumvallavit;
On the next day, when he had come to Vellaunodunum, a town of the Senones, in order not to leave any enemy behind him, so that he might have a more uninterrupted grain supply, he decided to attack it and surrounded it with a circumvallation within two days.
tertio die missis ex oppido legatis de deditione arma conferri, iumenta produci, sescentos obsides dari iubet.
On the third day, when envoys were sent from the town concerning a surrender, he ordered the arms to be collected, the pack-animals to be brought out, and six hundred hostages to be given.
Ea qui conficeret,2 C. Trebonium legatum relinquit. Ipse, ut quam primum iter faceret, Cenabum Carnutum proficiscitur;
He left Gaius Trebonius, his lieutenant, to complete these matters. He himself, in order to make his march as quickly as possible, set out for Cenabum of the Carnutes.
qui3 tum primum allato nuntio de oppugnatione Vellaunoduni, cum longius eam rem ductum iri4 existimarent, praesidium Cenabi tuendi causa, quod eo mitterent, comparabant. Huc biduo pervenit.
They, having then for the first time received the news of the siege of Vellaunodunum, since they thought that the affair would be prolonged, were preparing a garrison to send there for the purpose of defending Cenabum. He arrived here in two days.
Castris ante oppidum positis diei tempore exclusus in posterum oppugnationem differt quaeque ad eam rem usui sint militibus imperat et, quod oppidum Cenabum pons fluminis Ligeris contingebat, veritus ne noctu ex oppido profugerent, duas legiones in armis excubare iubet.
Having pitched his camp before the town, being prevented by the time of day, he postponed the assault until the following day and ordered the soldiers to prepare what was of use for that purpose. And, because a bridge over the river Liger touched the town of Cenabum, fearing lest they should escape from the town by night, he ordered two legions to keep watch under arms.
Cenabenses paulo ante mediam noctem silentio ex oppido egressi flumen transire coeperunt. Qua re per exploratores nuntiata Caesar legiones quas expeditas esse iusserat portis incensis intromittit atque oppido potitur, perpaucis ex hostium numero desideratis quin cuncti caperentur,5 quod pontis atque itinerum angustiae multitudinis fugam intercluserant.
The people of Cenabum, having gone out of the town in silence a little before midnight, began to cross the river. This matter having been reported by the scouts, Caesar, the legions which he had ordered to be ready for action, having set fire to the gates, sent them in and took possession of the town, very few of the enemy’s number being missed from all being captured, because the narrowness of the bridge and the roads had blocked the flight of the multitude.
Oppidum diripit atque incendit, praedam militibus donat, exercitum Ligerem traducit atque in Biturigum fines pervenit.
He pillages and burns the town, gives the booty to the soldiers, leads his army across the Liger, and arrives in the territory of the Bituriges.
- 7.11.1quo expeditiore re frumentaria uteretur
The relative pronoun in the ablative case, quo, is used instead of ut to introduce a purpose clause because the clause contains a comparative adjective (expeditiore).
- 7.11.3Ea qui conficeret
The relative pronoun qui with the subjunctive conficeret introduces a relative clause of purpose ('to complete these things'). The antecedent can be understood as the omitted object of the main verb or as referring forward to C. Trebonium.
- 7.11.4qui
A relative pronoun connecting the sentence to the preceding one; its logical antecedent is the collective plural 'the Carnutes' implied by the phrase Cenabum Carnutum in the previous sentence.
- 7.11.4ductum iri
The future passive infinitive of duco ('to prolong' or 'draw out'), consisting of the supine ductum and the passive present infinitive iri. It functions as the predicate in an indirect statement introduced by existimarent, with eam rem (the siege) as its subject.
- 7.11.8perpaucis ex hostium numero desideratis quin cuncti caperentur
perpaucis... desideratis is an ablative absolute. The clause quin cuncti caperentur is introduced by quin because of the negative or hindering idea of omission implied in desideratis ('being missed' or 'lacking'), meaning in effect 'virtually all were captured, with only a very few being missed (escaping).'