Humanitext Reader

Julius Caesar · Gallic War §5.43.1-5.43.7

Enemy Fire Attack on the Camp and Roman Resistance

Passage 199 of 404 · Latin

Summary

On the seventh day of the siege, the enemy set fire to the Roman barracks during a strong wind and launched a general assault, but the Roman soldiers defended their positions with immense bravery despite the destruction of their belongings, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.

§5.43.1Septimo oppugnationis die maximo coorto vento ferventes fusili ex argilla glandes fundis et fervefacta iacula in casas, quae more Gallico stramentis erant tectae, iacere coeperunt.
On the seventh day of the siege, a very high wind having arisen, they began to discharge with slings hot clay balls made of melted clay, and heated javelins, into the barracks, which, after the Gallic custom, were thatched with straw.
§5.43.2Hae celeriter ignem comprehenderunt et venti magnitudine in omnem locum castrorum distulerunt.
These quickly caught fire, and, owing to the violence of the wind, spread it to every part of the camp.
§5.43.3Hostes maximo clamore sicuti parta iam atque explorata victoria turres testudinesque agere et scalis vallum ascendere coeperunt.
The enemy, with a very loud shout, as if victory were already acquired and secured, began to drive forward their towers and testudines, and to scale the rampart with ladders.
§5.43.4At tanta militum virtus atque ea praesentia animi fuit, ut, cum undique flamma torrerentur maximaque telorum multitudine premerentur suaque omnia impedimenta atque omnes fortunas conflagrare intellegerent, non modo demigrandi causa de vallo decederet nemo, sed paene ne respiceret quidem quisquam, ac tum omnes acerrime fortissimeque pugnarent.
But so great was the valor of the soldiers, and such their presence of mind, that, though they were scorched on all sides by the fire, and were oppressed by a very great multitude of weapons, and understood that all their baggage and all their fortunes were burning, not only did no one abandon the rampart for the purpose of retiring, but scarcely anyone even looked behind him, and all at that time fought most vigorously and most valiantly.
§5.43.5Hic dies nostris longe gravissimus fuit; sed tamen hunc habuit eventum, ut eo die maximus numerus hostium vulneraretur atque interficeretur, ut se sub ipso vallo constipaverant recessumque primis ultimi non dabant.
This day was by far the most grievous to our men; but nevertheless it had this result, that on that day a very great number of the enemy was wounded and slain, as they had crowded themselves close under the very rampart, and those in the rear did not give a retreat to those in front.
§5.43.6Paulum quidem intermissa flamma et quodam loco turri adacta et contingente vallum tertiae cohortis centuriones ex eo, quo stabant, loco recesserunt suosque omnes removerunt, nutu vocibusque hostes, si introire vellent, vocare coeperunt; quorum progredi ausus est nemo.
The flame having been indeed somewhat abated, and a tower having been pushed forward in a certain place and touching the rampart, the centurions of the third cohort retreated from that place where they were standing, and drew off all their men; they began to call to the enemy by gestures and voices, if they wished to enter; of whom no one dared to advance.
§5.43.7Tum ex omni parte lapidibus coniectis deturbati, turrisque succensa est.
Then, stones having been cast from every quarter, they were dislodged, and their tower was set on fire.

Notes

  1. §5.43.1fusili ex argilla — fusili is the ablative feminine singular of the third-declension adjective fusilis, -e (liquid, molten, or molded), modifying the ablative noun argilla (clay). The phrase means 'made of molten/molded clay,' describing the material of the glandes (bullets).
  2. §5.43.2distulerunt — The subject is the demonstrative pronoun hae (these cabins/barracks), referring back to casas. The object ignem (fire) is understood from the context of ignem comprehenderunt. Though it might seem more intuitive to think of the wind as the subject, grammatically hae is the subject, and venti magnitudine (by the greatness of the wind) is an ablative of means/cause.
  3. §5.43.4non modo demigrandi causa de vallo decederet nemo — In the non modo ... sed [ne ... quidem] construction, when a negative like ne ... quidem follows in the second clause, the negative adverb non is regularly omitted in the first clause. Thus, non modo ... decederet nemo is translated negatively: 'not only did no one abandon [the rampart]... but scarcely anyone even...'
  4. §5.43.5ut se sub ipso vallo constipaverant — This ut introduces an indicative clause with the pluperfect constipaverant and imperfect dabant. It functions either causally ('since / as') or temporally/circumstantially ('just as / in a state where'). It is nested inside the result clause (ut eo die...), explaining that the crowding of the enemy under the rampart was the cause of their heavy casualties.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §5.43.1-5.43.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:5.43.1-5.43.7

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.