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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §3.29.1-3.29.3

Halted Forest Clearing Due to Storms and Winter Quarters

Passage 118 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar cuts down the forests and constructs ramparts to pursue the enemy, but bad weather forces him to interrupt the work. After devastating the enemy's territory, he places his army in winter quarters.

§3.29.1Reliquis deinceps diebus Caesar silvas caedere instituit, et ne quis inermibus imprudentibusque militibus ab latere impetus fieri posset, omnem eam materiam quae erat caesa conversam ad hostem conlocabat et pro vallo ad utrumque latus extruebat.
For the remaining days in succession, Caesar determined to cut down the forests, and, in order that no attack could be made from the flank upon the unarmed and unsuspecting soldiers, he placed all that timber which had been cut down with its front turned toward the enemy, and piled it up on each flank as a rampart.
§3.29.2Incredibili celeritate magno spatio paucis diebus confecto, cum iam pecus atque extrema impedimenta a nostris tenerentur, ipsi densiores silvas peterent, eius modi sunt tempestates consecutae uti opus necessario intermitteretur et continuatione imbrium diutius sub pellibus milites contineri non possent.
When, with incredible speed, a vast space had been cleared in a few days, so that already the cattle and the rear of the baggage were being captured by our men, while they themselves were seeking the denser forests, storms of such a kind ensued that the work was of necessity interrupted, and because of the continuous rains, the soldiers could no longer be kept under their tents.
§3.29.3Itaque vastatis omnibus eorum agris, vicis aedificiisque incensis, Caesar exercitum reduxit et in Aulercis Lexoviisque, reliquis item civitatibus quae proxime bellum fecerant, in hibernis conlocavit.
Therefore, having laid waste all their fields, and burnt their villages and buildings, Caesar led back his army, and stationed them in winter quarters among the Aulerci and Lexovii, and also the other states which had recently made war.

Notes

  1. §3.29.1Reliquis deinceps diebus — Ablative of time when. The adverb deinceps is placed between the adjective reliquis and the noun diebus, modifying the noun phrase attributively ('on the days in succession').
  2. §3.29.1inermibus imprudentibusque militibus — Dative of disadvantage. It is used with the passive verbal expression `impetus fieri` (an attack to be made) to denote the persons affected ('upon the soldiers').
  3. §3.29.2Incredibili celeritate magno spatio paucis diebus confecto — A structure with multiple ablative phrases. `magno spatio ... confecto` is an ablative absolute ('a vast space having been completed'). This is accompanied by `Incredibili celeritate` (ablative of manner, 'with incredible speed') and `paucis diebus` (ablative of time within which, 'in a few days') to describe the progress of the work.
  4. §3.29.2eius modi ... uti ... et ... non possent — A result clause construction where `eius modi` (genitive of quality, 'of such a kind') is followed and completed by the conjunction `uti` (= `ut`) introducing subjunctive verbs (`intermitteretur` and `possent`) to denote the result.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §3.29.1-3.29.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.29.1-3.29.3

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