- 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-lat2:7.35.1-7.35.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-01
To cross the River Elaver, Caesar leaves a part of his forces hidden while making the rest march with spaced-out cohorts to deceive the enemy, successfully rebuilding the bridge using the remaining piles and crossing the river.
Cum uterque utrimque exisset exercitus, in conspectu fereque e regione castris castra ponebant dispositis exploratoribus, necubi effecto ponte Romani copias traducerent. Erat in magnis Caesaris difficultatibus res, ne maiorem aestatis partem flumine impediretur,1 quod non fere ante autumnum Elaver vado transiri solet.
When each army had set out from its respective position, they pitched their camps in sight of one another and almost directly opposite, having disposed scouts so that the Romans might not build a bridge anywhere and transport their forces. It was a matter of great difficulty for Caesar, lest he should be hindered by the river for the larger part of the summer, because the Elaver is not usually fordable before autumn.
Itaque, ne id accideret, silvestri loco castris positis e regione unius eorum pontium, quos Vercingetorix rescindendos curaverat,2 postero die cum duabus legionibus in occulto restitit;
Therefore, lest this should happen, having pitched his camp in a wooded spot opposite one of those bridges which Vercingetorix had ordered to be destroyed, he remained there in secret the next day with two legions;
reliquas copias cum omnibus impedimentis, ut consueverat, misit, apertis quibusdam cohortibus,3 uti numerus legionum constare videretur.
the rest of his forces he sent forward with all the baggage, as he was accustomed to do, having spaced out certain cohorts so that the number of the legions might appear to be complete.
His quam longissime possent egredi iussis, cum iam ex diei tempore coniecturam ceperat in castra perventum,4 isdem sublicis, quarum pars inferior integra remanebat, pontem reficere coepit.
Having ordered them to march as far as they could, when he estimated from the time of day that they had already arrived at their camp, he began to rebuild the bridge using the same piles, the lower part of which remained intact.
Celeriter effecto opere legionibusque traductis et loco castris idoneo delecto reliquas copias revocavit.
The work having been speedily completed and the legions transported, and a suitable spot for a camp having been selected, he recalled the rest of his forces.
Vercingetorix re cognita, ne contra suam voluntatem dimicare cogeretur, magnis itineribus antecessit.
Vercingetorix, having learned of this, lest he should be compelled to fight against his will, advanced by forced marches.
- 7.35.1ne maiorem aestatis partem flumine impediretur
The clause introduced by ne acts as an appositive to the noun res (or a clause of purpose/fear), meaning 'lest he should be hindered by the river for the larger part of the summer'. maiorem aestatis partem is an accusative of duration of time.
- 7.35.2rescindendos curaverat
The combination of curo with the gerundive expresses causation ('to have something done'). It indicates that Vercingetorix did not destroy the bridges himself but had them destroyed by others.
- 7.35.3apertis quibusdam cohortibus
An ablative absolute. The participle apertis means 'opened up' or 'spaced out', describing Caesar's tactic of extending the intervals between certain cohorts so that the army would appear to have the full number of six legions despite the reduced force.
- 7.35.4in castra perventum
An impersonal passive using the neuter singular of the perfect passive participle of the intransitive verb pervenio. Here, the infinitive esse is omitted in an accusative-and-infinitive construction, serving as the object of coniecturam ceperat (estimated), meaning 'that they had arrived at the camp'.