Ch. 86

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Labienus to the Rescue

His rebus cognitis Caesar Labienum¹ cum cohortibus² sex subsidio³ laborantibus mittit: 2 imperat, si sustinere non posset, deductis cohortibus eruptione pugnaret; id⁴ nisi necessario ne faciat. 3 Ipse adit reliquos, cohortatur ne⁵ labori succumbant; omnium⁶ superiorum dimicationum⁷ fructum⁸ in eo die atque hora docet consistere⁹. 4 Interiores¹⁰ desperatis campestribus¹¹ locis propter magnitudinem munitionum loca praerupta ex ascensu temptant: huc¹² ea quae paraverant conferunt. 5 Multitudine telorum ex turribus propugnantes¹³ deturbant, aggere et cratibus fossas explent, falcibus¹⁴ vallum ac loricam rescindunt.

Labienum: Titus Labienus was one of Caesar’s top legates during the Gallic Wars, but turns against him during the Civil War with Pompey ↩
Cohortibus: a cohort is a unit of around 480 men. There were ten cohorts to a legion. This smaller group allowed for more nimble and coordinated movements on the battlefield ↩
subsidio laborantibus: DOUBLE DATIVE!! ↩
id nisi necessario ne faciat: ne faciat is a negative indirect command after imperat above. Take it first, in this order: ne faciat id nisi necessario ↩
ne labori succumbant: another negative indirect command ↩
omnium superiorum…..consistere: jump to the docet as your main verb ↩
dimicationum: dimicatio, -onis (f) = proelium, -i (n) = pugna, -ae (f) ↩
fructum: fructum here means “fruit” in the metaphorical sense, like the fruit of your labor, or reward ↩
consistere: to rely on, to rest on ↩
Interiores: this refers to the Gauls coming from Alesia out towards Caesar’s inner walls ↩
campestribus locis: the level ground ↩
huc: to here ↩
propugnantes: important to note that this is the accusative direct object of deturbant, NOT its subject. It refers to Caesar’s men. propugno means “to fight on the defensive.” Take this as a substantive adjective/participle, the defenders ↩
falcibus: falx, falcis (f), as we’ve seen before, are “grappling hooks” ↩