The Gallic War
De Bello Gallico
Headnote
Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico are the dispatches of a serving proconsul, written to be read at Rome while the conquest they describe was still under way. Across eight books they cover the campaigns of 58–50 BC, from the migration of the Helvetii to the final pacification of Gaul; the first seven are Caesar’s own, the eighth was added after his death by his officer Aulus Hirtius. The form is the commentarius—ostensibly the plain, unadorned field-record a general supplies to historians, not history itself—and Caesar exploits the convention. By reporting his own decisions in the same cool third person he uses for enemy movements and the lie of the land, he makes a war of aggression read as the orderly management of necessity. The restraint is the rhetoric.
Book 1 sets the pattern. It opens with the famous division of Gaul into three parts and then turns to two campaigns: the migration and breaking of the Helvetii near Bibracte, and the confrontation east of the Rhine with Ariovistus and his Germans. The books that follow widen the war. Book 2 reduces the Belgic coalition and the Nervii on the Sambre; Book 3 covers the Alpine passes, the naval war against the Veneti, and Crassus in Aquitania; Book 4 brings the Rhine bridge and the first crossing to Britain. Book 5 carries the second British expedition and the disaster of Sabinus and Cotta among the Eburones, with the siege and relief of Cicero’s camp; Book 6 sets the great ethnographic digression on the Gauls and Germans—the Druids, the Hercynian forest—beside the hunt for Ambiorix. Book 7 is the climax: the revolt of Vercingetorix, Avaricum and Gergovia, and the double siege of Alesia, where the surrender of Vercingetorix ends the war Caesar narrates. Book 8, Hirtius’s continuation, mops up the last embers—Uxellodunum, the severed hands—and closes on the political rupture with Pompey that opens onto the civil war. Throughout, Caesar supplies a justification for each intervention—the appeals of the Aedui, Rome’s old defeats to avenge, the danger to the Province—so that conquest appears as defense.
The translation renders Caesar’s lean, rapid Latin in clear modern English at a high register, preserving the third-person reportage, the technical precision of the military and geographic vocabulary, and the deliberate flatness with which the most consequential events—a massacre, a surrender, a betrayal—are set down. Roman offices, units, and realia are kept in their own world (consul, legate, the Province, the vergobret of the Aedui, the sending of a beaten army “under the yoke”); the apparatus is carried in the glossary rather than in footnotes to the text.
Of all these the Belgae are the bravest, because they are farthest removed from the refinement and civilization of the Province, and because merchants very rarely travel to them and bring in those things that tend to soften men’s spirits,
Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important,
and because they are nearest to the Germans, who dwell across the Rhine, with whom they wage war continually. For this reason the Helvetii too surpass the rest of the Gauls in valor, since they contend with the Germans in nearly daily battles, either keeping them off from their own borders or themselves waging war in German territory.
[One part of this, which it has been said the Gauls hold, takes its beginning from the river Rhone; it is bounded by the river Garonne, by the Ocean, and by the territory of the Belgae; on the side of the Sequani and the Helvetii it touches the river Rhine as well; it inclines toward the north.
[Eorum una pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est, initium capit a flumine Rhodano, continetur Garumna flumine, Oceano, finibus Belgarum, attingit etiam ab Sequanis et Helvetiis flumen Rhenum, vergit ad septentriones.
The Belgae rise from the farthest borders of Gaul; they extend to the lower part of the river Rhine; they look toward the north and the rising sun.
Belgae ab extremis Galliae finibus oriuntur, pertinent ad inferiorem partem fluminis Rheni, spectant in septentrionem et orientem solem.
Among the Helvetii by far the most distinguished and the wealthiest was Orgetorix. In the consulship of Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso, drawn by a lust for kingship, he formed a conspiracy of the nobility and persuaded the state to march out from their territory with all their forces:
Apud Helvetios longe nobilissimus fuit et ditissimus Orgetorix. Is M. Messala, [et P.] M. Pisone consulibus regni cupiditate inductus coniurationem nobilitatis fecit et civitati persuasit ut de finibus suis cum omnibus copiis exirent:
it would be very easy, he urged, since they surpassed all in valor, to win the mastery of the whole of Gaul.
perfacile esse, cum virtute omnibus praestarent, totius Galliae imperio potiri.
He persuaded them of this the more readily because the Helvetii are confined on every side by the nature of their ground: on one side by the Rhine, a very broad and very deep river, which separates Helvetian territory from the Germans; on another by the Jura, a very high mountain, which lies between the Sequani and the Helvetii; on a third by Lake Geneva and the river Rhone, which separates our Province from the Helvetii.
Id hoc facilius iis persuasit, quod undique loci natura Helvetii continentur: una ex parte flumine Rheno latissimo atque altissimo, qui agrum Helvetium a Germanis dividit; altera ex parte monte Iura altissimo, qui est inter Sequanos et Helvetios; tertia lacu Lemanno et flumine Rhodano, qui provinciam nostram ab Helvetiis dividit.
By these circumstances it came about that they ranged less widely and could less easily make war upon their neighbors;
His rebus fiebat ut et minus late vagarentur et minus facile finitimis bellum inferre possent;
and on this account men greedy for war were afflicted with great resentment.
qua ex parte homines bellandi cupidi magno dolore adficiebantur.
Considering the size of their population and their renown in war and bravery, they judged their borders narrow: they extended two hundred and forty miles in length and one hundred and eighty in breadth.
Pro multitudine autem hominum et pro gloria belli atque fortitudinis angustos se fines habere arbitrabantur, qui in longitudinem milia passuum CCXL, in latitudinem CLXXX patebant.
Moved by these considerations and stirred by the authority of Orgetorix, they resolved to make ready whatever pertained to their departure—to buy up the largest possible number of draft animals and wagons, to make their sowings as large as possible so that on the march there would be a sufficient supply of grain, and to confirm peace and friendship with the neighboring states.
His rebus adducti et auctoritate Orgetorigis permoti constituerunt ea quae ad proficiscendum pertinerent comparare, iumentorum et carrorum quam maximum numerum coemere, sementes quam maximas facere, ut in itinere copia frumenti suppeteret, cum proximis civitatibus pacem et amicitiam confirmare.
They reckoned two years enough for accomplishing these things; by a law they fixed their departure for the third year.
Ad eas res conficiendas biennium sibi satis esse duxerunt; in tertium annum profectionem lege confirmant.
For accomplishing these things Orgetorix was chosen. He took upon himself the embassy to the states. On this journey he persuaded Casticus, son of Catamantaloedes, a Sequanian, whose father had held the kingship among the Sequani for many years and had been styled a friend by the senate of the Roman people, to seize in his own state the kingship that his father had held before him;
Ad eas res conficiendas Orgetorix deligitur. Is sibi legationem ad civitates suscipit. In eo itinere persuadet Castico, Catamantaloedis filio, Sequano, cuius pater regnum in Sequanis multos annos obtinuerat et a senatu populi Romani amicus appellatus erat, ut regnum in civitate sua occuparet, quod pater ante habuerit;
and likewise he persuaded Dumnorix the Aeduan, brother of Diviciacus, who at that time held the first place in his state and was most acceptable to the common people, to attempt the same, and he gave him his daughter in marriage.
He showed them that it would be very easy to carry these attempts through, because he himself was going to obtain the command of his own state:
Perfacile factu esse illis probat conata perficere, propterea quod ipse suae civitatis imperium obtenturus esset:
there was no doubt that the Helvetii were the most powerful in all Gaul; with his own resources and his own army, he assured them, he would secure their kingdoms for them.
non esse dubium quin totius Galliae plurimum Helvetii possent; se suis copiis suoque exercitu illis regna conciliaturum confirmat.
Induced by this speech, they gave one another pledge and oath, and hoped that, once the kingship was seized, they would be able—through three most powerful and most steadfast peoples—to gain mastery of all Gaul.
Hac oratione adducti inter se fidem et ius iurandum dant et regno occupato per tres potentissimos ac firmissimos populos totius Galliae sese potiri posse sperant.
This affair was disclosed to the Helvetii by an informer. By their custom they compelled Orgetorix to plead his case in chains; if condemned, the penalty that must follow was that he be burned by fire.
Ea res est Helvetiis per indicium enuntiata. Moribus suis Orgetoricem ex vinculis causam dicere coegerunt; damnatum poenam sequi oportebat, ut igni cremaretur.
On the day appointed for the pleading of his case, Orgetorix gathered to the court from every quarter all his household, to the number of ten thousand persons, and brought together to the same place all his dependents and debtors, of whom he had a great number; through them he rescued himself from pleading his case.
Die constituta causae dictionis Orgetorix ad iudicium omnem suam familiam, ad hominum milia decem, undique coegit, et omnes clientes obaeratosque suos, quorum magnum numerum habebat, eodem conduxit; per eos ne causam diceret se eripuit.
When the state, provoked by this, attempted to assert its right by arms, and the magistrates were mustering a multitude of men from the countryside, Orgetorix died;
Cum civitas ob eam rem incitata armis ius suum exequi conaretur multitudinemque hominum ex agris magistratus cogerent, Orgetorix mortuus est;
and there is no lack of suspicion, as the Helvetii think, that he took his own life.
neque abest suspicio, ut Helvetii arbitrantur, quin ipse sibi mortem consciverit.
After his death the Helvetii nonetheless attempt to do what they had resolved—to march out from their territory.
Post eius mortem nihilo minus Helvetii id quod constituerant facere conantur, ut e finibus suis exeant.
When at last they thought themselves ready for the undertaking, they set fire to all their towns, about twelve in number, to their villages, about four hundred, and to the rest of their private buildings;
Ubi iam se ad eam rem paratos esse arbitrati sunt, oppida sua omnia, numero ad duodecim, vicos ad quadringentos, reliqua privata aedificia incendunt;
they burned all the grain except what they meant to carry with them, so that, with the hope of returning home taken away, they might be the readier to undergo every danger; and they ordered each man to carry from home ground provisions for three months. They persuaded their neighbors the Rauraci, the Tulingi, and the Latobrigi to adopt the same plan, burn their towns and villages, and set out together with them; and the Boii, who had dwelt across the Rhine and had crossed over into Noric territory and were besieging Noreia, they received and took to themselves as allies.
frumentum omne, praeter quod secum portaturi erant, comburunt, ut domum reditionis spe sublata paratiores ad omnia pericula subeunda essent; trium mensum molita cibaria sibi quemque domo efferre iubent. Persuadent Rauracis et Tulingis et Latobrigis finitimis, uti eodem usi consilio oppidis suis vicisque exustis una cum iis proficiscantur, Boiosque, qui trans Rhenum incoluerant et in agrum Noricum transierant Noreiamque oppugnabant, receptos ad se socios sibi adsciscunt.
There were in all two routes by which they could leave home: one through the Sequani, narrow and difficult, between the Jura mountain and the river Rhone, where wagons could barely be led one at a time, and over which a very high mountain hung, so that a very few men could easily block the way;
Erant omnino itinera duo, quibus itineribus domo exire possent: unum per Sequanos, angustum et difficile, inter montem Iuram et flumen Rhodanum, vix qua singuli carri ducerentur, mons autem altissimus impendebat, ut facile perpauci prohibere possent;
the other through our Province, much easier and more open, because between the territory of the Helvetii and that of the Allobroges, who had lately been pacified, the Rhone flows, and in some places it is crossed by a ford.
alterum per provinciam nostram, multo facilius atque expeditius, propterea quod inter fines Helvetiorum et Allobrogum, qui nuper pacati erant, Rhodanus fluit isque non nullis locis vado transitur.
The farthest town of the Allobroges, and the nearest to the borders of the Helvetii, is Geneva. From that town a bridge reaches across to the Helvetii. They thought they would either persuade the Allobroges, since these did not yet seem well disposed toward the Roman people, or compel them by force to let them pass through their territory. With everything made ready for the departure, they appoint a day on which all are to assemble at the bank of the Rhone. That day was the fifth before the Kalends of April, in the consulship of Lucius Piso and Aulus Gabinius.
Extremum oppidum Allobrogum est proximumque Helvetiorum finibus Genava. Ex eo oppido pons ad Helvetios pertinet. Allobrogibus sese vel persuasuros, quod nondum bono animo in populum Romanum viderentur, existimabant vel vi coacturos ut per suos fines eos ire paterentur. Omnibus rebus ad profectionem comparatis diem dicunt, qua die ad ripam Rhodani omnes conveniant. is dies erat a. d. V. Kal. Apr. L. Pisone, A. Gabinio consulibus.
When it was reported to Caesar that they were attempting to make their way through our Province, he hastened to set out from the city and, marching by the greatest stages he could, pressed on into Further Gaul and reached Geneva.
Caesari cum id nuntiatum esset, eos per provinciam nostram iter facere conari, maturat ab urbe proficisci et quam maximis potest itineribus in Galliam ulteriorem contendit et ad Genavam pervenit.
On the whole Province he levied the greatest number of soldiers he could (there was in all in Further Gaul a single legion), and ordered the bridge at Geneva to be cut down.
Provinciae toti quam maximum potest militum numerum imperat (erat omnino in Gallia ulteriore legio una), pontem, qui erat ad Genavam, iubet rescindi.
When the Helvetii were informed of his arrival, they sent to him as envoys the most distinguished men of their state—of which embassy Nammeius and Verucloetius held the chief place—to say that it was their intention to march through the Province without any harm, because they had no other route; and they asked to be allowed to do so with his consent. Caesar, because he held in memory that the consul Lucius Cassius had been killed and his army routed by the Helvetii and sent under the yoke, did not think it should be granted;
Ubi de eius adventu Helvetii certiores facti sunt, legatos ad eum mittunt nobilissimos civitatis, cuius legationis Nammeius et Verucloetius principem locum obtinebant, qui dicerent sibi esse in animo sine ullo maleficio iter per provinciam facere, propterea quod aliud iter haberent nullum: rogare ut eius voluntate id sibi facere liceat. Caesar, quod memoria tenebat L. Cassium consulem occisum exercitumque eius ab Helvetiis pulsum et sub iugum missum, concedendum non putabat;
nor did he think that men of hostile disposition, once given the opportunity of marching through the Province, would refrain from outrage and harm.
neque homines inimico animo, data facultate per provinciam itineris faciundi, temperaturos ab iniuria et maleficio existimabat.
Nevertheless, so that an interval might intervene until the soldiers he had levied could assemble, he answered the envoys that he would take time to deliberate: if they wanted anything, they should come back on the Ides of April.
Tamen, ut spatium intercedere posset dum milites quos imperaverat convenirent, legatis respondit diem se ad deliberandum sumpturum: si quid vellent, ad Id. April. reverterentur.
Meanwhile, with the legion he had with him and the soldiers who had assembled from the Province, he ran a wall sixteen feet in height, and a ditch, for nineteen miles, from Lake Geneva, which flows into the river Rhone, to the Jura mountain, which separates the territory of the Sequani from the Helvetii.
Interea ea legione quam secum habebat militibusque, qui ex provincia convenerant, a lacu Lemanno, qui in flumen Rhodanum influit, ad montem Iuram, qui fines Sequanorum ab Helvetiis dividit, milia passuum XVIIII murum in altitudinem pedum sedecim fossamque perducit.
When this work was finished, he posted garrisons and fortified redoubts, so that he might the more easily block the Helvetii if they should try to cross against his will.
Eo opere perfecto praesidia disponit, castella communit, quo facilius, si se invito transire conentur, prohibere possit.
When the day he had fixed with the envoys came and the envoys returned to him, he said that by the custom and precedent of the Roman people he could grant no one a passage through the Province, and he made plain that, if they attempted force, he would stop them.
Ubi ea dies quam constituerat cum legatis venit et legati ad eum reverterunt, negat se more et exemplo populi Romani posse iter ulli per provinciam dare et, si vim facere conentur, prohibiturum ostendit.
The Helvetii, cast down from this hope, tried—some with boats lashed together and a number of rafts they had built, others at the fords of the Rhone where the river ran shallowest, sometimes by day, more often by night—whether they could break through; driven back by the strength of the works and by the rush of the soldiers and their weapons, they gave up the attempt.
Helvetii ea spe deiecti navibus iunctis ratibusque compluribus factis, alii vadis Rhodani, qua minima altitudo fluminis erat, non numquam interdiu, saepius noctu si perrumpere possent conati, operis munitione et militum concursu et telis repulsi, hoc conatu destiterunt.
There remained one route, through the Sequani, by which, against the will of the Sequani, they could not go on account of the narrows.
Relinquebatur una per Sequanos via, qua Sequanis invitis propter angustias ire non poterant.
Since of themselves they could not prevail upon the Sequani, they sent envoys to Dumnorix the Aeduan, so that by his intercession they might obtain it from the Sequani.
His cum sua sponte persuadere non possent, legatos ad Dumnorigem Haeduum mittunt, ut eo deprecatore a Sequanis impetrarent.
Dumnorix, by his influence and his largesse, had very great power among the Sequani, and was a friend to the Helvetii, because he had taken to wife a woman of that state, the daughter of Orgetorix; and, drawn by a lust for kingship, he was eager for revolution and wished to have as many states as possible bound to him by his good offices.
Dumnorix gratia et largitione apud Sequanos plurimum poterat et Helvetiis erat amicus, quod ex ea civitate Orgetorigis filiam in matrimonium duxerat, et cupiditate regni adductus novis rebus studebat et quam plurimas civitates suo beneficio habere obstrictas volebat.
And so he takes the matter up, and obtains from the Sequani that they let the Helvetii pass through their territory, and he brings it about that the two exchange hostages: the Sequani, that they will not block the Helvetii from their march; the Helvetii, that they will pass through without harm or outrage.
Itaque rem suscipit et a Sequanis impetrat ut per fines suos Helvetios ire patiantur, obsidesque uti inter sese dent perficit: Sequani, ne itinere Helvetios prohibeant, Helvetii, ut sine maleficio et iniuria transeant.
Word is brought back to Caesar that it is the intention of the Helvetii to make their way through the territory of the Sequani and the Aedui into the country of the Santones, who are not far from the borders of the Tolosates, a state which is in the Province.
Caesari renuntiatur Helvetiis esse in animo per agrum Sequanorum et Haeduorum iter in Santonum fines facere, qui non longe a Tolosatium finibus absunt, quae civitas est in provincia.
He understood that, if this came about, it would be with great danger to the Province to have warlike men, enemies of the Roman people, as neighbors to districts that were open and very rich in grain.
Id si fieret, intellegebat magno cum periculo provinciae futurum ut homines bellicosos, populi Romani inimicos, locis patentibus maximeque frumentariis finitimos haberet.
For these reasons he set Titus Labienus, his legate, in charge of the fortification he had made; he himself hastened into Italy by forced marches, enrolled two legions there, led three more out of winter quarters that were wintering around Aquileia, and, by the shortest route into Further Gaul, over the Alps, pressed on to march with these five legions.
Ob eas causas ei munitioni quam fecerat T. Labienum legatum praeficit; ipse in Italiam magnis itineribus contendit duasque ibi legiones conscribit et tres, quae circum Aquileiam hiemabant, ex hibernis educit et, qua proximum iter in ulteriorem Galliam per Alpes erat, cum his quinque legionibus ire contendit.
There the Ceutrones, the Graioceli, and the Caturiges, having seized the high ground, tried to block the army’s march. Routed in several engagements, he came from Ocelum, which is the farthest town of the Nearer Province, into the territory of the Vocontii in the Further Province on the seventh day; from there he led the army into the territory of the Allobroges, and from the Allobroges into the country of the Segusiavi. These are the first people beyond the Province, across the Rhone.
Ibi Ceutrones et Graioceli et Caturiges locis superioribus occupatis itinere exercitum prohibere conantur. Compluribus his proeliis pulsis ab Ocelo, quod est oppidum citerioris provinciae extremum, in fines Vocontiorum ulterioris provinciae die septimo pervenit; inde in Allobrogum fines, ab Allobrogibus in Segusiavos exercitum ducit. Hi sunt extra provinciam trans Rhodanum primi.
The Helvetii had now led their forces through the narrows and the territory of the Sequani, had reached the territory of the Aedui, and were laying their fields waste.
Helvetii iam per angustias et fines Sequanorum suas copias traduxerant et in Haeduorum fines pervenerant eorumque agros populabantur.
The Aedui, since they could not defend themselves and their property against them, send envoys to Caesar to ask for help:
Haedui, cum se suaque ab iis defendere non possent, legatos ad Caesarem mittunt rogatum auxilium:
they had at all times so deserved of the Roman people that their fields ought not to have been laid waste, their children carried off into slavery, and their towns stormed, almost within sight of our army. At the same time as the Aedui, the Ambarri, close connections and kinsmen of the Aedui, inform Caesar that, their fields ravaged, they could not easily keep the enemy’s violence from their towns.
ita se omni tempore de populo Romano meritos esse ut paene in conspectu exercitus nostri agri vastari, liberi [eorum] in servitutem abduci, oppida expugnari non debuerint. Eodem tempore quo Haedui Ambarri, necessarii et consanguinei Haeduorum, Caesarem certiorem faciunt sese depopulatis agris non facile ab oppidis vim hostium prohibere.
Likewise the Allobroges, who had villages and holdings across the Rhone, take refuge with Caesar in flight and declare that they had nothing left except the bare soil of their fields.
Item Allobroges, qui trans Rhodanum vicos possessionesque habebant, fuga se ad Caesarem recipiunt et demonstrant sibi praeter agri solum nihil esse reliqui.
Moved by these things, Caesar resolved that he ought not to wait until, all the fortunes of the allies consumed, the Helvetii reached the Santones.
Quibus rebus adductus Caesar non expectandum sibi statuit dum, omnibus, fortunis sociorum consumptis, in Santonos Helvetii pervenirent.
There is a river, the Saône, which flows through the territory of the Aedui and the Sequani into the Rhone with an incredible gentleness, so that the eye cannot judge in which direction it flows. This the Helvetii were crossing on rafts and joined boats.
Flumen est Arar, quod per fines Haeduorum et Sequanorum in Rhodanum influit, incredibili lenitate, ita ut oculis in utram partem fluat iudicari non possit. Id Helvetii ratibus ac lintribus iunctis transibant.
When Caesar was informed by his scouts that the Helvetii had already led three quarters of their forces across this river, but that a fourth part remained on the near side of the Saône, setting out from camp in the third watch with three legions he reached the part that had not yet crossed the river.
Ubi per exploratores Caesar certior factus est tres iam partes copiarum Helvetios id flumen traduxisse, quartam vero partem citra flumen Ararim reliquam esse, de tertia vigilia cum legionibus tribus e castris profectus ad eam partem pervenit quae nondum flumen transierat.
Attacking them while they were encumbered and off their guard, he cut down a great part of them; the rest committed themselves to flight and hid in the nearest woods.
Eos impeditos et inopinantes adgressus magnam partem eorum concidit; reliqui sese fugae mandarunt atque in proximas silvas abdiderunt.
That canton was called the Tigurine; for the whole Helvetian state is divided into four cantons.
Is pagus appellabatur Tigurinus; nam omnis civitas Helvetia in quattuor pagos divisa est.
This single canton, when it had marched out from home, within the memory of our fathers had killed the consul Lucius Cassius and sent his army under the yoke.
Hic pagus unus, cum domo exisset, patrum nostrorum memoria L. Cassium consulem interfecerat et eius exercitum sub iugum miserat.
So, whether by chance or by the design of the immortal gods, the part of the Helvetian state which had brought a signal disaster upon the Roman people was the first to pay the penalty.
Ita sive casu sive consilio deorum immortalium quae pars civitatis Helvetiae insignem calamitatem populo Romano intulerat, ea princeps poenam persolvit.
In this Caesar avenged not only public but also private wrongs, because in the same battle in which they killed Cassius the Tigurini had killed Lucius Piso the legate, grandfather of Lucius Piso, Caesar’s father-in-law.
Qua in re Caesar non solum publicas, sed etiam privatas iniurias ultus est, quod eius soceri L. Pisonis avum, L. Pisonem legatum, Tigurini eodem proelio quo Cassium interfecerant.
After this battle, in order to be able to overtake the rest of the Helvetian forces, he saw to the building of a bridge over the Saône and so led his army across.
Hoc proelio facto, reliquas copias Helvetiorum ut consequi posset, pontem in Arari faciendum curat atque ita exercitum traducit.
The Helvetii, alarmed by his sudden arrival, when they understood that he had done in a single day what they themselves had accomplished with the greatest difficulty in twenty—the crossing of the river—sent envoys to him; the head of this embassy was Divico, who had been the leader of the Helvetii in the war with Cassius.
Helvetii repentino eius adventu commoti cum id quod ipsi diebus XX aegerrime confecerant, ut flumen transirent, illum uno die fecisse intellegerent, legatos ad eum mittunt; cuius legationis Divico princeps fuit, qui bello Cassiano dux Helvetiorum fuerat.
He dealt with Caesar thus: if the Roman people would make peace with the Helvetii, the Helvetii would go to that quarter and stay where Caesar appointed and wished them to be;
Is ita cum Caesare egit: si pacem populus Romanus cum Helvetiis faceret, in eam partem ituros atque ibi futuros Helvetios ubi eos Caesar constituisset atque esse voluisset;
but if he persisted in pursuing them with war, let him remember both the old reverse of the Roman people and the ancient valor of the Helvetii. As for his having fallen upon a single canton unawares, when those who had crossed the river could bring no help to their own, let him not on that account credit much to his own valor or look down on them. They had so learned from their fathers and forefathers that they contended by valor rather than relied on trickery or ambush.
sin bello persequi perseveraret, reminisceretur et veteris incommodi populi Romani et pristinae virtutis Helvetiorum. Quod improviso unum pagum adortus esset, cum ii qui flumen transissent suis auxilium ferre non possent, ne ob eam rem aut suae magnopere virtuti tribueret aut ipsos despiceret. Se ita a patribus maioribusque suis didicisse, ut magis virtute contenderent quam dolo aut insidiis niterentur.
Therefore let him not bring it about that the place where they had halted should take its name from a disaster of the Roman people and the annihilation of an army, or hand down the memory of it.
Quare ne committeret ut is locus ubi constitissent ex calamitate populi Romani et internecione exercitus nomen caperet aut memoriam proderet.
To this Caesar replied thus: he had the less hesitation because he held in memory the very things the Helvetian envoys had recalled, and he bore them the more grievously the less they had befallen the Roman people by its own desert;
His Caesar ita respondit: eo sibi minus dubitationis dari, quod eas res quas legati Helvetii commemorassent memoria teneret, atque eo gravius ferre quo minus merito populi Romani accidissent;
for if it had been conscious to itself of any wrong, it would not have been hard to be on guard; but it had been caught off guard in this—that it neither understood that anything had been done by it on account of which it should fear, nor thought it ought to fear without cause.
qui si alicuius iniuriae sibi conscius fuisset, non fuisse difficile cavere; sed eo deceptum, quod neque commissum a se intellegeret quare timeret neque sine causa timendum putaret.
And even were he willing to forget the old affront, could he also lay aside the memory of recent wrongs—that against his will they had attempted by force a passage through the Province, that they had harried the Aedui, the Ambarri, the Allobroges?
Quod si veteris contumeliae oblivisci vellet, num etiam recentium iniuriarum, quod eo invito iter per provinciam per vim temptassent, quod Haeduos, quod Ambarros, quod Allobrogas vexassent, memoriam deponere posse?
Their boasting so insolently of their victory, and their wondering that they had borne their outrages so long unpunished, tended to the same point.
Quod sua victoria tam insolenter gloriarentur quodque tam diu se impune iniurias tulisse admirarentur, eodem pertinere.
For the immortal gods are accustomed, so that men may grieve the more bitterly at a reversal of fortune, sometimes to grant a more prosperous course and a longer impunity to those whom they mean to punish for their crime.
Consuesse enim deos immortales, quo gravius homines ex commutatione rerum doleant, quos pro scelere eorum ulcisci velint, his secundiores interdum res et diuturniorem impunitatem concedere.
Although this was so, nevertheless, if hostages were given him by them, so that he might be sure they would do what they promised, and if they made satisfaction to the Aedui for the wrongs they had done to them and to their allies, and likewise to the Allobroges, he would make peace with them.
Cum ea ita sint, tamen, si obsides ab iis sibi dentur, uti ea quae polliceantur facturos intellegat, et si Haeduis de iniuriis quas ipsis sociisque eorum intulerint, item si Allobrogibus satis faciunt, sese cum iis pacem esse facturum.
Divico replied: the Helvetii had been so schooled by their forefathers that they were accustomed to receive hostages, not to give them; of this the Roman people was a witness. This answer given, he withdrew.
Divico respondit: ita Helvetios a maioribus suis institutos esse uti obsides accipere, non dare, consuerint; eius rei populum Romanum esse testem. Hoc responso dato discessit.
On the next day they move camp from that place. Caesar does the same, and sends ahead all his cavalry, to the number of four thousand, which he had mustered from the whole Province and from the Aedui and their allies, to see in what direction the enemy were making their way. These, pursuing the rear-guard too eagerly, join battle with the Helvetian cavalry on unfavorable ground; and a few of our men fall.
Postero die castra ex eo loco movent. Idem facit Caesar equitatumque omnem, ad numerum quattuor milium, quem ex omni provincia et Haeduis atque eorum sociis coactum habebat, praemittit, qui videant quas in partes hostes iter faciant. Qui cupidius novissimum agmen insecuti alieno loco cum equitatu Helvetiorum proelium committunt; et pauci de nostris cadunt.
Elated by this engagement—because with five hundred horsemen they had driven back so great a host of cavalry—the Helvetii began from time to time to make a bolder stand and to harass our men with their rear-guard. Caesar held his men back from battle, and was content for the present to keep the enemy from plunder, foraging, and devastation.
Quo proelio sublati Helvetii, quod quingentis equitibus tantam multitudinem equitum propulerant, audacius subsistere non numquam et novissimo agmine proelio nostros lacessere coeperunt. Caesar suos a proelio continebat, ac satis habebat in praesentia hostem rapinis, pabulationibus populationibusque prohibere.
So they marched for about fifteen days, with no more than five or six miles between the enemy’s rear and our van.
Ita dies circiter XV iter fecerunt uti inter novissimum hostium agmen et nostrum primum non amplius quinis aut senis milibus passuum interesset.
Meanwhile Caesar daily pressed the Aedui for the grain they had promised in their public name.
Interim cotidie Caesar Haeduos frumentum, quod essent publice polliciti, flagitare.
For on account of the cold—since Gaul lies, as has been said before, under the northern sky—not only was the grain in the fields not ripe, but there was not even a sufficient supply of fodder to be had;
Nam propter frigora [quod Gallia sub septentrionibus, ut ante dictum est, posita est,] non modo frumenta in agris matura non erant, sed ne pabuli quidem satis magna copia suppetebat;
and the grain he had brought up by ship on the river Saône he could use the less, because the Helvetii had turned their march away from the Saône, and he was unwilling to part from them.
eo autem frumento quod flumine Arari navibus subvexerat propterea uti minus poterat quod iter ab Arari Helvetii averterant, a quibus discedere nolebat.
Day after day the Aedui put him off: the grain was being collected, was being brought in, was at hand, they kept saying.
Diem ex die ducere Haedui: conferri, comportari, adesse dicere.
When he understood that he was being put off too long, and that the day was at hand on which he must measure out grain to the soldiers, he called together their leading men, of whom he had a great number in the camp—among them Diviciacus and Liscus, who held the supreme magistracy, which the Aedui call the vergobret, who is elected for a year and has power of life and death over his own people—and rebuked them severely:
Ubi se diutius duci intellexit et diem instare quo die frumentum militibus metiri oporteret, convocatis eorum principibus, quorum magnam copiam in castris habebat, in his Diviciaco et Lisco, qui summo magistratui praeerat, quem vergobretum appellant Haedui, qui creatur annuus et vitae necisque in suos habet potestatem, graviter eos accusat,
that at so critical a time, with the enemy so near, when grain could neither be bought nor taken from the fields, he was not being supported by them, especially since he had taken up the war largely at their entreaty; and still more grievously he complained that he had been left in the lurch.
quod, cum neque emi neque ex agris sumi possit, tam necessario tempore, tam propinquis hostibus ab iis non sublevetur, praesertim cum magna ex parte eorum precibus adductus bellum susceperit[; multo etiam gravius quod sit destitutus queritur].
Then at last Liscus, moved by Caesar’s words, discloses what he had kept silent before: that there were certain men whose influence with the common people was very great, who in their private capacity had more power than the magistrates themselves.
Tum demum Liscus oratione Caesaris adductus quod antea tacuerat proponit: esse non nullos, quorum auctoritas apud plebem plurimum valeat, qui privatim plus possint quam ipsi magistratus.
These, by seditious and unprincipled talk, were deterring the multitude from contributing the grain they owed:
Hos seditiosa atque improba oratione multitudinem deterrere, ne frumentum conferant quod debeant:
it was better, if they could no longer hold the first place in Gaul, to endure the rule of Gauls than of Romans,
praestare, si iam principatum Galliae obtinere non possint, Gallorum quam Romanorum imperia perferre,
nor ought they to doubt that, if the Romans overcame the Helvetii, they would take freedom from the Aedui along with the rest of Gaul.
neque dubitare [debeant] quin, si Helvetios superaverint Romani, una cum reliqua Gallia Haeduis libertatem sint erepturi.
By these same men our plans, and whatever was done in the camp, were being reported to the enemy; these men he could not restrain.
Ab isdem nostra consilia quaeque in castris gerantur hostibus enuntiari; hos a se coerceri non posse.
Moreover, he understood at what risk he had done it, in disclosing to Caesar under compulsion a matter that necessity forced from him, and for that reason he had kept silent as long as he could.
Quin etiam, quod necessariam rem coactus Caesari enuntiarit, intellegere sese quanto id cum periculo fecerit, et ob eam causam quam diu potuerit tacuisse.
Caesar perceived that by this speech of Liscus’s Dumnorix, Diviciacus’s brother, was meant; but, because he did not wish these matters bandied about with many present, he quickly dismisses the council and keeps Liscus back.
Caesar hac oratione Lisci Dumnorigem, Diviciaci fratrem, designari sentiebat, sed, quod pluribus praesentibus eas res iactari nolebat, celeriter concilium dimittit, Liscum retinet.
He asks him, alone, about what he had said in the assembly. Liscus speaks more freely and boldly. Caesar asks the same of others in private; he finds it to be true:
Quaerit ex solo ea quae in conventu dixerat. Dicit liberius atque audacius. Eadem secreto ab aliis quaerit; reperit esse vera:
that the man was Dumnorix himself—of the greatest boldness, of great favor with the common people on account of his liberality, eager for revolution. For many years he had farmed the customs-dues and all the other taxes of the Aedui at a low price, because, when he was bidding, no one dared bid against him.
ipsum esse Dumnorigem, summa audacia, magna apud plebem propter liberalitatem gratia, cupidum rerum novarum. Complures annos portoria reliquaque omnia Haeduorum vectigalia parvo pretio redempta habere, propterea quod illo licente contra liceri audeat nemo.
By these means he had both enlarged his own estate and acquired great resources for largesse;
His rebus et suam rem familiarem auxisse et facultates ad largiendum magnas comparasse;
he maintained at his own expense a great body of cavalry, and kept it always about him,
magnum numerum equitatus suo sumptu semper alere et circum se habere,
and he had great power not only at home but also among the neighboring states; and to this end he had given his mother in marriage among the Bituriges, to a man there most noble and most powerful;
neque solum domi, sed etiam apud finitimas civitates largiter posse, atque huius potentiae causa matrem in Biturigibus homini illic nobilissimo ac potentissimo conlocasse;
he himself had a wife from among the Helvetii, and had placed his half-sister on his mother’s side and his female kinswomen in marriage in other states.
ipsum ex Helvetiis uxorem habere, sororum ex matre et propinquas suas nuptum in alias civitates conlocasse.
On account of this connection he favored the Helvetii and wished them well; he also hated Caesar and the Romans on his own account, because by their coming his power had been diminished and his brother Diviciacus restored to his former place of favor and honor.
Favere et cupere Helvetiis propter eam adfinitatem, odisse etiam suo nomine Caesarem et Romanos, quod eorum adventu potentia eius deminuta et Diviciacus frater in antiquum locum gratiae atque honoris sit restitutus.
If anything should befall the Romans, he came into the highest hope of obtaining the kingship through the Helvetii; under the rule of the Roman people he despaired not only of the kingship but even of the favor he already held.
Si quid accidat Romanis, summam in spem per Helvetios regni obtinendi venire; imperio populi Romani non modo de regno, sed etiam de ea quam habeat gratia desperare.
Caesar also discovered, in his inquiry, that as for the unsuccessful cavalry engagement fought a few days before, the beginning of that flight had been made by Dumnorix and his horsemen—for Dumnorix was in command of the cavalry the Aedui had sent to Caesar’s aid—and that by their flight the rest of the cavalry had been thrown into panic.
Reperiebat etiam in quaerendo Caesar, quod proelium equestre adversum paucis ante diebus esset factum, initium eius fugae factum a Dumnorige atque eius equitibus (nam equitatui, quem auxilio Caesari Haedui miserant, Dumnorix praeerat): eorum fuga reliquum esse equitatum perterritum.
These things learned, since to these suspicions the most certain facts were now added—that he had led the Helvetii through the territory of the Sequani, that he had arranged for hostages to be exchanged between them, that he had done all this not only without orders from Caesar and from his own state but even without their knowledge, and that he was accused by the magistrate of the Aedui—Caesar judged there was cause enough why he should either punish him himself or order the state to do so.
Quibus rebus cognitis, cum ad has suspiciones certissimae res accederent, quod per fines Sequanorum Helvetios traduxisset, quod obsides inter eos dandos curasset, quod ea omnia non modo iniussu suo et civitatis sed etiam inscientibus ipsis fecisset, quod a magistratu Haeduorum accusaretur, satis esse causae arbitrabatur quare in eum aut ipse animadverteret aut civitatem animadvertere iuberet.
Against all this one thing stood: that he had come to know the very great zeal of Dumnorix’s brother Diviciacus toward the Roman people, his very great goodwill toward Caesar himself, his outstanding loyalty, justice, and self-restraint; for he feared to offend Diviciacus’s feelings by the man’s punishment.
His omnibus rebus unum repugnabat, quod Diviciaci fratris summum in populum Romanum studium, summum in se voluntatem, egregiam fidem, iustitiam, temperantiam cognoverat; nam ne eius supplicio Diviciaci animum offenderet verebatur.
And so, before attempting anything, he orders Diviciacus to be summoned to him, and, the everyday interpreters removed, he confers with him through Gaius Valerius Troucillus, a leading man of the Province of Gaul and his own intimate, in whom he had the fullest confidence in all things;
Itaque prius quam quicquam conaretur, Diviciacum ad se vocari iubet et, cotidianis interpretibus remotis, per C. Valerium Troucillum, principem Galliae provinciae, familiarem suum, cui summam omnium rerum fidem habebat, cum eo conloquitur;
at the same time he reminds him what was said about Dumnorix in the council of the Gauls in his own presence, and shows him what each man had said about him separately, in private.
simul commonefacit quae ipso praesente in concilio [Gallorum] de Dumnorige sint dicta, et ostendit quae separatim quisque de eo apud se dixerit.
He asks and urges that, without offense to his feelings, he either decide about Dumnorix himself, once the case is examined, or order the state to decide.
Petit atque hortatur ut sine eius offensione animi vel ipse de eo causa cognita statuat vel civitatem statuere iubeat.
Diviciacus, embracing Caesar with many tears, began to entreat him not to decide anything too harsh against his brother:
Diviciacus multis cum lacrimis Caesarem complexus obsecrare coepit ne quid gravius in fratrem statueret:
he knew that those things were true, and no one took more pain from them than he, because, at a time when he himself had very great influence at home and in the rest of Gaul, while his brother could do very little on account of his youth, the latter had grown great through him;
scire se illa esse vera, nec quemquam ex eo plus quam se doloris capere, propterea quod, cum ipse gratia plurimum domi atque in reliqua Gallia, ille minimum propter adulescentiam posset, per se crevisset;
and these resources and sinews his brother was using not only to diminish his influence but almost to his ruin. Yet he was moved both by brotherly love and by the opinion of the crowd.
quibus opibus ac nervis non solum ad minuendam gratiam, sed paene ad perniciem suam uteretur. Sese tamen et amore fraterno et existimatione vulgi commoveri.
And if anything too harsh were done to Dumnorix by Caesar, since he himself held that place of friendship with Caesar, no one would believe it had not been done with his consent; and from this it would come about that the feelings of all Gaul would be turned away from him.
Quod si quid ei a Caesare gravius accidisset, cum ipse eum locum amicitiae apud eum teneret, neminem existimaturum non sua voluntate factum; qua ex re futurum uti totius Galliae animi a se averterentur.
While he was begging this of Caesar at length, in tears, Caesar takes his right hand; consoling him, he asks him to make an end of pleading; he shows him that his favor with him is so great that he forgives both the wrong to the state and his own resentment out of regard for Diviciacus’s goodwill and entreaties. He summons Dumnorix to him, and brings in his brother; he points out what he finds blameworthy in him; he lays before him what he himself perceives and what the state complains of; he warns him to avoid all grounds of suspicion for the time to come; the past, he says, he forgives for his brother Diviciacus’s sake. He sets watchmen over Dumnorix, so that he may know what he does and with whom he speaks.
Haec cum pluribus verbis flens a Caesare peteret, Caesar eius dextram prendit; consolatus rogat finem orandi faciat; tanti eius apud se gratiam esse ostendit uti et rei publicae iniuriam et suum dolorem eius voluntati ac precibus condonet. Dumnorigem ad se vocat, fratrem adhibet; quae in eo reprehendat ostendit; quae ipse intellegat, quae civitas queratur proponit; monet ut in reliquum tempus omnes suspiciones vitet; praeterita se Diviciaco fratri condonare dicit. Dumnorigi custodes ponit, ut quae agat, quibuscum loquatur scire possit.
On the same day, informed by his scouts that the enemy had encamped at the foot of a mountain eight miles from his own camp, he sent men to learn what the nature of the mountain was and what the ascent was like on the far side.
Eodem die ab exploratoribus certior factus hostes sub monte consedisse milia passuum ab ipsius castris octo, qualis esset natura montis et qualis in circuitu ascensus qui cognoscerent misit.
Word was brought back that it was easy. In the third watch he orders Titus Labienus, his legate with propraetorian authority, to climb to the highest ridge of the mountain with two legions and with those guides who had reconnoitered the route; he explains what his own plan is.
Renuntiatum est facilem esse. De tertia vigilia T. Labienum, legatum pro praetore, cum duabus legionibus et iis ducibus qui iter cognoverant summum iugum montis ascendere iubet; quid sui consilii sit ostendit.
He himself, in the fourth watch, presses on toward the enemy by the same route by which they had gone, and sends all his cavalry ahead of him.
Ipse de quarta vigilia eodem itinere quo hostes ierant ad eos contendit equitatumque omnem ante se mittit.
Publius Considius, who was held to be most skilled in military matters and had served in the army of Lucius Sulla and afterward in that of Marcus Crassus, is sent ahead with the scouts.
At first light, when the top of the mountain was held by Labienus, and Caesar himself was no farther than a mile and a half from the enemy’s camp, and—as he afterward learned from prisoners—neither his own approach nor Labienus’s had been discovered,
Prima luce, cum summus mons a [Lucio] Labieno teneretur, ipse ab hostium castris non longius mille et quingentis passibus abesset neque, ut postea ex captivis comperit, aut ipsius adventus aut Labieni cognitus esset,
Considius, his horse at the gallop, rides up to him and says that the mountain which Caesar had wanted Labienus to seize was held by the enemy: this he had recognized by the Gallic arms and insignia.
Considius equo admisso ad eum accurrit, dicit montem, quem a Labieno occupari voluerit, ab hostibus teneri: id se a Gallicis armis atque insignibus cognovisse.
Caesar withdraws his forces to the nearest hill and draws up his line of battle. Labienus, since it had been enjoined on him by Caesar not to join battle unless Caesar’s own forces were seen near the enemy’s camp—so that the attack might be made on the enemy from every side at one time—kept the mountain he had seized and waited for our men, holding off from battle.
Caesar suas copias in proximum collem subducit, aciem instruit. Labienus, ut erat ei praeceptum a Caesare ne proelium committeret, nisi ipsius copiae prope hostium castra visae essent, ut undique uno tempore in hostes impetus fieret, monte occupato nostros expectabat proelioque abstinebat.
At length, far on in the day, Caesar learned through scouts both that the mountain was held by his own men and that the Helvetii had moved camp, and that Considius, panic-stricken with fear, had reported to him as seen what he had not seen. That day he follows the enemy at his accustomed interval and pitches camp three miles from theirs.
Multo denique die per exploratores Caesar cognovit et montem a suis teneri et Helvetios castra, movisse et Considium timore perterritum quod non vidisset pro viso sibi renuntiavisse. Eo die quo consuerat intervallo hostes sequitur et milia passuum tria ab eorum castris castra ponit.
On the next day, since only two days remained before he must measure out grain to the army, and since he was no more than eighteen miles from Bibracte, by far the largest and best-supplied town of the Aedui, he judged he must see to the grain supply; and so he turned his march away from the Helvetii and pressed on to go to Bibracte.
Postridie eius diei, quod omnino biduum supererat, cum exercitui frumentum metiri oporteret, et quod a Bibracte, oppido Haeduorum longe maximo et copiosissimo, non amplius milibus passuum XVIII aberat, rei frumentariae prospiciendum existimavit; itaque iter ab Helvetiis avertit ac Bibracte ire contendit.
This was reported to the enemy by deserters from Lucius Aemilius, a decurion of the Gallic cavalry.
Ea res per fugitivos L. Aemilii, decurionis equitum Gallorum, hostibus nuntiatur.
The Helvetii—whether because they supposed the Romans were withdrawing from them panic-stricken with fear, the more so because the day before, though they had seized the higher ground, they had not joined battle, or because they trusted they could cut the Romans off from the grain supply—with their plan changed and their march reversed, began to follow our rear and to harass it.
Helvetii, seu quod timore perterritos Romanos discedere a se existimarent, eo magis quod pridie superioribus locis occupatis proelium non commisissent, sive eo quod re frumentaria intercludi posse confiderent, commutato consilio atque itinere converso nostros a novissimo agmine insequi ac lacessere coeperunt.
When Caesar noticed this, he withdrew his forces to the nearest hill and sent his cavalry to sustain the enemy’s charge.
Postquam id animum advertit, copias suas Caesar in proximum collem subduxit equitatumque, qui sustineret hostium impetum, misit.
He himself, meanwhile, drew up on the middle of the hill a triple line of his four veteran legions; on the highest ridge he placed the two legions he had lately enrolled in Nearer Gaul, together with all the auxiliaries,
Ipse interim in colle medio triplicem aciem instruxit legionum quattuor veteranarum; in summo iugo duas legiones quas in Gallia citeriore proxime conscripserat et omnia auxilia conlocavit,
so that he filled the whole mountain with men above him; and he ordered the baggage and packs to be gathered into one place, and that place to be fortified by the men who had taken station in the upper line.
ita ut supra se totum montem hominibus compleret; impedimenta sarcinasque in unum locum conferri et eum ab iis qui in superiore acie constiterant muniri iussit.
The Helvetii, following with all their wagons, gathered their baggage into one place; they themselves, in very close order, having thrown back our cavalry and formed a phalanx, came up beneath our first line.
Helvetii cum omnibus suis carris secuti impedimenta in unum locum contulerunt; ipsi confertissima acie, reiecto nostro equitatu, phalange facta sub primam nostram aciem successerunt.
Caesar—first his own horse, then the horses of all, removed from sight, so that, the danger being made equal for all, he might take away hope of flight—encouraged his men and joined battle.
Caesar primum suo, deinde omnium ex conspectu remotis equis, ut aequato omnium periculo spem fugae tolleret, cohortatus suos proelium commisit.
The soldiers, from the higher ground, hurling their javelins, easily broke the enemy’s phalanx. When it was scattered, they drew their swords and charged them.
Milites loco superiore pilis missis facile hostium phalangem perfregerunt. Ea disiecta gladiis destrictis in eos impetum fecerunt.
It was a great hindrance to the Gauls in the fight that, when several of their shields had been pierced and pinned together by a single throw of javelins, since the iron had bent, they could neither wrench it out nor fight properly with the left arm hampered,
Gallis magno ad pugnam erat impedimento quod pluribus eorum scutis uno ictu pilorum transfixis et conligatis, cum ferrum se inflexisset, neque evellere neque sinistra impedita satis commode pugnare poterant,
so that many, after long shaking the arm, preferred to let the shield drop from the hand and fight with the body bare.
multi ut diu iactato bracchio praeoptarent scutum manu emittere et nudo corpore pugnare.
At length, worn out by wounds, they began both to give ground and—because there was a mountain near, about a mile off—to withdraw to it.
Tandem vulneribus defessi et pedem referre et, quod mons suberit circiter mille passuum spatio, eo se recipere coeperunt.
The mountain gained and our men coming up, the Boii and Tulingi, who with about fifteen thousand men closed the enemy’s column and served as a guard for the rear, attacked our men on the exposed flank as they advanced and set about surrounding them; and seeing this, the Helvetii who had withdrawn onto the mountain began to press forward again and to renew the battle.
Capto monte et succedentibus nostris, Boi et Tulingi, qui hominum milibus circiter XV agmen hostium claudebant et novissimis praesidio erant, ex itinere nostros ab latere aperto adgressi circumvenire, et id conspicati Helvetii, qui in montem sese receperant, rursus instare et proelium redintegrare coeperunt.
The Romans wheeled and carried their standards against them in two directions: the first and second lines, to resist those they had beaten and driven off; the third, to withstand those who were coming up.
Romani [conversa] signa bipertito intulerunt: prima et secunda acies, ut victis ac submotis resisteret, tertia, ut venientes sustineret.
So, with the battle facing two ways, the fighting was long and fierce. When the enemy could no longer sustain the charges of our men, the one party withdrew, as they had begun, onto the mountain; the other took themselves to their baggage and wagons.
Ita ancipiti proelio diu atque acriter pugnatum est. Diutius cum sustinere nostrorum impetus non possent, alteri se, ut coeperant, in montem receperunt, alteri ad impedimenta et carros suos se contulerunt.
For in this whole battle, although the fighting went on from the seventh hour until evening, no one could see an enemy with his back turned.
Nam hoc toto proelio, cum ab hora septima ad vesperum pugnatum sit, aversum hostem videre nemo potuit.
Far into the night, too, there was fighting at the baggage, because the enemy had set their wagons up as a rampart and from the higher ground kept hurling weapons at our men as they came on, while some, between the wagons and wheels, kept driving up pikes and darts and wounding our men.
Ad multam noctem etiam ad impedimenta pugnatum est, propterea quod pro vallo carros obiecerunt et e loco superiore in nostros venientes tela coiciebant et non nulli inter carros rotasque mataras ac tragulas subiciebant nostrosque vulnerabant.
After the fighting had gone on a long while, our men got possession of the baggage and the camp. There the daughter of Orgetorix and one of his sons were taken.
Diu cum esset pugnatum, impedimentis castrisque nostri potiti sunt. Ibi Orgetorigis filia atque unus e filiis captus est.
From that battle about one hundred and thirty thousand persons survived, and they marched on continuously through that whole night; with no part of the night’s journey broken off, they reached the territory of the Lingones on the fourth day, since our men—both on account of the soldiers’ wounds and on account of the burial of the slain—had halted three days and could not pursue them.
Ex eo proelio circiter hominum milia CXXX superfuerunt eaque tota nocte continenter ierunt [nullam partem noctis itinere intermisso]; in fines Lingonum die quarto pervenerunt, cum et propter vulnera militum et propter sepulturam occisorum nostri [triduum morati] eos sequi non potuissent.
Caesar sent letters and messengers to the Lingones not to aid the Helvetii with grain or anything else: if they aided them, he would hold them in the same regard as the Helvetii. He himself, after the three days’ pause, began to follow them with all his forces.
Caesar ad Lingonas litteras nuntiosque misit, ne eos frumento neve alia re iuvarent: qui si iuvissent, se eodem loco quo Helvetios habiturum. Ipse triduo intermisso cum omnibus copiis eos sequi coepit.
The Helvetii, brought to it by the want of all things, sent envoys to him concerning surrender.
Helvetii omnium rerum inopia adducti legatos de deditione ad eum miserunt.
When these had met him on the march and had thrown themselves at his feet and, speaking in supplication, had begged for peace with tears, and when he had ordered them to await his arrival in the place where they then were, they obeyed.
Qui cum eum in itinere convenissent seque ad pedes proiecissent suppliciterque locuti flentes pacem petissent, atque eos in eo loco quo tum essent suum adventum expectare iussisset, paruerunt.
After Caesar came there, he demanded hostages, their arms, and the slaves who had fled to them.
Eo postquam Caesar pervenit, obsides, arma, servos qui ad eos perfugissent, poposcit.
While these were being sought out and brought together, in the meantime—a night having passed—about six thousand men of the canton called the Verbigene, whether panic-stricken with fear that, their arms surrendered, they would be put to death, or led on by hope of safety, because in so great a host of those who had surrendered they supposed their own flight could either be concealed or wholly go unnoticed, went out of the camp of the Helvetii at nightfall and made for the Rhine and the territory of the Germans.
Dum ea conquiruntur et conferuntur, [nocte intermissa] circiter hominum milia VI eius pagi qui Verbigenus appellatur, sive timore perterriti, ne armis traditis supplicio adficerentur, sive spe salutis inducti, quod in tanta multitudine dediticiorum suam fugam aut occultari aut omnino ignorari posse existimarent, prima nocte e castris Helvetiorum egressi ad Rhenum finesque Germanorum contenderunt.
When Caesar learned of this, he ordered those through whose territory they had gone to seek them out and bring them back, if they wished to be clear in his eyes; those brought back he treated as enemies;
Quod ubi Caesar resciit, quorum per fines ierant his uti conquirerent et reducerent, si sibi purgati esse vellent, imperavit; reductos in hostium numero habuit;
all the rest, once hostages, arms, and deserters had been surrendered, he received in surrender.
reliquos omnes obsidibus, armis, perfugis traditis in deditionem accepit.
The Helvetii, the Tulingi, and the Latobrigi he ordered to return to their own territory, from which they had set out; and because, all their crops lost, there was nothing at home with which to endure hunger, he ordered the Allobroges to make a supply of grain available to them, and he ordered the Helvetii themselves to restore the towns and villages they had burned. He did this chiefly for the reason that he did not want the place from which the Helvetii had departed to lie empty, lest, on account of the goodness of the land, the Germans who dwell across the Rhine should cross from their own territory into that of the Helvetii and become neighbors to the Province of Gaul and to the Allobroges.
Helvetios, Tulingos, Latobrigos in fines suos, unde erant profecti, reverti iussit, et, quod omnibus frugibus amissis domi nihil erat quo famem tolerarent, Allobrogibus imperavit ut iis frumenti copiam facerent; ipsos oppida vicosque, quos incenderant, restituere iussit. Id ea maxime ratione fecit, quod noluit eum locum unde Helvetii discesserant vacare, ne propter bonitatem agrorum Germani, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, ex suis finibus in Helvetiorum fines transirent et finitimi Galliae provinciae Allobrogibusque essent.
When the Aedui asked that the Boii, since they had been recognized as men of outstanding valor, be settled in their own territory, he granted it; the Aedui gave them lands and afterward admitted them to the same condition of right and freedom as themselves.
Boios petentibus Haeduis, quod egregia virtute erant cogniti, ut in finibus suis conlocarent, concessit; quibus illi agros dederunt quosque postea in parem iuris libertatisque condicionem atque ipsi erant receperunt.
In the camp of the Helvetii tablets were found, drawn up in Greek letters, and brought to Caesar; in these tablets a reckoning had been made, name by name, of the number of those able to bear arms who had marched out from home, and likewise, separately, of how many boys, old men, and women.
In castris Helvetiorum tabulae repertae sunt litteris Graecis confectae et ad Caesarem relatae, quibus in tabulis nominatim ratio confecta erat, qui numerus domo exisset eorum qui arma ferre possent, et item separatim, quot pueri, senes mulieresque.
The sum of all these came to: of the Helvetii, two hundred and sixty-three thousand persons; of the Tulingi, thirty-six thousand; of the Latobrigi, fourteen thousand; of the Rauraci, twenty-three thousand; of the Boii, thirty-two thousand; of these, about ninety-two thousand were able to bear arms.
[Quarum omnium rerum] summa erat capitum Helvetiorum milium CCLXIII, Tulingorum milium XXXVI, Latobrigorum XIIII, Rauracorum XXIII, Boiorum XXXII; ex his qui arma ferre possent ad milia nonaginta duo.
The sum of all came to about three hundred and sixty-eight thousand. Of those who returned home, a census being taken as Caesar had ordered, the number was found to be one hundred and ten thousand.
Summa omnium fuerunt ad milia CCCLXVIII. Eorum qui domum redierunt censu habito, ut Caesar imperaverat, repertus est numerus milium C et X.
With the war against the Helvetii brought to an end, envoys from nearly all of Gaul, the leading men of the states, gathered to offer Caesar their congratulations:
Bello Helvetiorum confecto totius fere Galliae legati, principes civitatum, ad Caesarem gratulatum convenerunt:
they understood, they said, that although he had exacted from the Helvetii by war the penalty for their old wrongs against the Roman people, the outcome had nonetheless served the interest of the land of Gaul no less than that of the Roman people,
intellegere sese, tametsi pro veteribus Helvetiorum iniuriis populi Romani ab his poenas bello repetisset, tamen eam rem non minus ex usu [terrae] Galliae quam populi Romani accidisse,
because the Helvetii had left their homes at the height of their prosperity with this design: to make war on all of Gaul and seize dominion over it, and to choose for their dwelling, out of so great an abundance, the place they judged the most advantageous and most fruitful in all Gaul, and to hold the rest of the states as tributaries.
propterea quod eo consilio florentissimis rebus domos suas Helvetii reliquissent uti toti Galliae bellum inferrent imperioque potirentur, locumque domicilio ex magna copia deligerent quem ex omni Gallia oportunissimum ac fructuosissimum iudicassent, reliquasque civitates stipendiarias haberent.
They asked to be allowed to proclaim a council of all Gaul for a fixed day, and to do this with Caesar’s consent: they had, they said, certain matters that they wished, by common agreement, to request of him.
Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere idque Caesaris facere voluntate liceret: sese habere quasdam res quas ex communi consensu ab eo petere vellent.
This granted, they appointed a day for the council and bound themselves to one another by oath that no one should disclose its proceedings except those to whom it was entrusted by common decision.
Ea re permissa diem concilio constituerunt et iure iurando ne quis enuntiaret, nisi quibus communi consilio mandatum esset, inter se sanxerunt.
When that council had been dismissed, the same leading men of the states who had come before returned to Caesar and asked to be allowed to treat with him in secret and in private about their own safety and the safety of all.
Eo concilio dimisso, idem princeps civitatum qui ante fuerant ad Caesarem reverterunt petieruntque uti sibi secreto in occulto de sua omniumque salute cum eo agere liceret.
This obtained, they all threw themselves weeping at Caesar’s feet: they were striving and laboring, they said, no less to keep what they had said from being disclosed than to obtain what they wanted, because, if it were disclosed, they saw that they would come to the utmost torture.
Ea re impetrata sese omnes flentes Caesari ad pedes proiecerunt: non minus se id contendere et laborare ne ea quae dixissent enuntiarentur quam uti ea quae vellent impetrarent, propterea quod, si enuntiatum esset, summum in cruciatum se venturos viderent.
Diviciacus the Aeduan spoke on their behalf: there were two factions in all Gaul; of the one the Aedui held the leadership, of the other the Arverni.
Locutus est pro his Diviciacus Haeduus: Galliae totius factiones esse duas; harum alterius principatum tenere Haeduos, alterius Arvernos.
Since these had contended so fiercely with each other over supremacy for many years, it had come about that the Germans were hired for pay by the Arverni and the Sequani.
Hi cum tantopere de potentatu inter se multos annos contenderent, factum esse uti ab Arvernis Sequanisque Germani mercede arcesserentur.
Of these about fifteen thousand had at first crossed the Rhine; after these wild and barbarous men had come to love the fields and the way of life and the wealth of the Gauls, more had been brought across; now there were in Gaul to the number of about a hundred and twenty thousand.
Horum primo circiter milia XV Rhenum transisse; postea quam agros et cultum et copias Gallorum homines feri ac barbari adamassent, traductos plures; nunc esse in Gallia ad C et XX milium numerum.
With these the Aedui and their dependents had contended in arms once and again; defeated, they had suffered a great disaster, had lost all their nobility, all their senate, all their cavalry.
Cum his Haeduos eorumque clientes semel atque iterum armis contendisse; magnam calamitatem pulsos accepisse, omnem nobilitatem, omnem senatum, omnem equitatum amisisse.
Broken by these battles and disasters—they who before, by their own valor and by the friendship and guest-bond of the Roman people, had held the greatest power in Gaul—they had been forced to give the noblest men of their state as hostages to the Sequani, and to bind their state by oath that they would neither demand the hostages back, nor implore aid from the Roman people, nor refuse to be forever under the sway and dominion of the Sequani.
Quibus proeliis calamitatibusque fractos, qui et sua virtute et populi Romani hospitio atque amicitia plurimum ante in Gallia potuissent, coactos esse Sequanis obsides dare nobilissimos civitatis et iure iurando civitatem obstringere sese neque obsides repetituros neque auxilium a populo Romano imploraturos neque recusaturos quo minus perpetuo sub illorum dicione atque imperio essent.
He himself was the one man in the whole state of the Aedui who could not be induced to swear the oath or to give his own children as hostages.
Unum se esse ex omni civitate Haeduorum qui adduci non potuerit ut iuraret aut liberos suos obsides daret.
For that reason he had fled from his state and come to Rome, to the Senate, to demand aid, since he alone was bound neither by oath nor by hostages.
Ob eam rem se ex civitate profugisse et Romam ad senatum venisse auxilium postulatum, quod solus neque iure iurando neque obsidibus teneretur.
But a worse fate had befallen the victorious Sequani than the conquered Aedui, because Ariovistus, king of the Germans, had settled in their territory and seized a third part of the Sequanian land, which was the best in all Gaul, and now ordered the Sequani to withdraw from a second third, because a few months before twenty-four thousand of the Harudes had come to him, for whom room and a home had to be provided.
Sed peius victoribus Sequanis quam Haeduis victis accidisse, propterea quod Ariovistus, rex Germanorum, in eorum finibus consedisset tertiamque partem agri Sequani, qui esset optimus totius Galliae, occupavisset et nunc de altera parte tertia Sequanos decedere iuberet, propterea quod paucis mensibus ante Harudum milia hominum XXIIII ad eum venissent, quibus locus ac sedes pararentur.
Within a few years it would come about that all would be driven from the territory of Gaul and all the Germans would cross the Rhine; for the Gallic land was not to be compared with the German, nor this manner of living with that.
Futurum esse paucis annis uti omnes ex Galliae finibus pellerentur atque omnes Germani Rhenum transirent; neque enim conferendum esse Gallicum cum Germanorum agro neque hanc consuetudinem victus cum illa comparandam.
And Ariovistus, ever since he had once defeated the forces of the Gauls in battle—the battle fought at Magetobriga—ruled arrogantly and cruelly, demanding as hostages the children of each of the noblest, and inflicting on them every kind of example and torture, if anything were not done at his nod or his will.
Ariovistum autem, ut semel Gallorum copias proelio vicerit, quod proelium factum sit ad Magetobrigam, superbe et crudeliter imperare, obsides nobilissimi cuiusque liberos poscere et in eos omnia exempla cruciatusque edere, si qua res non ad nutum aut ad voluntatem eius facta sit.
The man was a barbarian, hot-tempered, reckless: his commands could be borne no longer.
Hominem esse barbarum, iracundum, temerarium: non posse eius imperia, diutius sustineri.
Unless there were some aid in Caesar and the Roman people, all the Gauls had to do the same as the Helvetii had done: emigrate from home, seek another dwelling, other homes far from the Germans, and try whatever fortune might come. If these things were disclosed to Ariovistus, he did not doubt that the king would exact the heaviest punishment upon all the hostages who were in his keeping.
Nisi quid in Caesare populoque Romano sit auxilii, omnibus Gallis idem esse faciendum quod Helvetii fecerint, ut domo emigrent, aliud domicilium, alias sedes, remotas a Germanis, petant fortunamque, quaecumque accidat, experiantur. Haec si enuntiata Ariovisto sint, non dubitare quin de omnibus obsidibus qui apud eum sint gravissimum supplicium sumat.
Caesar could, whether by his own authority and that of his army, or by his recent victory, or by the name of the Roman people, deter any greater multitude of Germans from being brought across the Rhine, and could defend all Gaul from the wrongdoing of Ariovistus.
Caesarem vel auctoritate sua atque exercitus vel recenti victoria vel nomine populi Romani deterrere posse ne maior multitudo Germanorum Rhenum traducatur, Galliamque omnem ab Ariovisti iniuria posse defendere.
When this speech had been delivered by Diviciacus, all who were present began with great weeping to beg aid from Caesar.
Hac oratione ab Diviciaco habita omnes qui aderant magno fletu auxilium a Caesare petere coeperunt.
Caesar noticed that the Sequani alone of all did none of the things the others did, but, downcast, with heads bowed, gazed at the ground. Wondering what the cause of this might be, he asked them directly.
Animadvertit Caesar unos ex omnibus Sequanos nihil earum rerum facere quas ceteri facerent sed tristes capite demisso terram intueri. Eius rei quae causa esset miratus ex ipsis quaesiit.
The Sequani made no answer, but remained silent in the same dejection. When he questioned them again and again and could draw out no word at all, the same Diviciacus the Aeduan answered:
Nihil Sequani respondere, sed in eadem tristitia taciti permanere. Cum ab his saepius quaereret neque ullam omnino vocem exprimere posset, idem Diviacus Haeduus respondit:
the lot of the Sequani was the more wretched and the more grievous than that of the rest in this, that they alone did not dare even in secret to complain or to implore aid, and dreaded the cruelty of Ariovistus even in his absence,
hoc esse miseriorem et graviorem fortunam Sequanorum quam reliquorum, quod soli ne in occulto quidem queri neque auxilium implorare auderent absentisque Ariovisti crudelitatem,
as though he were present before them; because to the rest at least the means of flight was given, but the Sequani, who had received Ariovistus within their own borders, whose towns were all in his power, had to endure every torture.
velut si coram adesset, horrerent, propterea quod reliquis tamen fugae facultas daretur, Sequanis vero, qui intra fines suos Ariovistum recepissent, quorum oppida omnia in potestate eius essent, omnes cruciatus essent perferendi.
When he had learned this, Caesar heartened the Gauls with words and promised that the matter would be his concern; he had great hope, he said, that Ariovistus, moved by his kindness and his authority, would put an end to his wrongs. This speech delivered, he dismissed the council.
His rebus cognitis Caesar Gallorum animos verbis confirmavit pollicitusque est sibi eam rem curae futuram; magnam se habere spem et beneficio suo et auctoritate adductum Ariovistum finem iniuriis facturum. Hac oratione habita, concilium dimisit.
And beyond this, many things urged him to think the matter over and take it up, above all because he saw the Aedui—again and again called brothers and kinsmen by the Senate—held in slavery and subjection by the Germans, and understood that their hostages were in the keeping of Ariovistus and the Sequani; which, in so great an empire as that of the Roman people, he judged most shameful to himself and to the republic.
Et secundum ea multae res eum hortabantur quare sibi eam rem cogitandam et suscipiendam putaret, in primis quod Haeduos, fratres consanguineosque saepe numero a senatu appellatos, in servitute atque [in] dicione videbat Germanorum teneri eorumque obsides esse apud Ariovistum ac Sequanos intellegebat; quod in tanto imperio populi Romani turpissimum sibi et rei publicae esse arbitrabatur.
And he saw that for the Germans to grow accustomed, little by little, to crossing the Rhine, and for a great multitude of them to come into Gaul, was dangerous to the Roman people; nor did he suppose that men so wild and barbarous would restrain themselves, once they had seized all Gaul, as the Cimbri and Teutones had done before, from going out into the Province and pressing on from there into Italy—especially since the Rhone alone divided the Sequani from our Province; and these dangers, he judged, had to be met as early as possible.
Paulatim autem Germanos consuescere Rhenum transire et in Galliam magnam eorum multitudinem venire populo Romano periculosum videbat, neque sibi homines feros ac barbaros temperaturos existimabat quin, cum omnem Galliam occupavissent, ut ante Cimbri Teutonique fecissent, in provinciam exirent atque inde in Italiam contenderent [, praesertim cum Sequanos a provincia nostra Rhodanus divideret]; quibus rebus quam maturrime occurrendum putabat.
Ariovistus himself, moreover, had taken on such airs, such arrogance, that he seemed not to be endured.
Ipse autem Ariovistus tantos sibi spiritus, tantam arrogantiam sumpserat, ut ferendus non videretur.
For this reason he resolved to send envoys to Ariovistus to demand of him that he choose some place midway between the two for a conference: he wished, he said, to treat with him about matters of state and the highest concerns of them both.
Quam ob rem placuit ei ut ad Ariovistum legatos mitteret, qui ab eo postularent uti aliquem locum medium utrisque conloquio deligeret: velle sese de re publica et summis utriusque rebus cum eo agere.
To this embassy Ariovistus replied: if he himself had needed anything from Caesar, he would have gone to Caesar; if Caesar wanted anything from him, Caesar ought to come to him.
Ei legationi Ariovistus respondit: si quid ipsi a Caesare opus esset, sese ad eum venturum fuisse; si quid ille se velit, illum ad se venire oportere.
Besides, he did not dare to come without his army into those parts of Gaul that Caesar held, nor could he gather his army into one place without a great convoy of supplies and much effort.
Praeterea se neque sine exercitu in eas partes Galliae venire audere quas Caesar possideret, neque exercitum sine magno commeatu atque molimento in unum locum contrahere posse.
And it seemed strange to him what business either Caesar or the Roman people at all had in his own Gaul, which he had conquered in war.
Sibi autem mirum videri quid in sua Gallia, quam bello vicisset, aut Caesari aut omnino populo Romano negotii esset.
When these answers had been carried back to Caesar, Caesar sent envoys to him a second time, with these instructions:
His responsis ad Caesarem relatis, iterum ad eum Caesar legatos cum his mandatis mittit:
since, though treated with so great a kindness by him and the Roman people—having in his consulship been styled king and friend by the Senate—he made this return to him and to the Roman people, that, when invited to a conference, he balked at coming, and thought he need neither speak nor inquire about a matter of common concern, these were the things Caesar demanded of him:
quoniam tanto suo populique Romani beneficio adfectus, cum in consulatu suo rex atque amicus a senatu appellatus esset, hanc sibi populoque Romano gratiam referret ut in conloquium venire invitatus gravaretur neque de communi re dicendum sibi et cognoscendum putaret, haec esse quae ab eo postularet:
first, that he bring no further multitude of men across the Rhine into Gaul; next, that he give back the hostages he held from the Aedui, and permit the Sequani, with his consent, to give back to the Aedui those they held; that he neither provoke the Aedui with wrong nor make war upon them and their allies.
primum ne quam multitudinem hominum amplius trans Rhenum in Galliam traduceret; deinde obsides quos haberet ab Haeduis redderet Sequanisque permitteret ut quos illi haberent voluntate eius reddere illis liceret; neve Haeduos iniuria lacesseret neve his sociisque eorum bellum inferret.
If he did so, there would be lasting goodwill and friendship between him and Caesar and the Roman people; if Caesar did not obtain this, then—since in the consulship of Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso the Senate had decreed that whoever held Gaul as his province should, so far as he could do it for the good of the republic, defend the Aedui and the other friends of the Roman people—he would not overlook the wrongs done to the Aedui.
Si [id] ita fecisset, sibi populoque Romano perpetuam gratiam atque amicitiam cum eo futuram; si non impetraret, sese, quoniam M. Messala, M. Pisone consulibus senatus censuisset uti quicumque Galliam provinciam obtineret, quod commodo rei publicae facere posset, Haeduos ceterosque amicos populi Romani defenderet, se Haeduorum iniurias non neglecturum.
To this Ariovistus replied: it was the right of war that the victors should rule those they had conquered in whatever way they pleased. Just so, the Roman people was accustomed to rule the conquered not by another’s prescription, but at its own discretion.
Ad haec Ariovistus respondit: ius esse belli ut qui vicissent iis quos vicissent quem ad modum vellent imperarent. Item populum Romanum victis non ad alterius praescriptum, sed ad suum arbitrium imperare consuesse.
If he himself did not prescribe to the Roman people how it should use its own right, he ought not to be hindered by the Roman people in the use of his.
Si ipse populo Romano non praescriberet quem ad modum suo iure uteretur, non oportere se a populo Romano in suo iure impediri.
The Aedui had become his tributaries, since they had tried the fortune of war and, meeting him in arms, had been beaten.
Haeduos sibi, quoniam belli fortunam temptassent et armis congressi ac superati essent, stipendiarios esse factos.
Caesar was doing him a great wrong, who by his coming made his revenues worth less.
Magnam Caesarem iniuriam facere, qui suo adventu vectigalia sibi deteriora faceret.
He would not give the hostages back to the Aedui, nor would he make war unjustly on them or their allies, provided they stood by what had been agreed and paid the tribute year by year; if they did not do so, the brotherly name of the Roman people would be far from helping them.
Haeduis se obsides redditurum non esse neque his neque eorum sociis iniuria bellum inlaturum, si in eo manerent quod convenisset stipendiumque quotannis penderent; si id non fecissent, longe iis fraternum nomen populi Romani afuturum.
As for Caesar’s warning that he would not overlook the wrongs done to the Aedui—no one had contended with him without his own ruin.
Quod sibi Caesar denuntiaret se Haeduorum iniurias non neglecturum, neminem secum sine sua pernicie contendisse.
Let him come on when he wished: he would learn what the unconquered Germans, most highly trained in arms, who in fourteen years had not gone under a roof, could do by their valor.
Cum vellet, congrederetur: intellecturum quid invicti Germani, exercitatissimi in armis, qui inter annos XIIII tectum non subissent, virtute possent.
At this same time these instructions were being reported back to Caesar, and envoys were coming from the Aedui and from the Treveri:
Haec eodem tempore Caesari mandata referebantur et legati ab Haeduis et a Treveris veniebant:
the Aedui to complain that the Harudes, who had lately been brought across into Gaul, were ravaging their territory: not even by giving hostages had they been able to buy peace from Ariovistus;
Haedui questum quod Harudes, qui nuper in Galliam transportati essent, fines eorum popularentur: sese ne obsidibus quidem datis pacem Ariovisti redimere potuisse;
the Treveri, on the other hand, to report that a hundred cantons of the Suebi had settled on the banks of the Rhine and were trying to cross it; at their head were the brothers Nasua and Cimberius. Greatly alarmed by this, Caesar judged that he must make haste, lest, if a fresh band of the Suebi joined the old forces of Ariovistus, resistance should become harder.
Treveri autem, pagos centum Sueborum ad ripas Rheni consedisse, qui Rhenum transire conarentur; his praeesse Nasuam et Cimberium fratres. Quibus rebus Caesar vehementer commotus maturandum sibi existimavit, ne, si nova manus Sueborum cum veteribus copiis Ariovisti sese coniunxisset, minus facile resisti posset.
And so, having got together a grain supply as quickly as he could, he pressed on toward Ariovistus by forced marches.
Itaque re frumentaria quam celerrime potuit comparata magnis itineribus ad Ariovistum contendit.
When he had advanced three days’ journey, word was brought to him that Ariovistus was hurrying with all his forces to seize Vesontio, which is the largest town of the Sequani, and had advanced three days’ journey from his own territory. Caesar judged that he must take great care to prevent this. For of all things useful for war there was the fullest supply in that town,
Cum tridui viam processisset, nuntiatum est ei Ariovistum cum suis omnibus copiis ad occupandum Vesontionem, quod est oppidum maximum Sequanorum, contendere [triduique viam a suis finibus processisse]. Id ne accideret, magnopere sibi praecavendum Caesar existimabat. Namque omnium rerum quae ad bellum usui erant summa erat in eo oppido facultas,
and it was so fortified by the nature of its position that it offered great opportunity for protracting the war, because the river Doubs, as though traced with a compass, girdles almost the whole town,
idque natura loci sic muniebatur ut magnam ad ducendum bellum daret facultatem, propterea quod flumen [alduas] Dubis ut circino circumductum paene totum oppidum cingit,
and a mountain of great height closes off the remaining gap—not more than sixteen hundred feet—where the river breaks off, in such a way that the foot of the mountain touches the river-bank on either side,
reliquum spatium, quod est non amplius pedum MDC, qua flumen intermittit, mons continet magna altitudine, ita ut radices eius montis ex utraque parte ripae fluminis contingant,
a wall thrown around this mountain makes it a citadel and joins it to the town.
hunc murus circumdatus arcem efficit et cum oppido coniungit.
To this place Caesar pressed on by great marches night and day, and, the town seized, posted a garrison there.
Huc Caesar magnis nocturnis diurnisque itineribus contendit occupatoque oppido ibi praesidium conlocat.
While he lingered a few days at Vesontio for the sake of grain and supplies, from the inquiries of our men and the talk of Gauls and traders—who declared that the Germans were of vast bodily size, of incredible valor and training in arms (often, they said, when they had met with them, they had not been able even to bear their countenance and the keenness of their eyes)—so great a fear suddenly seized the whole army that it threw the minds and spirits of all into no small disorder.
Dum paucos dies ad Vesontionem rei frumentariae commeatusque causa moratur, ex percontatione nostrorum vocibusque Gallorum ac mercatorum, qui ingenti magnitudine corporum Germanos, incredibili virtute atque exercitatione in armis esse praedicabant (saepe numero sese cum his congressos ne vultum quidem atque aciem oculorum dicebant ferre potuisse), tantus subito timor omnem exercitum occupavit ut non mediocriter omnium mentes animosque perturbaret.
This arose first among the military tribunes, the prefects, and the rest who had followed Caesar from the City for the sake of friendship and had no great experience in military matters:
Hic primum ortus est a tribunis militum, praefectis, reliquisque qui ex urbe amicitiae causa Caesarem secuti non magnum in re militari usum habebant:
of these, one alleging one reason, another another, which he said made it necessary for him to depart, would ask leave to go with Caesar’s consent; some, led by shame, stayed, to avoid the suspicion of fear.
quorum alius alia causa inlata, quam sibi ad proficiscendum necessariam esse diceret, petebat ut eius voluntate discedere liceret; non nulli pudore adducti, ut timoris suspicionem vitarent, remanebant.
These could neither compose their faces nor, at times, hold back their tears: hidden in their tents, they either bewailed their own fate or, with their intimates, lamented the common danger. Throughout the whole camp wills were being sealed everywhere.
Hi neque vultum fingere neque interdum lacrimas tenere poterant: abditi in tabernaculis aut suum fatum querebantur aut cum familiaribus suis commune periculum miserabantur. Vulgo totis castris testamenta obsignabantur.
By the talk and fear of these men, little by little even those who had great experience in camp—soldiers and centurions, and those in command of the cavalry—were thrown into confusion.
Horum vocibus ac timore paulatim etiam ii qui magnum in castris usum habebant, milites centurionesque quique equitatui praeerant, perturbabantur.
Those of them who wished to be thought less timid said that they did not fear the enemy, but dreaded the narrows of the route and the vastness of the forests that lay between themselves and Ariovistus, or feared for the grain supply, that it could not be brought up conveniently enough.
Qui se ex his minus timidos existimari volebant, non se hostem vereri, sed angustias itineris et magnitudinem silvarum quae intercederent inter ipsos atque Ariovistum, aut rem frumentariam, ut satis commode supportari posset, timere dicebant.
Some even reported to Caesar that, when he had ordered the camp to be moved and the standards advanced, the soldiers would not be obedient to the command and would not advance the standards, out of fear.
Non nulli etiam Caesari nuntiabant, cum castra moveri ac signa ferri iussisset, non fore dicto audientes milites neque propter timorem signa laturos.
When he had noticed this, he called a council, summoning to it the centurions of all ranks, and rebuked them sharply: first, because they thought it was for them to ask or consider in what direction or with what design they were being led.
Haec cum animadvertisset, convocato consilio omniumque ordinum ad id consilium adhibitis centurionibus, vehementer eos incusavit: primum, quod aut quam in partem aut quo consilio ducerentur sibi quaerendum aut cogitandum putarent.
Ariovistus, in his own consulship, had most eagerly sought the friendship of the Roman people; why should anyone judge that he would so rashly depart from his duty?
Ariovistum se consule cupidissime populi Romani amicitiam adpetisse; cur hunc tam temere quisquam ab officio discessurum iudicaret?
He himself was persuaded that, once his demands were known and the fairness of the terms perceived, Ariovistus would reject neither his own goodwill nor that of the Roman people.
Sibi quidem persuaderi cognitis suis postulatis atque aequitate condicionum perspecta eum neque suam neque populi Romani gratiam repudiaturum.
But if, driven by frenzy and madness, he should make war, what after all had they to fear? Or why should they despair either of their own valor or of his diligence?
Quod si furore atque amentia impulsum bellum intulisset, quid tandem vererentur? Aut cur de sua virtute aut de ipsius diligentia desperarent?
Trial of that enemy had been made within the memory of our fathers, when the Cimbri and Teutones were routed by Gaius Marius—when the army seemed to have earned no less praise than the commander himself; trial had been made also lately in Italy, in the slave revolt, though those men were helped somewhat by the experience and discipline they had received from us.
Factum eius hostis periculum patrum nostrorum memoria Cimbris et Teutonis a C. Mario pulsis [cum non minorem laudem exercitus quam ipse imperator meritus videbatur]; factum etiam nuper in Italia servili tumultu, quos tamen aliquid usus ac disciplina, quam a nobis accepissent, sublevarint.
From which it could be judged how much good there is in steadfastness, since those whom they had for a while feared without cause while unarmed, they had afterward overcome when they were armed and victorious.
Ex quo iudicari posse quantum haberet in se boni constantia, propterea quod quos aliquam diu inermes sine causa timuissent hos postea armatos ac victores superassent.
In short, these were the same Germans with whom the Helvetii had often met and whom—not only in their own territory but even in the Germans’—they had generally overcome; yet the Helvetii had not been able to be a match for our army.
Denique hos esse eosdem Germanos quibuscum saepe numero Helvetii congressi non solum in suis sed etiam in illorum finibus plerumque superarint, qui tamen pares esse nostro exercitui non potuerint.
If any were troubled by the adverse battle and the flight of the Gauls, these, if they inquired, could find that Ariovistus, when the Gauls were worn out by the length of the war, had kept himself many months in camp and in the marshes and given no chance at himself, and then had suddenly fallen upon them—men by now despairing of battle and scattered—and had conquered them more by method and design than by valor.
Si quos adversum proelium et fuga Gallorum commoveret, hos, si quaererent, reperire posse diuturnitate belli defatigatis Gallis Ariovistum, cum multos menses castris se ac paludibus tenuisset neque sui potestatem fecisset, desperantes iam de pugna et dispersos subito adortum magis ratione et consilio quam virtute vicisse.
And though there had been room for that method against barbarous and inexperienced men, not even Ariovistus himself hoped that our armies could be caught by it.
Cui rationi contra homines barbaros atque imperitos locus fuisset, hac ne ipsum quidem sperare nostros exercitus capi posse.
Those who referred their fear to a pretense of the grain supply and the narrows of the route were acting arrogantly, since they seemed either to despair of the commander’s duty or to dictate it.
Qui suum timorem in rei frumentariae simulationem angustiasque itineris conferrent, facere arroganter, cum aut de officio imperatoris desperare aut praescribere viderentur.
These things were his concern; the Sequani, the Leuci, and the Lingones were furnishing grain, and the crops were already ripe in the fields; as for the route, they would judge of it themselves in a short time.
Haec sibi esse curae; frumentum Sequanos, Leucos, Lingones subministrare, iamque esse in agris frumenta matura; de itinere ipsos brevi tempore iudicaturos.
As for its being said that the soldiers would not be obedient to the command and would not advance the standards, he was not at all troubled by that: for he knew that, whenever an army had not been obedient to command, either fortune had failed after the matter was ill managed, or greed had been exposed by some crime brought to light.
Quod non fore dicto audientes neque signa laturi dicantur, nihil se ea re commoveri: scire enim, quibuscumque exercitus dicto audiens non fuerit, aut male re gesta fortunam defuisse aut aliquo facinore comperto avaritiam esse convictam.
His own uprightness had been shown throughout his whole life, his good fortune in the war with the Helvetii.
Suam innocentiam perpetua vita, felicitatem Helvetiorum bello esse perspectam.
And so what he had meant to put off to a more distant day he would carry out at once, and on the very next night, in the fourth watch, he would strike camp, so that he might learn as soon as possible whether shame and duty, or fear, prevailed more among them.
Itaque se quod in longiorem diem conlaturus fuisset repraesentaturum et proxima nocte de quarta, vigilia castra moturum, ut quam primum intellegere posset utrum apud eos pudor atque officium an timor plus valeret.
But if no one else should follow, still he would go with the Tenth Legion alone, of which he had no doubt, and it would be his praetorian cohort. This legion Caesar had favored especially, and trusted most because of its valor.
Quod si praeterea nemo sequatur, tamen se cum sola decima legione iturum, de qua non dubitet, sibique eam praetoriam cohortem futuram. Huic legioni Caesar et indulserat praecipue et propter virtutem confidebat maxime.
When this speech had been delivered, the minds of all were changed in a remarkable way, and the highest eagerness and desire to wage war was born,
Hac oratione habita mirum in modum conversae sunt omnium mentes summaque alacritas et cupiditas belli gerendi innata est,
and the Tenth Legion was the first, through its military tribunes, to thank him for having formed the best judgment of it, and declared itself most ready to wage war.
princepsque X. legio per tribunos militum ei gratias egit quod de se optimum iudicium fecisset, seque esse ad bellum gerendum paratissimam confirmavit.
Then the rest of the legions arranged through their military tribunes and the centurions of the first ranks to make their excuses to Caesar: they had never doubted nor feared, and had judged that the supreme command of the war was not theirs but the commander’s to decide.
Deinde reliquae legiones cum tribunis militum et primorum ordinum centurionibus egerunt uti Caesari satis facerent: se neque umquam dubitasse neque timuisse neque de summa belli suum iudicium sed imperatoris esse existimavisse.
Their excuse accepted, and the route having been carefully sought out through Diviciacus, in whom of all the Gauls he placed the greatest trust—so that he might lead the army through open country by a circuit of more than fifty miles—he set out in the fourth watch, as he had said.
Eorum satisfactione accepta et itinere exquisito per Diviciacum, quod ex Gallis ei maximam fidem habebat, ut milium amplius quinquaginta circuitu locis apertis exercitum duceret, de quarta vigilia, ut dixerat, profectus est.
On the seventh day, since he did not break off the march, he was informed by his scouts that the forces of Ariovistus were twenty-four miles distant from ours.
Septimo die, cum iter non intermitteret, ab exploratoribus certior factus est Ariovisti copias a nostris milia passuum IIII et XX abesse.
On learning of Caesar’s approach, Ariovistus sent envoys to him: as for the conference he had previously demanded, that might now take place, since Caesar had come nearer and he thought he could do it without danger.
Cognito Caesaris adventu Ariovistus legatos ad eum mittit: quod antea de conloquio postulasset, id per se fieri licere, quoniam propius accessisset seque id sine periculo facere posse existimaret.
Caesar did not reject the offer, and now thought that the man was returning to his senses, since he was promising of his own accord what he had previously denied when asked,
Non respuit condicionem Caesar iamque eum ad sanitatem reverti arbitrabatur, cum id quod antea petenti denegasset ultro polliceretur,
and he came into great hope that, in return for his own and the Roman people’s great kindnesses toward him, and once his demands were known, Ariovistus would give up his obstinacy.
magnamque in spem veniebat pro suis tantis populique Romani in eum beneficiis cognitis suis postulatis fore uti pertinacia desisteret.
A day for the conference was fixed, the fifth from that day.
Dies conloquio dictus est ex eo die quintus.
Meanwhile, when envoys were often sent back and forth between them, Ariovistus demanded that Caesar bring no infantryman to the conference: he feared, he said, that he might be entrapped by an ambush; let each come with his cavalry; on any other terms he would not come.
Interim saepe cum legati ultro citroque inter eos mitterentur, Ariovistus postulavit ne quem peditem ad conloquium Caesar adduceret: vereri se ne per insidias ab eo circumveniretur; uterque cum equitatu veniret: alia ratione sese non esse venturum.
Caesar, because he did not want the conference cancelled on a pretext, and yet did not dare to entrust his safety to the Gallic cavalry, decided it was most expedient to take all the horses away from the Gallic horsemen and to mount on them the legionary soldiers of the Tenth Legion, in which he had the greatest confidence, so that he might have as friendly a guard as possible, should there be any need to act.
Caesar, quod neque conloquium interposita causa tolli volebat neque salutem suam Gallorum equitatui committere audebat, commodissimum esse statuit omnibus equis Gallis equitibus detractis eo legionarios milites legionis X., cui quam maxime confidebat, imponere, ut praesidium quam amicissimum, si quid opus facto esset, haberet.
And when this was done, one of the soldiers of the Tenth Legion said, not without wit, that Caesar was doing more than he had promised: he had promised to keep the Tenth Legion in place of a praetorian cohort, and was now enrolling them as knights.
Quod cum fieret, non inridicule quidam ex militibus X. legionis dixit: plus quam pollicitus esset Caesarem facere; pollicitum se in cohortis praetoriae loco X. legionem habiturum ad equum rescribere.
There was a great plain, and in it a fairly large mound of earth. This spot was about equally distant from the camp of Ariovistus and of Caesar. There, as had been agreed, they came to the conference.
Planities erat magna et in ea tumulus terrenus satis grandis. Hic locus aequum fere spatium a castris Ariovisti et Caesaris aberat. Eo, ut erat dictum, ad conloquium venerunt.
The legion which Caesar had brought up on horseback he stationed two hundred paces from that mound. Likewise the cavalry of Ariovistus halted at an equal distance.
Legionem Caesar, quam equis devexerat, passibus CC ab eo tumulo constituit. Item equites Ariovisti pari intervallo constiterunt.
Ariovistus demanded that they confer on horseback, and that each bring ten men besides himself to the conference.
Ariovistus ex equis ut conloquerentur et praeter se denos ad conloquium adducerent postulavit.
When they had come there, Caesar at the beginning of his speech recalled his own and the Senate’s kindnesses toward him—that he had been called king by the Senate, that he had been called friend, that the most ample gifts had been sent; he pointed out that this had fallen to few, and was customarily granted in return for great services on men’s part;
Ubi eo ventum est, Caesar initio orationis sua senatusque in eum beneficia commemoravit, quod rex appellatus esset a senatu, quod amicus, quod munera amplissime missa; quam rem et paucis contigisse et pro magnis hominum officiis consuesse tribui docebat;
while Ariovistus, though he had had neither access nor any just ground for asking, had won those rewards through Caesar’s kindness and generosity and the Senate’s.
illum, cum neque aditum neque causam postulandi iustam haberet, beneficio ac liberalitate sua ac senatus ea praemia consecutum.
He pointed out, too, how ancient and how just were the grounds of the bond between the Romans and the Aedui,
Docebat etiam quam veteres quamque iustae causae necessitudinis ipsis cum Haeduis intercederent,
what decrees of the Senate, how often and how honorific, had been made concerning them, how at all times the Aedui had held the leadership of all Gaul, even before they had sought our friendship.
quae senatus consulta quotiens quamque honorifica in eos facta essent, ut omni tempore totius Galliae principatum Haedui tenuissent, prius etiam quam nostram amicitiam adpetissent.
It was the custom of the Roman people to wish that its allies and friends should not only lose nothing of their own, but be greater in influence, dignity, and honor; but who could endure that what they had brought to the friendship of the Roman people should be torn from them?
Populi Romani hanc esse consuetudinem, ut socios atque amicos non modo sui nihil deperdere, sed gratia, dignitate, honore auctiores velit esse; quod vero ad amicitiam populi Romani attulissent, id iis eripi quis pati posset?
He then demanded the same things he had given his envoys in their instructions: that he make war neither on the Aedui nor on their allies, that he give back the hostages, and—if he could send back no part of the Germans to their home—at least that he allow no more to cross the Rhine.
Postulavit deinde eadem quae legatis in mandatis dederat: ne aut Haeduis aut eorum sociis bellum inferret, obsides redderet, si nullam partem Germanorum domum remittere posset, at ne quos amplius Rhenum transire pateretur.
Ariovistus replied little to Caesar’s demands, but proclaimed much of his own merits:
Ariovistus ad postulata Caesaris pauca respondit, de suis virtutibus multa praedicavit:
he had crossed the Rhine not of his own accord, but on request and summons by the Gauls; not without great hope and great rewards had he left home and kin; he held seats in Gaul granted by the Gauls themselves, hostages given by their own will; he took tribute by the right of war, which victors are accustomed to impose on the conquered.
transisse Rhenum sese non sua sponte, sed rogatum et arcessitum a Gallis; non sine magna spe magnisque praemiis domum propinquosque reliquisse; sedes habere in Gallia ab ipsis concessas, obsides ipsorum voluntate datos; stipendium capere iure belli, quod victores victis imponere consuerint.
He had not made war on the Gauls, but the Gauls on him: all the states of Gaul had come to attack him and had encamped against him; all those forces he had routed and beaten in a single battle.
Non sese Gallis sed Gallos sibi bellum intulisse: omnes Galliae civitates ad se oppugnandum venisse ac contra se castra habuisse; eas omnes copias a se uno proelio pulsas ac superatas esse.
If they wished to try again, he was ready again to fight it out; if they wished to enjoy peace, it was unfair to refuse the tribute which up to that time they had paid of their own will.
Si iterum experiri velint, se iterum paratum esse decertare; si pace uti velint, iniquum esse de stipendio recusare, quod sua voluntate ad id tempus pependerint.
The friendship of the Roman people ought to be an ornament and a protection to him, not a loss, and it was in this hope that he had sought it. If, through the Roman people, the tribute were remitted and his subjects withdrawn, he would renounce the friendship of the Roman people no less gladly than he had sought it.
Amicitiam populi Romani sibi ornamento et praesidio, non detrimento esse oportere, atque se hac spe petisse. Si per populum Romanum stipendium remittatur et dediticii subtrahantur, non minus libenter sese recusaturum populi Romani amicitiam quam adpetierit.
As for his bringing a multitude of Germans across into Gaul, he was doing this to protect himself, not to attack Gaul; the proof of this was that he had not come unless asked, and that he had not made war but had defended himself.
Quod multitudinem Germanorum in Galliam traducat, id se sui muniendi, non Galliae oppugnandae causa facere; eius rei testimonium esse quod nisi rogatus non venerit et quod bellum non intulerit sed defenderit.
He had come into Gaul before the Roman people did. Never before this time had an army of the Roman people gone beyond the bounds of the province of Gaul.
Se prius in Galliam venisse quam populum Romanum. Numquam ante hoc tempus exercitum populi Romani Galliae provinciae finibus egressum.
What did Caesar want? Why did he come into his possessions? This Gaul was his province, just as the other was ours. As it ought not to be granted to us if we made an attack on his territory, so likewise we were in the wrong, because we interfered with him in the exercise of his right.
Quid sibi vellet? Cur in suas possessiones veniret? Provinciam suam hanc esse Galliam, sicut illam nostram. Ut ipsi concedi non oporteret, si in nostros fines impetum faceret, sic item nos esse iniquos, quod in suo iure se interpellaremus.
As for his saying that the Aedui had been called brothers by the Senate—he was not so barbarous nor so ignorant of affairs as not to know that in the most recent war with the Allobroges the Aedui had not brought aid to the Romans, nor had the Aedui themselves used the aid of the Roman people in those struggles which they had had with him and with the Sequani.
Quod fratres a senatu Haeduos appellatos diceret, non se tam barbarum neque tam imperitum esse rerum ut non sciret neque bello Allobrogum proximo Haeduos Romanis auxilium tulisse neque ipsos in iis contentionibus quas Haedui secum et cum Sequanis habuissent auxilio populi Romani usos esse.
He had to suspect that Caesar, under a pretended friendship, kept an army in Gaul for the purpose of crushing him.
Debere se suspicari simulata Caesarem amicitia, quod exercitum in Gallia habeat, sui opprimendi causa habere.
And unless he withdrew and led his army out of these regions, he would treat him not as a friend but as an enemy.
Qui nisi decedat atque exercitum deducat ex his regionibus, sese illum non pro amico sed pro hoste habiturum.
But if he killed him, he would do a favor to many nobles and leading men of the Roman people—this he had ascertained from them through their own messengers—whose goodwill and friendship he could all buy with his death.
Quod si eum interfecerit, multis sese nobilibus principibusque populi Romani gratum esse facturum (id se ab ipsis per eorum nuntios compertum habere), quorum omnium gratiam atque amicitiam eius morte redimere posset.
But if he withdrew and handed over to him the free possession of Gaul, he would reward him with a great prize, and would finish off whatever wars he wished waged, without any toil or danger to him.
Quod si decessisset et liberam possessionem Galliae sibi tradidisset, magno se illum praemio remuneraturum et quaecumque bella geri vellet sine ullo eius labore et periculo confecturum.
Much was said by Caesar to this effect, why he could not give up the undertaking: neither his own custom nor that of the Roman people allowed him to abandon allies who had deserved most well of him, nor did he judge that Gaul was Ariovistus’s rather than the Roman people’s.
Multa a Caesare in eam sententiam dicta sunt quare negotio desistere non posset: neque suam neque populi Romani consuetudinem pati ut optime meritos socios desereret, neque se iudicare Galliam potius esse Ariovisti quam populi Romani.
The Arverni and the Ruteni had been overcome in war by Quintus Fabius Maximus; the Roman people had pardoned them and had neither reduced them to a province nor laid tribute upon them.
Bello superatos esse Arvernos et Rutenos a Q. Fabio Maximo, quibus populus Romanus ignovisset neque in provinciam redegisset neque stipendium posuisset.
And if the earliest time of all were to be regarded, the empire of the Roman people in Gaul was the most just; if the judgment of the Senate were to be observed, Gaul ought to be free, since, though conquered in war, the Senate had willed that it use its own laws.
Quod si antiquissimum quodque tempus spectari oporteret, populi Romani iustissimum esse in Gallia imperium; si iudicium senatus observari oporteret, liberam debere esse Galliam, quam bello victam suis legibus uti voluisset.
While these things were being done in the conference, it was reported to Caesar that the cavalry of Ariovistus were coming nearer the mound and riding up to our men, throwing stones and weapons at them.
Dum haec in conloquio geruntur, Caesari nuntiatum est equites Ariovisti propius tumulum accedere et ad nostros adequitare, lapides telaque in nostros coicere.
Caesar made an end of speaking, withdrew to his own men, and ordered them not to throw back any weapon at all against the enemy.
Caesar loquendi finem fecit seque ad suos recepit suisque imperavit ne quod omnino telum in hostes reicerent.
For although he saw that a battle between his chosen legion and the cavalry would be without any danger, still he did not think he should allow it to be said, once the enemy were beaten, that they had been entrapped by him under pledge of faith in a conference.
Nam etsi sine ullo periculo legionis delectae cum equitatu proelium fore videbat, tamen committendum non putabat ut, pulsis hostibus, dici posset eos ab se per fidem in conloquio circumventos.
After it became known among the common soldiers with what arrogance Ariovistus had behaved in the conference—forbidding the Romans all Gaul—and that his cavalry had made an attack on our men, and that this had broken off the conference, far greater eagerness and a greater zeal for fighting was instilled in the army.
Postea quam in vulgus militum elatum est qua arrogantia in conloquio Ariovistus usus omni Gallia Romanis interdixisset, impetumque in nostros eius equites fecissent, eaque res conloquium ut diremisset, multo maior alacritas studiumque pugnandi maius exercitui iniectum est.
Two days later Ariovistus sent envoys to Caesar: he wished, he said, to treat with him about the matters which had been begun between them but not finished; let him either appoint another day for a conference, or, if he were less willing for that, send him one of his envoys.
Biduo post Ariovistus ad Caesarem legatos misit: velle se de iis rebus quae inter eos egi coeptae neque perfectae essent agere cum eo: uti aut iterum conloquio diem constitueret aut, si id minus vellet, ex suis legatis aliquem ad se mitteret.
No occasion for a conference seemed to Caesar to exist, and all the more because the day before the Germans could not be restrained from throwing weapons at our men.
Conloquendi Caesari causa visa non est, et eo magis quod pridie eius diei Germani retineri non potuerant quin tela in nostros coicerent.
He thought he would be sending an envoy of his own to him at great risk, and exposing him to savage men.
Legatum ex suis sese magno cum periculo ad eum missurum et hominibus feris obiecturum existimabat.
It seemed most expedient to send Gaius Valerius Procillus, son of Gaius Valerius Caburus—a young man of the highest valor and refinement, whose father had been given citizenship by Gaius Valerius Flaccus—both for his trustworthiness and for his knowledge of the Gallic tongue, which Ariovistus by now used freely from long habit, and because in his case the Germans would have no cause to do wrong; and along with him Marcus Metius, who enjoyed the guest-friendship of Ariovistus.
Commodissimum visum est C. Valerium Procillum, C. Valerii Caburi filium, summa virtute et humanitate adulescentem, cuius pater a C. Valerio Flacco civitate donatus erat, et propter fidem et propter linguae Gallicae scientiam, qua multa iam Ariovistus longinqua consuetudine utebatur, et quod in eo peccandi Germanis causa non esset, ad eum mittere, et una M. Metium, qui hospitio Ariovisti utebatur.
He charged them to learn what Ariovistus said and report it back to him. When Ariovistus saw them before him in his camp, he cried out, his army present: why had they come to him? to spy? When they tried to speak, he stopped them and threw them into chains.
His mandavit quae diceret Ariovistus cognoscerent et ad se referrent. Quos cum apud se in castris Ariovistus conspexisset, exercitu suo praesente conclamavit: quid ad se venirent? an speculandi causa? Conantes dicere prohibuit et in catenas coniecit.
On the same day he moved his camp forward and took position six miles from Caesar’s camp, at the foot of a mountain.
Eodem die castra promovit et milibus passuum VI a Caesaris castris sub monte consedit.
On the day after, he led his forces past Caesar’s camp and made camp two miles beyond him, with the design of cutting Caesar off from the grain and supplies that were being brought up from the Sequani and the Aedui.
Postridie eius diei praeter castra Caesaris suas copias traduxit et milibus passuum duobus ultra eum castra fecit eo consilio uti frumento commeatuque qui ex Sequanis et Haeduis supportaretur Caesarem intercluderet.
From that day, for five days running, Caesar led out his forces before the camp and kept his battle line drawn up, so that, if Ariovistus wished to fight a battle, the chance should not be lacking to him.
Ex eo die dies continuos V Caesar pro castris suas copias produxit et aciem instructam habuit, ut, si vellet Ariovistus proelio contendere, ei potestas non deesset.
Ariovistus on all these days kept his army in camp, but contended daily in cavalry battle. This was the kind of fighting in which the Germans had trained themselves:
Ariovistus his omnibus diebus exercitum castris continuit, equestri proelio cotidie contendit. Genus hoc erat pugnae, quo se Germani exercuerant:
there were six thousand horsemen, and as many footmen, the swiftest and bravest, whom each rider had chosen one apiece out of the whole host for his own safety:
equitum milia erant VI, totidem numero pedites velocissimi ac fortissimi, quos ex omni copia singuli singulos suae salutis causa delegerant:
with these they kept company in the battles, and to these the horsemen would fall back; these would run up if anything grew too hard, and if anyone, taking a heavier wound, had fallen from his horse, they would stand around him;
cum his in proeliis versabantur, ad eos se equites recipiebant; hi, si quid erat durius, concurrebant, si qui graviore vulnere accepto equo deciderat, circumsistebant;
if they had to advance somewhere farther or fall back more quickly, so great was their speed from training that, holding on by the horses’ manes, they kept pace with their gallop.
si quo erat longius prodeundum aut celerius recipiendum, tanta erat horum exercitatione celeritas ut iubis sublevati equorum cursum adaequarent.
When Caesar understood that he was keeping himself in camp, so as not to be kept any longer from his supplies, he chose a place suitable for a camp beyond the place where the Germans had settled, about six hundred paces from them, and came to that place with a triple battle line drawn up.
Ubi eum castris se tenere Caesar intellexit, ne diutius commeatu prohiberetur, ultra eum locum, quo in loco Germani consederant, circiter passus DC ab his, castris idoneum locum delegit acieque triplici instructa ad eum locum venit.
He ordered the first and second lines to stand under arms, the third to fortify the camp.
Primam et secundam aciem in armis esse, tertiam castra munire iussit.
This place, as has been said, was about six hundred paces from the enemy. There Ariovistus sent about sixteen thousand men, light-armed, with all his cavalry—forces to terrify our men and hinder the fortification.
[Hic locus ab hoste circiter passus DC, uti dictum est, aberat.] Eo circiter hominum XVI milia expedita cum omni equitatu Ariovistus misit, quae copiae nostros terrerent et munitione prohiberent.
None the less Caesar, as he had arranged before, ordered two lines to drive off the enemy and the third to finish the work. The camp fortified, he left two legions there and part of the auxiliaries, and led the four remaining legions back into the larger camp.
Nihilo setius Caesar, ut ante constituerat, duas acies hostem propulsare, tertiam opus perficere iussit. Munitis castris duas ibi legiones reliquit et partem auxiliorum, quattuor reliquas legiones in castra maiora reduxit.
On the next day, by his custom, Caesar led out his forces from both camps and, advancing a little from the larger camp, drew up his battle line and gave the enemy the chance to fight.
Proximo die instituto suo Caesar ex castris utrisque copias suas eduxit paulumque a maioribus castris progressus aciem instruxit hostibusque pugnandi potestatem fecit.
When he understood that not even then did they come out, about midday he led the army back into camp. Then at last Ariovistus sent a part of his forces to attack the smaller camp. There was sharp fighting on both sides until evening. At sunset Ariovistus, with many wounds both given and received, led his forces back into camp.
Ubi ne tum quidem eos prodire intellexit, circiter meridiem exercitum in castra reduxit. Tum demum Ariovistus partem suarum copiarum, quae castra minora oppugnaret, misit. Acriter utrimque usque ad vesperum pugnatum est. Solis occasu suas copias Ariovistus multis et inlatis et acceptis vulneribus in castra reduxit.
When Caesar asked of the captives why Ariovistus did not fight it out in battle, he found this to be the cause: that among the Germans it was the custom that their matrons should declare, by lots and prophecies, whether it was to their advantage to join battle or not; and that these women said this:
Cum ex captivis quaereret Caesar quam ob rem Ariovistus proelio non decertaret, hanc reperiebat causam, quod apud Germanos ea consuetudo esset ut matres familiae eorum sortibus et vaticinationibus declararent utrum proelium committi ex usu esset necne; eas ita dicere:
that it was not right for the Germans to win, if they fought a battle before the new moon.
non esse fas Germanos superare, si ante novam lunam proelio contendissent.
On the day after, Caesar left in each camp the guard that seemed sufficient, posted all the auxiliaries in sight of the enemy before the smaller camp—because in number of legionary soldiers he was the weaker against the enemy’s count—so as to use the auxiliaries for show; he himself, with a triple battle line drawn up, advanced right up to the enemy’s camp.
Postridie eius diei Caesar praesidio utrisque castris quod satis esse visum est reliquit, alarios omnes in conspectu hostium pro castris minoribus constituit, quod minus multitudine militum legionariorum pro hostium numero valebat, ut ad speciem alariis uteretur; ipse triplici instructa acie usque ad castra hostium accessit.
Then at last, of necessity, the Germans led their forces out of the camp and drew them up by nations at equal intervals—the Harudes, the Marcomanni, the Triboci, the Vangiones, the Nemetes, the Sedusii, the Suebi—and ringed their whole line with wagons and carts, that no hope might be left in flight.
Tum demum necessario Germani suas copias castris eduxerunt generatimque constituerunt paribus intervallis, Harudes, Marcomanos, Tribocos, Vangiones, Nemetes, Sedusios, Suebos, omnemque aciem suam raedis et carris circumdederunt, ne qua spes in fuga relinqueretur.
On these they set their women, who, as the soldiers went out to battle, with hands outstretched and weeping implored them not to hand them over into slavery to the Romans.
Eo mulieres imposuerunt, quae ad proelium proficiscentes milites passis manibus flentes implorabant ne se in servitutem Romanis traderent.
Caesar set over each legion a single legate and the quaestor, that each man might have them as witnesses of his own valor;
Caesar singulis legionibus singulos legatos et quaestorem praefecit, uti eos testes suae quisque virtutis haberet;
he himself joined battle from the right wing, because he had noticed that that part of the enemy was the least firm.
ipse a dextro cornu, quod eam partem minime firmam hostium esse animadverterat, proelium commisit.
So our men made their charge on the enemy sharply at the signal given, and the enemy ran forward so suddenly and swiftly that there was no room to hurl javelins at them.
Ita nostri acriter in hostes signo dato impetum fecerunt itaque hostes repente celeriterque procurrerunt, ut spatium pila in hostes coiciendi non daretur.
The javelins thrown aside, the fighting was hand to hand with swords. But the Germans, after their custom, swiftly formed a phalanx and met the sword-charges.
Relictis pilis comminus gladiis pugnatum est. At Germani celeriter ex consuetudine sua phalange facta impetus gladiorum exceperunt.
Many of our men were found to leap upon the phalanx, tear the shields away with their hands, and wound the enemy from above.
Reperti sunt complures nostri qui in phalanga insilirent et scuta manibus revellerent et desuper vulnerarent.
When the enemy’s line had been driven back on the left wing and thrown into flight, on the right wing they pressed our line hard by the multitude of their men.
Cum hostium acies a sinistro cornu pulsa atque in fugam coniecta esset, a dextro cornu vehementer multitudine suorum nostram aciem premebant.
When Publius Crassus the younger, who was in command of the cavalry, had noticed this—since he was freer to move than those engaged in the battle line—he sent the third line as a relief to our struggling men.
Id cum animadvertisset P. Crassus adulescens, qui equitatui praeerat, quod expeditior erat quam ii qui inter aciem versabantur, tertiam aciem laborantibus nostris subsidio misit.
So the battle was restored, and all the enemy turned their backs and did not stop fleeing until they reached the river Rhine, about fifty miles from that place.
Ita proelium restitutum est, atque omnes hostes terga verterunt nec prius fugere destiterunt quam ad flumen Rhenum milia passuum ex eo loco circiter L pervenerunt.
There a very few, either trusting to their strength, strove to swim across, or, finding boats, won safety for themselves.
Ibi perpauci aut viribus confisi tranare contenderunt aut lintribus inventis sibi salutem reppererunt.
Among these was Ariovistus, who, finding a little boat moored to the bank, escaped in it; the rest our cavalry overtook and killed.
In his fuit Ariovistus, qui naviculam deligatam ad ripam nactus ea profugit; reliquos omnes consecuti equites nostri interfecerunt.
Gaius Valerius Procillus, as he was being dragged by his guards in the flight, bound with three chains, fell in with Caesar himself as he pursued the enemy with the cavalry.
C. Valerius Procillus, cum a custodibus in fuga trinis catenis vinctus traheretur, in ipsum Caesarem hostes equitatu insequentem incidit.
This indeed brought Caesar no less pleasure than the victory itself, because he saw a most honorable man of the province of Gaul, his own friend and guest, snatched from the enemy’s hands and restored to him, and that fortune had taken nothing from so great a pleasure and rejoicing by his misfortune.
Quae quidem res Caesari non minorem quam ipsa victoria voluptatem attulit, quod hominem honestissimum provinciae Galliae, suum familiarem et hospitem, ereptum ex manibus hostium sibi restitutum videbat neque eius calamitate de tanta voluptate et gratulatione quicquam fortuna deminuerat.
He said that, in his presence, the lots had been consulted about him three times—whether he should be put to death at once by fire or kept for another time: it was by the favor of the lots that he was unhurt.
Is se praesente de se ter sortibus consultum dicebat, utrum igni statim necaretur an in aliud tempus reservaretur: sortium beneficio se esse incolumem.
Marcus Metius too was found and brought back to him.
Item M. Metius repertus et ad eum reductus est.
When this battle was reported across the Rhine, the Suebi, who had come to the banks of the Rhine, began to return home; and when those who dwell nearest the Rhine perceived them in their terror, they pursued and killed a great number of them.
Hoc proelio trans Rhenum nuntiato, Suebi, qui ad ripas Rheni venerant, domum reverti coeperunt; quos ubi qui proximi Rhenum incolunt perterritos senserunt, insecuti magnum ex iis numerum occiderunt.
Caesar, two very great wars finished in a single summer, led his army into winter quarters among the Sequani a little earlier than the season of the year required; over the winter quarters he set Labienus;
Caesar una aestate duobus maximis bellis confectis maturius paulo quam tempus anni postulabat in hiberna in Sequanos exercitum deduxit; hibernis Labienum praeposuit;
he himself set out for Nearer Gaul to hold the assizes.
ipse in citeriorem Galliam ad conventus agendos profectus est.
While Caesar was in Nearer Gaul in winter quarters, as we have shown above, frequent rumors were brought to him, and he was likewise informed by letters from Labienus, that all the Belgae—who, as we have said, are a third part of Gaul—were conspiring against the Roman people and giving hostages to one another.
Cum esset Caesar in citeriore Gallia [in hibernis], ita uti supra demonstravimus, crebri ad eum rumores adferebantur litterisque item Labieni certior fiebat omnes Belgas, quam tertiam esse Galliae partem dixeramus, contra populum Romanum coniurare obsidesque inter se dare.
The causes of the conspiracy were these: first, that they feared that, once all Gaul was pacified, our army would be brought against them;
Coniurandi has esse causas: primum quod vererentur ne, omni pacata Gallia, ad eos exercitus noster adduceretur;
next, that they were being stirred up by some of the Gauls—partly by those who, as they had been unwilling for the Germans to linger longer in Gaul, so resented that the army of the Roman people should winter and grow old in Gaul; partly by those who, from fickleness and lightness of mind, were eager for changes of rule;
deinde quod ab non nullis Gallis sollicitarentur, partim qui, ut Germanos diutius in Gallia versari noluerant, ita populi Romani exercitum hiemare atque inveterascere in Gallia moleste ferebant, partim qui mobilitate et levitate animi novis imperiis studebant;
and by some, too, because in Gaul kingships were commonly seized by the more powerful and by those who had the means to hire men, which they could less easily accomplish under our dominion.
ab non nullis etiam quod in Gallia a potentioribus atque iis qui ad conducendos homines facultates habebant vulgo regna occupabantur; qui minus facile eam rem imperio nostro consequi poterant.
Alarmed by these messages and letters, Caesar enrolled two new legions in Nearer Gaul, and at the beginning of summer sent the legate Quintus Pedius to lead them into Further Gaul.
His nuntiis litterisque commotus Caesar duas legiones in citeriore Gallia novas conscripsit et inita aestate in ulteriorem Galliam qui deduceret Q. Pedium legatum misit.
He himself, as soon as there began to be a supply of fodder, came to the army.
Ipse, cum primum pabuli copia esse inciperet, ad exercitum venit.
He gave the task to the Senones and the rest of the Gauls who bordered on the Belgae, to learn what was being done among them and to inform him of it.
Dat negotium Senonibus reliquisque Gallis qui finitimi Belgis erant uti ea quae apud eos gerantur cognoscant seque de his rebus certiorem faciant.
These all consistently reported that bands were being mustered and an army gathered into one place. Then indeed he judged that he must not hesitate to set out against them. His grain supply seen to, he moved camp and in about fifteen days reached the territory of the Belgae.
Hi constanter omnes nuntiaverunt manus cogi, exercitum in unum locum conduci. Tum vero dubitandum non existimavit quin ad eos proficisceretur. Re frumentaria provisa castra movet diebusque circiter XV ad fines Belgarum pervenit.
When he had arrived there unexpectedly and more quickly than anyone’s expectation, the Remi, who of the Belgae are nearest to Gaul, sent to him as envoys Iccius and Andebrogius, the leading men of the state,
Eo cum de improviso celeriusque omnium opinione venisset, Remi, qui proximi Galliae ex Belgis sunt, ad eum legatos Iccium et Andebrogium, primos civitatis, miserunt,
to say that they put themselves and all that was theirs under the good faith and power of the Roman people; that they had neither agreed with the rest of the Belgae nor conspired against the Roman people,
qui dicerent se suaque omnia in fidem atque potestatem populi Romani permittere, neque se cum reliquis Belgis consensisse neque contra populum Romanum coniurasse,
and were ready both to give hostages, to do what was ordered, to receive him into their towns, and to help with grain and the rest;
paratosque esse et obsides dare et imperata facere et oppidis recipere et frumento ceterisque rebus iuvare;
all the rest of the Belgae were in arms, and the Germans who dwell this side of the Rhine had joined with them,
reliquos omnes Belgas in armis esse, Germanosque qui cis Rhenum incolant sese cum his coniunxisse,
and so great was the frenzy of them all that they had not been able to deter even the Suessiones—their brothers and kinsmen, who use the same law and the same laws, and have one command and one magistrate with themselves—from agreeing with them.
tantumque esse eorum omnium furorem ut ne Suessiones quidem, fratres consanguineosque suos, qui eodem iure et isdem legibus utantur, unum imperium unumque magistratum cum ipsis habeant, deterrere potuerint quin cum iis consentirent.
When he asked of them which states were in arms, and how great, and what they could do in war, he found this: that most of the Belgae were sprung from the Germans, and had in ancient times been brought across the Rhine and, on account of the fertility of the place, had settled there and driven out the Gauls who inhabited those parts; and that they alone,
Cum ab iis quaereret quae civitates quantaeque in armis essent et quid in bello possent, sic reperiebat: plerosque Belgas esse ortos a Germanis Rhenumque antiquitus traductos propter loci fertilitatem ibi consedisse Gallosque qui ea loca incolerent expulisse, solosque esse qui,
within the memory of our fathers, when all Gaul was harried, had kept the Teutones and Cimbri from entering their territory;
patrum nostrorum memoria omni Gallia vexata, Teutonos Cimbrosque intra suos fines ingredi prohibuerint;
from which it came about that, from the memory of these deeds, they took on great authority and great pride in military matters.
qua ex re fieri uti earum rerum memoria magnam sibi auctoritatem magnosque spiritus in re militari sumerent.
As to their number, the Remi said they had everything ascertained, because, joined by kinship and intermarriage, they had learned how great a multitude each had promised in the common council of the Belgae for that war.
De numero eorum omnia se habere explorata Remi dicebant, propterea quod propinquitatibus adfinitatibusque coniuncti quantam quisque multitudinem in communi Belgarum concilio ad id bellum pollicitus sit cognoverint.
Among them the Bellovaci were strongest in valor, authority, and number of men: these could raise a hundred thousand armed men, had promised sixty thousand picked from that number, and demanded the command of the whole war for themselves.
Plurimum inter eos Bellovacos et virtute et auctoritate et hominum numero valere: hos posse conficere armata milia centum, pollicitos ex eo numero electa milia LX totiusque belli imperium sibi postulare.
The Suessiones were their own neighbors; they held the widest borders and the most fertile lands.
Suessiones suos esse finitimos; fines latissimos feracissimosque agros possidere.
Among them, even within our own memory, the king had been Diviciacus, the most powerful man of all Gaul, who had held sway over a great part of these regions and even over Britain; now the king was Galba: to him, on account of his justice and wisdom, the supreme command of the whole war was being entrusted by the will of all; they had towns twelve in number, and promised fifty thousand armed men; as many the Nervii,
Apud eos fuisse regem nostra etiam memoria Diviciacum, totius Galliae potentissimum, qui cum magnae partis harum regionum, tum etiam Britanniae imperium obtinuerit; nunc esse regem Galbam: ad hunc propter iustitiam prudentiamque summam totius belli omnium voluntate deferri; oppida habere numero XII, polliceri milia armata L; totidem Nervios,
who are reckoned the wildest among them and lie farthest off;
qui maxime feri inter ipsos habeantur longissimeque absint;
fifteen thousand the Atrebates, ten thousand the Ambiani, twenty-five thousand the Morini, seven thousand the Menapii, ten thousand the Caleti, the Veliocasses and Viromandui as many, the Atuatuci nineteen thousand;
XV milia Atrebates, Ambianos X milia, Morinos XXV milia, Menapios VII milia, Caletos X milia, Veliocasses et Viromanduos totidem, Atuatucos XVIIII milia;
Caesar, having encouraged the Remi and addressed them generously, ordered the whole senate to come together to him and the children of their chief men to be brought to him as hostages. All this was done by them carefully, by the appointed day.
Caesar Remos cohortatus liberaliterque oratione prosecutus omnem senatum ad se convenire principumque liberos obsides ad se adduci iussit. Quae omnia ab his diligenter ad diem facta sunt.
He himself, strongly encouraging Diviciacus the Aeduan, showed him how greatly it concerned the republic and the common safety that the enemy’s forces be kept apart, so that he should not have to fight with so great a multitude at one time.
Ipse Diviciacum Haeduum magnopere cohortatus docet quanto opere rei publicae communisque salutis intersit manus hostium distineri, ne cum tanta multitudine uno tempore confligendum sit.
This could be done if the Aedui led their forces into the territory of the Bellovaci and began to lay waste their fields.
Id fieri posse, si suas copias Haedui in fines Bellovacorum introduxerint et eorum agros populari coeperint.
These instructions given, he sent him away. After he saw that all the forces of the Belgae, gathered into one place, were coming against him, and learned from the scouts he had sent and from the Remi that they were now not far off, he hastened to lead his army across the river Aisne, which is at the farthest edge of the Remi’s territory, and there pitched camp.
His datis mandatis eum a se dimittit. Postquam omnes Belgarum copias in unum locum coactas ad se venire vidit neque iam longe abesse ab iis quos miserat exploratoribus et ab Remis cognovit, flumen Axonam, quod est in extremis Remorum finibus, exercitum traducere maturavit atque ibi castra posuit.
This both fortified one side of the camp by the river-banks, made what was behind him safe from the enemy, and ensured that supplies could be brought to him from the Remi and the rest of the states without danger.
Quae res et latus unum castrorum ripis fluminis muniebat et post eum quae erant tuta ab hostibus reddebat et commeatus ab Remis reliquisque civitatibus ut sine periculo ad eum portari possent efficiebat.
On that river there was a bridge. There he set a guard, and on the other side of the river he left the legate Quintus Titurius Sabinus with six cohorts; he ordered the camp to be fortified with a rampart twelve feet high and a ditch of eighteen feet.
In eo flumine pons erat. Ibi praesidium ponit et in altera parte fluminis Q. Titurium Sabinum legatum cum sex cohortibus relinquit; castra in altitudinem pedum XII vallo fossaque duodeviginti pedum muniri iubet.
From this camp a town of the Remi, Bibrax by name, was eight miles distant. This the Belgae began to attack straight off the march with a great assault. With difficulty was it held that day.
Ab his castris oppidum Remorum nomine Bibrax aberat milia passuum VIII. Id ex itinere magno impetu Belgae oppugnare coeperunt. Aegre eo die sustentatum est.
The Gauls’ and the Belgae’s manner of attacking a town is this: when a multitude of men has been thrown around the whole circuit of the walls and stones have begun to be hurled at the wall from all sides, and the wall has been stripped of its defenders, then, a tortoise formed, they come up to the gates and undermine the wall. This was easily done then.
Gallorum eadem atque Belgarum oppugnatio est haec: ubi circumiecta multitudine hominum totis moenibus undique in murum lapides iaci coepti sunt murusque defensoribus nudatus est, testudine facta portas succedunt murumque subruunt. Quod tum facile fiebat.
For when so great a multitude was throwing stones and weapons, no one had any chance of holding his place on the wall.
Nam cum tanta multitudo lapides ac tela coicerent, in muro consistendi potestas erat nulli.
When night had made an end of the attack, Iccius the Reman—of the highest nobility and favor among his people, who then commanded the town, one of those who had come to Caesar as envoys for peace—sent a messenger to him: unless relief were sent to him, he could hold out no longer.
Cum finem oppugnandi nox fecisset, Iccius Remus, summa nobilitate et gratia inter suos, qui tum oppido praeerat, unus ex iis qui legati de pace ad Caesarem venerant, nuntium ad eum mittit, nisi subsidium sibi submittatur, sese diutius sustinere non posse.
There, about midnight, Caesar, using as guides the same men who had come as messengers from Iccius, sent Numidians and Cretan archers and Balearic slingers as a relief to the townsmen;
by their arrival both eagerness to fight came to the Remi, with hope of defense, and, for the same reason, the enemy’s hope of taking the town departed.
quorum adventu et Remis cum spe defensionis studium propugnandi accessit et hostibus eadem de causa spes potiundi oppidi discessit.
And so, after lingering a little while by the town and ravaging the fields of the Remi—burning all the villages and buildings they could reach—they pressed on with all their forces to Caesar’s camp and pitched camp less than two miles off;
Itaque paulisper apud oppidum morati agrosque Remorum depopulati, omnibus vicis aedificiisque quo adire potuerant incensis, ad castra Caesaris omnibus copiis contenderunt et a milibus passuum minus duobus castra posuerunt;
and their camp, as was shown by the smoke and the fires, stretched more than eight miles in breadth.
quae castra, ut fumo atque ignibus significabatur, amplius milibus passuum VIII latitudinem patebant.
Caesar at first decided to hold off from battle, both because of the multitude of the enemy and because of their outstanding reputation for valor;
Caesar primo et propter multitudinem hostium et propter eximiam opinionem virtutis proelio supersedere statuit;
yet every day, by cavalry battles, he tested what the enemy could do in valor and what our men dared.
cotidie tamen equestribus proeliis quid hostis virtute posset et quid nostri auderent periclitabatur.
When he understood that our men were not inferior, in a place before the camp suitable and fit by nature for drawing up a battle line—for the hill where the camp had been pitched, rising a little above the plain, stretched on the side facing the enemy just as far in breadth as the space a battle line drawn up could occupy, and had a falling slope on either flank, and in front, gently inclined, gradually returned to the plain—he drew a transverse ditch on each flank of that hill, about four hundred paces long,
Ubi nostros non esse inferiores intellexit, loco pro castris ad aciem instruendam natura oportuno atque idoneo, quod is collis ubi castra posita erant paululum ex planitie editus tantum adversus in latitudinem patebat quantum loci acies instructa occupare poterat, atque ex utraque parte lateris deiectus habebat et in fronte leniter fastigatus paulatim ad planitiem redibat, ab utroque latere eius collis transversam fossam obduxit circiter passuum CCCC
and at the ends of the ditches he set redoubts and placed engines there, so that, when he had drawn up his line, the enemy, since they were so strong in numbers, might not be able to surround his men by fighting from the flanks.
et ad extremas fossas castella constituit ibique tormenta conlocavit, ne, cum aciem instruxisset, hostes, quod tantum multitudine poterant, ab lateribus pugnantes suos circumvenire possent.
This done, he left in camp the two legions he had most recently enrolled, so that they could be led up as a relief if there were need anywhere, and stationed the remaining six legions in battle line before the camp. The enemy likewise led out their forces from camp and drew them up.
Hoc facto, duabus legionibus quas proxime conscripserat in castris relictis ut, si quo opus esset, subsidio duci possent, reliquas VI legiones pro castris in acie constituit. Hostes item suas copias ex castris eductas instruxerunt.
There was a marsh, not large, between our army and the enemy’s. The enemy waited to see whether our men would cross it; our men, for their part, were ready under arms, in case the beginning of the crossing were made by the enemy, to attack them while encumbered.
Palus erat non magna inter nostrum atque hostium exercitum. Hanc si nostri transirent hostes expectabant; nostri autem, si ab illis initium transeundi fieret, ut impeditos adgrederentur parati in armis erant.
Meanwhile there was a contest in cavalry battle between the two lines. When neither made the beginning of crossing, the cavalry battle having gone the better for our men, Caesar led his men back into camp.
Interim proelio equestri inter duas acies contendebatur. Ubi neutri transeundi initium faciunt, secundiore equitum proelio nostris Caesar suos in castra reduxit.
The enemy at once pressed on from that place to the river Aisne, which has been shown to be behind our camp.
Hostes protinus ex eo loco ad flumen Axonam contenderunt, quod esse post nostra castra demonstratum est.
There, fords being found, they tried to lead a part of their forces across, with the design that, if they could, they might storm the redoubt commanded by the legate Quintus Titurius and break down the bridge,
Ibi vadis repertis partem suarum copiarum traducere conati sunt eo consilio ut, si possent, castellum, cui praeerat Q. Titurius legatus, expugnarent pontemque interscinderent,
or, if they could not, that they might lay waste the fields of the Remi, which were of great use to us for waging war, and cut our men off from supplies.
si minus potuissent, agros Remorum popularentur, qui magno nobis usui ad bellum gerendum erant, commeatuque nostros prohiberent.
Caesar, informed by Titurius, led all the cavalry and the light-armed Numidians, the slingers and archers, across the bridge and pressed on against them. There was sharp fighting in that place.
Caesar certior factus ab Titurio omnem equitatum et levis armaturae Numidas, funditores sagittariosque pontem traducit atque ad eos contendit. Acriter in eo loco pugnatum est.
Our men, attacking the enemy while they were encumbered in the river, killed a great number of them;
Hostes impeditos nostri in flumine adgressi magnum eorum numerum occiderunt;
and the rest, who very boldly tried to cross over the bodies of their fellows, they drove back with a multitude of weapons, and the first, who had crossed, they surrounded with the cavalry and killed.
per eorum corpora reliquos audacissime transire conantes multitudine telorum reppulerunt primosque, qui transierant, equitatu circumventos interfecerunt.
The enemy, when they understood that their hope had failed them both of storming the town and of crossing the river, and saw that our men did not advance into less favorable ground to fight, and their own grain supply began to fail, called a council and decided that it was best for each to return to his own home, and that, into whosesoever territory the Romans should first lead their army, they should gather from all sides to defend them—so that they might fight in their own rather than in others’ territory and use their domestic stores of grain.
Hostes, ubi et de expugnando oppido et de flumine transeundo spem se fefellisse intellexerunt neque nostros in locum iniquiorum progredi pugnandi causa viderunt atque ipsos res frumentaria deficere coepit, concilio convocato constituerunt optimum esse domum suam quemque reverti, et quorum in fines primum Romani exercitum introduxissent, ad eos defendendos undique convenirent, ut potius in suis quam in alienis finibus decertarent et domesticis copiis rei frumentariae uterentur.
To that decision, along with other reasons, this consideration also led them: that they had learned Diviciacus and the Aedui were approaching the territory of the Bellovaci. These could not be persuaded to wait longer and not bring aid to their own people.
Ad eam sententiam cum reliquis causis haec quoque ratio eos deduxit, quod Diviciacum atque Haeduos finibus Bellovacorum adpropinquare cognoverant. His persuaderi ut diutius morarentur neque suis auxilium terrent non poterat.
This resolved, in the second watch they went out of camp with great noise and uproar, in no fixed order or command, since each sought for himself the first place on the route and hastened to reach home, so that they made their departure look very like a flight.
Ea re constituta, secunda vigilia magno cum, strepitu ac tumultu castris egressi nullo certo ordine neque imperio, cum sibi quisque primum itineris locum peteret et domum pervenire properaret, fecerunt ut consimilis fugae profectio videretur.
This matter known at once to Caesar through his scouts, fearing an ambush—because he had not yet seen for what reason they were withdrawing—he kept his army and cavalry in camp.
Hac re statim Caesar per speculatores cognita insidias veritus, quod qua de causa discederent nondum perspexerat, exercitum equitatumque castris continuit.
At first light, the matter confirmed by the scouts, he sent ahead all the cavalry to delay the rear-guard. Over these he set the legates Quintus Pedius and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta; he ordered the legate Titus Labienus to follow up with three legions.
Prima luce, confirmata re ab exploratoribus, omnem equitatum, qui novissimum agmen moraretur, praemisit. His Q. Pedium et L. Aurunculeium Cottam legatos praefecit; T. Labienum legatum cum legionibus tribus subsequi iussit.
These, attacking the rearmost and pursuing for many miles, cut down a great multitude of them as they fled; for while those at the rear of the column, whom they had reached, halted and bravely withstood the charge of our soldiers,
Hi novissimos adorti et multa milia passuum prosecuti magnam multitudinem eorum fugientium conciderunt, cum ab extremo agmine, ad quos ventum erat, consisterent fortiterque impetum nostrorum militum sustinerent,
those in front, because they seemed far from danger and were held by no necessity or command, when the shout was heard broke their ranks and all set their safety in flight.
priores, quod abesse a periculo viderentur neque ulla necessitate neque imperio continerentur, exaudito clamore perturbatis ordinibus omnes in fuga sibi praesidium ponerent.
So without any danger our men killed as great a multitude of them as the space of the day allowed; toward sunset they stopped pursuing and withdrew into camp, as had been ordered.
Ita sine ullo periculo tantam eorum multitudinem nostri interfecerunt quantum fuit diei spatium; sub occasum solis sequi destiterunt seque in castra, ut erat imperatum, receperunt.
On the day after, Caesar, before the enemy could recover from their terror and flight, led his army into the territory of the Suessiones, who were nearest to the Remi, and by a great march pressed on to the town of Noviodunum.
Postridie eius diei Caesar, prius quam se hostes ex terrore ac fuga reciperent, in fines Suessionum, qui proximi Remis erant, exercitum duxit et magno itinere [confecto] ad oppidum Noviodunum contendit.
Trying to storm it straight off the march, because he heard it was empty of defenders, he could not take it, on account of the breadth of the ditch and the height of the wall, though few were defending.
Id ex itinere oppugnare conatus, quod vacuum ab defensoribus esse audiebat, propter latitudinem fossae murique altitudinem paucis defendentibus expugnare non potuit.
Having fortified his camp, he began to bring up the sheds and to make ready the things useful for an assault.
Castris munitis vineas agere quaeque ad oppugnandum usui erant comparare coepit.
Meanwhile the whole multitude of the Suessiones, from their flight, gathered into the town the next night.
Interim omnis ex fuga Suessionum multitudo in oppidum proxima nocte convenit.
When the sheds had quickly been brought up to the town, a siege-mound thrown up, and towers set in place, the Gauls—stirred by the size of the works, which they had neither seen nor heard of before, and by the swiftness of the Romans—sent envoys to Caesar about surrender, and, with the Remi pleading that they be spared, obtained it.
Celeriter vineis ad oppidum actis, aggere iacto turribusque constitutis, magnitudine operum, quae neque viderant ante Galli neque audierant, et celeritate Romanorum permoti legatos ad Caesarem de deditione mittunt et petentibus Remis ut conservarentur impetrant.
Caesar, having received as hostages the chief men of the state and the two sons of king Galba himself, and all the arms having been handed over from the town, accepted the Suessiones in surrender and led his army against the Bellovaci.
Caesar, obsidibus acceptis primis civitatis atque ipsius Galbae regis duobus filiis armisque omnibus ex oppido traditis, in deditionem Suessiones accipit exercitumque in Bellovacos ducit.
When they had carried themselves and all that was theirs into the town of Bratuspantium, and Caesar with his army was about five miles from that town, all the elders, coming out of the town, began to stretch out their hands to Caesar and to signify with their voices that they were coming into his good faith and power, and were not contending in arms against the Roman people.
Qui cum se suaque omnia in oppidum Bratuspantium contulissent atque ab eo oppido Caesar cum exercitu circiter milia passuum V abesset, omnes maiores natu ex oppido egressi manus ad Caesarem tendere et voce significare coeperunt sese in eius fidem ac potestatem venire neque contra populum Romanum armis contendere.
Likewise, when he had come up to the town and was pitching camp there, the children and women, from the wall, with hands outstretched, after their custom, begged peace of the Romans.
Item, cum ad oppidum accessisset castraque ibi poneret, pueri mulieresque ex muro passis manibus suo more pacem ab Romanis petierunt.
On their behalf Diviciacus (for after the departure of the Belgae he had dismissed the Aeduan forces and returned to Caesar) spoke:
Pro his Diviciacus (nam post discessum Belgarum dimissis Haeduorum copiis ad eum reverterat) facit verba:
the Bellovaci had at all times been in the good faith and friendship of the Aeduan state;
Bellovacos omni tempore in fide atque amicitia civitatis Haeduae fuisse;
driven on by their own chief men, who said that the Aedui, reduced to slavery by Caesar, were enduring every indignity and insult, they had revolted from the Aedui and made war on the Roman people.
impulsos ab suis principibus, qui dicerent Haeduos a Caesare in servitutem redactos omnes indignitates contumeliasque perferre, et ab Haeduis defecisse et populo Romano bellum intulisse.
Those who had been the leaders of that plan, because they understood how great a disaster they had brought upon their state, had fled to Britain.
Qui eius consilii principes fuissent, quod intellegerent quantam calamitatem civitati intulissent, in Britanniam profugisse.
Not only the Bellovaci asked, but the Aedui too on their behalf, that he use his clemency and mildness toward them.
Petere non solum Bellovacos, sed etiam pro his Haeduos, ut sua clementia ac mansuetudine in eos utatur.
If he did so, he would enlarge the authority of the Aedui among all the Belgae, by whose aid and resources they were accustomed to sustain themselves, if any wars befell.
Quod si fecerit, Haeduorum auctoritatem apud omnes Belgas amplificaturum, quorum auxiliis atque opibus, si qua bella inciderint, sustentare consuerint.
Caesar said that, for the honor of Diviciacus and the Aedui, he would receive them into his protection and spare them; and because the state was one of great authority among the Belgae and outstanding in number of men, he demanded six hundred hostages.
Caesar honoris Diviciaci atque Haeduorum causa sese eos in fidem recepturum et conservaturum dixit, et quod erat civitas magna inter Belgas auctoritate atque hominum multitudine praestabat, DC obsides poposcit.
These handed over and all the arms collected from the town, he came from that place into the territory of the Ambiani, who surrendered themselves and all that was theirs without delay.
His traditis omnibusque armis ex oppido conlatis, ab eo loco in fines Ambianorum pervenit; qui se suaque omnia sine mora dediderunt.
Their territory the Nervii bordered. When Caesar asked about their nature and customs, he found this:
Eorum fines Nervii attingebant. Quorum de natura moribusque Caesar cum quaereret, sic reperiebat:
that there was no access to them for merchants; that they allowed no wine or other things pertaining to luxury to be brought in, because they thought that by such things men’s spirits are softened and their valor relaxed;
nullum esse aditum ad eos mercatoribus; nihil pati vini reliquarumque rerum ad luxuriam pertinentium inferri, quod his rebus relanguescere animos eorum et remitti virtutem existimarent;
that they were fierce men of great valor, who reproached and accused the rest of the Belgae for having surrendered to the Roman people and cast away their ancestral courage;
esse homines feros magnaeque virtutis; increpitare atque incusare reliquos Belgas, qui se populo Romano dedidissent patriamque virtutem proiecissent;
and that they declared they would send no envoys and accept no condition of peace.
confirmare sese neque legatos missuros neque ullam condicionem pacis accepturos.
When he had made three days’ march through their territory, he learned from captives that the river Sambre was not more than ten miles from his camp;
Cum per eorum fines triduum iter fecisset, inveniebat ex captivis Sabim flumen a castris suis non amplius milibus passuum X abesse;
that beyond that river all the Nervii had taken position and were awaiting the arrival of the Romans there, together with the Atrebates and the Viromandui, their neighbors
trans id flumen omnes Nervios consedisse adventumque ibi Romanorum expectare una cum Atrebatibus et Viromanduis, finitimis suis
(for they had persuaded both of these to try the same fortune of war);
(nam his utrisque persuaserant uti eandem belli fortunam experirentur);
that the forces of the Atuatuci were also expected by them and were on the march;
expectari etiam ab iis Atuatucorum copias atque esse in itinere;
and that they had thrown the women, and those who by reason of age seemed useless for fighting, into a place to which, on account of the marshes, there was no access for an army.
mulieres quique per aetatem ad pugnam inutiles viderentur in eum locum coniecisse quo propter paludes exercitui aditus non esset.
Having learned this, he sent ahead scouts and centurions to choose a place suitable for a camp.
His rebus cognitis, exploratores centurionesque praemittit qui locum castris idoneum deligant.
Since a number of the surrendered Belgae and of the rest of the Gauls, following Caesar, were marching along with him, certain of these—as was later learned from captives—having observed the order of our army’s march on those days, went by night to the Nervii and pointed out to them that between the several legions a great number of baggage-trains intervened, and that there would be no trouble, when the first legion had come into camp and the rest of the legions were a great distance off, to attack this one while under its packs;
Cum ex dediticiis Belgis reliquisque Gallis complures Caesarem secuti una iter facerent, quidam ex his, ut postea ex captivis cognitum est, eorum dierum consuetudine itineris nostri exercitus perspecta, nocte ad Nervios pervenerunt atque his demonstrarunt inter singulas legiones impedimentorum magnum numerum intercedere, neque esse quicquam negotii, cum prima legio in castra venisset reliquaeque legiones magnum spatium abessent, hanc sub sarcinis adoriri;
and once it was beaten and the baggage plundered, the rest would not dare to make a stand against them.
qua pulsa impedimentisque direptis, futurum ut reliquae contra consistere non auderent.
What also aided the plan of those who brought the report was that the Nervii, from of old, being of no strength in cavalry (for to this day they give no heed to that arm, but whatever they can do, they do with foot-forces), in order the more easily to hinder the cavalry of their neighbors, if these came to them for plunder, had, by cutting and bending down young trees, with many branches grown out sideways, and brambles and thorns set between, brought it about that these hedges afforded a fortification like a wall, through which it was not only impossible to pass, but not even to see.
Adiuvabat etiam eorum consilium qui rem deferebant quod Nervii antiquitus, cum equitatu nihil possent (neque enim ad hoc tempus ei rei student, sed quicquid possunt, pedestribus valent copiis), quo facilius finitimorum equitatum, si praedandi causa ad eos venissent, impedirent, teneris arboribus incisis atque inflexis crebrisque in latitudinem ramis enatis [et] rubis sentibusque interiectis effecerant ut instar muri hae saepes munimentum praeberent, quo non modo non intrari sed ne perspici quidem posset.
Since by these things the march of our column was hindered, the Nervii thought their plan not to be let go.
His rebus cum iter agminis nostri impediretur, non omittendum sibi consilium Nervii existimaverunt.
The nature of the place which our men had chosen for a camp was this. A hill, evenly sloping from its top, ran down to the river Sambre, which we named above.
Loci natura erat haec, quem locum nostri castris delegerant. Collis ab summo aequaliter declivis ad flumen Sabim, quod supra nominavimus, vergebat.
From that river a hill rose with equal ascent, opposite and facing this one, open at its lowest part for about two hundred paces, but in its upper part wooded, so that it could not easily be seen into.
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.
Within those woods the enemy kept themselves hidden; in the open ground, along the river, a few pickets of cavalry could be seen. The depth of the river was about three feet.
Intra eas silvas hostes in occulto sese continebant; in aperto loco secundum flumen paucae stationes equitum videbantur. Fluminis erat altitudo pedum circiter trium.
Caesar, his cavalry sent ahead, followed with all his forces; but the plan and order of the column was other than the Belgae had reported to the Nervii.
Caesar equitatu praemisso subsequebatur omnibus copiis; sed ratio ordoque agminis aliter se habebat ac Belgae ad Nervios detulerant.
For because he was drawing near the enemy, Caesar, by his custom, led six legions in light marching order;
Nam quod hostibus adpropinquabat, consuetudine sua Caesar VI legiones expeditas ducebat;
after these he had placed the baggage of the whole army; then the two legions most recently enrolled closed the whole column and were a guard for the baggage.
post eas totius exercitus impedimenta conlocarat; inde duae legiones quae proxime conscriptae erant totum agmen claudebant praesidioque impedimentis erant.
Our cavalry, with the slingers and archers, crossed the river and joined battle with the enemy’s cavalry.
Equites nostri cum funditoribus sagittariisque flumen transgressi cum hostium equitatu proelium commiserunt.
While they kept falling back, again and again, into the woods to their own men, and again charged out of the wood upon our men, and our men did not dare to pursue, as they retreated, farther than the limit to which the open and level ground extended, meanwhile the six legions that had come first, the work having been measured out, began to fortify the camp.
Cum se illi identidem in silvis ad suos reciperent ac rursus ex silva in nostros impetum facerent, neque nostri longius quam quem ad finem porrecta [ac] loca aperta pertinebant cedentes insequi auderent, interim legiones VI quae primae venerant, opere dimenso, castra munire coeperunt.
When the first baggage of our army was seen by those who lay hidden in the woods—the time agreed among them for joining battle—just as they had set their line and ranks within the woods and had heartened themselves, they suddenly flew out with all their forces and made a charge upon our cavalry.
Ubi prima impedimenta nostri exercitus ab iis qui in silvis abditi latebant visa sunt, quod tempus inter eos committendi proelii convenerat, ut intra silvas aciem ordinesque constituerant atque ipsi sese confirmaverant, subito omnibus copiis provolaverunt impetumque in nostros equites fecerunt.
These easily driven back and thrown into disorder, they ran down to the river with incredible speed, so that almost at one time the enemy seemed to be at the woods, in the river, and now upon us.
His facile pulsis ac proturbatis, incredibili celeritate ad flumen decucurrerunt, ut paene uno tempore et ad silvas et in flumine [et iam in manibus nostris] hostes viderentur.
And with the same speed they pressed up the opposite hill toward our camp and those who were busy at the work.
Eadem autem celeritate adverso colle ad nostra castra atque eos qui in opere occupati erant contenderunt.
Caesar had everything to do at one time: the flag had to be displayed—which was the signal when there was need to run to arms; the trumpet-signal had to be given; the soldiers recalled from the work; those who had gone somewhat farther to seek material for the mound summoned back; the battle line drawn up; the soldiers heartened; the signal given.
Caesari omnia uno tempore erant agenda: vexillum proponendum, quod erat insigne, cum ad arma concurri oporteret; signum tuba dandum; ab opere revocandi milites; qui paulo longius aggeris petendi causa processerant arcessendi; acies instruenda; milites cohortandi; signum dandum.
A great part of these things the shortness of time and the onset of the enemy hindered.
Quarum rerum magnam partem temporis brevitas et incursus hostium impediebat.
Against these difficulties there were two things to help: the knowledge and experience of the soldiers, who, trained by earlier battles, could prescribe to themselves what had to be done no less aptly than they could be taught by others; and that Caesar had forbidden the several legates to depart from the work and their several legions unless the camp were fortified.
His difficultatibus duae res erant subsidio, scientia atque usus militum, quod superioribus proeliis exercitati quid fieri oporteret non minus commode ipsi sibi praescribere quam ab aliis doceri poterant, et quod ab opere singulisque legionibus singulos legatos Caesar discedere nisi munitis castris vetuerat.
These, on account of the nearness and speed of the enemy, no longer waited for any order from Caesar, but on their own carried out what seemed best.
Hi propter propinquitatem et celeritatem hostium nihil iam Caesaris imperium expectabant, sed per se quae videbantur administrabant.
Caesar, having given the necessary orders, ran down to hearten the soldiers, to the part to which chance brought him, and came to the Tenth Legion.
Caesar, necessariis rebus imperatis, ad cohortandos milites, quam [in] partem fors obtulit, decucurrit et ad legionem decimam devenit.
He heartened the soldiers with no longer a speech than that they should keep the memory of their former valor, and not be troubled in spirit, and bravely withstand the enemy’s charge;
Milites non longiore oratione cohortatus quam uti suae pristinae virtutis memoriam retinerent neu perturbarentur animo hostiumque impetum fortiter sustinerent,
and because the enemy were no farther off than the distance to which a weapon could be thrown, he gave the signal for joining battle.
quod non longius hostes aberant quam quo telum adigi posset, proelii committendi signum dedit.
And having set out likewise to the other part to hearten them, he met them already fighting.
Atque in alteram item cohortandi causa profectus pugnantibus occurrit.
So great was the shortness of time and so ready the enemy’s spirit for the struggle, that there was no time not only for fitting on the badges, but even for putting on helmets and stripping the covers from the shields.
Temporis tanta fuit exiguitas hostiumque tam paratus ad dimicandum animus ut non modo ad insignia accommodanda sed etiam ad galeas induendas scutisque tegimenta detrahenda tempus defuerit.
To whatever part each came by chance from the work, and whatever standards he first caught sight of, by these he took his stand, that he might not lose the time for fighting in seeking out his own.
Quam quisque ab opere in partem casu devenit quaeque prima signa conspexit, ad haec constitit, ne in quaerendis suis pugnandi tempus dimitteret.
The army drawn up as the nature of the ground and the slope of the hill and the necessity of the moment demanded, rather than the method and order of military practice—since the legions, separated, resisted the enemy one in one part, another in another, and the view was hindered by the very dense hedges set between, as we have shown above—neither could sure reserves be posted, nor could it be foreseen what was needed in each part, nor could all the commands be managed by one man.
Instructo exercitu magis ut loci natura [delectusque collis] et necessitas temporis quam ut rei militaris ratio atque ordo postulabat, cum diversae legiones aliae alia in parte hostibus resisterent saepibusque densissimis, ut ante demonstravimus, interiectis prospectus impediretur, neque certa subsidia conlocari neque quid in quaque parte opus esset provideri neque ab uno omnia imperia administrari poterant.
And so, amid so great an unevenness of circumstances, various turns of fortune also followed.
Itaque in tanta rerum iniquitate fortunae quoque eventus varii sequebantur.
The soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth legions, as they had taken their stand on the left of the line, having thrown their javelins, quickly drove the Atrebates (for that part had fallen to them)—breathless from running and weariness and worn out with wounds—down from the higher ground into the river, and, as they tried to cross, pursued them and with their swords killed a great part of them while encumbered.
Legionis VIIII. et X. milites, ut in sinistra parte aciei constiterant, pilis emissis cursu ac lassitudine exanimatos vulneribusque confectos Atrebates (nam his ea pars obvenerat) celeriter ex loco superiore in flumen compulerunt et transire conantes insecuti gladiis magnam partem eorum impeditam interfecerunt.
They themselves did not hesitate to cross the river, and, advancing onto unfavorable ground, when the enemy made a stand again, they renewed the battle and put them to flight.
Ipsi transire flumen non dubitaverunt et in locum iniquum progressi rursus resistentes hostes redintegrato proelio in fugam coniecerunt.
Likewise in another part, two separate legions, the Eleventh and the Eighth, having routed the Viromandui, with whom they had engaged, were fighting from the higher ground on the very banks of the river.
Item alia in parte diversae duae legiones, XI. et VIII., profligatis Viromanduis, quibuscum erant congressae, ex loco superiore in ipsis fluminis ripis proeliabantur.
But almost the whole camp being stripped on the front and on the left, since on the right wing the Twelfth Legion and, no great distance from it, the Seventh had taken their stand, all the Nervii, in a most densely packed column, under the leadership of Boduognatus, who held the supreme command, pressed on to that place; part of them began to surround the legions on the open flank, part to make for the highest point of the camp.
At totis fere castris a fronte et a sinistra parte nudatis, cum in dextro cornu legio XII. et non magno ab ea intervallo VII. constitisset, omnes Nervii confertissimo agmine duce Boduognato, qui summam imperii tenebat, ad eum locum contenderunt; quorum pars ab aperto latere legiones circumvenire, pars summum castrorum locum petere coepit.
At the same time our cavalry and the light-armed foot who had been with them—whom I said had been driven back by the enemy’s first charge—as they were retreating into camp, met the enemy face to face and again sought flight in another direction;
Eodem tempore equites nostri levisque armaturae pedites, qui cum iis una fuerant, quos primo hostium impetu pulsos dixeram, cum se in castra reciperent, adversis hostibus occurrebant ac rursus aliam in partem fugam petebant;
and the camp-servants, who from the decuman gate and the top of the ridge had seen our men cross the river as victors, having gone out to plunder, when they looked back and saw the enemy moving about in our camp, gave themselves headlong to flight.
et calones, qui ab decumana porta ac summo iugo collis nostros victores flumen transire conspexerant, praedandi causa egressi, cum respexissent et hostes in nostris castris versari vidissent, praecipites fugae sese mandabant.
At the same time arose the shouting and din of those who were coming with the baggage, and, panic-stricken, they were carried, some in one direction, some in another.
Simul eorum qui cum impedimentis veniebant clamor fremitusque oriebatur, aliique aliam in partem perterriti ferebantur.
Moved by all these things, the Treveran cavalry—whose reputation for valor among the Gauls is singular, and who had come to Caesar, sent by their state to aid him—when they saw our camp filled with a multitude of the enemy, the legions hard pressed and held all but surrounded, the camp-servants, cavalry, slingers, and Numidians scattered and dispersed and fleeing in every direction, despairing of our cause, made for home:
Quibus omnibus rebus permoti equites Treveri, quorum inter Gallos virtutis opinio est singularis, qui auxilii causa a civitate missi ad Caesarem venerant, cum multitudine hostium castra [nostra] compleri, legiones premi et paene circumventas teneri, calones, equites, funditores, Numidas diversos dissipatosque in omnes partes fugere vidissent, desperatis nostris rebus domum contenderunt:
they reported to their state that the Romans had been beaten and overcome, and that the enemy had taken their camp and baggage.
Romanos pulsos superatosque, castris impedimentisque eorum hostes potitos civitati renuntiaverunt.
Caesar, having gone from heartening the Tenth Legion to the right wing, when he saw his men hard pressed and the soldiers of the Twelfth Legion, their standards crowded into one place, packed together so as to be a hindrance to themselves in fighting—all the centurions of the fourth cohort killed and the standard-bearer slain, the standard lost, and of the remaining cohorts almost all the centurions either wounded or killed, among them the chief centurion Publius Sextius Baculus, a most brave man, worn out by many grievous wounds, so that he could no longer hold himself up—saw that the rest were slower, and some at the rear were leaving the battle, abandoning their place, and avoiding the weapons, while the enemy from the lower ground in front did not slacken their advance and pressed on both flanks, and the matter was in straits, and there was no reserve that could be sent up:
Caesar ab X. legionis cohortatione ad dextrum cornu profectus, ubi suos urgeri signisque in unum locum conlatis XII. legionis confertos milites sibi ipsos ad pugnam esse impedimento vidit, quartae cohortis omnibus centurionibus occisis signiferoque interfecto, signo amisso, reliquarum cohortium omnibus fere centurionibus aut vulneratis aut occisis, in his primipilo P. Sextio Baculo, fortissimo viro, multis gravibusque vulneribus confecto, ut iam se sustinere non posset, reliquos esse tardiores et non nullos ab novissimis deserto loco proelio excedere ac tela vitare, hostes neque a fronte ex inferiore loco subeuntes intermittere et ab utroque latere instare et rem esse in angusto vidit, neque ullum esse subsidium quod submitti posset,
snatching a shield from a soldier at the rear—because he himself had come there without a shield—he advanced into the front line, and, calling on the centurions by name and heartening the rest of the soldiers, he ordered them to carry the standards forward and to open out the maniples, so that they could use their swords more easily.
scuto ab novissimis [uni] militi detracto, quod ipse eo sine scuto venerat, in primam aciem processit centurionibusque nominatim appellatis reliquos cohortatus milites signa inferre et manipulos laxare iussit, quo facilius gladiis uti possent.
By his coming hope was brought to the soldiers and their spirit renewed, since each man, in the sight of the commander, desired to do his utmost even in his own extremity, and the enemy’s charge was checked a little.
Cuius adventu spe inlata militibus ac redintegrato animo, cum pro se quisque in conspectu imperatoris etiam in extremis suis rebus operam navare cuperet, paulum hostium impetus tardatus est.
Caesar, when he saw that the Seventh Legion, which had taken its stand close by, was likewise hard pressed by the enemy, warned the military tribunes that the legions should gradually join together and, wheeling their standards, advance against the enemy.
Caesar, cum VII. legionem, quae iuxta constiterat, item urgeri ab hoste vidisset, tribunos militum monuit ut paulatim sese legiones coniungerent et conversa signa in hostes inferrent.
This done, when one brought aid to another and they no longer feared to be surrounded from behind, they began to resist more boldly and to fight more bravely.
Quo facto cum aliis alii subsidium ferrent neque timerent ne aversi ab hoste circumvenirentur, audacius resistere ac fortius pugnare coeperunt.
Meanwhile the soldiers of the two legions which had been at the rear of the column as a guard for the baggage, the battle being reported, quickened their pace and were seen by the enemy on the top of the hill;
Interim milites legionum duarum quae in novissimo agmine praesidio impedimentis fuerant, proelio nuntiato, cursu incitato in summo colle ab hostibus conspiciebantur,
and Titus Labienus, having taken the enemy’s camp and from the higher ground seen what was being done in our camp, sent the Tenth Legion as a relief to our men.
et T. Labienus castris hostium potitus et ex loco superiore quae res in nostris castris gererentur conspicatus X. legionem subsidio nostris misit.
When these, from the flight of the cavalry and the camp-servants, had learned in what state the matter was, and in how great a danger the camp and the legions and the commander were placed, they left nothing undone for speed.
Qui cum ex equitum et calonum fuga quo in loco res esset quantoque in periculo et castra et legiones et imperator versaretur cognovissent, nihil ad celeritatem sibi reliqui fecerunt.
By their arrival so great a change of things was made that our men—even those who had fallen, worn out by wounds—leaning on their shields, renewed the battle, and the camp-servants, seeing the enemy panic-stricken, ran against armed men even unarmed,
Horum adventu tanta rerum commutatio est facta ut nostri, etiam qui vulneribus confecti procubuissent, scutis innixi proelium redintegrarent, calones perterritos hostes conspicati etiam inermes armatis occurrerent,
while the cavalry, to wipe out by valor the disgrace of their flight, put themselves before the legionary soldiers in fighting in every place.
equites vero, ut turpitudinem fugae virtute delerent, omnibus in locis pugnae se legionariis militibus praeferrent.
But the enemy, even in the last hope of safety, showed such valor that, when the foremost of them had fallen, the next stood upon those lying down and fought from their bodies;
At hostes, etiam in extrema spe salutis, tantam virtutem praestiterunt ut, cum primi eorum cecidissent, proximi iacentibus insisterent atque ex eorum corporibus pugnarent,
and when these were thrown down and the corpses heaped up, those who survived, as if from a mound, hurled weapons at our men and threw back the javelins they intercepted:
his deiectis et coacervatis cadaveribus qui superessent ut ex tumulo tela in nostros coicerent et pila intercepta remitterent:
so that it had to be judged not in vain that men of such valor had dared to cross a very wide river, climb very high banks, and advance onto most unfavorable ground; greatness of spirit had made these very difficult things easy.
ut non nequiquam tantae virtutis homines iudicari deberet ausos esse transire latissimum flumen, ascendere altissimas ripas, subire iniquissimum locum; quae facilia ex difficillimis animi magnitudo redegerat.
This battle done, and the race and name of the Nervii brought almost to annihilation, the elders—whom, together with the children and women, we said had been thrown into the creeks and marshes—when this fight was reported, thinking that for the victors nothing was hindered and for the vanquished nothing was safe,
Hoc proelio facto et prope ad internecionem gente ac nomine Nerviorum redacto, maiores natu, quos una cum pueris mulieribusque in aestuaria ac paludes coniectos dixeramus, hac pugna nuntiata, cum victoribus nihil impeditum, victis nihil tutum arbitrarentur,
by the consent of all who survived sent envoys to Caesar and surrendered themselves to him; and in recounting the disaster of their state, they said that from six hundred senators they had been reduced to three, and from sixty thousand men able to bear arms to scarcely five hundred.
omnium qui supererant consensu legatos ad Caesarem miserunt seque ei dediderunt; et in commemoranda civitatis calamitate ex DC ad tres senatores, ex hominum milibus LX vix ad D, qui arma ferre possent, sese redactos esse dixerunt.
These Caesar, that he might seem to use mercy toward the wretched and the suppliant, most carefully preserved, and ordered them to keep their own territory and towns, and commanded their neighbors to restrain themselves and their people from injury and harm.
Quos Caesar, ut in miseros ac supplices usus misericordia videretur, diligentissime conservavit suisque finibus atque oppidis uti iussit et finitimis imperavit ut ab iniuria et maleficio se suosque prohiberent.
The Atuatuci, of whom we spoke above, while coming with all their forces to aid the Nervii, on hearing of this battle turned back home from the march;
Atuatuci, de quibus supra diximus, cum omnibus copiis auxilio Nerviis venirent, hac pugna nuntiata ex itinere domum reverterunt;
abandoning all their towns and forts, they gathered all that was theirs into a single town, splendidly fortified by nature.
cunctis oppidis castellisque desertis sua omnia in unum oppidum egregie natura munitum contulerunt.
This, since it had on every side around its circuit the highest cliffs and sheer drops, left on one side a gently sloping approach, no more than two hundred feet in breadth; this place they had fortified with a double, very high wall; and now they were setting on the wall stones of great weight and sharpened beams.
Quod cum ex omnibus in circuitu partibus altissimas rupes deiectusque haberet, una ex parte leniter acclivis aditus in latitudinem non amplius pedum CC relinquebatur; quem locum duplici altissimo muro munierant; tum magni ponderis saxa et praeacutas trabes in muro conlocabant.
They themselves were descended from the Cimbri and Teutones, who, when they were making their way into our Province and Italy, deposited on this side of the river Rhine the baggage they could not drive or carry with them, and left six thousand men of their own with it as a guard and garrison.
Ipsi erant ex Cimbris Teutonisque prognati, qui, cum iter in provinciam nostram atque Italiam; facerent, iis impedimentis quae secum agere ac portare non poterant citra flumen Rhenum depositis custodiae [ex suis] ac praesidio VI milia hominum una reliquerant.
These, after the destruction of their people, harried for many years by their neighbors—now making war, now defending against war made on them—by the common consent of all made peace and chose this place for their home.
Hi post eorum obitum multos annos a finitimis exagitati, cum alias bellum inferrent, alias inlatum defenderent, consensu eorum omnium pace facta hunc sibi domicilio locum delegerant.
And at the first arrival of our army they made frequent sallies from the town and contended with our men in little battles;
Ac primo adventu exercitus nostri crebras ex oppido excursiones faciebant parvulisque proeliis cum nostris contendebant;
afterward, fenced about with a rampart twelve feet high over a circuit of fifteen miles and with frequent forts, they kept within the town.
postea vallo pedum XII in circuitu XV milium crebrisque castellis circummuniti oppido sese continebant.
When, the sheds having been brought up and a mound built, they saw a tower set up at a distance, at first they jeered from the wall and railed with shouts, that so great a contrivance should be set up at so great a distance:
Ubi vineis actis aggere extructo turrim procul constitui viderunt, primum inridere ex muro atque increpitare vocibus, quod tanta machinatio a tanto spatio institueretur:
by what hands, pray, or by what strength did men of so small a stature (for to almost all the Gauls, in view of their own great size, our shortness is a thing of contempt) trust that they could place a tower of such weight upon the wall?
quibusnam manibus aut quibus viribus praesertim homines tantulae staturae (nam plerumque omnibus Gallis prae magnitudine corporum quorum brevitas nostra contemptui est) tanti oneris turrim in muro sese posse conlocare confiderent?
But when they saw it move and draw near the walls, stirred by the strange and unwonted sight, they sent envoys to Caesar about peace, who spoke in this manner:
Ubi vero moveri et adpropinquare muris viderunt, nova atque inusitata specie commoti legatos ad Caesarem de pace miserunt, qui ad hunc modum locuti,
they did not think the Romans waged war without divine help, who could move forward engines of such height with such speed,
non se existimare Romanos sine ope divina bellum gerere, qui tantae altitudinis machinationes tanta celeritate promovere possent,
and they put themselves and all that was theirs into their power.
se suaque omnia eorum potestati permittere dixerunt.
One thing they asked and begged: if perchance, in keeping with that clemency and mildness of his which they heard of from others, he had decided that the Atuatuci should be spared, that he not strip them of their arms.
Unum petere ac deprecari: si forte pro sua clementia ac mansuetudine, quam ipsi ab aliis audirent, statuisset Atuatucos esse conservandos, ne se armis despoliaret.
Almost all their neighbors were their enemies and envied their valor; against these they could not defend themselves if their arms were handed over.
Sibi omnes fere finitimos esse inimicos ac suae virtuti invidere; a quibus se defendere traditis armis non possent.
It was better for them, if they were brought to that pass, to suffer any fortune from the Roman people than to be killed by torture by those among whom they had been accustomed to rule.
Sibi praestare, si in eum casum deducerentur, quamvis fortunam a populo Romano pati quam ab his per cruciatum interfici inter quos dominari consuessent.
To this Caesar replied: he would spare their state more from his own custom than from any merit of theirs, if they surrendered before the ram touched the wall;
Ad haec Caesar respondit: se magis consuetudine sua quam merito eorum civitatem conservaturum, si prius quam murum aries attigisset se dedidissent;
but there was no condition of surrender except with arms handed over. He would do what he had done in the case of the Nervii, and would command their neighbors to do no injury to those who had surrendered to the Roman people.
sed deditionis nullam esse condicionem nisi armis traditis. Se id quod in Nerviis fecisset facturum finitimisque imperaturum ne quam dediticiis populi Romani iniuriam inferrent.
The matter reported back to their people, they said they would do what was ordered.
Re renuntiata ad suos illi se quae imperarentur facere dixerunt.
A great quantity of arms having been thrown from the wall into the ditch that was before the town—so that the heaps of arms nearly reached the top of the wall and the mound—and yet about a third part, as was afterward seen, concealed and kept back in the town, with the gates thrown open they enjoyed peace that day.
Armorum magna multitudine de muro in fossam, quae erat ante oppidum, iacta, sic ut prope summam muri aggerisque altitudinem acervi armorum adaequarent, et tamen circiter parte tertia, ut postea perspectum est, celata atque in oppido retenta, portis patefactis eo die pace sunt usi.
Toward evening Caesar ordered the gates to be shut and the soldiers to go out of the town, lest the townsmen suffer any injury from the soldiers by night.
Sub vesperum Caesar portas claudi militesque ex oppido exire iussit, ne quam noctu oppidani a militibus iniuriam acciperent.
They, by a plan formed beforehand—as was understood—because they had believed that, the surrender made, our men would withdraw their guards or at least keep watch more carelessly, partly with the arms they had kept back and concealed, partly with shields made of bark or woven of osiers, which, on the sudden, as the shortness of time required, they had covered with hides, in the third watch, where the ascent to our fortifications seemed least steep, suddenly made a sally out of the town with all their forces.
Illi ante inito, ut intellectum est, consilio, quod deditione facta nostros praesidia deducturos aut denique indiligentius servaturos crediderant, partim cum iis quae retinuerant et celaverant armis, partim scutis ex cortice factis aut viminibus intextis, quae subito, ut temporis exiguitas postulabat, pellibus induxerant, tertia vigilia, qua minime arduus ad nostras munitiones ascensus videbatur, omnibus copiis repente ex oppido eruptionem fecerunt.
Quickly, as Caesar had ordered beforehand, the signal given by fires, there was a rush to that point from the nearest forts,
Celeriter, ut ante Caesar imperaverat, ignibus significatione facta, ex proximis castellis eo concursum est,
and the fighting was as fierce on the enemy’s part as had to be on the part of brave men in the last hope of safety, on unfavorable ground, against those who hurled weapons from the rampart and the towers, when in valor alone all their hope lay.
pugnatumque ab hostibus ita acriter est ut a viris fortibus in extrema spe salutis iniquo loco contra eos qui ex vallo turribusque tela iacerent pugnari debuit, cum in una virtute omnis spes consisteret.
About four thousand men being killed, the rest were driven back into the town.
Occisis ad hominum milibus IIII reliqui in oppidum reiecti sunt.
On the day after, the gates broken open, when no one now defended, and our soldiers let in, Caesar sold the entire plunder of that town in one lot.
Postridie eius diei refractis portis, cum iam defenderet nemo, atque intromissis militibus nostris, sectionem eius oppidi universa Caesar vendidit.
By those who had bought it the number of persons was reported to him as fifty-three thousand.
Ab iis qui emerant capitum numerus ad eum relatus est milium LIII.
At the same time he was informed by Publius Crassus, whom he had sent with a single legion against the Veneti, Venelli, Osismi, Coriosolites, Esuvii, Aulerci, and Redones—which are maritime states and touch the Ocean—that all those states had been brought under the sway and power of the Roman people.
These things done, all Gaul being pacified, so great a report of this war was carried to the barbarians that embassies were sent to Caesar from the nations which dwell across the Rhine, promising that they would give hostages and do what was ordered.
His rebus gestis omni Gallia pacata, tanta huius belli ad barbaros opinio perlata est uti ab iis nationibus quae trans Rhenum incolerent legationes ad Caesarem mitterentur, quae se obsides daturas, imperata facturas pollicerentur.
These embassies Caesar, because he was hurrying into Italy and Illyricum, ordered to return to him at the beginning of the next summer.
Quas legationes Caesar, quod in Italiam Illyricumque properabat, inita proxima aestate ad se reverti iussit.
And on account of these things, on Caesar’s dispatches, a thanksgiving of fifteen days was decreed—which before that time had befallen no one.
Ob easque res ex litteris Caesaris dierum XV supplicatio decreta est, quod ante id tempus accidit nulli.
When Caesar was setting out for Italy, he sent Servius Galba with the Twelfth Legion and part of the cavalry against the Nantuates, the Veragri, and the Seduni, whose territory reaches from the borders of the Allobroges and Lake Geneva and the river Rhone to the summits of the Alps.
Cum in Italiam proficisceretur Caesar, Ser. Galbam cum legione XII. et parte equitatus in Nantuates, Veragros Sedunosque misit, qui a finibus Allobrogum et lacu Lemanno et flumine Rhodano ad summas Alpes pertinent.
His reason for sending him was that he wished the route through the Alps—by which merchants had been accustomed to travel at great risk and great tolls—to be opened up.
Causa mittendi fuit quod iter per Alpes, quo magno cum periculo magnisque cum portoriis mercatores ire consuerant, patefieri volebat.
He permitted him, if he judged it necessary, to station the legion in those parts for the winter.
Huic permisit, si opus esse arbitraretur, uti in his locis legionem hiemandi causa conlocaret.
Galba, after fighting several successful engagements and storming a number of their strongholds, when envoys had been sent to him from every side and hostages given and peace made, decided to station two cohorts among the Nantuates and himself to winter with the remaining cohorts of that legion in a village of the Veragri called Octodurus;
Galba secundis aliquot proeliis factis castellisque compluribus eorum expugnatis, missis ad eum undique legatis obsidibusque datis et pace facta, constituit cohortes duas in Nantuatibus conlocare et ipse cum reliquis eius legionis cohortibus in vico Veragrorum, qui appellatur Octodurus hiemare;
this village, set in a valley of no great size with a strip of level ground beside it, is shut in on every side by very high mountains.
qui vicus positus in valle non magna adiecta planitie altissimis montibus undique continetur.
Since it was divided into two parts by a river, he granted one part of the village to the Gauls for wintering and assigned the other, left empty by them, to his cohorts. This place he fortified with a rampart and a ditch.
Cum hic in duas partes flumine divideretur, alteram partem eius vici Gallis [ad hiemandum] concessit, alteram vacuam ab his relictam cohortibus attribuit. Eum locum vallo fossaque munivit.
When several days of the winter quarters had passed and he had ordered grain to be brought in there, he was suddenly informed by his scouts that all the inhabitants had departed by night from the part of the village he had granted to the Gauls, and that the overhanging mountains were held by a very great host of Seduni and Veragri.
Cum dies hibernorum complures transissent frumentumque eo comportari iussisset, subito per exploratores certior factus est ex ea parte vici, quam Gallis concesserat, omnes noctu discessisse montesque qui impenderent a maxima multitudine Sedunorum et Veragrorum teneri.
This had come about for several reasons—that the Gauls should suddenly form the plan of renewing the war and crushing the legion:
Id aliquot de causis acciderat, ut subito Galli belli renovandi legionisque opprimendae consilium caperent:
first, because they despised the legion—and that not at full strength, with two cohorts detached and a good many men absent one by one, who had been sent off to fetch supplies—on account of its small numbers;
primum, quod legionem neque eam plenissimam detractis cohortibus duabus et compluribus singillatim, qui commeatus petendi causa missi erant, absentibus propter paucitatem despiciebant;
and then also because, on account of the unfavorable ground, since they themselves would run down from the mountains into the valley and hurl their weapons, they reckoned that not even our first charge could be withstood.
tum etiam, quod propter iniquitatem loci, cum ipsi ex montibus in vallem decurrerent et tela coicerent, ne primum quidem impetum suum posse sustineri existimabant.
There was added to this that they grieved that their own children had been torn from them under the name of hostages, and they were persuaded that the Romans were attempting to seize the heights of the Alps not only for the sake of the routes but for permanent possession, and to annex those places to the neighboring Province.
Accedebat quod suos ab se liberos abstractos obsidum nomine dolebant, et Romanos non solum itinerum causa sed etiam perpetuae possessionis culmina Alpium occupare conari et ea loca finitimae provinciae adiungere sibi persuasum habebant.
On receiving these tidings Galba—since neither the works of the winter camp nor its fortifications were fully completed, nor had enough provision been made for grain and the rest of the supplies, because, the surrender made and hostages received, he had judged there was nothing to fear from war—quickly called a council and began to seek opinions.
His nuntiis acceptis Galba, cum neque opus hibernorum munitionesque plene essent perfectae neque de frumento reliquoque commeatu satis esset provisum quod deditione facta obsidibusque acceptis nihil de bello timendum existimaverat, consilio celeriter convocato sententias exquirere coepit.
In this council, since so much sudden danger had come about beyond expectation, and now nearly all the higher positions were seen filled with a host of armed men, and since with the roads cut off neither could reinforcement come nor supplies be brought up,
Quo in consilio, cum tantum repentini periculi praeter opinionem accidisset ac iam omnia fere superiora loca multitudine armatorum completa conspicerentur neque subsidio veniri neque commeatus supportari interclusis itineribus possent,
safety being now all but despaired of, some opinions of this kind were given: that the baggage should be left behind, a sortie made, and they should strive for safety by the same roads by which they had come there.
prope iam desperata salute non nullae eius modi sententiae dicebantur, ut impedimentis relictis eruptione facta isdem itineribus quibus eo pervenissent ad salutem contenderent.
To the greater part, however, it seemed best, reserving this plan for the last extremity, to try the event of the matter in the meantime and to defend the camp.
Maiori tamen parti placuit, hoc reservato ad extremum casum consilio interim rei eventum experiri et castra defendere.
After a brief interval—barely enough for time to be given for arranging and carrying out the measures they had decided on—the enemy, on a signal given, ran down from every side and hurled stones and Gallic javelins at the rampart.
Brevi spatio interiecto, vix ut iis rebus quas constituissent conlocandis atque administrandis tempus daretur, hostes ex omnibus partibus signo dato decurrere, lapides gaesaque in vallum coicere.
Our men at first, with their strength intact, fought back bravely and threw no weapon in vain from the higher ground; and whatever part of the camp seemed hard pressed, stripped of defenders, there they ran and brought aid,
Nostri primo integris viribus fortiter propugnare neque ullum flustra telum ex loco superiore mittere, et quaecumque pars castrorum nudata defensoribus premi videbatur, eo occurrere et auxilium ferre,
but in this they were outmatched, that the enemy, wearied by the length of the fight, would withdraw from the battle, while others with strength intact took their place;
sed hoc superari quod diuturnitate pugnae hostes defessi proelio excedebant, alii integris viribus succedebant;
none of which our men could do because of their small numbers, and not only was no one wearied given the chance of withdrawing from the fight, but not even a wounded man the chance of leaving the position where he had taken his stand and recovering himself.
quarum rerum a nostris propter paucitatem fieri nihil poterat, ac non modo defesso ex pugna excedendi, sed ne saucio quidem eius loci ubi constiterat relinquendi ac sui recipiendi facultas dabatur.
When the fighting had now gone on without a break for more than six hours, and not only strength but even weapons were failing our men, and the enemy pressed the more fiercely and, as our men grew fainter, had begun to tear apart the rampart and fill the ditches, and the matter was now brought to the last extremity,
Cum iam amplius horis sex continenter pugnaretur, ac non solum vires sed etiam tela nostros deficerent, atque hostes acrius instarent languidioribusque nostris vallum scindere et fossas complere coepissent, resque esset iam ad extremum perducta casum,
Publius Sextius Baculus, the centurion of the first rank, whom we have mentioned as disabled by a number of wounds in the battle with the Nervii, and likewise Gaius Volusenus, a military tribune, a man of great judgment and valor, ran to Galba and showed him that there was one hope of safety: if, a sortie being made, they should try the last resort.
P. Sextius Baculus, primi pili centurio, quem Nervico proelio compluribus confectum vulneribus diximus, et item C. Volusenus, tribunus militum, vir et consilii magni et virtutis, ad Galbam accurrunt atque unam esse spem salutis docent, si eruptione facta extremum auxilium experirentur.
And so, calling the centurions together, he quickly informs the soldiers that they should break off the fight for a little while and only catch the weapons thrown at them and refresh themselves from their toil, then, a signal given, burst out of the camp, and place all their hope of safety in their valor.
Itaque convocatis centurionibus celeriter milites certiores facit, paulisper intermitterent proelium ac tantum modo tela missa exciperent seque ex labore reficerent, post dato signo ex castris erumperent, atque omnem spem salutis in virtute ponerent.
They do what they are ordered, and suddenly, a sortie being made from all the gates, they leave the enemy no chance either of recognizing what was happening or of rallying.
Quod iussi sunt faciunt, ac subito omnibus portis eruptione facta neque cognoscendi quid fieret neque sui colligendi hostibus facultatem relinquunt.
So, fortune turned, they surround and cut off on every side those who had come in the hope of taking the camp, and of more than thirty thousand men—the number it was agreed had come against the camp—more than a third part being killed, they drive the rest in terror into flight and do not allow them even to halt on the higher ground.
Ita commutata fortuna eos qui in spem potiundorum castrorum venerant undique circumventos intercipiunt, et ex hominum milibus amplius XXX, quem numerum barbarorum ad castra venisse constabat, plus tertia parte interfecta reliquos perterritos in fugam coiciunt ac ne in locis quidem superioribus consistere patiuntur.
So, all the enemy’s forces routed and stripped of their arms, they withdraw within their own fortifications.
Sic omnibus hostium copiis fusis armisque exutis se intra munitiones suas recipiunt.
After this battle, since Galba was unwilling to tempt fortune too often, and remembered that he had come into winter quarters with one purpose and saw that he had met with other circumstances, moved above all by the want of grain and supplies, on the next day, all the buildings of that village burned, he hastened to return to the Province,
Quo proelio facto, quod saepius fortunam temptare Galba nolebat atque alio se in hiberna consilio venisse meminerat, aliis occurrisse rebus videbat, maxime frumenti [commeatusque] inopia permotus postero die omnibus eius vici aedificiis incensis in provinciam reverti contendit,
and with no enemy hindering or delaying his march, he led the legion safe into the territory of the Nantuates, thence into that of the Allobroges, and wintered there.
ac nullo hoste prohibente aut iter demorante incolumem legionem in Nantuates, inde in Allobroges perduxit ibique hiemavit.
After these things, when Caesar for all reasons judged Gaul to be at peace—the Belgae overcome, the Germans driven out, the Seduni conquered in the Alps—and so, winter having begun, had set out for Illyricum, because he wished to visit those nations too and to learn their regions, a sudden war broke out in Gaul.
His rebus gestis cum omnibus de causis Caesar pacatam Galliam existimaret, [superatis Belgis, expulsis Germanis, victis in Alpibus Sedunis,] atque ita inita hieme in Illyricum profectus esset, quod eas quoque nationes adire et regiones cognoscere volebat, subitum bellum in Gallia coortum est.
The cause of that war was this. The young Publius Crassus was wintering with the Seventh Legion near the Ocean, among the Andes.
Eius belli haec fuit causa. P. Crassus adulescens cum legione VII. proximus mare Oceanum in Andibus hiemabat.
He, since there was a scarcity of grain in those parts, sent off a number of prefects and military tribunes into the neighboring states for grain;
Is, quod in his locis inopia frumenti erat, praefectos tribunosque militum complures in finitimas civitates frumenti causa dimisit;
among whom Titus Terrasidius was sent to the Esuvii, Marcus Trebius Gallus to the Coriosolites, Quintus Velanius with Titus Silius to the Veneti.
quo in numero est T. Terrasidius missus in Esuvios, M. Trebius Gallus in Coriosolites, Q. Velanius eum T. Silio in Venetos.
The authority of this state is by far the greatest of all the sea-coast of those regions, because the Veneti both have very many ships, with which they were accustomed to sail to Britain, and surpass the rest in knowledge and practice of seamanship, and—since on a great and open stretch of sea there are few harbors set between, which they themselves hold—they have nearly all who are accustomed to use that sea as their tributaries.
Huius est civitatis longe amplissima auctoritas omnis orae maritimae regionum earum, quod et naves habent Veneti plurimas, quibus in Britanniam navigare consuerunt, et scientia atque usu rerum nauticarum ceteros antecedunt et in magno impetu maris atque aperto paucis portibus interiectis, quos tenent ipsi, omnes fere qui eo mari uti consuerunt habent vectigales.
By these the beginning is made of detaining Silius and Velanius, because they thought that through them they would recover their own hostages, whom they had given to Crassus.
Ab his fit initium retinendi Silii atque Velanii, quod per eos suos se obsides, quos Crasso dedissent, recuperaturos existimabant.
Their neighbors, led by the authority of these men—as the plans of the Gauls are sudden and abrupt—for the same reason detain Trebius and Terrasidius, and quickly, envoys being sent, through their leading men they bind themselves by oath to do nothing except by common counsel and to bear the same outcome of fortune, all of them,
Horum auctoritate finitimi adducti, ut sunt Gallorum subita et repentina consilia, eadem de causa Trebium Terrasidiumque retinent et celeriter missis legatis per suos principes inter se coniurant nihil nisi communi consilio acturos eundemque omnes fortunae exitum esse laturos,
and they incite the remaining states to choose to remain in that liberty which they had received from their forefathers rather than endure the slavery of the Romans.
reliquasque civitates sollicitant, ut in ea libertate quam a maioribus acceperint permanere quam Romanorum servitutem perferre malint.
The whole sea-coast quickly won over to their view, they send a common embassy to Publius Crassus: if he wished to recover his men, let him send back their hostages to them.
Omni ora maritima celeriter ad suam sententiam perducta communem legationem ad P. Crassum mittunt, si velit suos recuperare, obsides sibi remittat.
Informed of these matters by Crassus, Caesar, since he himself was rather far off, orders warships to be built meanwhile on the river Loire, which flows into the Ocean, rowers to be raised from the Province, and sailors and helmsmen to be assembled.
Quibus de rebus Caesar a Crasso certior factus, quod ipse aberat longius, naves interim longas aedificari in flumine Ligeri, quod influit in Oceanum, remiges ex provincia institui, nautas gubernatoresque comparari iubet.
These things quickly carried out, he himself, as soon as the season of the year allowed, hastened to the army.
His rebus celeriter administratis ipse, cum primum per anni tempus potuit, ad exercitum contendit.
The Veneti and likewise the remaining states, on learning of Caesar’s approach, and at the same time because they understood what a crime they had committed—envoys, a title that had always been sacred and inviolable among all nations, detained by them and thrown into chains—begin to prepare for war in proportion to the greatness of the danger, and above all to provide what pertains to the use of ships, with the greater hope because they trusted much in the nature of the place.
Veneti reliquaeque item civitates cognito Caesaris adventu [certiores facti], simul quod quantum in se facinus admisissent intellegebant, [legatos, quod nomen ad omnes nationes sanctum inviolatumque semper fuisset, retentos ab se et in vincula coniectos,] pro magnitudine periculi bellum parare et maxime ea quae ad usum navium pertinent providere instituunt, hoc maiore spe quod multum natura loci confidebant.
They knew that the land routes were cut up by tidal inlets, that navigation was hampered by ignorance of the localities and the scarcity of harbors,
Pedestria esse itinera concisa aestuariis, navigationem impeditam propter inscientiam locorum paucitatemque portuum sciebant,
and they trusted that our armies could not stay among them very long because of the want of grain;
neque nostros exercitus propter inopiam frumenti diutius apud se morari posse confidebant;
and, even should everything fall out contrary to expectation, still they were very strong in ships, while the Romans had no supply of ships, nor any knowledge of the shoals, harbors, and islands of the places where they would be waging war;
ac iam ut omnia contra opinionem acciderent, tamen se plurimum navibus posse, [quam] Romanos neque ullam facultatem habere navium, neque eorum locorum ubi bellum gesturi essent vada, portus, insulas novisse;
and they clearly saw that sailing in an enclosed sea was a far different thing from sailing in the vast and utterly open Ocean.
ac longe aliam esse navigationem in concluso mari atque in vastissimo atque apertissimo Oceano perspiciebant.
Having formed these plans, they fortify their towns,
His initis consiliis oppida muniunt,
carry grain from the fields into the towns, and gather into Venetia—where it was agreed Caesar would first wage war—
frumenta ex agris in oppida comportant, naves in Venetiam, ubi Caesarem primum bellum gesturum
as many ships as they can. As allies for that war they take to themselves the Osismi, the Lexovii, the Namnetes, the Ambiliati, the Morini, the Diablintes, the Menapii; they summon auxiliaries from Britain, which lies opposite those regions.
constabat, quam plurimas possunt cogunt. Socios sibi ad id bellum Osismos, Lexovios, Namnetes, Ambiliatos, Morinos, Diablintes, Menapios adsciscunt; auxilia ex Britannia, quae contra eas regiones posita est, arcessunt.
These were the difficulties of waging war which we have shown above, but nevertheless many things urged Caesar to that war:
Erant hae difficultates belli gerendi quas supra ostendimus, sed tamen multa Caesarem ad id bellum incitabant:
the injury of the Roman knights detained, the rebellion made after surrender, the revolt after hostages had been given, the conspiracy of so many states, and above all, lest, this quarter being neglected, the remaining nations think the same was permitted to them.
iniuria retentorum equitum Romanorum, rebellio facta post deditionem, defectio datis obsidibus, tot civitatum coniuratio, in primis ne hac parte neglecta reliquae nationes sibi idem licere arbitrarentur.
And so, since he understood that nearly all the Gauls were eager for revolution and were roused to war easily and quickly, and that all men by nature are eager for liberty and hate the condition of slavery, before more states should conspire he thought he must divide his army and distribute it more widely.
Itaque cum intellegeret omnes fere Gallos novis rebus studere et ad bellum mobiliter celeriterque excitari, omnes autem homines natura libertati studere et condicionem servitutis odisse, prius quam plures civitates conspirarent, partiendum sibi ac latius distribuendum exercitum putavit.
And so he sends his legate Titus Labienus with the cavalry against the Treveri, who are nearest the river Rhine.
Itaque T. Labienum legatum in Treveros, qui proximi flumini Rheno sunt, cum equitatu mittit.
He charges him to visit the Remi and the rest of the Belgae and keep them to their duty, and to prevent the Germans—who were said to have been summoned by the Belgae as auxiliaries—if they should try to cross the river by force in boats.
Huic mandat, Remos reliquosque Belgas adeat atque in officio contineat Germanosque, qui auxilio a Belgis arcessiti dicebantur, si per vim navibus flumen transire conentur, prohibeat.
He orders Publius Crassus to set out for Aquitania with twelve legionary cohorts and a great number of cavalry, lest auxiliaries be sent from those nations into Gaul and such great nations be joined together.
P. Crassum cum cohortibus legionariis XII et magno numero equitatus in Aquitaniam proficisci iubet, ne ex his nationibus auxilia in Galliam mittantur ac tantae nationes coniungantur.
He sends his legate Quintus Titurius Sabinus with three legions against the Venelli, Coriosolites, and Lexovii, to see that their force is kept apart.
Q. Titurium Sabinum legatum cum legionibus tribus in Venellos, Coriosolites Lexoviosque mittit, qui eam manum distinendam curet.
He puts the young Decimus Brutus in command of the fleet and the Gallic ships, which he had ordered to assemble from the Pictones and the Santones and the rest of the pacified regions, and orders him to set out for the Veneti as soon as he could. He himself hastens there with the land forces.
D. Brutum adulescentem classi Gallicisque navibus, quas ex Pictonibus et Santonis reliquisque pacatis regionibus convenire iusserat, praeficit et, cum primum possit, in Venetos proficisci iubet. Ipse eo pedestribus copiis contendit.
The situation of the towns was generally of this kind: set on the ends of tongues of land and promontories, they had no approach by foot when the tide had set in from the deep—which always happens twice in the space of twelve hours—nor by ships, because, when the tide ebbed again, the ships would be dashed on the shoals.
Erant eius modi fere situs oppidorum ut posita in extremis lingulis promunturiisque neque pedibus aditum haberent, cum ex alto se aestus incitavisset, quod [bis] accidit semper horarum XII spatio, neque navibus, quod rursus minuente aestu naves in vadis adflictarentur.
Thus by both circumstances the assault on the towns was hindered.
Ita utraque re oppidorum oppugnatio impediebatur.
And whenever, perhaps, overcome by the magnitude of the works—the sea thrust back by a mole and earthworks, and these brought level with the walls of the town—they had begun to despair of their fortunes, a great number of ships being brought up, of which they had the greatest abundance, they would carry off all their goods and withdraw to the nearest towns:
Ac si quando magnitudine operis forte superati, extruso mari aggere ac molibus atque his oppidi moenibus adaequatis, suis fortunis desperare coeperant, magno numero navium adpulso, cuius rei summam facultatem habebant, omnia sua deportabant seque in proxima oppida recipiebant:
there they would again defend themselves with the same advantages of place.
ibi se rursus isdem oportunitatibus loci defendebant.
This they did the more easily for a great part of the summer because our ships were detained by storms, and there was the greatest difficulty of sailing on a vast and open sea, with great tides and harbors few and almost none.
Haec eo facilius magnam partem aestatis faciebant quod nostrae naves tempestatibus detinebantur summaque erat vasto atque aperto mari, magnis aestibus, raris ac prope nullis portibus difficultas navigandi.
For their own ships were built and fitted out in this fashion: the keels somewhat flatter than those of our ships, so that they might more easily ride out the shoals and the ebb of the tide;
Namque ipsorum naves ad hunc modum factae armataeque erant: carinae aliquanto planiores quam nostrarum navium, quo facilius vada ac decessum aestus excipere possent;
the prows very high, and likewise the sterns, adapted to the size of the waves and the storms;
prorae admodum erectae atque item puppes, ad magnitudinem fluctuum tempestatumque accommodatae;
the ships made entirely of oak, to endure any force and rough usage;
naves totae factae ex robore ad quamvis vim et contumeliam perferendam;
the cross-benches of beams a foot thick, fastened with iron nails the thickness of a thumb;
transtra ex pedalibus in altitudinem trabibus, confixa clavis ferreis digiti pollicis crassitudine;
the anchors made fast by iron chains in place of ropes;
ancorae pro funibus ferreis catenis revinctae;
hides and thinly dressed leather in place of sails, whether through want of flax and ignorance of its use, or—what is more likely—because they reckoned that such great storms of the Ocean and such gusts of wind could not well be borne, nor such great burdens of ships well steered, with sails.
pelles pro velis alutaeque tenuiter confectae, [hae] sive propter inopiam lini atque eius usus inscientiam, sive eo, quod est magis veri simile, quod tantas tempestates Oceani tantosque impetus ventorum sustineri ac tanta onera navium regi velis non satis commode posse arbitrabantur.
The encounter of our fleet with these ships was of such a kind that it had the advantage in speed alone and the stroke of the oars; the rest, given the nature of the place and the force of the storms, were more fitting and suitable for them.
Cum his navibus nostrae classi eius modi congressus erat ut una celeritate et pulsu remorum praestaret, reliqua pro loci natura, pro vi tempestatum illis essent aptiora et accommodatiora.
For our ships could neither harm them with the beak—so great was the firmness in them—nor, because of their height, was a weapon easily aimed up, and for the same reason they were less easily held fast by grappling-hooks.
Neque enim iis nostrae rostro nocere poterant (tanta in iis erat firmitudo), neque propter altitudinem facile telum adigebatur, et eadem de causa minus commode copulis continebantur.
There was added that, when the wind had begun to rage and they had given themselves to the wind, they both bore the storm more easily and rested more safely in the shoals, and, left by the tide, feared nothing from rocks and crags; all of which chances were to be dreaded by our ships.
Accedebat ut, cum [saevire ventus coepisset et] se vento dedissent, et tempestatem ferrent facilius et in vadis consisterent tutius et ab aestu relictae nihil saxa et cotes timerent; quarum rerum omnium nostris navibus casus erat extimescendus.
Several towns being stormed, Caesar, when he understood that so much labor was being spent in vain, and that the enemy’s flight could not be checked by the capture of their towns, nor harm be done them, decided that the fleet must be waited for.
Compluribus expugnatis oppidis Caesar, ubi intellexit frustra tantum laborem sumi neque hostium fugam captis oppidis reprimi neque iis noceri posse, statuit expectandam classem.
As soon as it had assembled and was first seen by the enemy, about two hundred and twenty of their ships, fully prepared and equipped with every kind of armament, set out from the harbor and took their stand facing ours;
Quae ubi convenit ac primum ab hostibus visa est, circiter CCXX naves eorum paratissimae atque omni genere armorum ornatissimae profectae ex portu nostris adversae constiterunt;
and it was not at all clear to Brutus, who commanded the fleet, nor to the military tribunes and centurions to whom the individual ships had been assigned, what they should do or what plan of battle to hold to.
neque satis Bruto, qui classi praeerat, vel tribunis militum centurionibusque, quibus singulae naves erant attributae, constabat quid agerent aut quam rationem pugnae insisterent.
For they had learned that no harm could be done with the beak; and though towers were raised, still the height of the barbarians’ sterns rose above them, so that weapons could not be aimed up well enough from the lower position, while those thrown by the Gauls fell with greater force.
Rostro enim noceri non posse cognoverant; turribus autem excitatis tamen has altitudo puppium ex barbaris navibus superabat, ut neque ex inferiore loco satis commode tela adigi possent et missa a Gallis gravius acciderent.
One thing prepared by our men was of great use: sharpened hooks set in and fastened to long poles, of a shape not unlike the hooks used in sieges.
Una erat magno usui res praeparata a nostris, falces praeacutae insertae adfixaeque longuriis, non absimili forma muralium falcium.
When the ropes that fastened the yards to the masts had been caught by these and drawn tight, the vessel being driven forward with the oars, they were snapped off.
His cum funes qui antemnas ad malos destinabant comprehensi adductique erant, navigio remis incitato praerumpebantur.
These cut, the yards necessarily fell, so that—since all the hope of the Gallic ships lay in their sails and rigging—these being torn away, all use of the ships was taken away at one stroke.
Quibus abscisis antemnae necessario concidebant, ut, cum omnis Gallicis navibus spes in velis armamentisque consisteret, his ereptis omnis usus navium uno tempore eriperetur.
The rest of the contest lay in valor, in which our soldiers easily had the advantage, and the more so because the thing was done in the sight of Caesar and the whole army, so that no act a little braver than the rest could pass unseen;
Reliquum erat certamen positum in virtute, qua nostri milites facile superabant, atque eo magis quod in conspectu Caesaris atque omnis exercitus res gerebatur, ut nullum paulo fortius factum latere posset;
for all the hills and higher places, from which there was a near view down upon the sea, were held by the army.
omnes enim colles ac loca superiora, unde erat propinquus despectus in mare, ab exercitu tenebantur.
The yards struck down, as we have said, when two and three ships had stood round each one, the soldiers strove with the utmost force to climb over into the enemy’s ships.
Deiectis, ut diximus, antemnis, cum singulas binae ac ternae naves circumsteterant, milites summa vi transcendere in hostium naves contendebant.
After the barbarians perceived this was being done, a number of their ships being taken, when no help for the matter could be found, they strove to seek safety in flight.
Quod postquam barbari fieri animadverterunt, expugnatis compluribus navibus, cum ei rei nullum reperiretur auxilium, fuga salutem petere contenderunt.
And now, the ships turned in the direction to which the wind was carrying them, suddenly so great a calm and stillness arose that they could not move from the spot.
Ac iam conversis in eam partem navibus quo ventus ferebat, tanta subito malacia ac tranquillitas extitit ut se ex loco movere non possent.
This indeed was of the greatest advantage for finishing the business:
Quae quidem res ad negotium conficiendum maximae fuit oportunitati:
for our men, pursuing them one by one, took them, so that very few out of the whole number reached land by the coming of night—the fighting having gone on from about the fourth hour right up to sunset.
nam singulas nostri consectati expugnaverunt, ut perpaucae ex omni numero noctis interventu ad terram per venirent, cum ab hora fere IIII usque ad solis occasum pugnaretur.
By this battle the war with the Veneti and the whole sea-coast was finished.
Quo proelio bellum Venetorum totiusque orae maritimae confectum est.
For not only had all the young men, and even all of more advanced age in whom there was any judgment or rank, gathered there, but also they had collected into one place whatever there had been of ships anywhere;
Nam cum omnis iuventus, omnes etiam gravioris aetatis in quibus aliquid consilii aut dignitatis fuit eo convenerant, tum navium quod ubique fuerat in unum locum coegerant;
these lost, the rest had nowhere to withdraw to nor any means of defending their towns.
quibus amissis reliqui neque quo se reciperent neque quem ad modum oppida defenderent habebant.
And so they surrendered themselves and all their possessions to Caesar. Against these Caesar decided that punishment must be visited the more severely, so that for the future the right of envoys might be more carefully observed by the barbarians. And so, the whole senate put to death, he sold the rest under the crown.
Itaque se suaque omnia Caesari dediderunt. In quos eo gravius Caesar vindicandum statuit quo diligentius in reliquum tempus a barbaris ius legatorum conservaretur. Itaque omni senatu necato reliquos sub corona vendidit.
While these things are being done among the Veneti, Quintus Titurius Sabinus, with the forces he had received from Caesar, reached the territory of the Venelli.
Dum haec in Venetis geruntur, Q. Titurius Sabinus cum iis copiis quas a Caesare acceperat in fines Venellorum pervenit.
Over these Viridovix was in command and held the supreme authority of all those states which had revolted, out of which he had raised an army and great forces;
His praeerat Viridovix ac summam imperii tenebat earum omnium civitatum quae defecerant, ex quibus exercitum [magnasque copias] coegerat;
and within these few days the Aulerci Eburovices and the Lexovii, having killed their own senate because they were unwilling to be the authors of war, shut their gates and joined themselves with Viridovix;
atque his paucis diebus Aulerci Eburovices Lexoviique, senatu suo interfecto quod auctores belli esse nolebant, portas clauserunt seque cum Viridovice coniunxerunt;
and besides, a great multitude of desperate men and brigands had gathered from every part of Gaul, whom the hope of plunder and the passion for war called away from farming and their daily labor.
magnaque praeterea multitudo undique ex Gallia perditorum hominum latronumque convenerat, quos spes praedandi studiumque bellandi ab agri cultura et cotidiano labore revocabat.
Sabinus kept himself in camp in a place suitable in every way, while Viridovix had taken his stand against him at a distance of two miles, and daily, leading out his forces, gave the chance of fighting, so that now Sabinus not only came into contempt with the enemy, but was even somewhat carped at by the words of our soldiers;
Sabinus idoneo omnibus rebus loco castris sese tenebat, cum Viridovix contra eum duorum milium spatio consedisset cotidieque productis copiis pugnandi potestatem faceret, ut iam non solum hostibus in contemptionem Sabinus veniret, sed etiam nostrorum militum vocibus non nihil carperetur;
and he gave so great an impression of fear that the enemy now dared to approach the very rampart of the camp.
tantamque opinionem timoris praebuit ut iam ad vallum castrorum hostes accedere auderent.
He did this for this reason: that he did not think a legate ought to fight against so great a host of the enemy, especially in the absence of the one who held the supreme command, except on level ground or some advantage being given.
Id ea de causa faciebat quod cum tanta multitudine hostium, praesertim eo absente qui summam imperii teneret, nisi aequo loco aut oportunitate aliqua data legato dimicandum non existimabat.
This impression of fear confirmed, he chooses a certain suitable and shrewd man, a Gaul, from among those whom he had with him as auxiliaries.
Hac confirmata opinione timoris idoneum quendam hominem et callidum deligit, Gallum, ex iis quos auxilii causa secum habebat.
He persuades him by great rewards and promises to go over to the enemy, and instructs him in what he wishes to be done.
Huic magnis praemiis pollicitationibusque persuadet uti ad hostes transeat, et quid fieri velit edocet.
When this man comes to them as a deserter, he sets before them the fear of the Romans, and shows by what straits Caesar himself was being pressed by the Veneti,
Qui ubi pro perfuga ad eos venit, timorem Romanorum proponit, quibus angustiis ipse Caesar a Venetis prematur docet,
and that it was not far off but that on the next night Sabinus would secretly lead his army out of camp and set out to Caesar for the sake of bringing aid.
neque longius abesse quin proxima nocte Sabinus clam ex castris exercitum educat et ad Caesarem auxilii ferendi causa proficiscatur.
When this was heard, they all cry out that the chance of doing the business well must not be let slip:
Quod ubi auditum est, conclamant omnes occasionem negotii bene gerendi amittendam non esse:
they ought to go to the camp. Many things urged the Gauls to this plan: Sabinus’s hesitation of the previous days, the deserter’s confirmation, the want of provisions, for which they had provided too carelessly, the hope of the Venetic war, and that men generally believe willingly what they wish.
ad castra iri oportere. Multae res ad hoc consilium Gallos hortabantur: superiorum dierum Sabini cunctatio, perfugae confirmatio, inopia cibariorum, cui rei parum diligenter ab iis erat provisum, spes Venetici belli, et quod fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Moved by these things, they do not dismiss Viridovix and the other leaders from the council before it was conceded by them that they should take up arms and hasten to the camp.
His rebus adducti non prius Viridovicem reliquosque duces ex concilio dimittunt quam ab iis sit concessum arma uti capiant et ad castra contendant.
This granted, rejoicing as if victory were assured, gathering brushwood and faggots with which to fill the Romans’ ditches, they advance to the camp.
Qua re concessa laeti, ut explorata victoria, sarmentis virgultisque collectis, quibus fossas Romanorum compleant, ad castra pergunt.
The site of the camp was elevated and sloped gradually upward from the bottom for about a mile. To this they hastened at a great run, so that the least possible space might be given to the Romans for rallying and arming themselves, and they arrived out of breath.
Locus erat castrorum editus et paulatim ab imo acclivis circiter passus mille. Huc magno cursu contenderunt, ut quam minimum spatii ad se colligendos armandosque Romanis daretur, exanimatique pervenerunt.
Sabinus, having encouraged his men, gives the signal to them as they desired it. The enemy being hampered by the burdens they were carrying, he orders a sortie to be made suddenly from the two gates.
Sabinus suos hortatus cupientibus signum dat. Impeditis hostibus propter ea quae ferebant onera subito duabus portis eruptionem fieri iubet.
It came about, by the advantage of the place, the enemy’s ignorance and exhaustion, the valor of the soldiers and their training in earlier battles, that they did not bear even a single charge of ours and at once turned their backs.
Factum est oportunitate loci, hostium inscientia ac defatigatione, virtute militum et superiorum pugnarum exercitatione, ut ne unum quidem nostrorum impetum ferrent ac statim terga verterent.
Our soldiers, pursuing them encumbered and with strength intact, killed a great number of them; the cavalry, following up the rest, left but few who had escaped from the flight.
Quos impeditos integris viribus milites nostri consecuti magnum numerum eorum occiderunt; reliquos equites consectati paucos, qui ex fuga evaserant, reliquerunt.
Thus at one time Sabinus was informed of the naval battle and Caesar of Sabinus’s victory, and all the states surrendered themselves at once to Titurius.
Sic uno tempore et de navali pugna Sabinus et de Sabini victoria Caesar est certior factus, civitatesque omnes se statim Titurio dediderunt.
For as the spirit of the Gauls is eager and ready for undertaking wars, so their mind is soft and by no means steadfast for enduring disasters.
Nam ut ad bella suscipienda Gallorum alacer ac promptus est animus, sic mollis ac minime resistens ad calamitates ferendas mens eorum est.
At about the same time Publius Crassus, when he had reached Aquitania—which, as was said before, is to be reckoned a third part of Gaul both in extent of regions and in number of men—understanding that he must wage war in those parts where a few years before the legate Lucius Valerius Praeconinus had been killed and his army routed, and from which the proconsul Lucius Manlius had fled with the loss of his baggage, perceived that no ordinary diligence must be employed by him.
Eodem fere tempore P. Crassus., cum in Aquitaniam pervenisset, quae [pars], ut ante dictum est, [et regionum latitudine et multitudine hominum] tertia pars Galliae est [aestimanda], cum intellegeret in iis locis sibi bellum gerendum ubi paucis ante annis L. Valerius Praeconinus legatus exercitu pulso interfectus esset atque unde L. Manlius proconsul impedimentis amissis profugisset, non mediocrem sibi diligentiam adhibendam intellegebat.
His approach learned of, the Sotiates, great forces collected, and with the cavalry in which they were strongest, attacked our column on the march and first joined a cavalry battle,
Cuius adventu cognito Sotiates magnis copiis coactis, equitatuque, quo plurimum valebant, in itinere agmen nostrum adorti primum equestre proelium commiserunt,
then, their cavalry driven back and our men pursuing, they suddenly revealed their infantry forces, which they had stationed in ambush in a valley. These, attacking our men scattered, renewed the battle.
deinde equitatu suo pulso atque insequentibus nostris subito pedestres copias, quas in convalle in insidiis conlocaverant, ostenderunt. Hi nostros disiectos adorti proelium renovarunt.
The fight was long and fierce, since the Sotiates, relying on their earlier victories, thought the safety of all Aquitania rested in their own valor, while our men were eager that it be seen what they could accomplish without the commander and without the rest of the legions, under a very young leader; at last the enemy, worn out with wounds, turned their backs.
Pugnatum est diu atque acriter, cum Sotiates superioribus victoriis freti in sua virtute totius Aquitaniae salutem positam putarent, nostri autem quid sine imperatore et sine reliquis legionibus adulescentulo duce efficere possent perspici cuperent; tandem confecti vulneribus hostes terga verterunt.
A great number of them being killed, Crassus began to assault the town of the Sotiates straight from the march. When they resisted bravely, he brought up sheds and towers.
Quorum magno numero interfecto Crassus ex itinere oppidum Sotiatium oppugnare coepit. Quibus fortiter resistentibus vineas turresque egit.
They, now attempting a sortie, now driving mines up to the mound and the sheds—at which the Aquitani are by far the most skilled, because in many places among them there are copper-mines and diggings—when they understood that nothing could be accomplished by these means against the diligence of our men, send envoys to Crassus and ask that he receive them in surrender. This obtained, ordered to hand over their arms, they do so.
Illi alias eruptione temptata, alias cuniculis ad aggerem vineasque actis (cuius rei sunt longe peritissimi Aquitani, propterea quod multis locis apud eos aerariae secturaeque sunt), ubi diligentia nostrorum nihil his rebus profici posse intellexerunt, legatos ad Crassum mittunt seque in deditionem ut recipiat petunt. Qua re impetrata arma tradere iussi faciunt.
And while the attention of all our men is fixed on that business, in another part of the town Adiatunnus, who held the supreme command, with six hundred devoted men, whom they call soldurii—
Atque in eam rem omnium nostrorum intentis animis alia ex parte oppidi Adiatunnus, qui summam imperii tenebat, cum DC devotis, quos illi soldurios appellant,
whose condition is this: that they enjoy all the comforts of life together with those to whose friendship they have given themselves, and if anything befalls them by violence, either bear the same fate together or take their own lives;
quorum haec est condicio, ut omnibus in vita commodis una cum iis fruantur quorum se amicitiae dediderint, si quid his per vim accidat, aut eundem casum una ferant aut sibi mortem consciscant;
and within the memory of men no one has been found who refused to die when the one to whose friendship he had devoted himself had been killed—
neque adhuc hominum memoria repertus est quisquam qui, eo interfecto cuius se amicitiae devovisset, mortem recusaret—
with these Adiatunnus, attempting to make a sortie, a shout being raised from that part of the fortification, when the soldiers had run to arms and there had been fierce fighting there, was driven back into the town; yet he obtained from Crassus that he should enjoy the same condition of surrender.
cum his Adiatunnus eruptionem facere conatus clamore ab ea parte munitionis sublato cum ad arma milites concurrissent vehementerque ibi pugnatum esset, repulsus in oppidum tamen uti eadem deditionis condicione uteretur a Crasso impetravit.
Armis obsidibusque acceptis, Crassus in fines Vocatium et Tarusatium profectus est.
Then indeed the barbarians, alarmed because they had learned that a town fortified both by the nature of the place and by hand had been stormed within the few days in which one had come to it, began to send envoys in every direction, to conspire, to give hostages among themselves, to muster forces.
Tum vero barbari commoti, quod oppidum et natura loci et manu munitum paucis diebus quibus eo ventum erat expugnatum cognoverant, legatos quoque versus dimittere, coniurare, obsides inter se dare, copias parare coeperunt.
Envoys are also sent to those states of Nearer Spain which border on Aquitania: from there auxiliaries and leaders are summoned.
Mittuntur etiam ad eas civitates legati quae sunt citerioris Hispaniae finitimae Aquitaniae: inde auxilia ducesque arcessuntur.
At their arrival they attempt to wage war with great authority and a great multitude of men.
Quorum adventu magna cum auctoritate et magna [cum] hominum multitudine bellum gerere conantur.
And the leaders chosen are those who had been all those years with Quintus Sertorius and were thought to have the greatest knowledge of military matters.
Duces vero ii deliguntur qui una cum Q. Sertorio omnes annos fuerant summamque scientiam rei militaris habere existimabantur.
These, after the custom of the Roman people, begin to choose positions, fortify camps, and cut our men off from supplies.
Hi consuetudine populi Romani loca capere, castra munire, commeatibus nostros intercludere instituunt.
When Crassus noticed this—that his own forces could not easily be divided because of their smallness, while the enemy both ranged about and beset the roads and yet left enough garrison for their camp, and that for this reason grain and supplies were brought up to him less conveniently, and the enemy’s number was increased day by day—he judged that he must not delay in deciding the matter by battle.
Quod ubi Crassus animadvertit, suas copias propter exiguitatem non facile diduci, hostem et vagari et vias obsidere et castris satis praesidii relinquere, ob eam causam minus commode frumentum commeatumque sibi supportari, in dies hostium numerum augeri, non cunctandum existimavit quin pugna decertaret.
This matter brought before a council, when he understood that all felt the same, he fixed the next day for battle.
Hac re ad consilium delata, ubi omnes idem sentire intellexit, posterum diem pugnae constituit.
At first light, all his forces led out and a double battle line formed, the auxiliaries thrown into the middle of the line, he waited to see what plan the enemy would take.
Prima luce productis omnibus copiis duplici acie instituta, auxiliis in mediam aciem coniectis, quid hostes consilii caperent expectabat.
They, although on account of their multitude and old glory in war and the small numbers of our men they thought they would fight in safety, nevertheless reckoned it safer, the roads beset and the supply cut off, to gain the victory without a wound,
Illi, etsi propter multitudinem et veterem belli gloriam paucitatemque nostrorum se tuto dimicaturos existimabant, tamen tutius esse arbitrabantur obsessis viis commeatu intercluso sine vulnere victoria potiri,
and, if the Romans should begin to withdraw on account of the want of grain, they planned to attack them hampered on the march and under their packs, weaker in spirit.
et si propter inopiam rei frumentariae Romani se recipere coepissent, impeditos in agmine et sub sarcinis infirmiores animo adoriri cogitabant.
This plan approved by the leaders, when the Roman forces were led out, they kept themselves in camp.
Hoc consilio probato ab ducibus, productis Romanorum copiis, sese castris tenebant.
This perceived, Crassus—since by their hesitation and the impression of fear the enemy had made our soldiers more eager to fight, and the voices of all were heard that there ought to be no longer delay in going to the camp—having encouraged his men, with all of them eager, hastened to the enemy’s camp.
Hac re perspecta Crassus, cum sua cunctatione atque opinione timoris hostes nostros milites alacriores ad pugnandum effecissent atque omnium voces audirentur expectari diutius non oportere quin ad castra iretur, cohortatus suos omnibus cupientibus ad hostium castra contendit.
There, while some filled the ditches, others, many weapons being thrown, drove the defenders from the rampart and fortifications, and the auxiliaries—in whom Crassus had no great confidence for the fight—by supplying stones and weapons and by carrying turf for the mound presented the appearance and impression of men fighting, while likewise the enemy fought steadily and not timidly and the weapons thrown from the higher ground fell not in vain,
Ibi cum alii fossas complerent, alii multis telis coniectis defensores vallo munitionibusque depellerent, auxiliaresque, quibus ad pugnam non multum Crassus confidebat, lapidibus telisque subministrandis et ad aggerem caespitibus comportandis speciem atque opinionem pugnantium praeberent, cum item ab hostibus constanter ac non timide pugnaretur telaque ex loco superiore missa non frustra acciderent,
the cavalry, having ridden round the enemy’s camp, reported back to Crassus that the camp was not fortified with the same care at the decuman gate and had an easy approach.
equites circumitis hostium castris Crasso renuntiaverunt non eadem esse diligentia ab decumana porta castra munita facilemque aditum habere.
Crassus, having encouraged the prefects of the cavalry to rouse their men by great rewards and promises, showed what he wished to be done.
Crassus equitum praefectos cohortatus, ut magnis praemiis pollicitationibusque suos excitarent, quid fieri vellet ostendit.
They, as had been ordered, leading out those cohorts which had been left as a guard for the camp and were unworn by toil, and leading them round by a longer route so that they could not be seen from the enemy’s camp, while the eyes and minds of all were intent on the fight, quickly reached the fortifications we have spoken of
Illi, ut erat imperatum, eductis iis cohortibus quae praesidio castris relictae intritae ab labore erant, et longiore itinere circumductis, ne ex hostium castris conspici possent, omnium oculis mentibusque ad pugnam intentis celeriter ad eas quas diximus munitiones pervenerunt
and, these thrown down, took their stand in the enemy’s camp before they could be plainly seen by them or what was happening could be learned.
atque his prorutis prius in hostium castris constiterunt quam plane ab his videri aut quid rei gereretur cognosci posset.
Then indeed, a shout being heard from that quarter, our men, their strength renewed—as generally happens in the hope of victory—began to attack more fiercely.
Tum vero clamore ab ea parte audito nostri redintegratis viribus, quod plerumque in spe victoriae accidere consuevit, acrius impugnare coeperunt.
The enemy, surrounded on every side, all being despaired of, strove to throw themselves down over the fortifications and seek safety in flight.
Hostes undique circumventi desperatis omnibus rebus se per munitiones deicere et fuga salutem petere contenderunt.
These the cavalry pursued over the most open plains, and out of a number of fifty thousand, which it was agreed had gathered from Aquitania and the Cantabri, with scarcely a fourth part left, returned to camp late at night.
Quos equitatus apertissimis campis consectatus ex milium L numero, quae ex Aquitania Cantabrisque convenisse constabat, vix quarta parte relicta, multa nocte se in castra recepit.
a few of the remotest nations, trusting in the season of the year, because winter was at hand, neglected to do this.
paucae ultimae nationes anni tempore confisae, quod hiems suberat, id facere neglexerunt.
At about the same time Caesar, although the summer was now nearly spent, nevertheless, because, with all Gaul at peace, the Morini and Menapii remained, who were under arms and had never sent envoys to him about peace, thinking that this war could be quickly finished, led his army there; and they began to wage war in a far different fashion from the rest of the Gauls.
Eodem fere tempore Caesar, etsi prope exacta iam aestas erat, tamen, quod omni Gallia pacata Morini Menapiique supererant, qui in armis essent neque ad eum umquam legatos de pace misissent, arbitratus id bellum celeriter confici posse eo exercitum duxit; qui longe alia ratione ac reliqui Galli bellum gerere coeperunt.
For because they understood that the greatest nations, which had contended in battle, had been driven back and overcome, and they had continuous forests and marshes, they betook themselves and all their possessions there.
Nam quod intellegebant maximas nationes, quae proelio contendissent, pulsas superatasque esse, continentesque silvas ac paludes habebant, eo se suaque omnia contulerunt.
When Caesar had reached the edge of these forests and had begun to fortify a camp, and no enemy had meanwhile been seen, while our men were dispersed at the work, they suddenly flew out from all parts of the forest and made an attack upon our men.
Ad quarum initium silvarum cum Caesar pervenisset castraque munire instituisset neque hostis interim visus esset, dispersis in opere nostris subito ex omnibus partibus silvae evolaverunt et in nostros impetum fecerunt.
Our men quickly took up arms and drove them back into the forests, and, a number being killed, by pursuing too far through more difficult ground they lost a few of their own.
Nostri celeriter arma ceperunt eosque in silvas repulerunt et compluribus interfectis longius impeditioribus locis secuti paucos ex suis deperdiderunt.
On the remaining days following, Caesar began to cut down the forests, and, lest any attack could be made on the flank against the soldiers unarmed and off their guard, he placed all the timber that had been cut turned toward the enemy and piled it up as a rampart on either flank.
Reliquis deinceps diebus Caesar silvas caedere instituit, et ne quis inermibus imprudentibusque militibus ab latere impetus fieri posset, omnem eam materiam quae erat caesa conversam ad hostem conlocabat et pro vallo ad utrumque latus extruebat.
A great space being completed in a few days with incredible speed, when the cattle and the rearmost baggage were already held by our men and they themselves were making for the denser forests, storms of such a kind followed that the work necessarily had to be broken off, and by the continuance of the rains the soldiers could no longer be kept under the hides.
Incredibili celeritate magno spatio paucis diebus confecto, cum iam pecus atque extrema impedimenta a nostris tenerentur, ipsi densiores silvas peterent, eius modi sunt tempestates consecutae uti opus necessario intermitteretur et continuatione imbrium diutius sub pellibus milites contineri non possent.
And so, all their fields laid waste, their villages and buildings burned, Caesar led the army back and stationed it in winter quarters among the Aulerci and Lexovii and the rest of the states likewise which had lately made war.
Itaque vastatis omnibus eorum agris, vicis aedificiisque incensis, Caesar exercitum reduxit et in Aulercis Lexoviisque, reliquis item civitatibus quae proxime bellum fecerant, in hibernis conlocavit.
In the winter that followed—the year of the consulship of Gnaeus Pompey and Marcus Crassus—the Usipetes, a German people, and likewise the Tencteri crossed the river Rhine with a great host of men, not far from the sea into which the Rhine flows.
Ea quae secuta est hieme, qui fuit annus Cn. Pompeio, M. Crasso consulibus, Usipetes Germani et item Tencteri magna [cum] multitudine hominum flumen Rhenum transierunt, non longe a mari, quo Rhenus influit.
The reason for their crossing was that for several years they had been harried and pressed by war with the Suebi and kept from tilling their land.
Causa transeundi fuit quod ab Suebis complures annos exagitati bello premebantur et agri cultura prohibebantur.
The Suebi are by far the largest and most warlike people of all the Germans.
Sueborum gens est longe maxima et bellicosissima Germanorum omnium.
They are said to have a hundred cantons, from each of which they lead out a thousand armed men every year for the purpose of waging war beyond their borders. The rest, who have stayed at home, support both themselves and the others;
Hi centum pagos habere dicuntur, ex quibus quotannis singula milia armatorum bellandi causa ex finibus educunt. Reliqui, qui domi manserunt, se atque illos alunt;
the next year these in turn are under arms, and the others remain at home.
hi rursus in vicem anno post in armis sunt, illi domi remanent.
Thus neither the tilling of the land nor the method and practice of war is interrupted.
Sic neque agri cultura nec ratio atque usus belli intermittitur.
But among them there is no private and separate landholding, nor is it permitted to remain longer than one year in one place for the sake of cultivation.
Sed privati ac separati agri apud eos nihil est, neque longius anno remanere uno in loco colendi causa licet.
They do not live much on grain, but for the most part on milk and on their cattle, and they are much given to hunting;
Neque multum frumento, sed maximam partem lacte atque pecore vivunt multum sunt in venationibus;
and this—by the kind of food, by daily exercise, and by the freedom of their life, since from boyhood they are schooled to no duty or discipline and do nothing at all against their will—both nourishes their strength and produces men of enormous bodily size.
quae res et cibi genere et cotidiana exercitatione et libertate vitae, quod a pueris nullo officio aut disciplina adsuefacti nihil omnino contra voluntatem faciunt, et vires alit et immani corporum magnitudine homines efficit.
And they have brought themselves to such a habit that even in the coldest regions they wear no clothing but skins—and these so scanty that a great part of the body is bare—and they bathe in the rivers.
Atque in eam se consuetudinem adduxerunt ut locis frigidissimis neque vestitus praeter pelles habeant quicquam, quarum propter exiguitatem magna est corporis pars aperta, et laventur in fluminibus.
Merchants have access to them rather so that they may have buyers for what they take in war than because they desire to have anything imported to them.
Mercatoribus est aditus magis eo ut quae bello ceperint quibus vendant habeant, quam quo ullam rem ad se importari desiderent.
Indeed, even the draft animals in which the Gauls take the greatest delight and which they procure at a high price, the Germans do not use imported ones; but those that are bred among them, small and ill-shaped, they make capable of the utmost exertion by daily training.
Quin etiam iumentis, quibus maxime Galli delectantur quaeque impenso parant pretio, Germani importatis non utuntur, sed quae sunt apud eos nata, parva atque deformia, haec cotidiana exercitatione summi ut sint laboris efficiunt.
In cavalry engagements they often leap down from their horses and fight on foot, having trained the horses to stay where they are, and they fall back to them quickly when there is need;
Equestribus proeliis saepe ex equis desiliunt ac pedibus proeliantur, equos eodem remanere vestigio adsuefecerunt, ad quos se celeriter, cum usus est, recipiunt:
and by their custom nothing is held more disgraceful or more slack than to use saddles.
neque eorum moribus turpius quicquam aut inertius habetur quam ephippiis uti.
And so, however few they are, they dare to ride up against any number of saddled cavalry.
Itaque ad quemvis numerum ephippiatorum equitum quamvis pauci adire audent.
They do not permit wine to be imported to them at all, because they think that by it men grow soft for the endurance of toil and are made effeminate.
Vinum omnino ad se importari non patiuntur, quod ea re ad laborem ferendum remollescere homines atque effeminari arbitrantur.
As a people they count it the highest distinction that the lands about their borders should lie waste over as wide a stretch as possible: by this it is signified that a great number of states could not withstand their might.
Publice maximam putant esse laudem quam latissime a suis finibus vacare agros: hac re significari magnum numerum civitatum suam vim sustinere non posse.
And so on one side of the Suebi the fields are said to lie empty for about a hundred miles.
Itaque una ex parte a Suebis circiter milia passuum C agri vacare dicuntur.
On the other side come the Ubii, whose state was large and flourishing, as Germans go; these, though they are of the same stock, are somewhat more civilized than the rest, because they touch the Rhine and merchants come to them frequently, and because, by their nearness, they have grown accustomed to Gallic ways.
Ad alteram partem succedunt Ubii, quorum fuit civitas ampla atque florens, ut est captus Germanorum; ii paulo, quamquam sunt eiusdem generis, sunt ceteris humaniores, propterea quod Rhenum attingunt multum ad eos mercatores ventitant et ipsi propter propinquitatem [quod] Gallicis sunt moribus adsuefacti.
Though the Suebi, having often tried them in many wars, had not been able to drive them from their borders on account of the size and weight of their state, they nevertheless made them tributary and reduced them to much lower and weaker condition.
Hos cum Suebi multis saepe bellis experti propter amplitudinem gravitatem civitatis finibus expellere non potuissent, tamen vectigales sibi fecerunt ac multo humiliores infirmiores redegerunt.
In the same situation were the Usipetes and Tencteri, of whom we have spoken above; for several years they withstood the might of the Suebi,
In eadem causa fuerunt Usipetes et Tencteri, quos supra diximus; qui complures annos Sueborum vim sustinuerunt,
but at the last, driven from their lands and having wandered for three years through many parts of Germany, they reached the Rhine, in the regions the Menapii inhabited. These held fields, buildings, and villages on both banks of the river;
ad extremum tamen agris expulsi et multis locis Germaniae triennium vagati ad Rhenum pervenerunt, quas regiones Menapii incolebant. Hi ad utramque ripam fluminis agros, aedificia vicosque habebant;
but, terrified by the coming of so great a host, they had moved away from those buildings they had held across the river, and, posting garrisons on the near side of the Rhine, kept the Germans from crossing.
sed tantae multitudinis adventu perterriti ex iis aedificiis quae trans flumen habuerant demigraverant, et cis Rhenum dispositis praesidiis Germanos transire prohibebant.
The Germans, having tried everything, since they could neither force a passage for want of ships nor cross secretly because of the Menapian guards,
Illi omnia experti, cum neque vi contendere propter inopiam navium neque clam transire propter custodias Menapiorum possent,
pretended to return to their own homes and regions, and after advancing a three days’ march turned back again; and, the whole of this distance being covered by the cavalry in a single night, they fell upon the Menapii unawares and unsuspecting,
reverti se in suas sedes regionesque simulaverunt et tridui viam progressi rursus reverterunt atque omni hoc itinere una nocte equitatu confecto inscios inopinantes Menapios oppresserunt,
for these, informed by their scouts of the Germans’ departure, had moved back without fear across the Rhine into their own villages.
qui de Germanorum discessu per exploratores certiores facti sine metu trans Rhenum in suos vicos remigraverant.
These being killed and their ships seized, before that part of the Menapii which was on the near side of the Rhine could be informed, they crossed the river, and, having taken possession of all their buildings, fed themselves for the rest of the winter on the Menapii’s stores.
His interfectis navibus eorum occupatis, prius quam ea pars Menapiorum quae citra Rhenum erat certior fieret, flumen transierunt atque omnibus eorum aedificiis occupatis reliquam partem hiemis se eorum copiis aluerunt.
Informed of these matters, Caesar—fearing the fickleness of the Gauls, since they are changeable in forming their resolves and for the most part bent on revolution—judged that nothing should be entrusted to them.
His de rebus Caesar certior factus et infirmitatem Gallorum veritus, quod sunt in consiliis capiendis mobiles et novis plerumque rebus student, nihil his committendum existimavit.
For it is a habit of Gallic custom to compel travelers, even against their will, to halt, and to ask what each of them has heard or learned about any matter, and in the towns the common crowd surrounds merchants and compels them to declare from what regions they come and what they have learned there.
Est enim hoc Gallicae consuetudinis, uti et viatores etiam invitos consistere cogant et quid quisque eorum de quaque re audierit aut cognoverit quaerant et mercatores in oppidis vulgus circumsistat quibus ex regionibus veniant quas ibi res cognoverint pronuntiare cogat.
Stirred by these things and by such hearsay, they often form plans on the gravest matters, of which they must straightway repent, since they are slaves to uncertain rumors and most men answer their wishes with fabrications.
His rebus atque auditionibus permoti de summis saepe rebus consilia ineunt, quorum eos in vestigio paenitere necesse est, cum incertis rumoribus serviant et pleri ad voluntatem eorum ficta respondeant.
This custom being known, Caesar, lest he should be met by a graver war, set out for the army earlier than he was wont.
Qua consuetudine cognita Caesar, ne graviori bello, occurreret, maturius quam consuerat ad exercitum proficiscitur.
When he had come there, he learned that what he had suspected would happen had happened:
Eo cum venisset, ea quae fore suspicatus erat facta cognovit:
that embassies had been sent by some of the states to the Germans, inviting them to leave the Rhine, and that all they had demanded would be made ready for them.
missas legationes ab non nullis civitatibus ad Germanos invitatos eos uti ab Rheno discederent: omnia quae[que] postulassent ab se fore parata.
Drawn on by this hope, the Germans were now ranging more widely and had reached the territory of the Eburones and the Condrusi, who are clients of the Treveri.
Qua spe adducti Germani latius iam vagabantur et in fines Eburonum et Condrusorum, qui sunt Treverorum clientes, pervenerant.
Caesar, having summoned the leading men of Gaul, thought it best to conceal what he had learned, and, their spirits soothed and reassured, ordered up the cavalry and resolved to wage war with the Germans.
Principibus Gallice evocatis Caesar ea quae cognoverat dissimulanda sibi existimavit, eorumque animis permulsis et confirmatis equitatu imperato bellum cum Germanis gerere constituit.
The grain supply arranged and his cavalry chosen, he began to march into those regions in which he heard the Germans were.
Re frumentaria comparata equitibusque delectis iter in ea loca facere coepit, quibus in locis esse Germanos audiebat.
When he was a few days’ march from them, envoys came from them, whose speech was as follows:
A quibus cum paucorum dierum iter abesset, legati ab iis venerunt, quorum haec fuit oratio:
that the Germans neither made war upon the Roman people first, nor yet refused, if provoked, to contend in arms, since this was the custom of the Germans, handed down from their forefathers—to resist whoever made war on them, and not to beg off. Yet they said this: that they had come unwillingly, driven from home;
Germanos neque priores populo Romano bellum inferre neque tamen recusare, si lacessantur, quin armis contendant, quod Germanorum consuetudo [haec] sit a maioribus tradita, Quicumque bellum inferant, resistere neque deprecari. Haec tamen dicere venisse invitos, eiectos domo;
if the Romans wished their goodwill, they could be useful friends to them; let them either assign them lands, or let them keep what they had won by arms.
si suam gratiam Romani velint, posse iis utiles esse amicos; vel sibi agros attribuant vel patiantur eos tenere quos armis possederint:
They yielded, they said, to the Suebi alone, to whom not even the immortal gods could be equal; there was no one else on earth, indeed, whom they could not overcome.
sese unis Suebis concedere, quibus ne di quidem immortales pares esse possint; reliquum quidem in terris esse neminem quem non superare possint.
To this Caesar replied as seemed good; but the conclusion of his speech was this: that there could be no friendship between him and them if they remained in Gaul;
Ad haec Caesar quae visum est respondit; sed exitus fuit orationis: sibi nullam cum iis amicitiam esse posse, si in Gallia remanerent;
that it was not right that men who had not been able to defend their own borders should seize the lands of others; nor were there any lands lying vacant in Gaul which could be given, above all to so great a host, without wrong to others;
neque verum esse, qui suos fines tueri non potuerint alienos occupare; neque ullos in Gallia vacare agros qui dari tantae praesertim multitudini sine iniuria possint;
but they were permitted, if they wished, to settle in the territory of the Ubii, whose envoys were with him to complain of the wrongs done by the Suebi and to seek his aid: this he would command the Ubii to grant.
sed licere, si velint, in Ubiorum finibus considere, quorum sint legati apud se et de Sueborum iniuriis querantur et a se auxilium petant: hoc se Ubiis imperaturum.
The envoys said they would report this to their people, and, after deliberation, would return to Caesar on the third day; meanwhile they asked that he not move his camp nearer.
Legati haec se ad suos relaturos dixerunt et re deliberata post diem tertium ad Caesarem reversuros: interea ne propius se castra moveret petierunt.
Not even this, Caesar said, could be obtained from him.
Ne id quidem Caesar ab se impetrari posse dixit.
For he had learned that a great part of their cavalry had been sent some days before across the Meuse to the Ambivariti for the sake of plunder and grain: he judged that these horsemen were being awaited, and that delay was being interposed for that reason.
Cognoverat enim magnam partem equitatus ab iis aliquot diebus ante praedandi frumentandi causa ad Ambivaritos trans Mosam missam: hos expectari equites atque eius rei causa moram interponi arbitrabatur.
[The Meuse flows from Mount Vosges, which is in the territory of the Lingones, and, having received a certain branch from the Rhine which is called the Waal, forms the island of the Batavi, and flows into the Ocean,
and no farther than eighty miles from the Ocean it flows into the Rhine.
neque longius ab Oceano milibus passuum LXXX in Rhenum influit.
The Rhine, for its part, rises among the Lepontii, who inhabit the Alps, and is carried in a swift course over a long stretch through the lands of the Nantuates, the Helvetii, the Sequani, the Mediomatrici, the Tribocae, and the Treveri, and,
Rhenus autem oritur ex Lepontiis, qui Alpes incolunt, et longo spatio per fines Nantuatium, Helvetiorum, Sequanorum, Mediomatricorum, Tribocorum, Treverorum citatus fertur et,
when it has come near the Ocean, divides into several channels, forming many huge islands, a great part of which are inhabited by wild and barbarous nations—
ubi Oceano adpropinquavit, in plures diffluit partes multis ingentibus insulis effectis, quarum pars magna a feris barbaris nationibus incolitur,
among whom are some thought to live on fish and the eggs of birds—and it flows into the Ocean by many mouths.]
ex quibus sunt qui piscibus atque ovis avium vivere existimantur, multis capitibus in Oceanum influit.]
When Caesar was no more than twelve miles from the enemy, the envoys returned to him as had been arranged; and, meeting him on the march, they earnestly begged that he advance no farther.
Caesar cum ab hoste non amplius passuum XII milibus abesset, ut erat constitutum, ad eum legati revertuntur; qui in itinere congressi magnopere ne longius progrederetur orabant.
When they had not obtained this, they asked that he send forward to the cavalry that had gone ahead of the column and keep them from battle, and that he grant them leave to send envoys to the Ubii;
Cum id non impetrassent, petebant uti ad eos [equites] qui agmen antecessissent praemitteret eos pugna prohiberet, sibique ut potestatem faceret in Ubios legatos mittendi;
and they made plain that, if the chiefs and council of the Ubii pledged faith to them by oath, they would accept the terms offered by Caesar: let him give them three days’ space to settle these matters.
quorum si principes ac senatus sibi iure iurando fidem fecisset, ea condicione quae a Caesare ferretur se usuros ostendebant: ad has res conficiendas sibi tridui spatium daret.
Caesar judged that all this tended to the same end—that by interposing three days’ delay their absent horsemen might return; nevertheless he said that on that day he would advance no farther than four miles, for the sake of water:
Haec omnia Caesar eodem illo pertinere arbitrabatur ut tridui mora interposita equites eorum qui abessent reverterentur; tamen sese non longius milibus passuum IIII aquationis causa processurum eo die dixit:
let them come to that place the next day in as great a number as they could, so that he might take cognizance of their demands.
huc postero die quam frequentissimi convenirent, ut de eorum postulatis cognosceret.
Meanwhile he sent to the prefects who had gone ahead with all the cavalry, to bid them not to provoke the enemy to battle, and, if they themselves were provoked, to hold their ground until he had come nearer with the army.
Interim ad praefectos, qui cum omni equitatu antecesserant, mittit qui nuntiarent ne hostes proelio lacesserent, et si ipsi lacesserentur, sustinerent quoad ipse cum exercitu propius accessisset.
But the enemy, as soon as they caught sight of our cavalry—of whom the number was five thousand, while they themselves had no more than eight hundred horse, because those who had gone across the Meuse for grain had not yet returned—when our men feared nothing, since their envoys had left Caesar a little before and that day had been requested by them for a truce, made a charge and quickly threw our men into disorder;
At hostes, ubi primum nostros equites conspexerunt, quorum erat V milium numerus, cum ipsi non amplius DCCC equites haberent, quod ii qui frumentandi causa ierant trans Mosam profecti nondum redierant, nihil timentibus nostris, quod legati eorum paulo ante a Caesare discesserant atque is dies indutiis erat ab his petitus, impetu facto celeriter nostros perturbaverunt;
and, when these resisted, by their custom they leapt down to fight on foot, and, stabbing our horses from beneath and bringing many of our men down, threw the rest into flight and drove them in such panic that they did not cease their flight until they came in sight of our column.
rursus his resistentibus consuetudine sua ad pedes desiluerunt subfossis equis compluribus nostris deiectis reliquos in fugam coniecerunt atque ita perterritos egerunt ut non prius fuga desisterent quam in conspectum agminis nostri venissent.
In that engagement seventy-four of our cavalry were killed,
In eo proelio ex equitibus nostris interficiuntur IIII et LXX,
among them Piso of Aquitania, a man of the greatest courage, born of a most distinguished family, whose grandfather had held the kingship in his own state and had been named friend by our Senate.
in his vir fortissimus Piso Aquitanus, amplissimo genere natus, cuius avus in civitate sua regnum obtinuerat amicus a senatu nostro appellatus.
He, while bringing aid to his brother who had been cut off by the enemy, rescued him from danger, but, his own horse wounded, was thrown and, as long as he could, resisted most bravely;
Hic cum fratri intercluso ab hostibus auxilium ferret, illum ex periculo eripuit, ipse equo vulnerato deiectus, quoad potuit, fortissime restitit;
when, surrounded and having received many wounds, he fell, and his brother, who had now withdrawn from the fight, noticed it from afar, he spurred his horse, flung himself upon the enemy, and was killed.
cum circumventus multis vulneribus acceptis cecidisset atque id frater, qui iam proelio excesserat, procul animadvertisset, incitato equo se hostibus obtulit atque interfectus est.
After this engagement Caesar judged that he need no longer give audience to envoys nor accept terms from men who, having sought peace by guile and treachery, had of their own accord made war;
Hoc facto proelio Caesar neque iam sibi legatos audiendos neque condiciones accipiendas arbitrabatur ab iis qui per dolum atque insidias petita pace ultro bellum intulissent;
and to wait until the enemy’s forces should grow and their cavalry return he judged the height of madness,
expectare vero dum hostium copiae augerentur equitatus reverteretur summae dementiae esse iudicabat,
and, knowing the fickleness of the Gauls, he saw how much standing the enemy had already won among them by a single battle; he reckoned that no space should be given them for forming plans.
et cognita Gallorum infirmitate quantum iam apud eos hostes uno proelio auctoritatis essent consecuti sentiebat; quibus ad consilia capienda nihil spatii dandum existimabat.
These things resolved, and his purpose shared with his legates and quaestor—that he might let no day for battle slip—a most opportune thing occurred: for on the morning of the next day, with the same treachery and dissimulation, the Germans came to him in the camp in great numbers, all their chiefs and elders being brought along,
His constitutis rebus et consilio cum legatis et quaestore communicato, ne quem diem pugnae praetermitteret, oportunissima res accidit, quod postridie eius diei mane eadem et perfidia et simulatione usi Germani frequentes, omnibus principibus maioribusque natu adhibitis, ad eum in castra venerunt,
at once, as was said, to clear themselves, because contrary to what had been said—and what they themselves had asked—they had joined battle the day before, and at the same time to obtain by deceit, if they could, something concerning the truce.
simul, ut dicebatur, sui purgandi causa, quod contra atque esset dictum et ipsi petissent, proelium pridie commisissent, simul ut, si quid possent, de indutiis fallendo impetrarent.
Caesar, glad that they had offered themselves to him, ordered them detained; he himself led all his forces out of camp, and ordered the cavalry, because he thought it shaken by the recent engagement, to follow in the rear of the column.
Quos sibi Caesar oblatos gavisus illos retineri iussit; ipse omnes copias castris eduxit equitatumque, quod recenti proelio perterritum esse existimabat, agmen subsequi iussit.
A triple battle line drawn up and an eight-mile march swiftly completed, he reached the enemy’s camp before the Germans could perceive what was happening.
Acie triplici instituta et celeriter VIII milium itinere confecto, prius ad hostium castra pervenit quam quid ageretur Germani sentire possent.
They, suddenly terrified by everything—both by the speed of our coming and by the absence of their own—and given no time to take counsel or to seize arms, were thrown into confusion over whether it were better to lead their forces against the foe, or to defend the camp, or to seek safety in flight.
Qui omnibus rebus subito perterriti et celeritate adventus nostri et discessu suorum, neque consilii habendi neque arma capiendi spatio dato perturbantur, copiasne adversus hostem ducere an castra defendere an fuga salutem petere praestaret.
Their fear being betrayed by the uproar and the running to and fro, our soldiers, fired by the previous day’s treachery, burst into the camp.
Quorum timor cum fremitu et concursu significaretur, milites nostri pristini diei perfidia incitati in castra inruperunt.
There those who could swiftly take up arms resisted our men for a little while and joined battle among the carts and baggage;
Quo loco qui celeriter arma capere potuerunt paulisper nostris restiterunt atque inter carros impedimenta proelium commiserunt;
but the rest of the host of children and women (for they had left home and crossed the Rhine with all their people) began to flee in every direction, and Caesar sent the cavalry to hunt them down.
at reliqua multitudo puerorum mulierumque (nam cum omnibus suis domo excesserant Rhenum transierant) passim fugere coepit, ad quos consectandos Caesar equitatum misit.
The Germans, hearing the shout behind them and seeing their people being killed, flung away their arms, abandoned their standards, and hurled themselves out of the camp,
Germani post tergum clamore audito, cum suos interfici viderent, armis abiectis signis militaribus relictis se ex castris eiecerunt,
and when they had reached the confluence of the Meuse and the Rhine, all further flight being hopeless, a great number having been killed, the rest threw themselves into the river and there perished, overcome by terror, by exhaustion, and by the force of the current.
et cum ad confluentem Mosae et Rheni pervenissent, reliqua fuga desperata, magno numero interfecto, reliqui se in flumen praecipitaverunt atque ibi timore, lassitudine, vi fluminis oppressi perierunt.
Our men, every one of them safe, with very few wounded, withdrew into camp out of the fear of so great a war—though the number of the enemy had been four hundred and thirty thousand souls.
Nostri ad unum omnes incolumes, perpaucis vulneratis, ex tanti belli timore, cum hostium numerus capitum CCCCXXX milium fuisset, se in castra receperunt.
Caesar granted leave to depart to those he had detained in the camp.
Caesar iis quos in castris retinuerat discedendi potestatem fecit.
They, dreading the punishments and torments of the Gauls whose lands they had harried, said they wished to remain with him. Caesar granted them their freedom.
Illi supplicia cruciatusque Gallorum veriti, quorum agros vexaverant, remanere se apud eum velle dixerunt. His Caesar libertatem concessit.
The German war finished, Caesar determined, for many reasons, that he must cross the Rhine; of these the most justified was this: that, since he saw the Germans so easily induced to come into Gaul, he wished them to fear for their own affairs as well, when they understood that the army of the Roman people both could and dared cross the Rhine.
Germanico bello confecto multis de causis Caesar statuit sibi Rhenum esse transeundum; quarum illa fuit iustissima quod, cum videret Germanos tam facile impelli ut in Galliam venirent, suis quoque rebus eos timere voluit, cum intellegerent et posse et audere populi Romani exercitum Rhenum transire.
There was added also that that part of the cavalry of the Usipetes and Tencteri which, as I have mentioned above, had crossed the Meuse for the sake of plunder and grain and had not been present at the battle, had, after the flight of their people, withdrawn across the Rhine into the territory of the Sugambri and joined themselves with them.
Accessit etiam quod illa pars equitatus Usipetum et Tencterorum, quam supra commemoravi praedandi frumentandique causa Mosam transisse neque proelio interfuisse, post fugam suorum se trans Rhenum in fines Sugambrorum receperat seque cum his coniunxerat.
When Caesar had sent messengers to them demanding that they surrender those who had made war on him and on Gaul, they answered:
Ad quos cum Caesar nuntios misisset, qui postularent eos qui sibi Galliae bellum intulissent sibi dederent, responderunt:
that the empire of the Roman people ended at the Rhine; if he thought it not right that the Germans should cross into Gaul against his will, why should he demand that anything beyond the Rhine should be of his empire or authority?
populi Romani imperium Rhenum finire; si se invito Germanos in Galliam transire non aequum existimaret, cur sui quicquam esse imperii aut potestatis trans Rhenum postularet?
The Ubii, however, who alone among the peoples across the Rhine had sent envoys to Caesar, had made friendship and given hostages, earnestly begged that he bring them aid, because they were grievously pressed by the Suebi;
Ubii autem, qui uni ex Transrhenanis ad Caesarem legatos miserant, amicitiam fecerant, obsides dederant, magnopere orabant ut sibi auxilium ferret, quod graviter ab Suebis premerentur;
or, if he were prevented from doing this by the business of the commonwealth, let him only carry his army across the Rhine: that would be enough for their aid and for the hope of time to come.
vel, si id facere occupationibus rei publicae prohiberetur, exercitum modo Rhenum transportaret: id sibi ad auxilium spemque reliqui temporis satis futurum.
So great, they said, was the name and repute of his army, after Ariovistus had been driven out and this latest battle fought, even among the remotest nations of the Germans, that they could be safe in the repute and friendship of the Roman people.
Tantum esse nomen atque opinionem eius exercitus Ariovisto pulso et hoc novissimo proelio facto etiam ad ultimas Germanorum nationes, uti opinione et amicitia populi Romani tuti esse possint.
They promised a great supply of ships for carrying the army across.
Navium magnam copiam ad transportandum exercitum pollicebantur.
Caesar, for the reasons I have mentioned, had resolved to cross the Rhine; but to cross by ship he judged neither safe enough nor consistent with his own dignity or that of the Roman people.
Caesar his de causis quas commemoravi Rhenum transire decreverat; sed navibus transire neque satis tutum esse arbitrabatur neque suae neque populi Romani dignitatis esse statuebat.
And so, although the utmost difficulty of building a bridge presented itself, on account of the breadth, the swiftness, and the depth of the river, he nevertheless judged that he must strive for it, or else not lead his army across at all.
Itaque, etsi summa difficultas faciendi pontis proponebatur propter latitudinem, rapiditatem altitudinemque fluminis, tamen id sibi contendendum aut aliter non traducendum exercitum existimabat.
The plan of the bridge he set up was this. He joined together pairs of piles a foot and a half thick, sharpened a little toward the bottom, measured to the depth of the river, at an interval of two feet between them.
Rationem pontis hanc instituit. Tigna bina sesquipedalia paulum ab imo praeacuta dimensa ad altitudinem fluminis intervallo pedum duorum inter se iungebat.
These he let down into the river by machines, fixed them, and drove them home with pile-drivers, not upright after the manner of a pile, but sloping and inclined forward, so that they leaned with the flow of the river;
Haec cum machinationibus immissa in flumen defixerat fistucisque adegerat, non sublicae modo derecte ad perpendiculum, sed prone ac fastigate, ut secundum naturam fluminis procumberent,
and over against these he set two others joined in the same way, forty feet apart at the lower end, turned against the force and rush of the river.
iis item contraria duo ad eundem modum iuncta intervallo pedum quadragenum ab inferiore parte contra vim atque impetu fluminis conversa statuebat.
Both of these pairs were held apart, by two-foot beams let in above—the width of the joined piles—and braced at the outer end by a pair of ties on either side;
Haec utraque insuper bipedalibus trabibus immissis, quantum eorum tignorum iunctura distabat, binis utrimque fibulis ab extrema parte distinebantur;
and these being kept apart and bound in opposite directions, so great was the firmness of the work and such its nature that, the greater the force of water that drove against it, the more tightly its parts were held bound together.
quibus disclusis atque in contrariam partem revinctis, tanta erat operis firmitudo atque ea rerum natura ut, quo maior vis aquae se incitavisset, hoc artius inligata tenerentur.
These were spanned by timber laid across and floored with poles and wickerwork;
Haec derecta materia iniecta contexebantur ac longuriis cratibusque consternebantur;
and none the less, piles were driven in aslant at the lower side of the river, which, set under like a buttress and joined with the whole structure, took the force of the river,
ac nihilo setius sublicae et ad inferiorem partem fluminis oblique agebantur, quae pro ariete subiectae et cum omni opere coniunctae vim fluminis exciperent,
and others likewise a little above the bridge, so that, if the barbarians sent down tree-trunks or ships to throw down the work, by these defenses the force of such things might be lessened and they might not harm the bridge.
et aliae item supra pontem mediocri spatio, ut, si arborum trunci sive naves deiciendi operis causa essent a barbaris missae, his defensoribus earum rerum vis minueretur neu ponti nocerent.
Within ten days from the time the timber began to be brought up, the whole work being completed, the army was led across.
Diebus X, quibus materia coepta erat comportari, omni opere effecto exercitus traducitur.
Caesar, having left a strong garrison at each end of the bridge, pressed on into the territory of the Sugambri.
Caesar ad utramque partem pontis firmo praesidio relicto in fines Sugambrorum contendit.
Meanwhile envoys came to him from several states; to these, seeking peace and friendship, he replied generously, and ordered hostages to be brought to him.
Interim a compluribus civitatibus ad eum legati veniunt; quibus pacem atque amicitiam petentibus liberaliter respondet obsidesque ad se adduci iubet.
But the Sugambri, from the time the bridge began to be built, had prepared for flight—urged on by those of the Tencteri and Usipetes whom they had with them—had left their borders, carried off all their goods, and hidden themselves in the wilderness and the forests.
At Sugambri, ex eo tempore quo pons institui coeptus est fuga comparata, hortantibus iis quos ex Tencteris atque Usipetibus apud se habebant, finibus suis excesserant suaque omnia exportaverant seque in solitudinem ac silvas abdiderant.
Caesar, having stayed a few days in their territory, all the villages and buildings burned and the crops cut down, withdrew into the territory of the Ubii, and, having promised them his aid if they were pressed by the Suebi, learned this from them:
Caesar paucos dies in eorum finibus moratus, omnibus vicis aedificiisque incensis frumentisque succisis, se in fines Ubiorum recepit atque his auxilium suum pollicitus, si a Suebis premerentur, haec ab iis cognovit:
that the Suebi, after they had learned through their scouts that the bridge was being built, had held a council after their custom and sent messengers in all directions, bidding the people remove from the towns, place their children, wives, and all their goods in the forests, and that all who could bear arms assemble in one place.
Suebos, postea quam per exploratores pontem fieri comperissent, more suo concilio habito nuntios in omnes partes dimisisse, uti de oppidis demigrarent, liberos, uxores suaque omnia in silvis deponerent atque omnes qui arma ferre possent unum in locum convenirent.
This place was about the center of the regions the Suebi held; here they had resolved to await the coming of the Romans and to fight it out.
Hunc esse delectum medium fere regionum earum quas Suebi obtinerent; hic Romanorum adventum expectare atque ibi decertare constituisse.
When Caesar learned this, all those things being accomplished for the sake of which he had resolved to lead his army across—to strike fear into the Germans, to take vengeance on the Sugambri, to free the Ubii from siege—and eighteen days in all having been spent across the Rhine, he judged that he had gone far enough both for honor and for advantage, and withdrew into Gaul and broke down the bridge.
Quod ubi Caesar comperit, omnibus iis rebus confectis, quarum rerum causa exercitum traducere constituerat, ut Germanis metum iniceret, ut Sugambros ulcisceretur, ut Ubios obsidione liberaret, diebus omnino XVIII trans Rhenum consumptis, satis et ad laudem et ad utilitatem profectum arbitratus se in Galliam recepit pontemque rescidit.
Though only a small part of the summer was left, and though in those parts the winters come early, since all Gaul lies toward the north, Caesar nevertheless pressed on to set out for Britain, because he understood that in almost all the Gallic wars aid had been furnished to our enemies from there,
Exigua parte aestatis reliqua Caesar, etsi in his locis, quod omnis Gallia ad septentriones vergit, maturae sunt hiemes, tamen in Britanniam proficisci contendit, quod omnibus fere Gallicis bellis hostibus nostris inde subministrata auxilia intellegebat,
and, even if the season should fail him for waging war, he thought it would be of great use to him merely to have visited the island, to have seen the character of the people, and to have learned the lay of the land, the harbors, and the approaches—all of which were almost unknown to the Gauls.
et si tempus anni ad bellum gerendum deficeret, tamen magno sibi usui fore arbitrabatur, si modo insulam adiisset, genus hominum perspexisset, loca, portus, aditus cognovisset; quae omnia fere Gallis erant incognita.
For no one goes there lightly except merchants, and even to these nothing is known beyond the seacoast and those regions which face Gaul.
Neque enim temere praeter mercatores illo adit quisquam, neque his ipsis quicquam praeter oram maritimam atque eas regiones quae sunt contra Galliam notum est.
And so, though he called merchants to him from every quarter, he could discover neither how great the island was, nor what or how many nations inhabited it, nor what manner of warfare they had or what customs they used, nor what harbors were suitable for a larger number of ships.
Itaque vocatis ad se undique mercatoribus, neque quanta esset insulae magnitudo neque quae aut quantae nationes incolerent, neque quem usum belli haberent aut quibus institutis uterentur, neque qui essent ad maiorem navium multitudinem idonei portus reperire poterat.
To learn these things before he ran the risk, judging Gaius Volusenus a fit man, he sent him ahead with a warship.
Ad haec cognoscenda, prius quam periculum faceret, idoneum esse arbitratus C. Volusenum cum navi longa praemittit.
Him he charged to spy out everything and return to him as soon as possible.
Huic mandat ut exploratis omnibus rebus ad se quam primum revertatur.
He himself set out with all his forces for the country of the Morini, because from there was the shortest crossing to Britain.
Ipse cum omnibus copiis in Morinos proficiscitur, quod inde erat brevissimus in Britanniam traiectus.
Here he ordered the ships from all the neighboring regions, and the fleet he had built the previous summer for the Venetic war, to assemble.
Huc naves undique ex finitimis regionibus et quam superiore aestate ad Veneticum bellum fecerat classem iubet convenire.
Meanwhile, his plan having become known and reported through merchants to the Britons, envoys came to him from several states of the island, to promise that they would give hostages and submit to the empire of the Roman people.
Interim, consilio eius cognito et per mercatores perlato ad Britannos, a compluribus insulae civitatibus ad eum legati veniunt, qui polliceantur obsides dare atque imperio populi Romani obtemperare.
Having heard them, and having generously promised and urged them to remain in that resolve,
Quibus auditis, liberaliter pollicitus hortatusque ut in ea sententia permanerent,
he sent them home, and with them Commius, whom he himself, after subduing the Atrebates, had set up as king there—whose courage and judgment he approved, whom he held faithful to himself, and whose authority in those regions was reckoned great.
eos domum remittit et cum iis una Commium, quem ipse Atrebatibus superatis regem ibi constituerat, cuius et virtutem et consilium probabat et quem sibi fidelem esse arbitrabatur cuiusque auctoritas in his regionibus magni habebatur, mittit.
Him he ordered to visit what states he could, to urge them to embrace the protection of the Roman people, and to announce that he would come there quickly.
Huic imperat quas possit adeat civitates horteturque ut populi Romani fidem sequantur seque celeriter eo venturum nuntiet.
Volusenus, having surveyed the regions so far as opportunity could be given to one who did not dare leave his ship and trust himself to the barbarians, returned to Caesar on the fifth day and reported what he had observed there.
Volusenus perspectis regionibus omnibus quantum ei facultatis dari potuit, qui navi egredi ac se barbaris committere non auderet, V die ad Caesarem revertitur quaeque ibi perspexisset renuntiat.
While Caesar tarried in these parts to make his ships ready, envoys came to him from a great part of the Morini, to excuse themselves for the policy of the earlier time—that as barbarous men, unversed in our ways, they had made war on the Roman people—and to promise that they would do what he ordered.
Dum in his locis Caesar navium parandarum causa moratur, ex magna parte Morinorum ad eum legati venerunt, qui se de superioris temporis consilio excusarent, quod homines barbari et nostrae consuetudinis imperiti bellum populo Romano fecissent, seque ea quae imperasset facturos pollicerentur.
Caesar, judging this had befallen him opportunely enough—since he wished neither to leave an enemy in his rear, nor had he opportunity to wage war because of the season, nor did he judge that the business of such trifles should be set before Britain—ordered a great number of hostages from them.
Hoc sibi Caesar satis oportune accidisse arbitratus, quod neque post tergum hostem relinquere volebat neque belli gerendi propter anni tempus facultatem habebat neque has tantularum rerum occupationes Britanniae anteponendas iudicabat, magnum iis numerum obsidum imperat.
These being brought, he received them into his protection. Some eighty cargo ships being gathered and assembled, as many as he judged enough to carry across two legions, he distributed what warships he had besides among his quaestor, his legates, and his prefects.
Quibus adductis eos in fidem recipit. Navibus circiter LXXX onerariis coactis contractisque, quot satis esse ad duas transportandas legiones existimabat, quod praeterea navium longarum habebat quaestori, legatis praefectisque distribuit.
To these were added eighteen cargo ships, which were held by the wind eight miles from that place, so that they could not come into the same harbor: these he assigned to the cavalry.
Huc accedebant XVIII onerariae naves, quae ex eo loco a milibus passuum VIII vento tenebantur quo minus in eundem portum venire possent: has equitibus tribuit.
The rest of the army he gave to the legates Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta, to be led against the Menapii and against those cantons of the Morini from which envoys had not come to him;
Reliquum exercitum Q. Titurio Sabino et L. Aurunculeio Cottae legatis in Menapios atque in eos pagos Morinorum a quibus ad eum legati non venerant ducendum dedit;
he ordered the legate Sulpicius Rufus to hold the harbor with such a garrison as he judged sufficient.
Sulpicium Rufum legatum cum eo praesidio quod satis esse arbitrabatur portum tenere iussit.
These matters settled, and having got weather fit for sailing, he weighed anchor at about the third watch, and ordered the cavalry to proceed to the farther harbor, embark, and follow him.
His constitutis rebus, nactus idoneam ad navigandum tempestatem III. fere vigilia solvit equitesque in ulteriorem portum progredi et naves conscendere et se sequi iussit.
Since this was carried out by them a little too slowly, he himself reached Britain with the first ships at about the fourth hour of the day, and there saw the enemy’s forces stationed under arms on all the hills.
A quibus cum paulo tardius esset administratum, ipse hora diei circiter IIII. cum primis navibus Britanniam attigit atque ibi in omnibus collibus expositas hostium copias armatas conspexit.
The nature of the place was such, and the sea so hemmed in by narrow heights, that a weapon could be hurled from the high ground onto the shore.
Cuius loci haec erat natura atque ita montibus angustis mare continebatur, uti ex locis superioribus in litus telum adigi posset.
Judging this by no means a suitable place for landing, he waited at anchor until the ninth hour for the rest of the ships to assemble there.
Hunc ad egrediendum nequaquam idoneum locum arbitratus, dum reliquae naves eo convenirent ad horam nonam in ancoris expectavit.
Meanwhile, having called together the legates and military tribunes, he showed them both what he had learned from Volusenus and what he wished to be done, and warned them that, as the method of warfare and above all as affairs at sea required—since these have a swift and unstable movement—everything must be managed by them at a nod and at the moment.
Interim legatis tribunisque militum convocatis et quae ex Voluseno cognovisset et quae fieri vellet ostendit monuitque, ut rei militaris ratio, maximeque ut maritimae res postularent, ut, cum celerem atque instabilem motum haberent, ad nutum et ad tempus omnes res ab iis administrarentur.
These dismissed, and having got both wind and tide favorable at one time, the signal given and the anchors raised, he advanced about seven miles from that place and brought the ships to on an open and level shore.
His dimissis et ventum et aestum uno tempore nactus secundum, dato signo et sublatis ancoris, circiter milia passuum VII ab eo loco progressus aperto ac plano litore naves constituit.
But the barbarians, having learned the Romans’ plan, sent forward their cavalry and the charioteers—a kind of force they are accustomed to use chiefly in battles—and, following with the rest of their forces, sought to keep our men from disembarking.
At barbari, consilio Romanorum cognito praemisso equitatu et essedariis, quo plerumque genere in proeliis uti consuerunt, reliquis copiis subsecuti nostros navibus egredi prohibebant.
The difficulty was very great, for these reasons: that the ships, on account of their size, could not be brought to land except in deep water; while the soldiers, in places unknown to them, their hands hampered, weighed down by the great and heavy burden of their arms, had at one and the same time to leap down from the ships, to keep their footing among the waves, and to fight with the enemy;
Erat ob has causas summa difficultas, quod naves propter magnitudinem nisi in alto constitui non poterant, militibus autem, ignotis locis, impeditis manibus, magno et gravi onere armorum oppressis simul et de navibus desiliendum et in fluctibus consistendum et cum hostibus erat pugnandum,
whereas the enemy, either from dry ground or advanced a little into the water, all their limbs free, in places well known to them, boldly hurled their weapons and spurred their horses, which were trained to it.
cum illi aut ex arido aut paulum in aquam progressi omnibus membris expeditis, notissimis locis, audacter tela coicerent et equos insuefactos incitarent.
Dismayed by these things, and altogether unskilled in this kind of fighting, our men did not press on with the same dash and spirit they were wont to use in battles on land.
Quibus rebus nostri perterriti atque huius omnino generis pugnae imperiti, non eadem alacritate ac studio quo in pedestribus uti proeliis consuerant utebantur.
When Caesar noticed this, he ordered the warships—whose appearance was the less familiar to the barbarians and whose movement was the readier for use—to be moved a little off from the cargo ships, driven on by oars, and stationed off the enemy’s exposed flank, and from there the enemy to be driven back and dislodged by slings, arrows, and engines; and this thing was of great use to our men.
Quod ubi Caesar animadvertit, naves longas, quarum et species erat barbaris inusitatior et motus ad usum expeditior, paulum removeri ab onerariis navibus et remis incitari et ad latus apertum hostium constitui atque inde fundis, sagittis, tormentis hostes propelli ac submoveri iussit; quae res magno usui nostris fuit.
For, dismayed by the shape of the ships, by the movement of the oars, and by the unfamiliar kind of engines, the barbarians halted and drew back a little.
Nam et navium figura et remorum motu et inusitato genere tormentorum permoti barbari constiterunt ac paulum modo pedem rettulerunt.
And while our soldiers hesitated, chiefly on account of the depth of the sea, the man who carried the eagle of the Tenth Legion, calling on the gods that the matter might turn out well for the legion, cried, "Leap down, soldiers, unless you wish to betray the eagle to the enemy; I, for my part, shall have done my duty to the commonwealth and to my commander."
Atque nostris militibus cunctantibus, maxime propter altitudinem maris, qui X legionis aquilam gerebat, obtestatus deos, ut ea res legioni feliciter eveniret, ’ desilite’, inquit, ’ milites, nisi vultis aquilam hostibus prodere; ego certe meum rei publicae atque imperatori officium praestitero.’
When he had said this in a great voice, he flung himself from the ship and began to carry the eagle against the enemy.
Hoc cum voce magna dixisset, se ex navi proiecit atque in hostes aquilam ferre coepit.
Then our men, urging one another not to allow so great a disgrace, all together leapt down from the ship.
Tum nostri cohortati inter se, ne tantum dedecus admitteretur, universi ex navi desiluerunt.
And when those in the nearest ships saw them, they followed and drew near the enemy.
Hos item ex proximis primi navibus cum conspexissent, subsecuti hostibus adpropinquaverunt.
The fighting was fierce on both sides. Yet our men, because they could neither keep their ranks nor stand firmly nor follow their standards, and one man from one ship, another from another, attached himself to whatever standards he met, were thrown into great confusion;
Pugnatum est ab utrisque acriter. Nostri tamen, quod neque ordines servare neque firmiter insistere neque signa subsequi poterant atque alius alia ex navi quibuscumque signis occurrerat se adgregabat, magnopere perturbabantur;
but the enemy, knowing all the shallows, whenever they saw any landing singly from a ship onto the shore, spurred their horses and attacked them while they were hampered,
hostes vero, notis omnibus vadis, ubi ex litore aliquos singulares ex navi egredientes conspexerant, incitatis equis impeditos adoriebantur,
many surrounding few, while others hurled weapons at the whole body from the exposed flank.
plures paucos circumsistebant, alii ab latere aperto in universos tela coniciebant.
When Caesar noticed this, he ordered the boats of the warships and likewise the scout-vessels to be filled with soldiers, and sent help to those whom he had seen in difficulty.
Quod cum animadvertisset Caesar, scaphas longarum navium, item speculatoria navigia militibus compleri iussit, et quos laborantes conspexerat, his subsidia submittebat.
Our men, as soon as they had got footing on dry ground, all their comrades following, charged the enemy and put them to flight; but they could not pursue far, because the cavalry had not been able to hold their course and make the island. This one thing was wanting to Caesar’s former good fortune.
Nostri, simul in arido constiterunt, suis omnibus consecutis, in hostes impetum fecerunt atque eos in fugam dederunt; neque longius prosequi potuerunt, quod equites cursum tenere atque insulam capere non potuerant. Hoc unum ad pristinam fortunam Caesari defuit.
The enemy, beaten in the fight, as soon as they had recovered from their flight, at once sent envoys to Caesar about peace; they promised to give hostages and to do what he ordered.
Hostes proelio superati, simul atque se ex fuga receperunt, statim ad Caesarem legatos de pace miserunt; obsides sese daturos quaeque imperasset facturos polliciti sunt.
Together with these envoys came Commius the Atrebatian, whom I have shown above to have been sent ahead by Caesar into Britain.
Una cum his legatis Commius Atrebas venit, quem supra demonstraveram a Caesare in Britanniam praemissum.
Him, when he had stepped from his ship to deliver Caesar’s instructions to them after the manner of an envoy, they had seized and thrown into chains;
Hunc illi e navi egressum, cum ad eos oratoris modo Caesaris mandata deferret, comprehenderant atque in vincula coniecerant;
then, the battle fought, they sent him back, and in seeking peace laid the blame for that deed on the multitude and begged that it be pardoned on account of their ignorance.
tum proelio facto remiserunt et in petenda pace eius rei culpam in multitudinem contulerunt et propter imprudentiam ut ignosceretur petiverunt.
Caesar, having complained that, after of their own accord sending envoys to the continent and seeking peace from him, they had made war without cause, said that he pardoned their ignorance, and demanded hostages;
Caesar questus quod, cum ultro in continentem legatis missis pacem ab se petissent, bellum sine causa intulissent, ignoscere se imprudentiae dixit obsidesque imperavit;
part of these they gave at once, part—to be summoned from more distant places—they said they would give within a few days.
quorum illi partem statim dederunt, partem ex longinquioribus locis arcessitam paucis diebus sese daturos dixerunt.
Meanwhile they ordered their people to return to the fields, and the chiefs began to assemble from every quarter and to commend themselves and their states to Caesar.
Interea suos in agros remigrare iusserunt, principesque undique convenire et se civitatesque suas Caesari commendare coeperunt.
These matters being settled, and peace confirmed, on the fourth day after the coming into Britain the eighteen ships of which mention was made above, which had taken the cavalry aboard, set sail from the upper harbor in a gentle wind.
His rebus pace confirmata, post diem quartum quam est in Britanniam ventum naves XVIII, de quibus supra demonstratum est, quae equites sustulerant, ex superiore portu leni vento solverunt.
When they were drawing near to Britain and were seen from the camp, so great a storm suddenly arose that none of them could hold its course; but some were carried back to the same place from which they had set out, others were driven, to their great peril, to the lower part of the island, which is nearer the setting of the sun;
Quae cum adpropinquarent Britanniae et ex castris viderentur, tanta tempestas subito coorta est ut nulla earum cursum tenere posset, sed aliae eodem unde erant profectae referrentur, aliae ad inferiorem partem insulae, quae est propius solis occasum, magno suo cum periculo deicerentur;
yet these, having cast anchor, when they were being filled with the waves, were compelled to put out to sea in the teeth of the night and to make for the continent.
quae tamen ancoris iactis cum fluctibus complerentur, necessario adversa nocte in altum provectae continentem petierunt.
That same night it happened that the moon was full, which day is wont to make the highest sea-tides in the Ocean, and this was unknown to our men.
Eadem nocte accidit ut esset luna plena, qui dies maritimos aestus maximos in Oceano efficere consuevit, nostrisque id erat incognitum.
So at one and the same time the tide was filling the warships, which Caesar had drawn up on dry land, and the storm was battering the cargo ships, which were made fast to anchors, and no means was given to our men of either managing them or bringing help.
Ita uno tempore et longas naves, [quibus Caesar exercitum transportandum curaverat,] quas Caesar in aridum subduxerat, aestus complebat, et onerarias, quae ad ancoras erant deligatae, tempestas adflictabat, neque ulla nostris facultas aut administrandi aut auxiliandi dabatur.
Several ships being broken up, and the rest—their cables, anchors, and the rest of their tackle lost—being useless for sailing, a great disturbance of the whole army arose, as was bound to happen.
Compluribus navibus fractis, reliquae cum essent funibus, ancoris reliquisque armamentis amissis ad navigandum inutiles, magna, id quod necesse erat accidere, totius exercitus perturbatio facta est.
For there were no other ships in which they could be carried back, and everything that was of use for repairing ships was lacking, and, since it was agreed by all that they must winter in Gaul, no grain had been provided in those parts for the winter.
Neque enim naves erant aliae quibus reportari possent, et omnia deerant quae ad reficiendas naves erant usui, et, quod omnibus constabat hiemari in Gallia oportere, frumentum in his locis in hiemem provisum non erat.
These things being learned, the chiefs of Britain who had assembled before Caesar after the battle, conferring among themselves—since they understood that the Romans lacked cavalry, ships, and grain, and learned the fewness of the soldiers from the smallness of the camp, which was the more cramped because Caesar had carried the legions across without baggage—
Quibus rebus cognitis, principes Britanniae, qui post proelium ad Caesarem convenerant, inter se conlocuti, cum et equites et naves et frumentum Romanis deesse intellegerent et paucitatem militum ex castrorum exiguitate cognoscerent, quae hoc erant etiam angustiora quod sine impedimentis Caesar legiones transportaverat,
judged it best to renew the war and to cut off our men from grain and supplies and to drag the matter out into the winter, because they were confident that, these once overcome or cut off from return, no one afterward would cross into Britain to make war.
optimum factu esse duxerunt rebellione facta frumento commeatuque nostros prohibere et rem in hiemem producere, quod his superatis aut reditu interclusis neminem postea belli inferendi causa in Britanniam transiturum confidebant.
And so, a conspiracy again being formed, they began little by little to withdraw from the camp and secretly to bring their people back from the fields.
Itaque rursus coniuratione facta paulatim ex castris discedere et suos clam ex agris deducere coeperunt.
But Caesar, though he had not yet learned their plans, nevertheless, both from the fate of his ships and from the fact that they had ceased to give hostages, suspected that what did happen would happen.
At Caesar, etsi nondum eorum consilia cognoverat, tamen et ex eventu navium suarum et ex eo quod obsides dare intermiserant fore id quod accidit suspicabatur.
And so he made ready resources against every chance. For he both brought grain daily from the fields into the camp, and used the timber and bronze of those ships that had been most grievously damaged to repair the rest, and ordered the things needful for that work to be brought from the continent.
Itaque ad omnes casus subsidia comparabat. Nam et frumentum ex agris cotidie in castra conferebat et, quae gravissime adflictae erant naves, earum materia atque aere ad reliquas reficiendas utebatur et quae ad eas res erant usui ex continenti comportari iubebat.
And so, since it was carried out by the soldiers with the utmost zeal, though twelve ships were lost, he brought it about that the rest could sail well enough.
Itaque, cum summo studio a militibus administraretur, XII navibus amissis, reliquis ut navigari satis commode posset effecit.
While these things were going on, one legion having been sent out for grain after the custom—the one called the Seventh—and no suspicion of war having so far arisen, since part of the people remained in the fields and part even kept coming into the camp, those who were on guard before the gates of the camp reported to Caesar that a greater dust than usual was seen in that quarter toward which the legion had marched.
Dum ea geruntur, legione ex consuetudine una frumentatum missa, quae appellabatur VII., neque ulla ad id tempus belli suspicione interposita, cum pars hominum in agris remaneret, pars etiam in castra ventitaret, ii qui pro portis castrorum in statione erant Caesari nuntiaverunt pulverem maiorem quam consuetudo ferret in ea parte videri quam in partem legio iter fecisset.
Caesar, suspecting—as was the case—that some new design had been begun by the barbarians, ordered the cohorts that were on guard to set out with him into that quarter, two of the rest to take their place on guard, and the rest to arm and follow him at once.
Caesar—id quod erat—suspicatus aliquid novi a barbaris initum consilii, cohortes quae in statione erant secum in eam partem proficisci, ex reliquis duas in stationem succedere, reliquas armari et confestim sese subsequi iussit.
When he had advanced a little way from the camp, he noticed that his men were being pressed by the enemy and were holding their ground with difficulty, and that, the legion being packed close together, weapons were being hurled from all sides.
Cum paulo longius a castris processisset, suos ab hostibus premi atque aegre sustinere et conferta legione ex omnibus partibus tela coici animadvertit.
For, since the grain had been reaped from all the rest of the area and one part alone remained, the enemy, suspecting that our men would come there, had hidden by night in the woods;
Nam quod omni ex reliquis partibus demesso frumento pars una erat reliqua, suspicati hostes huc nostros esse venturos noctu in silvis delituerant;
then, when our men were scattered, their arms laid aside, busy with the reaping, they had attacked them suddenly, killed a few, and thrown the rest into confusion before they could form their ranks, and at the same time had surrounded them with cavalry and chariots.
tum dispersos depositis armis in metendo occupatos subito adorti paucis interfectis reliquos incertis ordinibus perturbaverant, simul equitatu atque essedis circumdederant.
This is their manner of fighting from chariots. First they drive in all directions and hurl their weapons, and by the very terror of the horses and the din of the wheels they generally throw the ranks into disorder; and when they have worked their way in among the troops of cavalry, they leap down from the chariots and fight on foot.
Genus hoc est ex essedis pugnae. Primo per omnes partes perequitant et tela coiciunt atque ipso terrore equorum et strepitu rotarum ordines plerumque perturbant, et cum se inter equitum turmas insinuaverunt, ex essedis desiliunt et pedibus proeliantur.
The drivers meanwhile withdraw little by little from the fight and place the chariots so that, if their men are pressed by the enemy’s number, they may have a ready retreat to their own side.
Aurigae interim paulatim ex proelio excedunt atque ita currus conlocant ut, si illi a multitudine hostium premantur, expeditum ad suos receptum habeant.
Thus they offer in battle the mobility of cavalry and the steadiness of infantry, and by daily use and training they accomplish so much that on a sloping and steep place they are accustomed to check horses at full gallop, to govern and turn them in a moment, to run along the pole, to stand on the yoke, and to recover themselves from there into the chariots with the greatest speed.
Ita mobilitatem equitum, stabilitatem peditum in proeliis praestant, ac tantum usu cotidiano et exercitatione efficiunt uti in declivi ac praecipiti loco incitatos equos sustinere et brevi moderari ac flectere et per temonem percurrere et in iugo insistere et se inde in currus citissime recipere consuerint.
While our men were thrown into confusion by these things, the strangeness of the fighting, Caesar brought aid at the most opportune time: for at his coming the enemy halted, and our men recovered from their fear.
Quibus rebus perturbatis nostris [novitate pugnae] tempore oportunissimo Caesar auxilium tulit: namque eius adventu hostes constiterunt, nostri se ex timore receperunt.
This done, judging it an unfit time to provoke the enemy and join battle, he kept his ground, and after a short interval led the legions back into camp.
Quo facto, ad lacessendum hostem et committendum proelium alienum esse tempus arbitratus suo se loco continuit et brevi tempore intermisso in castra legiones reduxit.
While these things were going on, all our men being occupied, the rest who were in the fields withdrew.
Dum haec geruntur, nostris omnibus occupatis qui erant in agris reliqui discesserunt.
There followed several days together of storms, which both kept our men in camp and held the enemy from battle.
Secutae sunt continuos complures dies tempestates, quae et nostros in castris continerent et hostem a pugna prohiberent.
Meanwhile the barbarians sent messengers in all directions and proclaimed to their people the fewness of our soldiers, and showed how great an opportunity was given of winning booty and of freeing themselves forever, if they should drive the Romans from their camp. By these means, a great host of foot and horse being quickly gathered, they came to the camp.
Interim barbari nuntios in omnes partes dimiserunt paucitatemque nostrorum militum suis praedicaverunt et quanta praedae faciendae atque in perpetuum sui liberandi facultas daretur, si Romanos castris expulissent, demonstraverunt. His rebus celeriter magna multitudine peditatus equitatusque coacta ad castra venerunt.
Caesar, though he saw that the same thing would happen as on the previous days—that, if the enemy were beaten, they would escape the danger by their speed—nevertheless, having got about thirty horsemen, whom Commius the Atrebatian, of whom mention was made before, had brought across with him, drew up the legions in line before the camp.
Caesar, etsi idem quod superioribus diebus acciderat fore videbat, ut, si essent hostes pulsi, celeritate periculum effugerent, tamen nactus equites circiter XXX, quos Commius Atrebas, de quo ante dictum est, secum transportaverat, legiones in acie pro castris constituit.
Battle being joined, the enemy could not long bear the charge of our soldiers and turned their backs.
Commisso proelio diutius nostrorum militum impetum hostes ferre non potuerunt ac terga verterunt.
Having followed them as far as they could accomplish by running and by their strength, they killed a number of them; then, all the buildings far and wide being burned, they withdrew into camp.
Quos tanto spatio secuti quantum cursu et viribus efficere potuerunt, complures ex iis occiderunt, deinde omnibus longe lateque aedificiis incensis se in castra receperunt.
On the same day envoys, sent by the enemy, came to Caesar about peace.
Eodem die legati ab hostibus missi ad Caesarem de pace venerunt.
For these Caesar doubled the number of hostages he had ordered before, and bade them be brought to the continent, because, the day of the equinox being near, he did not think that, with his ships weakened, the voyage should be exposed to winter.
His Caesar numerum obsidum quem ante imperaverat duplicavit eosque in continentem adduci iussit, quod propinqua die aequinoctii infirmis navibus hiemi navigationem subiciendam non existimabat.
He himself, having got fit weather, set sail a little after midnight,
Ipse idoneam tempestatem nactus paulo post mediam noctem naves solvit,
and all the ships reached the continent safely; but of these two cargo ships could not make the same harbors as the rest and were carried a little farther down.
quae omnes incolumes ad continentem pervenerunt; sed ex iis onerariae duae eosdem portus quos reliquae capere non potuerunt et paulo infra delatae sunt.
When some three hundred soldiers had been landed from these ships and were hastening to the camp, the Morini, whom Caesar on setting out for Britain had left at peace, drawn on by hope of booty, surrounded them, at first with no very great number of their men, and ordered them to lay down their arms if they did not wish to be killed.
Quibus ex navibus cum essent expositi milites circiter CCC atque in castra contenderent, Morini, quos Caesar in Britanniam proficiscens pacatos reliquerat, spe praedae adducti primo non ita magno suorum numero circumsteterunt ac, si sese interfici nollent, arma ponere iusserunt.
When these defended themselves by forming a circle, some six thousand men quickly gathered at the shouting. This being reported, Caesar sent all the cavalry from the camp to the aid of his men.
Cum illi orbe facto sese defenderent, celeriter ad clamorem hominum circiter milia VI convenerunt. Qua re nuntiata, Caesar omnem ex castris equitatum suis auxilio misit.
Meanwhile our soldiers withstood the enemy’s attack and fought most bravely for more than four hours, and, receiving few wounds, killed a number of them.
Interim nostri milites impetum hostium sustinuerunt atque amplius horis IIII fortissime pugnaverunt et paucis vulneribus acceptis complures ex iis occiderunt.
But after our cavalry came in sight, the enemy threw away their arms and turned their backs, and a great number of them were killed.
Postea vero quam equitatus noster in conspectum venit, hostes abiectis armis terga verterunt magnusque eorum numerus est occisus.
The next day Caesar sent the legate Titus Labienus, with the legions he had brought back from Britain, against the Morini who had renewed the war.
Caesar postero die T. Labienum legatum cum iis legionibus quas ex Britannia reduxerat in Morinos qui rebellionem fecerant misit.
These, since on account of the dryness of the marshes they had no place to which to withdraw—the refuge they had used the year before—came almost all into the power of Labienus.
Qui cum propter siccitates paludum quo se reciperent non haberent, quo perfugio superiore anno erant usi, omnes fere in potestatem Labieni venerunt.
But the legates Quintus Titurius and Lucius Cotta, who had led the legions into the territory of the Menapii, all their fields laid waste, the crops cut down, and the buildings burned, withdrew to Caesar, because the Menapii had all hidden themselves in the densest forests.
At Q. Titurius et L. Cotta legati, qui in Menapiorum fines legiones duxerant, omnibus eorum agris vastatis, frumentis succisis, aedificiis incensis, quod Menapii se omnes in densissimas silvas abdiderant, se ad Caesarem receperunt.
Caesar fixed the winter quarters of all the legions among the Belgae. Thither two states in all from Britain sent hostages; the rest neglected to do so.
Caesar in Belgis omnium legionum hiberna constituit. Eo duae omnino civitates ex Britannia obsides miserunt, reliquae neglexerunt.
These things accomplished, a thanksgiving of twenty days was decreed by the Senate on the strength of Caesar’s dispatches.
His rebus gestis ex litteris Caesaris dierum XX supplicatio a senatu decreta est.
In the consulship of Lucius Domitius and Appius Claudius, Caesar, on leaving winter quarters for Italy, as he was accustomed to do each year, ordered the legates whom he had set over the legions to see to it that as many ships as possible were built during the winter and the old ones refitted. He sets out their dimensions and form.
L. Domitio Ap. Claudio consulibus, discedens ab hibernis Caesar in Italiam, ut quotannis facere consuerat, legatis imperat quos legionibus praefecerat uti quam plurimas possent hieme naves aedificandas veteresque reficiendas curarent. Earum modum formamque demonstrat.
For speed of loading and for hauling them up he makes them somewhat lower than those we are accustomed to use in our own sea, and this the more because he had learned that there, on account of the frequent changes of the tides, the waves run less high; for the cargo and for transporting a multitude of pack-animals he makes them somewhat broader than those we use on the other seas.
Ad celeritatem onerandi subductionesque paulo facit humiliores quam quibus in nostro mari uti consuevimus, atque id eo magis, quod propter crebras commutationes aestuum minus magnos ibi fluctus fieri cognoverat; ad onera, ad multitudinem iumentorum transportandam paulo latiores quam quibus in reliquis utimur maribus.
He orders them all to be built as galleys, a purpose for which their low build helps much.
Has omnes actuarias imperat fieri, quam ad rem multum humilitas adiuvat.
The things that are of use for fitting out the ships he orders to be brought from Spain.
Ea quae sunt usui ad armandas naves ex Hispania apportari iubet.
He himself, the assizes of Nearer Gaul concluded, sets out for Illyricum, because he heard that the neighboring part of the province was being laid waste by the raids of the Pirustae.
Ipse conventibus Galliae citerioris peractis in Illyricum proficiscitur, quod a Pirustis finitimam partem provinciae incursionibus vastari audiebat.
When he had come there, he levies soldiers on the states and orders them to muster at a fixed place.
Eo cum venisset, civitatibus milites imperat certumque in locum convenire iubet.
When this was reported, the Pirustae send envoys to him to explain that nothing of these things had been done by public decision, and they declare that they are ready to make satisfaction for the injuries by every means.
Qua re nuntiata Pirustae legatos ad eum mittunt qui doceant nihil earum rerum publico factum consilio, seseque paratos esse demonstrant omnibus rationibus de iniuriis satisfacere.
Having received their plea, Caesar demands hostages and orders them to be brought to him by a fixed day; if they do not so do, he declares that he will prosecute the state with war.
Accepta oratione eorum Caesar obsides imperat eosque ad certam diem adduci iubet; nisi ita fecerint, sese bello civitatem persecuturum demonstrat.
These being brought on the day, as he had ordered, he appoints arbiters between the states to assess the dispute and fix the penalty.
Eis ad diem adductis, ut imperaverat, arbitros inter civitates dat qui litem aestiment poenamque constituant.
These matters finished and the assizes concluded, he returns into Nearer Gaul and from there sets out for the army.
His confectis rebus conventibusque peractis, in citeriorem Galliam revertitur atque inde ad exercitum proficiscitur.
When he had come there, having gone round all the winter quarters, he finds, through the singular zeal of the soldiers amid the utmost scarcity of everything, about six hundred ships of the kind we have described above and twenty-eight warships built, and not much wanting before they could be launched within a few days.
Eo cum venisset, circumitis omnibus hibernis, singulari militum studio in summa omnium rerum inopia circiter sescentas eius generis cuius supra demonstravimus naves et longas XXVIII invenit instructas neque multum abesse ab eo quin paucis diebus deduci possint.
Having praised the soldiers and those who had charge of the work, he shows what he wishes done and orders them all to muster at Port Itius, from which port he had learned the crossing into Britain was most convenient, a passage of about thirty miles from the continent. For this purpose he left what number of soldiers seemed sufficient;
Collaudatis militibus atque eis qui negotio praefuerant, quid fieri velit ostendit atque omnes ad portum Itium convenire iubet, quo ex portu commodissimum in Britanniam traiectum esse cognoverat, circiter milium passuum XXX transmissum a continenti: huic rei quod satis esse visum est militum reliquit;
he himself with four legions in light order and eight hundred cavalry sets out for the territory of the Treveri, because these neither came to the councils nor obeyed his command and were said to be inciting the Germans across the Rhine.
ipse cum legionibus expeditis IIII et equitibus DCCC in fines Treverorum proficiscitur, quod hi neque ad concilia veniebant neque imperio parebant Germanosque Transrhenanos sollicitare dicebantur.
This state is by far the strongest in cavalry of all Gaul and has great forces of infantry, and, as we have shown above, touches the Rhine.
Haec civitas longe plurimum totius Galliae equitatu valet magnasque habet copias peditum Rhenumque, ut supra demonstravimus, tangit.
In that state two men were contending with each other for the supremacy, Indutiomarus and Cingetorix;
In ea civitate duo de principatu inter se contendebant, Indutiomarus et Cingetorix;
of these the one, as soon as the coming of Caesar and the legions was known, came to him, assured him that he and all his people would remain in their duty and would not fall away from the friendship of the Roman people, and showed what was being done among the Treveri.
e quibus alter, simul atque de Caesaris legionumque adventu cognitum est, ad eum venit, se suosque omnes in officio futuros neque ab amicitia populi Romani defecturos confirmavit quaeque in Treveris gererentur ostendit.
But Indutiomarus began to gather cavalry and infantry and—having hidden in the Ardennes forest those who by reason of age could not be under arms, a forest which, of vast extent, stretches through the midst of the territory of the Treveri from the river Rhine to the edge of the Remi—to prepare for war.
At Indutiomarus equitatum peditatumque cogere, eisque qui per aetatem in armis esse non poterant in silvam Arduennam abditis, quae ingenti magnitudine per medios fines Treverorum a flumine Rheno ad initium Remorum pertinet, bellum parare instituit.
But after some of the chiefs of that state, drawn both by their friendship with Cingetorix and terrified by the arrival of our army, came to Caesar and began to petition him about their own private affairs, since they could not take thought for the state, Indutiomarus, fearing that he would be deserted by all, sends envoys to Caesar:
Sed posteaquam nonnulli principes ex ea civitate et familiaritate Cingetorigis adducti et adventu nostri exercitus perterriti ad Caesarem venerunt et de suis privatim rebus ab eo petere coeperunt, quoniam civitati consulere non possent, veritus ne ab omnibus desereretur Indutiomarus legatos ad Caesarem mittit:
that he had been unwilling to leave his own people and come to him for this reason, that he might the more easily keep the state in its duty, lest, with the departure of all the nobility, the common people should go astray through their want of judgment:
sese idcirco ab suis discedere atque ad eum venire noluisse, quo facilius civitatem in officio contineret, ne omnis nobilitatis discessu plebs propter imprudentiam laberetur:
and so the state was in his power, and he himself, if Caesar permitted, would come to him in the camp and would entrust his own fortunes and the state’s to his good faith.
itaque esse civitatem in sua potestate, seseque, si Caesar permitteret, ad eum in castra venturum, suas civitatisque fortunas eius fidei permissurum.
Caesar, although he understood for what cause these things were said and what it was that was deterring him from his intended plan, nevertheless, lest he be forced to spend the summer among the Treveri with everything prepared for the British war, ordered Indutiomarus to come to him with two hundred hostages.
Caesar, etsi intellegebat qua de causa ea dicerentur quaeque eum res ab instituto consilio deterreret, tamen, ne aestatem in Treveris consumere cogeretur omnibus ad Britannicum bellum rebus comparatis, Indutiomarum ad se cum CC obsidibus venire iussit.
When these had been brought, among them his son and all his near kinsmen whom he had summoned by name, he consoled Indutiomarus and exhorted him to remain in his duty;
His adductis, in eis filio propinquisque eius omnibus, quos nominatim evocaverat, consolatus Indutiomarum hortatusque est uti in officio maneret;
none the less, having summoned the chiefs of the Treveri to him, he won them over one by one to Cingetorix, because he both understood that this was being done by him toward that man deservedly, and judged it of great importance that the authority of one whose such outstanding goodwill toward himself he had perceived should count for as much as possible among his own people.
nihilo tamen setius principibus Treverorum ad se convocatis hos singillatim Cingetorigi conciliavit, quod cum merito eius a se fieri intellegebat, tum magni interesse arbitrabatur eius auctoritatem inter suos quam plurimum valere, cuius tam egregiam in se voluntatem perspexisset.
Indutiomarus took this deed hard—that his own influence among his people was being diminished—and, having even before been of a hostile mind toward us, he blazed up far more grievously from this resentment.
Id tulit factum graviter Indutiomarus, suam gratiam inter suos minui, et, qui iam ante inimico in nos animo fuisset, multo gravius hoc dolore exarsit.
These matters settled, Caesar came with the legions to Port Itius.
His rebus constitutis Caesar ad portum Itium cum legionibus pervenit.
There he learns that sixty ships, which had been built among the Meldi, driven back by a storm, had been unable to hold their course and had returned to the same place from which they had set out; the rest he finds ready for sailing and equipped with everything.
Ibi cognoscit LX naves, quae in Meldis factae erant, tempestate reiectas cursum tenere non potuisse atque eodem unde erant profectae revertisse; reliquas paratas ad navigandum atque omnibus rebus instructas invenit.
To the same place assembled the cavalry of all Gaul, four thousand in number, and the chiefs from all the states.
Eodem equitatus totius Galliae convenit, numero milium quattuor, principesque ex omnibus civitatibus.
Of these he had decided to leave very few in Gaul, those whose fidelity toward himself he had proved, and to take the rest with him in place of hostages, because he feared a rising in Gaul while he himself was away.
Ex quibus perpaucos, quorum in se fidem perspexerat, relinquere in Gallia, reliquos obsidum loco secum ducere decreverat, quod, cum ipse abesset, motum Galliae verebatur.
There was, along with the rest, Dumnorix the Aeduan, of whom we have spoken before. Him above all he had resolved to keep with himself, because he had found him eager for revolution, eager for power, of great spirit, and of great authority among the Gauls.
Erat una cum ceteris Dumnorix Aeduus, de quo ante ab nobis dictum est. Hunc secum habere in primis constituerat, quod eum cupidum rerum novarum, cupidum imperi, magni animi, magnae inter Gallos auctoritatis cognoverat.
There was added to this that in the council of the Aedui Dumnorix had said that the kingship of the state was being conferred on him by Caesar; which saying the Aedui took hard, yet did not dare to send envoys to Caesar to refuse or deprecate it.
Accedebat huc quod in concilio Aeduorum Dumnorix dixerat sibi a Caesare regnum civitatis deferri; quod dictum Aedui graviter ferebant, neque recusandi aut deprecandi causa legatos ad Caesarem mittere audebant.
This Caesar had learned from his own guest-friends. He at first strove with every entreaty to be left in Gaul, partly because, unused to sailing, he feared the sea, partly because he said he was hindered by religious scruples.
Id factum ex suis hospitibus Caesar cognoverat. Ille omnibus primo precibus petere contendit ut in Gallia relinqueretur, partim quod insuetus navigandi mare timeret, partim quod religionibus impediri sese diceret.
After he saw that this was obstinately denied him, all hope of obtaining it taken away, he began to work on the chiefs of Gaul, to draw them aside one by one and exhort them to remain on the continent;
Posteaquam id obstinate sibi negari vidit, omni spe impetrandi adempta principes Galliae sollicitare, sevocare singulos hortarique coepit uti in continenti remanerent;
to alarm them with fear: that it was not without cause that Gaul was being stripped of all its nobility; that this was Caesar’s plan, to lead across into Britain and there put to death all those whom he feared to kill in the sight of Gaul;
metu territare: non sine causa fieri, ut Gallia omni nobilitate spoliaretur; id esse consilium Caesaris, ut quos in conspectu Galliae interficere vereretur, hos omnes in Britanniam traductos necaret;
to pledge his faith to the rest, to demand an oath, that they should by common counsel carry out whatever they judged to be for Gaul’s advantage. These things were reported to Caesar by several men.
fidem reliquis interponere, iusiurandum poscere, ut quod esse ex usu Galliae intellexissent communi consilio administrarent. Haec a compluribus ad Caesarem deferebantur.
This being known, Caesar, because he assigned so much dignity to the Aeduan state, resolved that Dumnorix should be restrained and deterred by whatever means he could;
Qua re cognita Caesar, quod tantum civitati Aeduae dignitatis tribuebat, coercendum atque deterrendum quibuscumque rebus posset Dumnorigem statuebat;
and because he saw that his madness was going further, that provision should be made lest he be able to do harm to himself and to the republic. And so, having lingered about twenty-five days in that place,
quod longius eius amentiam progredi videbat, prospiciendum, ne quid sibi ac rei publicae nocere posset. Itaque dies circiter XXV in eo loco commoratus,
because the northwest wind, which is accustomed to blow for the greater part of all that season in those parts, was hindering the voyage, he took pains to keep Dumnorix in his duty, yet none the less to learn all his plans.
quod Carus ventus navigationem impediebat, qui magnam partem omnis temporis in his locis flare consuevit, dabat operam ut in officio Dumnorigem contineret, nihilo tamen setius omnia eius consilia cognosceret.
At last, having got suitable weather, he orders the soldiers and the cavalry to embark on the ships.
Tandem idoneam nactus tempestatem milites equitesque conscendere in naves iubet.
But while everyone’s mind was occupied, Dumnorix with the Aeduan cavalry began to leave the camp for home, without Caesar’s knowledge.
At omnium impeditis animis Dumnorix cum equitibus Aeduorum a castris insciente Caesare domum discedere coepit.
When this was reported, Caesar, breaking off his departure and setting all else aside, sends a great part of the cavalry to pursue him and orders him to be brought back;
Qua re nuntiata Caesar intermissa profectione atque omnibus rebus postpositis magnam partem equitatus ad eum insequendum mittit retrahique imperat;
if he should use force and not obey, he orders him killed, judging that the man would do nothing sane in his absence who had disregarded his command to his face.
si vim faciat neque pareat, interfici iubet, nihil hunc se absente pro sano facturum arbitratus, qui praesentis imperium neglexisset.
For he, when recalled, began to resist and defend himself by force and to implore the fidelity of his men, crying out again and again that he was a free man and of a free state.
Ille enim revocatus resistere ac se manu defendere suorumque fidem implorare coepit, saepe clamitans liberum se liberaeque esse civitatis.
They, as had been ordered, surround the man and kill him: but the Aeduan cavalry all return to Caesar.
Illi, ut erat imperatum, circumsistunt hominem atque interficiunt: at equites Aedui ad Caesarem omnes revertuntur.
These things done, Labienus being left on the continent with three legions and two thousand cavalry to guard the harbors and provide for the grain supply, to learn what was being done in Gaul, and to take counsel according to the time and the situation,
His rebus gestis, Labieno in continente cum tribus legionibus et equitum milibus duobus relicto ut portus tueretur et rem frumentariam provideret quaeque in Gallia gererentur cognosceret consiliumque pro tempore et pro re caperet,
he himself with five legions and a number of cavalry equal to what he had left on the continent, set sail at sunset; and, carried forward by a gentle southwest wind, when the wind dropped about midnight he did not hold his course, and, borne too far by the tide, at daybreak saw Britain left behind on his left.
ipse cum quinque legionibus et pari numero equitum, quem in continenti reliquerat, ad solis occasum naves solvit et leni Africo provectus media circiter nocte vento intermisso cursum non tenuit, et longius delatus aestu orta luce sub sinistra Britanniam relictam conspexit.
Then again, following the turn of the tide, he strove with the oars to reach that part of the island where he had learned the previous summer the landing was best.
Tum rursus aestus commutationem secutus remis contendit ut eam partem insulae caperet, qua optimum esse egressum superiore aestate cognoverat.
In this matter the courage of the soldiers was greatly to be praised, who, with the heavy transport vessels, by never interrupting the labor of rowing kept pace with the course of the warships.
Qua in re admodum fuit militum virtus laudanda, qui vectoriis gravibusque navigiis non intermisso remigandi labore longarum navium cursum adaequarunt.
Britain was reached with all the ships about midday, nor was the enemy seen in that place;
Accessum est ad Britanniam omnibus navibus meridiano fere tempore, neque in eo loco hostis est visus;
but, as Caesar afterward learned from captives, although great bands had assembled there, they had been terrified by the multitude of ships—which, together with last year’s ships and the private ones that each man had built for his own convenience, were seen at one time to be more than eight hundred—and had withdrawn from the shore and hidden themselves in the higher ground.
sed, ut postea Caesar ex captivis cognovit, cum magnae manus eo convenissent, multitudine navium perterritae, quae cum annotinis privatisque quas sui quisque commodi fecerat amplius octingentae uno erant visae tempore, a litore discesserant ac se in superiora loca abdiderant.
Caesar, the army disembarked and a place suitable for a camp chosen, when he learned from captives in what place the enemy’s forces had taken position, left ten cohorts at the sea and three hundred cavalry to be a guard for the ships, and at the third watch hastened toward the enemy, the less anxious for the ships because he was leaving them moored at anchor on a soft and open shore;
Caesar exposito exercitu et loco castris idoneo capto, ubi ex captivis cognovit quo in loco hostium copiae consedissent, cohortibus decem ad mare relictis et equitibus trecentis, qui praesidio navibus essent, de tertia vigilia ad hostes contendit, eo minus veritus navibus, quod in litore molli atque aperto deligatas ad ancoram relinquebat,
and he set Quintus Atrius over the guard of the ships. He himself, having advanced by night about twelve miles, caught sight of the enemy’s forces.
et praesidio navibus Q. Atrium praefecit. Ipse noctu progressus milia passuum circiter XII hostium copias conspicatus est.
They, having advanced with cavalry and chariots to a river, from higher ground began to keep our men off and to join battle.
Illi equitatu atque essedis ad flumen progressi ex loco superiore nostros prohibere et proelium committere coeperunt.
Repulsed by the cavalry, they hid themselves in the woods, having found a place excellently fortified both by nature and by labor, which they had previously prepared, as it seemed, for the sake of some war among themselves;
Repulsi ab equitatu se in silvas abdiderunt, locum nacti egregie et natura et opere munitum, quem domestici belli, ut videbantur, causa iam ante praeparaverant;
for, with many trees cut down, all the approaches were blocked.
nam crebris arboribus succisis omnes introitus erant praeclusi.
They themselves fought from the woods in scattered groups and kept our men from entering within the fortifications.
Ipsi ex silvis rari propugnabant nostrosque intra munitiones ingredi prohibebant.
But the soldiers of the Seventh Legion, having formed a tortoise and thrown up a ramp against the fortifications, took the place and drove them out of the woods with few wounds received.
At milites legionis septimae, testudine facta et aggere ad munitiones adiecto, locum ceperunt eosque ex silvis expulerunt paucis vulneribus acceptis.
But Caesar forbade them to pursue the fleeing enemy farther, both because he did not know the nature of the ground, and because, a great part of the day being spent, he wished time to be left for fortifying the camp.
Sed eos fugientes longius Caesar prosequi vetuit, et quod loci naturam ignorabat, et quod magna parte diei consumpta munitioni castrorum tempus relinqui volebat.
On the morning of the next day he sent the soldiers and cavalry in three divisions on an expedition to pursue those who had fled.
Postridie eius diei mane tripertito milites equitesque in expeditionem misit, ut eos qui fugerant persequerentur.
When these had advanced some distance, and the rearmost of the fugitives were now in sight, cavalry came from Quintus Atrius to Caesar to report that the night before, a very great storm having arisen, nearly all the ships had been damaged and cast up on the shore, because neither the anchors and cables held nor could the sailors and pilots endure the violence of the storm;
His aliquantum itineris progressis, cum iam extremi essent in prospectu, equites a Quinto Atrio ad Caesarem venerunt, qui nuntiarent superiore nocte maxima coorta tempestate prope omnes naves adflictas atque in litore eiectas esse, quod neque ancorae funesque subsisterent, neque nautae gubernatoresque vim tempestatis pati possent;
and so from that collision of the ships great damage had been suffered.
itaque ex eo concursu navium magnum esse incommodum acceptum.
These things known, Caesar orders the legions and the cavalry recalled and to halt on the march; he himself returns to the ships;
His rebus cognitis Caesar legiones equitatumque revocari atque in itinere resistere iubet, ipse ad naves revertitur;
almost the same things he had learned from the messengers and the letters he now sees in person—that, with about forty ships lost, the rest nevertheless seemed able to be repaired with great labor.
eadem fere quae ex nuntiis litterisque cognoverat coram perspicit, sic ut amissis circiter XL navibus reliquae tamen refici posse magno negotio viderentur.
And so he picks out workmen from the legions and orders others to be summoned from the continent;
Itaque ex legionibus fabros deligit et ex continenti alios arcessi iubet;
he writes to Labienus to build as many ships as he can with the legions that are with him.
Labieno scribit, ut quam plurimas posset eis legionibus, quae sunt apud eum, naves instituat.
He himself, although it was a matter of much effort and labor, nevertheless decided it most expedient that all the ships be hauled up and joined together with the camp within one fortification.
Ipse, etsi res erat multae operae ac laboris, tamen commodissimum esse statuit omnes naves subduci et cum castris una munitione coniungi.
On these matters he spends about ten days, the labor of the soldiers not interrupted even in the night hours.
In his rebus circiter dies X consumit ne nocturnis quidem temporibus ad laborem militum intermissis.
The ships hauled up and the camp excellently fortified, he left the same forces as before to guard the ships, and himself set out for the same place from which he had returned.
Subductis navibus castrisque egregie munitis easdem copias, quas ante, praesidio navibus reliquit: ipse eodem unde redierat proficiscitur.
When he had come there, greater forces of the Britons had now assembled from all sides at that place, the supreme command and conduct of the war having been entrusted by common counsel to Cassivellaunus, whose territory a river called the Thames divides from the maritime states, about eighty miles from the sea.
Eo cum venisset, maiores iam undique in eum locum copiae Britannorum convenerant summa imperi bellique administrandi communi consilio permissa Cassivellauno, cuius fines a maritimis civitatibus flumen dividit, quod appellatur Tamesis, a mari circiter milia passuum LXXX.
With this man in earlier time there had been continual wars with the other states; but, stirred by our arrival, the Britons had set him over the whole war and its command.
Huic superiore tempore cum reliquis civitatibus continentia bella intercesserant; sed nostro adventu permoti Britanni hunc toti bello imperioque praefecerant.
The interior part of Britain is inhabited by those who, the Britons say, are by tradition native to the island,
Britanniae pars interior ab eis incolitur quos natos in insula ipsi memoria proditum dicunt,
the maritime part by those who crossed over from Belgium for the sake of plunder and of making war—nearly all of whom are called by the names of the states from which, sprung, they came there—and who, the war made, remained there and began to till the fields.
maritima pars ab eis, qui praedae ac belli inferendi causa ex Belgio transierunt (qui omnes fere eis nominibus civitatum appellantur, quibus orti ex civitatibus eo pervenerunt) et bello illato ibi permanserunt atque agros colere coeperunt.
The number of people is beyond counting, and the buildings, very thickly set, are much like those of Gaul; of cattle there is a great number.
Hominum est infinita multitudo creberrimaque aedificia fere Gallicis consimilia, pecorum magnus numerus.
They use either bronze or gold coin or, in place of coin, iron bars weighed out to a fixed standard.
Vtuntur aut aere aut nummo aureo aut taleis ferreis ad certum pondus examinatis pro nummo.
Tin is found there in the inland regions, iron in the maritime ones, but of it the supply is scant; bronze they use imported. Timber there is of every kind as in Gaul, except beech and fir.
Nascitur ibi plumbum album in mediterraneis regionibus, in maritimis ferrum, sed eius exigua est copia; aere utuntur importato. Materia cuiusque generis ut in Gallia est, praeter fagum atque abietem.
They count it forbidden to taste hare, fowl, or goose; these, however, they keep for pleasure and amusement. The climate is more temperate than in Gaul, the cold seasons milder.
Leporem et gallinam et anserem gustare fas non putant; haec tamen alunt animi voluptatisque causa. Loca sunt temperatiora quam in Gallia, remissioribus frigoribus.
The island is by nature three-cornered, one side of which lies opposite Gaul. One angle of this side, which is at Cantium, where nearly all the ships from Gaul put in, faces the rising sun; the lower angle faces the south. This side extends about five hundred miles.
Insula natura triquetra, cuius unum latus est contra Galliam. Huius lateris alter angulus, qui est ad Cantium, quo fere omnes ex Gallia naves appelluntur, ad orientem solem, inferior ad meridiem spectat. Hoc pertinet circiter millia passuum quingenta.
The second side faces toward Spain and the setting sun; on this part lies Ireland, smaller by half, it is reckoned, than Britain, but at a like distance of passage as is the crossing from Gaul to Britain.
Alterum vergit ad Hispaniam atque occidentem solem; qua ex parte est Hibernia, dimidio minor, ut aestimatur, quam Britannia, sed pari spatio transmissus atque ex Gallia est in Britanniam.
Midway in this course is an island called Mona; several smaller islands besides are thought to lie close by, of which islands some have written that for thirty continuous days about midwinter it is night.
In hoc medio cursu est insula, quae appellatur Mona: complures praeterea minores subiectae insulae existimantur, de quibus insulis nonnulli scripserunt dies continuos triginta sub bruma esse noctem.
We found nothing of this by our inquiries, except that, by exact measurements with water, we saw that the nights were shorter than on the continent.
Nos nihil de eo percontationibus reperiebamus, nisi certis ex aqua mensuris breviores esse quam in continenti noctes videbamus.
The length of this side, as their opinion holds, is seven hundred miles.
Huius est longitudo lateris, ut fert illorum opinio, septingentorum milium.
The third side faces north; to this part no land lies opposite, but the angle of this side faces chiefly toward Germany. This is reckoned to be eight hundred miles in length.
Tertium est contra septentriones; cui parti nulla est obiecta terra, sed eius angulus lateris maxime ad Germaniam spectat. Hoc milia passuum octingenta in longitudinem esse existimatur.
Thus the whole island is two thousand miles in circuit.
Ita omnis insula est in circuitu vicies centum milium passuum.
Of all these the most civilized by far are those who inhabit Cantium, which is a wholly maritime region, and they differ not much from the Gallic manner of life.
Ex his omnibus longe sunt humanissimi qui Cantium incolunt, quae regio est maritima omnis, neque multum a Gallica differunt consuetudine.
Most of the inland peoples do not sow grain, but live on milk and flesh and are clothed in skins. All the Britons, indeed, stain themselves with woad, which produces a blue color, and by this are the more dreadful in aspect in battle;
Interiores plerique frumenta non serunt, sed lacte et carne vivunt pellibusque sunt vestiti. Omnes vero se Britanni vitro inficiunt, quod caeruleum efficit colorem, atque hoc horridiores sunt in pugna aspectu;
they wear the hair long, and shave every part of the body except the head and the upper lip.
capilloque sunt promisso atque omni parte corporis rasa praeter caput et labrum superius.
Wives are held in common, ten or twelve men to a group, especially brothers with brothers and fathers with sons; but the children born of these are reckoned the children of him to whom each maiden was first led.
Vxores habent deni duodenique inter se communes et maxime fratres cum fratribus parentesque cum liberis; sed qui sunt ex his nati, eorum habentur liberi, quo primum virgo quaeque deducta est.
The enemy’s cavalry and charioteers clashed fiercely in battle with our cavalry on the march, yet so that our men were superior in all quarters and drove them into the woods and hills.
Equites hostium essedariique acriter proelio cum equitatu nostro in itinere conflixerunt, tamen ut nostri omnibus partibus superiores fuerint atque eos in silvas collesque compulerint.
But, with a good many killed, they pursued too eagerly and lost some of their own.
Sed compluribus interfectis cupidius insecuti nonnullos ex suis amiserunt.
But the enemy, after an interval, while our men were off guard and busied in fortifying the camp, suddenly flung themselves out of the woods, and, having made a charge against those who were stationed on guard before the camp,
At illi intermisso spatio imprudentibus nostris atque occupatis in munitione castrorum subito se ex silvis eiecerunt, impetuque in eos facto qui erant in statione pro castris collocati,
fought fiercely; and, two cohorts being sent up as support by Caesar—and these the first of two legions—when these had taken their stand with only a very small space of ground between them, the enemy, our men being terrified by the strange kind of fighting, broke most boldly through the midst of them and withdrew from there unharmed.
acriter pugnaverunt, duabusque missis subsidio cohortibus a Caesare atque eis primis legionum duarum, cum hae perexiguo intermisso loci spatio inter se constitissent, novo genere pugnae perterritis nostris per medios audacissime perruperunt seque inde incolumes receperunt.
On that day Quintus Laberius Durus, a military tribune, is killed. The enemy are repelled when more cohorts are sent up.
Eo die Quintus Laberius Durus, tribunus militum, interficitur. Illi pluribus submissis cohortibus repelluntur.
In this whole kind of fighting, since it was carried on before the eyes of all and in front of the camp, it was understood that our men, on account of the weight of their arms, were less fit against an enemy of this kind, because they could neither pursue the retreating nor dare to leave the standards;
Toto hoc in genere pugnae, cum sub oculis omnium ac pro castris dimicaretur, intellectum est nostros propter gravitatem armorum, quod neque insequi cedentes possent neque ab signis discedere auderent, minus aptos esse ad huius generis hostem,
and that the cavalry fought at great peril, because the enemy would usually even retreat on purpose, and, when they had drawn our men a little from the legions, would leap down from their chariots and fight on foot in an unequal contest.
equites autem magno cum periculo proelio dimicare, propterea quod illi etiam consulto plerumque cederent et, cum paulum ab legionibus nostros removissent, ex essedis desilirent et pedibus dispari proelio contenderent.
But the manner of cavalry fighting brought the same and equal danger both to those retreating and to those pursuing.
Equestris autem proeli ratio et cedentibus et insequentibus par atque idem periculum inferebat.
There was added to this that they never fought in close order, but in scattered groups and at wide intervals, and had pickets posted, and relieved one another in succession, fresh and unwearied taking the place of the spent.
Accedebat huc ut numquam conferti sed rari magnisque intervallis proeliarentur stationesque dispositas haberent, atque alios alii deinceps exciperent, integrique et recentes defetigatis succederent.
On the next day the enemy took their stand on the hills far from the camp and began to show themselves in scattered groups and to provoke our cavalry to battle more slackly than the day before.
Postero die procul a castris hostes in collibus constiterunt rarique se ostendere et lenius quam pridie nostros equites proelio lacessere coeperunt.
But at midday, when Caesar had sent three legions and all the cavalry for the sake of foraging under the legate Gaius Trebonius, they suddenly flew at the foragers from all sides, in such a way that they did not hold off from the standards and the legions.
Sed meridie, cum Caesar pabulandi causa tres legiones atque omnem equitatum cum Gaio Trebonio legato misisset, repente ex omnibus partibus ad pabulatores advolaverunt, sic uti ab signis legionibusque non absisterent.
Our men, a charge fiercely made against them, drove them back, nor did they make an end of pursuing until the cavalry, trusting in the support, since they saw the legions behind them,
Nostri acriter in eos impetu facto reppulerunt neque finem sequendi fecerunt, quoad subsidio confisi equites, cum post se legiones viderent,
drove the enemy headlong; and, a great number of them being killed, gave them no chance either of rallying or of making a stand or of leaping down from the chariots.
praecipites hostes egerunt magnoque eorum numero interfecto neque sui colligendi neque consistendi aut ex essedis desiliendi facultatem dederunt.
After this rout the auxiliaries who had gathered from all sides at once departed, nor after that time did the enemy ever contend with us with their fullest forces.
Ex hac fuga protinus, quae undique convenerant, auxilia discesserunt, neque post id tempus umquam summis nobiscum copiis hostes contenderunt.
Caesar, having learned their plan, led the army to the river Thames into the territory of Cassivellaunus; which river can be crossed on foot at one place only, and that with difficulty.
Caesar cognito consilio eorum ad flumen Tamesim in fines Cassivellauni exercitum duxit; quod flumen uno omnino loco pedibus, atque hoc aegre, transiri potest.
When he had come there, he noticed that great forces of the enemy were drawn up on the other bank of the river;
Eo cum venisset, animum advertit ad alteram fluminis ripam magnas esse copias hostium instructas;
the bank, moreover, was fortified with sharp stakes fixed along it, and stakes of the same kind, driven in under the water, were hidden by the river.
ripa autem erat acutis sudibus praefixis munita, eiusdemque generis sub aqua defixae sudes flumine tegebantur.
These things learned from captives and deserters, Caesar, the cavalry sent ahead, ordered the legions to follow at once.
His rebus cognitis a captivis perfugisque Caesar praemisso equitatu confestim legiones subsequi iussit.
But the soldiers went with such speed and such drive—though only their heads stood out of the water—that the enemy could not bear the onset of the legions and the cavalry, and abandoned the banks and committed themselves to flight.
Sed ea celeritate atque eo impetu milites ierunt, cum capite solo ex aqua exstarent, ut hostes impetum legionum atque equitum sustinere non possent ripasque dimitterent ac se fugae mandarent.
Cassivellaunus, as we have shown above, all hope of a pitched struggle laid aside, the greater part of his forces dismissed, with about four thousand charioteers left, watched our routes and withdrew a little from the road and hid himself in difficult and wooded places; and in those districts through which he had learned we would make our march, he drove the cattle and the people from the fields into the woods, and,
Cassivellaunus, ut supra demonstravimus, omni deposita spe contentionis dimissis amplioribus copiis milibus circiter quattuor essedariorum relictis itinera nostra servabat paulumque ex via excedebat locisque impeditis ac silvestribus sese occultabat, atque eis regionibus quibus nos iter facturos cognoverat pecora atque homines ex agris in silvas compellebat et,
whenever our cavalry had flung itself out into the fields rather freely for the sake of plundering and laying waste, he would send the charioteers out of the woods by every road and path and engage them at great peril to our cavalry, and by this fear kept them from ranging more widely.
cum equitatus noster liberius praedandi vastandique causa se in agros eiecerat, omnibus viis semitisque essedarios ex silvis emittebat et magno cum periculo nostrorum equitum cum eis confligebat atque hoc metu latius vagari prohibebat.
It remained that Caesar should allow no farther departure from the column of the legions, and that the enemy should be harmed in laying waste the fields and setting fires only so far as the legionary soldiers could accomplish by their labor and march.
Relinquebatur ut neque longius ab agmine legionum discedi Caesar pateretur, et tantum in agris vastandis incendiisque faciendis hostibus noceretur, quantum labore atque itinere legionarii milites efficere poterant.
Meanwhile the Trinobantes, almost the strongest state of those regions—from which the young man Mandubracius, following Caesar’s good faith, had come to him in continental Gaul (whose father had held the kingship in that state and had been killed by Cassivellaunus, while he himself had escaped death by flight)—send envoys to Caesar and promise that they will surrender to him and do his commands;
Interim Trinobantes, prope firmissima earum regionum civitas, ex qua Mandubracius adulescens Caesaris fidem secutus ad eum in continentem Galliam venerat, cuius pater in ea civitate regnum obtinuerat interfectusque erat a Cassivellauno, ipse fuga mortem vitaverat, legatos ad Caesarem mittunt pollicenturque sese ei dedituros atque imperata facturos;
they ask that he defend Mandubracius from the wrong of Cassivellaunus and send him into the state to govern it and hold command.
petunt ut Mandubracium ab iniuria Cassivellauni defendat atque in civitatem mittat, qui praesit imperiumque obtineat.
On these Caesar imposes forty hostages and grain for the army, and sends Mandubracius to them.
His Caesar imperat obsides quadraginta frumentumque exercitui Mandubraciumque ad eos mittit.
They quickly did his commands, sent hostages to the number and grain.
Illi imperata celeriter fecerunt, obsides ad numerum frumentumque miserunt.
The Trinobantes protected and kept from all wrong by the soldiers, the Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci, and Cassi, embassies sent, surrender themselves to Caesar.
Trinobantibus defensis atque ab omni militum iniuria prohibitis Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci, Cassi legationibus missis sese Caesari dedunt.
From these he learns that not far from that place was the stronghold of Cassivellaunus, fortified by woods and marshes, where a sufficiently great number of men and cattle had gathered.
Ab his cognoscit non longe ex eo loco oppidum Cassivellauni abesse silvis paludibusque munitum, quo satis magnus hominum pecorisque numerus convenerit.
The Britons call it a stronghold when they have fortified dense woods with a rampart and ditch, where they are accustomed to gather for the sake of avoiding an enemy’s incursion.
Oppidum autem Britanni vocant, cum silvas impeditas vallo atque fossa munierunt, quo incursionis hostium vitandae causa convenire consuerunt.
There he sets out with the legions: he finds the place excellently fortified by nature and by labor; nevertheless he strives to assault it from two sides.
Eo proficiscitur cum legionibus: locum reperit egregie natura atque opere munitum; tamen hunc duabus ex partibus oppugnare contendit.
The enemy, having delayed a little, did not bear the charge of our soldiers and flung themselves out from another side of the stronghold.
Hostes paulisper morati militum nostrorum impetum non tulerunt seseque alia ex parte oppidi eiecerunt.
A great number of cattle was found there, and many were caught in the flight and killed.
Magnus ibi numerus pecoris repertus, multique in fuga sunt comprehensi atque interfecti.
While these things are being done in these parts, Cassivellaunus sends messengers to Cantium, which we have shown above to be on the sea, over which regions four kings ruled—Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus, Segovax—and orders them, all their forces being gathered, to fall upon and assault the naval camp without warning.
Dum haec in his locis geruntur, Cassivellaunus ad Cantium, quod esse ad mare supra demonstravimus, quibus regionibus quattuor reges praeerant, Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus, Segovax, nuntios mittit atque eis imperat uti coactis omnibus copiis castra navalia de improviso adoriantur atque oppugnent.
When these had come to the camp, our men, a sortie made, with many of them killed and their noble leader Lugotorix also taken, led back their own unharmed.
Ei cum ad castra venissent, nostri eruptione facta multis eorum interfectis, capto etiam nobili duce Lugotorige suos incolumes reduxerunt.
Cassivellaunus, this battle reported, with so many losses suffered, his territory laid waste, and chiefly moved too by the defection of the states, sends envoys through the Atrebatian Commius to Caesar concerning surrender.
Cassivellaunus hoc proelio nuntiato tot detrimentis acceptis, vastatis finibus, maxime etiam permotus defectione civitatum legatos per Atrebatem Commium de deditione ad Caesarem mittit.
Caesar, since he had decided to winter on the continent on account of the sudden risings of Gaul, and not much of the summer remained, and he understood that it could easily be dragged out, demands hostages and fixes what tribute Britain should pay each year to the Roman people;
Caesar, cum constituisset hiemare in continenti propter repentinos Galliae motus, neque multum aestatis superesset, atque id facile extrahi posse intellegeret, obsides imperat et quid in annos singulos vectigalis populo Romano Britannia penderet constituit;
he forbids and commands Cassivellaunus not to harm Mandubracius or the Trinobantes.
interdicit atque imperat Cassivellauno, ne Mandubracio neu Trinobantibus noceat.
The hostages received, he leads the army back to the sea and finds the ships repaired.
Obsidibus acceptis exercitum reducit ad mare, naves invenit refectas.
These launched, because he both had a great number of captives and some ships had been lost by the storm, he resolved to carry the army back in two passages.
His deductis, quod et captivorum magnum numerum habebat, et nonnullae tempestate deperierant naves, duobus commeatibus exercitum reportare instituit.
And so it happened that out of so great a number of ships, in so many voyages, neither this year nor the year before was any ship at all that carried soldiers lost;
Ac sic accidit, uti ex tanto navium numero tot navigationibus neque hoc neque superiore anno ulla omnino navis,
but of those that were sent back to him empty from the continent—both the ships of the earlier passage, the soldiers landed, and the sixty that Labienus had afterward had built—very few reached the place, while almost all the rest were driven back.
quae milites portaret, desideraretur; at ex eis, quae inanes ex continenti ad eum remitterentur et prioris commeatus expositis militibus et quas postea Labienus faciendas curaverat numero LX, perpaucae locum caperent, reliquae fere omnes reicerentur.
When Caesar had waited for these some while in vain, lest he be shut out from the voyage by the season of the year—
Quas cum aliquamdiu Caesar frustra exspectasset, ne anni tempore a navigatione excluderetur,
because the equinox was at hand—he of necessity stowed the soldiers more closely; and, the utmost calm following, having set sail at the beginning of the second watch, at daybreak he reached land and brought all the ships in unharmed.
quod aequinoctium suberat, necessario angustius milites collocavit ac summa tranquillitate consecuta, secunda inita cum solvisset vigilia, prima luce terram attigit omnesque incolumes naves perduxit.
The ships hauled up and a council of the Gauls held at Samarobriva, because that year the grain in Gaul had come up more scantily on account of the droughts, he was forced to dispose the army in winter quarters otherwise than in earlier years and to distribute the legions among several states;
Subductis navibus concilioque Gallorum Samarobrivae peracto, quod eo anno frumentum in Gallia propter siccitates angustius provenerat, coactus est aliter ac superioribus annis exercitum in hibernis collocare legionesque in plures civitates distribuere;
of which he gave one to the legate Gaius Fabius to lead among the Morini, a second to Quintus Cicero among the Nervii, a third to Lucius Roscius among the Esuvii; a fourth he ordered to winter among the Remi with Titus Labienus on the border of the Treveri. Three he stationed among the Belgae:
ex quibus unam in Morinos ducendam Gaio Fabio legato dedit, alteram in Nervios Quinto Ciceroni, tertiam in Esubios Lucio Roscio; quartam in Remis cum Tito Labieno in confinio Treverorum hiemare iussit. Tres in Belgis collocavit:
over these he set the quaestor Marcus Crassus and the legates Lucius Munatius Plancus and Gaius Trebonius.
eis Marcum Crassum quaestorem et Lucium Munatium Plancum et Gaium Trebonium legatos praefecit.
One legion, which he had lately enrolled across the Po, and five cohorts he sent among the Eburones, the greatest part of whom lie between the Meuse and the Rhine, who were under the command of Ambiorix and Catuvolcus.
Vnam legionem, quam proxime trans Padum conscripserat, et cohortes V in Eburones, quorum pars maxima est inter Mosam ac Rhenum, qui sub imperio Ambiorigis et Catuvolci erant, misit.
Over these soldiers he ordered the legates Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta to preside.
Eis militibus Quintum Titurium Sabinum et Lucium Aurunculeium Cottam legatos praeesse iussit.
The legions thus distributed, he judged that he could most easily remedy the scarcity of grain.
Ad hunc modum distributis legionibus facillime inopiae frumentariae sese mederi posse existimavit.
And yet the winter quarters of all these legions, except the one he had given Lucius Roscius to lead into the most peaceful and quiet part, were contained within a hundred miles.
Atque harum tamen omnium legionum hiberna praeter eam, quam Lucio Roscio in pacatissimam et quietissimam partem ducendam dederat, milibus passuum centum continebantur.
He himself meanwhile decided to linger in Gaul until he should know that the legions were settled and the winter camps fortified.
Ipse interea, quoad legiones collocatas munitaque hiberna cognovisset, in Gallia morari constituit.
There was among the Carnutes a man of the highest birth, Tasgetius, whose forefathers had held the kingship in their state.
Erat in Carnutibus summo loco natus Tasgetius, cuius maiores in sua civitate regnum obtinuerant.
To this man Caesar, on account of his courage and his goodwill toward himself—because in all his wars he had used his outstanding service—had restored the place of his forefathers.
Huic Caesar pro eius virtute atque in se benevolentia, quod in omnibus bellis singulari eius opera fuerat usus, maiorum locum restituerat.
Now reigning this third year, his enemies, with many of his own state openly abetting them, killed him.
Tertium iam hunc annum regnantem inimici, multis palam ex civitate eius auctoribus, eum interfecerunt.
The matter is reported to Caesar. He, fearing—because it touched many—that the state might revolt at their instigation, orders Lucius Plancus with his legion to set out quickly from Belgium into the Carnutes and to winter there, and to seize and send to him those by whose agency he had learned Tasgetius was killed.
Defertur ea res ad Caesarem. Ille veritus, quod ad plures pertinebat, ne civitas eorum impulsu deficeret, Lucium Plancum cum legione ex Belgio celeriter in Carnutes proficisci iubet ibique hiemare quorumque opera cognoverat Tasgetium interfectum, hos comprehensos ad se mittere.
Meanwhile he was informed by all the legates and the quaestor to whom he had handed over the legions that the winter quarters had been reached and the place for them fortified.
Interim ab omnibus legatis quaestoreque, quibus legiones tradiderat, certior factus est in hiberna perventum locumque hibernis esse munitum.
About fifteen days after the winter quarters were reached, the beginning of a sudden disturbance and defection arose from Ambiorix and Catuvolcus;
Diebus circiter XV, quibus in hiberna ventum est, initium repentini tumultus ac defectionis ortum est ab Ambiorige et Catuvolco;
who, although they had presented themselves to Sabinus and Cotta at the borders of their kingdom and had carried grain into the winter quarters, incited by the messages of Indutiomarus the Treveran, roused their people, and, the wood-gatherers suddenly overwhelmed, came with a great band to assault the camp.
qui, cum ad fines regni sui Sabino Cottaeque praesto fuissent frumentumque in hiberna comportavissent, Indutiomari Treveri nuntiis impulsi suos concitaverunt subitoque oppressis lignatoribus magna manu ad castra oppugnatum venerunt.
When our men had quickly taken up arms and mounted the rampart, and, the Spanish cavalry being sent out from one side, had got the upper hand in a cavalry engagement, the enemy, despairing of the affair, drew their men back from the assault.
Cum celeriter nostri arma cepissent vallumque adscendissent atque una ex parte Hispanis equitibus emissis equestri proelio superiores fuissent, desperata re hostes suos ab oppugnatione reduxerunt.
Then in their own fashion they shouted out that some one of our men should come forward to a parley: they had things they wished to say about the common interest, by which they hoped the disputes could be lessened.
Tum suo more conclamaverunt, uti aliqui ex nostris ad colloquium prodiret: habere sese, quae de re communi dicere vellent, quibus rebus controversias minui posse sperarent.
There is sent to them for the sake of parley Gaius Arpineius, a Roman knight, an intimate of Quintus Titurius, and a certain Quintus Junius from Spain, who already before, on Caesar’s sending, had been accustomed to go to and fro to Ambiorix; before whom Ambiorix spoke in this manner:
Mittitur ad eos colloquendi causa Gaius Arpineius, eques Romanus, familiaris Quinti Tituri, et Quintus Iunius ex Hispania quidam, qui iam ante missu Caesaris ad Ambiorigem ventitare consuerat; apud quos Ambiorix ad hunc modum locutus est:
that he confessed he owed very much to Caesar for his kindnesses toward him, because by his agency he had been freed from the tribute he had been accustomed to pay to the Atuatuci, his neighbors, and because both his son and his brother’s son had been sent back to him by Caesar—whom the Atuatuci, when sent in the number of hostages, had held among themselves in slavery and chains;
sese pro Caesaris in se beneficiis plurimum ei confiteri debere, quod eius opera stipendio liberatus esset, quod Aduatucis, finitimis suis, pendere consuesset, quodque ei et filius et fratris filius ab Caesare remissi essent, quos Aduatuci obsidum numero missos apud se in servitute et catenis tenuissent;
and that what he had done about the assault on the camp he had done neither by his own judgment nor of his own will, but under the compulsion of the state, and that his rule was of such a kind that the people had no less right over him than he over the people.
neque id, quod fecerit de oppugnatione castrorum, aut iudicio aut voluntate sua fecisse, sed coactu civitatis, suaque esse eiusmodi imperia, ut non minus haberet iuris in se multitudo quam ipse in multitudinem.
For the state, moreover, this had been the cause of war, that it could not resist the sudden conspiracy of the Gauls. This he could easily prove from his own lowliness, since he was not so unversed in affairs as to trust that the Roman people could be overcome by his own forces.
Civitati porro hanc fuisse belli causam, quod repentinae Gallorum coniurationi resistere non potuerit. Id se facile ex humilitate sua probare posse, quod non adeo sit imperitus rerum ut suis copiis populum Romanum superari posse confidat.
But there was a common plan of Gaul: this was the appointed day for assaulting all of Caesar’s winter quarters, so that no legion could come to the aid of another;
Sed esse Galliae commune consilium: omnibus hibernis Caesaris oppugnandis hunc esse dictum diem, ne qua legio alterae legioni subsidio venire posset;
Gauls could not easily refuse Gauls, especially since a plan seemed to have been entered upon for recovering their common liberty.
non facile Gallos Gallis negare potuisse, praesertim cum de recuperanda communi libertate consilium initum videretur.
Since he had satisfied them for loyalty’s sake, he now had regard for his duty toward Caesar’s kindnesses: he warned, he begged Titurius by their guest-friendship to take thought for his own and the soldiers’ safety.
Quibus quoniam pro pietate satisfecerit, habere nunc se rationem offici pro beneficiis Caesaris: monere, orare Titurium pro hospitio, ut suae ac militum saluti consulat.
A great band of Germans, hired, had crossed the Rhine; this would be at hand within two days.
Magnam manum Germanorum conductam Rhenum transisse; hanc adfore biduo.
It was for them to decide whether they wished, before the neighbors became aware, to lead the soldiers drawn out from the winter quarters either to Cicero or to Labienus, of whom the one was about fifty miles away, the other a little farther.
Ipsorum esse consilium, velintne priusquam finitimi sentiant eductos ex hibernis milites aut ad Ciceronem aut ad Labienum deducere, quorum alter milia passuum circiter quinquaginta, alter paulo amplius ab eis absit.
This he promised and confirmed by oath, that he would grant a safe march through his territory;
Illud se polliceri et iureiurando confirmare tutum iter per fines daturum;
in doing which, he was both taking thought for his state, since it would be relieved of the winter quarters, and repaying Caesar the gratitude due for his services. This speech delivered, Ambiorix departs.
quod cum faciat, et civitati sese consulere, quod hibernis levetur, et Caesari pro eius meritis gratiam referre. Hac oratione habita discedit Ambiorix.
Arpineius and Junius report what they heard to the legates. They, thrown into confusion by the sudden affair, although these things were said by an enemy, nevertheless judged them not to be neglected, and were chiefly moved by this, that it was scarcely to be believed that an obscure and lowly state like the Eburones had dared of its own accord to make war on the Roman people.
Arpineius et Iunius, quae audierunt, ad legatos deferunt. Illi repentina re perturbati, etsi ab hoste ea dicebantur, tamen non neglegenda existimabant maximeque hac re permovebantur, quod civitatem ignobilem atque humilem Eburonum sua sponte populo Romano bellum facere ausam vix erat credendum.
And so they refer the matter to a council, and a great dispute arises among them.
Itaque ad consilium rem deferunt magnaque inter eos exsistit controversia.
Lucius Aurunculeius and several military tribunes and centurions of the first ranks judged that nothing should be done rashly and that they should not depart from the winter quarters without Caesar’s order: they pointed out that forces however great, even of Germans, could be withstood with the winter quarters fortified; the proof was at hand, that they had most bravely withstood the enemy’s first onset, with many wounds dealt in return; that they were not pressed for grain; that meanwhile reinforcements would gather both from the nearest winter quarters and from Caesar; finally, what was more frivolous or more shameful than to take counsel on the highest matters on an enemy’s prompting?
Lucius Aurunculeius compluresque tribuni militum et primorum ordinum centuriones nihil temere agendum neque ex hibernis iniussu Caesaris discedendum existimabant: quantasvis [magnas] copias etiam Germanorum sustineri posse munitis hibernis docebant: rem esse testimonio, quod primum hostium impetum multis ultro vulneribus illatis fortissime sustinuerint: re frumentaria non premi; interea et ex proximis hibernis et a Caesare conventura subsidia: postremo quid esse levius aut turpius, quam auctore hoste de summis rebus capere consilium?
Against this Titurius cried out that they would act too late, when greater bands of the enemy with the Germans joined to them had gathered, or when some disaster had been suffered in the nearest winter quarters. The chance of taking counsel was brief. He believed Caesar had set out for Italy;
Contra ea Titurius sero facturos clamitabat, cum maiores manus hostium adiunctis Germanis convenissent, aut cum aliquid calamitatis in proximis hibernis esset acceptum. Brevem consulendi esse occasionem. Caesarem arbitrari profectum in Italiam;
otherwise the Carnutes would not have taken the plan of killing Tasgetius, nor, if he were present, would the Eburones be coming to the camp with such contempt for us.
neque aliter Carnutes interficiendi Tasgeti consilium fuisse capturos, neque Eburones, si ille adesset, tanta contemptione nostri ad castra venturos esse.
He looked not to the enemy as his authority, but to the facts: the Rhine was near; the death of Ariovistus and our earlier victories were a great grief to the Germans;
Non hostem auctorem, sed rem spectare: subesse Rhenum; magno esse Germanis dolori Ariovisti mortem et superiores nostras victorias;
Gaul was ablaze, having been brought under the command of the Roman people after so many indignities suffered, its former glory in war extinguished.
ardere Galliam tot contumeliis acceptis sub populi Romani imperium redactam superiore gloria rei militaris exstincta.
Finally, who could persuade himself of this, that Ambiorix had come down to such a plan without sure ground?
Postremo quis hoc sibi persuaderet, sine certa re Ambiorigem ad eiusmodi consilium descendisse?
His own opinion was safe either way: if there were nothing harsher, they would reach the nearest legion with no danger; if all Gaul were in agreement with the Germans, their one safety lay in speed.
Suam sententiam in utramque partem esse tutam: si nihil esset durius, nullo cum periculo ad proximam legionem perventuros; si Gallia omnis cum Germanis consentiret, unam esse in celeritate positam salutem.
What outcome did the plan of Cotta and of those who dissented have? In which, if not present danger, yet certainly famine in a long siege was to be feared.
Cottae quidem atque eorum, qui dissentirent, consilium quem habere exitum? In quo si non praesens periculum, at certe longinqua obsidione fames esset timenda.
This dispute held on both sides, when there was fierce resistance from Cotta and the first ranks, "Win, then," said Sabinus, "if so you wish"—and that in a louder voice, so that a great part of the soldiers heard;
Hac in utramque partem disputatione habita, cum a Cotta primisque ordinibus acriter resisteretur, "Vincite," inquit, "si ita vultis," Sabinus, et id clariore voce, ut magna pars militum exaudiret;
"nor am I," he said, "the man among you to be most grievously frightened by the peril of death: these men will understand; if anything graver happens, they will demand a reckoning from you,
"neque is sum," inquit, "qui gravissime ex vobis mortis periculo terrear: hi sapient; si gravius quid acciderit, abs te rationem reposcent,
who, if it were allowed them by you, would two days hence, joined with the nearest winter quarters, bear the common chance of war along with the rest, and not, cast off and banished far from the others, perish by the sword or by famine."
qui, si per te liceat, perendino die cum proximis hibernis coniuncti communem cum reliquis belli casum sustineant, non reiecti et relegati longe ab ceteris aut ferro aut fame intereant."
They rise up from the council; they take hold of both men and beg them not to bring the matter into the utmost peril by their disagreement and stubbornness:
Consurgitur ex consilio; comprehendunt utrumque et orant, ne sua dissensione et pertinacia rem in summum periculum deducant:
the matter was easy, whether they stayed or set out, if only all should be of one mind and approve it; on the contrary, in disagreement they saw no safety. The matter is dragged out by dispute to midnight.
facilem esse rem, seu maneant, seu proficiscantur, si modo unum omnes sentiant ac probent; contra in dissensione nullam se salutem perspicere. Res disputatione ad mediam noctem perducitur.
At last Cotta, moved, yields: Sabinus’s opinion prevails. It is announced that they will march at daybreak.
Tandem dat Cotta permotus manus: superat sententia Sabini. Pronuntiatur prima luce ituros.
The rest of the night is spent in watching, while each soldier looked about at his own gear, what he could carry with him, what part of the winter-quarters’ equipment he would be forced to leave.
Consumitur vigiliis reliqua pars noctis, cum sua quisque miles circumspiceret, quid secum portare posset, quid ex instrumento hibernorum relinquere cogeretur.
Every reason is devised why one could not stay without danger, and why the danger was increased by the weariness of the soldiers and the want of sleep.
Omnia excogitantur, quare nec sine periculo maneatur, et languore militum et vigiliis periculum augeatur.
At daybreak they set out from the camp, as men who had been persuaded that the advice was given not by an enemy but by Ambiorix, a most friendly man, in a very long column and with the greatest baggage train.
Prima luce sic ex castris proficiscuntur, ut quibus esset persuasum non ab hoste, sed ab homine amicissimo Ambiorige consilium datum, longissimo agmine maximisque impedimentis.
But the enemy, after they perceived their departure from the night’s stir and the watching, having set an ambush in two parts in the woods, in a convenient and hidden place about two miles off, awaited the coming of the Romans;
At hostes, posteaquam ex nocturno fremitu vigiliisque de profectione eorum senserunt, collocatis insidiis bipertito in silvis opportuno atque occulto loco a milibus passuum circiter duobus Romanorum adventum exspectabant,
and when the greater part of the column had gone down into a great valley, they suddenly showed themselves on both sides of that valley and began to press the rearmost and keep the foremost from the ascent and to join battle on ground most unfavorable to our men.
et cum se maior pars agminis in magnam convallem demisisset, ex utraque parte eius vallis subito se ostenderunt novissimosque premere et primos prohibere ascensu atque iniquissimo nostris loco proelium committere coeperunt.
Then at last Titurius, who had foreseen nothing beforehand, was in a panic, running this way and that, posting the cohorts—yet even these things timidly and as though everything were failing him; which usually happens to those who are forced to take counsel in the very crisis.
Tum demum Titurius, qui nihil ante providisset, trepidare et concursare cohortesque disponere, haec tamen ipsa timide atque ut eum omnia deficere viderentur; quod plerumque eis accidere consuevit, qui in ipso negotio consilium capere coguntur.
But Cotta, who had thought that these things could happen on the march and for that reason had not been the author of the departure, was wanting in nothing for the common safety, and in calling on and exhorting the soldiers performed the duties of a commander, and in the fight those of a soldier.
At Cotta, qui cogitasset haec posse in itinere accidere atque ob eam causam profectionis auctor non fuisset, nulla in re communi saluti deerat et in appellandis cohortandisque militibus imperatoris et in pugna militis officia praestabat.
Since, on account of the length of the column, they could less easily go round to everything themselves and provide what was to be done in each place, they ordered it proclaimed that they should leave the baggage and form a circle.
Cum propter longitudinem agminis minus facile omnia per se obire et, quid quoque loco faciendum esset, providere possent, iusserunt pronuntiare, ut impedimenta relinquerent atque in orbem consisterent.
Which plan, though in a case of this kind it is not to be blamed, nevertheless turned out badly:
Quod consilium etsi in eiusmodi casu reprehendendum non est, tamen incommode accidit:
for it both lessened the hope of our soldiers and made the enemy keener for the fight, because it seemed to have been done not without the utmost fear and despair. Besides, it happened, as had to happen, that the soldiers commonly left the standards and hurried to seek out and snatch from the baggage whatever each held dearest, and everything was filled with shouting and weeping.
nam et nostris militibus spem minuit et hostes ad pugnam alacriores effecit, quod non sine summo timore et desperatione id factum videbatur. Praeterea accidit, quod fieri necesse erat, ut vulgo milites ab signis discederent, quae quisque eorum carissima haberet, ab impedimentis petere atque arripere properaret, clamore et fletu omnia complerentur.
But the barbarians did not lack a plan. For their leaders ordered it proclaimed along the whole line that no one should leave his place: the booty was theirs, and whatever the Romans left was reserved for them; therefore let them reckon that everything rested on victory.
At barbaris consilium non defuit. Nam duces eorum tota acie pronuntiare iusserunt, ne quis ab loco discederet: illorum esse praedam atque illis reservari quaecumque Romani reliquissent: proinde omnia in victoria posita existimarent.
They were equal both in courage and in eagerness for the fight; our men, though deserted by their leader and by fortune, nevertheless placed all hope of safety in their courage, and as often as any cohort charged forward, on that side a great number of the enemy fell.
Erant et virtute et studio pugnandi pares; nostri, tametsi ab duce et a fortuna deserebantur, tamen omnem spem salutis in virtute ponebant, et quotiens quaeque cohors procurrerat, ab ea parte magnus numerus hostium cadebat.
This observed, Ambiorix orders it proclaimed that they should hurl their weapons from afar and not approach nearer, and should give way in whatever direction the Romans made a charge (by the lightness of their arms and their daily training no harm could come to them),
Qua re animadversa Ambiorix pronuntiari iubet, ut procul tela coniciant neu propius accedant et, quam in partem Romani impetum fecerint, cedant (levitate armorum et cotidiana exercitatione nihil eis noceri posse),
and should pursue them as they withdrew again to the standards.
rursus se ad signa recipientes insequantur.
This precept being most carefully observed by them, whenever any cohort had gone out from the circle and made a charge, the enemy fled away most swiftly.
Quo praecepto ab eis diligentissime observato, cum quaepiam cohors ex orbe excesserat atque impetum fecerat, hostes velocissime refugiebant.
Meanwhile that part had of necessity to be left bare and to take weapons on its open flank.
Interim eam partem nudari necesse erat et ab latere aperto tela recipi.
Again, when they had begun to return to the place from which they had gone out, they were surrounded both by those who had given way and by those who had stood nearest;
Rursus cum in eum locum unde erant egressi reverti coeperant, et ab eis qui cesserant et ab eis qui proximi steterant circumveniebantur;
but if they wished to hold their place, no room was left for courage, nor could they, packed close, avoid the weapons hurled by so great a multitude.
sin autem locum tenere vellent, nec virtuti locus relinquebatur, neque ab tanta multitudine coniecta tela conferti vitare poterant.
Yet, beset by so many misfortunes, with many wounds received, they held out, and, a great part of the day spent—since the fight ran from first light to the eighth hour—they committed nothing that was unworthy of themselves.
Tamen tot incommodis conflictati, multis vulneribus acceptis resistebant et magna parte diei consumpta, cum a prima luce ad horam octavam pugnaretur, nihil quod ipsis esset indignum committebant.
Then Titus Balventius, who the year before had led the first maniple, a brave man of great authority, has both thighs pierced by a javelin;
Tum Tito Balventio, qui superiore anno primum pilum duxerat, viro forti et magnae auctoritatis, utrumque femur tragula traicitur;
Quintus Lucanius, of the same rank, fighting most bravely, is killed while he comes to the aid of his surrounded son;
Quintus Lucanius, eiusdem ordinis, fortissime pugnans, dum circumvento filio subvenit, interficitur;
the legate Lucius Cotta, exhorting all the cohorts and ranks, is wounded full in the face by a sling-stone.
Lucius Cotta legatus omnes cohortes ordinesque adhortans in adversum os funda vulneratur.
Moved by these things, Quintus Titurius, when he had caught sight of Ambiorix afar off exhorting his men, sends his interpreter Gnaeus Pompeius to him to ask that he spare himself and the soldiers.
His rebus permotus Quintus Titurius, cum procul Ambiorigem suos cohortantem conspexisset, interpretem suum Gnaeum Pompeium ad eum mittit rogatum ut sibi militibusque parcat.
He, thus addressed, answered: if Titurius wished to confer with him, it was allowed; he hoped it could be obtained from the multitude what pertained to the soldiers’ safety; to Titurius himself no harm would be done, and for that he pledged his own faith. Titurius confers with the wounded Cotta,
Ille appellatus respondit: si velit secum colloqui, licere; sperare a multitudine impetrari posse, quod ad militum salutem pertineat; ipsi vero nihil nocitum iri, inque eam rem se suam fidem interponere. Ille cum Cotta saucio communicat,
that, if it seemed good, they should withdraw from the fight and confer together with Ambiorix: he hoped that from him their own and the soldiers’ safety could be obtained. Cotta refuses to go to an armed enemy, and persists in this.
si videatur, pugna ut excedant et cum Ambiorige una colloquantur: sperare ab eo de sua ac militum salute impetrari posse. Cotta se ad armatum hostem iturum negat atque in eo perseverat.
Sabinus orders the military tribunes he then had about him and the centurions of the first ranks to follow him, and, when he had come nearer to Ambiorix, being ordered to throw down his arms, he does as bidden and orders his men to do the same.
Sabinus quos in praesentia tribunos militum circum se habebat et primorum ordinum centuriones se sequi iubet et, cum propius Ambiorigem accessisset, iussus arma abicere imperatum facit suisque ut idem faciant imperat.
Meanwhile, while they treat among themselves about the terms, and a longer conversation is purposely set on foot by Ambiorix, he is gradually surrounded and killed.
Interim, dum de condicionibus inter se agunt longiorque consulto ab Ambiorige instituitur sermo, paulatim circumventus interficitur.
Then indeed they shout out victory in their fashion and raise a howl, and, a charge made against our men, throw their ranks into disorder.
Tum vero suo more victoriam conclamant atque ululatum tollunt impetuque in nostros facto ordines perturbant.
There Lucius Cotta is killed fighting, along with the greatest part of the soldiers. The rest withdraw into the camp from which they had set out;
Ibi Lucius Cotta pugnans interficitur cum maxima parte militum. Reliqui se in castra recipiunt unde erant egressi;
of these Lucius Petrosidius the eagle-bearer, when he was being pressed by a great multitude of the enemy, threw the eagle within the rampart; he himself, fighting most bravely before the camp, is slain. They with difficulty hold off the assault until night;
ex quibus Lucius Petrosidius aquilifer, cum magna multitudine hostium premeretur, aquilam intra vallum proiecit; ipse pro castris fortissime pugnans occiditur. Illi aegre ad noctem oppugnationem sustinent;
by night, all to a man, despairing of safety, they kill themselves.
noctu ad unum omnes desperata salute se ipsi interficiunt.
A few, slipping from the battle, reach the legate Titus Labienus in his winter quarters by uncertain paths through the woods and inform him of what had been done.
Pauci ex proelio lapsi incertis itineribus per silvas ad Titum Labienum legatum in hiberna perveniunt atque eum de rebus gestis certiorem faciunt.
Elated by this victory, Ambiorix sets out at once with his cavalry into the Atuatuci, who were neighbors to his kingdom; he breaks off neither night nor day, and orders the infantry to follow him.
Hac victoria sublatus Ambiorix statim cum equitatu in Aduatucos, qui erant eius regno finitimi, proficiscitur; neque noctem neque diem intermittit peditatumque se subsequi iubet.
The affair shown and the Atuatuci stirred up, on the next day he reaches the Nervii and exhorts them not to let slip the chance of freeing themselves forever and of avenging on the Romans the wrongs they had received:
Re demonstrata Aduatucisque concitatis postero die in Nervios pervenit hortaturque, ne sui in perpetuum liberandi atque ulciscendi Romanos pro eis quas acceperint iniuriis occasionem dimittant:
he shows that two legates had been killed and a great part of the army had perished;
interfectos esse legatos duos magnamque partem exercitus interisse demonstrat;
that it was no trouble to overwhelm and destroy by surprise the legion that wintered with Cicero; he declares himself a helper for that work. He easily persuades the Nervii by this speech.
nihil esse negoti subito oppressam legionem quae cum Cicerone hiemet interfici; se ad eam rem profitetur adiutorem. Facile hac oratione Nerviis persuadet.
And so, messengers being at once sent to the Ceutrones, Grudii, Levaci, Pleumoxii, and Geidumni, who are all under their command, they gather the greatest bands they can and fly without warning to Cicero’s winter quarters, the report of Titurius’s death not yet brought to him.
Itaque confestim dimissis nuntiis ad Ceutrones, Grudios, Levacos, Pleumoxios, Geidumnos, qui omnes sub eorum imperio sunt, quam maximas manus possunt cogunt et de improviso ad Ciceronis hiberna advolant nondum ad eum fama de Tituri morte perlata.
To him too it happened, as had to happen, that some soldiers who had gone off into the woods to gather wood and timber for the fortification were cut off by the sudden arrival of the cavalry.
Huic quoque accidit, quod fuit necesse, ut nonnulli milites, qui lignationis munitionisque causa in silvas discessissent, repentino equitum adventu interciperentur.
These surrounded, with a great band the Eburones, Nervii, and Atuatuci, and the allies and dependents of all these, begin to assault the legion. Our men run quickly to arms and mount the rampart.
His circumventis magna manu Eburones, Nervii, Aduatuci atque horum omnium socii et clientes legionem oppugnare incipiunt. Nostri celeriter ad arma concurrunt, vallum conscendunt.
That day is held out with difficulty, because the enemy placed all their hope in speed and trusted that, this victory once won, they would be victors forever.
Aegre is dies sustentatur, quod omnem spem hostes in celeritate ponebant atque hanc adepti victoriam in perpetuum se fore victores confidebant.
Letters are sent at once to Caesar from Cicero, great rewards being offered if they carried them through: all the roads being blockaded, the men sent are intercepted.
Mittuntur ad Caesarem confestim ab Cicerone litterae magnis propositis praemiis, si pertulissent: obsessis omnibus viis missi intercipiuntur.
By night, out of the timber they had gathered for fortification, as many as a hundred and twenty towers are raised with incredible speed; what seemed wanting to the work is completed.
Noctu ex materia, quam munitionis causa comportaverant, turres admodum CXX excitantur incredibili celeritate; quae deesse operi videbantur, perficiuntur.
The enemy, on the next day, with much greater forces gathered, assault the camp and fill the ditch. They are resisted by our men in the same fashion as the day before;
Hostes postero die multo maioribus coactis copiis castra oppugnant, fossam complent. Eadem ratione, qua pridie, ab nostris resistitur:
this same thing is done on the following days in turn.
hoc idem reliquis deinceps fit diebus.
No part of the night’s time is broken off from the labor; no chance of rest is given to the sick or the wounded.
Nulla pars nocturni temporis ad laborem intermittitur; non aegris, non vulneratis facultas quietis datur.
Whatever is needed for the next day’s assault is prepared by night; many fire-hardened stakes, a great number of mural pikes are made ready; the towers are floored, battlements and breastworks woven from wicker are added.
Quaecumque ad proximi diei oppugnationem opus sunt noctu comparantur; multae praeustae sudes, magnus muralium pilorum numerus instituitur; turres contabulantur, pinnae loricaeque ex cratibus attexuntur.
Cicero himself, though he was of the frailest health, left himself not even the night for rest, so that he was forced, by the soldiers’ very crowding round and their entreaties, to spare himself.
Ipse Cicero, cum tenuissima valetudine esset, ne nocturnum quidem sibi tempus ad quietem relinquebat, ut ultro militum concursu ac vocibus sibi parcere cogeretur.
Then the leaders and chiefs of the Nervii who had any approach to converse with Cicero and any tie of friendship say that they wish to confer.
Tunc duces principesque Nerviorum qui aliquem sermonis aditum causamque amicitiae cum Cicerone habebant colloqui sese velle dicunt.
Leave being granted, they recount the same things that Ambiorix had urged with Titurius: that all Gaul was in arms;
Facta potestate eadem quae Ambiorix cum Titurio egerat commemorant: omnem esse in armis Galliam;
that the Germans had crossed the Rhine; that Caesar’s winter quarters and the rest were being assaulted.
Germanos Rhenum transisse; Caesaris reliquorumque hiberna oppugnari.
They add also about the death of Sabinus: they point to Ambiorix to make their good faith credible.
Addunt etiam de Sabini morte: Ambiorigem ostentant fidei faciendae causa.
They say the Romans were mistaken if they hoped for any protection from men who despaired of their own affairs; yet they themselves were of this mind toward Cicero and the Roman people, that they refused nothing but the winter quarters and were unwilling that this practice should take root:
Errare eos dicunt, si quidquam ab his praesidi sperent, qui suis rebus diffidant; sese tamen hoc esse in Ciceronem populumque Romanum animo, ut nihil nisi hiberna recusent atque hanc inveterascere consuetudinem nolint:
the Romans were free, for their part, to depart unharmed from the winter quarters and to set out without fear into whatever quarter they wished.
licere illis incolumibus per se ex hibernis discedere et quascumque in partes velint sine metu proficisci.
Cicero to these things answered only one thing: that it was not the custom of the Roman people to accept a condition from an armed enemy:
Cicero ad haec unum modo respondit: non esse consuetudinem populi Romani accipere ab hoste armato condicionem:
if they wished to depart from arms, let them use him as a helper and send envoys to Caesar; he hoped that, given his justice, they would obtain what they sought.
si ab armis discedere velint, se adiutore utantur legatosque ad Caesarem mittant; sperare pro eius iustitia, quae petierint, impetraturos.
Repulsed from this hope, the Nervii surround the winter quarters with a rampart nine feet high and a ditch fifteen feet wide.
Ab hac spe repulsi Nervii vallo pedum IX et fossa pedum XV hiberna cingunt.
These things they had learned from us by the practice of earlier years, and they were taught by certain captives whom they had from the army;
Haec et superiorum annorum consuetudine ab nobis cognoverant et, quosdam de exercitu habebant captivos, ab eis docebantur;
but, having no supply of iron tools suitable for this use, they strove to cut the sods round with their swords and to empty out the earth with their hands and their cloaks.
sed nulla ferramentorum copia quae esset ad hunc usum idonea, gladiis caespites circumcidere, manibus sagulisque terram exhaurire nitebantur.
From which very thing the multitude of men could be perceived: for in less than three hours they completed a fortification of fifteen thousand feet in circuit,
Qua quidem ex re hominum multitudo cognosci potuit: nam minus horis tribus milium pedum XV in circuitu munitionem perfecerunt
and on the following days they began to prepare and make towers to the height of the rampart, grappling-hooks, and tortoises, which the same captives had taught them.
reliquisque diebus turres ad altitudinem valli, falces testudinesque, quas idem captivi docuerant, parare ac facere coeperunt.
On the seventh day of the assault, a very great wind having arisen, they began to hurl with their slings white-hot balls of molded clay and heated darts onto the huts, which in the Gallic fashion were roofed with thatch.
Septimo oppugnationis die maximo coorto vento ferventes fusili ex argilla glandes fundis et fervefacta iacula in casas, quae more Gallico stramentis erant tectae, iacere coeperunt.
These quickly caught fire and by the force of the wind spread it to every part of the camp.
Hae celeriter ignem comprehenderunt et venti magnitudine in omnem locum castrorum distulerunt.
The enemy, with a very great shout, as though the victory were already won and made sure, began to move up their towers and tortoises and to mount the rampart with ladders.
Hostes maximo clamore sicuti parta iam atque explorata victoria turres testudinesque agere et scalis vallum ascendere coeperunt.
But so great was the courage of the soldiers and such their presence of mind that, though they were scorched on every side by the flame and pressed by a very great multitude of weapons, and understood that all their baggage and all their fortunes were burning, not only did no one leave the rampart to move away, but scarcely did anyone even look back, and then they all fought most fiercely and most bravely.
At tanta militum virtus atque ea praesentia animi fuit, ut, cum undique flamma torrerentur maximaque telorum multitudine premerentur suaque omnia impedimenta atque omnes fortunas conflagrare intellegerent, non modo demigrandi causa de vallo decederet nemo, sed paene ne respiceret quidem quisquam, ac tum omnes acerrime fortissimeque pugnarent.
This day was by far the heaviest for our men; but it nevertheless had this outcome, that on that day the greatest number of the enemy was wounded and killed, since they had packed themselves close under the very rampart, and the rearmost gave the foremost no room to withdraw.
Hic dies nostris longe gravissimus fuit; sed tamen hunc habuit eventum, ut eo die maximus numerus hostium vulneraretur atque interficeretur, ut se sub ipso vallo constipaverant recessumque primis ultimi non dabant.
When the flame had subsided a little, and at one place a tower had been driven up and was touching the rampart, the centurions of the third cohort withdrew from the place where they stood and drew all their men back, and began with gesture and cries to call the enemy in, if they wished to enter; of whom not one dared to advance.
Paulum quidem intermissa flamma et quodam loco turri adacta et contingente vallum tertiae cohortis centuriones ex eo, quo stabant, loco recesserunt suosque omnes removerunt, nutu vocibusque hostes, si introire vellent, vocare coeperunt; quorum progredi ausus est nemo.
Then, stones being hurled from every side, they were beaten off, and the tower was set on fire.
Tum ex omni parte lapidibus coniectis deturbati, turrisque succensa est.
There were in that legion two very brave men, centurions who were nearing the first ranks, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus.
Erant in ea legione fortissimi viri, centuriones, qui primis ordinibus appropinquarent, Titus Pullo et Lucius Vorenus.
These had perpetual disputes between them as to which should be preferred to the other, and every year they contended over the first posts with the utmost rivalry.
Hi perpetuas inter se controversias habebant, quinam anteferretur, omnibusque annis de locis summis simultatibus contendebant.
Of these Pullo, when there was very fierce fighting at the fortifications, said, "Why do you hesitate, Vorenus? Or what chance of proving your courage do you wait for?
Ex his Pullo, cum acerrime ad munitiones pugnaretur, "Quid dubitas," inquit, "Vorene? aut quem locum tuae probandae virtutis exspectas?
This day will decide our disputes." When he had said this, he advances outside the fortifications and bursts in where the part of the enemy seemed thickest.
Hic dies de nostris controversiis iudicabit." Haec cum dixisset, procedit extra munitiones quaque pars hostium confertissima est visa irrumpit.
Nor then does Vorenus keep himself within the rampart, but, fearing the judgment of all, follows after.
Ne Vorenus quidem tum sese vallo continet, sed omnium veritus existimationem subsequitur.
A moderate distance left, Pullo hurls his pike at the enemy and runs through one of the multitude as he charged forward; he being struck and lifeless, they cover him with their shields and all together hurl their weapons at Pullo and give him no chance of retreating.
Mediocri spatio relicto Pullo pilum in hostes immittit atque unum ex multitudine procurrentem traicit; quo percusso et exanimato hunc scutis protegunt, in hostem tela universi coniciunt neque dant regrediendi facultatem.
Pullo’s shield is pierced and a javelin is fixed in his belt.
Transfigitur scutum Pulloni et verutum in balteo defigitur.
This mischance turns his scabbard aside and delays his right hand as he tries to draw his sword, and the enemy surround him while he is hampered.
Avertit hic casus vaginam et gladium educere conanti dextram moratur manum, impeditumque hostes circumsistunt.
His rival Vorenus runs up to him and helps him in his struggle.
Succurrit inimicus illi Vorenus et laboranti subvenit.
To him at once the whole multitude turns from Pullo:
Ad hunc se confestim a Pullone omnis multitudo convertit:
they think Pullo run through by the javelin. Vorenus carries on the matter at close quarters with his sword, and, one being killed, drives the rest back a little;
illum veruto arbitrantur occisum. Gladio comminus rem gerit Vorenus atque uno interfecto reliquos paulum propellit;
while he presses on too eagerly, cast down into lower ground, he falls. To him in turn, surrounded, Pullo brings aid,
dum cupidius instat, in locum deiectus inferiorem concidit. Huic rursus circumvento fert subsidium Pullo,
and both, unharmed, several being killed, withdraw within the fortifications with the highest praise.
atque ambo incolumes compluribus interfectis summa cum laude sese intra munitiones recipiunt.
So fortune turned each of them about in their rivalry and contest, that each, the other’s foe, was a help and a safety to the other, nor could it be judged which of the two should be preferred to the other in courage.
Sic fortuna in contentione et certamine utrumque versavit, ut alter alteri inimicus auxilio salutique esset, neque diiudicari posset, uter utri virtute anteferendus videretur.
The heavier and harsher the assault grew day by day—and chiefly because, a great part of the soldiers being worn out with wounds, the matter had come down to a scarcity of defenders—the more frequent were the letters and messengers sent to Caesar; part of whom, caught in sight of our soldiers, were put to death with torture.
Quanto erat in dies gravior atque asperior oppugnatio, et maxime quod magna parte militum confecta vulneribus res ad paucitatem defensorum pervenerat, tanto crebriores litterae nuntiique ad Caesarem mittebantur; quorum pars deprehensa in conspectu nostrorum militum cum cruciatu necabatur.
There was within one Nervian, Vertico by name, born of an honorable station, who from the first siege had fled to Cicero and shown him his good faith.
Erat unus intus Nervius nomine Vertico, loco natus honesto, qui a prima obsidione ad Ciceronem perfugerat suamque ei fidem praestiterat.
He persuades a slave, by the hope of liberty and great rewards, to carry letters to Caesar.
Hic servo spe libertatis magnisque persuadet praemiis, ut litteras ad Caesarem deferat.
These the slave carries out bound in a javelin, and, a Gaul moving among Gauls without any suspicion, reaches Caesar.
Has ille in iaculo illigatas effert et Gallus inter Gallos sine ulla suspicione versatus ad Caesarem pervenit.
From him the dangers of Cicero and the legion are learned.
Ab eo de periculis Ciceronis legionisque cognoscitur.
Caesar, the letters received about the eleventh hour of the day, at once sends a messenger into the Bellovaci to the quaestor Marcus Crassus, whose winter quarters were twenty-five miles away from him;
Caesar acceptis litteris hora circiter XI diei statim nuntium in Bellovacos ad M. Crassum quaestorem mittit, cuius hiberna aberant ab eo milia passuum XXV;
he orders the legion to set out at midnight and come quickly to him.
iubet media nocte legionem proficisci celeriterque ad se venire.
Crassus sets out with the messenger. He sends another to the legate Gaius Fabius, to lead his legion into the territory of the Atrebates, by which he knew his own march must be made.
Exit cum nuntio Crassus. Alterum ad Gaium Fabium legatum mittit, ut in Atrebatium fines legionem adducat, qua sibi iter faciendum sciebat.
He writes to Labienus to come with his legion to the borders of the Nervii, if he could do it to the advantage of the republic. The remaining part of the army, because it was a little farther off, he does not think should be waited for; he gathers about four hundred cavalry from the nearest winter quarters.
Scribit Labieno, si rei publicae commodo facere posset, cum legione ad fines Nerviorum veniat. Reliquam partem exercitus, quod paulo aberat longius, non putat exspectandam; equites circiter quadringentos ex proximis hibernis colligit.
About the third hour, informed by his advance riders of Crassus’s approach, that day he advances twenty miles.
Hora circiter tertia ab antecursoribus de Crassi adventu certior factus eo die milia passuum XX procedit.
He puts Crassus in charge of Samarobriva and assigns him the legion, because there he was leaving the army’s baggage, the hostages of the states, the public dispatches, and all the grain that he had brought there for getting through the winter.
Crassum Samarobrivae praeficit legionemque attribuit, quod ibi impedimenta exercitus, obsides civitatum, litteras publicas frumentumque omne quod eo tolerandae hiemis causa devexerat relinquebat.
Fabius, as had been ordered, having delayed not so very much, met him on the march with his legion.
Fabius, ut imperatum erat, non ita multum moratus in itinere cum legione occurrit.
Labienus, the destruction of Sabinus and the slaughter of the cohorts being known, since all the forces of the Treveri had come up against him, fearing that, if he made a departure from the winter quarters like a flight, he could not withstand the enemy’s onset—especially men he knew were elated by a fresh victory—writes back to Caesar with how great danger he would lead his legion out of the winter quarters; he describes in full what had been done among the Eburones; he reports that all the cavalry and infantry forces of the Treveri had taken position three miles from his camp.
Labienus interitu Sabini et caede cohortium cognita, cum omnes ad eum Treverorum copiae venissent, veritus, si ex hibernis fugae similem profectionem fecisset, ut hostium impetum sustinere posset, praesertim quos recenti victoria efferri sciret, litteras Caesari remittit, quanto cum periculo legionem ex hibernis educturus esset; rem gestam in Eburonibus perscribit; docet omnes equitatus peditatusque copias Treverorum tria milia passuum longe ab suis castris consedisse.
Caesar, approving his plan, though, cast down from the expectation of three legions, he had come back to two, nevertheless placed his one help for the common safety in speed. He comes by great marches into the territory of the Nervii.
Caesar consilio eius probato, etsi opinione trium legionum deiectus ad duas redierat, tamen unum communis salutis auxilium in celeritate ponebat. Venit magnis itineribus in Nerviorum fines.
There he learns from captives what is being done at Cicero’s, and in how great danger the matter is.
Ibi ex captivis cognoscit, quae apud Ciceronem gerantur, quantoque in periculo res sit.
Then he persuades one of the Gallic cavalry, by great rewards, to carry a letter to Cicero.
Tum cuidam ex equitibus Gallis magnis praemiis persuadet uti ad Ciceronem epistolam deferat.
This he sends written in Greek letters, lest, the letter being intercepted, our plans be learned by the enemy.
Hanc Graecis conscriptam litteris mittit, ne intercepta epistola nostra ab hostibus consilia cognoscantur.
If the man cannot get in, he advises him to throw a javelin, with the letter bound to the thong, within the camp’s fortification.
Si adire non possit, monet ut tragulam cum epistola ad amentum deligata intra munitionem castrorum abiciat.
In the letter he writes that, having set out with the legions, he would be at hand quickly; he exhorts him to keep his former courage.
In litteris scribit se cum legionibus profectum celeriter adfore; hortatur ut pristinam virtutem retineat.
The Gaul, fearing the danger, as he had been instructed, throws the javelin.
Gallus periculum veritus, ut erat praeceptum, tragulam mittit.
This by chance stuck fast in a tower and, not noticed by our men for two days, on the third day is seen by a soldier, taken down, and carried to Cicero.
Haec casu ad turrim adhaesit neque ab nostris biduo animadversa tertio die a quodam milite conspicitur, dempta ad Ciceronem defertur.
He, having read it through, recites it in an assembly of the soldiers and fills them all with the greatest joy.
Ille perlectam in conventu militum recitat maximaque omnes laetitia adficit.
Then the smoke of fires was seen afar; which thing drove out all doubt of the legions’ coming.
Tum fumi incendiorum procul videbantur; quae res omnem dubitationem adventus legionum expulit.
The Gauls, the matter learned through scouts, abandon the siege and hasten with all their forces toward Caesar. These were about sixty thousand armed men.
Galli re cognita per exploratores obsidionem relinquunt, ad Caesarem omnibus copiis contendunt. Hae erant armata circiter milia LX.
Cicero, the chance being given, seeks back the Gaul from the same Vertico whom we have shown above, to carry a letter to Caesar; he warns him to make his journey cautiously and carefully:
Cicero data facultate Gallum ab eodem Verticone, quem supra demonstravimus, repetit, qui litteras ad Caesarem deferat; hunc admonet, iter caute diligenterque faciat:
he writes in full in the letter that the enemy had departed from him and had turned the whole multitude against him.
perscribit in litteris hostes ab se discessisse omnemque ad eum multitudinem convertisse.
This letter being brought to Caesar about midnight, he informs his men and steadies their spirit for the fight.
Quibus litteris circiter media nocte Caesar adlatis suos facit certiores eosque ad dimicandum animo confirmat.
On the next day at first light he moves the camp and, having advanced about four miles, catches sight of the multitude of the enemy across a valley and a stream.
Postero die luce prima movet castra et circiter milia passuum quattuor progressus trans vallem et rivum multitudinem hostium conspicatur.
It was a matter of great danger to fight with such small forces on unfavorable ground; then, since he knew Cicero was freed from the siege, he judged that he could with an easy mind relax his speed:
Erat magni periculi res tantulis copiis iniquo loco dimicare; tum, quoniam obsidione liberatum Ciceronem sciebat, aequo animo remittendum de celeritate existimabat:
he halted and fortifies a camp on the most favorable ground he can, and this—though it was small in itself, scarcely for seven thousand men, especially with no baggage—he nevertheless draws together as much as he can by the narrowness of the roadways, with this design, that he might come into the utmost contempt with the enemy.
consedit et quam aequissimo loco potest castra communit atque haec, etsi erant exigua per se vix hominum milium septem praesertim nullis cum impedimentis, tamen angustiis viarum quam maxime potest contrahit, eo consilio, ut in summam contemptionem hostibus veniat.
Meanwhile, scouts being sent out in all directions, he explores by what route he can most conveniently cross the valley.
Interim speculatoribus in omnes partes dimissis explorat quo commodissime itinere vallem transire possit.
That day, small cavalry engagements being fought at the water, both sides keep within their own ground:
Eo die parvulis equestribus proeliis ad aquam factis utrique sese suo loco continent:
the Gauls, because they were waiting for larger forces
Galli, quod ampliores copias,
that had not yet assembled; Caesar, in case by a pretense of fear he might be able to entice the enemy into his own ground, so as to fight on the near side of the valley before the camp—or, if he could not bring that about,
quae nondum convenerant, exspectabant; Caesar, si forte timoris simulatione hostes in suum locum elicere posset, ut citra vallem pro castris proelio contenderet, si id efficere non posset,
so that, the routes explored, he might cross the valley and stream with less danger. At first light the enemy’s cavalry approaches the camp and joins battle with our cavalry.
ut exploratis itineribus minore cum periculo vallem rivumque transiret. Prima luce hostium equitatus ad castra accedit proeliumque cum nostris equitibus committit.
Caesar on purpose orders the cavalry to give way and withdraw into the camp, and at the same time orders the camp to be fortified with a higher rampart on all sides and the gates to be blocked, and in carrying out these matters that there be as much running about as possible and that it be done with a pretense of fear.
Caesar consulto equites cedere seque in castra recipere iubet, simul ex omnibus partibus castra altiore vallo muniri portasque obstrui atque in his administrandis rebus quam maxime concursari et cum simulatione agi timoris iubet.
Invited by all these things, the enemy bring their forces across and draw up their line on unfavorable ground, and, our men being even withdrawn from the rampart, they approach nearer and hurl weapons within the fortification from all sides,
Quibus omnibus rebus hostes invitati copias traducunt aciemque iniquo loco constituunt, nostris vero etiam de vallo deductis propius accedunt et tela intra munitionem ex omnibus partibus coniciunt
and, criers being sent round, they order it proclaimed that, whether any Gaul or Roman wished to come over to them before the third hour, he might without danger; after that time there would be no chance:
praeconibusque circummissis pronuntiari iubent, seu quis Gallus seu Romanus velit ante horam tertiam ad se transire, sine periculo licere; post id tempus non fore potestatem:
and so they despised our men that, the gates being blocked for show with single rows of sods—since they seemed unable to break in there—some began to tear down the rampart with their hands, others to fill the ditches.
ac sic nostros contempserunt, ut obstructis in speciem portis singulis ordinibus caespitum, quod ea non posse introrumpere videbantur, alii vallum manu scindere, alii fossas complere inciperent.
Then Caesar, a sally being made from all the gates and the cavalry sent out, quickly puts the enemy to flight, in such a way that not one stood his ground at all to fight, and he kills a great number of them and strips them all of their arms.
Tum Caesar omnibus portis eruptione facta equitatuque emisso celeriter hostes in fugam dat, sic uti omnino pugnandi causa resisteret nemo, magnumque ex eis numerum occidit atque omnes armis exuit.
Fearing to pursue farther, because woods and marshes lay between and he saw that no room was left for even a small loss of theirs, with all his forces unharmed he reaches Cicero that same day.
Longius prosequi veritus, quod silvae paludesque intercedebant neque etiam parvulo detrimento illorum locum relinqui videbat, omnibus suis incolumibus copiis eodem die ad Ciceronem pervenit.
He marvels at the towers, tortoises, and fortifications the enemy had built; the legion being led out, he learns that not every tenth soldier was left without a wound:
Institutas turres, testudines munitionesque hostium admiratur; legione producta cognoscit non decimum quemque esse reliquum militem sine vulnere:
from all these things he judges with how great danger and with how great courage the matter had been conducted.
ex his omnibus iudicat rebus, quanto cum periculo et quanta cum virtute res sint administratae.
He praises Cicero according to his desert, and the legion; he addresses the centurions one by one and the military tribunes, whose courage he had learned by Cicero’s testimony to have been outstanding. About the fate of Sabinus and Cotta he learns more surely from captives.
Ciceronem pro eius merito legionemque collaudat; centuriones singillatim tribunosque militum appellat, quorum egregiam fuisse virtutem testimonio Ciceronis cognoverat. De casu Sabini et Cottae certius ex captivis cognoscit.
On the next day, an assembly held, he sets forth what had been done; he consoles and steadies the soldiers:
Postero die contione habita rem gestam proponit, milites consolatur et confirmat:
that the loss which had been suffered through the fault and rashness of a legate must be borne the more calmly, because, by the kindness of the immortal gods and by their own courage, the setback being atoned for, neither was a lasting joy left to the enemy nor a longer grief to themselves.
quod detrimentum culpa et temeritate legati sit acceptum, hoc aequiore animo ferendum docet, quod beneficio deorum immortalium et virtute eorum expiato incommodo neque hostibus diutina laetatio neque ipsis longior dolor relinquatur.
Meanwhile the report of Caesar’s victory is carried to Labienus through the Remi with incredible speed, so that—though he was about sixty miles from Cicero’s winter quarters, and Caesar had come there after the ninth hour of the day—before midnight a shout arose at the gates of the camp, by which shout a signal of the victory and a congratulation was made to Labienus by the Remi.
Interim ad Labienum per Remos incredibili celeritate de victoria Caesaris fama perfertur, ut, cum ab hibernis Ciceronis milia passuum abesset circiter LX, eoque post horam nonam diei Caesar pervenisset, ante mediam noctem ad portas castrorum clamor oreretur, quo clamore significatio victoriae gratulatioque ab Remis Labieno fieret.
This report carried to the Treveri, Indutiomarus, who had resolved to assault Labienus’s camp the next day, fled by night and led all his forces back into the Treveri.
Hac fama ad Treveros perlata Indutiomarus, qui postero die castra Labieni oppugnare decreverat, noctu profugit copiasque omnes in Treveros reducit.
Caesar sends Fabius with his legion back into winter quarters; he himself decides to winter with three legions in three sets of winter quarters around Samarobriva, and, because such great risings of Gaul had arisen, resolved himself to remain with the army the whole winter.
Caesar Fabium cum sua legione remittit in hiberna, ipse cum tribus legionibus circum Samarobrivam trinis hibernis hiemare constituit et, quod tanti motus Galliae exstiterant, totam hiemem ipse ad exercitum manere decrevit.
For, that setback about Sabinus’s death being reported, nearly all the states of Gaul were taking counsel about war, sending messengers and embassies in all directions, exploring what further plan they should take and from where the war’s beginning should be made, and holding nighttime councils in lonely places.
Nam illo incommodo de Sabini morte perlato omnes fere Galliae civitates de bello consultabant, nuntios legationesque in omnes partes dimittebant et quid reliqui consili caperent atque unde initium belli fieret explorabant nocturnaque in locis desertis concilia habebant.
Nor did almost any time of the whole winter pass without anxiety for Caesar, that he should not receive some message about the plans and rising of the Gauls.
Neque ullum fere totius hiemis tempus sine sollicitudine Caesaris intercessit, quin aliquem de consiliis ac motu Gallorum nuntium acciperet.
Among these he was informed by Lucius Roscius, whom he had set over the Thirteenth Legion, that great forces of the Gauls of those states which are called the Armorican had assembled for the purpose of assaulting him,
In his ab Lucio Roscio, quem legioni tertiae decimae praefecerat, certior factus est magnas Gallorum copias earum civitatum, quae Armoricae appellantur, oppugnandi sui causa convenisse
and had been not more than eight miles from his winter quarters, but, the message brought about Caesar’s victory, had departed, so that their departure seemed like a flight.
neque longius milia passuum octo ab hibernis suis afuisse, sed nuntio allato de victoria Caesaris discessisse, adeo ut fugae similis discessus videretur.
But Caesar, the chiefs of each state being summoned to him, kept a great part of Gaul in its duty, now by alarming them, when he declared that he knew what was being done, now by exhorting them.
At Caesar principibus cuiusque civitatis ad se evocatis alias territando, cum se scire quae fierent denuntiaret, alias cohortando magnam partem Galliae in officio tenuit.
Yet the Senones, which is a state among the first in strength and of great authority among the Gauls, having tried by public decision to kill Cavarinus—whom Caesar had set up as king among them, whose brother Moritasgus had held the kingship at Caesar’s coming into Gaul, as had their forefathers—when he had sensed it beforehand and fled, pursued him as far as their borders,
Tamen Senones, quae est civitas in primis firma et magnae inter Gallos auctoritatis, Cavarinum, quem Caesar apud eos regem constituerat, cuius frater Moritasgus adventu in Galliam Caesaris cuiusque maiores regnum obtinuerant, interficere publico consilio conati, cum ille praesensisset ac profugisset, usque ad fines insecuti
drove him from his kingdom and his home, and, envoys being sent to Caesar for the sake of making satisfaction, when he had ordered their whole senate to come to him, were not obedient to his word.
regno domoque expulerunt et, missis ad Caesarem satisfaciendi causa legatis, cum is omnem ad se senatum venire iussisset, dicto audientes non fuerunt.
And it counted for so much among barbarous men that some leaders for making war had been found, and brought such a great change of inclinations to all, that, except the Aedui and the Remi, whom Caesar always held in particular honor—the one for their old and unbroken faith toward the Roman people, the other for their recent services in the Gallic war—there was almost no state that was not suspect to us.
Ac tantum apud homines barbaros valuit esse aliquos repertos principes inferendi belli tantamque omnibus voluntatum commutationem attulit, ut praeter Aeduos et Remos, quos praecipuo semper honore Caesar habuit, alteros pro vetere ac perpetua erga populum Romanum fide, alteros pro recentibus Gallici belli officiis, nulla fere civitas fuerit non suspecta nobis.
And indeed I do not know whether this should be wondered at, since, among many other causes, chiefly because those who were preferred to all nations in warlike courage grieved most bitterly that they had lost so much of that repute as to endure the commands of the Roman people.
Idque adeo haud scio mirandumne sit, cum compluribus aliis de causis, tum maxime quod ei, qui virtute belli omnibus gentibus praeferebantur, tantum se eius opinionis deperdidisse ut a populo Romano imperia perferrent gravissime dolebant.
The Treveri, indeed, and Indutiomarus left no time of the whole winter idle but that they sent envoys across the Rhine, incited the states, promised money, and said that, a great part of our army having been killed, a far smaller part remained.
Treveri vero atque Indutiomarus totius hiemis nullum tempus intermiserunt, quin trans Rhenum legatos mitterent, civitates sollicitarent, pecunias pollicerentur, magna parte exercitus nostri interfecta multo minorem superesse dicerent partem.
Nor, however, could any state of the Germans be persuaded to cross the Rhine, since they said they had twice made the trial—in the war of Ariovistus and in the crossing of the Tencteri—and would not tempt fortune again. Fallen from this hope, Indutiomarus none the less began to gather forces,
Neque tamen ulli civitati Germanorum persuaderi potuit, ut Rhenum transiret, cum se bis expertos dicerent, Ariovisti bello et Tencterorum transitu: non esse amplius fortunam temptaturos. Hac spe lapsus Indutiomarus nihilo minus copias cogere,
to train them, to procure horses from his neighbors, and to lure to himself with great rewards exiles and condemned men throughout all Gaul.
exercere, a finitimis equos parare, exules damnatosque tota Gallia magnis praemiis ad se allicere coepit.
And he had now by these means won himself such authority in Gaul that embassies flocked to him from every side and sought his favor and friendship publicly and privately.
Ac tantam sibi iam his rebus in Gallia auctoritatem comparaverat ut undique ad eum legationes concurrerent, gratiam atque amicitiam publice privatimque peterent.
When he understood that men came to him of their own accord—that on one side the Senones and Carnutes were goaded by their consciousness of guilt, on the other the Nervii and Atuatuci were preparing war on the Romans, and that forces of volunteers would not fail him if he should begin to advance from his own territory—he proclaims an armed council. This, in the Gauls’ fashion, is the beginning of war,
Vbi intellexit ultro ad se veniri, altera ex parte Senones Carnutesque conscientia facinoris instigari, altera Nervios Aduatucosque bellum Romanis parare, neque sibi voluntariorum copias defore, si ex finibus suis progredi coepisset, armatum concilium indicit. Hoc more Gallorum est initium belli,
at which, by common law, all the grown men are accustomed to assemble in arms; whoever of them comes last is, in sight of the multitude, put to death with every torture.
quo lege communi omnes puberes armati convenire consuerunt; qui ex eis novissimus convenit, in conspectu multitudinis omnibus cruciatibus affectus necatur.
In that council he adjudges Cingetorix, the leader of the other faction, his own son-in-law—who, as we have shown above, having followed Caesar’s good faith had not departed from him—an enemy, and confiscates his goods.
In eo concilio Cingetorigem, alterius principem factionis, generum suum, quem supra demonstravimus Caesaris secutum fidem ab eo non discessisse, hostem iudicat bonaque eius publicat.
These things done, he proclaims in the council that he had been summoned by the Senones, the Carnutes, and several other states of Gaul;
His rebus confectis, in concilio pronuntiat arcessitum se a Senonibus et Carnutibus aliisque compluribus Galliae civitatibus;
that he would go there through the territory of the Remi and lay waste their fields, and, before he did that, would assault the camp of Labienus. He gives his orders for what he wishes done.
huc iturum per fines Remorum eorumque agros populaturum ac, priusquam id faciat, castra Labieni oppugnaturum. Quae fieri velit praecipit.
Labienus, since he held himself in a camp most strongly fortified both by the nature of the place and by hand, feared nothing for his own and the legion’s danger; he was thinking how not to let slip any chance of doing the work well.
Labienus, cum et loci natura et manu munitissumis castris sese teneret, de suo ac legionis periculo nihil timebat; ne quam occasionem rei bene gerendae dimitteret, cogitabat.
And so, the speech of Indutiomarus which he had made in the council being learned from Cingetorix and his kinsmen, he sends messengers to the neighboring states and summons cavalry from every side: to these he names a fixed day for assembling.
Itaque a Cingetorige atque eius propinquis oratione Indutiomari cognita, quam in concilio habuerat, nuntios mittit ad finitimas civitates equitesque undique evocat: his certum diem conveniendi dicit.
Meanwhile nearly every day Indutiomarus with all his cavalry ranged about beneath the camp, now to learn the camp’s position, now for the sake of conferring or of terrifying: most of the cavalry would hurl weapons within the rampart.
Interim prope cotidie cum omni equitatu Indutiomarus sub castris eius vagabatur, alias ut situm castrorum cognosceret, alias colloquendi aut territandi causa: equites plerumque omnes tela intra vallum coniciebant.
Labienus kept his men within the fortification and by whatever means he could increased the impression of fear.
Labienus suos intra munitionem continebat timorisque opinionem, quibuscumque poterat rebus, augebat.
When Indutiomarus was approaching the camp with greater contempt day by day, in a single night the cavalry of all the neighboring states whom he had taken care to summon being let in, he kept all his men within the camp under guard with such care that in no way could the matter be reported or carried to the Treveri.
Cum maiore in dies contemptione Indutiomarus ad castra accederet, nocte una intromissis equitibus omnium finitimarum civitatum quos arcessendos curaverat, tanta diligentia omnes suos custodiis intra castra continuit, ut nulla ratione ea res enuntiari aut ad Treveros perferri posset.
Meanwhile, by his daily custom, Indutiomarus approaches the camp and there spends a great part of the day; his cavalry hurl weapons and with great insult of words call our men out to fight.
Interim ex consuetudine cotidiana Indutiomarus ad castra accedit atque ibi magnam partem diei consumit; equites tela coniciunt et magna cum contumelia verborum nostros ad pugnam evocant.
No answer being given by our men, when it seemed good, toward evening they depart, scattered and dispersed.
Nullo ab nostris dato responso, ubi visum est, sub vesperum dispersi ac dissipati discedunt.
Suddenly Labienus sends out all his cavalry by two gates; he orders and enjoins that, the enemy being terrified and thrown into flight (which he saw would happen, as it did), they should all make for Indutiomarus alone, and that no one should wound any man before he had seen that man killed, because he was unwilling that, by delay over the rest, Indutiomarus should gain the room to escape; he sets great rewards for those who should kill him;
Subito Labienus duabus portis omnem equitatum emittit; praecipit atque interdicit, proterritis hostibus atque in fugam coniectis (quod fore, sicut accidit, videbat) unum omnes peterent Indutiomarum, neu quis quem prius vulneret, quam illum interfectum viderit, quod mora reliquorum spatium nactum illum effugere nolebat; magna proponit eis qui occiderint praemia;
he sends up cohorts as support for the cavalry.
summittit cohortes equitibus subsidio.
Fortune confirms the man’s plan, and, while all made for him alone, Indutiomarus, caught in the very ford of the river, is killed, and his head is carried back to the camp: the cavalry, on their return, hunt down and slay those they can.
Comprobat hominis consilium fortuna, et cum unum omnes peterent, in ipso fluminis vado deprehensus Indutiomarus interficitur, caputque eius refertur in castra: redeuntes equites quos possunt consectantur atque occidunt.
This being known, all the forces of the Eburones and the Nervii that had assembled depart, and after this deed Caesar had Gaul a little quieter.
Hac re cognita omnes Eburonum et Nerviorum quae convenerant copiae discedunt, pauloque habuit post id factum Caesar quietiorem Galliam.
For many causes Caesar, expecting a greater rising of Gaul, resolved to hold a levy through the legates Marcus Silanus, Gaius Antistius Reginus, and Titus Sextius.
Multis de causis Caesar maiorem Galliae motum exspectans per Marcum Silanum, Gaium Antistium Reginum, Titum Sextium legatos delectum habere instituit.
At the same time he asks of the proconsul Gnaeus Pompey that, since he himself was remaining near the City with military command for the sake of the republic, he should order those whom he had bound by the consul’s oath in Cisalpine Gaul
Simul ab Gnaeo Pompeio proconsule petit, quoniam ipse ad urbem cum imperio rei publicae causa remaneret, quos ex Cisalpina Gallia consulis sacramento rogavisset,
to muster at the standards and set out to him, judging it of great importance, even for the future, to the opinion of Gaul, that the resources of Italy should seem so great that, if any loss were suffered in war, it could not only be repaired in a short time but even increased with greater forces.
ad signa convenire et ad se proficisci iuberet, magni interesse etiam in reliquum tempus ad opinionem Galliae existimans tantas videri Italiae facultates ut, si quid esset in bello detrimenti acceptum, non modo id brevi tempore sarciri, sed etiam maioribus augeri copiis posset.
And when Pompey had granted this both to the republic and to friendship, the levy quickly completed by his agents, three legions both formed and brought up before the winter was out, and the number of those cohorts he had lost with Quintus Titurius doubled, he showed by both speed and numbers what the discipline and resources of the Roman people could do.
Quod cum Pompeius et rei publicae et amicitiae tribuisset, celeriter confecto per suos dilectu tribus ante exactam hiemem et constitutis et adductis legionibus duplicatoque earum cohortium numero, quas cum Quinto Titurio amiserat, et celeritate et copiis docuit, quid populi Romani disciplina atque opes possent.
Indutiomarus being killed, as we have shown, the command is conferred by the Treveri on his kinsmen. They do not cease to incite the neighboring Germans and to promise money. When they could not obtain it from the nearest,
Interfecto Indutiomaro, ut docuimus, ad eius propinquos a Treveris imperium defertur. Illi finitimos Germanos sollicitare et pecuniam polliceri non desistunt. Cum ab proximis impetrare non possent,
they try those farther off. Some states being found, they confirm it among themselves by oath and give surety for the money by hostages: they join Ambiorix to themselves in alliance and treaty.
ulteriores temptant. Inventis nonnullis civitatibus iureiurando inter se confirmant obsidibusque de pecunia cavent: Ambiorigem sibi societate et foedere adiungunt.
These things known, Caesar, since he saw war being prepared on every side—that the Nervii, Atuatuci, and Menapii, with all the cisrhenane Germans joined to them, were in arms; that the Senones did not come at his command and were sharing counsels with the Carnutes and the neighboring states; that the Germans were being incited by the Treveri with frequent embassies—judged that he must think about the war earlier than usual.
Quibus rebus cognitis Caesar, cum undique bellum parari videret, Nervios, Aduatucos ac Menapios adiunctis Cisrhenanis omnibus Germanis esse in armis, Senones ad imperatum non venire et cum Carnutibus finitimisque civitatibus consilia communicare, a Treveris Germanos crebris legationibus sollicitari, maturius sibi de bello cogitandum putavit.
And so, the winter not yet over, the four nearest legions gathered, he hastens by surprise into the territory of the Nervii and,
Itaque nondum hieme confecta proximis quattuor coactis legionibus de improviso in fines Nerviorum contendit et,
before they could either assemble or flee, a great number of cattle and men being taken and that booty granted to the soldiers, and their fields laid waste, he forced them to come into surrender and give him hostages.
priusquam illi aut convenire aut profugere possent, magno pecoris atque hominum numero capto atque ea praeda militibus concessa vastatisque agris in deditionem venire atque obsides sibi dare coegit.
That business quickly finished, he led the legions back again into winter quarters.
Eo celeriter confecto negotio rursus in hiberna legiones reduxit.
A council of Gaul being proclaimed at the first of spring, as he had appointed, when the rest had come except the Senones, the Carnutes, and the Treveri, judging this to be the beginning of war and defection—so that he might seem to put all else after it—he transfers the council to Lutetia of the Parisii.
Concilio Galliae primo vere, ut instituerat, indicto, cum reliqui praeter Senones, Carnutes Treverosque venissent, initium belli ac defectionis hoc esse arbitratus, ut omnia postponere videretur, concilium Lutetiam Parisiorum transfert.
These were neighbors to the Senones and had united their state with theirs within their fathers’ memory, but were thought to have had no part in this plan.
Confines erant hi Senonibus civitatemque patrum memoria coniunxerant, sed ab hoc consilio afuisse existimabantur.
This proclaimed from the platform, the same day he sets out with the legions into the Senones and reaches there by great marches.
Hac re pro suggestu pronuntiata eodem die cum legionibus in Senones proficiscitur magnisque itineribus eo pervenit.
His arrival known, Acco, who had been the author of that plan, orders the people to gather into the strongholds. While they attempt it, before it could be accomplished, the Romans are announced to be at hand.
Cognito eius adventu Acco, qui princeps eius consili fuerat, iubet in oppida multitudinem convenire. Conantibus, priusquam id effici posset, adesse Romanos nuntiatur.
Of necessity they desist from their purpose and send envoys to Caesar to plead their cause: they approach through the Aedui, in whose protection their state had been from of old.
Necessario sententia desistunt legatosque deprecandi causa ad Caesarem mittunt: adeunt per Aeduos, quorum antiquitus erat in fide civitas.
Caesar willingly, at the Aedui’s request, grants pardon and accepts their excuse, because he judged the summer season to be one for the impending war, not for an inquiry.
Libenter Caesar petentibus Aeduis dat veniam excusationemque accipit, quod aestivum tempus instantis belli, non quaestionis esse arbitrabatur.
A hundred hostages being imposed, he hands these to the Aedui to be guarded.
Obsidibus imperatis centum hos Aeduis custodiendos tradit.
To the same place the Carnutes send envoys and hostages, using as intercessors the Remi, in whose clientage they were: they receive the same answers.
Eodem Carnutes legatos obsidesque mittunt usi deprecatoribus Remis, quorum erant in clientela: eadem ferunt responsa.
Caesar completes the council and levies cavalry on the states.
Peragit concilium Caesar equitesque imperat civitatibus.
This part of Gaul pacified, he sets himself wholly, in mind and spirit, on the war against the Treveri and Ambiorix.
Hac parte Galliae pacata totus et mente et animo in bellum Treverorum et Ambiorigis insistit.
He orders Cavarinus to set out with him with the cavalry of the Senones, lest any disturbance arise either from his temper or from the hatred of the state which he had earned.
Cavarinum cum equitatu Senonum secum proficisci iubet, ne quis aut ex huius iracundia aut ex eo, quod meruerat, odio civitatis motus exsistat.
These things settled, because he held it for certain that Ambiorix would not contend in a pitched battle, he was looking round in his mind at his other plans.
His rebus constitutis, quod pro explorato habebat Ambiorigem proelio non esse concertaturum, reliqua eius consilia animo circumspiciebat.
There were the Menapii, neighbors to the borders of the Eburones, fortified by continuous marshes and woods, who alone of Gaul had never sent envoys to Caesar about peace. He knew that Ambiorix had guest-friendship with these; likewise he had learned that through the Treveri he had come into friendship with the Germans.
Erant Menapii propinqui Eburonum finibus, perpetuis paludibus silvisque muniti, qui uni ex Gallia de pace ad Caesarem legatos numquam miserant. Cum his esse hospitium Ambiorigi sciebat; item per Treveros venisse Germanis in amicitiam cognoverat.
He judged that these supports should be stripped from him before he provoked the man himself to war, lest, despairing of safety, he either hide himself among the Menapii or be forced to join with the peoples across the Rhine.
Haec prius illi detrahenda auxilia existimabat quam ipsum bello lacesseret, ne desperata salute aut se in Menapios abderet aut cum Transrhenanis congredi cogeretur.
This plan entered upon, he sends the baggage of the whole army to Labienus among the Treveri and orders two legions to set out to him; he himself with five legions in light order sets out against the Menapii.
Hoc inito consilio totius exercitus impedimenta ad Labienum in Treveros mittit duasque legiones ad eum proficisci iubet; ipse cum legionibus expeditis quinque in Menapios proficiscitur.
They, no band gathered, trusting in the protection of the ground, flee into the woods and marshes and bring their goods to the same place.
Illi nulla coacta manu loci praesidio freti in silvas paludesque confugiunt suaque eodem conferunt.
Caesar, his forces divided with the legate Gaius Fabius and the quaestor Marcus Crassus, and bridges quickly made, enters in three divisions, burns the buildings and villages, and gains possession of a great number of cattle and men.
Caesar partitis copiis cum Gaio Fabio legato et Marco Crasso quaestore celeriterque effectis pontibus adit tripertito, aedificia vicosque incendit, magno pecoris atque hominum numero potitur.
Compelled by these things, the Menapii send envoys to him to seek peace.
Quibus rebus coacti Menapii legatos ad eum pacis petendae causa mittunt.
He, hostages received, affirms that he will hold them in the number of enemies if they receive either Ambiorix or his envoys within their territory. These things settled, he leaves Commius the Atrebatian with cavalry in the place of a guard among the Menapii; he himself sets out against the Treveri.
Ille obsidibus acceptis hostium se habiturum numero confirmat, si aut Ambiorigem aut eius legatos finibus suis recepissent. His confirmatis rebus Commium Atrebatem cum equitatu custodis loco in Menapiis relinquit; ipse in Treveros proficiscitur.
While these things are done by Caesar, the Treveri, great forces of infantry and cavalry gathered, were preparing to fall upon Labienus with the one legion that had wintered in their territory.
Dum haec a Caesare geruntur, Treveri magnis coactis peditatus equitatusque copiis Labienum cum una legione, quae in eorum finibus hiemaverat, adoriri parabant.
And now they were not more than two days’ march from him, when they learn that two legions had come at Caesar’s sending.
Iamque ab eo non longius bidui via aberant, cum duas venisse legiones missu Caesaris cognoscunt.
A camp pitched fifteen miles off, they decide to await the German auxiliaries.
Positis castris a milibus passuum XV auxilia Germanorum exspectare constituunt.
Labienus, the enemy’s plan known, hoping that by their rashness there would be some chance of fighting, a guard of five cohorts left for the baggage, sets out against the enemy with twenty-five cohorts and a great body of cavalry, and, a space of a mile left between, fortifies a camp.
Labienus hostium cognito consilio sperans temeritate eorum fore aliquam dimicandi facultatem praesidio quinque cohortium impedimentis relicto cum viginti quinque cohortibus magnoque equitatu contra hostem proficiscitur et mille passuum intermisso spatio castra communit.
There was between Labienus and the enemy a river of difficult crossing and with steep banks. This he neither had it in mind to cross himself, nor did he think the enemy would cross.
Erat inter Labienum atque hostem difficili transitu flumen ripisque praeruptis. Hoc neque ipse transire habebat in animo neque hostes transituros existimabat.
The hope of the auxiliaries grew daily. He says openly in council that, since the Germans were said to be approaching, he would not bring his own and the army’s fortunes into doubt, and would move camp at first light the next day. These things are quickly carried to the enemy,
Augebatur auxiliorum cotidie spes. Loquitur in concilio palam, quoniam Germani appropinquare dicantur, sese suas exercitusque fortunas in dubium non devocaturum et postero die prima luce castra moturum. Celeriter haec ad hostes deferuntur,
since out of the great number of Gallic cavalry nature compelled some to favor the Gallic cause.
ut ex magno Gallorum equitum numero nonnullos Gallicis rebus favere natura cogebat.
Labienus, by night, the military tribunes and the first ranks summoned, sets forth what his plan is, and, so that he might the more easily give the enemy a suspicion of fear, orders the camp to be moved with greater noise and tumult than the custom of the Roman people bears. By these things he made his departure resemble a flight.
Labienus noctu tribunis militum primisque ordinibus convocatis, quid sui sit consili proponit et, quo facilius hostibus timoris det suspicionem, maiore strepitu et tumultu, quam populi Romani fert consuetudo castra moveri iubet. His rebus fugae similem profectionem effecit.
These things too are carried to the enemy through scouts before light, in so great a nearness of the camps.
Haec quoque per exploratores ante lucem in tanta propinquitate castrorum ad hostes deferuntur.
Scarcely had the rearmost column advanced outside the fortifications when the Gauls, having exhorted one another not to let the hoped-for booty slip from their hands—that it was long to await the Germans’ help while the Romans were terrified, and that their dignity did not allow them not to dare to fall upon so small a band, especially one fleeing and hampered, with such great forces—do not hesitate to cross the river and join battle on unfavorable ground.
Vix agmen novissimum extra munitiones processerat, cum Galli cohortati inter se, ne speratam praedam ex manibus dimitterent—longum esse perterritis Romanis Germanorum auxilium exspectare, neque suam pati dignitatem ut tantis copiis tam exiguam manum praesertim fugientem atque impeditam adoriri non audeant—flumen transire et iniquo loco committere proelium non dubitant.
Suspecting this would happen, Labienus, to entice them all to the near side of the river, using the same pretense of marching, advanced quietly.
Quae fore suspicatus Labienus, ut omnes citra flumen eliceret, eadem usus simulatione itineris placide progrediebatur.
Then, the baggage being sent a little ahead and placed on a certain hillock, "You have, soldiers," he said, "the chance you sought: you hold the enemy on hampered and unfavorable ground:
Tum praemissis paulum impedimentis atque in tumulo quodam collocatis "Habetis," inquit, "milites, quam petistis facultatem: hostem impedito atque iniquo loco tenetis:
show to us, your leaders, the same courage you have often shown to the commander, and think that he is present and beholds these things in person."
praestate eandem nobis ducibus virtutem, quam saepe numero imperatori praestitistis, atque illum adesse et haec coram cernere existimate."
At the same time he orders the standards turned toward the enemy and the line drawn up, and, a few squadrons sent off as a guard for the baggage, posts the rest of the cavalry on the flanks.
Simul signa ad hostem converti aciemque dirigi iubet, et paucis turmis praesidio ad impedimenta dimissis reliquos equites ad latera disponit.
Quickly our men, a shout raised, hurl their pikes at the enemy. They, when beyond their expectation they saw those whom they believed to be fleeing coming at them with hostile standards, could not bear even the charge, and, thrown into flight at the first onset, made for the nearest woods.
Celeriter nostri clamore sublato pila in hostes immittunt. Illi, ubi praeter spem quos fugere credebant infestis signis ad se ire viderunt, impetum modo ferre non potuerunt ac primo concursu in fugam coniecti proximas silvas petierunt.
Labienus, pursuing them with the cavalry, a great number killed and several captured, a few days later received the state in surrender. For the Germans who were coming to their aid, the Treveri’s flight perceived, withdrew home.
Quos Labienus equitatu consectatus, magno numero interfecto, compluribus captis, paucis post diebus civitatem recepit. Nam Germani qui auxilio veniebant percepta Treverorum fuga sese domum receperunt.
With these the kinsmen of Indutiomarus, who had been the authors of the defection, went out from the state and accompanied them.
Cum his propinqui Indutiomari, qui defectionis auctores fuerant, comitati eos ex civitate excesserunt.
To Cingetorix, who from the beginning, as we have shown, had remained in his duty, the chieftainship and command were handed over.
Cingetorigi, quem ab initio permansisse in officio demonstravimus, principatus atque imperium est traditum.
Caesar, after he came from the Menapii into the Treveri, resolved to cross the Rhine for two causes; of which one was that they had sent auxiliaries against him to the Treveri,
Caesar, postquam ex Menapiis in Treveros venit, duabus de causis Rhenum transire constituit; quarum una erat, quod auxilia contra se Treveris miserant,
the other, lest Ambiorix should have a refuge among them.
altera, ne ad eos Ambiorix receptum haberet.
These things settled, he resolved to make a bridge a little above the place where he had before led the army across.
His constitutis rebus paulum supra eum locum quo ante exercitum traduxerat facere pontem instituit.
The method being known and established, by the great zeal of the soldiers the work is completed in a few days.
Nota atque instituta ratione magno militum studio paucis diebus opus efficitur.
A strong guard left among the Treveri at the bridge, lest any sudden rising arise from them, he leads the rest of his forces and the cavalry across.
Firmo in Treveris ad pontem praesidio relicto, ne quis ab his subito motus oreretur, reliquas copias equitatumque traducit.
The Ubii, who before had given hostages and come into surrender, for the sake of clearing themselves send envoys to him to explain that neither had auxiliaries been sent from their state to the Treveri nor had their faith been broken:
Vbii, qui ante obsides dederant atque in deditionem venerant, purgandi sui causa ad eum legatos mittunt, qui doceant neque auxilia ex sua civitate in Treveros missa neque ab se fidem laesam:
they ask and beg that he spare them, lest in the common hatred of the Germans the innocent pay the penalty for the guilty; if he wished more hostages, they promise to give them.
petunt atque orant ut sibi parcat, ne communi odio Germanorum innocentes pro nocentibus poenas pendant; si amplius obsidum vellet, dare pollicentur.
The matter examined, Caesar finds that the auxiliaries had been sent by the Suebi; he accepts the Ubii’s satisfaction and searches out the approaches and roads into the Suebi.
Cognita Caesar causa reperit ab Suebis auxilia missa esse; Vbiorum satisfactionem accipit, aditus viasque in Suebos perquirit.
Meanwhile, a few days after, he is informed by the Ubii that the Suebi were gathering all their forces into one place and giving notice to those nations under their command to send auxiliaries of infantry and cavalry.
Interim paucis post diebus fit ab Vbiis certior Suebos omnes in unum locum copias cogere atque eis nationibus quae sub eorum sint imperio denuntiare, ut auxilia peditatus equitatusque mittant.
These things known, he provides for the grain supply, chooses a suitable place for a camp; he orders the Ubii to drive in their cattle and bring all their goods from the fields into the strongholds, hoping that barbarous and ignorant men, drawn by want of food, could be brought to an unequal condition of fighting;
His cognitis rebus rem frumentariam providet, castris idoneum locum deligit; Vbiis imperat ut pecora deducant suaque omnia ex agris in oppida conferant, sperans barbaros atque imperitos homines inopia cibariorum adductos ad iniquam pugnandi condicionem posse deduci;
he charges them to send frequent scouts into the Suebi and learn what is being done among them.
mandat, ut crebros exploratores in Suebos mittant quaeque apud eos gerantur cognoscant.
They do as ordered and, a few days passed, report: that all the Suebi, after surer reports about the Roman army had come, had withdrawn deep to their farthest borders with all their own and their allies’ forces which they had gathered:
Illi imperata faciunt et paucis diebus intermissis referunt: Suebos omnes, posteaquam certiores nuntii de exercitu Romanorum venerint, cum omnibus suis sociorumque copiis, quas coegissent, penitus ad extremos fines se recepisse:
that there was there a forest of boundless extent, which is called Bacenis; that this stretched far inward and, set as a natural wall, kept the Cherusci from the Suebi and the Suebi from the Cherusci from wrongs and incursions: and that at the edge of that forest the Suebi had decided to await the coming of the Romans.
Since this point has been reached, it does not seem out of place to set forth the customs of Gaul and Germany and in what these nations differ from each other.
Quoniam ad hunc locum perventum est, non alienum esse videtur de Galliae Germaniaeque moribus et quo differant hae nationes inter sese proponere.
In Gaul, not only in all the states and in all the cantons and divisions, but almost even in individual households, there are factions, and the leaders of these factions are those
In Gallia non solum in omnibus civitatibus atque in omnibus pagis partibusque, sed paene etiam in singulis domibus factiones sunt, earumque factionum principes sunt
who are judged to have the highest authority in their people’s opinion, to whose decision and judgment the sum of all matters and counsels comes back.
qui summam auctoritatem eorum iudicio habere existimantur, quorum ad arbitrium iudiciumque summa omnium rerum consiliorumque redeat.
And so this seems to have been instituted from of old for this reason, that no one of the common people should lack help against a more powerful man: for each leader does not allow his own to be oppressed and circumvented, nor, if he did otherwise, would he have any authority among his own.
Itaque eius rei causa antiquitus institutum videtur, ne quis ex plebe contra potentiorem auxili egeret: suos enim quisque opprimi et circumveniri non patitur, neque, aliter si faciat, ullam inter suos habet auctoritatem.
This same principle holds in the whole of Gaul taken together: for all the states are divided into two parts.
Haec eadem ratio est in summa totius Galliae: namque omnes civitates in partes divisae sunt duas.
When Caesar came into Gaul, the leaders of the one faction were the Aedui, of the other the Sequani.
Cum Caesar in Galliam venit, alterius factionis principes erant Aedui, alterius Sequani.
The latter, since by themselves they were the weaker—because the highest authority was from of old among the Aedui, and great were their dependencies—had joined to themselves the Germans and Ariovistus and had drawn them to themselves at great cost and with great promises.
Hi cum per se minus valerent, quod summa auctoritas antiquitus erat in Aeduis magnaeque eorum erant clientelae, Germanos atque Ariovistum sibi adiunxerant eosque ad se magnis iacturis pollicitationibusque perduxerant.
But, several successful battles fought and all the nobility of the Aedui killed, they had so far surpassed them in power
Proeliis vero compluribus factis secundis atque omni nobilitate Aeduorum interfecta tantum potentia antecesserant,
that they drew a great part of the dependents from the Aedui to themselves, took from them the sons of their chiefs as hostages, forced them to swear publicly that they would enter on no plan against the Sequani, held by force a part of the neighboring land they had seized, and held the leadership of all Gaul.
ut magnam partem clientium ab Aeduis ad se traducerent obsidesque ab eis principum filios acciperent et publice iurare cogerent nihil se contra Sequanos consili inituros et partem finitimi agri per vim occupatam possiderent Galliaeque totius principatum obtinerent.
Driven by this necessity, Diviciacus had set out for Rome to the Senate to seek help, and had returned with nothing accomplished.
Qua necessitate adductus Diviciacus auxili petendi causa Romam ad senatum profectus infecta re redierat.
With Caesar’s arrival a change of affairs was made: the hostages were given back to the Aedui, their old dependencies restored, and new ones procured through Caesar, because those who had attached themselves to their friendship
Adventu Caesaris facta commutatione rerum, obsidibus Aeduis redditis, veteribus clientelis restitutis, novis per Caesarem comparatis, quod hi, qui se ad eorum amicitiam adgregaverant,
saw that they enjoyed a better condition and a fairer rule; and, their standing and dignity enlarged in other respects too, the Sequani had let the leadership go. The Remi had succeeded to their place: and because it was understood that these matched the Aedui in favor with Caesar, those who, on account of old enmities, could in no way be joined with the Aedui pledged themselves to the Remi in clientage.
meliore condicione atque aequiore imperio se uti videbant, reliquis rebus eorum gratia dignitateque amplificata Sequani principatum dimiserant. In eorum locum Remi successerant: quos quod adaequare apud Caesarem gratia intellegebatur, ei, qui propter veteres inimicitias nullo modo cum Aeduis coniungi poterant, se Remis in clientelam dicabant.
These the Remi carefully protected: thus they held an authority both new and suddenly gathered.
Hos illi diligenter tuebantur: ita et novam et repente collectam auctoritatem tenebant.
The state of affairs then was such that the Aedui were held by far the first, and the Remi held the second place of dignity.
Eo tum statu res erat, ut longe principes haberentur Aedui, secundum locum dignitatis Remi obtinerent.
In all Gaul there are two kinds of those men who are of any account and honor. For the common people are held almost in the place of slaves, who dare nothing of themselves and are admitted to no council.
In omni Gallia eorum hominum, qui aliquo sunt numero atque honore, genera sunt duo. Nam plebes paene servorum habetur loco, quae nihil audet per se, nullo adhibetur consilio.
Most of them, when they are pressed either by debt or by the weight of tributes or by the wrong of more powerful men, give themselves into slavery to the nobles: over these the latter have all the same rights that masters have over slaves.
Plerique, cum aut aere alieno aut magnitudine tributorum aut iniuria potentiorum premuntur, sese in servitutem dicant nobilibus: in hos eadem omnia sunt iura, quae dominis in servos.
The Druids take part in things divine, see to the public and private sacrifices, and interpret matters of religion: to these a great number of young men flock for the sake of instruction, and they are held in great honor among them.
Illi rebus divinis intersunt, sacrificia publica ac privata procurant, religiones interpretantur: ad hos magnus adulescentium numerus disciplinae causa concurrit, magnoque hi sunt apud eos honore.
For they decide nearly all disputes, public and private, and, if any crime has been committed, if a murder has been done, if there is a dispute about an inheritance or about boundaries, they likewise decree, and fix the rewards and penalties;
Nam fere de omnibus controversiis publicis privatisque constituunt, et, si quod est admissum facinus, si caedes facta, si de hereditate, de finibus controversia est, idem decernunt, praemia poenasque constituunt;
if any man, whether private person or people, has not abided by their decree, they bar him from the sacrifices. This penalty is the heaviest among them.
si qui aut privatus aut populus eorum decreto non stetit, sacrificiis interdicunt. Haec poena apud eos est gravissima.
Those who are thus barred are reckoned in the number of the impious and the wicked; all withdraw from them, shun their approach and conversation, lest they take some harm from the contagion; nor is justice rendered to them when they seek it, nor is any honor shared with them.
Quibus ita est interdictum, hi numero impiorum ac sceleratorum habentur, his omnes decedunt, aditum sermonemque defugiunt, ne quid ex contagione incommodi accipiant, neque his petentibus ius redditur neque honos ullus communicatur.
But over all these Druids one presides, who has the highest authority among them.
His autem omnibus druidibus praeest unus, qui summam inter eos habet auctoritatem.
When he dies, either whoever among the rest excels in dignity succeeds, or, if there are several equal, they contend for the chieftainship by the vote of the Druids, sometimes even by arms.
Hoc mortuo aut si qui ex reliquis excellit dignitate succedit, aut, si sunt plures pares, suffragio druidum, nonnumquam etiam armis de principatu contendunt.
These at a fixed time of year sit in council in the territory of the Carnutes, which region is held to be the center of all Gaul, in a consecrated place. Here all from every side who have disputes assemble, and obey their decrees and judgments.
hi certo anni tempore in finibus Carnutum, quae regio totius Galliae media habetur, considunt in loco consecrato. Huc omnes undique, qui controversias habent, conveniunt eorumque decretis iudiciisque parent.
The discipline is thought to have been discovered in Britain and from there carried over into Gaul,
Disciplina in Britannia reperta atque inde in Galliam translata esse existimatur,
and now those who wish to learn the matter more thoroughly usually set out there for the sake of study.
et nunc, qui diligentius eam rem cognoscere volunt, plerumque illo discendi causa proficiscuntur.
The Druids are accustomed to be absent from war, nor do they pay tributes along with the rest; they have exemption from military service and immunity in all things.
Druides a bello abesse consuerunt neque tributa una cum reliquis pendunt; militiae vacationem omniumque rerum habent immunitatem.
Excited by such great privileges, many both come together into the discipline of their own accord and are sent by their parents and kinsmen.
Tantis excitati praemiis et sua sponte multi in disciplinam conveniunt et a parentibus propinquisque mittuntur.
They are said to learn there by heart a great number of verses. And so some remain in the discipline twenty years.
Magnum ibi numerum versuum ediscere dicuntur. Itaque annos nonnulli vicenos in disciplina permanent.
Nor do they think it lawful to commit these things to writing, although in nearly all other matters, in public and private accounts, they use Greek letters. This they seem to me to have instituted for two reasons: because they neither wish the discipline to be carried out among the common people, nor those who learn, trusting in letters, to attend less to memory; which generally happens to most, that, with the safeguard of letters, they relax their diligence in learning thoroughly and their memory.
Neque fas esse existimant ea litteris mandare, cum in reliquis fere rebus, publicis privatisque rationibus Graecis litteris utantur. Id mihi duabus de causis instituisse videntur, quod neque in vulgum disciplinam efferri velint neque eos, qui discunt, litteris confisos minus memoriae studere: quod fere plerisque accidit, ut praesidio litterarum diligentiam in perdiscendo ac memoriam remittant.
Above all they wish to persuade men of this, that souls do not perish, but pass after death from some to others; and they think that by this men are most stirred to courage, the fear of death being set aside.
In primis hoc volunt persuadere, non interire animas, sed ab aliis post mortem transire ad alios, atque hoc maxime ad virtutem excitari putant metu mortis neglecto.
They dispute besides about many things—the stars and their movement, the size of the universe and of the lands, the nature of things, the force and power of the immortal gods—and hand these down to the youth.
Multa praeterea de sideribus atque eorum motu, de mundi ac terrarum magnitudine, de rerum natura, de deorum immortalium vi ac potestate disputant et iuventuti tradunt.
The other kind is that of the knights. These, when there is need and some war befalls (which before Caesar’s coming used to happen nearly every year, either that they themselves inflicted wrongs or repelled those inflicted), are all engaged in the war,
Alterum genus est equitum. Hi, cum est usus atque aliquod bellum incidit (quod fere ante Caesaris adventum quotannis accidere solebat, uti aut ipsi iniurias inferrent aut illatas propulsarent), omnes in bello versantur,
and each of them, as he is most eminent in birth and resources, so has the most retainers and dependents about him. This is the one influence and power they know.
atque eorum ut quisque est genere copiisque amplissimus, ita plurimos circum se ambactos clientesque habet. Hanc unam gratiam potentiamque noverunt.
The whole nation of the Gauls is exceedingly given to religious observances,
Natio est omnis Gallorum admodum dedita religionibus,
and for that reason those who are afflicted with graver illnesses and those who are engaged in battles and dangers either sacrifice human beings as victims or vow that they will sacrifice them, and they employ the Druids as ministers for these sacrifices, because they hold that, unless for the life of a man a man’s life be rendered,
atque ob eam causam, qui sunt adfecti gravioribus morbis quique in proeliis periculisque versantur, aut pro victimis homines immolant aut se immolaturos vovent administrisque ad ea sacrificia druidibus utuntur, quod, pro vita hominis nisi hominis vita reddatur,
the will of the immortal gods cannot be appeased; and they have sacrifices of the same kind established as a public institution. Others have images of vast size,
non posse deorum immortalium numen placari arbitrantur, publiceque eiusdem generis habent instituta sacrificia. Alii immani magnitudine simulacra habent,
whose limbs, woven of wicker, they fill with living men; and these set on fire, the men are killed, enveloped by the flame.
quorum contexta viminibus membra vivis hominibus complent; quibus succensis circumventi flamma exanimantur homines.
They hold that the punishment of those who have been caught in theft or robbery or some other offense is more pleasing to the immortal gods; but, when the supply of that kind fails, they come down even to the punishment of the innocent.
Supplicia eorum qui in furto aut in latrocinio aut aliqua noxia sint comprehensi gratiora dis immortalibus esse arbitrantur; sed, cum eius generis copia defecit, etiam ad innocentium supplicia descendunt.
Of these they hold nearly the same opinion as the rest of the nations: that Apollo drives off diseases, that Minerva hands down the rudiments of works and crafts, that Jupiter holds the rule of the heavens, that Mars governs wars.
De his eandem fere, quam reliquae gentes, habent opinionem: Apollinem morbos depellere, Minervam operum atque artificiorum initia tradere, Iovem imperium caelestium tenere, Martem bella regere.
To this last, when they have resolved to fight a battle, they usually devote what they shall take in war: when they have conquered, they sacrifice the captured animals and gather the rest of the things into one place.
Huic, cum proelio dimicare constituerunt, ea quae bello ceperint plerumque devovent: cum superaverunt, animalia capta immolant reliquasque res in unum locum conferunt.
In many states one may behold mounds of these things heaped up in consecrated spots;
Multis in civitatibus harum rerum exstructos tumulos locis consecratis conspicari licet;
nor does it often happen that anyone, religion being neglected, dared either to conceal among himself what he had taken or to carry off what had been set down, and the heaviest punishment, with torture, is fixed for that deed.
neque saepe accidit, ut neglecta quispiam religione aut capta apud se occultare aut posita tollere auderet, gravissimumque ei rei supplicium cum cruciatu constitutum est.
The Gauls all proclaim themselves descended from Dis the father, and say this has been handed down by the Druids.
Galli se omnes ab Dite patre prognatos praedicant idque ab druidibus proditum dicunt.
For that reason they bound all spaces of time not by the number of days but of nights; they observe birthdays and the beginnings of months and years in such a way that the day follows the night.
Ob eam causam spatia omnis temporis non numero dierum sed noctium finiunt; dies natales et mensum et annorum initia sic observant ut noctem dies subsequatur.
In the rest of the practices of life they differ from the others in about this, that they do not permit their own children, unless when they have grown up so that they can bear the service of war, to come to them openly, and they count it shameful for a son of boyish age to stand in public in his father’s sight.
In reliquis vitae institutis hoc fere ab reliquis differunt, quod suos liberos, nisi cum adoleverunt, ut munus militiae sustinere possint, palam ad se adire non patiuntur filiumque puerili aetate in publico in conspectu patris adsistere turpe ducunt.
The men, whatever sums of money they have received from their wives by way of dowry, add as much from their own goods, an assessment being made, in common with the dowries.
Viri, quantas pecunias ab uxoribus dotis nomine acceperunt, tantas ex suis bonis aestimatione facta cum dotibus communicant.
Of all this money a joint account is kept and the proceeds preserved: whichever of the two survives the other, to him comes the share of both with the proceeds of the earlier time.
Huius omnis pecuniae coniunctim ratio habetur fructusque servantur: uter eorum vita superarit, ad eum pars utriusque cum fructibus superiorum temporum pervenit.
The men have the power of life and death over their wives, as over their children; and when a father of a household born in a more illustrious station has died, his kinsmen assemble and, if the matter has come into suspicion concerning the death, hold an inquiry of the wives in the manner used for slaves, and, if it is established, kill them, tortured with fire and every torment.
Viri in uxores, sicuti in liberos, vitae necisque habent potestatem; et cum pater familiae illustriore loco natus decessit, eius propinqui conveniunt et, de morte si res in suspicionem venit, de uxoribus in servilem modum quaestionem habent et, si compertum est, igni atque omnibus tormentis excruciatas interficiunt.
Funerals, for the Gauls’ standard of living, are magnificent and costly; and all the things they think were dear to the living they put into the fire, even animals, and a little above this present time the slaves and dependents whom it was agreed had been loved by them were burned together, the due rites completed.
Funera sunt pro cultu Gallorum magnifica et sumptuosa; omniaque quae vivis cordi fuisse arbitrantur in ignem inferunt, etiam animalia, ac paulo supra hanc memoriam servi et clientes, quos ab eis dilectos esse constabat, iustis funeribus confectis una cremabantur.
Those states which are thought to administer their commonwealth more conveniently have it sanctioned by laws that, if anyone has received anything about the commonwealth from neighbors by rumor or report, he should bring it to the magistrate and not share it with any other,
Quae civitates commodius suam rem publicam administrare existimantur, habent legibus sanctum, si quis quid de re publica a finitimis rumore aut fama acceperit, uti ad magistratum deferat neve cum quo alio communicet,
because it has been found that rash and ignorant men are often terrified by false rumors and driven to crime and take counsel about the highest matters.
quod saepe homines temerarios atque imperitos falsis rumoribus terreri et ad facinus impelli et de summis rebus consilium capere cognitum est.
The magistrates conceal what seems good and reveal to the multitude what they have judged to be of use. Of the commonwealth it is not allowed to speak except through the council.
Magistratus quae visa sunt occultant quaeque esse ex usu iudicaverunt multitudini produnt. De re publica nisi per concilium loqui non conceditur.
The Germans differ much from this manner. For they have neither Druids to preside over things divine, nor do they care for sacrifices.
Germani multum ab hac consuetudine differunt. Nam neque druides habent, qui rebus divinis praesint, neque sacrificiis student.
Their whole life consists in hunting and in the pursuits of warfare: from their earliest years they apply themselves to toil and hardness. Those who have stayed unmarried the longest
Vita omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei militaris consistit: ab parvulis labori ac duritiae student. Qui diutissime impuberes permanserunt,
win the greatest praise among their people: some think the stature is fed by this, some that the strength and sinews are strengthened.
maximam inter suos ferunt laudem: hoc ali staturam, ali vires nervosque confirmari putant.
Indeed, to have had knowledge of a woman before the twentieth year they count among the most shameful things; of which there is no concealment, because they both bathe promiscuously in the rivers and use skins or small coverings of hides, a great part of the body being bare.
Intra annum vero vicesimum feminae notitiam habuisse in turpissimis habent rebus; cuius rei nulla est occultatio, quod et promiscue in fluminibus perluuntur et pellibus aut parvis renonum tegimentis utuntur magna corporis parte nuda.
They do not apply themselves to agriculture, and the greater part of their food consists in milk, cheese, and flesh.
Agriculturae non student, maiorque pars eorum victus in lacte, caseo, carne consistit.
Nor has anyone a fixed measure of land or boundaries of his own; but the magistrates and chiefs, year by year, assign to the clans and kindreds of men who have gathered together as much land, and in such place, as seems good, and a year later compel them to pass on elsewhere.
Neque quisquam agri modum certum aut fines habet proprios; sed magistratus ac principes in annos singulos gentibus cognationibusque hominum, qui una coierunt, quantum et quo loco visum est agri attribuunt atque anno post alio transire cogunt.
For this they bring forward many reasons: lest, caught by settled habit, they exchange their zeal for waging war for agriculture; lest they grow eager to procure broad lands, and the more powerful drive the lowlier from their holdings; lest they build too carefully to avoid cold and heat; lest any greed for money arise, from which factions and dissensions are born;
Eius rei multas adferunt causas: ne adsidua consuetudine capti studium belli gerendi agricultura commutent; ne latos fines parare studeant, potentioresque humiliores possessionibus expellant; ne accuratius ad frigora atque aestus vitandos aedificent; ne qua oriatur pecuniae cupiditas, qua ex re factiones dissensionesque nascuntur;
that they may keep the common people content in calm of mind, since each sees his own resources made equal to those of the most powerful.
ut animi aequitate plebem contineant, cum suas quisque opes cum potentissimis aequari videat.
For the states the greatest glory is to have wastes about them, their borders laid waste as widely as possible.
Civitatibus maxima laus est quam latissime circum se vastatis finibus solitudines habere.
They hold this proper to valor, that their neighbors, driven from their fields, withdraw, and that no one dares to settle near them:
Hoc proprium virtutis existimant, expulsos agris finitimos cedere, neque quemquam prope audere consistere:
at the same time they think that by this they will be the safer, the fear of a sudden incursion being removed.
simul hoc se fore tutiores arbitrantur repentinae incursionis timore sublato.
When a state either defends a war brought upon it or makes one, magistrates are chosen to preside over that war, with power of life and death.
Cum bellum civitas aut inlatum defendit aut infert, magistratus, qui ei bello praesint, ut vitae necisque habeant potestatem, deliguntur.
In peace there is no common magistrate, but the chiefs of the regions and cantons render justice among their own and lessen disputes.
In pace nullus est communis magistratus, sed principes regionum atque pagorum inter suos ius dicunt controversiasque minuunt.
Robberies that are done outside the borders of each state have no infamy, and they declare that these are done for the sake of training the youth and lessening sloth.
Latrocinia nullam habent infamiam, quae extra fines cuiusque civitatis fiunt, atque ea iuventutis exercendae ac desidiae minuendae causa fieri praedicant.
And when one of the chiefs has said in council that he will be leader, and that those who wish to follow should declare it, those who approve both the cause and the man rise up and promise their help and are praised by the multitude:
Atque ubi quis ex principibus in concilio dixit se ducem fore, qui sequi velint, profiteantur, consurgunt ei qui et causam et hominem probant suumque auxilium pollicentur atque ab multitudine collaudantur:
those of these who have not followed are reckoned in the number of deserters and traitors, and afterward credit in all things is denied them.
qui ex his secuti non sunt, in desertorum ac proditorum numero ducuntur, omniumque his rerum postea fides derogatur.
To violate a guest they think not lawful; those who for whatever cause have come to them they keep from wrong and hold sacred, and to these the houses of all lie open and food is shared.
Hospitem violare fas non putant; qui quacumque de causa ad eos venerunt, ab iniuria prohibent, sanctos habent, hisque omnium domus patent victusque communicatur.
And there was formerly a time when the Gauls surpassed the Germans in valor, made war of their own accord, and, on account of the multitude of men and the scarcity of land, sent colonies across the Rhine.
Ac fuit antea tempus, cum Germanos Galli virtute superarent, ultro bella inferrent, propter hominum multitudinem agrique inopiam trans Rhenum colonias mitterent.
And so those places of Germany that are most fertile, around the Hercynian forest—which I see was known by report to Eratosthenes and certain of the Greeks, and which they call the Orcynian—the Volcae Tectosages seized and there settled;
Itaque ea quae fertilissima Germaniae sunt loca circum Hercyniam silvam, quam Eratostheni et quibusdam Graecis fama notam esse video, quam illi Orcyniam appellant, Volcae Tectosages occupaverunt atque ibi consederunt;
which people keeps itself in these seats to this time and has the highest repute for justice and for warlike glory.
quae gens ad hoc tempus his sedibus sese continet summamque habet iustitiae et bellicae laudis opinionem.
Now, because they remain in the same want, neediness, and endurance as the Germans, they use the same food and care of the body; whereas to the Gauls the nearness of the provinces and the acquaintance with things brought from overseas furnishes much toward abundance and use,
Nunc quod in eadem inopia, egestate, patientia qua Germani permanent, eodem victu et cultu corporis utuntur; Gallis autem provinciarum propinquitas et transmarinarum rerum notitia multa ad copiam atque usus largitur,
little by little accustomed to be surpassed and beaten in many battles, they do not even compare themselves with them in valor.
paulatim adsuefacti superari multisque victi proeliis ne se quidem ipsi cum illis virtute comparant.
The breadth of this Hercynian forest, which has been described above, extends a nine days’ journey for a man traveling light: for it cannot be bounded otherwise, nor do they know the measures of journeys.
Huius Hercyniae silvae, quae supra demonstrata est, latitudo novem dierum iter expedito patet: non enim aliter finiri potest, neque mensuras itinerum noverunt.
from there it bends to the left, through regions away from the river, and, on account of its size, touches the borders of many peoples;
hinc se flectit sinistrorsus diversis ab flumine regionibus multarumque gentium fines propter magnitudinem adtingit;
nor is there anyone of this Germany who would say either that he has reached the beginning of that forest, though he had advanced a sixty days’ journey, or has learned from what place it rises.
neque quisquam est huius Germaniae, qui se aut adisse ad initium eius silvae dicat, cum dierum iter LX processerit, aut, quo ex loco oriatur, acceperit.
It is agreed that many kinds of wild beasts are born in it which have not been seen in other places; of which those that differ most from the rest and seem worthy to be recorded are these.
Multaque in ea genera ferarum nasci constat, quae reliquis in locis visa non sint; ex quibus quae maxime differant ab ceteris et memoriae prodenda videantur haec sunt.
There is an ox in the shape of a stag, from the middle of whose forehead, between the ears, a single horn stands out, higher and straighter than the horns known to us: from its top branches spread wide like palms. The nature of the female and the male is the same, the same the form and size of the horns.
Est bos cervi figura, cuius a media fronte inter aures unum cornu exsistit excelsius magisque directum his, quae nobis nota sunt, cornibus: ab eius summo sicut palmae ramique late diffunduntur. Eadem est feminae marisque natura, eadem forma magnitudoque cornuum.
There are likewise those called elk. Their shape and the variety of their hides is like the goats’, but in size they somewhat exceed them, and they are stunted in their horns and have legs without joints and articulations;
Sunt item, quae appellantur alces. Harum est consimilis capris figura et varietas pellium, sed magnitudine paulo antecedunt mutilaeque sunt cornibus et crura sine nodis articulisque habent
nor do they lie down for the sake of rest, nor, if struck by some chance they have fallen, can they raise or lift themselves up.
neque quietis causa procumbunt neque, si quo adflictae casu conciderunt, erigere sese aut sublevare possunt.
For them the trees serve as beds: against these they lean, and so, reclining only a little, take their rest.
His sunt arbores pro cubilibus: ad eas se applicant atque ita paulum modo reclinatae quietem capiunt.
When from their tracks it has been noticed by hunters whither they are accustomed to withdraw, they either undermine all the trees in that place at the roots or cut into them, only so far that the appearance of them standing is left. When the elk have leaned against these by habit,
Quarum ex vestigiis cum est animadversum a venatoribus, quo se recipere consuerint, omnes eo loco aut ab radicibus subruunt aut accidunt arbores, tantum ut summa species earum stantium relinquatur. Huc cum se consuetudine reclinaverunt,
they overthrow the weakened trees by their weight and fall down together with them.
infirmas arbores pondere adfligunt atque una ipsae concidunt.
A third is the kind of those called aurochs. These are in size a little below elephants, in appearance, color, and shape a bull.
Tertium est genus eorum, qui uri appellantur. Hi sunt magnitudine paulo infra elephantos, specie et colore et figura tauri.
Great is their strength and great their speed, and they spare neither man nor beast they have caught sight of. These the Germans eagerly kill, caught in pits.
Magna vis eorum est et magna velocitas, neque homini neque ferae quam conspexerunt parcunt. Hos studiose foveis captos interficiunt.
By this toil the young men harden themselves and exercise themselves in this kind of hunting, and those who have killed the most of them, the horns brought back in public to be a testimony, win great praise.
Hoc se labore durant adulescentes atque hoc genere venationis exercent, et qui plurimos ex his interfecerunt, relatis in publicum cornibus, quae sint testimonio, magnam ferunt laudem.
But to grow used to men and become tame they cannot, not even taken as little ones.
Sed adsuescere ad homines et mansuefieri ne parvuli quidem excepti possunt.
The size of the horns, their shape and appearance, differs much from the horns of our oxen.
Amplitudo cornuum et figura et species multum a nostrorum boum cornibus differt.
These they eagerly seek out, encase at the rims with silver, and use in place of cups at their most lavish feasts.
Haec studiose conquisita ab labris argento circumcludunt atque in amplissimis epulis pro poculis utuntur.
Caesar, after he learned through Ubian scouts that the Suebi had withdrawn into the woods, fearing scarcity of grain—because, as we have shown above, of all peoples the Germans least apply themselves to agriculture—decided not to advance farther; but,
Caesar, postquam per Vbios exploratores comperit Suebos sese in silvas recepisse, inopiam frumenti veritus, quod, ut supra demonstravimus, minime omnes Germani agriculturae student, constituit non progredi longius; sed,
so as not to take from the barbarians altogether the fear of his return, and to delay their auxiliaries, the army led back, he cuts away the farthest part of the bridge,
ne omnino metum reditus sui barbaris tolleret atque ut eorum auxilia tardaret, reducto exercitu partem ultimam pontis,
which touched the bank of the Ubii, for a length of two hundred feet, and at the end of the bridge he sets a tower of four stories and posts a guard of twelve cohorts to protect the bridge, and strengthens that place with great fortifications. Over that place and guard he set the young man Gaius Volcatius Tullus.
quae ripas Vbiorum contingebat, in longitudinem pedum ducentorum rescindit atque in extremo ponte turrim tabulatorum quattuor constituit praesidiumque cohortium duodecim pontis tuendi causa ponit magnisque eum locum munitionibus firmat. Ei loco praesidioque Gaium Volcatium Tullum adulescentem praefecit.
He himself, when the grain began to ripen, having set out for the war against Ambiorix, through the Ardennes forest—which is the greatest of all Gaul and reaches from the banks of the Rhine and the borders of the Treveri to the Nervii, and extends more than five hundred miles in length—sends ahead Lucius Minucius Basilus with all the cavalry, in case he could accomplish anything by the speed of his march and the opportunity of the moment;
Ipse, cum maturescere frumenta inciperent, ad bellum Ambiorigis profectus per Arduennam silvam, quae est totius Galliae maxima atque ab ripis Rheni finibusque Treverorum ad Nervios pertinet milibusque amplius quingentis in longitudinem patet, Lucium Minucium Basilum cum omni equitatu praemittit, si quid celeritate itineris atque opportunitate temporis proficere possit;
he warns him to forbid fires being made in the camp, lest any sign of his coming be given from afar: he says he will follow at once.
monet, ut ignes in castris fieri prohibeat, ne qua eius adventus procul significatio fiat: sese confestim subsequi dicit.
Basilus does as ordered. The march completed quickly and contrary to everyone’s expectation, he catches many unawares in the fields: on their information he presses on to Ambiorix himself, to the place where he was said to be with a few horsemen.
Basilus, ut imperatum est, facit. Celeriter contraque omnium opinionem confecto itinere multos in agris inopinantes deprehendit: eorum indicio ad ipsum Ambiorigem contendit, quo in loco cum paucis equitibus esse dicebatur.
Fortune has much power, as in all things, so in war. For just as it was by great chance that he fell upon the man himself when off his guard and unprepared, and that his coming was seen by all before report or message could be brought; so it was great luck that, all the military gear he had about him being snatched away and his carriages and horses seized, the man himself escaped death. But this too came about,
Multum cum in omnibus rebus tum in re militari potest fortuna. Nam sicut magno accidit casu ut in ipsum incautum etiam atque imparatum incideret, priusque eius adventus ab omnibus videretur, quam fama ac nuntius adferretur: sic magnae fuit fortunae omni militari instrumento, quod circum se habebat, erepto, raedis equisque comprehensis ipsum effugere mortem. Sed hoc quoque factum est,
because, the building being surrounded by woods—as the dwellings of the Gauls generally are, who, for the sake of avoiding heat, mostly seek the nearness of woods and rivers—his companions and intimates for a little while held off the onset of our cavalry in a narrow place.
quod aedificio circumdato silva, ut sunt fere domicilia Gallorum, qui vitandi aestus causa plerumque silvarum atque fluminum petunt propinquitates, comites familiaresque eius angusto in loco paulisper equitum nostrorum vim sustinuerunt.
While these fought, one of his men set him on a horse: the woods covered his flight. Thus both in running into the danger and in avoiding it Fortune had much power.
His pugnantibus illum in equum quidam ex suis intulit: fugientem silvae texerunt. Sic et ad subeundum periculum et ad vitandum multum fortuna valuit.
Whether Ambiorix did not gather his forces by deliberate judgment, because he thought he ought not to fight a battle, or whether he was shut out by the moment and prevented by the sudden arrival of the cavalry, believing the rest of the army to be following, is uncertain.
Ambiorix copias suas iudicione non conduxerit, quod proelio dimicandum non existimarit, an tempore exclusus et repentino equitum adventu prohibitus, cum reliquum exercitum subsequi crederet, dubium est.
But certainly, messengers being sent through the fields, he ordered each man to look to himself. Of these a part fled into the Ardennes forest, a part into the continuous marshes;
Sed certe dimissis per agros nuntiis sibi quemque consulere iussit. Quorum pars in Arduennam silvam, pars in continentes paludes profugit;
those who were nearest the Ocean hid themselves in the islands which the tides are accustomed to make;
qui proximi Oceano fuerunt, his insulis sese occultaverunt, quas aestus efficere consuerunt;
many, going out from their own borders, entrusted themselves and all their goods to utter strangers.
multi ex suis finibus egressi se suaque omnia alienissimis crediderunt.
Catuvolcus, king of half the Eburones, who had entered on the plan together with Ambiorix, now worn out with age, since he could not bear the labor either of war or of flight, having cursed Ambiorix with every imprecation as the author of that plan, killed himself with yew, of which there is a great supply in Gaul and Germany.
Catuvolcus, rex dimidiae partis Eburonum, qui una cum Ambiorige consilium inierat, aetate iam confectus, cum laborem aut belli aut fugae ferre non posset, omnibus precibus detestatus Ambiorigem, qui eius consilii auctor fuisset, taxo, cuius magna in Gallia Germaniaque copia est, se exanimavit.
The Segni and Condrusi, of the race and number of the Germans who are between the Eburones and the Treveri, sent envoys to Caesar to beg that he not reckon them in the number of enemies, nor judge that there was one cause of all the Germans on this side of the Rhine: they had thought nothing about war and had sent no auxiliaries to Ambiorix.
Segni Condrusique, ex gente et numero Germanorum, qui sunt inter Eburones Treverosque, legatos ad Caesarem miserunt oratum, ne se in hostium numero duceret neve omnium Germanorum, qui essent citra Rhenum, unam esse causam iudicaret: nihil se de bello cogitavisse, nulla Ambiorigi auxilia misisse.
Caesar, the matter explored by the questioning of captives, ordered that, if any of the Eburones in their flight had gathered to them, they should be brought back to him; if they did so, he said he would not violate their borders.
Caesar explorata re quaestione captivorum, si qui ad eos Eburones ex fuga convenissent, ad se ut reducerentur, imperavit; si ita fecissent, fines eorum se violaturum negavit.
Then, his forces distributed in three parts, he brought the baggage of all the legions to Aduatuca.
Tum copiis in tres partes distributis impedimenta omnium legionum Aduatucam contulit.
That is the name of a fort. It is about in the middle of the borders of the Eburones, where Titurius and Aurunculeius had settled for the sake of wintering.
Id castelli nomen est. Hoc fere est in mediis Eburonum finibus, ubi Titurius atque Aurunculeius hiemandi causa consederant.
This place he approved both for other reasons and because the fortifications of the previous year remained intact, so as to lighten the soldiers’ labor. As a guard for the baggage he left the Fourteenth Legion, one of those three he had lately enrolled and brought across from Italy.
Hunc cum reliquis rebus locum probabat, tum quod superioris anni munitiones integrae manebant, ut militum laborem sublevaret. Praesidio impedimentis legionem quartamdecimam reliquit, unam ex eis tribus, quas proxime conscriptas ex Italia traduxerat.
Over that legion and the camp he sets Quintus Tullius Cicero and assigns him two hundred cavalry.
Ei legioni castrisque Quintum Tullium Ciceronem praeficit ducentosque equites attribuit.
The army divided, he orders Titus Labienus with three legions to set out toward the Ocean into those parts that border on the Menapii;
Partito exercitu Titum Labienum cum legionibus tribus ad Oceanum versus in eas partes quae Menapios attingunt proficisci iubet;
he sends Gaius Trebonius with an equal number of legions to lay waste that region which lies near the Atuatuci;
Gaium Trebonium cum pari legionum numero ad eam regionem quae ad Aduatucos adiacet depopulandam mittit;
he himself with the remaining three decided to go to the river Scheldt, which flows into the Meuse, and to the farthest parts of the Ardennes, where he heard Ambiorix had set out with a few horsemen.
ipse cum reliquis tribus ad flumen Scaldem, quod influit in Mosam, extremasque Arduennae partis ire constituit, quo cum paucis equitibus profectum Ambiorigem audiebat.
On departing he affirms that he will return after the seventh day; by which day he knew grain was due to the legion that was being left as a garrison.
Discedens post diem septimum sese reversurum confirmat; quam ad diem ei legioni quae in praesidio relinquebatur deberi frumentum sciebat.
He urges Labienus and Trebonius, if they can do it to the advantage of the republic, to return by that day, so that, the plan again shared and the enemy’s methods explored, they might take up another beginning of the war.
Labienum Treboniumque hortatur, si rei publicae commodo facere possint, ad eum diem revertantur, ut rursus communicato consilio exploratisque hostium rationibus aliud initium belli capere possint.
There was, as we have shown above, no fixed band, no stronghold, no garrison to defend itself with arms, but a multitude scattered in all directions.
Erat, ut supra demonstravimus, manus certa nulla, non oppidum, non praesidium, quod se armis defenderet, sed in omnes partes dispersa multitudo.
Wherever to each man a hidden valley or a wooded spot or an impassable marsh offered some hope of protection or of safety, there he had settled.
Vbi cuique aut valles abdita aut locus silvestris aut palus impedita spem praesidi aut salutis aliquam offerebat, consederat.
These places were known to the neighborhoods, and the matter required great care—not in guarding the army as a whole (for no danger could befall the whole from men terrified and scattered), but in preserving the individual soldiers; which yet in part concerned the safety of the army.
Haec loca vicinitatibus erant nota, magnamque res diligentiam requirebat non in summa exercitus tuenda (nullum enim poterat universis a perterritis ac dispersis periculum accidere), sed in singulis militibus conservandis; quae tamen ex parte res ad salutem exercitus pertinebat.
For both the desire of plunder called many too far, and the woods, with their uncertain and hidden paths, kept them from approaching in close order.
Nam et praedae cupiditas multos longius evocabat, et silvae incertis occultisque itineribus confertos adire prohibebant.
If he wished the business finished and the stock of those wicked men killed off, more bands had to be sent out and the soldiers spread apart;
Si negotium confici stirpemque hominum sceleratorum interfici vellet, dimittendae plures manus diducendique erant milites;
if he wished to keep the maniples together at the standards, as the established method and custom of the Roman army demanded, the place itself was a protection to the barbarians, nor did individuals lack the daring to lie in wait from hiding and to surround the scattered.
si continere ad signa manipulos vellet, ut instituta ratio et consuetudo exercitus Romani postulabat, locus ipse erat praesidio barbaris, neque ex occulto insidiandi et dispersos circumveniendi singulis deerat audacia.
As far as in difficulties of this kind care could provide, it was provided, so that rather something in doing harm should be passed over—though the minds of all burned to take vengeance—than that harm be done with any loss of soldiers.
Vt in eiusmodi difficultatibus, quantum diligentia provideri poterat providebatur, ut potius in nocendo aliquid praetermitteretur, etsi omnium animi ad ulciscendum ardebant, quam cum aliquo militum detrimento noceretur.
Caesar sends messengers to the neighboring states: he calls them all to him by the hope of plunder, to ravage the Eburones, so that rather the life of Gauls than the legionary soldier should be risked in the woods, and at the same time that, a great multitude being poured round, for such a crime the stock and name of the state should be wiped out.
Dimittit ad finitimas civitates nuntios Caesar: omnes ad se vocat spe praedae ad diripiendos Eburones, ut potius in silvis Gallorum vita quam legionarius miles periclitetur, simul ut magna multitudine circumfusa pro tali facinore stirps ac nomen civitatis tollatur.
A great number quickly assembled from every side.
Magnus undique numerus celeriter convenit.
These things were being done in all parts of the Eburones, and the seventh day was approaching, by which day Caesar had decided to return to the baggage and the legion.
Haec in omnibus Eburonum partibus gerebantur, diesque appetebat septimus, quem ad diem Caesar ad impedimenta legionemque reverti constituerat.
Here it could be perceived how much fortune has power in war and how great the chances it brings.
Hic quantum in bello fortuna possit et quantos adferat casus cognosci potuit.
The enemy scattered and terrified, as we have shown, there was no band that brought even a small cause of fear.
Dissipatis ac perterritis hostibus, ut demonstravimus, manus erat nulla quae parvam modo causam timoris adferret.
Across the Rhine the report reached the Germans that the Eburones were being ravaged and that all were being summoned of their own accord to the plunder.
Trans Rhenum ad Germanos pervenit fama, diripi Eburones atque ultro omnes ad praedam evocari.
The Sugambri, who are nearest the Rhine, gather two thousand cavalry—the same who, as we showed above, received the Tencteri and Usipetes in their flight.
Cogunt equitum duo milia Sugambri, qui sunt proximi Rheno, a quibus receptos ex fuga Tencteros atque Vsipetes supra docuimus.
They cross the Rhine in ships and rafts thirty miles below the place where the bridge had been made and the garrison left by Caesar: they reach the nearest borders of the Eburones; they catch many scattered in flight, and gain possession of a great number of cattle, of which the barbarians are most greedy.
Transeunt Rhenum navibus ratibusque triginta milibus passuum infra eum locum, ubi pons erat perfectus praesidiumque ab Caesare relictum: primos Eburonum fines adeunt; multos ex fuga dispersos excipiunt, magno pecoris numero, cuius sunt cupidissimi barbari, potiuntur.
Invited by plunder, they advance farther. Neither marsh nor woods delay these men born to war and robbery. They ask of captives in what places Caesar is; they find that he had set out farther and learn that the whole army had departed.
Invitati praeda longius procedunt. Non hos palus in bello latrociniisque natos, non silvae morantur. Quibus in locis sit Caesar ex captivis quaerunt; profectum longius reperiunt omnemque exercitum discessisse cognoscunt.
And one of the captives said, "Why do you chase this wretched and scanty plunder, when you may now be the most fortunate of men?
Atque unus ex captivis "Quid vos," inquit, "hanc miseram ac tenuem sectamini praedam, quibus licet iam esse fortunatissimos?
In three hours you can come to Aduatuca: there the Roman army has brought together all its fortunes: of garrison there is so little that not even the wall can be manned, nor does anyone dare to go out beyond the fortifications."
Tribus horis Aduatucam venire potestis: huc omnes suas fortunas exercitus Romanorum contulit: praesidi tantum est, ut ne murus quidem cingi possit, neque quisquam egredi extra munitiones audeat."
The hope offered, the Germans leave in hiding the plunder they had got; they themselves press on to Aduatuca, using the same guide on whose information they had learned these things.
Oblata spe Germani quam nacti erant praedam in occulto relinquunt; ipsi Aduatucam contendunt usi eodem duce, cuius haec indicio cognoverant.
Cicero, who through all the earlier days had kept the soldiers in camp with the utmost care according to Caesar’s instructions, and had not allowed even a single camp-servant to go out beyond the fortification, on the seventh day, distrusting that Caesar would keep faith about the number of days—because he heard he had advanced farther, and no report of his return was brought—and at the same time moved by the words of those
Cicero, qui omnes superiores dies praeceptis Caesaris cum summa diligentia milites in castris continuisset ac ne calonem quidem quemquam extra munitionem egredi passus esset, septimo die diffidens de numero dierum Caesarem fidem servaturum, quod longius progressum audiebat, neque ulla de reditu eius fama adferebatur, simul eorum permotus vocibus,
who all but called his patience a blockade, since indeed it was not allowed to go out of the camp, expecting no such chance by which, nine legions and a very great body of cavalry set against them and the enemy scattered and almost destroyed, he could be struck within three miles, sends five cohorts to forage in the nearest cornfields, between which and the camp one single hill lay. Several of the sick from the legions had been left behind;
qui illius patientiam paene obsessionem appellabant, siquidem ex castris egredi non liceret, nullum eiusmodi casum exspectans, quo novem oppositis legionibus maximoque equitatu dispersis ac paene deletis hostibus in milibus passuum tribus offendi posset, quinque cohortes frumentatum in proximas segetes mittit, quas inter et castra unus omnino collis intererat. Complures erant ex legionibus aegri relicti;
of these, those who in this space of days had recovered, about three hundred, are sent together under a standard; besides, a great multitude of camp-servants and a great number of pack-animals that had remained in the camp follow, leave being given.
ex quibus qui hoc spatio dierum convaluerant, circiter CCC, sub vexillo una mittuntur; magna praeterea multitudo calonum, magna vis iumentorum, quae in castris subsederant, facta potestate sequitur.
At this very time and by chance the German cavalry come up, and at once, in the very gallop with which they had come, attempt to burst into the camp by the decuman gate,
Hoc ipso tempore et casu Germani equites interveniunt protinusque eodem illo, quo venerant, cursu ab decumana porta in castra irrumpere conantur,
nor, the woods being set on that side, were they seen before they were approaching the camp, so much so that the traders who pitched beneath the rampart had no chance of getting themselves back in.
nec prius sunt visi obiectis ab ea parte silvis, quam castris appropinquarent, usque eo ut qui sub vallo tenderent mercatores recipiendi sui facultatem non haberent.
Our men, taken unawares, are thrown into confusion by the new thing, and the cohort on guard scarcely holds the first onset.
Inopinantes nostri re nova perturbantur, ac vix primum impetum cohors in statione sustinet.
The enemy pour round on the other sides, to see if they can find any approach.
Circumfunduntur ex reliquis hostes partibus, si quem aditum reperire possent.
With difficulty our men hold the gates; the place itself by its own nature and the fortification defend the other approaches.
Aegre portas nostri tuentur, reliquos aditus locus ipse per se munitioque defendit.
There is panic in the whole camp, and one asks another the cause of the tumult; nor do they provide whither the standards are to be carried or to what quarter each is to gather.
Totis trepidatur castris, atque alius ex alio causam tumultus quaerit; neque quo signa ferantur neque quam in partem quisque conveniat provident.
One declares the camp already taken, another contends that the barbarians have come as victors, the army and the commander destroyed;
Alius iam castra capta pronuntiat, alius deleto exercitu atque imperatore victores barbaros venisse contendit;
most invent for themselves new superstitions from the place, and set before their eyes the disaster of Cotta and Titurius, who had fallen in the same fort.
plerique novas sibi ex loco religiones fingunt Cottaeque et Tituri calamitatem, qui in eodem occiderint castello, ante oculos ponunt.
All being terrified by such fear, the opinion is confirmed to the barbarians, as they had heard from the captive, that there was no garrison within.
Tali timore omnibus perterritis confirmatur opinio barbaris, ut ex captivo audierant, nullum esse intus praesidium.
They strive to break through and exhort one another not to let so great a fortune slip from their hands.
perrumpere nituntur seque ipsi adhortantur, ne tantam fortunam ex manibus dimittant.
There had been left, sick, with the garrison, Publius Sextius Baculus, who had led the first maniple under Caesar—of whom we have made mention in earlier battles—and he had now gone five days without food.
Erat aeger cum praesidio relictus Publius Sextius Baculus, qui primum pilum ad Caesarem duxerat, cuius mentionem superioribus proeliis fecimus, ac diem iam quintum cibo caruerat.
He, distrusting his own and everyone’s safety, comes out unarmed from his tent: he sees the enemy looming and the matter at the utmost crisis: he takes arms from those nearest and takes his stand in the gate:
Hic diffisus suae atque omnium saluti inermis ex tabernaculo prodit: videt imminere hostes atque in summo esse rem discrimine: capit arma a proximis atque in porta consistit:
the centurions of the cohort that was on guard follow him: for a little while together they hold off the fight.
consequuntur hunc centuriones eius cohortis quae in statione erat: paulisper una proelium sustinent.
Consciousness leaves Sextius, grave wounds received: passed back with difficulty from hand to hand, he is saved.
Relinquit animus Sextium gravibus acceptis vulneribus: aegre per manus tractus servatur.
In the space thus gained the rest take heart enough to dare to stand on the fortifications and present the appearance of defenders.
Hoc spatio interposito reliqui sese confirmant tantum, ut in munitionibus consistere audeant speciemque defensorum praebeant.
Meanwhile, the foraging finished, our soldiers hear the shouting: the cavalry run ahead; they learn in how great danger the matter is.
Interim confecta frumentatione milites nostri clamorem exaudiunt: praecurrunt equites; quanto res sit in periculo cognoscunt.
But here there is no fortification to receive the terrified: lately enrolled and unskilled in military practice, they turn their faces to the military tribune and the centurions; they wait for what is ordered by these. There is no one so brave but he is thrown into confusion by the strangeness of the thing.
Hic vero nulla munitio est quae perterritos recipiat: modo conscripti atque usus militaris imperiti ad tribunum militum centurionesque ora convertunt; quid ab his praecipiatur exspectant. Nemo est tam fortis quin rei novitate perturbetur.
The barbarians, catching sight of the standards afar, desist from the assault:
Barbari signa procul conspicati oppugnatione desistunt:
at first they believe the legions have returned, which they had learned from captives had gone farther off; afterward, the small number despised, they make a charge from all sides.
redisse primo legiones credunt, quas longius discessisse ex captivis cognoverant; postea despecta paucitate ex omnibus partibus impetum faciunt.
The camp-servants run forward to the nearest hillock. Quickly thrown down from there, they fling themselves among the standards and the maniples: by so much the more they terrify the already frightened soldiers.
Calones in proximum tumulum procurrunt. Hinc celeriter deiecti se in signa manipulosque coniciunt: eo magis timidos perterrent milites.
Some judge that, a wedge being formed, they should quickly break through, since the camp is so near, and, if some part is surrounded and falls, they are confident the rest can be saved;
Alii cuneo facto ut celeriter perrumpant censent, quoniam tam propinqua sint castra, et si pars aliqua circumventa ceciderit, at reliquos servari posse confidunt;
others, that they should take their stand on the ridge and all bear the same fortune.
alii, ut in iugo consistant atque eundem omnes ferant casum.
This the veteran soldiers do not approve, those whom we have shown set out together under a standard. And so, having exhorted one another, with Gaius Trebonius, a Roman knight who was set over them, as leader, they break through the midst of the enemy and reach the camp, all to a man unharmed.
Hoc veteres non probant milites, quos sub vexillo una profectos docuimus. Itaque inter se cohortati duce Gaio Trebonio, equite Romano, qui eis erat praepositus, per medios hostes perrumpunt incolumesque ad unum omnes in castra perveniunt.
The camp-servants and cavalry, following close behind in the same charge, are saved by the soldiers’ courage.
Hos subsecuti calones equitesque eodem impetu militum virtute servantur.
But those who had taken their stand on the ridge, no skill in military matters even now gained, could neither persist in the plan they had approved, of defending themselves on the higher ground, nor imitate that force and speed they had seen avail the others, but, trying to withdraw into the camp, brought themselves down into unfavorable ground.
At ei qui in iugo constiterant, nullo etiam nunc usu rei militaris percepto neque in eo quod probaverant consilio permanere, ut se loco superiore defenderent, neque eam quam prodesse aliis vim celeritatemque viderant imitari potuerunt, sed se in castra recipere conati iniquum in locum demiserunt.
The centurions—some of whom, for the sake of their courage, had been transferred from the lower ranks of other legions into the higher ranks of this legion—lest they lose the praise of soldiership they had won before, fell fighting most bravely.
Centuriones, quorum nonnulli ex inferioribus ordinibus reliquarum legionum virtutis causa in superiores erant ordines huius legionis traducti, ne ante partam rei militaris laudem amitterent, fortissime pugnantes conciderunt.
Part of the soldiers, by these men’s courage the enemy being driven off, reached the camp unharmed beyond hope, part, surrounded by the barbarians, perished.
Militum pars horum virtute summotis hostibus praeter spem incolumis in castra pervenit, pars a barbaris circumventa periit.
The Germans, despairing of storming the camp, because they saw that our men had now taken their stand on the fortifications, withdrew across the Rhine with the plunder they had set down in the woods.
Germani desperata expugnatione castrorum, quod nostros iam constitisse in munitionibus videbant, cum ea praeda quam in silvis deposuerant trans Rhenum sese receperunt.
And so great was the terror even after the enemy’s departure that, when on that night Gaius Volusenus, sent with the cavalry, came to the camp, he could not make them believe that Caesar was at hand with the army unharmed.
Ac tantus fuit etiam post discessum hostium terror ut ea nocte, cum Gaius Volusenus missus cum equitatu ad castra venisset, fidem non faceret adesse cum incolumi Caesarem exercitu.
So utterly had fear seized their minds that, almost out of their senses, they said that, all the forces destroyed, the cavalry had escaped from the rout, and contended that, the army being safe, the Germans would not have assaulted the camp.
Sic omnino animos timor praeoccupaverat ut paene alienata mente deletis omnibus copiis equitatum se ex fuga recepisse dicerent neque incolumi exercitu Germanos castra oppugnaturos fuisse contenderent.
This fear Caesar’s arrival removed.
Quem timorem Caesaris adventus sustulit.
He, returned, not ignorant of the chances of war, complained only of one thing—that the cohorts had been sent out from their guard and station: he judged that not even to the smallest chance ought room to have been left, and that fortune had had much power in the sudden arrival of the enemy,
Reversus ille eventus belli non ignorans unum, quod cohortes ex statione et praesidio essent emissae, questus ne minimo quidem casu locum relinqui debuisse, multum fortunam in repentino hostium adventu potuisse iudicavit,
and much more in that it had turned the barbarians away almost from the very rampart and gates of the camp. Of all which things the most to be wondered at seemed
multo etiam amplius, quod paene ab ipso vallo portisque castrorum barbaros avertisset. quarum omnium rerum maxime admirandum videbatur,
that the Germans, who had crossed the Rhine with the plan of ravaging Ambiorix’s borders, carried to the camp of the Romans, conferred on Ambiorix a most welcome benefit.
quod Germani, qui eo consilio Rhenum transierant, ut Ambiorigis fines depopularentur, ad castra Romanorum delati optatissimum Ambiorigi beneficium obtulerunt.
Caesar, having again set out to harry the enemy, a great number gathered from the neighboring states, sends them out in all directions.
Caesar rursus ad vexandos hostes profectus magno coacto numero ex finitimis civitatibus in omnes partes dimittit.
All the villages and all the buildings that each man caught sight of were burned; plunder was driven off from every place;
Omnes vici atque omnia aedificia quae quisque conspexerat incendebantur; praeda ex omnibus locis agebatur;
the grain was not only consumed by so great a multitude of pack-animals and men, but had also been beaten down by the season of the year and the rains, so that, if any had even for the present hidden themselves, still, the army withdrawn, it seemed they must perish from want of all things.
frumenta non solum tanta multitudine iumentorum atque hominum consumebantur, sed etiam anni tempore atque imbribus procubuerant ut, si qui etiam in praesentia se occultassent, tamen his deducto exercitu rerum omnium inopia pereundum videretur.
And often it came to such a point, the cavalry being spread so far in all directions, that captives would look round for Ambiorix, just seen by them in flight, and even contend that he had not quite gone from sight, so that, the hope of overtaking him held out and boundless toil undertaken,
Ac saepe in eum locum ventum est tanto in omnes partes diviso equitatu, ut modo visum ab se Ambiorigem in fuga circumspicerent captivi nec plane etiam abisse ex conspectu contenderent, ut spe consequendi illata atque infinito labore suscepto,
those who thought they would win the highest favor from Caesar almost overcame nature by their zeal, and always a little seemed wanting to the height of success,
qui se summam ab Caesare gratiam inituros putarent, paene naturam studio vincerent, semperque paulum ad summam felicitatem defuisse videretur,
while he snatched himself away by hiding-places or glades and, concealed by night, made for other regions and parts with no greater guard of cavalry than four, to whom alone he dared entrust his life.
atque ille latebris aut saltibus se eriperet et noctu occultatus alias regiones partesque peteret non maiore equitum praesidio quam quattuor, quibus solis vitam suam committere audebat.
The regions laid waste in such fashion, Caesar leads the army back, with the loss of two cohorts, to Durocortorum of the Remi, and, a council of Gaul proclaimed at that place, resolved to hold an inquiry concerning the conspiracy of the Senones and Carnutes; and concerning Acco, who had been the author of that plan,
Tali modo vastatis regionibus exercitum Caesar duarum cohortium damno Durocortorum Remorum reducit concilioque in eum locum Galliae indicto de coniuratione Senonum et Carnutum quaestionem habere instituit et de Accone, qui princeps eius consili fuerat,
a heavier sentence pronounced, he exacted punishment in the manner of the forefathers.
graviore sententia pronuntiata more maiorum supplicium sumpsit.
Some, fearing the trial, fled. When he had barred these from water and fire, he stationed two legions on the borders of the Treveri, two among the Lingones, the remaining six in the borders of the Senones at Agedincum, in winter quarters; and, grain provided for the army, he set out, as he had appointed, for Italy to hold the assizes.
Non nulli iudicium veriti profugerunt. Quibus cum aqua atque igni interdixisset, duas legiones ad fines Treverorum, duas in Lingonibus, sex reliquas in Senonum finibus Agedinci in hibernis collocavit frumentoque exercitui proviso, ut instituerat, in Italiam ad conventus agendos profectus est.
Gaul being quiet, Caesar, as he had decided, sets out for Italy to hold the assizes. There he learns of the murder of Clodius and, informed of the Senate’s decree that all the younger men of Italy should take the military oath, decides to hold a levy throughout the province.
Quieta Gallia Caesar, ut constituerat, in Italiam ad conventus agendos proficiscitur. Ibi cognoscit de Clodii caede [de] senatusque consulto certior factus, ut omnes iuniores Italiae coniurarent, delectum tota provincia habere instituit.
These things are quickly carried into Transalpine Gaul. The Gauls themselves add and fabricate to the rumors what the situation seemed to demand—that Caesar was held back by the disturbance in the City and could not come to the army amid such great dissensions.
Eae res in Galliam Transalpinam celeriter perferuntur. Addunt ipsi et adfingunt rumoribus Galli, quod res poscere videbatur, retineri urbano motu Caesarem neque in tantis dissensionibus ad exercitum venire posse.
Driven by this opportunity, those who already before grieved that they were subjected to the command of the Roman people begin to enter on plans of war more freely and boldly.
Hac impulsi occasione, qui iam ante se populi Romani imperio subiectos dolerent liberius atque audacius de bello consilia inire incipiunt.
Councils being proclaimed among themselves in wooded and remote places, the chiefs of Gaul complain of the death of Acco;
Indictis inter se principes Galliae conciliis silvestribus ac remotis locis queruntur de Acconis morte;
they point out that this fate could fall back upon themselves: they pity the common fortune of Gaul: with all promises and rewards they call for men to make a beginning of war and at the peril of their own lives set Gaul free.
posse hunc casum ad ipsos recidere demonstrant: miserantur communem Galliae fortunam: omnibus pollicitationibus ac praemiis deposcunt qui belli initium faciant et sui capitis periculo Galliam in libertatem vindicent.
Above all, they say, account must be taken, before their secret plans are carried abroad, that Caesar be cut off from the army. That this was easy,
In primis rationem esse habendam dicunt, priusquam eorum clandestina consilia efferantur, ut Caesar ab exercitu intercludatur. Id esse facile,
because neither did the legions dare to leave winter quarters in the commander’s absence, nor could the commander reach the legions without a guard;
quod neque legiones audeant absente imperatore ex hibernis egredi, neque imperator sine praesidio ad legiones pervenire possit;
finally, that it was better to be killed in battle than not to recover the old glory of war and the liberty they had received from their forefathers.
postremo in acie praestare interfici quam non veterem belli gloriam libertatemque quam a maioribus acceperint recuperare.
These things debated, the Carnutes declare that they refuse no danger for the common safety, and promise to make war before all the rest, and,
His rebus agitatis profitentur Carnutes se nullum periculum communis salutis causa recusare principesque ex omnibus bellum facturos pollicentur et,
since at present they cannot give surety to one another by hostages, lest the matter be carried abroad, they ask that it be sanctioned by oath and pledge, the military standards being brought together—in which manner their most solemn ceremony is contained—that, the war once begun, they not be deserted by the rest.
quoniam in praesentia obsidibus cavere inter se non possint ne res efferatur, ut iureiurando ac fide sanciatur, petunt, collatis militaribus signis, quo more eorum gravissima caerimonia continetur, ne facto initio belli ab reliquis deserantur.
Then, the Carnutes praised, an oath given by all who were present, the time for that matter fixed, the council disperses.
Tum collaudatis Carnutibus, dato iureiurando ab omnibus qui aderant, tempore eius rei constituto ab concilio disceditur.
When that day came, the Carnutes, with Cotuatus and Conconnetodumnus, desperate men, as leaders, at a given signal rush together to Cenabum and kill the Roman citizens who had settled there for the sake of trade—among them Gaius Fufius Cita, an honorable Roman knight who by Caesar’s order was in charge of the grain supply—and plunder their goods.
Vbi ea dies venit, Carnutes Cotuato et Conconnetodumno ducibus, desperatis hominibus, Cenabum signo dato concurrunt civesque Romanos, qui negotiandi causa ibi constiterant, in his Gaium Fufium Citam, honestum equitem Romanum, qui rei frumentariae iussu Caesaris praeerat, interficiunt bonaque eorum diripiunt.
Quickly the report is carried to all the states of Gaul. For wherever a greater and more notable thing happens, they signal it by a shout through the fields and regions; others take this up in turn and pass it to the nearest, as then happened.
Celeriter ad omnes Galliae civitates fama perfertur. Nam ubicumque maior atque illustrior incidit res, clamore per agros regionesque significant; hunc alii deinceps excipiunt et proximis tradunt, ut tum accidit.
For what had been done at Cenabum at sunrise was heard in the territory of the Arverni before the end of the first watch, which is a distance of about a hundred and sixty miles.
Nam quae Cenabi oriente sole gesta essent, ante primam confectam vigiliam in finibus Arvernorum audita sunt, quod spatium est milium passuum circiter centum LX.
In a like manner there Vercingetorix, son of Celtillus, an Arvernian, a young man of the highest power—whose father had held the leadership of all Gaul and for that cause, because he aimed at kingship, had been killed by the state—having called together his dependents, easily inflames them.
Simili ratione ibi Vercingetorix, Celtilli filius, Arvernus, summae potentiae adulescens, cuius pater principatum Galliae totius obtinuerat et ob eam causam, quod regnum appetebat, ab civitate erat interfectus, convocatis suis clientibus facile incendit.
His plan known, there is a rush to arms. He is hindered by Gobannitio, his uncle, and the other chiefs, who did not think this fortune should be tried; he is driven out of the town of Gergovia;
Cognito eius consilio ad arma concurritur. Prohibetur ab Gobannitione, patruo suo, reliquisque principibus, qui hanc temptandam fortunam non existimabant; expellitur ex oppido Gergovia;
he did not desist, however, and in the fields holds a levy of the needy and the desperate. This band gathered, whomever he approaches of the state he brings over to his own view;
non destitit tamen atque in agris habet dilectum egentium ac perditorum. Hac coacta manu, quoscumque adit ex civitate ad suam sententiam perducit;
he exhorts them to take up arms for the sake of the common liberty, and, great forces gathered, drives out of the state his adversaries by whom a little before he had been cast out.
hortatur ut communis libertatis causa arma capiant, magnisque coactis copiis adversarios suos a quibus paulo ante erat eiectus expellit ex civitate.
He is called king by his men. He sends embassies in every direction; he adjures them to remain in faith.
Rex ab suis appellatur. Dimittit quoque versus legationes; obtestatur ut in fide maneant.
This power offered, he imposes hostages on all these states, orders a fixed number of soldiers to be brought to him quickly,
Qua oblata potestate omnibus his civitatibus obsides imperat, certum numerum militum ad se celeriter adduci iubet,
fixes how much of arms each state should make at home and by what time; above all he attends to the cavalry.
armorum quantum quaeque civitas domi quodque ante tempus efficiat constituit; in primis equitatui studet.
To the utmost diligence he adds the utmost severity of command; by the greatness of punishment he compels the wavering.
Summae diligentiae summam imperi severitatem addit; magnitudine supplici dubitantes cogit.
For, a greater offense committed, he kills with fire and every torment; for a lighter cause he sends a man home with the ears cut off or one eye gouged out, that they may be a lesson to the rest and terrify others by the greatness of the penalty.
nam maiore commisso delicto igni atque omnibus tormentis necat, leviore de causa auribus desectis aut singulis effossis oculis domum remittit, ut sint reliquis documento et magnitudine poenae perterreant alios.
His army quickly gathered by these punishments, he sends Lucterius the Cadurcan, a man of the utmost daring, with part of the forces into the Ruteni; he himself sets out into the Bituriges. At his coming the Bituriges send envoys to the Aedui,
His suppliciis celeriter coacto exercitu Lucterium Cadurcum, summae hominem audaciae, cum parte copiarum in Rutenos mittit; ipse in Bituriges proficiscitur. Eius adventu Bituriges ad Aeduos,
in whose protection they were, to ask for aid, that they might the more easily withstand the enemy’s forces.
quorum erant in fide, legatos mittunt subsidium rogatum, quo facilius hostium copias sustinere possint.
The Aedui, on the advice of the legates whom Caesar had left with the army, send forces of cavalry and infantry to the aid of the Bituriges.
Aedui de consilio legatorum, quos Caesar ad exercitum reliquerat, copias equitatus peditatusque subsidio Biturigibus mittunt.
When these had come to the river Loire, which divides the Bituriges from the Aedui, having delayed a few days there and not daring to cross the river,
Qui cum ad flumen Ligerim venissent, quod Bituriges ab Aeduis dividit, paucos dies ibi morati neque flumen transire
they return home and report to our legates that they had returned for fear of the treachery of the Bituriges, whose plan, they had learned, had been this: that, if they had crossed the river, they themselves on one side and the Arverni on the other would surround them.
ausi domum revertuntur legatisque nostris renuntiant se Biturigum perfidiam veritos revertisse, quibus id consili fuisse cognoverint, ut, si flumen transissent, una ex parte ipsi, altera Arverni se circumsisterent.
Whether they did this for the cause they declared to the legates, or led by treachery—since nothing is established for us—does not seem fit to be set forth as certain.
Id eane de causa, quam legatis pronuntiarunt, an perfidia adducti fecerint, quod nihil nobis constat, non videtur pro certo esse proponendum.
The Bituriges, at their departure, at once join themselves with the Arverni.
Bituriges eorum discessu statim cum Arvernis iunguntur.
These things reported to Caesar in Italy, when he now understood that the affairs of the City had come into a more convenient state by the courage of Gnaeus Pompey, he set out for Transalpine Gaul.
His rebus in Italiam Caesari nuntiatis, cum iam ille urbanas res virtute Cn. Pompei commodiorem in statum pervenisse intellegeret, in Transalpinam Galliam profectus est.
When he had come there, he was beset with great difficulty as to by what means he could reach the army.
Eo cum venisset, magna difficultate adficiebatur, qua ratione ad exercitum pervenire posset.
For if he summoned the legions into the province, he understood that they would fight a battle on the march in his absence;
Nam si legiones in provinciam arcesseret, se absente in itinere proelio dimicaturas intellegebat;
if he himself hastened to the army, he saw that his safety could not rightly be entrusted even to those who at that time seemed quiet.
si ipse ad exercitum contenderet, ne eis quidem eo tempore qui quieti viderentur suam salutem recte committi videbat.
Meanwhile Lucterius the Cadurcan, sent into the Ruteni, wins that state over to the Arverni.
Interim Lucterius Cadurcus in Rutenos missus eam civitatem Arvernis conciliat.
Advancing into the Nitiobriges and Gabali, he receives hostages from both, and, a great band gathered, strives to make a sally into the province toward Narbo.
Progressus in Nitiobriges et Gabalos ab utrisque obsides accipit et magna coacta manu in provinciam Narbonem versus eruptionem facere contendit.
This reported, Caesar judged that he must put off all else and set out for Narbo.
Qua re nuntiata Caesar omnibus consiliis antevertendum existimavit, ut Narbonem proficisceretur.
When he had come there, he steadies the fearful, sets garrisons among the provincial Ruteni, the Volcae Arecomici, the Tolosates, and around Narbo—places that were neighbors to the enemy;
Eo cum venisset, timentes confirmat, praesidia in Rutenis provincialibus, Volcis Arecomicis, Tolosatibus circumque Narbonem, quae loca hostibus erant finitima, constituit;
he orders part of the forces from the province, and the reinforcement he had brought from Italy, to muster among the Helvii, who touch the borders of the Arverni.
partem copiarum ex provincia supplementumque, quod ex Italia adduxerat, in Helvios, qui fines Arvernorum contingunt, convenire iubet.
These things prepared, Lucterius now checked and removed—because he thought it dangerous to enter within the garrisons—he sets out into the Helvii.
His rebus comparatis, represso iam Lucterio et remoto, quod intrare intra praesidia periculosum putabat, in Helvios proficiscitur.
Although Mount Cevenna, which separates the Arverni from the Helvii, blocked the way with the deepest snow in the hardest season of the year, nevertheless, the snow being cleared away to a depth of six feet and the roads thus opened, with the utmost sweat of the soldiers he reached the borders of the Arverni.
Etsi mons Cevenna, qui Arvernos ab Helviis discludit, durissimo tempore anni altissima nive iter impediebat, tamen discussa nive sex in altitudinem pedum atque ita viis patefactis summo militum sudore ad fines Arvernorum pervenit.
These being overwhelmed unawares—because they thought themselves fortified by the Cevenna as by a wall, and never even to a single man at that season of the year had the paths lain open—he orders the cavalry to range as widely as they can and to strike the greatest possible terror into the enemy.
Quibus oppressis inopinantibus, quod se Cevenna ut muro munitos existimabant, ac ne singulari quidem umquam homini eo tempore anni semitae patuerant, equitibus imperat, ut quam latissime possint vagentur et quam maximum hostibus terrorem inferant.
Quickly these things are carried by report and messengers to Vercingetorix; whom all the Arverni, terrified, surround and beseech to take thought for their fortunes and not let them be plundered by the enemy, especially since he saw that the whole war had been shifted onto them.
Celeriter haec fama ac nuntiis ad Vercingetorigem perferuntur; quem perterriti omnes Arverni circumsistunt atque obsecrant, ut suis fortunis consulat, neve ab hostibus diripiantur, praesertim cum videat omne ad se bellum translatum.
Moved by their prayers, he moves his camp from the Bituriges toward the Arverni.
Quorum ille precibus permotus castra ex Biturigibus movet in Arvernos versus.
But Caesar, having delayed two days in these parts—because he had anticipated in his judgment that this would come to pass regarding Vercingetorix—leaves the army on the pretext of gathering reinforcements and cavalry; he sets the young man Brutus over these forces;
At Caesar biduum in his locis moratus, quod haec de Vercingetorige usu ventura opinione praeceperat, per causam supplementi equitatusque cogendi ab exercitu discedit; Brutum adulescentem his copiis praeficit;
him he warns to let the cavalry range in all directions as widely as possible: he would take care not to be absent from the camp more than three days.
hunc monet, ut in omnes partes equites quam latissime pervagentur: daturum se operam, ne longius triduo ab castris absit.
These things settled, to the surprise of his own men, by the greatest marches he can he reaches Vienna.
His constitutis rebus suis inopinantibus quam maximis potest itineribus Viennam pervenit.
There, getting fresh cavalry which many days before he had sent ahead to that place, with neither day’s nor night’s march broken off, he hastens through the borders of the Aedui into the Lingones, where two legions were wintering, so that, if any plan were laid even against his own safety by the Aedui, he might outrun it by speed.
Ibi nactus recentem equitatum, quem multis ante diebus eo praemiserat, neque diurno neque nocturno itinere intermisso per fines Aeduorum in Lingones contendit, ubi duae legiones hiemabant, ut, si quid etiam de sua salute ab Aeduis iniretur consili, celeritate praecurreret.
When he had reached there, he sends to the remaining legions and gathers them all into one place before it could be reported to the Arverni about his arrival.
Eo cum pervenisset, ad reliquas legiones mittit priusque omnes in unum locum cogit quam de eius adventu Arvernis nuntiari posset.
This known, Vercingetorix leads the army back again into the Bituriges, and, setting out from there, resolves to assault Gorgobina, a town of the Boii, whom Caesar, conquered in the Helvetian battle, had settled there and assigned to the Aedui.
Hac re cognita Vercingetorix rursus in Bituriges exercitum reducit atque inde profectus Gorgobinam, Boiorum oppidum, quos ibi Helvetico proelio victos Caesar collocaverat Aeduisque attribuerat, oppugnare instituit.
This matter brought great difficulty to Caesar in taking a plan: if he kept the legions in one place for the rest of the winter, lest, the tributaries of the Aedui being stormed, all Gaul should revolt, because it would seem that no protection was placed in him for his friends; if he led them out from winter quarters earlier, lest he be troubled in the grain supply by the hard hauling.
Magnam haec res Caesari difficultatem ad consilium capiendum adferebat, si reliquam partem hiemis uno loco legiones contineret, ne stipendiariis Aeduorum expugnatis cuncta Gallia deficeret, quod nullum amicis in eo praesidium videretur positum esse; si maturius ex hibernis educeret, ne ab re frumentaria duris subvectionibus laboraret.
It seemed better, nevertheless, to endure all difficulties than, so great an affront accepted, to alienate the goodwill of all his own.
Praestare visum est tamen omnis difficultates perpeti, quam tanta contumelia accepta omnium suorum voluntates alienare.
And so, having exhorted the Aedui about bringing up supplies, he sends ahead to the Boii men to inform them of his coming and to exhort them to remain in faith and to withstand the enemy’s attack with great spirit.
Itaque cohortatus Aeduos de supportando commeatu praemittit ad Boios qui de suo adventu doceant hortenturque ut in fide maneant atque hostium impetum magno animo sustineant.
Two legions and the baggage of the whole army being left at Agedincum, he sets out for the Boii.
Duabus Agedinci legionibus atque impedimentis totius exercitus relictis ad Boios proficiscitur.
On the next day, when he had come to Vellaunodunum, a town of the Senones, lest he leave any enemy behind him and so use the grain supply more freely, he resolved to assault it and within two days circumvallated it;
Altero die cum ad oppidum Senonum Vellaunodunum venisset, ne quem post se hostem relinqueret, quo expeditiore re frumentaria uteretur, oppugnare instituit idque biduo circumvallavit;
on the third day, envoys being sent from the town about surrender, he orders the arms to be brought together, the draft-animals led out, and six hundred hostages given.
tertio die missis ex oppido legatis de deditione arma conferri, iumenta produci, sescentos obsides dari iubet.
He leaves the legate Gaius Trebonius to finish this. He himself, to make his march as soon as possible, sets out for Cenabum of the Carnutes;
Ea qui conficeret, C. Trebonium legatum relinquit. Ipse, ut quam primum iter faceret, Cenabum Carnutum proficiscitur;
who, the news of the assault on Vellaunodunum then first brought, since they thought that matter would be drawn out longer, were preparing a garrison to send for guarding Cenabum. He reaches here in two days.
qui tum primum allato nuntio de oppugnatione Vellaunoduni, cum longius eam rem ductum iri existimarent, praesidium Cenabi tuendi causa, quod eo mitterent, comparabant. Huc biduo pervenit.
A camp pitched before the town, shut out by the time of day, he puts off the assault to the morrow and orders the soldiers to make ready what is of use for that work,
Castris ante oppidum positis diei tempore exclusus in posterum oppugnationem differt quaeque ad eam rem usui sint militibus imperat
and, because a bridge of the river Loire touched the town of Cenabum, fearing they might flee from the town by night, he orders two legions to keep watch under arms.
et, quod oppidum Cenabum pons fluminis Ligeris contingebat, veritus ne noctu ex oppido profugerent, duas legiones in armis excubare iubet.
The people of Cenabum, a little before midnight, going out from the town in silence, began to cross the river. This reported through scouts, Caesar lets in the legions
Cenabenses paulo ante mediam noctem silentio ex oppido egressi flumen transire coeperunt. Qua re per exploratores nuntiata Caesar legiones
which he had ordered to be in light order, the gates being burned, and gains possession of the town, very few of the enemy’s number being lost from being all captured, because the narrowness of the bridge and the roads had cut off the multitude’s flight.
quas expeditas esse iusserat portis incensis intromittit atque oppido potitur, perpaucis ex hostium numero desideratis quin cuncti caperentur, quod pontis atque itinerum angustiae multitudinis fugam intercluserant.
He plunders and burns the town, gives the booty to the soldiers, leads the army across the Loire, and reaches the borders of the Bituriges.
Oppidum diripit atque incendit, praedam militibus donat, exercitum Ligerem traducit atque in Biturigum fines pervenit.
Vercingetorix, when he learned of Caesar’s coming, desisted from the assault and sets out to meet Caesar.
Vercingetorix, ubi de Caesaris adventu cognovit, oppugnatione destitit atque obviam Caesari proficiscitur.
The latter had resolved to assault Noviodunum, a town of the Bituriges placed on his route.
Ille oppidum Biturigum positum in via Noviodunum oppugnare instituerat.
When envoys had come to him from this town to beg that he pardon them and take thought for their lives, that he might finish the rest by the speed with which he had achieved most things, he orders the arms to be brought together, the horses led out, hostages given.
Quo ex oppido cum legati ad eum venissent oratum ut sibi ignosceret suaeque vitae consuleret, ut celeritate reliquas res conficeret, qua pleraque erat consecutus, arma conferri, equos produci, obsides dari iubet.
Part of the hostages now handed over, while the rest was being managed, centurions and a few soldiers being let in to seek out the arms and draft-animals, the enemy’s cavalry was seen afar off, which had outpaced the column of Vercingetorix.
Parte iam obsidum tradita, cum reliqua administrarentur, centurionibus et paucis militibus intromissis, qui arma iumentaque conquirerent, equitatus hostium procul visus est, qui agmen Vercingetorigis antecesserat.
As soon as the townsmen caught sight of these and came into hope of aid, a shout raised, they began to take up arms, close the gates, and man the wall. The centurions in the town,
Quem simul atque oppidani conspexerunt atque in spem auxili venerunt, clamore sublato arma capere, portas claudere, murum complere coeperunt. Centuriones in oppido,
when from the Gauls’ signaling they understood that some new plan was being entered on by them, swords drawn, seized the gates and withdrew all their men unharmed.
cum ex significatione Gallorum novi aliquid ab eis iniri consili intellexissent, gladiis destrictis portas occupaverunt suosque omnes incolumes receperunt.
Caesar orders the cavalry led out from the camp and joins a cavalry battle: his men now hard-pressed, he sends up about four hundred German cavalry, whom from the beginning he had resolved to keep with him.
Caesar ex castris equitatum educi iubet, proelium equestre committit: laborantibus iam suis Germanos equites circiter CCCC summittit, quos ab initio habere secum instituerat.
The Gauls could not withstand their charge, and, thrown into flight, with many lost, withdrew to the column. These routed, the townsmen again, terrified, seized those by whose agency they thought the people had been stirred up, and led them to Caesar and surrendered themselves to him.
Eorum impetum Galli sustinere non potuerunt atque in fugam coniecti multis amissis se ad agmen receperunt. Quibus profligatis rursus oppidani perterriti comprehensos eos, quorum opera plebem concitatam existimabant, ad Caesarem perduxerunt seseque ei dediderunt.
These things finished, Caesar set out for the town of Avaricum, which was the largest and best fortified in the borders of the Bituriges and in a most fertile region of land, because he trusted that, this town recovered, he would bring the state of the Bituriges into his power.
Quibus rebus confectis, Caesar ad oppidum Avaricum, quod erat maximum munitissimumque in finibus Biturigum atque agri fertilissima regione, profectus est, quod eo oppido recepto civitatem Biturigum se in potestatem redacturum confidebat.
Vercingetorix, after so many continuous reverses suffered at Vellaunodunum, Cenabum, and Noviodunum, calls his men together to a council.
Vercingetorix tot continuis incommodis Vellaunoduni, Cenabi, Novioduni acceptis suos ad concilium convocat.
He shows that the war must be waged in a far different manner than it had been waged before. By every means this must be aimed at, that the Romans be kept from foraging and supply:
Docet longe alia ratione esse bellum gerendum atque antea gestum sit. Omnibus modis huic rei studendum, ut pabulatione et commeatu Romani prohibeantur:
that this was easy, because they themselves abounded in cavalry and were helped by the season of the year;
id esse facile, quod equitatu ipsi abundent et quod anni tempore subleventur;
that the forage could not be cut; that of necessity the Romans must seek it, scattered, from the buildings: all these could be picked off daily by the cavalry.
pabulum secari non posse; necessario dispersos hostes ex aedificiis petere: hos omnes cotidie ab equitibus deligi posse.
Besides, for safety’s sake the conveniences of private property must be neglected: the villages and buildings ought to be burned over this whole space in every direction from the route by which they could seem able to go for the sake of foraging. Of these very things abundance was at hand for themselves,
Praeterea salutis causa rei familiaris commoda neglegenda: vicos atque aedificia incendi oportere hoc spatio ab via quoque versus, quo pabulandi causa adire posse videantur. Harum ipsis rerum copiam suppetere,
because they would be supplied by the resources of those in whose borders the war was waged:
quod, quorum in finibus bellum geratur, eorum opibus subleventur:
the Romans would either not bear the want or would advance farther from the camp at great peril;
Romanos aut inopiam non laturos aut magno periculo longius ab castris processuros;
and it made no difference whether they killed them or stripped them of their baggage, without which the war could not be waged.
neque interesse, ipsosne interficiant, impedimentisne exuant, quibus amissis bellum geri non possit.
Besides, the towns ought to be burned which were not safe from all danger by fortification and the nature of the place, lest they be refuges for their own men to shirk military service or be set before the Romans for carrying off a supply of provisions and plunder.
Praeterea oppida incendi oportere, quae non munitione et loci natura ab omni sint periculo tuta, neu suis sint ad detractandam militiam receptacula neu Romanis proposita ad copiam commeatus praedamque tollendam.
If these things seemed heavy or bitter, they should reckon those far heavier—that their children and wives be dragged off into slavery, themselves killed; which must necessarily befall the conquered.
haec si gravia aut acerba videantur, multo illa gravius aestimare, liberos, coniuges in servitutem abstrahi, ipsos interfici; quae sit necesse accidere victis.
This view approved by the consent of all, in one day more than twenty towns of the Bituriges are burned.
Omnium consensu hac sententia probata uno die amplius XX urbes Biturigum incenduntur.
This same thing is done in the rest of the states: in all parts fires are seen; which, though all bore them with great grief, they nevertheless set before themselves this consolation, that they trusted, the victory almost assured, they would quickly recover what was lost.
Hoc idem fit in reliquis civitatibus: in omnibus partibus incendia conspiciuntur; quae etsi magno cum dolore omnes ferebant, tamen hoc sibi solati proponebant, quod se prope explorata victoria celeriter amissa reciperaturos confidebant.
There is deliberation about Avaricum in the common council, whether it should please them to burn it or to defend it.
Deliberatur de Avarico in communi concilio, incendi placeret an defendi.
The Bituriges fall at the feet of all the Gauls, that they not be forced to set fire with their own hands to the fairest city of almost all Gaul, which was a protection and an ornament to the state:
Procumbunt omnibus Gallis ad pedes Bituriges, ne pulcherrimam prope totius Galliae urbem, quae praesidio et ornamento sit civitati, suis manibus succendere cogerentur:
they say they would easily defend it by the nature of the place, because, surrounded almost on all sides by a river and a marsh, it had one and a very narrow approach.
facile se loci natura defensuros dicunt, quod prope ex omnibus partibus flumine et palude circumdata unum habeat et perangustum aditum.
Pardon is granted to those who ask, Vercingetorix at first dissuading, afterward yielding both to their prayers and to pity of the common people. Suitable defenders are chosen for the town.
Datur petentibus venia dissuadente primo Vercingetorige, post concedente et precibus ipsorum et misericordia vulgi. Defensores oppido idonei deliguntur.
Vercingetorix follows close behind Caesar by lesser marches and chooses a place for a camp fortified by marshes and woods, sixteen miles distant from Avaricum.
Vercingetorix minoribus Caesarem itineribus subsequitur et locum castris deligit paludibus silvisque munitum ab Avarico longe milia passuum XVI.
There, through fixed scouts, he learned at each hour of the day what was being done at Avaricum and ordered what he wished to be done.
Ibi per certos exploratores in singula diei tempora quae ad Avaricum agerentur cognoscebat et quid fieri vellet imperabat.
He watched all our foragings and grain-gatherings, and, when of necessity they advanced too far, fell upon them scattered and inflicted great loss, although, as far as could be provided for by method, our men met it by going at uncertain times and by different routes.
Omnis nostras pabulationes frumentationesque observabat dispersosque, cum longius necessario procederent, adoriebatur magnoque incommodo adficiebat, etsi, quantum ratione provideri poterat, ab nostris occurrebatur, ut incertis temporibus diversisque itineribus iretur.
The camp pitched at that part of the town which, left open by the river and the marshes, had, as we said above, a narrow approach, Caesar began to make ready a siege-mound, to bring up sheds, and to set up two towers: for the nature of the place forbade circumvallation.
Castris ad eam partem oppidi positis Caesar, quae intermissa [a] flumine et a paludibus aditum, ut supra diximus, angustum habebat, aggerem apparare, vineas agere, turres duas constituere coepit: nam circumvallare loci natura prohibebat.
About the grain supply he did not cease to exhort the Boii and the Aedui; of whom the one, because they acted with no zeal, did not help much, the other, with no great resources, because the state was small and weak, quickly consumed what they had.
De re frumentaria Boios atque Aeduos adhortari non destitit; quorum alteri, quod nullo studio agebant, non multum adiuvabant, alteri non magnis facultatibus, quod civitas erat exigua et infirma, celeriter quod habuerunt consumpserunt.
The army being afflicted with the utmost difficulty of grain by the slenderness of the Boii, the negligence of the Aedui, and the burning of the buildings—to such a point that for several days the soldiers went without grain and sustained the extremest hunger with cattle driven in from the more distant villages—nevertheless no word was heard from them unworthy of the majesty of the Roman people and their earlier victories.
Summa difficultate rei frumentariae adfecto exercitu tenuitate Boiorum, indiligentia Aeduorum, incendiis aedificiorum, usque eo ut complures dies frumento milites caruerint et pecore ex longinquioribus vicis adacto extremam famem sustentarent, nulla tamen vox est ab eis audita populi Romani maiestate et superioribus victoriis indigna.
Nay more, when Caesar addressed the several legions at the work and said that, if they bore the want too bitterly, he would give up the assault, they all begged him not to do that:
Quin etiam Caesar cum in opere singulas legiones appellaret et, si acerbius inopiam ferrent, se dimissurum oppugnationem diceret, universi ab eo, ne id faceret, petebant:
that they had served so many years under his command as to take no disgrace and nowhere depart with the business unfinished:
sic se complures annos illo imperante meruisse, ut nullam ignominiam acciperent, nusquam infecta re discederent:
that they would count it in the place of disgrace if they abandoned the assault once begun:
hoc se ignominiae laturos loco, si inceptam oppugnationem reliquissent:
that it was better to endure all hardships than not to make offering to the Roman citizens who had perished at Cenabum by the treachery of the Gauls.
praestare omnes perferre acerbitates, quam non civibus Romanis, qui Cenabi perfidia Gallorum interissent, parentarent.
These same things they charged the centurions and military tribunes to carry through them to Caesar.
Haec eadem centurionibus tribunisque militum mandabant, ut per eos ad Caesarem deferrentur.
When the towers had now drawn near the wall, Caesar learned from captives that Vercingetorix, the forage consumed, had moved his camp nearer Avaricum, and that he himself with the cavalry and the light-armed who were accustomed to fight among the horse had set out there for the sake of an ambush, where he judged our men would come the next day to forage.
Cum iam muro turres appropinquassent, ex captivis Caesar cognovit Vercingetorigem consumpto pabulo castra movisse propius Avaricum atque ipsum cum equitatu expeditisque, qui inter equites proeliari consuessent, insidiarum causa eo profectum, quo nostros postero die pabulatum venturos arbitraretur.
These things known, having set out at midnight in silence, he reached the enemy’s camp in the morning.
Quibus rebus cognitis media nocte silentio profectus ad hostium castra mane pervenit.
They, quickly learning of Caesar’s arrival through scouts, hid their carts and baggage in the closer woods and drew up all their forces on high and open ground.
Illi celeriter per exploratores adventu Caesaris cognito carros impedimentaque sua in artiores silvas abdiderunt, copias omnes in loco edito atque aperto instruxerunt.
This reported, Caesar ordered the packs to be quickly brought together and the arms made ready.
Qua re nuntiata Caesar celeriter sarcinas conferri, arma expediri iussit.
There was a hill gently sloping up from the bottom. A difficult and impassable marsh, no wider than fifty feet, girded it on nearly all sides.
Collis erat leniter ab infimo acclivis. Hunc ex omnibus fere partibus palus difficilis atque impedita cingebat non latior pedibus quinquaginta.
On this hill, the bridges broken, the Gauls kept themselves through confidence in the place, and, distributed by states, held all the fords and passes of that marsh,
Hoc se colle interruptis pontibus Galli fiducia loci continebant generatimque distributi in civitates omnia vada ac saltus eius paludis obtinebant,
so prepared in spirit that, if the Romans tried to break through that marsh, they would press them from the higher ground while they were stuck; so that one who saw the nearness of the place would think them ready to fight on almost equal terms, while one who perceived the unfairness of the conditions would know that they were showing themselves off in empty pretense.
sic animo parati, ut, si eam paludem Romani perrumpere conarentur, haesitantes premerent ex loco superiore; ut qui propinquitatem loci videret paratos prope aequo Marte ad dimicandum existimaret, qui iniquitatem condicionis perspiceret inani simulatione sese ostentare cognosceret.
His soldiers indignant that the enemy could endure the sight of them with so little space between, and demanding the signal for battle, Caesar instructs them at how great a loss and at the death of how many brave men the victory must be bought; and since he saw them so prepared in spirit
Indignantes milites Caesar, quod conspectum suum hostes perferre possent tantulo spatio interiecto, et signum proeli exposcentes edocet, quanto detrimento et quot virorum fortium morte necesse sit constare victoriam; quos cum sic animo paratos videat,
as to refuse no danger for his glory, he ought to be condemned of the utmost injustice if he did not hold their life dearer than his own success.
ut nullum pro sua laude periculum recusent, summae se iniquitatis condemnari debere, nisi eorum vitam sua salute habeat cariorem.
Having thus consoled the soldiers, the same day he leads them back into camp and resolves to manage the other things that pertained to the assault of the town.
Sic milites consolatus eodem die reducit in castra reliquaque quae ad oppugnationem pertinebant oppidi administrare instituit.
Vercingetorix, when he had returned to his men, was charged with treachery—because he had moved the camp nearer the Romans, because he had gone off with all the cavalry, because he had left such great forces without command, because at his departure the Romans had come with such great opportunity and speed:
Vercingetorix, cum ad suos redisset, proditionis insimulatus, quod castra propius Romanos movisset, quod cum omni equitatu discessisset, quod sine imperio tantas copias reliquisset, quod eius discessu Romani tanta opportunitate et celeritate venissent:
that all these things could not have happened by chance or without design; that he preferred to hold the kingship of Gaul by Caesar’s grant rather than by their gift—
non haec omnia fortuito aut sine consilio accidere potuisse; regnum illum Galliae malle Caesaris concessu quam ipsorum habere beneficio—:
accused in such fashion, he answered these things: that he had moved the camp through want of forage, even at their own urging; that he had come nearer the Romans, persuaded by the opportunity of the place, which defended itself by its own fortification:
tali modo accusatus ad haec respondit: Quod castra movisset, factum inopia pabuli etiam ipsis hortantibus; quod propius Romanos accessisset, persuasum loci opportunitate, qui se ipsum munitione defenderet:
that indeed the service of the cavalry ought not to have been needed in a marshy place, and had been useful there, where they had gone.
equitum vero operam neque in loco palustri desiderari debuisse et illic fuisse utilem, quo sint profecti.
That he had on purpose handed over the supreme command to no one at his departure, lest that man be driven by the eagerness of the multitude to fight; which thing he saw all desired through softness of spirit, because they could not bear the toil longer.
Summam imperi se consulto nulli discedentem tradidisse, ne is multitudinis studio ad dimicandum impelleretur; cui rei propter animi mollitiem studere omnes videret, quod diutius laborem ferre non possent.
If the Romans had come up by chance, thanks were owed to fortune; if summoned by someone’s information, to that man—because they had been able both to learn the small number of them from the higher ground and to despise the courage of those who, not daring to fight, had withdrawn shamefully into their camp.
Romani si casu intervenerint, fortunae, si alicuius indicio vocati, huic habendam gratiam, quod et paucitatem eorum ex loco superiore cognoscere et virtutem despicere potuerint, qui dimicare non ausi turpiter se in castra receperint.
That he desired no command from Caesar through treachery, which he could have by victory, which was now assured to himself and to all the Gauls: nay, he even gave it back to them, if they seemed to confer honor on him rather than to receive safety from him.
Imperium se ab Caesare per proditionem nullum desiderare, quod habere victoria posset, quae iam esset sibi atque omnibus Gallis explorata: quin etiam ipsis remittere, si sibi magis honorem tribuere, quam ab se salutem accipere videantur.
"That you may understand these things are declared by me sincerely," he said, "hear the Roman soldiers." He brings forward slaves
"Haec ut intellegatis," inquit, "a me sincere pronuntiari, audite Romanos milites." Producit servos,
whom he had caught in a foraging a few days before and tortured with hunger and chains. These, already instructed beforehand what to declare when questioned,
quos in pabulatione paucis ante diebus exceperat et fame vinculisque excruciaverat. Hi iam ante edocti quae interrogati pronuntiarent,
say that they are legionary soldiers; that, driven by hunger and want, they had gone secretly out of the camp to see if they could find any grain or cattle in the fields:
milites se esse legionarios dicunt; fame et inopia adductos clam ex castris exisse, si quid frumenti aut pecoris in agris reperire possent:
that the whole army was pressed by a like want, and that the strength of no one now sufficed nor could they bear the labor of the work: and so the commander had decided, if they accomplished nothing in the assault of the town, to lead the army off in three days. "These," said Vercingetorix, "are the benefits you have from me,
simili omnem exercitum inopia premi, nec iam vires sufficere cuiusquam nec ferre operis laborem posse: itaque statuisse imperatorem, si nihil in oppugnatione oppidi profecissent, triduo exercitum deducere. "Haec," inquit, "a me," Vercingetorix, "beneficia habetis,
whom you charge with treachery; by whose effort, without your blood, you see so great a victorious army consumed by hunger; for whom, as it withdraws shamefully in flight, I have provided that no state receive it within its borders."
quem proditionis insimulatis; cuius opera sine vestro sanguine tantum exercitum victorem fame consumptum videtis; quem turpiter se ex fuga recipientem ne qua civitas suis finibus recipiat a me provisum est."
The whole multitude shouts and clashes its arms in their fashion, which they are accustomed to do for one whose speech they approve: that Vercingetorix was the highest leader, and that his faith was not to be doubted, nor could the war be conducted with greater method.
Conclamat omnis multitudo et suo more armis concrepat, quod facere in eo consuerunt cuius orationem approbant: summum esse Vercingetorigem ducem, nec de eius fide dubitandum, nec maiore ratione bellum administrari posse.
They decide that ten thousand men, picked from all the forces, be sent into the town,
Statuunt, ut X milia hominum delecta ex omnibus copiis in oppidum mittantur,
nor do they think the common safety should be entrusted to the Bituriges alone, because they understood that almost the sum of victory rested on this, if they held that town.
nec solis Biturigibus communem salutem committendam censent, quod paene in eo, si id oppidum retinuissent, summam victoriae constare intellegebant.
To the singular courage of our soldiers the Gauls opposed devices of every kind, as they are a race of the highest ingenuity and most apt at imitating and carrying out whatever is shown them by anyone.
Singulari militum nostrorum virtuti consilia cuiusque modi Gallorum occurrebant, ut est summae genus sollertiae atque ad omnia imitanda et efficienda, quae ab quoque traduntur, aptissimum.
For both they turned aside the grappling-hooks with nooses, which, when they had made fast, they drew inward with windlasses, and they undermined the siege-mound with tunnels—the more skillfully because among them there are great iron-mines and every kind of tunneling is known and in use.
Nam et laqueis falces avertebant, quas, cum destinaverant, tormentis introrsus reducebant, et aggerem cuniculis subtrahebant, eo scientius quod apud eos magnae sunt ferrariae atque omne genus cuniculorum notum atque usitatum est.
The whole wall, moreover, they had floored over on every part with towers, and these they had covered with hides.
Totum autem murum ex omni parte turribus contabulaverant atque has coriis intexerant.
Then by frequent sallies, day and night, they either set fire to the mound or fell upon the soldiers busied at the work, and the height of our towers, as far as the daily mound had raised it,
Tum crebris diurnis nocturnisque eruptionibus aut aggeri ignem inferebant aut milites occupatos in opere adoriebantur, et nostrarum turrium altitudinem, quantum has cotidianus agger expresserat,
they matched by joining together the uprights of their own towers; and they hampered the open tunnels with fire-hardened and sharpened timber, boiling pitch, and stones of the greatest weight, and kept us from approaching the walls.
commissis suarum turrium malis adaequabant, et apertos cuniculos praeusta et praeacuta materia et pice fervefacta et maximi ponderis saxis morabantur moenibusque appropinquare prohibebant.
Now all Gallic walls are nearly of this form. Straight beams, continuous in length at equal intervals, two feet apart from each other, are set on the ground.
Muri autem omnes Gallici hac fere forma sunt. Trabes derectae perpetuae in longitudinem paribus intervallis, distantes inter se binos pedes, in solo collocantur.
These are fastened together on the inside and clothed with much earth: but those intervals which we mentioned are stuffed in front with great stones.
Hae revinciuntur introrsus et multo aggere vestiuntur: ea autem, quae diximus, intervalla grandibus in fronte saxis effarciuntur.
These set in place and joined, another row is added above, so that the same interval is kept and the beams do not touch one another, but, set apart at equal spaces, each is held firmly with single stones placed between.
His collocatis et coagmentatis alius insuper ordo additur, ut idem illud intervallum servetur neque inter se contingant trabes, sed paribus intermissae spatiis singulae singulis saxis interiectis arte contineantur.
Thus the whole work is woven together in succession, until the proper height of the wall is filled out.
Sic deinceps omne opus contexitur, dum iusta muri altitudo expleatur.
This work, both for appearance and variety, is not unsightly, with its alternation of beams and stones, which keep their rows in straight lines; and for the use and defense of cities it has the greatest advantage, because the stone defends from fire and the timber from the ram, which, fastened on the inside with continuous beams generally forty feet long, can neither be broken through nor torn apart.
Hoc cum in speciem varietatemque opus deforme non est alternis trabibus ac saxis, quae rectis lineis suos ordines servant, tum ad utilitatem et defensionem urbium summam habet opportunitatem, quod et ab incendio lapis et ab ariete materia defendit, quae perpetuis trabibus pedes quadragenos plerumque introrsus revincta neque perrumpi neque distrahi potest.
The assault impeded by all these things, the soldiers, though hindered the whole time by cold and constant rains, nevertheless by unbroken labor overcame all these and in twenty-five days built a mound three hundred and thirty feet broad and eighty feet high.
His tot rebus impedita oppugnatione milites, cum toto tempore frigore et assiduis imbribus tardarentur, tamen continenti labore omnia haec superaverunt et diebus XXV aggerem latum pedes CCCXXX, altum pedes LXXX exstruxerunt.
When it almost touched the enemy’s wall, and Caesar by his custom was keeping watch at the work and exhorting the soldiers that no time at all be broken off from the work, a little before the third watch it was noticed that the mound was smoking, which the enemy had set on fire by a tunnel,
Cum is murum hostium paene contingeret, et Caesar ad opus consuetudine excubaret militesque hortaretur, ne quod omnino tempus ab opere intermitteretur, paulo ante tertiam vigiliam est animadversum fumare aggerem, quem cuniculo hostes succenderant,
and at the same time, a shout raised along the whole wall, a sally was being made from two gates on either side of the towers.
eodemque tempore toto muro clamore sublato duabus portis ab utroque latere turrium eruptio fiebat.
Some hurled torches and dry timber from the wall onto the mound from afar, poured pitch and the other things by which fire can be kindled, so that it could scarcely be reckoned where one should first run or to what one should bring aid.
Alii faces atque aridam materiem de muro in aggerem eminus iaciebant, picem reliquasque res, quibus ignis excitari potest, fundebant, ut quo primum curreretur aut cui rei ferretur auxilium vix ratio iniri posset.
Nevertheless, because by Caesar’s institution two legions were always keeping watch before the camp and more were at the work at appointed times, it was quickly brought about that some resisted the sallies, others drew back the towers and cut through the mound, while the whole multitude from the camp ran together to put out the fire.
Tamen, quod instituto Caesaris semper duae legiones pro castris excubabant pluresque partitis temporibus erant in opere, celeriter factum est, ut alii eruptionibus resisterent, alii turres reducerent aggeremque interscinderent, omnis vero ex castris multitudo ad restinguendum concurreret.
When the fight had gone on in all quarters, the rest of the night now spent, and the hope of victory was always renewed to the enemy—the more so because they saw the screens of the towers burned through and noticed that our men, exposed, could not easily come up to give aid, and they themselves, ever fresh, kept relieving the weary and judged that the whole safety of Gaul rested in that instant of time—there happened, as we looked on, a thing which, seeming worthy of memory, we have not thought fit to pass over.
Cum in omnibus locis consumpta iam reliqua parte noctis pugnaretur, semperque hostibus spes victoriae redintegraretur, eo magis, quod deustos pluteos turrium videbant nec facile adire apertos ad auxiliandum animadvertebant, semperque ipsi recentes defessis succederent omnemque Galliae salutem in illo vestigio temporis positam arbitrarentur, accidit inspectantibus nobis quod dignum memoria visum praetereundum non existimavimus.
A certain Gaul before the gate of the town was throwing into the fire, opposite a tower, lumps of tallow and pitch passed to him from hand to hand: pierced through the right side by a scorpion-bolt, he fell dead.
Quidam ante portam oppidi Gallus per manus sebi ac picis traditas glebas in ignem e regione turris proiciebat: scorpione ab latere dextro traiectus exanimatusque concidit.
One of those nearest, stepping over him as he lay, performed that same office;
Hunc ex proximis unus iacentem transgressus eodem illo munere fungebatur;
when the second had likewise been killed by a stroke of the scorpion, a third succeeded him, and to the third a fourth; nor was that post left empty of defenders before, the mound put out and the enemy driven off on every side, an end of fighting was made.
eadem ratione ictu scorpionis exanimato alteri successit tertius et tertio quartus, nec prius ille est a propugnatoribus vacuus relictus locus quam restincto aggere atque omni ex parte summotis hostibus finis est pugnandi factus.
The Gauls, having tried everything, since no measure had succeeded, took the plan the next day of fleeing from the town, Vercingetorix urging and ordering it.
Omnia experti Galli, quod res nulla successerat, postero die consilium ceperunt ex oppido profugere hortante et iubente Vercingetorige.
Attempting this in the silence of night, they hoped to accomplish it with no great loss of their own, because the camp of Vercingetorix was not far from the town, and the continuous marsh between would slow the Romans in pursuit.
Id silentio noctis conati non magna iactura suorum sese effecturos sperabant, propterea quod neque longe ab oppido castra Vercingetorigis aberant, et palus, quae perpetua intercedebat, Romanos ad insequendum tardabat.
And now they were preparing to do this by night, when the matrons suddenly ran out into the open and, weeping, flung themselves at the feet of their men and with every prayer begged that they not give them and their common children over to the enemy for punishment, since the weakness of their nature and strength hindered them from taking flight.
Iamque hoc facere noctu apparabant, cum matres familiae repente in publicum procurrerunt flentesque proiectae ad pedes suorum omnibus precibus petierunt, ne se et communes liberos hostibus ad supplicium dederent, quos ad capiendam fugam naturae et virium infirmitas impediret.
When they saw the men persisting in their purpose—because generally in the utmost danger fear admits no pity—they began to cry out and signal to the Romans about the flight.
Vbi eos in sententia perstare viderunt, quod plerumque in summo periculo timor misericordiam non recipit, conclamare et significare de fuga Romanis coeperunt.
Terrified by this fear, the Gauls, lest the roads be seized beforehand by the Roman cavalry, desisted from their plan.
Quo timore perterriti Galli, ne ab equitatu Romanorum viae praeoccuparentur, consilio destiterunt.
The next day, the tower brought forward and the works he had resolved to make completed, a great rain having arisen, Caesar judged this weather not unprofitable for taking a plan, because he saw the watches posted on the wall a little carelessly, and he ordered his men to busy themselves at the work more languidly and showed what he wished done.
Postero die Caesar promota turri perfectisque operibus quae facere instituerat, magno coorto imbre non inutilem hanc ad capiendum consilium tempestatem arbitratus est, quod paulo incautius custodias in muro dispositas videbat, suosque languidius in opere versari iussit et quid fieri vellet ostendit.
The legions made ready in hiding within the sheds, having exhorted them at last to reap the fruit of victory for such great labors, he set rewards for those who first climbed the wall and gave the soldiers the signal.
Legionibusque intra vineas in occulto expeditis, cohortatus ut aliquando pro tantis laboribus fructum victoriae perciperent, eis qui primi murum ascendissent praemia proposuit militibusque signum dedit.
They suddenly flew out from all sides and quickly manned the wall.
Illi subito ex omnibus partibus evolaverunt murumque celeriter compleverunt.
The enemy, terrified by the new thing, thrown down from the wall and the towers, took their stand in the marketplace and the more open places in wedge formation, with this spirit, that if from any side they were met they would fight it out in a drawn-up line.
Hostes re nova perterriti muro turribusque deiecti in foro ac locis patentioribus cuneatim constiterunt, hoc animo ut si qua ex parte obviam contra veniretur acie instructa depugnarent.
When they saw no one coming down onto level ground, but the whole wall being poured round on every side, fearing that all hope of flight be taken away, the arms cast aside they made for the farthest parts of the town in unbroken rush,
Vbi neminem in aequum locum sese demittere, sed toto undique muro circumfundi viderunt, veriti ne omnino spes fugae tolleretur, abiectis armis ultimas oppidi partes continenti impetu petiverunt,
and there a part, while they crowded themselves at the narrow outlet of the gates, were killed by the soldiers, a part, already gone out of the gates, by the cavalry;
parsque ibi, cum angusto exitu portarum se ipsi premerent, a militibus, pars iam egressa portis ab equitibus est interfecta;
nor was there anyone who cared for plunder. Thus, stirred both by the slaughter at Cenabum and by the labor of the work, they spared neither those worn with age, nor women, nor infants.
nec fuit quisquam, qui praedae studeret. Sic et Cenabi caede et labore operis incitati non aetate confectis, non mulieribus, non infantibus pepercerunt.
Finally, of the whole number, which was about forty thousand, scarcely eight hundred, who at the first shout heard flung themselves out of the town, reached Vercingetorix unharmed.
Denique ex omni numero, qui fuit circiter milium XL, vix DCCC, qui primo clamore audito se ex oppido eiecerunt, incolumes ad Vercingetorigem pervenerunt.
These he received from the flight in silence, when the night was now far gone, fearing that some mutiny might arise in the camp from their thronging together and the pity of the common people; so that, his intimates and the chiefs of the states being posted far off on the road, he took care that they be separated and led off to their own people, to whatever state a part of the camp had fallen from the beginning.
Quos ille multa iam nocte silentio ex fuga excepit, veritus ne qua in castris ex eorum concursu et misericordia vulgi seditio oreretur, ut procul in via dispositis familiaribus suis principibusque civitatum disparandos deducendosque ad suos curaret, quae cuique civitati pars castrorum ab initio obvenerat.
The next day, a council called together, he consoled and exhorted them not to be utterly cast down in spirit nor thrown into confusion by the setback;
Postero die concilio convocato consolatus cohortatusque est ne se admodum animo demitterent, ne perturbarentur incommodo;
that the Romans had conquered not by valor nor in the line of battle, but by a certain artifice and skill in assault, in which thing they themselves had been unpracticed;
non virtute neque in acie vicisse Romanos, sed artificio quodam et scientia oppugnationis, cuius rei fuerint ipsi imperiti;
that they were mistaken if any in war expected all favorable outcomes.
errare, si qui in bello omnes secundos rerum proventus exspectent.
That it had never pleased him that Avaricum be defended, of which thing he had them themselves as witnesses; but that it had come about through the imprudence of the Bituriges and the excessive compliance of the rest that this setback was suffered;
Sibi numquam placuisse Avaricum defendi, cuius rei testes ipsos haberet; sed factum imprudentia Biturigum et nimia obsequentia reliquorum uti hoc incommodum acciperetur;
that he would nevertheless quickly heal it with greater advantages.
id tamen se celeriter maioribus commodis sanaturum.
For those states which dissented from the rest of the Gauls he would join by his own diligence and would make one counsel of all Gaul, to whose agreement not even the whole world could stand opposed; and that he had this almost already accomplished.
Nam quae ab reliquis Gallis civitates dissentirent, has sua diligentia adiuncturum atque unum consilium totius Galliae effecturum, cuius consensui ne orbis quidem terrarum possit obsistere; idque se prope iam effectum habere.
Meanwhile it was fair that it be obtained from them, for the sake of the common safety, that they begin to fortify their camp, so as the more easily to withstand the sudden attacks of the enemy.
Interea aequum esse ab eis communis salutis causa impetrari ut castra munire instituerent, quo facilius repentinos hostium impetus sustinerent.
This speech was not unwelcome to the Gauls, and chiefly because he himself had not failed in spirit when so great a setback was suffered, nor hidden himself in concealment and fled the sight of the multitude;
Fuit haec oratio non ingrata Gallis, et maxime, quod ipse animo non defecerat tanto accepto incommodo neque se in occultum abdiderat et conspectum multitudinis fugerat;
and he was thought to foresee and divine more in his mind, because, while the matter was still whole, he had judged first that Avaricum should be burned, afterward that it should be abandoned.
plusque animo providere et praesentire existimabatur, quod re integra primo incendendum Avaricum, post deserendum censuerat.
And so, as the adverse fortunes of other commanders lessen their authority, so on the contrary his dignity, the setback suffered, grew day by day.
Itaque ut reliquorum imperatorum res adversae auctoritatem minuunt, sic huius ex contrario dignitas incommodo accepto in dies augebatur.
At the same time they came into hope from his assurance about joining the remaining states; and for the first time at that period the Gauls began to fortify their camp, and were so strengthened in spirit, men unused to toil, that they thought all that was ordered them must be endured.
Simul in spem veniebant eius adfirmatione de reliquis adiungendis civitatibus; primumque eo tempore Galli castra munire instituerunt et sic sunt animo confirmati, homines insueti laboris, ut omnia quae imperarentur sibi patienda existimarent.
And not less than he had promised did Vercingetorix labor in his mind to join the remaining states, and he enticed them with gifts and promises. For this matter he chose suitable men,
Nec minus quam est pollicitus Vercingetorix animo laborabat ut reliquas civitates adiungeret, atque eas donis pollicitationibusque alliciebat. Huic rei idoneos homines deligebat,
by whom each could most easily be won, whether by crafty speech or by friendship. Those who had fled when Avaricum was stormed
quorum quisque aut oratione subdola aut amicitia facillime capere posset. Qui Avarico expugnato refugerant,
he takes care to arm and clothe;
armandos vestiendosque curat;
at the same time, that his diminished forces be made whole, he imposes on the states a fixed number of soldiers, and by what day he wished them brought into camp, and orders all the archers, of whom there was a very great number in Gaul, to be sought out and sent to him. By these things what had been lost at Avaricum is quickly made good.
simul, ut deminutae copiae redintegrarentur, imperat certum numerum militum civitatibus, quem et quam ante diem in castra adduci velit, sagittariosque omnes, quorum erat permagnus numerus in Gallia, conquiri et ad se mitti iubet. His rebus celeriter id quod Avarici deperierat expletur.
Meanwhile Teutomatus, son of Ollovico, king of the Nitiobriges, whose father had been called a friend by our Senate, came to him with a great number of his cavalry and those he had hired from Aquitania.
Interim Teutomatus, Olloviconis filius, rex Nitiobrigum, cuius pater ab senatu nostro amicus erat appellatus, cum magno equitum suorum numero et quos ex Aquitania conduxerat ad eum pervenit.
Caesar, having lingered several days at Avaricum and got there the greatest supply of grain and other provisions, refreshed the army from its toil and want.
Caesar Avarici complures dies commoratus summamque ibi copiam frumenti et reliqui commeatus nactus exercitum ex labore atque inopia refecit.
The winter now nearly over, when he was summoned by the very season of the year to wage war and had resolved to set out against the enemy—whether he could entice him from the marshes and woods or press him with a siege—the chiefs of the Aedui come to him as envoys to beg that he aid the state at a most urgent time:
Iam prope hieme confecta cum ipso anni tempore ad gerendum bellum vocaretur et ad hostem proficisci constituisset, sive eum ex paludibus silvisque elicere sive obsidione premere posset, legati ad eum principes Aeduorum veniunt oratum ut maxime necessario tempore civitati subveniat:
that the matter was in the utmost peril, because, though from of old single magistrates used to be created and to hold royal power for a year, two were holding the magistracy, and each of them said he had been created according to the laws.
summo esse in periculo rem, quod, cum singuli magistratus antiquitus creari atque regiam potestatem annum obtinere consuessent, duo magistratum gerant et se uterque eorum legibus creatum esse dicat.
That of these the one was Convictolitavis, a flourishing and illustrious young man, the other Cotus, born of a most ancient family and himself a man of the highest power and great kindred, whose brother Valetiacus had held the same magistracy the year before.
Horum esse alterum Convictolitavem, florentem et illustrem adulescentem, alterum Cotum, antiquissima familia natum atque ipsum hominem summae potentiae et magnae cognationis, cuius frater Valetiacus proximo anno eundem magistratum gesserit.
That the whole state was in arms; the senate divided, the people divided, each of them with his own dependents. And if the dispute were nourished longer, it would come about that part of the state would clash with part. That this not happen rested on his diligence and authority.
Civitatem esse omnem in armis; divisum senatum, divisum populum, suas cuiusque eorum clientelas. Quod si diutius alatur controversia, fore uti pars cum parte civitatis confligat. Id ne accidat, positum in eius diligentia atque auctoritate.
Caesar, although he judged it harmful to depart from the war and the enemy, nevertheless, not ignorant how great troubles were wont to arise from dissensions, lest so great a state, and one so joined to the Roman people, which he himself had always fostered and adorned with all things, should come down to force and arms, and that part which trusted itself the less should summon auxiliaries from Vercingetorix,
Caesar, etsi a bello atque hoste discedere detrimentosum esse existimabat, tamen non ignorans quanta ex dissensionibus incommoda oriri consuessent, ne tanta et tam coniuncta populo Romano civitas, quam ipse semper aluisset omnibusque rebus ornasset, ad vim atque arma descenderet, atque ea pars quae minus sibi confideret auxilia a Vercingetorige arcesseret,
judged that he must forestall this, and, because by the laws of the Aedui it was not allowed those who held the highest magistracy to go beyond their borders, lest he seem to have diminished anything of their right or laws, he himself decided to set out into the Aedui and summoned the whole senate, and those between whom the dispute was, to him at Decetia.
huic rei praevertendum existimavit et, quod legibus Aeduorum eis, qui summum magistratum obtinerent, excedere ex finibus non liceret, ne quid de iure aut de legibus eorum deminuisse videretur, ipse in Aeduos proficisci statuit senatumque omnem et quos inter controversia esset ad se Decetiam evocavit.
When almost the whole state had assembled there, and it was shown that a few being secretly called together, in another place and at another time than was fitting, brother had been declared elected by brother—when the laws not only forbade two from one family to be created magistrates while both lived, but even prohibited their being in the senate—he forced Cotus to lay down his command, and ordered Convictolitavis,
Cum prope omnis civitas eo convenisset, docereturque paucis clam convocatis alio loco, alio tempore atque oportuerit fratrem a fratre renuntiatum, cum leges duo ex una familia vivo utroque non solum magistratus creari vetarent, sed etiam in senatu esse prohiberent, Cotum imperium deponere coegit, Convictolitavem,
who had been created through the priests by the custom of the state when the magistracies were interrupted, to hold the power.
qui per sacerdotes more civitatis intermissis magistratibus esset creatus, potestatem obtinere iussit.
This decree being interposed, having exhorted the Aedui to forget their disputes and dissension and, all these things laid aside, to serve this war, and to expect from him the rewards they had earned, Gaul once conquered, and to send him quickly all the cavalry and ten thousand infantry, which he might distribute in garrisons for the sake of the grain supply, he divided the army into two parts:
Hoc decreto interposito cohortatus Aeduos, ut controversiarum ac dissensionis obliviscerentur atque omnibus omissis his rebus huic bello servirent eaque quae meruissent praemia ab se devicta Gallia exspectarent equitatumque omnem et peditum milia decem sibi celeriter mitterent, quae in praesidiis rei frumentariae causa disponeret, exercitum in duas partes divisit:
four legions he gave Labienus to lead into the Senones and Parisii, six he himself led into the Arverni toward the town of Gergovia along the river Allier; part of the cavalry he assigned to Labienus, part he kept for himself.
quattuor legiones in Senones Parisiosque Labieno ducendas dedit, sex ipse in Arvernos ad oppidum Gergoviam secundum flumen Elaver duxit; equitatus partem illi attribuit, partem sibi reliquit.
This known, Vercingetorix, all the bridges of that river broken, began to make his march along the other side of the river.
Qua re cognita Vercingetorix omnibus interruptis eius fluminis pontibus ab altera fluminis parte iter facere coepit.
When each army had set out on either bank, they pitched their camps in sight and nearly opposite each other, scouts posted lest anywhere, a bridge made, the Romans bring their forces across. It was a matter of great difficulty to Caesar, lest he be hindered by the river the greater part of the summer, because the Allier is not generally fordable before autumn.
Cum uterque utrimque exisset exercitus, in conspectu fereque e regione castris castra ponebant dispositis exploratoribus, necubi effecto ponte Romani copias traducerent. Erat in magnis Caesaris difficultatibus res, ne maiorem aestatis partem flumine impediretur, quod non fere ante autumnum Elaver vado transiri solet.
And so, lest that happen, a camp pitched in a wooded spot opposite one of those bridges which Vercingetorix had taken care to break, the next day with two legions he stayed behind in hiding;
Itaque, ne id accideret, silvestri loco castris positis e regione unius eorum pontium, quos Vercingetorix rescindendos curaverat, postero die cum duabus legionibus in occulto restitit;
the rest of the forces with all the baggage he sent on, as he had been accustomed, some cohorts being opened out, so that the number of legions should seem to remain the same.
reliquas copias cum omnibus impedimentis, ut consueverat, misit, apertis quibusdam cohortibus, uti numerus legionum constare videretur.
These ordered to advance as far as they could, when he had now taken a conjecture from the time of day that they had reached camp, on the same piles, of which the lower part remained intact, he began to rebuild the bridge.
His quam longissime possent egredi iussis, cum iam ex diei tempore coniecturam ceperat in castra perventum, isdem sublicis, quarum pars inferior integra remanebat, pontem reficere coepit.
The work quickly done and the legions led across, and a place suitable for a camp chosen, he recalled the rest of the forces.
Celeriter effecto opere legionibusque traductis et loco castris idoneo delecto reliquas copias revocavit.
Vercingetorix, the matter learned, lest he be forced to fight against his will, went on ahead by great marches.
Vercingetorix re cognita, ne contra suam voluntatem dimicare cogeretur, magnis itineribus antecessit.
Caesar, from that place, reached Gergovia in five marches, and, a light cavalry battle made that day, having examined the situation of the city—which, placed on a very high mountain, had all its approaches difficult—despaired of storming it, and resolved not to act about a siege before he had arranged the grain supply.
Caesar ex eo loco quintis castris Gergoviam pervenit equestrique eo die proelio levi facto perspecto urbis situ, quae posita in altissimo monte omnes aditus difficiles habebat, de expugnatione desperavit, de obsessione non prius agendum constituit, quam rem frumentariam expedisset.
But Vercingetorix, a camp pitched near the town, had placed the forces of the several states separately about himself at moderate intervals, and, all the hills of that ridge from which one could look down being occupied,
At Vercingetorix castris, prope oppidum positis, mediocribus circum se intervallis separatim singularum civitatium copias collocaverat atque omnibus eius iugi collibus occupatis, qua despici poterat,
presented a fearful appearance; and he ordered the chiefs of those states, whom he had chosen for himself for taking counsel, to assemble at his quarters daily at first light, whether anything seemed to need communicating or managing;
horribilem speciem praebebat; principesque earum civitatium, quos sibi ad consilium capiendum delegerat, prima luce cotidie ad se convenire iubebat, seu quid communicandum, seu quid administrandum videretur;
nor did he let almost any day pass without testing, by a cavalry battle with archers interspersed, what spirit and courage was in each of his men.
neque ullum fere diem intermittebat quin equestri proelio interiectis sagittariis, quid in quoque esset animi ac virtutis suorum perspiceret.
There was, opposite the town, a hill at the very roots of the mountain, excellently fortified and cut off on every side; if our men held it, they seemed likely to keep the enemy from a great part of their water and from free foraging;
Erat e regione oppidi collis sub ipsis radicibus montis, egregie munitus atque ex omni parte circumcisus; quem si tenerent nostri, et aquae magna parte et pabulatione libera prohibituri hostes videbantur;
but that place was held by them with a not very strong garrison;
sed is locus praesidio ab his non nimis firmo tenebatur;
nevertheless, in the silence of night Caesar, going out from the camp, before aid could come from the town, the garrison driven off and the place gained, stationed two legions there and led a double ditch of twelve feet each from the larger camp to the smaller, so that even single men could pass safely from the sudden incursion of the enemy.
tamen silentio noctis Caesar ex castris egressus, priusquam subsidio ex oppido veniri posset, deiecto praesidio potitus loco duas ibi legiones collocavit fossamque duplicem duodenum pedum a maioribus castris ad minora perduxit, ut tuto ab repentino hostium incursu etiam singuli commeare possent.
While these things are done at Gergovia, the Aeduan Convictolitavis, to whom we have shown the magistracy was adjudged by Caesar, worked on by the Arverni with money, confers with certain young men; of whom the chief was Litaviccus and his brothers, young men born of a most ample family.
Dum haec ad Gergoviam geruntur, Convictolitavis Aeduus, cui magistratum adiudicatum a Caesare demonstravimus, sollicitatus ab Arvernis pecunia cum quibusdam adulescentibus colloquitur; quorum erat princeps Litaviccus atque eius fratres, amplissima familia nati adulescentes.
With these he shares the reward and exhorts them to remember that they were free and born to command.
Cum his praemium communicat hortaturque, ut se liberos et imperio natos meminerint.
That the state of the Aedui was the one that held back the most certain victory of Gaul; that by its authority the rest were held in check; that, this once brought over, there would be no place for the Romans to stand in Gaul.
Vnam esse Aeduorum civitatem, quae certissimam Galliae victoriam detineat; eius auctoritate reliquas contineri; qua traducta locum consistendi Romanis in Gallia non fore.
That he had been treated with some kindness by Caesar, yet in such a way that he had held a most just cause before him; but that he gave more to the common liberty.
Esse nonnullo se Caesaris beneficio adfectum, sic tamen, ut iustissimam apud eum causam obtinuerit; sed plus communi libertati tribuere.
For why should the Aedui come to Caesar as arbiter about their right and laws, rather than the Romans to the Aedui?
Cur enim potius Aedui de suo iure et de legibus ad Caesarem disceptatorem, quam Romani ad Aeduos veniant?
The young men quickly drawn over both by the magistrate’s speech and by the reward, since they declared they would even be the leaders of that plan, a method of accomplishing it was sought, because they did not trust that the state could be rashly brought to undertake war.
Celeriter adulescentibus et oratione magistratus et praemio deductis, cum se vel principes eius consili fore profiterentur, ratio perficiendi quaerebatur, quod civitatem temere ad suscipiendum bellum adduci posse non confidebant.
It was decided that Litaviccus be set over those ten thousand who were to be sent to Caesar for the war and take charge of leading them, and that his brothers run ahead to Caesar. They determine by what method the rest is to be done.
Placuit ut Litaviccus decem illis milibus, quae Caesari ad bellum mitterentur, praeficeretur atque ea ducenda curaret, fratresque eius ad Caesarem praecurrerent. Reliqua qua ratione agi placeat constituunt.
Litaviccus, the army received, when he was about thirty miles from Gergovia, the soldiers suddenly called together, weeping, said, "Where are we marching, soldiers?
Litaviccus accepto exercitu, cum milia passuum circiter XXX ab Gergovia abesset, convocatis subito militibus lacrimans, "Quo proficiscimur," inquit, "milites?
All our cavalry, all our nobility, has perished; the chiefs of the state, Eporedorix and Viridomarus, charged with treachery, have been killed by the Romans without their cause being heard.
Omnis noster equitatus, omnis nobilitas interiit; principes civitatis, Eporedorix et Viridomarus, insimulati proditionis ab Romanis indicta causa interfecti sunt.
Learn these things from these men themselves, who have fled from the very slaughter: for I, my brothers and all my kinsmen killed, am prevented by grief from declaring
Haec ab ipsis cognoscite, qui ex ipsa caede fugerunt: nam ego fratribus atque omnibus meis propinquis interfectis dolore prohibeor,
what has been done." There are brought forward those whom he had instructed what he wished said, and they set forth to the multitude the same things that Litaviccus had declared: that many cavalry of the Aedui had been killed,
quae gesta sunt, pronuntiare." Producuntur hi quos ille edocuerat quae dici vellet, atque eadem, quae Litaviccus pronuntiaverat, multitudini exponunt: multos equites Aeduorum interfectos,
because they were said to have conferred with the Arverni; that they themselves had hidden among the multitude of soldiers and fled from the midst of the slaughter.
quod collocuti cum Arvernis dicerentur; ipsos se inter multitudinem militum occultasse atque ex media caede fugisse.
The Aedui cry out and beseech Litaviccus to take thought for them. "As if indeed," said he, "the matter were one for deliberation, and it were not necessary for us to hasten to Gergovia and join ourselves with the Arverni.
Conclamant Aedui et Litaviccum obsecrant ut sibi consulat. "Quasi vero," inquit ille, "consili sit res, ac non necesse sit nobis Gergoviam contendere et cum Arvernis nosmet coniungere.
Or do we doubt that, this monstrous crime committed, the Romans are now hastening to kill us? Therefore, if there is any spirit in us,
An dubitamus quin nefario facinore admisso Romani iam ad nos interficiendos concurrant? Proinde, si quid in nobis animi est,
let us avenge the death of those who have perished most undeservedly, and let us kill these brigands." He points to the Roman citizens who, in reliance on his guard, were with them:
persequamur eorum mortem qui indignissime interierunt, atque hos latrones interficiamus." Ostendit cives Romanos, qui eius praesidi fiducia una erant:
he plunders a great quantity of grain and supplies, kills the men themselves, cruelly tortured.
magnum numerum frumenti commeatusque diripit, ipsos crudeliter excruciatos interficit.
He sends messengers through the whole state of the Aedui, stirs them by the same lie about the slaughter of the cavalry and chiefs; he exhorts them to avenge their wrongs by a like method to that he himself had used.
nuntios tota civitate Aeduorum dimittit, eodem mendacio de caede equitum et principum permovet; hortatur ut simili ratione atque ipse fecerit suas iniurias persequantur.
Eporedorix the Aeduan, a young man born of the highest station and of the highest power at home, and with him Viridomarus, of like age and favor but of unequal birth, whom Caesar, handed over to him by Diviciacus, had advanced from a humble station to the highest dignity, had come together in the number of the cavalry, summoned by him by name.
Eporedorix Aeduus, summo loco natus adulescens et summae domi potentiae, et una Viridomarus, pari aetate et gratia, sed genere dispari, quem Caesar ab Diviciaco sibi traditum ex humili loco ad summam dignitatem perduxerat, in equitum numero convenerant nominatim ab eo evocati.
Between these there was a contest for the chief place, and in that magistrates’ dispute the one had fought with all his strength for Convictolitavis, the other for Cotus.
His erat inter se de principatu contentio, et in illa magistratuum controversia alter pro Convictolitavi, alter pro Coto summis opibus pugnaverant.
Of these Eporedorix, Litaviccus’s plan learned, about midnight reports the matter to Caesar; he begs that he not allow the state to fall away from the friendship of the Roman people through the crooked plans of young men; which he foresaw would happen, if so many thousands of men joined themselves with the enemy—men whose safety neither their kinsmen could neglect nor the state reckon of light weight.
Ex eis Eporedorix cognito Litavicci consilio media fere nocte rem ad Caesarem defert; orat ne patiatur civitatem pravis adulescentium consiliis ab amicitia populi Romani deficere; quod futurum provideat, si se tot hominum milia cum hostibus coniunxerint, quorum salutem neque propinqui neglegere, neque civitas levi momento aestimare posset.
Caesar, affected with great anxiety by this message—because he had always indulged the state of the Aedui especially—with no hesitation interposed, leads four legions in light order and all the cavalry out of the camp;
Magna adfectus sollicitudine hoc nuntio Caesar, quod semper Aeduorum civitati praecipue indulserat, nulla interposita dubitatione legiones expeditas quattuor equitatumque omnem ex castris educit;
nor was there space at such a time to contract the camp, because the matter seemed to rest on speed; he leaves the legate Gaius Fabius with two legions as a guard for the camp.
nec fuit spatium tali tempore ad contrahenda castra, quod res posita in celeritate videbatur; Gaium Fabium legatum cum legionibus duabus castris praesidio relinquit.
When he had ordered Litaviccus’s brothers seized, he finds that a little before they had fled to the enemy.
Fratres Litavicci cum comprehendi iussisset, paulo ante reperit ad hostes fugisse.
Having exhorted the soldiers not to be daunted by the toil of the march at a critical time, all most eager, having advanced twenty-five miles, he caught sight of the column of the Aedui, and, the cavalry sent in, delays and hampers their march and forbids them all to kill anyone. Eporedorix and Viridomarus,
Adhortatus milites, ne necessario tempore itineris labore permoveantur, cupidissimis omnibus progressus milia passuum XXV agmen Aeduorum conspicatus immisso equitatu iter eorum moratur atque impedit interdicitque omnibus ne quemquam interficiant. Eporedorigem et Viridomarum,
whom they thought killed, he orders to move among the cavalry and call to their own men.
quos illi interfectos existimabant, inter equites versari suosque appellare iubet.
These recognized and Litaviccus’s fraud perceived, the Aedui begin to stretch out their hands, to signal surrender, and, their arms thrown down, to beg off death.
His cognitis et Litavicci fraude perspecta Aedui manus tendere, deditionem significare et proiectis armis mortem deprecari incipiunt.
Litaviccus, with his dependents—for whom by the custom of the Gauls it is a crime to desert their patrons even in the last extremity—fled to Gergovia.
Litaviccus cum suis clientibus, quibus more Gallorum nefas est etiam in extrema fortuna deserere patronos, Gergoviam profugit.
Caesar, messengers sent to the state of the Aedui to inform them that by his kindness he had preserved those whom by the law of war he could have killed, and three hours of the night given to the army for rest, moved camp toward Gergovia.
Caesar nuntiis ad civitatem Aeduorum missis, qui suo beneficio conservatos docerent quos iure belli interficere potuisset, tribusque horis noctis exercitui ad quietem datis castra ad Gergoviam movit.
About the middle of the march cavalry sent by Fabius set forth in how great danger the matter had been. They show that the camp had been assaulted with the utmost forces, since fresh men frequently relieved the weary and wore out our men with constant labor—who, on account of the size of the camp, had continually to remain the same men on the rampart;
Medio fere itinere equites a Fabio missi, quanto res in periculo fuerit, exponunt. Summis copiis castra oppugnata demonstrant, cum crebro integri defessis succederent nostrosque assiduo labore defatigarent, quibus propter magnitudinem castrorum perpetuo esset isdem in vallo permanendum;
that by the multitude of arrows and weapons of every kind many had been wounded; that for enduring these the artillery had been of great use.
multitudine sagittarum atque omnis generis telorum multos vulneratos; ad haec sustinenda magno usui fuisse tormenta.
That Fabius, at their departure, two gates left, was blocking the rest and adding screens to the rampart and preparing himself for the next day and a like event.
Fabium discessu eorum duabus relictis portis obstruere ceteras pluteosque vallo addere et se in posterum diem similemque casum apparare.
These things learned, Caesar, by the utmost zeal of the soldiers, reached the camp before sunrise.
His rebus cognitis Caesar summo studio militum ante ortum solis in castra pervenit.
While these things are done at Gergovia, the Aedui, the first messages from Litaviccus received, leave themselves no space for learning the truth.
Dum haec ad Gergoviam geruntur, Aedui primis nuntiis ab Litavicco acceptis nullum sibi ad cognoscendum spatium relinquunt.
Avarice drives some, anger and rashness—which is most inborn in that race of men—drives others, to hold a light hearsay for an ascertained fact.
Impellit alios avaritia, alios iracundia et temeritas, quae maxime illi hominum generi est innata, ut levem auditionem habeant pro re comperta.
They plunder the goods of Roman citizens, make slaughter, drag them off into slavery.
Bona civium Romanorum diripiunt, caedes faciunt, in servitutem abstrahunt.
Convictolitavis helps the matter once it leans over and drives the common people to madness, that, the crime committed, they may be ashamed to return to sanity.
Adiuvat rem proclinatam Convictolitavis plebemque ad furorem impellit, ut facinore admisso ad sanitatem reverti pudeat.
Marcus Aristius, a military tribune, making his way to the legion, they lead out of the town of Cabillonum on a pledge of faith: they compel the same of those who had settled there for the sake of trade.
Marcum Aristium, tribunum militum, iter ad legionem facientem fide data ex oppido Cabillono educunt: idem facere cogunt eos, qui negotiandi causa ibi constiterant.
Falling upon these at once on the march, they strip them of all their baggage; resisting, they besiege them a day and a night; many being killed on both sides, they rouse a greater multitude of armed men.
Hos continuo (in) itinere adorti omnibus impedimentis exuunt; repugnantes diem noctemque obsident; multis utrimque interfectis maiorem multitudinem armatorum concitant.
Meanwhile, the message brought that all their soldiers were held in Caesar’s power, they run together to Aristius, show that nothing had been done by public decision; they decree an inquiry about the plundered goods,
Interim nuntio allato omnes eorum milites in potestate Caesaris teneri, concurrunt ad Aristium, nihil publico factum consilio demonstrant; quaestionem de bonis direptis decernunt,
confiscate the goods of Litaviccus and his brothers, and send envoys to Caesar for the sake of clearing themselves.
Litavicci fratrumque bona publicant, legatos ad Caesarem sui purgandi gratia mittunt.
These things they do for the sake of recovering their own men; but, polluted by the crime and taken with the profit from the plundered goods—because that matter touched many—terrified by fear of punishment, they begin secretly to enter on plans of war and to incite the remaining states by embassies.
Haec faciunt reciperandorum suorum causa; sed contaminati facinore et capti compendio ex direptis bonis, quod ea res ad multos pertinebat, timore poenae exterriti consilia clam de bello inire incipiunt civitatesque reliquas legationibus sollicitant.
Although Caesar understood these things, yet he addresses the envoys as gently as he can: that on account of the ignorance and fickleness of the common people he judged nothing more severely about the state, nor diminished anything of his goodwill toward the Aedui.
Quae tametsi Caesar intellegebat, tamen quam mitissime potest legatos appellat: nihil se propter inscientiam levitatemque vulgi gravius de civitate iudicare neque de sua in Aeduos benevolentia deminuere.
He himself, expecting a greater rising of Gaul, lest he be surrounded by all the states, was entering on plans how he might depart from Gergovia and again draw together his whole army,
Ipse maiorem Galliae motum exspectans, ne ab omnibus civitatibus circumsisteretur, consilia inibat quemadmodum ab Gergovia discederet ac rursus omnem exercitum contraheret,
lest a departure born of fear of defection should seem like a flight.
ne profectio nata ab timore defectionis similis fugae videretur.
As he was pondering these things, a chance of doing the business well seemed to occur. For when he had come into the smaller camp to inspect the work, he noticed that the hill which was held by the enemy was stripped of men, though on earlier days it could scarcely be seen for the multitude.
Haec cogitanti accidere visa est facultas bene rei gerendae. Nam cum in minora castra operis perspiciendi causa venisset, animadvertit collem, qui ab hostibus tenebatur, nudatum hominibus, qui superioribus diebus vix prae multitudine cerni poterat.
Wondering, he asks the reason from deserters, of whom a great number flowed to him daily.
Admiratus quaerit ex perfugis causam, quorum magnus ad eum cotidie numerus confluebat.
It was agreed among all—what Caesar himself had now learned through scouts—that the ridge of that height was almost level, but wooded and narrow, where there was an approach to the other side of the town; that for this place they feared greatly, and now thought nothing else but that, one hill being held by the Romans, if they lost the other they would seem almost circumvallated and cut off from all exit and foraging: that all had been summoned by Vercingetorix to fortify it.
Constabat inter omnes, quod iam ipse Caesar per exploratores cognoverat, dorsum esse eius iugi prope aequum, sed hunc silvestrem et angustum, qua esset aditus ad alteram partem oppidi; huic loco vehementer illos timere nec iam aliter sentire, uno colle ab Romanis occupato, si alterum amisissent, quin paene circumvallati atque omni exitu et pabulatione interclusi viderentur: ad hunc muniendum omnes a Vercingetorige evocatos.
This learned, Caesar sends several squadrons of cavalry; he orders them, about midnight, to range over all the places a little more tumultuously than usual.
Hac re cognita Caesar mittit complures equitum turmas; eis de media nocte imperat, ut paulo tumultuosius omnibus locis vagarentur.
At first light he orders a great number of pack-animals and mules to be led out of the camp, the panniers stripped from them, and the muleteers, with helmets, to ride round the hills in the appearance and pretense of cavalry.
Prima luce magnum numerum impedimentorum ex castris mulorumque produci deque his stramenta detrahi mulionesque cum cassidibus equitum specie ac simulatione collibus circumvehi iubet.
To these he adds a few cavalry to range more widely for show. He orders them all to make for the same regions by a long circuit.
His paucos addit equites qui latius ostentationis causa vagarentur. Longo circuitu easdem omnes iubet petere regiones.
These things were seen from afar from the town, as there was a view down from Gergovia into the camp, nor at so great a distance could it be made out for certain what it was.
Haec procul ex oppido videbantur, ut erat a Gergovia despectus in castra, neque tanto spatio certi quid esset explorari poterat.
He sends one legion along the same ridge and, having advanced a little, halts it on lower ground and hides it in the woods.
Legionem unam eodem iugo mittit et paulum progressam inferiore constituit loco silvisque occultat.
The Gauls’ suspicion grows, and all their forces are brought across there to the fortification.
Augetur Gallis suspicio, atque omnes illo ad munitionem copiae traducuntur.
Caesar, having seen the enemy’s camp empty, the badges of his men covered and the military standards hidden, leads the soldiers in small parties, lest they be noticed from the town, from the larger camp into the smaller, and shows the legates whom he had set over the several legions what he wished done:
Vacua castra hostium Caesar conspicatus tectis insignibus suorum occultatisque signis militaribus raros milites, ne ex oppido animadverterentur, ex maioribus castris in minora traducit legatisque, quos singulis legionibus praefecerat, quid fieri velit ostendit:
above all he warns them to keep the soldiers in check, lest in eagerness for fighting or hope of plunder they advance too far;
in primis monet ut contineant milites, ne studio pugnandi aut spe praedae longius progrediantur;
he sets forth what disadvantage the unfavorableness of the ground holds: that this could be remedied by speed alone; that the matter was one of opportunity, not of battle.
quid iniquitas loci habeat incommodi proponit: hoc una celeritate posse mutari; occasionis esse rem, non proeli.
These things set forth, he gives the signal and at the same time sends the Aedui by another ascent on the right side.
His rebus expositis signum dat et ab dextra parte alio ascensu eodem tempore Aeduos mittit.
The wall of the town, from the plain and the beginning of the ascent, in a straight line, if no bend intervened, was twelve hundred paces away:
Oppidi murus ab planitie atque initio ascensus recta regione, si nullus anfractus intercederet, MCC passus aberat:
whatever of circuit had been added here to soften the slope, that increased the length of the way.
quidquid huc circuitus ad molliendum clivum accesserat, id spatium itineris augebat.
From about the middle of the hill, lengthwise, as the nature of the mountain allowed, the Gauls had drawn a wall of great stones, six feet high, to slow our charge, and, all the lower space left empty, had filled the upper part of the hill, right up to the wall of the town, with very dense camps.
A medio fere colle in longitudinem, ut natura montis ferebat, ex grandibus saxis sex pedum murum qui nostrorum impetum tardaret praeduxerant Galli, atque inferiore omni spatio vacuo relicto superiorem partem collis usque ad murum oppidi densissimis castris compleverant.
The soldiers, the signal given, quickly reach the fortification, and, having crossed it, gain possession of three camps;
Milites dato signo celeriter ad munitionem perveniunt eamque transgressi trinis castris potiuntur;
and so great was the speed in taking the camps that Teutomatus, king of the Nitiobriges, suddenly surprised in his tent as he had taken his midday rest, the upper part of his body bare, his horse wounded, scarcely snatched himself from the hands of the plundering soldiers.
ac tanta fuit in castris capiendis celeritas, ut Teutomatus, rex Nitiobrigum, subito in tabernaculo oppressus, ut meridie conquieverat, superiore corporis parte nudata vulnerato equo vix se ex manibus praedantium militum eriperet.
Having achieved what he had set before his mind, Caesar ordered the recall to be sounded and, for the Tenth Legion, with which he was, at once halted the standards.
Consecutus id quod animo proposuerat, Caesar receptui cani iussit legionique decimae, quacum erat, continuo signa constituit.
And the soldiers of the other legions, not hearing the sound of the trumpet, because a fairly large valley intervened, were nevertheless held back by the military tribunes and legates, as had been instructed by Caesar.
Ac reliquarum legionum milites non exaudito sono tubae, quod satis magna valles intercedebat, tamen ab tribunis militum legatisque, ut erat a Caesare praeceptum, retinebantur.
But, carried away by hope of a swift victory and the enemy’s flight and the successful battles of earlier times, they thought nothing so steep that they could not attain it by valor, nor did they make an end of pursuing before they drew near the wall of the town and the gates. Then indeed, a shout arising from all parts of the city,
Sed elati spe celeris victoriae et hostium fuga et superiorum temporum secundis proeliis nihil adeo arduum sibi esse existimaverunt quod non virtute consequi possent, neque finem prius sequendi fecerunt quam muro oppidi portisque appropinquarunt. Tum vero ex omnibus urbis partibus orto clamore,
those who were farther off, terrified by the sudden uproar, since they thought the enemy was within the gates, flung themselves out of the town.
qui longius aberant repentino tumultu perterriti, cum hostem intra portas esse existimarent, sese ex oppido eiecerunt.
The matrons threw clothing and silver from the wall and, leaning forward with bare breast and outstretched hands, implored the Romans to spare them and not, as they had done at Avaricum, to abstain not even from women and infants:
Matres familiae de muro vestem argentumque iactabant et pectore nudo prominentes passis manibus obtestabantur Romanos, ut sibi parcerent neu, sicut Avarici fecissent, ne a mulieribus quidem atque infantibus abstinerent:
some, let down from the walls by hand, gave themselves over to the soldiers.
nonnullae de muris per manus demissae sese militibus tradebant.
Lucius Fabius, a centurion of the Eighth Legion, who it was agreed had said among his men that day that he was stirred by the rewards of Avaricum and would not allow anyone to climb the wall before him, having got three of his maniple and being lifted by them, climbed the wall: these in turn he himself, taking them up one by one, drew up onto the wall.
Lucius Fabius, centurio legionis VIII, quem inter suos eo die dixisse constabat excitari se Avaricensibus praemiis neque commissurum, ut prius quisquam murum ascenderet, tres suos nactus manipulares atque ab eis sublevatus murum ascendit: hos ipse rursus singulos exceptans in murum extulit.
Meanwhile those who, as we have shown above, had gathered to the other side of the town for the sake of fortification, the shout first heard, then incited even by frequent messages that the town was held by the Romans, the cavalry sent ahead, hastened there in a great rush.
Interim ei qui ad alteram partem oppidi, ut supra demonstravimus, munitionis causa convenerant, primo exaudito clamore, inde etiam crebris nuntiis incitati, oppidum a Romanis teneri, praemissis equitibus magno concursu eo contenderunt.
As each of them came first, he took his stand under the wall and increased the number of his men fighting.
Eorum ut quisque primus venerat, sub muro consistebat suorumque pugnantium numerum augebat.
When a great multitude of these had assembled, the matrons, who a little before were stretching out their hands to the Romans from the wall, began to implore their own men and, in the Gallic fashion, to display their loosened hair and bring their children into sight.
Quorum cum magna multitudo convenisset, matres familiae, quae paulo ante Romanis de muro manus tendebant, suos obtestari et more Gallico passum capillum ostentare liberosque in conspectum proferre coeperunt.
The contest was equal for the Romans neither in place nor in number; at the same time, wearied both by the running and the length of the fight, they did not easily withstand fresh and unwearied men.
Erat Romanis nec loco nec numero aequa contentio; simul et cursu et spatio pugnae defatigati non facile recentes atque integros sustinebant.
Caesar, when he saw that the fighting was on unfavorable ground and that the enemy’s forces were increasing, fearing for his men, sent to the legate Titus Sextius, whom he had left as a guard in the smaller camp, to lead the cohorts quickly out of the camp and post them at the foot of the hill on the enemy’s right flank,
Caesar, cum iniquo loco pugnari hostiumque augeri copias videret, praemetuens suis ad Titum Sextium legatum, quem minoribus castris praesidio reliquerat, misit, ut cohortes ex castris celeriter educeret et sub infimo colle ab dextro latere hostium constitueret,
so that, if he saw our men driven from their ground, he might frighten the enemy from pursuing too freely.
ut, si nostros loco depulsos vidisset, quo minus libere hostes insequerentur terreret.
He himself, having advanced a little with the legion from that place where he had taken his stand, awaited the outcome of the battle.
Ipse paulum ex eo loco cum legione progressus, ubi constiterat, eventum pugnae exspectabat.
When there was very fierce fighting at close quarters, the enemy trusting in ground and number, our men in valor, suddenly the Aedui were seen on our men’s open flank, whom Caesar had sent on the right side by another ascent for the sake of distracting the enemy’s forces.
Cum acerrime comminus pugnaretur, hostes loco et numero, nostri virtute confiderent, subito sunt Aedui visi ab latere nostris aperto, quos Caesar ab dextra parte alio ascensu manus distinendae causa miserat.
These, by the likeness of their arms, greatly terrified our men, and although they were noticed with right shoulders bared—which it had been agreed should be their badge—nevertheless the soldiers thought that this very thing had been done by the enemy to deceive them.
Hi similitudine armorum vehementer nostros perterruerunt, ac tametsi dextris humeris exsertis animadvertebantur, quod insigne pactum esse consuerat, tamen id ipsum sui fallendi causa milites ab hostibus factum existimabant.
At the same time the centurion Lucius Fabius and those who had climbed the wall with him, surrounded and killed, were being flung from the wall.
Eodem tempore Lucius Fabius centurio quique una murum ascenderant circumventi atque interfecti muro praecipitabantur.
Marcus Petronius, a centurion of the same legion, when he had tried to break down a gate, overwhelmed by the multitude and despairing of himself, many wounds now received, said to his maniple-men who had followed him, "Since I cannot save myself together with you, I will at least take thought for your lives, whom, led by desire of glory, I have brought into danger.
Marcus Petronius, eiusdem legionis centurio, cum portam excidere conatus esset, a multitudine oppressus ac sibi desperans multis iam vulneribus acceptis manipularibus suis, qui illum secuti erant, "Quoniam," inquit, "me una vobiscum servare non possum, vestrae quidem certe vitae prospiciam, quos cupiditate gloriae adductus in periculum deduxi.
You, the chance being given, look to yourselves." At the same time he burst into the midst of the enemy and, two being killed, drove the rest a little back from the gate.
Vos data facultate vobis consulite." Simul in medios hostes irrupit duobusque interfectis reliquos a porta paulum summovit.
As his men tried to help him, "In vain," he said, "do you try to come to the aid of my life, whom blood and strength now fail. Therefore go, while there is a chance, and withdraw yourselves to the legion." So fighting, he fell after a little while and was a safety to his own.
Conantibus auxiliari suis "Frustra," inquit, "meae vitae subvenire conamini, quem iam sanguis viresque deficiunt. Proinde abite, dum est facultas, vosque ad legionem recipite." Ita pugnans post paulum concidit ac suis saluti fuit.
Our men, when they were pressed on every side, with forty-six centurions lost, were driven from their ground. But the Tenth Legion, which had taken its stand as a support on slightly more even ground, slowed the Gauls as they pursued too unrestrainedly.
Nostri, cum undique premerentur, XLVI centurionibus amissis deiecti sunt loco. Sed intolerantius Gallos insequentes legio decima tardavit, quae pro subsidio paulo aequiore loco constiterat.
This in turn the cohorts of the Thirteenth Legion received, which, led out from the smaller camp with the legate Titus Sextius, had taken the higher ground.
Hanc rursus XIII legionis cohortes exceperunt, quae ex castris minoribus eductae cum Tito Sextio legato ceperant locum superiorem.
The legions, as soon as they reached the plain, halted with their standards set against the enemy.
Legiones, ubi primum planitiem attigerunt, infestis contra hostes signis constiterunt.
Vercingetorix led his men back from the roots of the hill within the fortifications. On that day a little less than seven hundred soldiers were lost.
Vercingetorix ab radicibus collis suos intra munitiones reduxit. Eo die milites sunt paulo minus septingenti desiderati.
The next day Caesar, an assembly called, blamed the rashness and greed of the soldiers, because they had judged for themselves where they should advance or what should be done, and had not halted when the signal for recall was given, nor been able to be held back by the military tribunes and legates.
Postero die Caesar contione advocata temeritatem cupiditatemque militum reprehendit, quod sibi ipsi iudicavissent quo procedendum aut quid agendum videretur, neque signo recipiendi dato constitissent neque ab tribunis militum legatisque retineri potuissent.
He set forth what the unfavorableness of ground could do, what he himself had felt at Avaricum, when, the enemy caught without leader and without cavalry, he had let go an assured victory, lest even a small loss be suffered in the struggle on account of the unfavorableness of the ground.
Exposuit quid iniquitas loci posset, quid ipse ad Avaricum sensisset, cum sine duce et sine equitatu deprehensis hostibus exploratam victoriam dimisisset, ne parvum modo detrimentum in contentione propter iniquitatem loci accideret.
As greatly as he admired the greatness of their spirit, whom neither the fortifications of the camp, nor the height of the mountain, nor the wall of the town could slow, so greatly did he blame their license and arrogance, because they thought they knew more than the commander about victory and the outcome of things;
Quanto opere eorum animi magnitudinem admiraretur, quos non castrorum munitiones, non altitudo montis, non murus oppidi tardare potuisset, tanto opere licentiam arrogantiamque reprehendere, quod plus se quam imperatorem de victoria atque exitu rerum sentire existimarent;
and that he required of a soldier no less restraint and self-control than valor and greatness of spirit.
nec minus se ab milite modestiam et continentiam quam virtutem atque animi magnitudinem desiderare.
This assembly held and the soldiers, at the close of his speech, reassured that they not be troubled in spirit for this cause nor attribute to the enemy’s valor what the unfavorableness of the ground had brought about, thinking the same about departure as he had felt before, he led the legions out of the camp and drew up a line on suitable ground.
Hac habita contione et ad extremam orationem confirmatis militibus, ne ob hanc causam animo permoverentur neu quod iniquitas loci attulisset id virtuti hostium tribuerent, eadem de profectione cogitans quae ante senserat legiones ex castris eduxit aciemque idoneo loco constituit.
Since Vercingetorix none the more came down onto level ground, a light cavalry battle made, and that successful, he led the army back into camp.
Cum Vercingetorix nihil magis in aequum locum descenderet, levi facto equestri proelio atque secundo in castra exercitum reduxit.
When he had done this same thing the next day, judging that enough had been done to lessen the Gallic boastfulness and to reassure the soldiers’ spirits, he moved camp into the Aedui.
Cum hoc idem postero die fecisset, satis ad Gallicam ostentationem minuendam militumque animos confirmandos factum existimans in Aeduos movit castra.
The enemy not pursuing even then, on the third day he came to the river Allier; he rebuilt the bridge and led the army across.
Ne tum quidem insecutis hostibus tertio die ad flumen Elaver venit; pontem refecit exercitumque traduxit.
There, addressed by the Aedui Viridomarus and Eporedorix, he learns that Litaviccus had set out with all the cavalry to incite the Aedui: that it was needful for them to go ahead to steady the state.
Ibi a Viridomaro atque Eporedorige Aeduis appellatus discit cum omni equitatu Litaviccum ad sollicitandos Aeduos profectum: opus esse ipsos antecedere ad confirmandam civitatem.
Although by many things he now held the treachery of the Aedui as proven, and judged that the state’s defection would be hastened by their departure, nevertheless he resolved not to detain them, lest he seem either to do a wrong or to give some suspicion of fear. To them as they departed he briefly set forth his services toward the Aedui,
Etsi multis iam rebus perfidiam Aeduorum perspectam habebat atque horum discessu admaturari defectionem civitatis existimabat, tamen eos retinendos non constituit, ne aut inferre iniuriam videretur aut dare timoris aliquam suspicionem. Discedentibus his breviter sua in Aeduos merita exposuit,
in what and how lowly a state he had received them—driven into their towns, stripped of their fields, all their forces taken away, tribute imposed, hostages extorted with the utmost affront—
quos et quam humiles accepisset, compulsos in oppida, multatos agris omnibus ereptis copiis, imposito stipendio, obsidibus summa cum contumelia extortis,
and to what fortune and to what greatness he had brought them, so that they had not only returned to their former state but seemed to have surpassed the dignity and favor of all times. These charges given, he dismissed them from him.
et quam in fortunam quamque in amplitudinem deduxisset, ut non solum in pristinum statum redissent, sed omnium temporum dignitatem et gratiam antecessisse viderentur. His datis mandatis eos ab se dimisit.
Noviodunum was a town of the Aedui placed in a convenient spot on the banks of the Loire.
Noviodunum erat oppidum Aeduorum ad ripas Ligeris opportuno loco positum.
Here Caesar had brought all the hostages of Gaul, the grain, the public money, a great part of his own and the army’s baggage;
Huc Caesar omnes obsides Galliae, frumentum, pecuniam publicam, suorum atque exercitus impedimentorum magnam partem contulerat;
here he had sent a great number of horses, bought up for the sake of this war in Italy and Spain.
huc magnum numerum equorum huius belli causa in Italia atque Hispania coemptum miserat.
When Eporedorix and Viridomarus had come there and learned of the state of the country—that Litaviccus had been received by the Aedui at Bibracte, which is a town of the greatest authority among them, that the magistrate Convictolitavis and a great part of the senate had assembled with him, that envoys had been sent publicly to Vercingetorix about arranging peace and friendship—they judged that so great an advantage was not to be passed over.
Eo cum Eporedorix Viridomarusque venissent et de statu civitatis cognovissent, Litaviccum Bibracti ab Aeduis receptum, quod est oppidum apud eos maximae auctoritatis, Convictolitavim magistratum magnamque partem senatus ad eum convenisse, legatos ad Vercingetorigem de pace et amicitia concilianda publice missos, non praetermittendum tantum commodum existimaverunt.
And so, the guards at Noviodunum being killed, and those who had assembled there for the sake of trade, they divided the money and horses among themselves;
Itaque interfectis Novioduni custodibus quique eo negotiandi causa convenerant pecuniam atque equos inter se partiti sunt;
they took care that the hostages of the states be led off to the magistrate at Bibracte; the town,
obsides civitatum Bibracte ad magistratum deducendos curaverunt; oppidum,
which they judged could not be held by them, that it be of no use to the Romans, they burned;
quod a se teneri non posse iudicabant, ne cui esset usui Romanis, incenderunt;
of the grain, what they could on the sudden they carried off in boats, the rest they spoiled with the river and with fire.
frumenti quod subito potuerunt navibus avexerunt, reliquum flumine atque incendio corruperunt.
They themselves began to gather forces from the neighboring regions, to dispose garrisons and guards along the banks of the Loire, and to display the cavalry in all places for the sake of striking fear, if they could shut the Romans out from the grain supply or drive them, brought low by want, into the province.
Ipsi ex finitimis regionibus copias cogere, praesidia custodiasque ad ripas Ligeris disponere equitatumque omnibus locis iniciendi timoris causa ostentare coeperunt, si ab re frumentaria Romanos excludere aut adductos inopia in provinciam expellere possent.
To which hope it greatly helped them that the Loire had risen from the snows, so that it seemed it could not be crossed by a ford at all.
quam ad spem multum eos adiuvabat, quod Liger ex nivibus creverat, ut omnino vado non posse transiri videretur.
These things learned, Caesar judged that he must hasten—if there were to be danger in completing the bridges—so as to fight before greater forces should be gathered there.
Quibus rebus cognitis Caesar maturandum sibi censuit, si esset in perficiendis pontibus periclitandum, ut prius quam essent maiores eo coactae copiae dimicaret.
For that, his plan changed, he should turn his march into the province, he judged that he must not do even out of necessary fear; both the infamy and the unworthiness of the thing and the barrier of Mount Cevenna and the difficulty of the roads hindered him, but most of all because, Labienus and those legions he had sent with him being cut off, he feared greatly.
Nam ut commutato consilio iter in provinciam converteret, id ne metu quidem necessario faciendum existimabat; cum infamia atque indignitas rei et oppositus mons Cevenna viarumque difficultas impediebat, tum maxime quod abiuncto Labieno atque eis legionibus quas una miserat vehementer timebat.
And so, very great marches by day and night completed, he came to the Loire against everyone’s expectation,
Itaque admodum magnis diurnis nocturnisque itineribus confectis contra omnium opinionem ad Ligerem venit
and, a ford found by the cavalry, convenient for the necessity of the affair—such that only the arms and shoulders could be free of the water to bear the arms—the cavalry posted to break the force of the river, and the enemy thrown into confusion at first sight,
vadoque per equites invento pro rei necessitate opportuno, ut brachia modo atque humeri ad sustinenda arma liberi ab aqua esse possent, disposito equitatu qui vim fluminis refringeret, atque hostibus primo aspectu perturbatis,
he led the army across unharmed, and, having got grain in the fields and an abundance of cattle, the army filled with these things, he resolved to make his march into the Senones.
incolumem exercitum traduxit frumentumque in agris et pecoris copiam nactus repleto his rebus exercitu iter in Senones facere instituit.
While these things are done at Caesar’s quarters, Labienus, that reinforcement which had lately come from Italy being left at Agedincum to be a guard for the baggage, sets out with four legions for Lutetia. This is a town of the Parisii, placed on an island of the river Seine.
Dum haec apud Caesarem geruntur, Labienus eo supplemento, quod nuper ex Italia venerat, relicto Agedinci, ut esset impedimentis praesidio, cum quattuor legionibus Lutetiam proficiscitur. Id est oppidum Parisiorum, quod positum est in insula fluminis Sequanae.
His coming known by the enemy, great forces from the neighboring states assembled.
Cuius adventu ab hostibus cognito magnae ex finitimis civitatibus copiae convenerunt.
The supreme command is handed to Camulogenus the Aulercan, who, though almost worn out by age, was nevertheless summoned to that honor on account of his singular knowledge of warfare.
Summa imperi traditur Camulogeno Aulerco, qui prope confectus aetate tamen propter singularem scientiam rei militaris ad eum est honorem evocatus.
He, when he had noticed that there was a continuous marsh which flowed into the Seine and greatly impeded all that place, settled here and resolved to keep our men from the crossing.
Is cum animadvertisset perpetuam esse paludem, quae influeret in Sequanam atque illum omnem locum magnopere impediret, hic consedit nostrosque transitu prohibere instituit.
Labienus at first tried to bring up sheds, to fill the marsh with wickerwork and earth, and to make a road.
Labienus primo vineas agere, cratibus atque aggere paludem explere atque iter munire conabatur.
After he noticed that this was being done with too great difficulty, going out from the camp in silence at the third watch, by the same route by which he had come he reached Metiosedum.
Postquam id difficilius confieri animadvertit, silentio e castris tertia vigilia egressus eodem quo venerat itinere Metiosedum pervenit.
This is a town of the Senones placed on an island of the Seine, as we said a little before about Lutetia. About fifty boats being seized and quickly joined, and soldiers thrown onto them, the townsmen terrified by the strangeness of the thing—a great part of whom had been called out to the war—he gains the town without a struggle.
Id est oppidum Senonum in insula Sequanae positum, ut paulo ante de Lutetia diximus. Deprensis navibus circiter quinquaginta celeriterque coniunctis atque eo militibus iniectis et rei novitate perterritis oppidanis, quorum magna pars erat ad bellum evocata, sine contentione oppido potitur.
The bridge rebuilt, which the enemy had cut down in the earlier days, he leads the army across and began to march downstream toward Lutetia.
Refecto ponte, quem superioribus diebus hostes resciderant, exercitum traducit et secundo flumine ad Lutetiam iter facere coepit.
The enemy, the matter learned from those who had fled from Metiosedum, order Lutetia burned and the bridges of that town cut down; they themselves, setting out from the marsh, settle on the banks of the Seine opposite Lutetia, over against the camp of Labienus.
Hostes re cognita ab eis, qui Metiosedo fugerant, Lutetiam incendi pontesque eius oppidi rescindi iubent; ipsi profecti a palude ad ripas Sequanae e regione Lutetiae contra Labieni castra considunt.
Now Caesar was heard to have departed from Gergovia, now rumors were brought about the Aedui’s defection and the successful rising of Gaul, and the Gauls in their conversations affirmed that Caesar, cut off from his route and from the Loire and compelled by want of grain, had hastened into the province.
Iam Caesar a Gergovia discessisse audiebatur, iam de Aeduorum defectione et secundo Galliae motu rumores adferebantur, Gallique in colloquiis interclusum itinere et Ligeri Caesarem inopia frumenti coactum in provinciam contendisse confirmabant.
The Bellovaci, moreover, the Aedui’s defection learned—a people that before were of themselves faithless—began to gather bands and openly prepare war.
Bellovaci autem defectione Aeduorum cognita, qui ante erant per se infideles, manus cogere atque aperte bellum parare coeperunt.
Then Labienus understood that, with so great a change of circumstances, a far different plan must be taken by him than he had felt before,
Tum Labienus tanta rerum commutatione longe aliud sibi capiendum consilium atque antea senserat intellegebat,
and he now thought not how to gain something and provoke the enemy to battle, but how to lead the army back unharmed to Agedincum.
neque iam, ut aliquid adquireret proelioque hostes lacesseret, sed ut incolumem exercitum Agedincum reduceret, cogitabat.
For on one side the Bellovaci, which state has the greatest reputation for valor in Gaul, were pressing on, on the other Camulogenus held it with an army made ready and drawn up; then the very great river kept the legions cut off from their guard and baggage.
Namque altera ex parte Bellovaci, quae civitas in Gallia maximam habet opinionem virtutis, instabant, alteram Camulogenus parato atque instructo exercitu tenebat; tum legiones a praesidio atque impedimentis interclusas maximum flumen distinebat.
So great difficulties being suddenly thrown in his way, he saw that aid must be sought from courage of mind.
Tantis subito difficultatibus obiectis ab animi virtute auxilium petendum videbat.
Toward evening, a council called, having exhorted them to carry out diligently and industriously what he had ordered, he assigns the boats he had brought from Metiosedum, one each, to Roman knights, and orders them, the first watch ended, to advance four miles downstream in silence and there await him.
Sub vesperum consilio convocato cohortatus ut ea quae imperasset diligenter industrieque administrarent, naves, quas Metiosedo deduxerat, singulas equitibus Romanis attribuit, et prima confecta vigilia quattuor milia passuum secundo flumine silentio progredi ibique se exspectari iubet.
Five cohorts, which he judged least firm for fighting, he leaves as a guard for the camp;
Quinque cohortes, quas minime firmas ad dimicandum esse existimabat, castris praesidio relinquit;
the five remaining of the same legion he orders to set out at midnight upstream with all the baggage, with great uproar.
quinque eiusdem legionis reliquas de media nocte cum omnibus impedimentis adverso flumine magno tumultu proficisci imperat.
He seeks out small boats too: these, driven with a great noise of oars, he sends in the same direction. He himself a little after, going out in silence with three legions, makes for the place where he had ordered the boats to put in.
Conquirit etiam lintres: has magno sonitu remorum incitatas in eandem partem mittit. Ipse post paulo silentio egressus cum tribus legionibus eum locum petit quo naves appelli iusserat.
When it had been reached there, the enemy’s scouts, as they were posted along every part of the river, off their guard—because a great storm had suddenly arisen—are overwhelmed by our men;
Eo cum esset ventum, exploratores hostium, ut omni fluminis parte erant dispositi, inopinantes, quod magna subito erat coorta tempestas, ab nostris opprimuntur;
the army and cavalry are quickly carried across, the Roman knights whom he had set over that business managing it.
exercitus equitatusque equitibus Romanis administrantibus, quos ei negotio praefecerat, celeriter transmittitur.
At nearly the same time, toward dawn, it is reported to the enemy that there was uproar beyond custom in the Roman camp, and that a great column was going upstream, and that the sound of oars was heard in the same quarter, and that a little below the soldiers were being carried across in boats.
Vno fere tempore sub lucem hostibus nuntiatur in castris Romanorum praeter consuetudinem tumultuari et magnum ire agmen adverso flumine sonitumque remorum in eadem parte exaudiri et paulo infra milites navibus transportari.
These things heard, because they thought the legions were crossing in three places and that all, thrown into confusion by the Aedui’s defection, were preparing flight, they too distributed their forces into three parts.
Quibus rebus auditis, quod existimabant tribus locis transire legiones atque omnes perturbatos defectione Aeduorum fugam parare, suas quoque copias in tres partes distribuerunt.
For a guard being left over against the camp, and a small band sent toward Metiosedum, to advance just as far as the boats had advanced, they led the rest of the forces against Labienus.
Nam praesidio e regione castrorum relicto et parva manu Metiosedum versus missa, quae tantum progrediatur, quantum naves processissent, reliquas copias contra Labienum duxerunt.
At first light both all our men had been carried across, and the enemy’s battle-line was being made out.
Prima luce et nostri omnes erant transportati, et hostium acies cernebatur.
Labienus, having exhorted the soldiers to keep the memory of their former valor and of their most successful battles, and to think Caesar himself, under whose leadership they had often overcome the enemy, present and at hand, gives the signal for battle.
Labienus milites cohortatus ut suae pristinae virtutis et secundissimorum proeliorum retinerent memoriam atque ipsum Caesarem, cuius ductu saepe numero hostes superassent, praesentem adesse existimarent, dat signum proeli.
At the first onset, on the right wing, where the Seventh Legion had taken its stand, the enemy are driven back and thrown into flight;
Primo concursu ab dextro cornu, ubi septima legio constiterat, hostes pelluntur atque in fugam coniciuntur;
on the left, which place the Twelfth Legion held, although the first ranks of the enemy, pierced by weapons, fell, the rest nevertheless resisted most fiercely, nor did anyone give a suspicion of flight.
ab sinistro, quem locum duodecima legio tenebat, cum primi ordines hostium transfixi telis concidissent, tamen acerrime reliqui resistebant, nec dabat suspicionem fugae quisquam.
The enemy’s leader Camulogenus himself was present with his men and kept exhorting them.
Ipse dux hostium Camulogenus suis aderat atque eos cohortabatur.
The outcome of the victory being even now uncertain, when it had been reported to the tribunes of the Seventh Legion what was being done on the left wing, they showed the legion at the enemy’s rear and brought up their standards.
Incerto nunc etiam exitu victoriae, cum septimae legionis tribunis esset nuntiatum quae in sinistro cornu gererentur, post tergum hostium legionem ostenderunt signaque intulerunt.
Not even at that time did anyone give ground, but all were surrounded and killed.
Ne eo quidem tempore quisquam loco cessit, sed circumventi omnes interfectique sunt.
The same fortune Camulogenus bore. But those who had been left as a guard over against Labienus’s camp, when they heard battle had been joined, went to the aid of their men and took a hill, nor could they withstand the charge of our victorious soldiers.
Eandem fortunam tulit Camulogenus. At ei qui praesidio contra castra Labieni erant relicti, cum proelium commissum audissent, subsidio suis ierunt collemque ceperunt, neque nostrorum militum victorum impetum sustinere potuerunt.
Thus, mingled with their own fleeing men, those whom the woods and mountains did not cover were killed by the cavalry.
Sic cum suis fugientibus permixti, quos non silvae montesque texerunt, ab equitatu sunt interfecti.
This business finished, Labienus returns to Agedincum, where the baggage of the whole army had been left: from there with all his forces he reached Caesar.
hoc negotio confecto Labienus revertitur Agedincum, ubi impedimenta totius exercitus relicta erant: inde cum omnibus copiis ad Caesarem pervenit.
The Aedui’s defection learned, the war grows. Embassies are sent round in all directions:
Defectione Aeduorum cognita bellum augetur. Legationes in omnes partes circummittuntur:
as far as they avail in favor, authority, and money, they strive to incite the states;
quantum gratia, auctoritate, pecunia valent, ad sollicitandas civitates nituntur;
having got the hostages whom Caesar had deposited among them, they terrify the wavering by the punishment of these.
nacti obsides, quos Caesar apud eos deposuerat, horum supplicio dubitantes territant.
The Aedui ask Vercingetorix to come to them and share the methods of waging the war.
Petunt a Vercingetorige Aedui ut ad se veniat rationesque belli gerendi communicet.
The request obtained, they contend that the supreme command be handed to themselves, and, the matter brought into dispute, a council of all Gaul is proclaimed at Bibracte. They assemble there from every side in great numbers.
Re impetrata contendunt ut ipsis summa imperi tradatur, et re in controversiam deducta totius Galliae concilium Bibracte indicitur. Eodem conveniunt undique frequentes.
The matter is committed to the votes of the multitude: all to a man approve Vercingetorix as commander.
Multitudinis suffragiis res permittitur: ad unum omnes Vercingetorigem probant imperatorem.
From this council the Remi, Lingones, and Treveri were absent: the former because they followed the friendship of the Romans; the Treveri because they were farther off and were being pressed by the Germans—which was the reason why they were absent from the whole war and sent auxiliaries to neither side.
Ab hoc concilio Remi, Lingones, Treveri afuerunt: illi, quod amicitiam Romanorum sequebantur; Treveri, quod aberant longius et ab Germanis premebantur, quae fuit causa quare toto abessent bello et neutris auxilia mitterent.
With great grief the Aedui bear being cast down from the leadership; they lament the change of fortune and miss Caesar’s indulgence toward them, nor yet, the war once undertaken, do they dare to separate their own counsel from the rest.
Magno dolore Aedui ferunt se deiectos principatu, queruntur fortunae commutationem et Caesaris indulgentiam in se requirunt, neque tamen suscepto bello suum consilium ab reliquis separare audent.
Reluctantly the young men of highest promise, Eporedorix and Viridomarus, obey Vercingetorix.
Inviti summae spei adulescentes Eporedorix et Viridomarus Vercingetorigi parent.
He himself imposes hostages on the remaining states and fixes a day for that matter. He orders all the cavalry, fifteen thousand in number, to assemble quickly;
Ipse imperat reliquis civitatibus obsides diemque ei rei constituit. Omnes equites, quindecim milia numero, celeriter convenire iubet;
he says he will be content with the infantry he had before, and will not tempt fortune or fight in a line of battle, but, since he abounds in cavalry, that it is very easy to do to keep the Romans from grain-gathering and foraging,
peditatu quem antea habuerit se fore contentum dicit, neque fortunam temptaturum aut in acie dimicaturum, sed, quoniam abundet equitatu, perfacile esse factu frumentationibus pabulationibusque Romanos prohibere,
provided they themselves spoil their own grain with calm mind and burn the buildings, by which loss of private property they saw they would gain perpetual command and liberty.
aequo modo animo sua ipsi frumenta corrumpant aedificiaque incendant, qua rei familiaris iactura perpetuum imperium libertatemque se consequi videant.
These things settled, he imposes on the Aedui and the Segusiavi, who are neighbors of the province, ten thousand infantry; to these he adds eight hundred cavalry.
His constitutis rebus Aeduis Segusiavisque, qui sunt finitimi provinciae, decem milia peditum imperat; huc addit equites octingentos.
Over these he sets the brother of Eporedorix and orders war to be made on the Allobroges.
His praeficit fratrem Eporedorigis bellumque inferri Allobrogibus iubet.
On the other side he sends the Gabali and the nearest cantons of the Arverni against the Helvii, likewise the Ruteni and Cadurci to lay waste the borders of the Volcae Arecomici.
Altera ex parte Gabalos proximosque pagos Arvernorum in Helvios, item Rutenos Cadurcosque ad fines Volcarum Arecomicorum depopulandos mittit.
None the less, by secret messengers and embassies, he incites the Allobroges, whose minds he hoped had not yet settled from the earlier war.
Nihilo minus clandestinis nuntiis legationibusque Allobrogas sollicitat, quorum mentes nondum ab superiore bello resedisse sperabat.
To their chiefs he promises money, and to the state the command of the whole province.
Horum principibus pecunias, civitati autem imperium totius provinciae pollicetur.
Against all these chances guards of twenty-two cohorts had been provided, which, from the province itself, were set against all sides by the legate Lucius Caesar.
Ad hos omnes casus provisa erant praesidia cohortium duarum et viginti, quae ex ipsa provincia ab Lucio Caesare legato ad omnes partes opponebantur.
The Helvii, of their own accord meeting their neighbors in battle, are driven back, and, Gaius Valerius Donnotaurus, son of Caburus, the chief of the state, and several others being killed, are driven within their towns and walls.
Helvii sua sponte cum finitimis proelio congressi pelluntur et Gaio Valerio Donnotauro, Caburi filio, principe civitatis, compluribusque aliis interfectis intra oppida ac muros compelluntur.
The Allobroges, frequent guards posted along the Rhone, with great care and diligence protect their borders.
Allobroges crebris ad Rhodanum dispositis praesidiis magna cum cura et diligentia suos fines tuentur.
Caesar, because he understood the enemy were superior in cavalry, and, all the roads being cut off, could be helped by nothing from the province and Italy, sends across the Rhine into Germany to those states which he had pacified in earlier years, and summons from them cavalry and light-armed infantry who were accustomed to fight among them.
Caesar, quod hostes equitatu superiores esse intellegebat et interclusis omnibus itineribus nulla re ex provincia atque Italia sublevari poterat, trans Rhenum in Germaniam mittit ad eas civitates quas superioribus annis pacaverat, equitesque ab his arcessit et levis armaturae pedites, qui inter eos proeliari consuerant.
At their coming, because they were using less suitable horses, he takes horses from the military tribunes and the rest of the Roman knights and the re-enlisted veterans and distributes them to the Germans.
Eorum adventu, quod minus idoneis equis utebantur, a tribunis militum reliquisque equitibus Romanis atque evocatis equos sumit Germanisque distribuit.
Meanwhile, while these things are done, the enemy’s forces from the Arverni and the cavalry that had been levied on all Gaul assemble.
Interea, dum haec geruntur, hostium copiae ex Arvernis equitesque qui toti Galliae erant imperati conveniunt.
A great number of these gathered, when Caesar was making his march into the Sequani through the farthest borders of the Lingones, so that aid could the more easily be brought to the province, Vercingetorix settled about ten miles from the Romans in three camps,
Magno horum coacto numero, cum Caesar in Sequanos per extremos Lingonum fines iter faceret, quo facilius subsidium provinciae ferri posset, circiter milia passuum decem ab Romanis trinis castris Vercingetorix consedit
and, the prefects of cavalry called to a council, shows that the time of victory had come. The Romans were fleeing into the province and leaving Gaul.
convocatisque ad concilium praefectis equitum venisse tempus victoriae demonstrat. Fugere in provinciam Romanos Galliaque excedere.
That this was enough for them to obtain present liberty; but for the peace and quiet of the time to come too little was gained: for they would return with greater forces gathered and make no end of warring. Therefore let them attack them, hampered on the march.
Id sibi ad praesentem obtinendam libertatem satis esse; ad reliqui temporis pacem atque otium parum profici: maioribus enim coactis copiis reversuros neque finem bellandi facturos. Proinde agmine impeditos adorirentur.
If the infantry bring aid to their own and delay over that, they could not make their march; if—what he was the more confident would happen—the baggage abandoned, they took thought for their own safety, they would be stripped both of the use of necessary things and of their dignity.
Si pedites suis auxilium ferant atque in eo morentur, iter facere non posse; si, id quod magis futurum confidat, relictis impedimentis suae saluti consulant, et usu rerum necessariarum et dignitate spoliatum iri.
For about the enemy’s cavalry, that not one of them would dare even to advance beyond the column, they themselves at least ought not to doubt; and that they might do it with greater spirit, he would keep all his forces before the camps and be a terror to the enemy.
Nam de equitibus hostium, quin nemo eorum progredi modo extra agmen audeat, et ipsos quidem non debere dubitare, et quo maiore faciant animo, copias se omnes pro castris habiturum et terrori hostibus futurum.
The cavalry cry out that it ought to be confirmed by the most solemn oath that he who had not twice ridden through the enemy’s column should not be received under a roof, nor have approach to his children, his parents, or his wife.
Conclamant equites sanctissimo iureiurando confirmari oportere, ne tecto recipiatur, ne ad liberos, ne ad parentes, ad uxorem aditum habeat, qui non bis per agmen hostium perequitasset.
The matter approved and all bound by oath, the next day, the cavalry distributed into three parts, two lines show themselves on the two flanks, one began to impede the march at the head of the column.
Probata re atque omnibus iureiurando adactis postero die in tres partes distributo equitatu duae se acies ab duobus lateribus ostendunt, una primo agmine iter impedire coepit.
This reported, Caesar orders his own cavalry too, divided in three, to go against the enemy. There is fighting at once in all parts.
Qua re nuntiata Caesar suum quoque equitatum tripertito divisum contra hostem ire iubet. Pugnatur una omnibus in partibus.
The column halts; the baggage is received within the legions.
Consistit agmen; impedimenta intra legiones recipiuntur.
If in any part our men seemed to labor or to be pressed too hard, there Caesar would order the standards brought up and the line drawn up; which thing both slowed the enemy in pursuit and reassured our men with hope of aid.
Si qua in parte nostri laborare aut gravius premi videbantur, eo signa inferri Caesar aciemque constitui iubebat; quae res et hostes ad insequendum tardabat et nostros spe auxili confirmabat.
At last the Germans, on the right flank, having got the top of a ridge, drive the enemy from their ground; they pursue them as far as the river where Vercingetorix had settled with the infantry forces and kill several.
Tandem Germani ab dextro latere summum iugum nacti hostes loco depellunt; fugientes usque ad flumen, ubi Vercingetorix cum pedestribus copiis consederat, persequuntur compluresque interficiunt.
This noticed, the rest, fearing to be surrounded, commit themselves to flight. In all places there is slaughter.
Qua re animadversa reliqui ne circumirentur veriti se fugae mandant. Omnibus locis fit caedes.
Three of the noblest Aedui are taken and led to Caesar: Cotus, prefect of cavalry, who had had the dispute with Convictolitavis at the last elections, and Cavarillus, who after the defection of Litaviccus had commanded the infantry forces, and Eporedorix, under whose leadership before Caesar’s coming the Aedui had contended in war with the Sequani.
Tres nobilissimi Aedui capti ad Caesarem perducuntur: Cotus, praefectus equitum, qui controversiam cum Convictolitavi proximis comitiis habuerat, et Cavarillus, qui post defectionem Litavicci pedestribus copiis praefuerat, et Eporedorix, quo duce ante adventum Caesaris Aedui cum Sequanis bello contenderant.
All the cavalry routed, Vercingetorix led back his forces as he had posted them before the camp, and at once began to make his march to Alesia, which is a town of the Mandubii, and ordered the baggage to be quickly led out of the camp and to follow him.
Fugato omni equitatu Vercingetorix copias, ut pro castris collocaverat, reduxit protinusque Alesiam, quod est oppidum Mandubiorum, iter facere coepit celeriterque impedimenta ex castris educi et se subsequi iussit.
Caesar, the baggage led off onto the nearest hill, two legions left as a guard, having followed as far as the time of day allowed, about three thousand of the enemy being killed from the rearmost column, on the next day made his camp at Alesia.
Caesar impedimentis in proximum collem deductis, duabus legionibus praesidio relictis, secutus quantum diei tempus est passum, circiter tribus milibus hostium ex novissimo agmine interfectis altero die ad Alesiam castra fecit.
The situation of the city examined and the enemy terrified—because they had been beaten in cavalry, the part of the army in which they most trusted—he exhorted the soldiers to the labor and resolved to circumvallate it.
Perspecto urbis situ perterritisque hostibus, quod equitatu, qua maxime parte exercitus confidebant, erant pulsi, adhortatus ad laborem milites circumvallare instituit.
The town of Alesia itself was on the top of a hill, in a very lofty place, so that it seemed it could not be stormed except by siege.
Ipsum erat oppidum Alesia in colle summo admodum edito loco, ut nisi obsidione expugnari non posse videretur.
The roots of this hill two rivers washed on two sides.
Cuius collis radices duo duabus ex partibus flumina subluebant.
Before that town a plain extended about three miles in length:
Ante id oppidum planities circiter milia passuum tria in longitudinem patebat:
on all the other sides hills, with a moderate space between, of equal height of summit, girded the town.
reliquis ex omnibus partibus colles mediocri interiecto spatio pari altitudinis fastigio oppidum cingebant.
Under the wall, the part of the hill which faced the rising sun, the forces of the Gauls had filled all this place and had drawn before it a ditch and a stone wall six feet high.
Sub muro, quae pars collis ad orientem solem spectabat, hunc omnem locum copiae Gallorum compleverant fossamque et maceriam sex in altitudinem pedum praeduxerant.
The circuit of that fortification which was being begun by the Romans took up eleven miles.
Eius munitionis quae ab Romanis instituebatur circuitus XI milia passuum tenebat.
Camps were placed in convenient spots, and there twenty-three forts were made, in which forts pickets were posted by day, lest any sally be made suddenly: these same forts were held by night with sentinels and strong guards.
Castra opportunis locis erant posita ibique castella viginti tria facta, quibus in castellis interdiu stationes ponebantur, ne qua subito eruptio fieret: haec eadem noctu excubitoribus ac firmis praesidiis tenebantur.
The work begun, a cavalry battle takes place on that plain which, left open between the hills, we have shown above extends three miles in length. It is contested with the utmost force by both sides.
Opere instituto fit equestre proelium in ea planitie, quam intermissam collibus tria milia passuum in longitudinem patere supra demonstravimus. Summa vi ab utrisque contenditur.
Our men laboring, Caesar sends up the Germans and posts the legions before the camp, lest any sudden inrush be made by the enemy’s infantry.
Laborantibus nostris Caesar Germanos summittit legionesque pro castris constituit, ne qua subito irruptio ab hostium peditatu fiat.
The protection of the legions added, our men’s spirit grows: the enemy, thrown into flight, hamper themselves by their own multitude and are crowded together at the too-narrow gates that were left.
Praesidio legionum addito nostris animus augetur: hostes in fugam coniecti se ipsi multitudine impediunt atque angustioribus portis relictis coacervantur.
The Germans pursue the more fiercely right up to the fortifications.
Germani acrius usque ad munitiones secuntur.
There is great slaughter: some, their horses abandoned, try to cross the ditch and climb over the stone wall. Caesar orders the legions which he had posted before the rampart to be advanced a little.
Fit magna caedes: nonnulli relictis equis fossam transire et maceriam transcendere conantur. Paulum legiones Caesar quas pro vallo constituerat promoveri iubet.
No less are the Gauls who were within the fortifications thrown into confusion: thinking that they were being come at once, they cry to arms; some, terrified, burst into the town.
Non minus qui intra munitiones erant perturbantur Galli: veniri ad se confestim existimantes ad arma conclamant; nonnulli perterriti in oppidum irrumpunt.
Vercingetorix orders the gates closed, lest the camp be stripped of men. Many killed and several horses captured, the Germans withdraw.
Vercingetorix iubet portas claudi, ne castra nudentur. Multis interfectis, compluribus equis captis Germani sese recipiunt.
Vercingetorix, before the fortifications are completed by the Romans, takes the plan of sending all the cavalry away from himself by night.
Vercingetorix, priusquam munitiones ab Romanis perficiantur, consilium capit omnem ab se equitatum noctu dimittere.
To them as they depart he gives charge that each of them go to his own state and force to the war all who by age can bear arms.
Discedentibus mandat ut suam quisque eorum civitatem adeat omnesque qui per aetatem arma ferre possint ad bellum cogant.
He sets forth his services toward them and adjures them to have regard for his safety and not hand over to the enemy for torture one who had deserved so well of the common liberty. And if they should be too careless, he points out that eighty thousand picked men would perish along with him.
Sua in illos merita proponit obtestaturque ut suae salutis rationem habeant neu se optime de communi libertate meritum in cruciatum hostibus dedant. Quod si indiligentiores fuerint, milia hominum delecta octoginta una secum interitura demonstrat.
The reckoning made, he had grain scantily for thirty days, but it could be made to last a little longer by sparing. These charges given,
Ratione inita se exigue dierum triginta habere frumentum, sed paulo etiam longius tolerari posse parcendo. His datis mandatis,
at the second watch, in silence, he sends out the cavalry where the work was left open.
qua opus erat intermissum, secunda vigilia silentio equitatum mittit.
He orders all the grain to be brought to himself; he fixes the penalty of death for those who do not obey:
Frumentum omne ad se referri iubet; capitis poenam eis qui non paruerint constituit:
the cattle, of which there was a great supply driven in by the Mandubii, he distributes man by man; he resolved to measure out the grain sparingly and little by little;
pecus, cuius magna erat copia ab Mandubiis compulsa, viritim distribuit; frumentum parce et paulatim metiri instituit;
all the forces he had placed before the town he received into the town.
copias omnes quas pro oppido collocaverat in oppidum recepit.
By these methods he prepares to await the auxiliaries of Gaul and to conduct the war.
His rationibus auxilia Galliae exspectare et bellum parat administrare.
These things learned from deserters and captives, Caesar set up these kinds of fortification. He drew a ditch twenty feet, with straight sides, so that the bottom of that ditch was as wide as the lips of the ditch at the top were apart.
Quibus rebus cognitis ex perfugis et captivis, Caesar haec genera munitionis instituit. Fossam pedum viginti directis lateribus duxit, ut eius fossae solum tantundem pateret quantum summae fossae labra distarent.
All the rest of the fortifications he set back four hundred feet from that ditch, with this design, since he had necessarily enclosed so great a space, and the whole circuit could not easily be girt with a ring of soldiers, lest the multitude fly suddenly, either by night or by day, against the fortifications, or be able to hurl weapons at our men assigned to the work.
Reliquas omnes munitiones ab ea fossa pedes quadringentos reduxit, [id] hoc consilio, quoniam tantum esset necessario spatium complexus, nec facile totum corpus corona militum cingeretur, ne de improviso aut noctu ad munitiones hostium multitudo advolaret aut interdiu tela in nostros operi destinatos conicere possent.
This space left between, he drew two ditches fifteen feet wide, of the same depth, the inner of which, in the level and low places, he filled with water drawn off from the river.
Hoc intermisso spatio duas fossas quindecim pedes latas, eadem altitudine perduxit, quarum interiorem campestribus ac demissis locis aqua ex flumine derivata complevit.
Behind these he built a mound and rampart of twelve feet. To this he added a breastwork and battlements, with great forked stakes projecting at the joinings of the screens and the mound, to slow the enemy’s ascent, and he surrounded the whole work with towers, which were eighty feet apart from each other.
Post eas aggerem ac vallum duodecim pedum exstruxit. Huic loricam pinnasque adiecit grandibus cervis eminentibus ad commissuras pluteorum atque aggeris, qui ascensum hostium tardarent, et turres toto opere circumdedit, quae pedes LXXX inter se distarent.
It was necessary at the same time to get timber and grain and to make such great fortifications, our forces being diminished as they advanced too far from the camp: and sometimes the Gauls would try our works and attempt a sally from the town with the utmost force from several gates.
Erat eodem tempore et materiari et frumentari et tantas munitiones fieri necesse deminutis nostris copiis quae longius ab castris progrediebantur: ac non numquam opera nostra Galli temptare atque eruptionem ex oppido pluribus portis summa vi facere conabantur.
For which reason Caesar thought there must again be added to these works whatever might allow the fortifications to be defended by a smaller number of soldiers. And so, the trunks of trees or very firm branches being cut off and their tops stripped of bark and sharpened, continuous trenches five feet deep were drawn.
Qua re ad haec rursus opera addendum Caesar putavit, quo minore numero militum munitiones defendi possent. Itaque truncis arborum aut admodum firmis ramis abscisis atque horum delibratis ac praeacutis cacuminibus perpetuae fossae quinos pedes altae ducebantur.
Here these stakes, sunk and bound fast at the bottom so that they could not be torn up, projected by their branches.
Huc illi stipites demissi et ab infimo revincti, ne revelli possent, ab ramis eminebant.
There were five rows joined and entangled with one another; those who entered there impaled themselves on the very sharp points.
Quini erant ordines coniuncti inter se atque implicati; quo qui intraverant, se ipsi acutissimis vallis induebant.
These they called boundary-posts. Before them, in oblique rows set in a quincunx, pits three feet deep were dug, narrowing little by little toward the bottom.
Hos cippos appellabant. Ante quos obliquis ordinibus in quincuncem dispositis scrobes tres in altitudinem pedes fodiebantur paulatim angustiore ad infimum fastigio.
Into these smooth stakes the thickness of a thigh, sharpened and fire-hardened at the top, were sunk, so that they projected no more than four fingers from the earth;
Huc teretes stipites feminis crassitudine ab summo praeacuti et praeusti demittebantur, ita ut non amplius digitis quattuor ex terra eminerent;
at the same time, for the sake of strengthening and steadying them, each was trodden in with earth a foot from the bottom, the rest of the pit being covered over with twigs and brushwood to hide the trap.
simul confirmandi et stabiliendi causa singuli ab infimo solo pedes terra exculcabantur, reliqua pars scrobis ad occultandas insidias viminibus ac virgultis integebatur.
Eight rows of this kind were drawn, three feet apart from each other.
Huius generis octoni ordines ducti ternos inter se pedes distabant.
These things completed, having followed the most level regions he could for the nature of the place, embracing fourteen miles, he completed equal fortifications of the same kind, facing the other way, against the enemy from without, so that the garrisons of the fortifications could not be surrounded even by a great multitude, if it should so happen;
His rebus perfectis regiones secutus quam potuit aequissimas pro loci natura quattuordecim milia passuum complexus pares eiusdem generis munitiones, diversas ab his, contra exteriorem hostem perfecit, ut ne magna quidem multitudine, si ita accidat, munitionum praesidia circumfundi possent;
and, lest he be forced to go out of the camp with danger, he orders all to have forage and grain for thirty days brought in.
ac ne cum periculo ex castris egredi cogatur, dierum triginta pabulum frumentumque habere omnes convectum iubet.
While these things are done at Alesia, the Gauls, a council of chiefs proclaimed, decide not to call together all those who could bear arms, as Vercingetorix had judged, but to impose a fixed number on each state, lest, with so great a multitude confused, they could neither control nor distinguish their own men nor have any method of grain-supply.
Dum haec apud Alesiam geruntur, Galli concilio principum indicto non omnes eos qui arma ferre possent, ut censuit Vercingetorix, convocandos statuunt, sed certum numerum cuique ex civitate imperandum, ne tanta multitudine confusa nec moderari nec discernere suos nec frumentandi rationem habere possent.
They impose on the Aedui and their dependents, the Segusiavi, Ambivareti, Aulerci Brannovices, and Blannovii, thirty-five thousand; an equal number on the Arverni with the Eleuteti, Cadurci, Gabali, and Vellavii joined to them, who are accustomed to be under the command of the Arverni; on the Sequani,
Imperant Aeduis atque eorum clientibus, Segusiavis, Ambivaretis, Aulercis Brannovicibus, Blannoviis, milia XXXV; parem numerum Arvernis adiunctis Eleutetis, Cadurcis, Gabalis, Vellaviis, qui sub imperio Arvernorum esse consuerunt; Sequanis,
Senones, Bituriges, Santones, Ruteni, and Carnutes, twelve thousand each; on the Bellovaci ten thousand; as many on the Lemovices; eight thousand each on the Pictones and Turoni and Parisii and Helvetii; five thousand each on the Ambiani, Mediomatrici, Petrocorii, Nervii, Morini, and Nitiobriges; as many on the Aulerci Cenomani; four thousand on the Atrebates; three thousand each on the Veliocasses, Lexovii, and Aulerci Eburovices; two thousand each on the Rauraci and Boii;
Senonibus, Biturigibus, Santonis, Rutenis, Carnutibus duodena milia; Bellovacis X; totidem Lemovicibus; octona Pictonibus et Turonis et Parisiis et Helvetiis; [Suessionibus,] Ambianis, Mediomatricis, Petrocoriis, Nerviis, Morinis, Nitiobrigibus quina milia; Aulercis Cenomanis totidem; Atrebatibus [IIII milibus]; Veliocassis, Lexoviis et Aulercis Eburovicibus terna; Rauracis et Boiis bina;
thirty thousand on all the states together which touch the Ocean and which in their custom are called the Armorican, in which number are the Coriosolites, Redones, Ambibarii, Caletes, Osismi, Veneti, Lemovices, and Venelli.
[XXX milia] universis civitatibus, quae Oceanum attingunt quaeque eorum consuetudine Armoricae appellantur, quo sunt in numero Curiosolites, Redones, Ambibarii, Caletes, Osismi, Veneti, Lemovices, Venelli.
Of these the Bellovaci did not complete their number, because they said they would wage war with the Romans in their own name and at their own discretion and would not obey anyone’s command; asked, however, by Commius, for his guest-friendship, they sent two thousand along with the rest.
Ex his Bellovaci suum numerum non compleverunt, quod se suo nomine atque arbitrio cum Romanis bellum gesturos dicebant neque cuiusquam imperio obtemperaturos; rogati tamen ab Commio pro eius hospitio duo milia una miserunt.
The service of this Commius, faithful and useful, Caesar had used in earlier years in Britain, as we have shown before; for which deserts Caesar had ordered his state to be exempt, had restored its rights and laws, and had assigned the Morini to him.
Huius opera Commi, ut antea demonstravimus, fideli atque utili superioribus annis erat usus in Britannia Caesar; quibus ille pro meritis civitatem eius immunem esse iusserat, iura legesque reddiderat atque ipsi Morinos attribuerat.
Yet so great was the agreement of all Gaul in claiming liberty and recovering its former glory in war that they were moved neither by kindnesses nor by the memory of friendship, and all leaned into that war with spirit and resources.
Tamen tanta universae Galliae consensio fuit libertatis vindicandae et pristinae belli laudis recuperandae, ut neque beneficiis neque amicitiae memoria moverentur, omnesque et animo et opibus in id bellum incumberent.
Eight thousand cavalry and about two hundred and fifty thousand infantry being gathered, these were reviewed in the borders of the Aedui, the number was taken, and prefects were appointed.
Coactis equitum VIII milibus et peditum circiter CCL haec in Aeduorum finibus recensebantur, numerusque inibatur, praefecti constituebantur.
To Commius the Atrebatian, to Viridomarus and Eporedorix the Aedui, and to Vercassivellaunus the Arvernian, cousin of Vercingetorix, the supreme command is handed. To these picked men from the states are assigned, by whose counsel the war should be conducted.
Commio Atrebati, Viridomaro et Eporedorigi Aeduis, Vercassivellauno Arverno, consobrino Vercingetorigis, summa imperi traditur. His delecti ex civitatibus attribuuntur, quorum consilio bellum administraretur.
All, eager and full of confidence, set out for Alesia,
Omnes alacres et fiduciae pleni ad Alesiam proficiscuntur,
nor was there anyone of them all who thought that even the sight of so great a multitude could be withstood, especially in a double battle, when there would be fighting by a sally from the town and outside such great forces of cavalry and infantry would be seen.
neque erat omnium quisquam qui aspectum modo tantae multitudinis sustineri posse arbitraretur, praesertim ancipiti proelio, cum ex oppido eruptione pugnaretur, foris tantae copiae equitatus peditatusque cernerentur.
But those who were besieged at Alesia, the day past on which they had awaited the aid of their own people, all the grain consumed, ignorant of what was being done among the Aedui, a council called together,
At ei, qui Alesiae obsidebantur praeterita die, qua auxilia suorum exspectaverant, consumpto omni frumento, inscii quid in Aeduis gereretur, concilio coacto
deliberated about the outcome of their fortunes. And, various opinions being spoken—of which part advised surrender, part a sally while their strength held out—the speech of Critognatus seems not to be passed over, on account of its singular and monstrous cruelty.
de exitu suarum fortunarum consultabant. Ac variis dictis sententiis, quarum pars deditionem, pars, dum vires suppeterent, eruptionem censebat, non praetereunda oratio Critognati videtur propter eius singularem et nefariam crudelitatem.
He, born in the highest station among the Arverni and held of great authority, said: "I shall say nothing about the opinion of those who call the most shameful slavery by the name of surrender, and I judge that these are neither to be held in the place of citizens nor to be admitted to the council.
Hic summo in Arvernis ortus loco et magnae habitus auctoritatis, "Nihil," inquit, "de eorum sententia dicturus sum, qui turpissimam servitutem deditionis nomine appellant, neque hos habendos civium loco neque ad concilium adhibendos censeo.
Let my dealing be with those who approve a sally; in whose counsel, by the consent of all of you, the memory of our former valor seems to reside. It is softness of spirit,
Cum his mihi res sit, qui eruptionem probant; quorum in consilio omnium vestrum consensu pristinae residere virtutis memoria videtur. Animi est ista mollitia,
not valor, not to be able to bear want for a little while. Those who offer themselves of their own accord to death are more easily found than those who bear pain patiently.
non virtus, paulisper inopiam ferre non posse. Qui se ultro morti offerant facilius reperiuntur quam qui dolorem patienter ferant.
And I would approve this opinion—so much does dignity weigh with me—if I saw no loss being made except of our own life:
Atque ego hanc sententiam probarem (tantum apud me dignitas potest), si nullam praeterquam vitae nostrae iacturam fieri viderem:
but in taking a plan let us look to all Gaul, which we have roused to our aid.
sed in consilio capiendo omnem Galliam respiciamus, quam ad nostrum auxilium concitavimus.
What spirit do you think there will be in our kinsmen and blood-relations, eighty thousand men killed in one place, if they are forced to fight the decisive battle almost upon the very corpses?
Quid hominum milibus LXXX uno loco interfectis propinquis consanguineisque nostris animi fore existimatis, si paene in ipsis cadaveribus proelio decertare cogentur?
Do not strip of your aid these men who for the sake of your safety have neglected their own danger, nor by your folly and rashness or weakness of spirit lay all Gaul low and subject it to perpetual slavery.
Nolite hos vestro auxilio exspoliare, qui vestrae salutis causa suum periculum neglexerunt, nec stultitia ac temeritate vestra aut animi imbecillitate omnem Galliam prosternere et perpetuae servituti subicere.
Or, because they have not come on the day, do you doubt their faith and constancy? What then? Do you think the Romans are exercised daily in those outer fortifications for amusement’s sake?
An, quod ad diem non venerunt, de eorum fide constantiaque dubitatis? Quid ergo? Romanos in illis ulterioribus munitionibus animine causa cotidie exerceri putatis?
If you cannot be assured by their messages, every approach being barred, use these as witnesses that their coming draws near; in fear of which, terrified, they spend day and night at the work.
Si illorum nuntiis confirmari non potestis omni aditu praesaepto, his utimini testibus appropinquare eorum adventum; cuius rei timore exterriti diem noctemque in opere versantur.
What then is my counsel? To do what our forefathers did in the war—by no means an equal one—with the Cimbri and Teutones; who, driven into their towns and subdued by a like want, sustained life on the bodies of those who by age seemed useless for war, and did not surrender themselves to the enemy.
quid ergo mei consili est? Facere, quod nostri maiores nequaquam pari bello Cimbrorum Teutonumque fecerunt; qui in oppida compulsi ac simili inopia subacti eorum corporibus qui aetate ad bellum inutiles videbantur vitam toleraverunt neque se hostibus tradiderunt.
And if we had no precedent of this, yet I would judge it most noble, for the sake of liberty, that one be established and handed down to posterity.
cuius rei si exemplum non haberemus, tamen libertatis causa institui et posteris prodi pulcherrimum iudicarem.
For what was like that war? Gaul laid waste, the Cimbri, a great calamity inflicted, at length withdrew from our borders and sought other lands; they left us our rights, laws, fields, and liberty.
nam quid illi simile bello fuit? Depopulata Gallia Cimbri magnaque illata calamitate finibus quidem nostris aliquando excesserunt atque alias terras petierunt; iura, leges, agros, libertatem nobis reliquerunt.
But the Romans—what else do they seek or what do they wish, except, led by envy, to settle in the fields and states of those whom by repute they have known noble and powerful in war, and to fasten on these an eternal slavery? For on no other terms have they ever waged wars.
Romani vero quid petunt aliud aut quid volunt, nisi invidia adducti, quos fama nobiles potentesque bello cognoverunt, horum in agris civitatibusque considere atque his aeternam iniungere servitutem? Neque enim ulla alia condicione bella gesserunt.
And if you do not know what is done among distant nations, look to neighboring Gaul, which, reduced into a province, its rights and laws changed, subjected to the axes, is pressed by perpetual slavery."
Quod si ea quae in longinquis nationibus geruntur ignoratis, respicite finitimam Galliam, quae in provinciam redacta iure et legibus commutatis securibus subiecta perpetua premitur servitute."
The opinions spoken, they decide that those who are useless for war by health or age leave the town, and try everything before they come down to the opinion of Critognatus:
Sententiis dictis constituunt ut ei qui valetudine aut aetate inutiles sunt bello oppido excedant, atque omnia prius experiantur, quam ad Critognati sententiam descendant:
that nevertheless that counsel should rather be used, if the situation compels and the auxiliaries delay, than that the condition either of surrender or of peace be submitted to.
illo tamen potius utendum consilio, si res cogat atque auxilia morentur, quam aut deditionis aut pacis subeundam condicionem.
The Mandubii, who had received them into the town, are forced to go out with their children and wives. These, when they had come to the Romans’ fortifications,
Mandubii, qui eos oppido receperant, cum liberis atque uxoribus exire coguntur. Hi, cum ad munitiones Romanorum accessissent,
weeping, begged with every prayer that the Romans take them into slavery and help them with food.
flentes omnibus precibus orabant, ut se in servitutem receptos cibo iuvarent.
But Caesar, guards posted on the rampart, forbade them to be received.
At Caesar dispositis in vallo custodibus recipi prohibebat.
Meanwhile Commius and the other leaders to whom the supreme command had been entrusted reach Alesia with all their forces and, the outer hill occupied, settle not more than a mile from our fortifications.
Interea Commius reliquique duces quibus summa imperi permissa erat cum omnibus copiis ad Alesiam perveniunt et colle exteriore occupato non longius mille passibus ab nostris munitionibus considunt.
The next day, the cavalry led out from the camp, they fill all that plain which we have shown extends three miles in length, and post the infantry forces, withdrawn a little from that place, on the higher ground.
Postero die equitatu ex castris educto omnem eam planitiem, quam in longitudinem tria milia passuum patere demonstravimus, complent pedestresque copias paulum ab eo loco abditas in locis superioribus constituunt.
There was a view down from the town of Alesia into the plain. They run together at the sight of these auxiliaries; there is congratulation among them, and the spirits of all are stirred to gladness.
Erat ex oppido Alesia despectus in campum. Concurrunt his auxiliis visis; fit gratulatio inter eos, atque omnium animi ad laetitiam excitantur.
And so, the forces led out, they settle before the town, cover the nearest ditch with wickerwork and fill it with earth, and make ready for a sally and all chances.
Itaque productis copiis ante oppidum considunt et proximam fossam cratibus integunt atque aggere explent seque ad eruptionem atque omnes casus comparant.
Caesar, the whole army disposed along both sides of the fortifications, so that, if need came, each might hold and know his own place, orders the cavalry led out of the camp and battle joined.
Caesar omni exercitu ad utramque partem munitionum disposito, ut, si usus veniat, suum quisque locum teneat et noverit, equitatum ex castris educi et proelium committi iubet.
There was a view down from all the camps, which held the highest ridge on every side, and all the soldiers, intent, awaited the outcome of the fight.
Erat ex omnibus castris, quae summum undique iugum tenebant, despectus, atque omnes milites intenti pugnae proventum exspectabant.
The Gauls had set among the cavalry scattered archers and light-armed skirmishers, to come to the aid of their men as they gave way and to withstand the charges of our cavalry. By these several were unexpectedly wounded and withdrew from the fight.
Galli inter equites raros sagittarios expeditosque levis armaturae interiecerant, qui suis cedentibus auxilio succurrerent et nostrorum equitum impetus sustinerent. Ab his complures de improviso vulnerati proelio excedebant.
When the Gauls trusted that their men were superior in the fight and saw ours pressed by numbers, on all sides both those who were shut in by the fortifications and those who had come to their aid steadied the spirits of their men with shouting and howling.
Cum suos pugna superiores esse Galli confiderent et nostros multitudine premi viderent, ex omnibus partibus et ei qui munitionibus continebantur et hi qui ad auxilium convenerant clamore et ululatu suorum animos confirmabant.
Because the matter was carried on in the sight of all, and neither a deed done rightly nor one shamefully could be hidden, both desire of praise and fear of disgrace stirred both sides to valor.
Quod in conspectu omnium res gerebatur neque recte ac turpiter factum celari poterat, utrosque et laudis cupiditas et timor ignominiae ad virtutem excitabant.
When the battle was fought with doubtful victory from midday almost to sunset, the Germans, in one quarter, their squadrons packed close, made a charge against the enemy and drove them back;
Cum a meridie prope ad solis occasum dubia victoria pugnaretur, Germani una in parte confertis turmis in hostes impetum fecerunt eosque propulerunt;
these being thrown into flight, the archers were surrounded and killed.
quibus in fugam coniectis sagittarii circumventi interfectique sunt.
Likewise from the other quarters our men, pursuing the retreating right up to the camp, gave them no chance of rallying.
Item ex reliquis partibus nostri cedentes usque ad castra insecuti sui colligendi facultatem non dederunt.
But those who had advanced from Alesia, dejected, victory almost despaired of, withdrew into the town.
At ei qui ab Alesia processerant maesti prope victoria desperata se in oppidum receperunt.
One day passed, and in this space a great number of wickerwork, ladders, and grappling-hooks being made, the Gauls, going out from the camp in silence at midnight, approach the fortifications on the plain.
Vno die intermisso Galli atque hoc spatio magno cratium, scalarum, harpagonum numero effecto media nocte silentio ex castris egressi ad campestres munitiones accedunt.
A shout suddenly raised—by which signal those who were besieged in the town could learn of their coming—they begin to throw the wickerwork, to drive our men from the rampart with slings, arrows, and stones, and to manage the rest that pertains to an assault.
Subito clamore sublato, qua significatione qui in oppido obsidebantur de suo adventu cognoscere possent, crates proicere, fundis, sagittis, lapidibus nostros de vallo proturbare reliquaque quae ad oppugnationem pertinent parant administrare.
At the same time, the shout heard, Vercingetorix gives the signal to his men with the trumpet and leads them out of the town.
Eodem tempore clamore exaudito dat tuba signum suis Vercingetorix atque ex oppido educit.
Our men, as on the earlier days, each to his assigned place, approach the fortifications; with pound-weight slings, the stakes they had set out at the work, and bullets, they frighten off the Gauls.
Nostri, ut superioribus diebus, ut cuique erat locus attributus, ad munitiones accedunt; fundis librilibus sudibusque quas in opere disposuerant ac glandibus Gallos proterrent.
The view being taken away by the darkness, many wounds are received on both sides. Many weapons are hurled by the artillery.
Prospectu tenebris adempto multa utrimque vulnera accipiuntur. Complura tormentis tela coniciuntur.
But the legates Marcus Antonius and Gaius Trebonius, to whom these parts had fallen for defending, wherever they understood our men were pressed, brought up men drawn off from the more distant forts to their aid.
At Marcus Antonius et Gaius Trebonius legati, quibus hae partes ad defendendum obvenerant, qua ex parte nostros premi intellexerant, his auxilio ex ulterioribus castellis deductos summittebant.
While the Gauls were farther from the fortification, they accomplished more by the multitude of their weapons; after they came up nearer, either they unexpectedly impaled themselves on the spurs, or, fallen into the pits, were pierced through, or, struck from the rampart and the towers with mural pikes, perished.
Dum longius ab munitione aberant Galli, plus multitudine telorum proficiebant; posteaquam propius successerunt, aut se stimulis inopinantes induebant aut in scrobes delati transfodiebantur aut ex vallo ac turribus traiecti pilis muralibus interibant.
Many wounds received on all sides, no fortification broken through, when daylight drew near, fearing they might be surrounded on the open flank by a sally from the higher camp, they withdrew to their own.
Multis undique vulneribus acceptis nulla munitione perrupta, cum lux appeteret, veriti ne ab latere aperto ex superioribus castris eruptione circumvenirentur, se ad suos receperunt.
But the inner ones, while they bring forward what had been prepared by Vercingetorix for the sally and fill in the first ditches, having delayed too long in managing these things, learned that their own men had withdrawn before they could draw near the fortifications. So, the matter unaccomplished, they returned into the town.
At interiores, dum ea quae a Vercingetorige ad eruptionem praeparata erant proferunt, priores fossas explent, diutius in his rebus administrandis morati prius suos discessisse cognoverunt, quam munitionibus appropinquarent. Ita re infecta in oppidum reverterunt.
Twice repelled with great loss, the Gauls take counsel what to do; they call in men acquainted with the ground: from these they learn the situation and fortifications of the upper camps.
Bis magno cum detrimento repulsi Galli quid agant consulunt; locorum peritos adhibent: ex his superiorum castrorum situs munitionesque cognoscunt.
There was on the north a hill which, on account of the size of its circuit, our men had not been able to take into the works: of necessity they had made a camp on almost unfavorable and gently sloping ground.
Erat a septentrionibus collis, quem propter magnitudinem circuitus opere circumplecti non potuerant nostri: necessario paene iniquo loco et leniter declivi castra fecerunt.
This the legates Gaius Antistius Reginus and Gaius Caninius Rebilus held with two legions.
Haec Gaius Antistius Reginus et Gaius Caninius Rebilus legati cum duabus legionibus obtinebant.
The regions learned through scouts, the enemy’s leaders choose sixty thousand from the whole number of those states which had the greatest reputation for valor;
Cognitis per exploratores regionibus duces hostium LX milia ex omni numero deligunt earum civitatum quae maximam virtutis opinionem habebant;
they secretly settle among themselves what is to be done and in what manner; they fix the time of approach for when it should seem to be midday.
quid quoque pacto agi placeat occulte inter se constituunt; adeundi tempus definiunt, cum meridies esse videatur.
Over these forces they set Vercassivellaunus the Arvernian, one of the four leaders, a kinsman of Vercingetorix.
His copiis Vercassivellaunum Arvernum, unum ex quattuor ducibus, propinquum Vercingetorigis, praeficiunt.
He, going out of the camp at the first watch, his march nearly finished toward dawn, hid himself behind a mountain and ordered the soldiers to refresh themselves from the night’s toil.
Ille ex castris prima vigilia egressus prope confecto sub lucem itinere post montem se occultavit militesque ex nocturno labore sese reficere iussit.
When midday now seemed to draw near, he hastened to that camp which we have shown above; and at the same time the cavalry began to approach the fortifications on the plain and the rest of the forces to show themselves before the camp.
Cum iam meridies appropinquare videretur, ad ea castra quae supra demonstravimus contendit; eodemque tempore equitatus ad campestres munitiones accedere et reliquae copiae pro castris sese ostendere coeperunt.
Vercingetorix, having caught sight of his men from the citadel of Alesia, goes out of the town; he brings forward the wickerwork, long poles, sheds, grappling-hooks, and the rest that he had prepared for the sally.
Vercingetorix ex arce Alesiae suos conspicatus ex oppido egreditur; crates, longurios, musculos, falces reliquaque quae eruptionis causa paraverat profert.
There is fighting at one time in all places, and everything is tried: whatever part seemed least strong, there they run together.
Pugnatur uno tempore omnibus locis, atque omnia temptantur: quae minime visa pars firma est, huc concurritur.
The Roman force is stretched over such great fortifications and does not easily meet the enemy in several places.
Romanorum manus tantis munitionibus distinetur nec facile pluribus locis occurrit.
The shout that arose behind the backs of those fighting avails much to terrify our men, because they see that their own danger rests on another’s safety:
Multum ad terrendos nostros valet clamor, qui post tergum pugnantibus exstitit, quod suum periculum in aliena vident salute constare:
for generally all things that are out of sight disturb men’s minds the more violently.
omnia enim plerumque quae absunt vehementius hominum mentes perturbant.
Caesar, having got a suitable place, learns what is being done in each quarter; to those laboring he sends up support.
Caesar idoneum locum nactus quid quaque ex parte geratur cognoscit; laborantibus summittit.
It occurs to the minds of both sides that this is the one time at which it is fitting to strive most:
Vtrisque ad animum occurrit unum esse illud tempus, quo maxime contendi conveniat:
the Gauls, unless they break through the fortifications, despair of all safety; the Romans, if they hold the matter, look for an end of all their labors.
Galli, nisi perfregerint munitiones, de omni salute desperant; Romani, si rem obtinuerint, finem laborum omnium exspectant.
The hardest labor is at the upper fortifications, to which we have shown Vercassivellaunus was sent. The unfavorable slope of the ground toward the descent has great weight.
Maxime ad superiores munitiones laboratur, quo Vercassivellaunum missum demonstravimus. Iniquum loci ad declivitatem fastigium magnum habet momentum.
Some hurl weapons, others, a tortoise formed, come up; fresh men in turn relieve the wearied.
Alii tela coniciunt, alii testudine facta subeunt; defatigatis in vicem integri succedunt.
The earthwork thrown by all against the fortification both gives the Gauls an ascent and covers over what the Romans had hidden in the ground; and now neither arms nor strength suffice our men.
Agger ab universis in munitionem coniectus et ascensum dat Gallis et ea quae in terra occultaverant Romani contegit; nec iam arma nostris nec vires suppetunt.
These things learned, Caesar sends Labienus with six cohorts to the aid of those laboring:
His rebus cognitis Caesar Labienum cum cohortibus sex subsidio laborantibus mittit:
he orders him, if he could not hold out, the cohorts drawn off, to fight by a sally; this he should not do unless of necessity.
imperat, si sustinere non posset, deductis cohortibus eruptione pugnaret; id nisi necessario ne faciat.
He himself goes to the rest, exhorts them not to give way to the toil; he shows that the fruit of all the earlier struggles rests on that day and hour.
Ipse adit reliquos, cohortatur ne labori succumbant; omnium superiorum dimicationum fructum in eo die atque hora docet consistere.
The inner ones, despairing of the places on the plain on account of the size of the fortifications, try the steep places by ascent: here they bring what they had prepared.
Interiores desperatis campestribus locis propter magnitudinem munitionum loca praerupta ex ascensu temptant: huc ea quae paraverant conferunt.
With a multitude of weapons they dislodge those fighting from the towers, fill the ditches with earth and wickerwork, and tear away the rampart and breastwork with grappling-hooks.
Multitudine telorum ex turribus propugnantes deturbant, aggere et cratibus fossas explent, falcibus vallum ac loricam rescindunt.
Caesar sends first the young man Brutus with cohorts, then the legate Gaius Fabius with others; finally he himself, the fighting growing fiercer, leads fresh men to the support.
Mittit primo Brutum adulescentem cum cohortibus Caesar, post cum aliis Gaium Fabium legatum; postremo ipse, cum vehementius pugnaretur, integros subsidio adducit.
The battle restored and the enemy repelled, he hastens to where he had sent Labienus; he draws off four cohorts from the nearest fort, and orders part of the cavalry to follow him, part to ride round the outer fortifications and attack the enemy from the rear.
Restituto proelio ac repulsis hostibus eo quo Labienum miserat contendit; cohortes quattuor ex proximo castello deducit, equitum partem sequi, partem circumire exteriores munitiones et ab tergo hostes adoriri iubet.
Labienus, after neither the earthworks nor the ditches could withstand the force of the enemy, forty cohorts gathered together, which chance offered drawn off from the nearest guards, informs Caesar by messengers what he thinks must be done. Caesar hastens to take part in the battle.
Labienus, postquam neque aggeres neque fossae vim hostium sustinere poterant, coactis una XL cohortibus, quas ex proximis praesidiis deductas fors obtulit, Caesarem per nuntios facit certiorem quid faciendum existimet. Accelerat Caesar, ut proelio intersit.
His coming known from the color of his garment, which he was accustomed to use as a mark in battles, and the squadrons of cavalry and the cohorts seen which he had ordered to follow him—since from the higher ground these slopes and declivities were visible—the enemy join battle.
Eius adventu ex colore vestitus cognito, quo insigni in proeliis uti consuerat, turmisque equitum et cohortibus visis quas se sequi iusserat, ut de locis superioribus haec declivia et devexa cernebantur, hostes proelium committunt.
A shout being raised on both sides, the shout is taken up again from the rampart and all the fortifications. Our men, their pikes laid aside, carry on the matter with swords.
Vtrimque clamore sublato excipit rursus ex vallo atque omnibus munitionibus clamor. Nostri omissis pilis gladiis rem gerunt.
Suddenly the cavalry is seen behind their backs; other cohorts draw near. The enemy turn their backs; the cavalry meet them as they flee. There is great slaughter. Sedulius, leader and chief of the Lemovices, is killed;
Repente post tergum equitatus cernitur; cohortes aliae appropinquant. Hostes terga vertunt; fugientibus equites occurrunt. Fit magna caedes. Sedulius, dux et princeps Lemovicum, occiditur;
Vercassivellaunus the Arvernian is taken alive in flight; seventy-four military standards are brought back to Caesar: few out of so great a number withdraw unharmed into the camp.
Vercassivellaunus Arvernus vivus in fuga comprehenditur; signa militaria septuaginta quattuor ad Caesarem referuntur: pauci ex tanto numero se incolumes in castra recipiunt.
Having seen from the town the slaughter and flight of their men, safety despaired of, they draw their forces back from the fortifications.
Conspicati ex oppido caedem et fugam suorum desperata salute copias a munitionibus reducunt.
At once, this heard, there is a flight from the camp of the Gauls. And had the soldiers not been worn out by the frequent reinforcements and the labor of the whole day, all the enemy’s forces could have been destroyed.
Fit protinus hac re audita ex castris Gallorum fuga. Quod nisi crebris subsidiis ac totius diei labore milites essent defessi, omnes hostium copiae deleri potuissent.
The cavalry, sent out about midnight, overtakes the rearmost column: a great number is taken and killed; the rest, from the flight, depart into their states.
De media nocte missus equitatus novissimum agmen consequitur: magnus numerus capitur atque interficitur; reliqui ex fuga in civitates discedunt.
The next day Vercingetorix, a council called, shows that he had undertaken that war not for the sake of his own necessities,
Postero die Vercingetorix concilio convocato id bellum se suscepisse non suarum necessitatium,
but for the sake of the common liberty, and, since fortune must be yielded to, he offers himself to them for either course, whether they wished by his death to satisfy the Romans or to hand him over alive. Envoys are sent about these things to Caesar.
sed communis libertatis causa demonstrat, et quoniam sit fortunae cedendum, ad utramque rem se illis offerre, seu morte sua Romanis satisfacere seu vivum tradere velint. Mittuntur de his rebus ad Caesarem legati.
He orders the arms to be handed over, the chiefs to be brought forward.
Iubet arma tradi, principes produci.
He himself sat down in the fortification before the camp: there the leaders are brought forward; Vercingetorix is surrendered, the arms are thrown down.
Ipse in munitione pro castris consedit: eo duces producuntur; Vercingetorix deditur, arma proiciuntur.
The Aedui and Arverni being kept back, in case through them he could recover those states, of the remaining captives he distributed to the whole army one head each by way of plunder.
Reservatis Aeduis atque Arvernis, si per eos civitates reciperare posset, ex reliquis captivis toto exercitui capita singula praedae nomine distribuit.
These things finished, he sets out into the Aedui; he recovers the state.
His rebus confectis in Aeduos proficiscitur; civitatem recipit.
There envoys sent from the Arverni promise that they will do what he orders. He imposes a great number of hostages.
Eo legati ab Arvernis missi quae imperaret se facturos pollicentur. Imperat magnum numerum obsidum.
He sends the legions into winter quarters. About twenty thousand captives he gives back to the Aedui and the Arverni.
Legiones in hiberna mittit. Captivorum circiter viginti milia Aeduis Arvernisque reddit.
He orders Titus Labienus with two legions and the cavalry to set out into the Sequani: to him he assigns Marcus Sempronius Rutilus.
Titum Labienum duabus cum legionibus et equitatu in Sequanos proficisci iubet: huic Marcum Sempronium Rutilum attribuit.
The legate Gaius Fabius and Lucius Minucius Basilus with two legions he stations among the Remi, lest they suffer any calamity from their neighbors the Bellovaci.
Gaium Fabium legatum et Lucium Minucium Basilum cum legionibus duabus in Remis collocat, ne quam ab finitimis Bellovacis calamitatem accipiant.
Gaius Antistius Reginus he sends into the Ambivareti, Titus Sextius into the Bituriges, Gaius Caninius Rebilus into the Ruteni, with a single legion each.
Gaium Antistium Reginum in Ambivaretos, Titum Sextium in Bituriges, Gaium Caninium Rebilum in Rutenos cum singulis legionibus mittit.
Quintus Tullius Cicero and Publius Sulpicius he stations at Cabillonum and Matisco among the Aedui on the Saône for the sake of the grain supply. He himself decided to winter at Bibracte. These dispatches learned, a thanksgiving of twenty days is rendered at Rome.
Quintum Tullium Ciceronem et Publium Sulpicium Cabilloni et Matiscone in Aeduis ad Ararim rei frumentariae causa collocat. Ipse Bibracte hiemare constituit. His litteris cognitis Romae dierum viginti supplicatio redditur.
Compelled by your constant urging, Balbus—since my daily refusal seemed to hold not an excuse of difficulty but a plea against laziness—I have undertaken a most difficult task.
Coactus assiduis tuis vocibus, Balbe, cum cotidiana mea recusatio non difficultatis excusationem, sed inertiae videretur deprecationem habere, rem difficillimam suscepi.
I have woven together the commentaries of our Caesar on his deeds in Gaul, since his earlier and later writings did not match up, and the last, left unfinished from the deeds at Alexandria onward, I have completed down to the end—not of the civil discord, of which we see no end, but of Caesar’s life.
Caesaris nostri commentarios rerum gestarum Galliae, non comparantibus superioribus atque insequentibus eius scriptis, contexui novissimumque imperfectum ab rebus gestis Alexandriae confeci usque ad exitum non quidem civilis dissensionis, cuius finem nullum videmus, sed vitae Caesaris.
Would that those who read them could know how unwillingly I undertook the writing, that I might the more easily be free of the charge of folly and arrogance for having interposed myself in the midst of Caesar’s writings.
Quos utinam qui legent scire possint quam invitus susceperim scribendos, qua facilius caream stultitiae atque arrogantiae crimine, qui me mediis interposuerim Caesaris scriptis.
For it is agreed among all that nothing has been so laboriously finished by others which is not surpassed by the elegance of these commentaries:
Constat enim inter omnes nihil tam operose ab aliis esse perfectum, quod non horum elegantia commentariorum superetur:
which were published lest the knowledge of such great deeds be wanting to writers, and they are so approved by the judgment of all that the opportunity seems to have been snatched away from writers, not offered to them.
qui sunt editi, ne scientia tantarum rerum scriptoribus deesset, adeoque probantur omnium iudicio ut praerepta, non praebita, facultas scriptoribus videatur.
Yet our wonder at this is greater than that of the rest: for the others know how well and faultlessly, we know also how easily and quickly he finished them.
Cuius tamen rei maior nostra quam reliquorum est admiratio: ceteri enim, quam bene atque emendate, nos etiam, quam facile atque celeriter eos perfecerit scimus.
There was in Caesar both the greatest faculty and elegance of writing, and the truest knowledge of setting out his own plans.
Erat autem in Caesare cum facultas atque elegantia summa scribendi, tum verissima scientia suorum consiliorum explicandorum.
To me it did not even fall to take part in the Alexandrian and African wars; which wars, although they are in part known to us from Caesar’s conversation, yet we hear differently those things which take us by their novelty or wonder, and differently those which we are to speak as evidence.
Mihi ne illud quidem accidit, ut Alexandrino atque Africano bello interessem; quae bella quamquam ex parte nobis Caesaris sermone sunt nota, tamen aliter audimus ea, quae rerum novitate aut admiratione nos capiunt, aliter, quae pro testimonio sumus dicturi.
But I, doubtless, while I gather all the causes of excuse so as not to be compared with Caesar, incur this very charge of arrogance—that I think I could by anyone’s judgment be compared with Caesar. Farewell.
Sed ego nimirum, dum omnes excusationis causas colligo ne cum Caesare conferar, hoc ipsum crimen arrogantiae subeo, quod me iudicio cuiusquam existimem posse cum Caesare comparari. Vale.
All Gaul being conquered, since Caesar from the previous summer had let no time for war pass and wished to refresh the soldiers from such great toils by the rest of winter quarters, several states at the same time were reported to be renewing their plans of war and forming conspiracies.
Omni Gallia devicta Caesar cum a superiore aestate nullum bellandi tempus intermisisset militesque hibernorum quiete reficere a tantis laboribus vellet, complures eodem tempore civitates renovare belli consilia nuntiabantur coniurationesque facere.
A plausible cause of this was brought forward: that it was known to all the Gauls that neither could the Romans be resisted by any multitude gathered into one place, nor, if several states brought separate wars at the same time, would the army of the Roman people have enough aid or time or forces to pursue them all; and that no state ought to refuse its lot of misfortune, if by such delay the rest could claim themselves into liberty.
Cuius rei verisimilis causa adferebatur, quod Gallis omnibus cognitum esset neque ulla multitudine in unum locum coacta resisti posse Romanis, nec, si diversa bella complures eodem tempore intulissent civitates, satis auxili aut spati aut copiarum habiturum exercitum populi Romani ad omnia persequenda; non esse autem alicui civitati sortem incommodi recusandam, si tali mora reliquae possent se vindicare in libertatem.
That this opinion of the Gauls might not be strengthened, Caesar set Marcus Antonius the quaestor over his winter quarters; he himself, with a guard of cavalry, on the day before the Kalends of January, set out from the town of Bibracte to the Thirteenth Legion, which he had stationed not far from the borders of the Aedui in the borders of the Bituriges, and joins to it the Eleventh Legion, which had been nearest.
Quae ne opinio Gallorum confirmaretur, Caesar Marcum Antonium quaestorem suis praefecit hibernis; ipse equitum praesidio pridie Kal. Ianuarias ab oppido Bibracte proficiscitur ad legionem XIII, quam non longe a finibus Aeduorum collocaverat in finibus Biturigum, eique adiungit legionem XI, quae proxima fuerat.
Two cohorts being left to guard the baggage, he leads the rest of the army into the most plentiful fields of the Bituriges, who, since they had broad borders and several towns, could not be held by the winter quarters of one legion from preparing war and making conspiracies.
Binis cohortibus ad impedimenta tuenda relictis reliquum exercitum in copiosissimos agros Biturigum inducit, qui, cum latos fines et complura oppida haberent, unius legionis hibernis non potuerint contineri quin bellum pararent coniurationesque facerent.
By the sudden arrival of Caesar it happened—what necessarily happens to the unprepared and scattered—that those tilling the fields without any fear were overwhelmed by the cavalry before they could flee into the towns.
Repentino adventu Caesaris accidit, quod imparatis disiectisque accidere fuit necesse, ut sine timore ullo rura colentes prius ab equitatu opprimerentur quam confugere in oppida possent.
For even that common sign of an enemy’s incursion, which is wont to be understood by the burning of buildings, had been removed by Caesar’s order, lest either the supply of forage and grain fail, if he wished to advance farther, or the enemy be frightened by the fires.
Namque etiam illud vulgare incursionis hostium signum, quod incendiis aedificiorum intellegi consuevit, Caesaris erat interdicto sublatum, ne aut copia pabuli frumentique, si longius progredi vellet, deficeretur, aut hostes incendiis terrerentur.
Many thousands of men captured, the Bituriges were terrified; those who had been able to escape the first arrival of the Romans had fled into the neighboring states, trusting either in private guest-friendships or in fellowship of plans.
Multis hominum milibus captis perterriti Bituriges; qui primum adventum potuerant effugere Romanorum, in finitimas civitates aut privatis hospitiis confisi aut societate consiliorum confugerant.
In vain: for Caesar by great marches meets them in all places and gives no state space for thinking about another’s safety rather than its own; by which speed he both kept his faithful friends and brought the wavering by terror to terms of peace.
Frustra: nam Caesar magnis itineribus omnibus locis occurrit nec dat ulli civitati spatium de aliena potius quam de domestica salute cogitandi; qua celeritate et fideles amicos retinebat et dubitantes terrore ad condiciones pacis adducebat.
Such a condition being set forth, the Bituriges, since they saw that by Caesar’s clemency a return into his friendship lay open, and that the neighboring states had given hostages without any penalty and been received into his protection, did the same.
Tali condicione proposita Bituriges, cum sibi viderent clementia Caesaris reditum patere in eius amicitiam finitimasque civitates sine ulla poena dedisse obsides atque in fidem receptas esse, idem fecerunt.
Caesar promises the soldiers, for so great toil and endurance—who in the winter days, on most difficult marches, in unbearable cold, had most zealously persisted in their labor—two hundred sesterces each, and the centurions so many thousands of coin, by way of plunder; and, the legions sent back into winter quarters, he himself withdraws to Bibracte on the fortieth day.
Caesar militibus pro tanto labore ac patientia, qui brumalibus diebus itineribus difficillimis, frigoribus intolerandis studiosissime permanserant in labore, ducenos sestertios, centurionibus tot milia nummum praedae nomine condonanda pollicetur legionibusque in hiberna remissis ipse se recipit die XXXX Bibracte.
There, while he was administering justice, the Bituriges send envoys to him to seek aid against the Carnutes, of whom they complained that they had brought war upon them.
Ibi cum ius diceret, Bituriges ad eum legatos mittunt auxilium petitum contra Carnutes, quos intulisse bellum sibi querebantur.
This learned, though he had stayed not more than eighteen days in winter quarters, he leads the Fourteenth and Sixth Legions out of winter quarters from the Saône—which, it was shown in the earlier commentary, had been stationed there for the sake of arranging the grain supply: thus with two legions he sets out to pursue the Carnutes.
Qua re cognita, cum dies non amplius decem et octo in hibernis esset moratus, legiones XIIII et VI ex hibernis ab Arare educit, quas ibi collocatas explicandae rei frumentariae causa superiore commentario demonstratum est: ita cum duabus legionibus ad persequendos Carnutes proficiscitur.
When the report of the army had been carried to the enemy, the Carnutes, led by the disaster of the others, the villages and towns abandoned—which they were inhabiting in small buildings hastily set up for the necessity of getting through the winter, for, lately conquered, they had given up several towns—flee scattered.
Cum fama exercitus ad hostes esset perlata, calamitate ceterorum ducti Carnutes desertis vicis oppidisque, quae tolerandae hiemis causa constitutis repente exiguis ad necessitatem aedificiis incolebant (nuper enim devicti complura oppida dimiserant), dispersi profugiunt.
Caesar, unwilling that the soldiers undergo the very fierce storms that broke out chiefly at that time, pitches camp in Cenabum, a town of the Carnutes, and packs the soldiers into the houses, partly of the Gauls, partly such as had been built up with thatch hastily thrown on to cover the tents.
Caesar erumpentes eo maxime tempore acerrimas tempestates cum subire milites nollet, in oppido Carnutum Cenabo castra ponit atque in tecta partim Gallorum, partim quae coniectis celeriter stramentis tentoriorum integendorum gratia erant inaedificata, milites compegit.
The cavalry, however, and the auxiliary infantry he sends in all directions which the enemy were said to have made for; nor in vain:
Equites tamen et auxiliarios pedites in omnes partes mittit quascumque petisse dicebantur hostes; nec frustra:
for our men generally return having got great plunder. The Carnutes, overwhelmed by the difficulty of the winter, by the terror of danger, when, driven from their roofs, they dared nowhere stay longer, and could not be sheltered by the protection of the woods in the harshest storms, scattered, a great part of their men lost, are dispersed into the neighboring states.
nam plerumque magna praeda potiti nostri revertuntur. Oppressi Carnutes hiemis difficultate, terrore periculi, cum tectis expulsi nullo loco diutius consistere auderent nec silvarum praesidio tempestatibus durissimis tegi possent, dispersi magna parte amissa suorum dissipantur in finitimas civitates.
Caesar, at the most difficult season of the year, since he thought it enough to scatter the gathering bands, lest any beginning of war arise, and held it explored, as far as was in reason, that no major war could be kindled toward the time of summer, stationed Gaius Trebonius with the two legions he had with him in winter quarters at Cenabum;
Caesar tempore anni difficillimo, cum satis haberet convenientes manus dissipare, ne quod initium belli nasceretur, quantumque in ratione esset, exploratum haberet sub tempus aestivorum nullum summum bellum posse conflari, Gaium Trebonium cum duabus legionibus, quas secum habebat, in hibernis Cenabi collocavit;
he himself, since by frequent embassies of the Remi he was informed that the Bellovaci, who surpassed all the Gauls and Belgae in glory of war, and the states neighboring to them, under the leadership of Correus the Bellovacan and Commius the Atrebatian, were making ready armies and gathering them into one place, to make an inroad with their whole multitude into the borders of the Suessiones, who had been assigned to the Remi, and judged that it pertained not only to his dignity but also to his safety that the allies who had deserved best of the republic should suffer no calamity,
ipse, cum crebris legationibus Remorum certior fieret Bellovacos, qui belli gloria Gallos omnes Belgasque praestabant, finitimasque his civitates duce Correo Bellovaco et Commio Atrebate exercitus comparare atque in unum locum cogere, ut omni multitudine in fines Suessionum, qui Remis erant attributi, facerent impressionem, pertinere autem non tantum ad dignitatem sed etiam ad salutem suam iudicaret nullam calamitatem socios optime de re publica meritos accipere,
he summons the Eleventh Legion again from winter quarters; he sends a letter, moreover, to Gaius Fabius, to lead the two legions he had into the borders of the Suessiones, and summons one of the two from Labienus.
legionem ex hibernis evocat rursus undecimam; litteras autem ad Gaium Fabium mittit, ut in fines Suessionum legiones duas quas habebat adduceret, alteramque ex duabus ab Labieno arcessit.
Thus, as far as the convenience of the winter quarters and the method of war demanded, by his own unceasing labor he laid the burden of the expeditions on the legions in turn.
Ita, quantum hibernorum opportunitas bellique ratio postulabat, perpetuo suo labore in vicem legionibus expeditionum onus iniungebat.
These forces gathered, he sets out against the Bellovaci, and, a camp pitched in their borders, sends squadrons of cavalry in all directions to catch some men from whom he might learn the enemy’s plans.
His copiis coactis ad Bellovacos proficiscitur castrisque in eorum finibus positis equitum turmas dimittit in omnes partes ad aliquos excipiendos ex quibus hostium consilia cognosceret.
The cavalry, their duty done, report that few had been found in the buildings, and these not such as had stayed to till the fields—for there had been a careful removal everywhere—but such as had been sent back for the sake of spying.
Equites officio functi renuntiant paucos in aedificiis esse inventos, atque hos, non qui agrorum colendorum causa remansissent (namque esse undique diligenter demigratum), sed qui speculandi causa essent remissi.
When Caesar asked of these in what place the multitude of the Bellovaci was and what their plan was, he found that all the Bellovaci who could bear arms had assembled into one place,
A quibus cum quaereret Caesar quo loco multitudo esset Bellovacorum quodve esset consilium eorum, inveniebat Bellovacos omnes qui arma ferre possent in unum locum convenisse,
and likewise the Ambiani, Aulerci, Caletes, Veliocasses, and Atrebates; that they had chosen a high place for a camp in a wood surrounded by marsh, and had brought all the baggage into the farther woods.
itemque Ambianos, Aulercos, Caletos, Veliocasses, Atrebatas; locum castris excelsum in silva circumdata palude delegisse, impedimenta omnia in ulteriores silvas contulisse.
That there were several chiefs, authors of the war, but that the multitude obeyed Correus most, because they had understood the name of the Roman people was the greatest hatred to him.
Complures esse principes belli auctores, sed multitudinem maxime Correo obtemperare, quod ei summo esse odio nomen populi Romani intellexissent.
That a few days before, Commius the Atrebatian had departed from this camp to bring up the auxiliaries of the Germans, whose nearness was close and whose multitude was boundless.
Paucis ante diebus ex his castris Atrebatem Commium discessisse ad auxilia Germanorum adducenda; quorum et vicinitas propinqua et multitudo esset infinita.
That the Bellovaci had moreover decided, by the consent of all the chiefs and with the utmost eagerness of the people, that if, as was said, Caesar came with three legions, they would offer themselves to fight, lest afterward they be forced to contend with his whole army on a more wretched and harder condition;
Constituisse autem Bellovacos omnium principum consensu, summa plebis cupiditate, si, ut diceretur, Caesar cum tribus legionibus veniret, offerre se ad dimicandum, ne miseriore ac duriore postea condicione cum toto exercitu decertare cogerentur;
but if he brought up greater forces, they would remain in the place they had chosen, and keep the Romans from foraging—which, on account of the season, was both scant and scattered—and from grain-gathering and the rest of supply, by ambushes.
si maiores copias adduceret, in eo loco permanere quem delegissent, pabulatione autem, quae propter anni tempus cum exigua tum disiecta esset, et frumentatione et reliquo commeatu ex insidiis prohibere Romanos.
When Caesar had learned this, several agreeing, and judged that the plans set forth were full of prudence and far removed from the rashness of barbarians, he resolved to attend to everything by which the enemy, despising his small number, might the sooner come forth into the line.
Quae Caesar consentientibus pluribus cum cognosset atque ea quae proponerentur consilia plena prudentiae longeque a temeritate barbarorum remota esse iudicaret, omnibus rebus inserviendum statuit, quo celerius hostis contempta sua paucitate prodiret in aciem.
For he had the oldest legions of singular valor, the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth, and the Eleventh of the highest promise and chosen youth, which, though now in its eighth campaign, had nevertheless not yet, in comparison with the rest, gained the same reputation of age and valor.
Singularis enim virtutis veterrimas legiones VII, VIII, VIIII habebat, summae spei delectaeque iuventutis XI, quae octavo iam stipendio tamen in collatione reliquarum nondum eandem vetustatis ac virtutis ceperat opinionem.
And so, a council called, all the things that had been reported to him set forth, he steadies the spirits of the multitude.
Itaque consilio advocato, rebus eis quae ad se essent delatae omnibus expositis animos multitudinis confirmat.
In case by chance he could entice the enemy to fight by the number of three legions, he arranged the order of the column so that the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth legions should go before all the baggage, then the column of all the baggage—which, however, was small, as it is wont to be on expeditions—should be closed by the Eleventh, lest the appearance of a greater multitude befall the enemy than they themselves had demanded.
Si forte hostes trium legionum numero posset elicere ad dimicandum, agminis ordinem ita constituit, ut legio septima, octava, nona ante omnia irent impedimenta, deinde omnium impedimentorum agmen, quod tamen erat mediocre, ut in expeditionibus esse consuevit, cogeret undecima, ne maioris multitudinis species accidere hostibus posset quam ipsi depoposcissent.
By this method, the column drawn up almost in a square, he leads the army into the enemy’s sight more quickly than was their expectation.
Hac ratione paene quadrato agmine instructo in conspectum hostium celerius opinione eorum exercitum adducit.
When the Gauls suddenly saw the legions, drawn up as if in line, approaching at a steady step—whose plans, full of confidence, had been carried to Caesar—whether through the danger of the contest, or through the sudden arrival, or through expectation of our plan, they draw up their forces before the camp and do not come down from the higher ground.
Cum repente instructas velut in acie certo gradu legiones accedere Galli viderent, quorum erant ad Caesarem plena fiduciae consilia perlata, sive certaminis periculo sive subito adventu sive exspectatione nostri consili copias instruunt pro castris nec loco superiore decedunt.
Caesar, although he had wished to fight, nevertheless, wondering at so great a multitude of the enemy, a valley intervening, deeper rather than wide, brings his camp up to the enemy’s camp.
Caesar, etsi dimicare optaverat, tamen admiratus tantam multitudinem hostium valle intermissa magis in altitudinem depressa quam late patente castra castris hostium confert.
This he orders fortified with a rampart twelve feet high, a breastwork built up in proportion to that height; a double ditch fifteen feet deep sunk with straight sides; frequent towers raised three stories high, joined with bridges thrown across and floored, whose fronts were fortified with a wicker breastwork; so that they might be defended from the enemy by a double ditch and a double line of defenders,
Haec imperat vallo pedum XII muniri, loriculam pro [hac] ratione eius altitudinis inaedificari; fossam duplicem pedum denum quinum lateribus deprimi directis; turres excitari crebras in altitudinem trium tabulatorum, pontibus traiectis constratisque coniungi, quorum frontes viminea loricula munirentur; ut ab hostibus duplici fossa, duplici propugnatorum ordine defenderentur,
of whom the one, from the bridges, the safer by its height, might hurl weapons the more boldly and far, the other, posted nearer the enemy on the very rampart, might be sheltered by the bridge from falling weapons. On the gates he set doors and higher towers.
quorum alter ex pontibus, quo tutior altitudine esset, hoc audacius longiusque permitteret tela, alter, qui propior hostem in ipso vallo collocatus esset, ponte ab incidentibus telis tegeretur. Portis fores altioresque turres imposuit.
Of this fortification the design was twofold. For he hoped that both the size of the works and his own apparent fear would bring confidence to the barbarians, and, when there was need to go farther to forage and gather grain, he saw that the camp could be defended by small forces by the fortification itself.
Huius munitionis duplex erat consilium. Namque et operum magnitudinem et timorem suum sperabat fiduciam barbaris allaturum, et cum pabulatum frumentatumque longius esset proficiscendum, parvis copiis castra munitione ipsa videbat posse defendi.
Meanwhile there was frequent skirmishing, a few running out on each side, between the two camps with the marsh between; which marsh, however, sometimes either our Gallic and German auxiliaries crossed and pursued the enemy more fiercely, or in turn the enemy, having crossed the same, drove our men farther back.
Interim crebro paucis utrimque procurrentibus inter bina castra palude interiecta contendebatur; quam tamen paludem nonnumquam aut nostra auxilia Gallorum Germanorumque transibant acriusque hostes insequebantur, aut vicissim hostes eadem transgressi nostros longius summovebant.
It happened, moreover, in the daily foragings—what necessarily happened, since forage was sought from scattered and far-apart buildings—that the foragers, dispersed in difficult places, were surrounded;
Accidebat autem cotidianis pabulationibus (id quod accidere erat necesse, cum raris disiectisque ex aedificiis pabulum conquireretur), ut impeditis locis dispersi pabulatores circumvenirentur;
which thing, although it brought our men a moderate loss of draft-animals and slaves, nevertheless stirred up foolish thoughts in the barbarians, and the more so because Commius, whom I have shown set out to summon the auxiliaries of the Germans, had come with cavalry; who, though they were not more than five hundred in number, the barbarians nevertheless leaned on at the arrival of the Germans.
quae res, etsi mediocre detrimentum iumentorum ac servorum nostris adferebat, tamen stultas cogitationes incitabat barbarorum, atque eo magis, quod Commius, quem profectum ad auxilia Germanorum arcessenda docui, cum equitibus venerat; qui, tametsi numero non amplius erant quingenti, tamen Germanorum adventu barbari nitebantur.
Caesar, when he noticed that the enemy held themselves for several days in a camp fortified by marsh and the nature of the place, and that their camp could not be assaulted without a ruinous battle nor the place enclosed with fortifications except by a larger army, sends a letter to Trebonius to summon as quickly as he could the Thirteenth Legion, which was wintering with the legate Titus Sextius among the Bituriges, and so to come to him with three legions by great marches;
Caesar, cum animadverteret hostem complures dies castris palude et loci natura munitis se tenere neque oppugnari castra eorum sine dimicatione perniciosa nec locum munitionibus claudi nisi a maiore exercitu posse, litteras ad Trebonium mittit, ut quam celerrime posset legionem XIII, quae cum T. Sextio legato in Biturigibus hiemabat, arcesseret atque ita cum tribus legionibus magnis itineribus ad se veniret;
he himself sends the cavalry, in turn, of the Remi and Lingones and the other states, of whom he had summoned a great number, as a guard for the foragings, to withstand the sudden incursions of the enemy.
ipse equites in vicem Remorum ac Lingonum reliquarumque civitatum, quorum magnum numerum evocaverat, praesidio pabulationibus mittit, qui subitas hostium incursiones sustinerent.
When this was done daily and now by habit the care was lessened—which generally happens through length of time—the Bellovaci, a picked band of infantry, the daily stations of our cavalry being known,
Quod cum cotidie fieret ac iam consuetudine diligentia minueretur, quod plerumque accidit diuturnitate, Bellovaci delecta manu peditum cognitis stationibus cotidianis equitum nostrorum
set ambushes in wooded places and send their cavalry to the same place the next day, first to entice our men, then to attack them when surrounded.
silvestribus locis insidias disponunt eodemque equites postero die mittunt, qui primum elicerent nostros, deinde circumventos aggrederentur.
The lot of this mischief fell to the Remi, to whom that day of performing the duty had come. For these, when they had suddenly noticed the enemy’s cavalry and, superior in number, had despised their small number, pursuing too eagerly, were surrounded on all sides by the infantry.
Cuius mali sors incidit Remis, quibus ille dies fungendi muneris obvenerat. Namque hi, cum repente hostium equites animadvertissent ac numero superiores paucitatem contempsissent, cupidius insecuti peditibus undique sunt circumdati.
Thrown into confusion by this, they withdrew more quickly than the custom of a cavalry battle bears, Vertiscus, the chief of the state and prefect of cavalry, being lost;
Quo facto perturbati celerius quam consuetudo fert equestris proeli se receperunt amisso Vertisco, principe civitatis, praefecto equitum;
who, though he could scarcely use a horse on account of his age, had nevertheless, by the custom of the Gauls, neither used the excuse of age in taking up the prefecture, nor wished the fighting to be done without him.
qui cum vix equo propter aetatem posset uti, tamen consuetudine Gallorum neque aetatis excusatione in suscipienda praefectura usus erat neque dimicari sine se voluerat.
The spirits of the enemy are puffed up and roused by the successful battle, the chief and prefect of the Remi killed,
Inflantur atque incitantur hostium animi secundo proelio, principe et praefecto Remorum interfecto,
and our men are warned by the loss to post their stations in more carefully explored places and to pursue the retreating enemy more moderately.
nostrique detrimento admonentur diligentius exploratis locis stationes disponere ac moderatius cedentem insequi hostem.
The daily battles do not cease meanwhile, in the sight of both camps, which took place at the fords and crossings of the marsh.
Non intermittunt interim cotidiana proelia in conspectu utrorumque castrorum, quae ad vada transitusque fiebant paludis.
In which contest the Germans, whom Caesar had brought across the Rhine for this reason, that they might fight set among the cavalry, when they had all together crossed the marsh more steadily and, a few resisters killed, had pursued the rest of the multitude more stubbornly, not only those who were either overwhelmed at close quarters or wounded from afar, but even those who were accustomed to support from farther off, fled shamefully,
Qua contentione Germani, quos propterea Caesar traduxerat Rhenum ut equitibus interpositi proeliarentur, cum constantius universi paludem transissent paucisque resistentibus interfectis pertinacius reliquam multitudinem essent insecuti, perterriti non solum ei qui aut comminus opprimebantur aut eminus vulnerabantur, sed etiam qui longius subsidiari consuerant, turpiter refugerunt,
nor did they make an end of flight before, the higher ground often abandoned, they either withdrew into the camp of their own men, or some, compelled by shame, fled farther.
nec prius finem fugae fecerunt saepe amissis superioribus locis quam se aut in castra suorum reciperent, aut nonnulli pudore coacti longius profugerent.
By the danger of these, all the forces were so thrown into confusion that it could scarcely be judged whether they were more insolent in successful and trifling affairs or more timid in a moderate reverse.
Quorum periculo sic omnes copiae sunt perturbatae ut vix iudicari posset, utrum secundis minimisque rebus insolentiores an adverso mediocri casu timidiores essent.
Several days spent in the same camp, when they had learned that the legions and the legate Gaius Trebonius had come nearer, the leaders of the Bellovaci, fearing a siege like that of Alesia, send away by night those whom they had inferior in age or strength, or unarmed, and with them the remaining baggage.
Compluribus diebus isdem in castris consumptis, cum propius accessisse legiones et Gaium Trebonium legatum cognossent, duces Bellovacorum veriti similem obsessionem Alesiae noctu dimittunt eos quos aut aetate aut viribus inferiores aut inermes habebant, unaque reliqua impedimenta.
While they unfold their disordered and confused column—for a great multitude of carts is wont to follow the Gauls even when in light order—overtaken by daylight, they draw up their armed forces before their camp, lest the Romans begin to pursue them before the column of their baggage had advanced farther.
Quorum perturbatum et confusum dum explicant agmen (magna enim multitudo carrorum etiam expeditos sequi Gallos consuevit), oppressi luce copias armatorum pro suis instruunt castris, ne prius Romani persequi se inciperent quam longius agmen impedimentorum suorum processisset.
But Caesar judged neither that they should be attacked, as they resisted, up so great an ascent of the hill, nor that the legions should not be brought up so far that the barbarians could not depart from that place without danger, the soldiers pressing on.
At Caesar neque resistentes adgrediendos tanto collis ascensu iudicabat, neque non usque eo legiones admovendas ut discedere ex eo loco sine periculo barbari militibus instantibus non possent.
So, when he saw that the camps were divided from the camps by an impassable marsh, the difficulty of crossing which could slow the speed of pursuit, and noticed that the ridge which stretched across the marsh almost to the enemy’s camp was cut off from their camp by a moderate valley, bridges laid over the marsh, he leads the legions across and quickly reaches the top of the plain of the ridge, which was fortified by a sloping incline on two sides.
Ita, cum palude impedita a castris castra dividi videret, quae transeundi difficultas celeritatem insequendi tardare posset, atque id iugum quod trans paludem paene ad hostium castra pertineret mediocri valle a castris eorum intercisum animum adverteret, pontibus palude constrata legiones traducit celeriterque in summam planitiem iugi pervenit, quae declivi fastigio duobus ab lateribus muniebatur.
There, the legions drawn up, he reaches the farthest ridge and draws up his line in that place from which weapons hurled by artillery could be thrown into the enemy’s wedges.
Ibi legionibus instructis ad ultimum iugum pervenit aciemque eo loco constituit unde tormento missa tela in hostium cuneos conici possent.
The barbarians, trusting in the nature of the place, since they would not refuse to fight if by chance the Romans tried to come up the hill, and could not send away their forces, distributed little by little, lest, dispersed, they be thrown into confusion, remained in line.
Barbari confisi loci natura, cum dimicare non recusarent, si forte Romani subire collem conarentur, paulatim copias distributas dimittere non possent, ne dispersi perturbarentur, in acie permanserunt.
Their stubbornness known, Caesar, twenty cohorts drawn up and a camp measured out in that place, orders the camp to be fortified.
Quorum pertinacia cognita Caesar XX cohortibus instructis castrisque eo loco metatis muniri iubet castra.
The works completed, he posts the legions drawn up before the rampart and stations the cavalry, their horses bridled, on guard.
Absolutis operibus pro vallo legiones instructas collocat, equites frenatis equis in statione disponit.
The Bellovaci, when they saw the Romans ready to pursue, and could neither pass the night nor stay longer in the same place without danger, took such a plan of withdrawing themselves.
Bellovaci, cum Romanos ad insequendum paratos viderent neque pernoctare aut diutius permanere sine periculo eodem loco possent, tale consilium sui recipiendi ceperunt.
The bundles where they had been sitting—for it has been declared in Caesar’s earlier commentaries that the Gauls are accustomed to sit in line—of straw and brushwood, of which there was the greatest supply in the camp, passed from hand to hand, they placed before their line, and at the last hour of the day, the signal proclaimed, set them all on fire at one time.
Fasces, ubi consederant (namque in acie sedere Gallos consuesse superioribus commentariis Caesaris declaratum est), per manus stramentorum ac virgultorum, quorum summa erat in castris copia, inter se traditos ante aciem collocarunt extremoque tempore diei signo pronuntiato uno tempore incenderunt.
Thus a continuous flame suddenly hid all their forces from the sight of the Romans. When this happened, the barbarians fled away at a very violent run.
Ita continens flamma copias omnes repente a conspectu texit Romanorum. Quod ubi accidit, barbari vehementissimo cursu refugerunt.
Caesar, although he could not notice the enemy’s departure for the fires set against him, nevertheless, suspecting that this plan had been entered on for the sake of flight, advances the legions and sends squadrons to pursue; he himself, fearing an ambush, lest by chance the enemy try to halt in the same place and entice our men onto unfavorable ground, proceeds more slowly.
Caesar, etsi discessum hostium animadvertere non poterat incendiis oppositis, tamen id consilium cum fugae causa initum suspicaretur, legiones promovet, turmas mittit ad insequendum; ipse veritus insidias, ne forte in eodem loco subsistere hostis atque elicere nostros in locum conaretur iniquum, tardius procedit.
The cavalry, since they feared to enter the smoke and the densest flame, and, if any entered too eagerly, scarcely noticed even the front parts of their own horses, fearing an ambush, gave the Bellovaci free opportunity of withdrawing themselves.
Equites cum intrare fumum et flammam densissimam timerent ac, si qui cupidius intraverant, vix suorum ipsi priores partes animadverterent equorum, insidias veriti liberam facultatem sui recipiendi Bellovacis dederunt.
So, the flight full of fear and of cunning at once, with no loss, the enemy, having advanced not more than ten miles, pitched camp in a most fortified place.
Ita fuga timoris simul calliditatisque plena sine ullo detrimento milia non amplius decem progressi hostes loco munitissimo castra posuerunt.
From there, since they often posted cavalry and infantry in ambush, they inflicted great losses on the Romans in the foragings.
Inde cum saepe in insidiis equites peditesque disponerent, magna detrimenta Romanis in pabulationibus inferebant.
When this happened more often, Caesar learned from a certain captive that Correus, the leader of the Bellovaci, had chosen six thousand of the bravest infantry and a thousand cavalry from the whole number, whom he would place in ambush in that place to which he suspected the Romans would send men on account of the supply of grain and forage.
Quod cum crebrius accideret, ex captivo quodam comperit Caesar Correum, Bellovacorum ducem, fortissimorum milia sex peditum delegisse equitesque ex omni numero mille, quos in insidiis eo loco collocaret, quem in locum propter copiam frumenti ac pabuli Romanos missuros suspicaretur.
This plan known, he leads out more legions than he was wont and sends ahead the cavalry, which he was accustomed to send as a guard for the foragers: with this he sets light-armed auxiliaries; he himself with the legions approaches as near as he can.
Quo cognito consilio legiones plures quam solebat educit equitatumque, qua consuetudine pabulatoribus mittere praesidio consuerat, praemittit: huic interponit auxilia levis armaturae; ipse cum legionibus quam potest maxime appropinquat.
The enemy, posted in ambush, since they had chosen for themselves for the action a plain extending no more than a mile in all directions, fortified on every side by woods or a most impassable river, surrounded it with their ambush as with a hunting-net.
Hostes in insidiis dispositi, cum sibi delegissent campum ad rem gerendam non amplius patentem in omnes partes passibus mille, silvis undique aut impeditissimo flumine munitum, velut indagine hunc insidiis circumdederunt.
The enemy’s plan explored, our men, ready in spirit and arms for fighting, since with the legions following close they refused no battle, came down into that place squadron by squadron.
Explorato hostium consilio nostri ad proeliandum animo atque armis parati, cum subsequentibus legionibus nullam dimicationem recusarent, turmatim in eum locum devenerunt.
At their arrival, when Correus thought the chance of action offered to him, he first showed himself with a few and made a charge on the nearest squadrons.
Quorum adventu cum sibi Correus oblatam occasionem rei gerendae existimaret, primum cum paucis se ostendit atque in proximas turmas impetum fecit.
Our men steadily withstand the onset of the ambushers and do not gather more into one place; which generally happens in cavalry battles—when, on account of some fear, loss is suffered by the very multitude of one’s own men.
Nostri constanter incursum sustinent insidiatorum neque plures in unum locum conveniunt; quod plerumque equestribus proeliis cum propter aliquem timorem accidit, tum multitudine ipsorum detrimentum accipitur.
While, the squadrons posted, they fought in turn in scattered groups and did not allow their men to be surrounded on the flanks, the rest burst out of the woods while Correus was fighting.
Cum dispositis turmis in vicem rari proeliarentur neque ab lateribus circumveniri suos paterentur, erumpunt ceteri Correo proeliante ex silvis.
A battle on different sides takes place with great struggle. When it had gone on longer with even fortune, a multitude of infantry, drawn up, advances little by little from the woods, which forced our cavalry to give way. To these the light-armed infantry, whom I have shown were sent before the legions, quickly come to the aid, and, set among our squadrons, fight steadily.
Fit magna contentione diversum proelium. Quod cum diutius pari Marte iniretur, paulatim ex silvis instructa multitudo procedit peditum, quae nostros coegit cedere equites. Quibus celeriter subveniunt levis armaturae pedites, quos ante legiones missos docui, turmisque nostrorum interpositi constanter proeliantur.
There is fighting for some while with even struggle; then, as the method of the battle demanded, those who had withstood the first onsets of the ambush become superior by this very thing, that they had taken no loss from the ambushers while off their guard.
Pugnatur aliquamdiu pari contentione; deinde, ut ratio postulabat proeli, qui sustinuerant primos impetus insidiarum hoc ipso fiunt superiores, quod nullum ab insidiantibus imprudentes acceperant detrimentum.
The legions draw nearer meanwhile, and at the same time frequent messages are brought both to our men and to the enemy that the commander is at hand with his forces drawn up.
Accedunt propius interim legiones, crebrique eodem tempore et nostris et hostibus nuntii adferuntur, imperatorem instructis copiis adesse.
This known, our men, trusting in the protection of the cohorts, fight most fiercely, lest, if they did the thing too slowly, they should seem to have shared the glory of victory with the legions;
Qua re cognita praesidio cohortium confisi nostri acerrime proeliantur, ne, si tardius rem gessissent, victoriae gloriam communicasse cum legionibus viderentur;
the enemy’s spirits fall and they seek flight by different routes. In vain: for by the difficulties of the ground with which they had wished to shut the Romans in, they themselves were held.
hostes concidunt animis atque itineribus diversis fugam quaerunt. Nequiquam: nam quibus difficultatibus locorum Romanos claudere voluerant, eis ipsi tenebantur.
Conquered, however, and beaten, the greater part lost, dismayed, they flee, some making for the woods, some for the river—who, however, in flight are finished off by our men, who pursue fiercely—
Victi tamen perculsique maiore parte amissa consternati profugiunt partim silvis petitis, partim flumine (qui tamen in fuga a nostris acriter insequentibus conficiuntur),
while meanwhile Correus, conquered by no disaster, could neither be brought to leave the battle and make for the woods, nor, though our men invited him to surrender, be led to it, but, fighting most bravely and wounding several, forced the victors, raised by anger, to hurl their weapons at him.
cum interim nulla calamitate victus Correus excedere proelio silvasque petere aut invitantibus nostris ad deditionem potuit adduci, quin fortissime proeliando compluresque vulnerando cogeret elatos iracundia victores in se tela conicere.
The matter done in such fashion, Caesar, entering on the fresh traces of the battle, since he thought the enemy, conquered by so great a disaster, on receiving the news would abandon the place of their camp—which were said to be not more than about eight miles distant from that slaughter—although he saw the crossing impeded by the river, nevertheless, the army led across, advances.
Tali modo re gesta recentibus proeli vestigiis ingressus Caesar, cum victos tanta calamitate existimaret hostes nuntio accepto locum castrorum relicturos, quae non longius ab ea caede abesse plus minus octo milibus dicebantur, tametsi flumine impeditum transitum videbat, tamen exercitu traducto progreditur.
But the Bellovaci and the rest of the states, a few suddenly received back from the flight, and these wounded, who had escaped the disaster by the benefit of the woods, all things being adverse, the disaster learned, Correus killed, the cavalry and the bravest infantry lost, when they thought the Romans were drawing near, a council suddenly called together by the sound of trumpets, cry out that envoys and hostages be sent to Caesar.
At Bellovaci reliquaeque civitates repente ex fuga paucis atque his vulneratis receptis, qui silvarum beneficio casum evitaverant, omnibus adversis, cognita calamitate, interfecto Correo, amisso equitatu et fortissimis peditibus, cum adventare Romanos existimarent, concilio repente cantu tubarum convocato conclamant, legati obsidesque ad Caesarem mittantur.
This plan approved by all, Commius the Atrebatian flees to those Germans from whom he had borrowed auxiliaries for that war.
Hoc omnibus probato consilio Commius Atrebas ad eos confugit Germanos, a quibus ad id bellum auxilia mutuatus erat.
The rest send envoys to Caesar on the spot and ask that he be content with that punishment of the enemy which, if he could have inflicted it without a battle on them while whole, he would surely, for his clemency and humanity, never have inflicted.
Ceteri e vestigio mittunt ad Caesarem legatos petuntque, ut ea poena sit contentus hostium, quam si sine dimicatione inferre integris posset, pro sua clementia atque humanitate numquam profecto esset illaturus.
That the strength of the Bellovaci had been crushed by the cavalry battle; that many thousands of picked infantry had perished, that scarcely the messengers of the slaughter had escaped.
Adflictas opes equestri proelio Bellovacorum esse; delectorum peditum multa milia interisse, vix refugisse nuntios caedis.
That nevertheless the Bellovaci had gained from that battle a great advantage, considering so great a disaster, in that Correus, the author of the war, the rouser of the multitude, had been killed. For never, while he lived, had the senate had as much power in the state as the unskilled common people.
Tamen magnum ut in tanta calamitate Bellovacos eo proelio commodum esse consecutos, quod Correus, auctor belli, concitator multitudinis, esset interfectus. Numquam enim senatum tantum in civitate illo vivo quantum imperitam plebem potuisse.
To the envoys begging these things, Caesar recalls: That at the same time the year before the Bellovaci and the other states of Gaul had taken up war: that these of all had most stubbornly remained in their purpose and had not been brought to sanity by the surrender of the rest.
Haec orantibus legatis commemorat Caesar: Eodem tempore superiore anno Bellovacos ceterasque Galliae civitates suscepisse bellum: pertinacissime hos ex omnibus in sententia permansisse neque ad sanitatem reliquorum deditione esse perductos.
That he knew and understood that the cause of a fault was most easily fastened on the dead. But that no one had so much power that, against the will of the chiefs, with the senate resisting and all good men opposing, he could rouse and wage war with the weak hand of the common people. But that nevertheless he would be content with that punishment which they had drawn upon themselves.
Scire atque intellegere se causam peccati facillime mortuis delegari. Neminem vero tantum pollere, ut invitis principibus, resistente senatu, omnibus bonis repugnantibus infirma manu plebis bellum concitare et gerere posset. Sed tamen se contentum fore ea poena quam sibi ipsi contraxissent.
The next night the envoys carry the answers back to their people and prepare the hostages. The envoys of the rest of the states, which were watching the outcome of the Bellovaci, run together;
Nocte insequenti legati responsa ad suos referunt, obsides conficiunt. Concurrunt reliquarum civitatium legati, quae Bellovacorum speculabantur eventum;
they give hostages, do his commands, except Commius, whom fear forbade to entrust his safety to anyone’s good faith.
obsides dant, imperata faciunt excepto Commio, quem timor prohibebat cuiusquam fidei suam committere salutem.
For the year before, Titus Labienus, while Caesar was administering justice in Hither Gaul, when he had learned that Commius was inciting the states and making a conspiracy against Caesar, judged that his faithlessness could be checked without any treachery.
Nam superiore anno Titus Labienus, Caesare in Gallia citeriore ius dicente, cum Commium comperisset sollicitare civitates et coniurationem contra Caesarem facere, infidelitatem eius sine ulla perfidia iudicavit comprimi posse.
Because he did not think that, summoned, he would come into the camp, lest he make him more cautious by the attempt, he sent Gaius Volusenus Quadratus to take care, under pretense of a parley, that he be killed. For that purpose he hands him chosen suitable centurions.
Quem quia non arbitrabatur vocatum in castra venturum, ne temptando cautiorem faceret, Gaium Volusenum Quadratum misit, qui eum per simulationem colloqui curaret interficiendum. Ad eam rem delectos idoneos ei tradit centuriones.
When it had come to the parley, and, as had been agreed, Volusenus had seized Commius’s hand, the centurion, either disturbed by the unaccustomed thing or quickly hindered by Commius’s intimates, could not finish the man; nevertheless at the first blow he struck the head gravely with his sword.
Cum in colloquium ventum esset, et, ut convenerat, manum Commi Volusenus arripuisset, centurio vel insueta re permotus vel celeriter a familiaribus prohibitus Commi conficere hominem non potuit; graviter tamen primo ictu gladio caput percussit.
When swords had been drawn on both sides, the plan of both was not so much to fight as to flee apart: of our men, because they believed Commius affected with a mortal wound; of the Gauls, because, the ambush known, they dreaded more than they saw. After this deed Commius was said to have resolved never to come into the sight of any Roman.
Cum utrimque gladii destricti essent, non tam pugnandi quam diffugiendi fuit utrorumque consilium: nostrorum, quod mortifero vulnere Commium credebant adfectum; Gallorum, quod insidiis cognitis plura quam videbant extimescebant. Quo facto statuisse Commius dicebatur numquam in conspectum cuiusquam Romani venire.
The most warlike nations conquered, Caesar, when he saw that there was now no state that was preparing war to resist him, but that some were moving away from the towns, fleeing from the fields to avoid the present command, decided to send the army into several quarters.
Bellicosissimis gentibus devictis Caesar, cum videret nullam iam esse civitatem quae bellum pararet quo sibi resisteret, sed nonnullos ex oppidis demigrare, ex agris diffugere ad praesens imperium evitandum, plures in partes exercitum dimittere constituit.
He joins to himself the quaestor Marcus Antonius with the Twelfth Legion. He sends the legate Gaius Fabius with twenty-five cohorts into the most distant part of Gaul, because he heard that certain states there were in arms, and did not think that the legate Gaius Caninius Rebilus, who was in those regions, had two sufficiently strong legions.
M. Antonium quaestorem cum legione duodecima sibi coniungit. C. Fabium legatum cum cohortibus XXV mittit in diversissimam partem Galliae, quod ibi quasdam civitates in armis esse audiebat neque C. Caninium Rebilum legatum, qui in illis regionibus erat, satis firmas duas legiones habere existimabat.
Titus Labienus he summons to himself; the Fifteenth Legion, moreover, which had been with him in winter quarters, he sends into toga-clad Gaul to protect the colonies of Roman citizens, lest any like misfortune happen by an inroad of the barbarians, as had happened the previous summer to the people of Tergeste, who had been overwhelmed by their sudden raid and attack.
Titum Labienum ad se evocat; legionem autem XV, quae cum eo fuerat in hibernis, in togatam Galliam mittit ad colonias civium Romanorum tuendas, ne quod simile incommodum accideret decursione barbarorum ac superiore aestate Tergestinis acciderat, qui repentino latrocinio atque impetu illorum erant oppressi.
He himself sets out to lay waste and ravage the borders of Ambiorix; whom, terrified and fleeing, since he had despaired of being able to bring him back into his power, he reckoned it next to his dignity so to lay waste his borders—of inhabitants, buildings, and cattle—that, by the hatred of his own people, Ambiorix, if fortune had left any survivors, should have no return into the state on account of such great calamities.
Ipse ad vastandos depopulandosque fines Ambiorigis proficiscitur; quem perterritum ac fugientem cum redigi posse in suam potestatem desperasset, proximum suae dignitatis esse ducebat, adeo fines eius vastare civibus, aedificiis, pecore, ut odio suorum Ambiorix, si quos fortuna reliquos fecisset, nullum reditum propter tantas calamitates haberet in civitatem.
When he had sent into all parts of the borders of Ambiorix either legions or auxiliaries and had laid all waste with slaughter, fires, and plunder, a great number of men being killed or captured, he sends Labienus with two legions into the Treveri,
Cum in omnes partes finium Ambiorigis aut legiones aut auxilia dimisisset atque omnia caedibus, incendiis, rapinis vastasset, magno numero hominum interfecto aut capto Labienum cum duabus legionibus in Treveros mittit,
whose state, on account of the nearness of Germany, exercised by daily wars, differed not much from the Germans in manner of life and in fierceness, and never did his commands except when forced by an army.
quorum civitas propter Germaniae vicinitatem cotidianis exercitata bellis cultu et feritate non multum a Germanis differebat neque imperata umquam nisi exercitu coacta faciebat.
Meanwhile the legate Gaius Caninius, when he learned from the letters and messengers of Duratius—who had always remained in the friendship of the Romans, though a certain part of his state had revolted—that a great multitude of the enemy had assembled in the borders of the Pictones, hastened to the town of Lemonum.
When he was drawing near there and learned more surely from captives that Duratius was shut up in Lemonum and besieged by many thousands of men under Dumnacus, leader of the Andes, and did not dare commit his weak legions to the enemy, he pitched camp in a fortified place.
Quo cum adventaret atque ex captivis certius cognosceret multis hominum milibus a Dumnaco, duce Andium, Duratium clausum Lemoni oppugnari neque infirmas legiones hostibus committere auderet, castra posuit loco munito.
Dumnacus, when he learned that Caninius was approaching, all his forces turned toward the legions, resolved to assault the camp of the Romans.
Dumnacus, cum appropinquare Caninium cognosset, copiis omnibus ad legiones conversis castra Romanorum oppugnare instituit.
When he had spent several days in the assault and, with great loss of his men, could tear away no part of the fortifications, he returns again to besieging Lemonum.
Cum complures dies in oppugnatione consumpsisset et magno suorum detrimento nullam partem munitionum convellere potuisset, rursus ad obsidendum Lemonum redit.
At the same time the legate Gaius Fabius receives several states into his protection, secures them with hostages, and is informed by the letters of Gaius Caninius Rebilus what is being done among the Pictones.
Eodem tempore C. Fabius legatus complures civitates in fidem recipit, obsidibus firmat litterisque Gai Canini Rebili fit certior quae in Pictonibus gerantur.
These things learned, he sets out to bring aid to Duratius. But Dumnacus, Fabius’s coming learned, despairing of safety if at the same time he were forced both to withstand the Roman foreign enemy and to look back and fear the townsmen, suddenly withdraws from that place with his forces, and does not think he will be sufficiently safe unless he has led his forces across the river Loire, which had to be crossed by a bridge on account of its size.
Quibus rebus cognitis proficiscitur ad auxilium Duratio ferendum. At Dumnacus adventu Fabi cognito desperata salute, si tempore eodem coactus esset et Romanum externum sustinere hostem et respicere ac timere oppidanos, repente ex eo loco cum copiis recedit nec se satis tutum fore arbitratur, nisi flumine Ligeri, quod erat ponte propter magnitudinem transeundum, copias traduxisset.
Fabius, although he had not yet come into the enemy’s sight nor joined himself with Caninius, nevertheless, taught by those who knew the nature of the places, believed that the terrified enemy would most likely make for that place which they were making for.
Fabius, etsi nondum in conspectum venerat hostibus neque se Caninio coniunxerat, tamen doctus ab eis qui locorum noverant naturam potissimum credidit hostes perterritos eum locum, quem petebant, petituros.
And so with his forces he hastens to the same bridge and orders the cavalry to advance before the column of the legions just so far that, when they had advanced, they could withdraw into the same camp without wearying the horses.
Itaque cum copiis ad eundem pontem contendit equitatumque tantum procedere ante agmen imperat legionum, quantum cum processisset, sine defatigatione equorum in eadem se reciperet castra.
Our cavalry follow, as had been instructed, and fall upon the column of Dumnacus, and, attacking them as they fled, terrified, under their packs on the march, gain great plunder, many being killed. So, the matter well done, they withdraw into the camp.
Consequuntur equites nostri, ut erat praeceptum, invaduntque Dumnaci agmen et fugientes perterritosque sub sarcinis in itinere adgressi magna praeda multis interfectis potiuntur. Ita re bene gesta se recipiunt in castra.
The following night Fabius sends the cavalry ahead, so prepared that they should engage and delay the whole column until he himself came up.
Insequenti nocte Fabius equites praemittit sic paratos ut confligerent atque omne agmen morarentur, dum consequeretur ipse.
That the matter be done according to his instructions, Quintus Atius Varus, prefect of cavalry, a man of singular spirit and prudence, exhorts his men, and, having overtaken the enemy’s column, posts part of the squadrons in suitable places and joins battle with part of the cavalry.
Cuius praeceptis ut res gereretur, Quintus Atius Varus, praefectus equitum, singularis et animi et prudentiae vir, suos hortatur agmenque hostium consecutus turmas partim idoneis locis disponit, parte equitum proelium committit.
The enemy’s cavalry fights more boldly, their infantry coming up to support them, who, halting with the whole column, bring aid to their cavalry against our men. There is a battle with fierce struggle.
Confligit audacius equitatus hostium succedentibus sibi peditibus, qui toto agmine subsistentes equitibus suis contra nostros ferunt auxilium. Fit proelium acri certamine.
For our men, despising an enemy conquered the day before, since they remembered that the legions were following close, both from shame of giving way and from desire to finish the battle by themselves, fight most bravely against the infantry,
Namque nostri contemptis pridie superatis hostibus, cum subsequi legiones meminissent, et pudore cedendi et cupiditate per se conficiendi proeli fortissime contra pedites proeliantur,
and the enemy, believing that no more forces would come up, as they had learned the day before, seemed to have got the chance of destroying our cavalry.
hostesque nihil amplius copiarum accessurum credentes, ut pridie cognoverant, delendi equitatus nostri nacti occasionem videbantur.
When there had been fighting for some while with the utmost struggle, Dumnacus draws up a line to be a protection in turn for his cavalry, when suddenly the legions, in close order, come into the enemy’s sight.
Cum aliquamdiu summa contentione dimicaretur, Dumnacus instruit aciem quae suis esset equitibus in vicem praesidio, cum repente confertae legiones in conspectum hostium veniunt.
At the sight of these, the squadrons of the barbarians dismayed and the lines of the enemy terrified, the column of baggage thrown into confusion, with great shouting and running this way and that, they commit themselves everywhere to flight.
Quibus visis perculsae barbarorum turmae ac perterritae acies hostium, perturbato impedimentorum agmine, magno clamore discursuque passim fugae se mandant.
But our cavalry, who a little before had fought most bravely with the resisters, lifted by the joy of victory, a great shout raised on every side, poured round the retreating, kill in that battle as many as the strength of the horses for pursuing and the right hands for slaying avail.
At nostri equites, qui paulo ante cum resistentibus fortissime conflixerant, laetitia victoriae elati magno undique clamore sublato cedentibus circumfusi, quantum equorum vires ad persequendum dextraeque ad caedendum valent, tantum eo proelio interficiunt.
And so, more than twelve thousand being killed—either armed men or those who in that fear had thrown away their arms—the whole multitude of baggage is taken.
Itaque amplius milibus XII aut armatorum aut eorum qui eo timore arma proiecerant interfectis omnis multitudo capitur impedimentorum.
When from this rout it was agreed that Drappes the Senonian—who, as soon as Gaul had revolted, having gathered desperate men from every side, called slaves to liberty, taken in exiles of all the states, and received robbers, had intercepted the baggage and supplies of the Romans—not more than two thousand men gathered from the flight, was making for the province, and that Lucterius the Cadurcan had taken a plan along with him—whom in the earlier commentary it was learned had wished, at the first defection of Gaul, to make an attack on the province—
Qua ex fuga cum constaret Drappetem Senonem, qui, ut primum defecerat Gallia, collectis undique perditis hominibus, servis ad libertatem vocatis, exulibus omnium civitatum adscitis, receptis latronibus impedimenta et commeatus Romanorum interceperat, non amplius hominum duobus milibus ex fuga collectis provinciam petere unaque consilium cum eo Lucterium Cadurcum cepisse, quem superiore commentario prima defectione Galliae facere in provinciam voluisse impetum cognitum est,
the legate Caninius with two legions hastens to pursue them, lest by a loss to or terror of the province great infamy be incurred from the robberies of desperate men.
Caninius legatus cum legionibus duabus ad eos persequendos contendit, ne detrimento aut timore provinciae magna infamia perditorum hominum latrociniis caperetur.
Gaius Fabius sets out with the rest of the army into the Carnutes and the other states whose forces he knew had been cut down in that battle which he had fought with Dumnacus.
Gaius Fabius cum reliquo exercitu in Carnutes ceterasque proficiscitur civitates, quarum eo proelio, quod cum Dumnaco fecerat, copias esse accisas sciebat.
For he did not doubt that they would be more submissive from the recent disaster, but that, if space and time were given, with the same Dumnacus inciting, they could be stirred up.
Non enim dubitabat quin recenti calamitate summissiores essent futurae, dato vero spatio ac tempore eodem instigante Dumnaco possent concitari.
In which matter the utmost good fortune and speed in recovering the states attends Fabius.
Qua in re summa felicitas celeritasque in recipiendis civitatibus Fabium consequitur.
For the Carnutes, who, though often harried, had never made mention of peace, hostages given, come into surrender, and the other states, placed in the farthest borders of Gaul joined to the Ocean, which are called the Armorican, drawn by the authority of the Carnutes, at the coming of Fabius and the legions do his commands without delay.
Nam Carnutes, qui saepe vexati numquam pacis fecerant mentionem, datis obsidibus veniunt in deditionem, ceteraeque civitates positae in ultimis Galliae finibus Oceano coniunctae, quae Armoricae appellantur, auctoritate adductae Carnutum adventu Fabi legionumque imperata sine mora faciunt.
Dumnacus, driven from his own borders, wandering and lying hidden, was forced to make alone for the farthest regions of Gaul.
Dumnacus suis finibus expulsus errans latitansque solus extremas Galliae regiones petere est coactus.
But Drappes and Lucterius along with him, when they learned that the legions and Caninius were at hand, and thought they could not enter the borders of the province without sure ruin while the army pursued, nor had now the chance of ranging freely and making robberies, halt in the borders of the Cadurci.
At Drappes unaque Lucterius, cum legiones Caniniumque adesse cognoscerent nec se sine certa pernicie persequente exercitu putarent provinciae fines intrare posse nec iam libere vagandi latrociniorumque faciendorum facultatem haberent, in finibus consistunt Cadurcorum.
There, since Lucterius had once, while affairs were whole, had much power among his fellow citizens, and, ever the author of new plans, had great authority among the barbarians, he seizes with his own and Drappes’s forces the town of Uxellodunum, which had been in his clientage, excellently fortified by the nature of the place, and joins the townsmen to himself.
Ibi cum Lucterius apud suos cives quondam integris rebus multum potuisset, semperque auctor novorum consiliorum magnam apud barbaros auctoritatem haberet, oppidum Vxellodunum, quod in clientela fuerat eius, egregie natura loci munitum, occupat suis et Drappetis copiis oppidanosque sibi coniungit.
When Gaius Caninius had come there at once and noticed that all parts of the town were fortified with most precipitous rocks, up which, with no one defending, it was nevertheless difficult for armed men to climb, and saw, moreover, that the baggage of the townsmen was great, which, if they tried to remove it by a secret flight, they could escape not only the cavalry but not even the legions, the cohorts divided in three, he made three camps on a very high place;
Quo cum confestim Gaius Caninius venisset animadverteretque omnes oppidi partes praeruptissimis saxis esse munitas, quo defendente nullo tamen armatis ascendere esset difficile, magna autem impedimenta oppidanorum videret, quae si clandestina fuga subtrahere conarentur, effugere non modo equitatum, sed ne legiones quidem possent, tripertito cohortibus divisis trina excelsissimo loco castra fecit;
from which, little by little, as far as his forces allowed, he resolved to draw a rampart around the circuit of the town.
a quibus paulatim, quantum copiae patiebantur, vallum in oppidi circuitum ducere instituit.
When the townsmen noticed this, and, troubled by the most wretched memory of Alesia, feared a like fate of siege, and Lucterius most of all, who had made trial of that fortune, warned that account must be taken of grain, they decide, by the consent of all, a part of their forces being left there, themselves to set out with men in light order to bring in grain.
Quod cum animadverterent oppidani miserrimaque Alesiae memoria solliciti similem casum obsessionis vererentur, maximeque ex omnibus Lucterius, qui fortunae illius periculum fecerat, moneret frumenti rationem esse habendam, constituunt omnium consensu parte ibi relicta copiarum ipsi cum expeditis ad importandum frumentum proficisci.
This plan approved, the next night, two thousand armed men left, Drappes and Lucterius lead the rest out of the town.
Eo consilio probato proxima nocte duobus milibus armatorum relictis reliquos ex oppido Drappes et Lucterius educunt.
These, having delayed a few days, from the borders of the Cadurci—who partly desired to help them with grain, partly could not prevent their taking it—procure a great quantity of grain, and sometimes by night expeditions attack the forts of our men.
Hi paucos dies morati ex finibus Cadurcorum, qui partim re frumentaria sublevare eos cupiebant, partim prohibere quo minus sumerent non poterant, magnum numerum frumenti comparant, nonnumquam autem expeditionibus nocturnis castella nostrorum adoriuntur.
For which cause Gaius Caninius delays surrounding the whole town with fortifications, lest he be unable to protect the work when finished, or post weak garrisons in very many places.
Quam ob causam Gaius Caninius toto oppido munitiones circumdare moratur, ne aut opus effectum tueri non possit aut plurimis in locis infirma disponat praesidia.
A great supply of grain procured, Drappes and Lucterius settle not more than ten miles from the town, from where they might bring up the grain into the town little by little.
Magna copia frumenti comparata considunt Drappes et Lucterius non longius ab oppido X milibus, unde paulatim frumentum in oppidum supportarent.
They divide the tasks between themselves: Drappes stayed behind with part of the forces as a guard for the camp; Lucterius leads the column of draft-animals to the town.
Ipsi inter se provincias partiuntur: Drappes castris praesidio cum parte copiarum restitit; Lucterius agmen iumentorum ad oppidum ducit.
Guards posted there, about the tenth hour of the night, by wooded and narrow roads he set about bringing the grain into the town.
Dispositis ibi praesidiis hora noctis circiter decima silvestribus angustisque itineribus frumentum importare in oppidum instituit.
When the watchmen of the camp had perceived their noise, and scouts sent out had reported what was being done, Caninius quickly, with armed cohorts from the nearest forts, made an attack on the grain-carriers just at daybreak.
Quorum strepitum vigiles castrorum cum sensissent, exploratoresque missi quae gererentur renuntiassent, Caninius celeriter cum cohortibus armatis ex proximis castellis in frumentarios sub ipsam lucem impetum fecit.
They, terrified by the sudden mischief, flee apart to their guards; which our men, when they saw, the more fiercely roused against the armed men, suffer no one of that number to be taken alive. Lucterius flees from there with a few and does not withdraw into the camp.
Ei repentino malo perterriti diffugiunt ad sua praesidia; quae nostri ut viderunt, acrius contra armatos incitati neminem ex eo numero vivum capi patiuntur. Profugit inde cum paucis Lucterius nec se recipit in castra.
The matter well done, Caninius learns from captives that part of the forces with Drappes was in a camp not more than twelve miles off.
Re bene gesta Caninius ex captivis comperit partem copiarum cum Drappete esse in castris a milibus longe non amplius XII.
This learned from several, since he understood that, one leader being routed, the rest, terrified, could easily be overwhelmed, he reckoned it great good fortune that no one had fled from the slaughter into the camp who might carry to Drappes a message of the disaster received.
Qua re ex compluribus cognita, cum intellegeret fugato duce altero perterritos reliquos facile opprimi posse, magnae felicitatis esse arbitrabatur neminem ex caede refugisse in castra qui de accepta calamitate nuntium Drappeti perferret.
But since in making the trial he saw no danger, he sends ahead all the cavalry and the German infantry, men of the greatest speed, to the enemy’s camp; he himself distributes one legion among the three camps, the other he leads with him in light order.
Sed in experiendo cum periculum nullum videret, equitatum omnem Germanosque pedites, summae velocitatis homines, ad castra hostium praemittit; ipse legionem unam in trina castra distribuit, alteram secum expeditam ducit.
When he had approached nearer the enemy, he learns from the scouts whom he had sent ahead that their camp, as is generally the custom of barbarians, the higher ground abandoned, had been brought down to the banks of the river; but that the Germans and cavalry, all being off their guard, had flown up unexpectedly and joined battle.
Cum propius hostes accessisset, ab exploratoribus quos praemiserat cognoscit castra eorum, ut barbarorum fere consuetudo est, relictis locis superioribus ad ripas fluminis esse demissa; at Germanos equitesque imprudentibus omnibus de improviso advolasse proeliumque commisisse.
This learned, he leads up the legion, armed and drawn up. So suddenly, the signal given on all sides, the higher places are taken.
Qua re cognita legionem armatam instructamque adducit. Ita repente omnibus ex partibus signo dato loca superiora capiuntur.
When this happened, the Germans and cavalry, the standards of the legion seen, fight most violently. At once the cohorts make a charge from every side, and, all being either killed or captured, gain great plunder. Drappes himself is taken in that battle.
Quod ubi accidit, Germani equitesque signis legionis visis vehementissime proeliantur. Confestim cohortes undique impetum faciunt omnibusque aut interfectis aut captis magna praeda potiuntur. Capitur ipse eo proelio Drappes.
Caninius, the matter done most successfully with almost no wound to a soldier, returns to besiege the townsmen,
Caninius felicissime re gesta sine ullo paene militis vulnere ad obsidendos oppidanos revertitur
and, the foreign enemy destroyed—for fear of whom he had before been prevented from dividing his garrisons and surrounding the townsmen with a fortification—he orders the works to be carried on everywhere. There comes to the same place the next day, with his forces, Gaius Fabius, and takes part of the town to besiege.
externoque hoste deleto, cuius timore antea dividere praesidia et munitione oppidanos circumdare prohibitus erat, opera undique imperat administrari. Venit eodem cum suis copiis postero die Gaius Fabius partemque oppidi sumit ad obsidendum.
Caesar meanwhile leaves the quaestor Marcus Antonius with fifteen cohorts among the Bellovaci, lest any chance be again given to the Belgae of taking new plans.
Caesar interim M. Antonium quaestorem cum cohortibus XV in Bellovacis relinquit, ne qua rursus novorum consiliorum capiendorum Belgis facultas daretur.
He himself visits the rest of the states, imposes more hostages, and heals the fearful spirits of all with consolation.
Ipse reliquas civitates adit, obsides plures imperat, timentes omnium animos consolatione sanat.
When he had come into the Carnutes, in whose state Caesar set forth in the earlier commentary that the beginning of the war had arisen, since he noticed that they especially feared on account of their consciousness of the deed, to free the state the more quickly from fear, he demanded for punishment the chief of that crime and the rouser of the war, Gutruatus.
Cum in Carnutes venisset, quorum in civitate superiore commentario Caesar exposuit initium belli esse ortum, quod praecipue eos propter conscientiam facti timere animadvertebat, quo celerius civitatem timore liberaret, principem sceleris illius et concitatorem belli, Gutruatum, ad supplicium depoposcit.
Who, although he did not even trust himself to his own citizens, was nevertheless quickly sought out by the care of all and brought into the camp.
Qui etsi ne civibus quidem suis se committebat, tamen celeriter omnium cura quaesitus in castra perducitur.
Caesar is compelled, against his own nature, to his punishment by the very great gathering of the soldiers, who attributed to him all the dangers and losses of the war, so that, his body beaten lifeless with rods, he was struck with the axe.
Cogitur in eius supplicium Caesar contra suam naturam concursu maximo militum, qui ei omnia pericula et detrimenta belli accepta referebant, adeo ut verberibus exanimatum corpus securi feriretur.
There by frequent letters from Caninius he is informed of what had been done about Drappes and Lucterius, and in what plan the townsmen persisted.
Ibi crebris litteris Canini fit certior quae de Drappete et Lucterio gesta essent, quoque in consilio permanerent oppidani.
Although he despised their small number, he nevertheless judged that their stubbornness must be visited with a great penalty, lest all Gaul think that it was not strength to resist the Romans that had failed it, but constancy, and lest by this example the other states, relying on the advantage of their positions, claim themselves into liberty,
Quorum etsi paucitatem contemnebat, tamen pertinaciam magna poena esse adficiendam iudicabat, ne universa Gallia non sibi vires defuisse ad resistendum Romanis, sed constantiam putaret, neve hoc exemplo ceterae civitates locorum opportunitate fretae se vindicarent in libertatem,
since he knew it was known to all the Gauls that one summer of his province remained, which if they could have withstood, they would fear no danger beyond.
cum omnibus Gallis notum esse sciret reliquam esse unam aestatem suae provinciae, quam si sustinere potuissent, nullum ultra periculum vererentur.
And so he left the legate Quintus Calenus with the legions to follow by regular marches; he himself with all the cavalry hastens as quickly as he can to Caninius.
Itaque Q. Calenum legatum cum legionibus reliquit qui iustis itineribus subsequeretur; ipse cum omni equitatu quam potest celerrime ad Caninium contendit.
When, against the expectation of all, Caesar had come to Uxellodunum and noticed that the town was shut in by works, and saw that the assault could not be given up on any condition, but had learned from deserters that the townsmen abounded in a great supply of grain, he began to try to keep the enemy from water.
Cum contra exspectationem omnium Caesar Vxellodunum venisset oppidumque operibus clausum animadverteret neque ab oppugnatione recedi videret ulla condicione posse, magna autem copia frumenti abundare oppidanos ex perfugis cognosset, aqua prohibere hostem temptare coepit.
A river divided the lowest valley, which girded almost the whole mountain on which was placed the town of Uxellodunum, precipitous on every side.
Flumen infimam vallem dividebat, quae totum paene montem cingebat, in quo positum erat praeruptum undique oppidum Vxellodunum.
To divert this the nature of the place forbade: for it ran along the lowest roots of the mountain in such a way that it could be turned off in no direction by sinking ditches.
Hoc avertere loci natura prohibebat: in infimis enim sic radicibus montis ferebatur, ut nullam in partem depressis fossis derivari posset.
But the descent to it was for the townsmen difficult and precipitous, so that, with our men hindering, they could neither approach the river nor withdraw by the steep ascent without wounds and danger to life.
Erat autem oppidanis difficilis et praeruptus eo descensus, ut prohibentibus nostris sine vulneribus ac periculo vitae neque adire flumen neque arduo se recipere possent ascensu.
This difficulty of theirs known, Caesar, archers and slingers posted, and engines too set up in certain places against the easiest descents, kept the townsmen from the water of the river.
Qua difficultate eorum cognita Caesar sagittariis funditoribusque dispositis, tormentis etiam quibusdam locis contra facillimos descensus collocatis aqua fluminis prohibebat oppidanos.
Afterward the whole multitude of their water-carriers gathered to one place under the very wall of the town, where a great spring of water burst forth on that side which, for about three hundred feet, was free of the river’s circuit.
Quorum omnis postea multitudo aquatorum unum in locum conveniebat sub ipsius oppidi murum, ubi magnus fons aquae prorumpebat ab ea parte, quae fere pedum CCC intervallo fluminis circuitu vacabat.
While the rest wished that the townsmen could be kept from this spring, Caesar alone saw the way: opposite it he began to bring up sheds against the mountain and to build a mound, with great labor and continual fighting.
Hoc fonte prohiberi posse oppidanos cum optarent reliqui, Caesar unus videret, e regione eius vineas agere adversus montem et aggerem instruere coepit magno cum labore et continua dimicatione.
For the townsmen run down from the higher ground and fight at a distance without danger and stubbornly wound many of our men as they come up; nevertheless our soldiers are not deterred from bringing forward the sheds and overcoming the difficulties of the ground by labor and works.
Oppidani enim loco superiore decurrunt et eminus sine periculo proeliantur multosque pertinaciter succedentes vulnerant; non deterrentur tamen milites nostri vineas proferre et labore atque operibus locorum vincere difficultates.
At the same time they drive covered tunnels from the sheds to the head of the spring; which kind of work it was permitted to do without any danger, without suspicion of the enemy.
Eodem tempore cuniculos tectos ab vineis agunt ad caput fontis; quod genus operis sine ullo periculo, sine suspicione hostium facere licebat.
A mound is built up to a height of sixty feet, on it is set a tower of ten stories—not indeed to equal the walls, for that could be accomplished by no works, but such as could overtop the height of the spring.
Exstruitur agger in altitudinem pedum sexaginta, collocatur in eo turris decem tabulatorum, non quidem quae moenibus aequaret (id enim nullis operibus effici poterat), sed quae superare fontis fastigium posset.
When from it weapons were hurled by engines at the approach to the spring, and the townsmen could not draw water without danger, not only the cattle and draft-animals, but even a great multitude of the enemy, was consumed by thirst.
Ex ea cum tela tormentis iacerentur ad fontis aditum, nec sine periculo possent aquari oppidani, non tantum pecora atque iumenta, sed etiam magna hostium multitudo siti consumebatur.
Terrified by this mischief, the townsmen fill casks with tallow, pitch, and shingles; these, burning, they roll down onto the works, and at the same time fight most fiercely, to deter the Romans by the danger of battle from putting out the fire.
Quo malo perterriti oppidani cupas sebo, pice, scandulis complent; eas ardentes in opera provolvunt eodemque tempore acerrime proeliantur, ut ab incendio restinguendo dimicationis periculo deterreant Romanos.
A great flame suddenly arose in the works themselves. For whatever had been sent down the steep place, checked by the sheds and the mound, caught the very thing that delayed it.
Magna repente in ipsis operibus flamma exstitit. Quaecumque enim per locum praecipitem missa erant, ea vineis et aggere suppressa comprehendebant id ipsum quod morabatur.
Our soldiers, on the contrary, although they were pressed by a dangerous kind of fighting and unfavorable ground, nevertheless bore everything with the bravest spirit.
Milites contra nostri, quamquam periculoso genere proeli locoque iniquo premebantur, tamen omnia fortissimo sustinebant animo.
For the matter was carried on both on high ground and in the sight of our army, and a great shout arose on both sides.
Res enim gerebatur et excelso loco et in conspectu exercitus nostri, magnusque utrimque clamor oriebatur.
So each man, as conspicuous as he could be, that his valor might be the more known and attested, offered himself to the weapons of the enemy and to the flame.
Ita quam quisque poterat maxime insignis, quo notior testatiorque virtus esset eius, telis hostium flammaeque se offerebat.
Caesar, when he saw several of his men wounded, orders cohorts to climb the mountain from all parts of the town and, with a pretense of seizing the walls, to raise a shout on every side.
Caesar cum complures suos vulnerari videret, ex omnibus oppidi partibus cohortes montem ascendere et simulatione moenium occupandorum clamorem undique iubet tollere.
This done, the terrified townsmen, being in suspense as to what was being done in the other places, recall the armed men from assaulting the works and post them on the walls.
Quo facto perterriti oppidani, cum quid ageretur in locis reliquis essent suspensi, revocant ab impugnandis operibus armatos murisque disponunt.
So our men, an end of the fight made, quickly partly put out the works that the flame had caught, partly cut them apart.
Ita nostri fine proeli facto celeriter opera flamma comprehensa partim restinguunt, partim interscindunt.
When the townsmen stubbornly resisted, and, even a great part of their men lost by thirst, persisted in their purpose, at last the veins of the spring were cut through and turned aside by the tunnels.
Cum pertinaciter resisterent oppidani, magna etiam parte amissa siti suorum in sententia permanerent, ad postremum cuniculis venae fontis intercisae sunt atque aversae.
This done, the perennial spring suddenly dried up and brought the townsmen such despair of safety that they thought it had been done not by men’s design but by the will of the gods. And so, compelled by necessity, they surrendered.
Quo facto repente perennis exaruit fons tantamque attulit oppidanis salutis desperationem, ut id non hominum consilio, sed deorum voluntate factum putarent. Itaque se necessitate coacti tradiderunt.
Caesar, since he knew his own mildness was known to all and did not fear lest he seem to have done anything too harsh by cruelty of nature, and since he noticed no end of his designs if by such a method, in different places, several should enter on plans, judged that the rest must be deterred by an example of punishment.
Caesar, cum suam lenitatem cognitam omnibus sciret neque vereretur ne quid crudelitate naturae videretur asperius fecisse, neque exitum consiliorum suorum animadverteret, si tali ratione diversis in locis plures consilia inissent, exemplo supplici deterrendos reliquos existimavit.
And so to all who had borne arms he cut off the hands and granted them their life, that the punishment of the wicked might be the better attested.
Itaque omnibus qui arma tulerant manus praecidit vitamque concessit, quo testatior esset poena improborum.
Drappes, whom I have shown was captured by Caninius, whether from the indignity and grief of his chains or from fear of a heavier punishment, abstained from food for a few days and so perished.
Drappes, quem captum esse a Caninio docui, sive indignitate et dolore vinculorum sive timore gravioris supplici paucis diebus cibo se abstinuit atque ita interiit.
At the same time Lucterius, whom I have written fled from the battle, when he had come into the power of Epasnactus the Arvernian
Eodem tempore Lacterius, quem profugisse ex proelio scripsi, cum in potestatem venisset Epasnacti Arverni
(for, frequently changing places, he entrusted himself to the good faith of many, because he saw he would stay nowhere long without danger, being conscious to himself how hostile he ought to hold Caesar),
(crebro enim mutandis locis multorum fidei se committebat, quod nusquam diutius sine periculo commoraturus videbatur, cum sibi conscius esset, quam inimicum deberet Caesarem habere),
this Epasnactus the Arvernian, a most friendly man to the Roman people, without any hesitation led him in chains to Caesar.
hunc Epasnactus Arvernus, amicissimus populi Romani, sine dubitatione ulla vinctum ad Caesarem deduxit.
Labienus meanwhile fights a successful cavalry battle among the Treveri, and, several Treveri and Germans being killed—who refused auxiliaries to none against the Romans—brings their chiefs alive into his power,
Labienus interim in Treveris equestre proelium facit secundum compluribusque Treveris interfectis et Germanis, qui nullis adversus Romanos auxilia denegabant, principes eorum vivos redigit in suam potestatem
and among them Surus the Aeduan, who had the highest nobility both of valor and of birth, and alone of the Aedui had remained in arms up to that time.
atque in his Surum Aeduum, qui et virtutis et generis summam nobilitatem habebat solusque ex Aeduis ad id tempus permanserat in armis.
This learned, Caesar, since he saw that affairs were going well in all parts of Gaul and judged that in the earlier summers Gaul had been conquered and subdued, and since he had never visited Aquitania, though he had conquered a part of it through Publius Crassus, set out with two legions into that part of Gaul to spend the last part of the summer there.
Ea re cognita Caesar, cum in omnibus partibus Galliae bene res geri videret iudicaretque superioribus aestivis Galliam devictam subactamque esse, Aquitaniam numquam adisset, per Publium Crassum quadam ex parte devicisset, cum duabus legionibus in eam partem Galliae est profectus, ut ibi extremum tempus consumeret aestivorum.
This matter, like the rest, he finished quickly and successfully. For all the states of Aquitania sent envoys to Caesar and gave him hostages.
Quam rem sicuti cetera celeriter feliciterque confecit. Namque omnes Aquitaniae civitates legatos ad Caesarem miserunt obsidesque ei dederunt.
These things done, he himself set out with a guard of cavalry for Narbo, and led the army into winter quarters through his legates:
Quibus rebus gestis ipse equitum praesidio Narbonem profectus est, exercitum per legatos in hiberna deduxit:
four legions he stationed in Belgium with the legates Marcus Antonius, Gaius Trebonius, and Publius Vatinius; two legions he led into the Aedui, whose authority he knew to be the highest in all Gaul; two he placed among the Turoni near the borders of the Carnutes, to hold all that region joined to the Ocean; the remaining two in the borders of the Lemovices, not far from the Arverni, that no part of Gaul be empty of an army.
quattuor legiones in Belgio collocavit cum M. Antonio et C. Trebonio et P. Vatinio legatis, duas legiones in Aeduos deduxit, quorum in omni Gallia summam esse auctoritatem sciebat, duas in Turonis ad fines Carnutum posuit, quae omnem illam regionem coniunctam Oceano continerent, duas reliquas in Lemovicum finibus non longe ab Arvernis, ne qua pars Galliae vacua ab exercitu esset.
He himself, having delayed a few days in the province, when he had quickly run through all the assizes, learned the public disputes,
Paucos dies ipse in provincia moratus, cum celeriter omnes conventus percucurrisset, publicas controversias cognosset,
and bestowed rewards on those who had deserved well—for he had the greatest opportunity of learning of what spirit each man had been in the defection of all Gaul, which he had withstood by the fidelity and aid of that province—these things finished, he withdraws to the legions in Belgium and winters at Nemetocenna.
bene meritis praemia tribuisset (cognoscendi enim maximam facultatem habebat, quali quisque fuisset animo in totius Galliae defectione, quam sustinuerat fidelitate atque auxiliis provinciae illius), his confectis rebus ad legiones in Belgium se recipit hibernatque Nemetocennae.
There he learns that Commius the Atrebatian had fought a battle with his cavalry.
Ibi cognoscit Commium Atrebatem proelio cum equitatu suo contendisse.
For when Antonius had come into winter quarters, and the state of the Atrebates was in its duty, Commius, who after that wounding which I have recalled above had been accustomed always to be ready for his fellow citizens at every disturbance, lest, to those seeking plans of war, an author of arms and a leader be wanting,
Nam cum Antonius in hiberna venisset, civitasque Atrebatum in officio esset, Commius, qui post illam vulnerationem, quam supra commemoravi, semper ad omnes motus paratus suis civibus esse consuesset, ne consilia belli quaerentibus auctor armorum duxque deesset,
the state obeying the Romans, fed himself and his men with robberies by means of his cavalry, and, the roads being unsafe, intercepted several supply-trains that were being brought into the winter quarters of the Romans.
parente Romanis civitate cum suis equitibus latrociniis se suosque alebat infestisque itineribus commeatus complures, qui comportabantur in hiberna Romanorum, intercipiebat.
There had been assigned to Antonius the prefect of cavalry Gaius Volusenus Quadratus, to winter with him. Him Antonius sends to pursue the enemy’s cavalry.
Erat attributus Antonio praefectus equitum C. Volusenus Quadratus qui cum eo hibernaret. Hunc Antonius ad persequendum equitatum hostium mittit.
Volusenus added to that valor which was singular in him a great hatred of Commius, so that he did the more gladly what was ordered. And so, ambushes posted, attacking his cavalry more often, he fought successful battles.
Volusenus ad eam virtutem, quae singularis erat in eo, magnum odium Commi adiungebat, quo libentius id faceret quod imperabatur. Itaque dispositis insidiis saepius equites eius adgressus secunda proelia faciebat.
Finally, when there was fiercer fighting, and Volusenus, from desire of intercepting Commius himself, had pursued him too stubbornly with a few men, while the other had drawn Volusenus farther off by a headlong flight, the man, his enemy, suddenly calls on the good faith and aid of his own, that they not let his wounds, treacherously inflicted, go unpunished, and, his horse turned, throws himself, too incautiously, away from the rest, against the prefect.
Novissime, cum vehementius contenderetur, ac Volusenus ipsius intercipiendi Commi cupiditate pertinacius eum cum paucis insecutus esset, ille autem fuga vehementi Volusenum produxisset longius, inimicus homini suorum invocat fidem atque auxilium, ne sua vulnera per fidem imposita paterentur impunita, conversoque equo se a ceteris incautius permittit in praefectum.
All his cavalry do this same thing and turn back and pursue our few men.
Faciunt hoc idem omnes eius equites paucosque nostros convertunt atque insequuntur.
Commius, his horse spurred to a gallop, joins his horse to Quadratus’s and with a leveled lance, with great force, runs through the middle of Volusenus’s thigh.
Commius incensum calcaribus equum coniungit equo Quadrati lanceaque infesta magnis viribus medium femur traicit Voluseni.
The prefect wounded, our men do not hesitate to resist and, their horses turned, drive back the enemy.
Praefecto vulnerato non dubitant nostri resistere et conversis equis hostem pellere.
When this happened, several of the enemy, struck by the great charge of our men, are wounded, and partly trodden down in flight, partly intercepted; which mischief the leader avoided by the swiftness of his horse: the prefect, so gravely wounded that he seemed likely to come into danger of his life, is carried back into the camp.
Quod ubi accidit, complures hostium magno nostrorum impetu perculsi vulnerantur ac partim in fuga proteruntur, partim intercipiuntur; quod malum dux equi velocitate evitavit: graviter adeo vulneratus praefectus, ut vitae periculum aditurus videretur, refertur in castra.
Commius, however, whether his grief being expiated or a great part of his men being lost, sends envoys to Antonius and secures with hostages that he will both be where he is bidden and do what is ordered;
Commius autem sive expiato suo dolore sive magna parte amissa suorum legatos ad Antonium mittit seque et ibi futurum, ubi praescripserit, et ea facturum, quae imperarit, obsidibus firmat;
that one thing only he begs, that it be granted to his fear that he come into the sight of no Roman. Since Antonius judged that his demand arose from a just fear, he granted pardon to the petitioner and accepted his hostages.
unum illud orat, ut timori suo concedatur, ne in conspectum veniat cuiusquam Romani. Cuius postulationem Antonius cum iudicaret ab iusto nasci timore, veniam petenti dedit, obsides accepit.
I know that Caesar made a single commentary for each single year; which I did not think I ought to do, because the following year, in the consulship of Lucius Paulus and Gaius Marcellus, has no greatly noteworthy deeds done in Gaul.
Scio Caesarem singulorum annorum singulos commentarios confecisse; quod ego non existimavi mihi esse faciendum, propterea quod insequens annus, L. Paulo C. Marcello consulibus, nullas habet magnopere Galliae res gestas.
Yet, lest anyone be ignorant in what places Caesar and his army were at that time, I have resolved that a few things must be written and joined to this commentary.
Ne quis tamen ignoraret, quibus in locis Caesar exercitusque eo tempore fuissent, pauca esse scribenda coniungendaque huic commentario statui.
While Caesar was wintering in Belgium, he had that one purpose, to keep the states in friendship and to give none hope or cause of arms.
Caesar in Belgio cum hiemaret, unum illud propositum habebat, continere in amicitia civitates, nulli spem aut causam dare armorum.
For he wished nothing less than that any necessity of waging war be imposed on him at his departure, lest, when he was about to lead the army away, some war be left which all Gaul would gladly take up without present danger.
Nihil enim minus volebat quam sub decessu suo necessitatem sibi aliquam imponi belli gerendi, ne, cum exercitum deducturus esset, bellum aliquod relinqueretur quod omnis Gallia libenter sine praesenti periculo susciperet.
And so, by addressing the states honorably, treating the chiefs with the greatest rewards, and laying on no burdens, he easily kept Gaul, wearied by so many adverse battles, in peace on the better condition of obedience.
Itaque honorifice civitates appellando, principes maximis praemiis adficiendo, nulla onera iniungendo defessam tot adversis proeliis Galliam condicione parendi meliore facile in pace continuit.
He himself, the winter quarters concluded, contrary to custom set out for Italy by the greatest marches he could, to address the towns and colonies to which he had commended the candidacy for the priesthood of his quaestor Marcus Antonius.
Ipse hibernis peractis contra consuetudinem in Italiam quam maximis itineribus est profectus, ut municipia et colonias appellaret, quibus M. Antoni quaestoris sui, commendaverat sacerdoti petitionem.
For he strove with his influence both gladly on behalf of a man most closely joined to him, whom a little before he had sent ahead for the candidacy, and keenly against the faction and power of the few who wished, by the defeat of Marcus Antonius, to break down the influence of the departing Caesar.
Contendebat enim gratia cum libenter pro homine sibi coniunctissimo, quem paulo ante praemiserat ad petitionem, tum acriter contra factionem et potentiam paucorum, qui M. Antoni repulsa Caesaris decedentis gratiam convellere cupiebant.
Although he had heard on the journey, before he reached Italy, that the man had been made augur, he nevertheless thought he had a no less just cause for visiting the towns and colonies, to thank them for having shown their numbers and their service to Antonius,
Hunc etsi augurem prius factum quam Italiam attingeret in itinere audierat, tamen non minus iustam sibi causam municipia et colonias adeundi existimavit, ut eis gratias ageret, quod frequentiam atque officium suum Antonio praestitissent,
and at the same time to commend himself and his own candidacy for the following year, because his adversaries boasted insolently that Lucius Lentulus and Gaius Marcellus had been made consuls who would strip Caesar of all honor and dignity, and that the consulship had been snatched from Servius Galba, though he had been much stronger in favor and votes, because he was joined to Caesar by both friendship and the intimacy of service as legate.
simulque se et honorem suum sequentis anni commendaret, propterea quod insolenter adversarii sui gloriarentur L. Lentulum et C. Marcellum consules creatos qui omnem honorem et dignitatem Caesaris spoliarent, ereptum Ser. Galbae consulatum, cum is multo plus gratia suffragiisque valuisset, quod sibi coniunctus et familiaritate et consuetudine legationis esset.
Caesar’s arrival was received by all the towns and colonies with incredible honor and love.
Exceptus est Caesaris adventus ab omnibus municipiis et coloniis incredibili honore atque amore.
For then for the first time he was coming from that war of all Gaul. Nothing was left that could be devised for the adornment of the gates, the roads, all the places by which Caesar was to go.
Tum primum enim veniebat ab illo universae Galliae bello. Nihil relinquebatur quod ad ornatum portarum, itinerum, locorum omnium qua Caesar iturus erat excogitari poterat.
The whole multitude with their children went out to meet him, victims were sacrificed in all places, the forums and temples were taken up with spread banqueting-couches, so that the joy even of a most longed-for triumph could be anticipated. So great was the magnificence among the wealthier, the eagerness among the lowlier.
Cum liberis omnis multitudo obviam procedebat, hostiae omnibus locis immolabantur, tricliniis stratis fora templaque occupabantur, ut vel exspectatissimi triumphi laetitia praecipi posset. Tanta erat magnificentia apud opulentiores, cupiditas apud humiliores.
When Caesar had run through all the regions of toga-clad Gaul, with the utmost speed he returned to the army at Nemetocenna, and, the legions summoned from all the winter quarters to the borders of the Treveri, he set out there and reviewed the army.
Cum omnes regiones Galliae togatae Caesar percucurrisset, summa celeritate ad exercitum Nemetocennam rediit legionibusque ex omnibus hibernis ad fines Treverorum evocatis eo profectus est ibique exercitum lustravit.
Titus Labienus he set over toga-clad Gaul, that he might be won over by the greater recommendation to his candidacy for the consulship. He himself made just so much of marches as he judged enough for change of place for the sake of health.
T. Labienum Galliae togatae praefecit, quo maiore commendatione conciliaretur ad consulatus petitionem. Ipse tantum itinerum faciebat, quantum satis esse ad mutationem locorum propter salubritatem existimabat.
There, although he frequently heard that Labienus was being worked on by his enemies, and was informed that it was being managed by the designs of a few that, by the interposed authority of the Senate, he be stripped of some part of his army, he nevertheless neither believed anything about Labienus nor could be led to do anything against the authority of the Senate. For he judged that his cause would easily be upheld by the free votes of the senators.
Ibi quamquam crebro audiebat Labienum ab inimicis suis sollicitari certiorque fiebat id agi paucorum consiliis, ut interposita senatus auctoritate aliqua parte exercitus spoliaretur, tamen neque de Labieno credidit quidquam neque contra senatus auctoritatem ut aliquid faceret potuit adduci. Iudicabat enim liberis sententiis patrum conscriptorum causam suam facile obtineri.
For Gaius Curio, tribune of the plebs, when he had undertaken to defend Caesar’s cause and dignity, had often promised the Senate that, if the fear of Caesar’s arms troubled anyone, and since Pompey’s domination and arms brought no slight terror to the forum, each should lay down his arms and disband his armies: that by this done the state would be free and its own master.
Nam C. Curio, tribunus plebis, cum Caesaris causam dignitatemque defendendam suscepisset, saepe erat senatui pollicitus, si quem timor armorum Caesaris laederet, et quoniam Pompei dominatio atque arma non minimum terrorem foro inferrent, discederet uterque ab armis exercitusque dimitteret: fore eo facto liberam et sui iuris civitatem.
Nor did he only promise this, but even began of himself to call for a division of the house; which, lest it happen, the consuls and the friends of Pompey forbade, and so by delaying broke up the matter.
Neque hoc tantum pollicitus est, sed etiam per se discessionem facere coepit; quod ne fieret consules amicique Pompei iusserunt atque ita rem morando discusserunt.
This was a great testimony of the whole Senate and consistent with its earlier act. For Marcellus the year before, when he was attacking Caesar’s dignity, had referred to the Senate before the time, against the law of Pompey and Crassus, about Caesar’s provinces, and, opinions being spoken, Marcellus calling for a division—who sought all his dignity from the odium of Caesar—the Senate in full passed over to all the other measures.
Magnum hoc testimonium senatus erat universi conveniensque superiori facto. Nam Marcellus proximo anno, cum impugnaret Caesaris dignitatem, contra legem Pompei et Crassi rettulerat ante tempus ad senatum de Caesaris provinciis, sententiisque dictis discessionem faciente Marcello, qui sibi omnem dignitatem ex Caesaris invidia quaerebat, senatus frequens in alia omnia transiit.
By these things the spirits of Caesar’s enemies were not broken, but were warned to prepare the greater necessities by which the Senate could be compelled to approve what they themselves had decided.
Quibus non frangebantur animi inimicorum Caesaris, sed admonebantur quo maiores pararent necessitates, quibus cogi posset senatus id probare, quod ipsi constituissent.
A decree of the Senate is then made, that for the Parthian war one legion be sent by Gnaeus Pompey, another by Gaius Caesar; and not obscurely two legions are taken from one man.
Fit deinde senatus consultum, ut ad bellum Parthicum legio una a Cn. Pompeio, altera a C. Caesare mitteretur; neque obscure duae legiones uni detrahuntur.
For Gnaeus Pompey gave the First Legion, which he had sent to Caesar, made up from the levy of Caesar’s province, as if it were from his own number.
Nam Cn. Pompeius legionem primam, quam ad Caesarem miserat, confectam ex delectu provinciae Caesaris, eam tamquam ex suo numero dedit.
Caesar, however, although there was no doubt at all about the intention of his adversaries, sent the legion back to Pompey, and in his own name orders the Fifteenth, which he had had in Hither Gaul, to be handed over by the decree of the Senate. In its place he sends the Thirteenth Legion into Italy to guard the garrisons from which the Fifteenth was being withdrawn.
Caesar tamen, cum de voluntate minime dubium esset adversariorum suorum, Pompeio legionem remisit et suo nomine quintam decimam, quam in Gallia citeriore habuerat, ex senatus consulto iubet tradi. In eius locum tertiam decimam legionem in Italiam mittit quae praesidia tueretur, ex quibus praesidiis quinta decima deducebatur.
He himself distributes the winter quarters to the army: Gaius Trebonius with four legions he stations in Belgium, Gaius Fabius with as many he leads into the Aedui.
Ipse exercitui distribuit hiberna: C. Trebonium cum legionibus quattuor in Belgio collocat, C. Fabium cum totidem in Aeduos deducit.
For thus he judged Gaul would be safest, if the Belgae, whose valor was greatest, and the Aedui, whose authority was highest, were held in check by armies. He himself set out for Italy.
Sic enim existimabat tutissimam fore Galliam, si Belgae, quorum maxima virtus, Aedui, quorum auctoritas summa esset, exercitibus continerentur. Ipse in Italiam profectus est.
When he had come there, he learns that the two legions sent back by him, which by the decree of the Senate ought to be led to the Parthian war, had through the consul Gaius Marcellus been handed over to Gnaeus Pompey and retained in Italy.
Quo cum venisset, cognoscit per C. Marcellum consulem legiones duas ab se remissas, quae ex senatus consulto deberent ad Parthicum bellum duci, Cn. Pompeio traditas atque in Italia retentas esse.
By this deed, although it was doubtful to no one what was being prepared against Caesar, nevertheless Caesar resolved that everything must be endured, so long as any hope was left him of settling the matter by law rather than by waging war. He presses on.
Hoc facto quamquam nulli erat dubium, quidnam contra Caesarem pararetur, tamen Caesar omnia patienda esse statuit, quoad sibi spes aliqua relinqueretur iure potius disceptandi quam belli gerendi. Contendit