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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §8.43.1-8.43.5

Cutting Off the Spring and the Fall of Uxellodunum

Passage 392 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar used a feigned attack to draw the enemy back to the walls, allowing his men to extinguish the fire. Furthermore, the Romans cut off the enemy's water supply by mining, forcing them to despair and surrender.

§8.43.1Caesar cum complures suos vulnerari videret, ex omnibus oppidi partibus cohortes montem ascendere et simulatione moenium occupandorum clamorem undique iubet tollere.
Caesar, seeing that many of his men were being wounded, ordered the cohorts to ascend the mountain from all sides of the town, and, under the pretense of seizing the walls, to raise a shout from every quarter.
§8.43.2Quo facto perterriti oppidani, cum quid ageretur in locis reliquis essent suspensi, revocant ab impugnandis operibus armatos murisque disponunt.
Terrified by this action, since the townspeople were in suspense as to what was going on in the other quarters, they recalled the armed men from attacking the works and stationed them on the walls.
§8.43.3Ita nostri fine proeli facto celeriter opera flamma comprehensa partim restinguunt, partim interscindunt.
Thus our men, after the end of the battle was made, quickly extinguished the works caught by the flame in part, and in part cut them off.
§8.43.4Cum pertinaciter resisterent oppidani, magna etiam parte amissa siti suorum in sententia permanerent, ad postremum cuniculis venae fontis intercisae sunt atque aversae.
Although the townspeople resisted stubbornly, and, though a great part of their own men had been lost through thirst, persisted in their resolve, at last the veins of the spring were cut off and diverted by means of mines.
§8.43.5Quo facto repente perennis exaruit fons tantamque attulit oppidanis salutis desperationem, ut id non hominum consilio, sed deorum voluntate factum putarent.
By this action, the perennial spring suddenly dried up and brought such despair of safety to the townspeople that they thought this had been done not by human design, but by the will of the gods.
Itaque se necessitate coacti tradiderunt.
Therefore, compelled by necessity, they surrendered.

Notes

  1. §8.43.1simulatione moenium occupandorum — simulatione is an ablative of manner or means, and moenium occupandorum is a gerundive construction in the genitive modifying simulatione.
  2. §8.43.2quid ageretur in locis reliquis essent suspensi — quid ageretur is an indirect question clause with the subjunctive imperfect ageretur, dependent on the adjective/participle suspensi ('anxious' / 'in suspense').
  3. §8.43.4magna etiam parte amissa siti suorum — magna etiam parte amissa is an ablative absolute. The genitive suorum ('of their own') depends on parte, and the ablative siti ('by thirst', ablative of sitis) expresses the cause of amissa, with an interlaced word order.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §8.43.1-8.43.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:8.43.1-8.43.5

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