Humanitext Reader

Julius Caesar · Gallic War §7.3.1-7.3.3

Massacre at Cenabum and the Rapid Spread of News

Passage 261 of 404 · Latin

Summary

The Carnutes launch an attack on Cenabum, slaughtering Roman citizens and plundering their property, while the news of this event spreads rapidly across Gaul through their system of shouting, reaching the Arverni about 160 miles away in a short time.

§7.3.1Vbi ea dies venit, Carnutes Cotuato et Conconnetodumno ducibus, desperatis hominibus, Cenabum signo dato concurrunt civesque Romanos, qui negotiandi causa ibi constiterant, in his Gaium Fufium Citam, honestum equitem Romanum, qui rei frumentariae iussu Caesaris praeerat, interficiunt bonaque eorum diripiunt.
When that day came, the Carnutes, under the leadership of Cotuatus and Conconnetodumnus, desperate men, rushed to Cenabum at a given signal and slaughtered the Roman citizens who had settled there for the purpose of trading, among them Gaius Fufius Cita, a distinguished Roman knight, who by Caesar's order was in charge of the grain supply, and plundered their property.
§7.3.2Celeriter ad omnes Galliae civitates fama perfertur.
The news is quickly carried to all the states of Gaul.
Nam ubicumque maior atque illustrior incidit res, clamore per agros regionesque significant; hunc alii deinceps excipiunt et proximis tradunt, ut tum accidit.
For whenever any more important and remarkable event occurs, they signify it by a shout through the fields and districts; others in turn take this up and pass it on to their neighbors, as happened then.
§7.3.3Nam quae Cenabi oriente sole gesta essent, ante primam confectam vigiliam in finibus Arvernorum audita sunt, quod spatium est milium passuum circiter centum LX.
For what had been done at Cenabum at sunrise was heard of in the territories of the Arverni before the end of the first watch, which is a distance of about one hundred and sixty miles.

Notes

  1. §7.3.1Cotuato et Conconnetodumno ducibus — An ablative absolute construction of the noun-plus-noun type, since there is no present participle for the verb *esse*. *Cotuato et Conconnetodumno* serves as the subject and *ducibus* (accompanied by the appositive *desperatis hominibus*) as the predicate, meaning 'with Cotuatus and Conconnetodumnus as leaders.'
  2. §7.3.3quae Cenabi oriente sole gesta essent — The pluperfect subjunctive *gesta essent* is used in the relative clause *quae...* because it represents the contents of the report heard by the Arverni (subordinate clause in indirect discourse), rather than a simple objective fact stated by the author.
  3. §7.3.3quod spatium — The relative pronoun *quod* refers to the preceding fact (the distance from Cenabum to the territory of the Arverni), with the noun *spatium* incorporated into the relative clause as an appositive. The gender of the pronoun is attracted to the neuter singular noun *spatium* within its own clause, rather than being determined by the preceding clause.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §7.3.1-7.3.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.3.1-7.3.3

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.