A] (The beginning of his Book II on the Civil War with his rival Cn. Pompeius):
"Dum haec* in Hispania geruntur, C. Trebonius legatus, qui ad oppugnationem Massiliae relictus erat, duabus ex partibus aggerem, vineas turrisque ad oppidum agere instituit" [II,1]
VOCAB. dum=while. haec=these-things. duabus ex partibus=from two sides. ago,agere=to drive ahead. instituo,ere=to decide, to begin.
B] Cicero's brother Quintus almost got demolished by the Gauls because he did not obey Caesar's orders for the defense of the winter camps. Here are some parts of the drama:
"De improviso ad Ciceronis hiberna advolant.../...Mittuntur ad Caesarem confestim ab Cicerone litterae.../obsessis omnibus viis missi intercipiuntur. Noctu ex materia, quam *munitionis causa* comportaverant, turres admodum centum XX excitantur incredibili celeritate; quae deesse operi videbantur perficiuntur" [De Bello Gallico V,40].
VOCAB. ab=by. obsessis viis=all roads having been blocked. *munit. causa*=for the sake of fortification. incred. celer.=with unbelievable speed. desum,deesse=to be lacking. operi=to the works, fortification. intercipere=to cut off, block, intercept. perficio=I finish.
C] (An older retired veteran of Caesar's Tenth Legion - Crastinus - (Mr. Tomorrow!) comes back to fight and exhorts his comrades:
"Erat Crastinus evocatus* in exercitu Caesaris, qui superiore anno apud eum primum pilum in Legione X duxerat, vir +singulari virtute+. Hic signo dato: "Sequimini me' inquit 'manipulares mei qui fuistis, et vestro imperatori, quam constituistis, operam date. Unum hoc proelium superest../..ille suam dignitatem et nos nostram libertatem reciperabimus" [De Bell Civili III,91].
VOCAB. *evocatus - cf. DICT. superiore anno=during the previous year. +sing. vir.+=of outstanding virtue. signo dato=the sign having been given. operame dare=give attention-effort. constituere=to decide. primum pilum - cf. DICT.