- 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-lat2:7.69.1-7.69.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
The geographical situation of Alesia is described as a natural stronghold surrounded by hills, rivers, and a plain, along with the initial deployment of the defending Gallic forces and the Roman siege works.
Ipsum erat oppidum Alesia in colle summo admodum edito loco, ut nisi obsidione expugnari non posse videretur.1
The town of Alesia itself was situated on the top of a hill, in a very elevated position, so that it appeared impossible to be taken except by a regular siege.
Cuius collis radices duo duabus ex partibus flumina subluebant.
The bases of this hill were washed on two sides by two rivers.
Ante id oppidum planities circiter milia passuum tria in longitudinem patebat:
Before the town there lay a plain extending about three miles in length;
reliquis ex omnibus partibus colles mediocri interiecto spatio pari altitudinis fastigio oppidum cingebant.
on all other sides, hills of an equal height, at a moderate distance, surrounded the town.
Sub muro, quae pars collis ad orientem solem spectabat,2 hunc omnem locum copiae Gallorum compleverant fossamque et maceriam sex in altitudinem pedum praeduxerant.
Below the wall, on that side of the hill which faced the rising sun, the forces of the Gauls had filled all this space, and had drawn in front a ditch and a stone wall six feet high.
Eius munitionis quae ab Romanis instituebatur circuitus XI milia passuum tenebat.
The circuit of that fortification which was being constructed by the Romans extended eleven miles.
Castra opportunis locis erant posita ibique castella viginti tria facta, quibus in castellis interdiu stationes ponebantur, ne qua subito eruptio fieret:3 haec eadem noctu excubitoribus ac firmis praesidiis tenebantur.
Camps were pitched in convenient places, and twenty-three redoubts were erected there, in which redoubts sentinels were placed by day, lest any sudden sally should be made; and by night these same were held by watchmen and strong garrisons.
- 7.69.1nisi obsidione expugnari non posse videretur
An accusative-and-infinitive construction with posse inside a consecutive ut clause (governing the imperfect subjunctive videretur). The combination of nisi ('unless/except') and non posse ('not to be able') expresses a strong limiting condition: 'that it did not seem possible to be taken except by siege.'
- 7.69.5quae pars collis ad orientem solem spectabat
A relative clause incorporating its antecedent pars, which stands in apposition to the demonstrative phrase hunc omnem locum in the main clause. Syntactically, it is equivalent to eam omnem partem collis quae...
- 7.69.7ne qua subito eruptio fieret
qua is the feminine nominative singular adjective form of the indefinite pronoun aliquis, aliquae, aliquod, with the prefix ali- dropped after the conjunction ne. It modifies the noun eruptio, expressing negative purpose: 'lest any sudden sally should occur.'