Julius Caesar · Gallic War §6.26.1

Description of the Stag-Like Ox with a Single Horn

Passage 240 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar describes a unique animal resembling an ox with the shape of a stag and a single horn on its forehead, noting that the male and female share the same nature and horns.

§6.26.1Est bos cervi figura, cuius a media fronte inter aures unum cornu exsistit excelsius magisque directum his, quae nobis nota sunt, cornibus: ab eius summo sicut palmae ramique late diffunduntur.

There is an ox of the shape of a stag, from the middle of whose forehead between its ears there stands out a single horn, taller and straighter than those horns which are known to us. From its top, like palms of hands and branches, they spread out widely.

Eadem est feminae marisque natura, eadem forma magnitudoque cornuum.

The nature of the female and the male is the same, and the shape and size of their horns are the same.

Notes

6.26.1cervi figura — Ablative of description (quality) modifying `bos`, meaning "an ox of the shape of a stag."
6.26.1his, quae nobis nota sunt, cornibus — Ablative of comparison dependent on the comparatives `excelsius` and `directum`. The relative clause `quae nobis nota sunt` modifies the antecedent `his cornibus`, meaning "than those horns which are known to us."
6.26.1ab eius summo — `eius` is the genitive pronoun referring back to `cornu` (horn). `summo` is the ablative of the neuter singular adjective `summus` used substantively (or agreeing with an implied `cornu` in the ablative), meaning "from the top of it."
6.26.1palmae ramique — Nominative plurals. `palma` refers to the palm of the hand (the flat part of the antler) and `ramus` to branches, metaphorically describing how the top of the horn spreads out in those shapes.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §6.26.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:6.26.1

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