Ch. 88

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Title

Eius adventu ex colore vestitus¹ cognito, quo² insigni in proeliis uti³ consuerat, turmisque⁴ equitum⁵ et cohortibus visis quas se sequi iusserat, ut⁶ de locis superioribus haec⁷ declivia et devexa cernebantur, hostes proelium committunt. 2 Utrimque⁸ clamore sublato excipit rursus ex vallo atque omnibus munitionibus clamor. Nostri omissis⁹ pilis gladiis¹⁰ rem gerunt. 3 Repente post¹¹ tergum equitatus cernitur; cohortes aliae appropinquant. Hostes terga¹² vertunt; fugientibus¹³ equites occurrunt. Fit¹⁴ magna caedes. Sedulius¹⁵, dux et princeps Lemovicum¹⁶, occiditur; 4 Vercassivellaunus¹⁷ Arvernus vivus in fuga comprehenditur; signa¹⁸ militaria septuaginta quattuor ad Caesarem referuntur: pauci ex tanto numero se incolumes in castra recipiunt. 5 Conspicati¹⁹ ex oppido caedem et fugam suorum desperata²⁰ salute copias a munitionibus reducunt. 6 Fit protinus hac re audita ex castris Gallorum fuga. Quod²¹ nisi crebris subsidiis ac totius diei labore milites²² essent²³ defessi, omnes hostium copiae deleri²⁴ potuissent. 7 De media nocte missus equitatus novissimum²⁵ agmen consequitur: magnus numerus capitur atque interficitur; reliqui²⁶ ex fuga in civitates discedunt.

Vestitus: a vestitus is a cloak, often worn by a general ↩
quo insigni: which sign/mark ↩
uti: utor is a PUFFV verb, which means that, instead of taking an accusative direct object, it takes an ablative object ↩
turmis: a turma is a squadron (smaller group of soldiers) ↩
turmisque equitum et cohortibus visis: this is another ablative absolute, and the relative clause (started off by quas) describes both the turmis and the cohortibus ↩
ut de locis …. cernebantur: remember that ut + the indicative, as you have here, just means as ↩
haec declivia et devexa: these slopes and hills. This refers to the area where Caesar is rushing up, saying that it is easy to see his approach, given the geography ↩
Utrim: on both sides, referring to both the internal and external Gauls shouting to alert one another ↩
omissis pilis: ablative absolute ↩
gladiis: take this as an ablative of means with the phrase rem gerunt ↩
post tergum: behind the enemies’ back ↩
terga vertunt: tergum vertere = “to turn your back” → to flee ↩
fugientibus equites occurrunt: occurro takes a dative of reference ↩
fit: fio is often translated as “it happens” or just “there is” ↩
Sedulius: nothing else is known about this leader, though Caesar must have been impressed with his bravery to mention him here ↩
Lemovicum: the Lemovices were a Gallic tribe hostile to Caesar ↩
Vercassivellaunus: recall that this is the Gaul leading the ambush party to Caesar’s vulnerable camp on the hillside. He is also a relative of Vercingetorix ↩
signa militaria: remember how vital these standards are to the Romans. Even if they are not as important to the Gauls, you can still see why the Romans would want to capture them ↩
Conspicati: note that deponent PPPs are still active having seen ↩
desperata salute: ablative absolute ↩
Quod nisi: but if ……not ↩
Milites: these are Caesar’s soldiers ↩
Defessi…… potuissent: two pluperfect subjunctive verbs (-isse + endings) will give you a contrary to fact if clause (another Mr. Clark favorite!). if they had not been……they would have been able to…. Note that they WERE tired, so they were NOT able, hence the “contrary to fact” ↩
Deleri: note the passive infinitive, to be destroyed ↩
novissimum agmen: novissimum means “newest,” but here will be “the rear” meaning “the most recent in the line” ↩
reliqui: this refers to the Gauls fleeing the end of the siege ↩