Humanitext Reader

Julius Caesar · Gallic War §3.25.1-3.25.2

Assault on the Camp and Discovery of Weak Rear Defenses

Passage 114 of 404 · Latin

Summary

While Crassus's forces assault the enemy camp and the auxiliaries assist in the attack, the enemy resists fiercely. Meanwhile, the cavalry scouts the camp and reports that the side near the decuman gate is poorly fortified.

§3.25.1Ibi cum alii fossas complerent, alii multis telis coniectis defensores vallo munitionibusque depellerent, auxiliaresque, quibus ad pugnam non multum Crassus confidebat, lapidibus telisque subministrandis et ad aggerem caespitibus comportandis speciem atque opinionem pugnantium praeberent, cum item ab hostibus constanter ac non timide pugnaretur telaque ex loco superiore missa non frustra acciderent, §3.25.2equites circumitis hostium castris Crasso renuntiaverunt non eadem esse diligentia ab decumana porta castra munita facilemque aditum habere.
There, while some were filling up the ditches, others by throwing many weapons were driving the defenders from the rampart and fortifications, and the auxiliaries, in whom Crassus did not place much confidence for battle, by supplying stones and weapons and by carrying sods for the mound, were presenting the appearance and impression of fighting men, and while likewise on the part of the enemy the fight was being maintained steadily and not fearfully, and the weapons thrown from the higher ground did not fall without effect, the cavalry, having ridden around the camp of the enemy, reported to Crassus that the camp was not fortified with the same diligence on the side of the decuman gate, and presented an easy approach.

Notes

  1. 3.25.1quibus — Dative of the relative pronoun referring to the antecedent `auxiliares`, governed by the verb `confidebat` which takes the dative.
  2. 3.25.1lapidibus telisque subministrandis et ad aggerem caespitibus comportandis — Ablative of means using the gerundive construction, meaning "by supplying stones and weapons, and by carrying sods for the mound (agger)."
  3. 3.25.1pugnaretur — Third-person singular imperfect subjunctive passive of the intransitive verb `pugno` (to fight), used impersonally: "it was fought by the enemy," i.e., "the enemy fought."
  4. 3.25.2non eadem esse diligentia ab decumana porta castra munita — Accusative with infinitive construction in indirect speech. The subject is `castra` (neuter plural accusative), and the infinitive is `munita esse` (with `esse` expressed). `non eadem diligentia` is an ablative of quality or manner, meaning "not with the same diligence."

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §3.25.1-3.25.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.25.1-3.25.2

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.