Ch. 71

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Title

Vercingetorix, priusquam munitiones ab Romanis perficiantur, consilium capit¹ omnem ab se equitatum noctu dimittere. 2 Discedentibus² mandat³ ut suam quisque eorum civitatem adeat omnesque qui⁴ per aetatem arma ferre possint ad bellum cogant. 3 Sua in illos merita proponit obtestaturque⁵ ut suae salutis rationem habeant neu⁶ se⁷ optime de communi libertate meritum in cruciatum hostibus dedant. Quod⁸ si indiligentiores⁹ fuerint, milia hominum delecta¹⁰ octoginta una¹¹ secum interitura¹² demonstrat. 4 Ratione¹³ inita se exigue dierum triginta habere frumentum, sed paulo¹⁴ etiam longius¹⁴ tolerari posse parcendo¹⁵. His datis mandatis, 5 qua¹⁶ opus erat intermissum, secunda vigilia silentio equitatum mittit. 6 Frumentum omne ad se referri iubet; capitis¹⁷ poenam eis qui non paruerint constituit: 7 pecus, cuius magna erat copia ab Mandubiis compulsa, viritim distribuit; frumentum parce et paulatim metiri instituit; 8 copias omnes quas pro oppido collocaverat in oppidum recepit. 9 His¹⁸ rationibus auxilia Galliae exspectare et bellum parat administrare.

1. consilium capit: consilium capere = to make a plan. Here, it start off indirect statement ↩

2. Discedentibus mandat: your participle, discedentibus, is being used as a noun here, those departing. Verbs of ordering (mando, praecipio, impero, etc) take a dative of interest ↩

3. • mandat ut: verbs of ordering often take *ut + subjunctive as an indirect command, except for iubeo which takes an accusative and infinitive. You order thatttttttt (ut) someone does something, as an indirect command, as opposed to using an imperative, “do it!” as a direct command. All this to say, the ut here is “that,” NOT “so that.”

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4. qui per aetatem arma ferre possint: the relative clause with a subjunctive verb is a relative clause of characteristic. Since they’re not looking for anyone specific, just the kind of people who would be able to bear arms, you’d use a relative clause of characteristic. ↩

5. obtestaturque ut …. habeant: he urged them that they should have a plan/care for his safety. The reflexive is used to show that Vercingetorix wants these Gauls to care for his own (Vercingetorix’s safety) and not abandon him, thinking only of their own safety. ↩

6. Neu: and that they not…. ↩

7. Se… meritum: him (Vercingetorix) most deserved of the common freedom (for all he’s done/plans to do for the Gauls) ↩

8. Quod si: but if ↩

9. Indiligentiores: note the comparative ↩

10. Delecta: PPP from deligo, “to choose, select, enlist” ↩

11. Una: together, as an adverb ↩

12. Interitura: recognize this as a FAP, -urus. Since you’re in indirect statement after the upcoming demonstrat, you can say “that 80,000 men would die (were going to die)” ↩

13. Ratione inita: an ablative absolute. The idea of the ratio, plan, starts off indirect statement, a plan thattttt….. ↩

14. paulo … longius: longius is a comparative adverb, longer. Paulo is ablative degree of difference, by a little. This shows us to what degree (by how much) something is different. You could be taller than your friend by a head, or stronger than your brother* by a lot, or just *by a little bit. ↩ ↩²

15. Parcendo: this is an FPP being used on its own, meaning it is not describing another noun. This makes it a gerund, which is “the act of verbing.” Here, it is in the ablative case, as an ablative of means. Translate it as by sparing, meaning “by not using a lot of the food.” Gerunds are only be found in the non-nominative cases ↩

16. Qua opus erat intermissum: qua is ablative of location, where the siege fortifications have been left off, meaning “where there was a gap in the fortifications” ↩

17. capitis poenam: literally “punishment of the head,” meaning death penalty ↩

18. His rationibus: ablative of means, by these methods/plans ↩