- 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-lat2:7.86.1-7.86.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Caesar sends Labienus to reinforce his troops and encourages his men, while the besieged Gauls, despairing of the plains, attempt to storm the steeper fortifications.
His rebus cognitis Caesar Labienum cum cohortibus sex subsidio laborantibus1 mittit:
Having learned these things, Caesar sends Labienus with six cohorts to the relief of those who were struggling.
imperat, si sustinere non posset, deductis cohortibus eruptione pugnaret;2 id nisi necessario ne faciat.
He orders him, if he should not be able to sustain the attack, to draw off the cohorts and fight by making a sally; but not to do this unless of necessity.
Ipse adit reliquos, cohortatur ne labori succumbant; omnium superiorum dimicationum fructum in eo die atque hora docet consistere.
He himself goes to the rest and encourages them not to succumb to the labor; he tells them that the fruit of all former battles depends upon that day and hour.
Interiores3 desperatis campestribus locis propter magnitudinem munitionum loca praerupta ex ascensu temptant: huc ea quae paraverant conferunt.
The besieged, despairing of success in the plains on account of the magnitude of the fortifications, attempt the steep places by climbing; hither they bring the things which they had prepared.
Multitudine telorum ex turribus propugnantes deturbant, aggere et cratibus fossas explent, falcibus4 vallum ac loricam rescindunt.
With a multitude of weapons they drive down from the towers those who were defending them, fill the ditches with earth and hurdles, and tear down the rampart and breastwork with hooks.
- 7.86.1subsidio laborantibus
A double dative construction. 'subsidio' is a dative of purpose ('for a relief'), and 'laborantibus' is a dative of reference ('to those who were struggling').
- 7.86.2pugnaret
Since the main verb 'imperat' is a historical present, the sequence of tenses follows the historical time, resulting in the subjunctive imperfect 'pugnaret' (and 'posset') in the indirect command. The conjunction 'ut' is omitted.
- 7.86.4Interiores
Refers to 'those inside,' namely the besieged Gallic soldiers under Vercingetorix inside the town of Alesia.
- 7.86.5falcibus
'falx' (sickle/hook). Here it refers to mural hooks used in sieges (long poles with iron hooks at the end) to tear down the stones and breastworks of fortifications, rather than agricultural tools.