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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §7.84.1-7.84.5

Vercingetorix's Sally and the Romans' Crisis

Passage 342 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Upon seeing his men's assault from the citadel, Vercingetorix orders a general sally, while the Romans, stretched thin across their vast lines, are thrown into panic by the shouts behind them.

§7.84.1Vercingetorix ex arce Alesiae suos conspicatus ex oppido egreditur; crates, longurios, musculos, falces reliquaque quae eruptionis causa paraverat profert.
Vercingetorix, having descried his men from the citadel of Alesia, marched out of the town; he brought forth the hurdles, long poles, sappers' huts, hooks, and the other things which he had prepared for the purpose of a sally.
§7.84.2Pugnatur uno tempore omnibus locis, atque omnia temptantur: quae minime visa pars firma est, huc concurritur.
The battle was fought at one and the same time in all places, and every shift was attempted; wherever a part seemed least strong, thither they rushed.
§7.84.3Romanorum manus tantis munitionibus distinetur nec facile pluribus locis occurrit.
The force of the Romans was distracted by such extensive fortifications, and could not easily defend themselves in many places.
§7.84.4Multum ad terrendos nostros valet clamor, qui post tergum pugnantibus exstitit, quod suum periculum in aliena vident salute constare: §7.84.5omnia enim plerumque quae absunt vehementius hominum mentes perturbant.
The shout which arose behind the backs of those who were fighting had a great effect in terrifying our men, because they saw that their own danger depended on the safety of others: for generally, all things which are absent disturb men's minds more violently.

Notes

  1. 7.84.2quae minime visa pars firma est — A grammatical construction where the antecedent noun pars is attracted into the relative clause quae... In a standard word order, this would be phrased as huc [= ad eam partem] concurritur quae minime firma visa est ('they rush to that part which seemed least strong').
  2. 7.84.4pugnantibus — The dative plural of the present participle pugnans ('fighting'). It functions as a dative of reference or possessive dative ('behind the backs of those who were fighting'), complementing post tergum.
  3. 7.84.4in aliena vident salute constare — The phrase constare followed by in and the ablative means 'to depend on' or 'to consist in.' aliena salute refers to 'the safety of others' (i.e., the maintenance of other defensive lines). This infinitive clause suum periculum... constare is the object of vident.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §7.84.1-7.84.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.84.1-7.84.5

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