nocturnō labōre sēsē reficere iussit. Cum iam merīdiēs appropinquare vidērētur, ad ea castra, quae suprā dēmōnstrāvimus, contendit; eodemque tempore equitatus ad campestrēs mūnītiōnēs accēdere et reliquae copiae prō castrīs sēsē ostendere 20 coeperunt.

Vercingetorix attack.

joins in the

Straits of

the Romans.

84. Vercingetorix ex arce Alesiae suōs cōnspicatus ex oppidō egreditur; crātīs, longuriōs, mūsculōs, falcēs reliquaque, quae eruptionis causa paraverat, profert. Pūgnātur ūno tempore omnibus locis, atque omnia temptantur: quae minimē vīsa pars firma est, hūc 5 concurritur. Rōmānōrum manus tantīs mūnītiōnibus distinētur nec facile pluribus locis occurrit. Multum ad terrendōs nostrōs valet clamor, qui post tergum pūgnantibus exstitit, quod suum periculum in aliēnā vident virtute constare: omnia enim plerumque, quae absunt, vehementius hominum10 mentēs perturbant.

85. Caesar idōneum locum nactus, quid qua- Valorous que in parte geratur, cognoscit; laborantibus sub

1. arx, arcis [arceō, shut up; ward off], F., citadel, fortress, stronghold. 2

3. musculus, -ī [mūs, mouse],

fighting of

both armies.

M., a little mouse; a small shed or mantelet used in sieges, for the protection of the soldiers while working. 1

formed two lines placed back to back, so that each line had the enemy behind it.

9. suum periculum ... cōnstare, their own peril or safety depended upon the safety of others behind them.

10. quae absunt: i. e., what is out of sight.

1. idoneum locum: on the slope of the hill of Flavigny where the two lines of works terminate: see View of the plain of Laumes p. 475. One of the two camps on this hill is

mittit. Utrisque ad animum occurrit, unum esse illud tempus, quō māximē contendi conveniat: Gallī, nisi perfiēgerint mūnītiōnēs, dē omnī salūte dēspērant; Rōmānī, sī rem obtinuerint, finem labōrum omnium exspectant. Maxime ad superiōrēs mūnītiōnēs labōrātur, quo Vercassivellaunum missum dēmōnstrāvimus. Inīquum locī ad dēclīvitātem fastīgium māgum habet momentum. Alii tēla coniciunt, alii 10testudine factā subeunt; defatīgātīs in vicem integrī succēdunt. Agger ab universīs in mūnītiōnem coniectus et ascensum dat Gallis et ea, quae in terra occultāverant Rōmānī, contegit; nec iam arma nostrīs nec vīrēs suppetunt.

his troops.

Caesar rallies 86 His rebus cognitis Caesar Labiēnum cum cohortibus sex subsidio laborantibus mittit: imperat, si sustinere non possit, deductis cohortibus ēruptiōne pūgnet: id nisi necessariō ne faciat. Ipse adit reliquos, cohortatur, nē 5 labōri succumbant; omnium superiōrum dimicātiōnum fruct8. dēclīvitās, -tātis [dēclivis, [tegō, cover], a., cover up, hide, conceal; dissemble, shield. 1

sloping downwards], F., slope, de-
clivity. 1

9. momentum, -i [for movi-
mentum fr. moveo, move], N.,
means or cause of motion; a short
time, moment; weight, influence,
importance. 2

13. con-tegō, -ere, tēxi, tēctus

supposed to have been Caesar's headquarters, partly from the fact that it was defended by a triple fosse on the north.

6, 7. maximē ... labōrātur: great numbers of coins bearing the names of Gallic chiefs and peoples were found in the excavations at this point, and attest the truth of Caesar's statement.

8. iniquum loci: see note 83, 5, iniquo loco.

10. testudine facta: see Int. 166. The Gauls had adopted Roman methods of attack.

5. suc-cumbō, -ere, cubui, cubitus [cubō, lie down], n., fall or sink down; yield, succumb. 1 dīmicātiō, -ōnis [dīmicō, fight], F., fighting, contest, encounter.

11. agger: see note 79, 12. in mūnītiōnem: the additional obstacles placed in front of the agger. ea: i. e., the scrōbēs, lilia etc.

1. Labiēnum: probably stationed on the hill northeast of Alesia. id: i. e., ēruptiōne pugnet.

4. reliquos: the soldiers defending the works in the plain, exposed to the general assault: cf. 83, 19, 20, text. adit: Caesar galloped down the line from his position on the northern slope of Mont Flavigny: see note 85,1.

um in eō die atque hōra docet consistere. Interiōrēs dēspē rātīs campestribus locis propter magnitudinem mūnītiōnum loca praerupta exscensū temptant: huc ea, quae paraverant, conferunt. Multitudine tēlōrum ex turribus prōpūgnantēs deturbant, aggere et cratibus fossas explent, falcibus vallum 10 ac lōricam rescindunt.

His conduct

of the battle.

87. Mittit prīmō Brūtum adulescentem cum cohortibus Caesar, post cum aliis C. Fabium lēgātum; postrēmō ipse, cum vehementius pūgnārētur, integrōs subsidiō adducit. Restituto proelio ac repulsis hostibus eō, quō Labiēnum miserat, contendit; cohortes quattuor ex proximō castellō deducit, equitum partem sẽ sequi, partem circumire exteriōrēs mūnītiōnēs et ab tergō hostes adorīrī iubet. Labienus, postquam neque aggeres neque fossae vim hostium sustinere poterant, coāctis ūnā XL cohortibus, quas ex proximis praesidiis dēductās fors obtulit, Caesarem per nuntiōs facit certiorem, quid10

of the Gauls.

and to their

faciendum existimet. Accelerat Caesar, ut proelio intersit. 88. Eius adventu ex colore vestītus cognitō, Utter defeat quo insigni in proeliīs ūtī consuerat, turmisque They retire equitum et cohortibus vīsīs, quās sē sequi iusserat, homes. ut de locis superiōribus haec dēclīvia et dēvēxa cernēbantur. hostēs proelium committunt. Utrimque clamōre sublātō ex- 5 cipit rursus ex vallō atque omnibus mūnītiōnibus clamor. Nostri omissis pīlīs gladiis rem gerunt. Repente post tergum equitatus cernitur; cohortēs aliae appropinquant. Hostēs terga vertunt; fugientibus equites occurrunt. Fit māgna caedes. Sedulius, dux et princeps Lemovicum, occiditur:10 Vercassivellaunus Arvernus vīvus in fugă comprehenditur: signa militāria LXXIV ad Caesarem referuntur: pauci ex tantō numerō sẽ incolumes in castra recipiunt. Conspicati ex oppidō caedem et fugam suōrum dēspērātā salūte cōpiās ā mūnītiōnibus reducunt. Fit protinus hac rē audītā ex castris 15 Gallōrum fuga. Quod nisi crēbrīs subsidiīs āc tōtīus diēì labōre militēs essent dēfessi, omnes hostium copiae dēlērī po