- 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-lat2:8.41.1-8.41.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
Caesar constructed vineae, a massive rampart, and a ten-story tower, while also driving underground galleries, to block the enemy's access to their main spring, causing severe thirst among them.
Quorum omnis postea multitudo aquatorum unum in locum conveniebat sub ipsius oppidi murum, ubi magnus fons aquae prorumpebat ab ea parte, quae fere pedum CCC intervallo fluminis circuitu vacabat.1
Afterwards, the whole multitude of those who drew water assembled in one place under the very wall of the town, where a great spring of water burst forth on that side which, for an interval of about three hundred feet, was left free from the circuit of the river.
Hoc fonte prohiberi posse oppidanos cum optarent reliqui, Caesar unus videret,2 e regione eius vineas agere adversus montem et aggerem instruere coepit magno cum labore et continua dimicatione.
While the rest merely wished that the townspeople could be debarred from this spring, Caesar alone saw that it was possible, and began, opposite to it, to push forward the vineae against the mountain and to construct a rampart with great labor and constant fighting.
Oppidani enim loco superiore decurrunt et eminus sine periculo proeliantur multosque pertinaciter succedentes vulnerant; non deterrentur tamen milites nostri vineas proferre3 et labore atque operibus locorum vincere difficultates.
For the townspeople ran down from the higher ground and fought from a distance without danger, wounding many of our men as they obstinately advanced; nevertheless, our soldiers were not deterred from pushing forward the vineae and overcoming the difficulties of the ground by their labor and siege works.
Eodem tempore cuniculos tectos ab vineis agunt ad caput fontis; quod genus operis sine ullo periculo, sine suspicione hostium facere licebat.
At the same time, they drove covered galleries from the vineae to the source of the spring; which kind of work it was possible to perform without any danger and without any suspicion on the part of the enemy.
Exstruitur agger in altitudinem pedum sexaginta, collocatur in eo turris decem tabulatorum, non quidem quae moenibus aequaret (id enim nullis operibus effici poterat), sed quae superare fontis fastigium posset.4
A rampart was raised to the height of sixty feet, and on it was placed a tower of ten stories, not indeed to equal the walls (for that could not be accomplished by any works), but to be able to overtop the elevation of the spring.
Ex ea cum tela tormentis iacerentur ad fontis aditum, nec sine periculo possent aquari oppidani, non tantum pecora atque iumenta, sed etiam magna hostium multitudo siti consumebatur.
When missiles were discharged from it by engines at the approach to the spring, and the townspeople could not fetch water without danger, not only the cattle and beasts of burden, but also a great multitude of the enemy was consumed by thirst.
- 8.41.1fluminis circuitu vacabat
The ablative 'circuitu' is an ablative of separation controlled by 'vacabat' (was free from / left open by the winding of the river). 'intervallo' is an ablative of degree of difference showing the distance.
- 8.41.2Hoc fonte prohiberi posse oppidanos cum optarent reliqui, Caesar unus videret
The conjunction 'cum' has an adversative or concessive force, contrasting the passive wishing of the others ('optarent reliqui') with Caesar's active insight ('Caesar unus videret'). The accusative with infinitive clause 'Hoc fonte... posse' serves as the object of both verbs.
- 8.41.3deterrentur ... milites nostri vineas proferre
The verb 'deterreo' usually takes a subjunctive clause introduced by 'ne', 'quominus', or 'quin' in classical prose. Here, it is constructed directly with the infinitive 'proferre', a usage more common in poetry and post-Augustan prose.
- 8.41.5non quidem quae moenibus aequaret ... sed quae ... posset
The subjunctives 'aequaret' and 'posset' in the relative clauses characterize the nature of the tower (a relative clause of characteristic). 'non quidem ... sed' marks a restrictive contrast ('not indeed to..., but to...').