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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §7.30.1-7.30.4

Vercingetorix's Rising Prestige and the Camp's Fortification

Passage 288 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Due to Vercingetorix's undaunted spirit and foresight, his prestige increased, and the Gauls, despite being unaccustomed to labor, began to fortify their camp for the first time.

§7.30.1Fuit haec oratio non ingrata Gallis, et maxime, quod ipse animo non defecerat tanto accepto incommodo neque se in occultum abdiderat et conspectum multitudinis fugerat; §7.30.2plusque animo providere et praesentire existimabatur, quod re integra primo incendendum Avaricum, post deserendum censuerat.
This speech was not unpleasing to the Gauls, and especially because he himself had not lost heart after receiving so great a setback, nor had he hidden himself in secret and avoided the sight of the multitude; and he was thought to foresee and anticipate more in his mind, because, while the matter was still intact, he had proposed first that Avaricum should be burned, and afterwards that it should be abandoned.
§7.30.3Itaque ut reliquorum imperatorum res adversae auctoritatem minuunt, sic huius ex contrario dignitas incommodo accepto in dies augebatur.
Therefore, just as adversity diminishes the authority of other commanders, so, on the contrary, his prestige increased day by day despite having suffered a setback.
§7.30.4Simul in spem veniebant eius adfirmatione de reliquis adiungendis civitatibus; primumque eo tempore Galli castra munire instituerunt et sic sunt animo confirmati, homines insueti laboris, ut omnia quae imperarentur sibi patienda existimarent.
At the same time, they conceived hope from his assurance of joining the remaining states; and then for the first time at that time the Gauls began to fortify their camp, and they were so strengthened in spirit, though men unaccustomed to labor, that they thought all things which were ordered must be endured by them.

Notes

  1. §7.30.2existimabatur — The verb "existimare" is used in the personal passive construction (with Vercingetorix as the subject), taking the infinitives "providere" and "praesentire". Literally, "he was thought to foresee and anticipate (more)".
  2. §7.30.2re integra — An ablative absolute phrase consisting of the noun "res" and the adjective "integer". It expresses the circumstance "while the matter was still untouched" or "before any action/damage had taken place".
  3. §7.30.4homines insueti laboris — The nominative noun phrase "homines" stands in apposition to the subject of the main clause, "Galli". "laboris" is a genitive of reference governed by the adjective "insueti" (unaccustomed to).
  4. §7.30.4sibi patienda — The pronoun "sibi" is a dative of agent used with the gerundive "patienda" (which must be endured), referring back to the subject of the main clause (the Gauls). It means "must be endured by them".

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §7.30.1-7.30.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.30.1-7.30.4

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