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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §3.19.1-3.19.6

Sabinus's Surprise Charge and Gallic Surrender

Passage 108 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Sabinus orders a sudden charge against the fatigued and unprepared Gauls, leading to a decisive Roman victory. Consequently, all the Gallic states surrender, illustrating the contrast between their eagerness for war and their lack of resilience in adversity.

§3.19.1Locus erat castrorum editus et paulatim ab imo acclivis circiter passus mille.
The situation of the camp was high, and gradually sloping up from the bottom for about a thousand paces.
Huc magno cursu contenderunt, ut quam minimum spatii ad se colligendos armandosque Romanis daretur, exanimatique pervenerunt.
Hither they hastened at a great run, so that as little time as possible might be given to the Romans to collect and arm themselves, and arrived out of breath.
§3.19.2Sabinus suos hortatus cupientibus signum dat.
Sabinus, having encouraged his men, gave the signal to them as they were eager for it.
Impeditis hostibus propter ea quae ferebant onera subito duabus portis eruptionem fieri iubet.
While the enemy were embarrassed by the burdens which they were carrying, he ordered a sudden sally to be made from two gates.
§3.19.3Factum est oportunitate loci, hostium inscientia ac defatigatione, virtute militum et superiorum pugnarum exercitatione, ut ne unum quidem nostrorum impetum ferrent ac statim terga verterent.
It came to pass, through the advantage of the ground, the inexperience and fatigue of the enemy, the courage of our soldiers, and their training in former battles, that they could not withstand even one charge of our men, but immediately turned their backs.
§3.19.4Quos impeditos integris viribus milites nostri consecuti magnum numerum eorum occiderunt; reliquos equites consectati paucos, qui ex fuga evaserant, reliquerunt.
Our soldiers, pursuing them while embarrassed with unimpaired strength, slew a great number of them; the cavalry having pursued the rest, left only a few who had escaped from the flight.
§3.19.5Sic uno tempore et de navali pugna Sabinus et de Sabini victoria Caesar est certior factus, civitatesque omnes se statim Titurio dediderunt.
Thus at one and the same time, Sabinus was informed of the naval battle, and Caesar of Sabinus's victory; and all the states immediately surrendered themselves to Titurius.
§3.19.6Nam ut ad bella suscipienda Gallorum alacer ac promptus est animus, sic mollis ac minime resistens ad calamitates ferendas mens eorum est.
For as the mind of the Gauls is quick and ready to undertake wars, so their resolution is soft and least resisting to bear calamities.

Notes

  1. §3.19.1passus mille — Meaning 'a thousand paces' (about a mile), this is an accusative of extent of space, defining the length of the upward slope (acclivis).
  2. §3.19.1ad se colligendos armandosque — A gerundive construction with the preposition ad expressing purpose ('for collecting and arming themselves'). The reflexive pronoun se refers to the logical subject Romanis.
  3. §3.19.2cupientibus — Dative plural of the present participle of cupio, agreeing logically with the preceding accusative suos and serving as the indirect object of dat ('gave the signal to them as they were eager').
  4. §3.19.3Factum est ... ut — A result clause with ut and the subjunctive, introduced by the impersonal factum est ('it came to pass that...'). Multiple ablatives of cause (oportunitate... exercitatione) are inserted between the main verb and the ut-clause.
  5. §3.19.4reliquos equites consectati paucos ... reliquerunt — The participle consectati is the perfect participle of the deponent verb consector, agreeing with the subject equites. The phrase 'left a few' implies that almost all the remaining enemy were slain or captured.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §3.19.1-3.19.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.19.1-3.19.6

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