---
title: "Gallic War — Book II"
author: "Julius Caesar"
translator: "W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Classical Latin"
section: 18 of 35
url: https://scriptura.si/works/caesar-gallic-war-book-ii/18/
cite: "Julius Caesar, tr. W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn, Gallic War — Book II, section 18. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/caesar-gallic-war-book-ii/18/"
---

# Gallic War — Book II

*Julius Caesar, tr. W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn*

## 18. Book II — Chapter 18

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/caesar-gallic-war-book-ii/18/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/caesar-gallic-war-book-ii/18/#p-N

[¶0] The nature of the ground which our men had chosen for the camp was this: A hill, declining evenly from the top, extending to the river Sambre, which we have mentioned above:

> Latin: Loci natura erat haec, quem locum nostri castris delegerant. Collis ab summo aequaliter declivis ad flumen Sabim, quod supra nominavimus, vergebat.

[¶1] from this river there arose a [second] hill of like ascent, on the other side and opposite to the former, and open for about 200 paces at the lower part; but in the upper part, woody, (so much so) that it was not easy to see through it into the interior.

> Latin: Ab eo flumine pari acclivitate collis nascebatur adversus huic et contrarius, passus circiter CC infimus apertus, ab superiore parte silvestris, ut non facile introrsus perspici posset.

[¶2] Within these woods the enemy kept themselves in concealment; a few troops of horse-soldiers appeared on the open ground, along the river. The depth of the river was about three feet.

> Latin: Intra eas silvas hostes in occulto sese continebant; in aperto loco secundum flumen paucae stationes equitum videbantur. Fluminis erat altitudo pedum circiter trium.