Ch. 70

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Title

Opere¹ instituto fit² equestre³ proelium in ea planitie, quam⁴ intermissam collibus tria milia passuum in longitudinem patere supra demonstravimus⁵. Summa⁶ vi ab utrisque contenditur⁷. 2 Laborantibus nostris Caesar Germanos⁸ summittit legionesque pro castris constituit, ne⁹ qua subito irruptio ab hostium peditatu fiat. 3 Praesidio legionum addito nostris¹⁰ animus augetur: hostes in fugam coniecti¹¹ se¹² ipsi multitudine impediunt atque angustioribus¹³ portis relictis coacervantur. 4 Germani acrius¹⁴ usque ad munitiones sequuntur. 5 Fit magna caedes¹⁵: nonnulli¹⁶ relictis equis fossam transire et maceriam transcendere conantur. Paulum¹⁷ legiones Caesar quas pro¹⁸ vallo constituerat promoveri¹⁹ iubet. 6 Non minus qui intra munitiones erant perturbantur Galli: veniri²⁰ ad se confestim existimantes ad arma conclamant; nonnulli perterriti in oppidum irrumpunt. 7 Vercingetorix iubet portas claudi, ne²¹ castra nudentur. Multis interfectis, compluribus equis captis Germani sese²² recipiunt.

Opere instituto: opus, operis (n) is usually going to be “fortifications” in our readings, rather than “work” ↩
Fit: it happens ↩
equestre proelium: 3rd declension adjectives will end in an -e when describing a word that is neuter nominative/accusative singular ↩
quam intermissam collibus: [the plain] having been set (among) hills ↩
quam intermissam …. demonstravimus: the demonstravimus starts off indirect statement, with patere as your infinitive and quam, referring to the planitie, as the accusative subject. ↩
Summa vi ab utrisque: summa vi is ablative of means/manner, with the greatest force. Ab utrisque is by both sides, the -que sometimes gets attached to uter and similar words, don’t stress about it. ↩
Contenditur: this is an impersonal passive, literally “it is contended (ab urtisque) by both sides.” It is more natural in English to make it active, “both sides contended….” This construction is fairly common in Latin, and in Caesar especially ↩
Germanos: while the Germans are usually enemies of Rome, Caesar has enlisted the aid of German mercenaries, due to their skill in war, particularly when fighting against the Gauls ↩
ne qua …. peditatu fiat: again, the qua is short for aliqua after the ne, and goes with the irruptio, so that any sally/charge…. ↩
nostris animus augetur: nostris is a dative of interest here, the spirit is increasing for our guys. You can make it a dative of possession too, our spirit is increasing ↩
coniecti: this nominative plural PPP describes the hostes ↩
se ipsi multitudine impediunt: the reflexive (se) and intensive (ipsi) can be confusing/redundant here. They (ipsi) impede themselves (se) because of the crowd (multitudine). Caesar is stressing that the Gauls are causing their own struggles here ↩
angustioribus portis relictis: make sure to notice the comparative in angustioribus, by the more/rather narrow remaining gates ↩
acrius: the -ius is often the ending for a comparative adverb, such as “more quickly, more fiercely, more slowly, etc,” more sharply ↩
caedes: caedis, -is (f) – slaughter, bloodshed ↩
nonnulli: non+nullus = “not no one,” meaning “some, someone” sigh….. ↩
Paulum: take this as an adverbial accusative, a little. This can happen with adjectives in the neuter, accusative, singular ↩
pro vallo: a vallum is a defensive wall ↩
promoveri: recognize this as a passive infinitive ↩
veniri …. existimantes: existimantes describes the Galli, and starts off indirect statement. Veniri is a passive infinitive, meaning “it is arrived,” which is better changed to “they (the Romans) came” ↩
ne castra nudentur: so that the camps not be left empty/unprotected ↩
sese recipiunt: se recipere = “to retreat”, though not always in a defeated way, as seen here ↩