Humanitext Reader

Julius Caesar · Gallic War §7.88.1-7.88.7

Caesar's Decisive Charge and Gallic Rout

Passage 346 of 404 · Latin

Summary

With Caesar's arrival and the visual reinforcement of his troops, the Roman forces crush the Gallic army, leading to a general retreat of the besieged Gauls and a devastating pursuit of the fleeing enemy during the night.

§7.88.1Eius adventu ex colore vestitus cognito, quo insigni in proeliis uti consuerat, turmisque equitum et cohortibus visis quas se sequi iusserat, ut de locis superioribus haec declivia et devexa cernebantur, hostes proelium committunt. §7.88.2Vtrimque clamore sublato excipit rursus ex vallo atque omnibus munitionibus clamor.
When his arrival was known by the color of his clothing, which badge he was accustomed to use in battles, and the troops of cavalry and the cohorts which he had ordered to follow him were seen, as these declines and sloping grounds were visible from the higher places, the enemy join battle. A shout being raised on both sides, an answering shout rises again from the rampart and all the fortifications.
Nostri omissis pilis gladiis rem gerunt. §7.88.3Repente post tergum equitatus cernitur; cohortes aliae appropinquant.
Our men, discarding their javelins, carry on the fight with their swords. Suddenly the cavalry is seen behind their back; other cohorts approach.
Hostes terga vertunt; fugientibus equites occurrunt.
The enemy turn their backs; the cavalry encounter the fugitives.
Fit magna caedes.
A great slaughter ensues.
Sedulius, dux et princeps Lemovicum, occiditur; §7.88.4Vercassivellaunus Arvernus vivus in fuga comprehenditur; signa militaria septuaginta quattuor ad Caesarem referuntur: pauci ex tanto numero se incolumes in castra recipiunt. §7.88.5Conspicati ex oppido caedem et fugam suorum desperata salute copias a munitionibus reducunt. §7.88.6Fit protinus hac re audita ex castris Gallorum fuga.
Sedulius, the leader and chief of the Lemovices, is slain; Vercassivellaunus the Arvernian is taken alive in the flight; seventy-four military standards are brought back to Caesar; few out of so great a number retrieve themselves safely to their camp. Having beheld from the town the slaughter and flight of their countrymen, despairing of safety, they draw back their forces from the fortifications. On this event being heard, a flight from the camp of the Gauls immediately ensues.
Quod nisi crebris subsidiis ac totius diei labore milites essent defessi, omnes hostium copiae deleri potuissent. §7.88.7De media nocte missus equitatus novissimum agmen consequitur: magnus numerus capitur atque interficitur; reliqui ex fuga in civitates discedunt.
And if the soldiers had not been fatigued by sending frequent reinforcements and by the labor of the entire day, all the forces of the enemy might have been destroyed. After midnight, the cavalry having been sent, overtakes the rear guard: a great number is taken and slain; the rest escape and depart into their states.

Notes

  1. §7.88.1Eius adventu ex colore vestitus cognito, quo insigni in proeliis uti consuerat, turmisque equitum et cohortibus visis — The beginning of this sentence consists of two ablative absolute structures, `Eius adventu ... cognito` and `turmisque ... cohortibus visis`, connected by `que`. Within the first, the means `ex colore vestitus` (by the color of his clothing) is inserted, with the relative clause `quo insigni... uti consuerat` modifying `vestitus`. This complex structure sets the background for the main action of the subject `hostes` (`proelium committunt`).
  2. §7.88.1quo insigni — The relative pronoun `quo` agrees attributively with the antecedent `vestitus` (clothing, specifically the general's cloak), while `insigni` (ablative of the neuter noun `insigne`, meaning "badge" or "distinctive mark") serves as the object of `uti`, which governs the ablative case. The whole phrase translates to "which badge he was accustomed to use."
  3. §7.88.1ut ... cernebantur — The conjunction `ut` is used here with the indicative passive `cernebantur`. This `ut` can be interpreted as causal ("since/as") or temporal/proportional ("when/as"), indicating that the visibility of the slopes from the higher ground where the enemy stood prompted their immediate decision to join battle.
  4. §7.88.2excipit — The verb `excipere` is used here intransitively or with its direct object omitted, meaning "to take up (the shout)" or "to follow in response." The subject is `clamor` located at the end of the clause.
  5. §7.88.6Quod nisi — The `Quod` at the beginning of the sentence is a connective relative pronoun referring back to the preceding context, which, combined with `nisi`, introduces a contrary-to-fact conditional clause meaning "And if... not" or "But if... not."
  6. §7.88.6deleri potuissent — A combination of the subjunctive pluperfect of the modal verb `possum` (`potuissent`) and the passive infinitive (`deleri`) in the apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact conditional. It expresses an unfulfilled possibility in the past: "they might have been destroyed" (which did not occur because the soldiers were exhausted).

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §7.88.1-7.88.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.88.1-7.88.7

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