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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §7.21.1-7.21.3

Acclamation of Vercingetorix and Reinforcements for Avaricum

Passage 279 of 404 · Latin

Summary

The Gallic forces, enthusiastic about Vercingetorix's speech, recognize him as their supreme commander and decide to send ten thousand select men to defend the town of Avaricum.

§7.21.1Conclamat omnis multitudo et suo more armis concrepat, quod facere in eo consuerunt cuius orationem approbant: summum esse Vercingetorigem ducem, nec de eius fide dubitandum, nec maiore ratione bellum administrari posse.
The whole multitude shouted and clashed their arms after their custom, as they are wont to do in the case of him whose speech they approve: that Vercingetorix was a consummate general, and that there was no room for doubting his loyalty, nor could the war be conducted with better judgment.
§7.21.2Statuunt, ut X milia hominum delecta ex omnibus copiis in oppidum mittantur, §7.21.3nec solis Biturigibus communem salutem committendam censent, quod paene in eo, si id oppidum retinuissent, summam victoriae constare intellegebant.
They determine that ten thousand men, selected from all the forces, should be sent into the town, and they do not think that the common safety should be committed to the Bituriges alone, because they understood that the issue of the whole victory depended almost entirely on that, if they should retain that town.

Notes

  1. §7.21.1quod facere in eo consuerunt cuius orationem approbant — The relative pronoun quod refers back to the action mentioned before (clashing weapons), forming a clause meaning 'which they are accustomed to do in the case of him.' eo in 'in eo' is the antecedent of the relative cuius and means 'in the case of that person.'
  2. §7.21.1summum esse Vercingetorigem ducem — Indirect speech (accusative with infinitive) expressing the content of the crowd's acclaim implied by conclamat. The subsequent dubitandum [esse] and posse are also part of this indirect discourse.
  3. §7.21.3in eo, si id oppidum retinuissent, summam victoriae constare — The verb constare with in and the ablative means 'to depend on' or 'to consist in.' The demonstrative eo anticipates and refers to the condition expressed in the following clause si... retinuissent (if they should retain the town).

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §7.21.1-7.21.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.21.1-7.21.3

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