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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §2.21.1-2.21.6

Caesar Rallies the Troops and Soldiers Form Ranks

Passage 75 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar quickly issued the necessary orders and rushed to encourage his troops, starting the battle with the tenth legion. Due to the rapid onslaught of the enemy, the soldiers had no time to locate their own units and had to form ranks under the nearest standards.

§2.21.1Caesar, necessariis rebus imperatis, ad cohortandos milites, quam [in] partem fors obtulit, decucurrit et ad legionem decimam devenit.
Caesar, having given the necessary orders, ran down to encourage the soldiers to whatever part fortune offered, and came to the tenth legion.
§2.21.2Milites non longiore oratione cohortatus quam uti suae pristinae virtutis memoriam retinerent neu perturbarentur animo hostiumque impetum fortiter sustinerent, §2.21.3quod non longius hostes aberant quam quo telum adigi posset, proelii committendi signum dedit.
Having encouraged the soldiers with no longer a speech than that they should retain the memory of their former valor and not be disturbed in mind, and bravely withstand the enemy's charge, because the enemy were no further off than a javelin could be thrown, he gave the signal for engaging in battle.
§2.21.4Atque in alteram item cohortandi causa profectus pugnantibus occurrit.
And having set out likewise to the other side for the purpose of encouraging them, he came upon those who were already fighting.
§2.21.5Temporis tanta fuit exiguitas hostiumque tam paratus ad dimicandum animus ut non modo ad insignia accommodanda sed etiam ad galeas induendas scutisque tegimenta detrahenda tempus defuerit.
So great was the shortness of time and so prepared was the mind of the enemy for fighting, that time was wanting not only for putting on their insignia, but even for putting on their helmets and drawing the covers off their shields.
§2.21.6Quam quisque ab opere in partem casu devenit quaeque prima signa conspexit, ad haec constitit, ne in quaerendis suis pugnandi tempus dimitteret.
To whatever part each man by chance came down from the work, and which standards he first caught sight of, at these he took his stand, lest in seeking his own comrades he should lose the time for fighting.

Notes

  1. §2.21.1quam [in] partem fors obtulit — The antecedent partem is incorporated into the relative clause, equivalent to "in eam partem quam fors obtulit," with the prepositional phrase indicating direction for decucurrit partially omitted in the main clause.
  2. §2.21.2non longiore oratione ... quam uti ... retinerent — A construction of a comparative (longiore) followed by quam uti (an archaic form of ut) + subjunctive, expressing a limitation or result: "with a speech no longer than that they should..."
  3. §2.21.3quam quo telum adigi posset — The comparative is followed by quam quo + subjunctive (posset) to express a characteristic or relative clause of result, meaning "than whither a missile could be cast."
  4. §2.21.6Quam quisque ab opere in partem ... ad haec constitit — The noun partem, modified by the relative adjective quam, is incorporated into the relative clause, which corresponds to ad haec (neuter plural accusative, referring back to partem and signa) in the main clause. The subject quisque is positioned inside the relative clause.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §2.21.1-2.21.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.21.1-2.21.6

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