LIBER PRIMVS XXX-XLI (1) BUCHEN SIE EINS 30-41 (1) BOOK ONE 30-41 (1)

[30] Bello Helvetiorum confecto totius fere Galliae legati, principes civitatum, ad Caesarem gratulatum convenerunt: 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, 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. war||the war being finished|of the whole|||the envoys||of the states|||to congratulate|gathered|||although||ancient||injuries|||||punishments|war|he had sought|however|that|||||use||||||happened|||to that place|purpose|flourishing|||||they had left|||||to wage war|and power|gain control|and place|home||||chosen|which||||most advantageous||most fruitful|would have judged|and the other||tributary states| [30] After the war with the Helvetii was over, the ambassadors of almost all Gaul, the leaders of the states, came together to congratulate Caesar: to understand that, although the Roman people had been punished by war for the old injuries of the Helvetii, yet that matter had happened no less from the use [of the land] of Gaul than of the Roman people , on account of the fact that the Helvetii had left their homes with the most flourishing affairs in order to make war on the whole of Gaul, and to seize the government; 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. they requested||||||||certain day|to summon|and that||||it be permitted||||||||agreement|||request| They requested that they should appoint a council of the whole of Gaul for a certain day, and that it might be permitted to do so by Caesar's will: to have certain things which they wished to ask of him by common consent. Ea re permissa diem concilio constituerunt et iure iurando ne quis enuntiaret, nisi quibus communi consilio mandatum esset, inter se sanxerunt. they||having been permitted||council|||by law|by swearing|||would announce|||common|||||among themselves|sanctioned This request having been granted, they appointed a day for the assembly, and ordained by an oath with each other, that no one should disclose [their deliberations] except those to whom this [office] should be assigned by the general assembly.

[31] 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. To|council|dismissed||||||they had been|||return|and sought|||||in secret|about||of all|safety|||act|it be allowed [31] After that council had been dismissed, the same princes of the states who had been before returned to Caesar and asked to be permitted to deal with him secretly in secret concerning their own and the safety of all. 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. ||obtained||all|weeping||||threw themselves down|||themselves||to strive||work||||they had said|be announced||||||||||announced||highest||torture||come|they would see When this matter was obtained, they all threw themselves weeping at Caesar's feet: they no less contended and labored that what they had said should not be made known, than that they should obtain what they wished, because if it were made known, they saw that they would be put to the greatest torture. Locutus est pro his Diviciacus Haeduus: Galliae totius factiones esse duas; harum alterius principatum tenere Haeduos, alterius Arvernos. Spoken|||||Aeduan|||factions|||of these|||hold|||Arverni Diviciacus Gaedus spoke for them: that there are two factions of the whole of Gaul; of these the Aedui hold the principality of one, the Arverni of another. Hi cum tantopere de potentatu inter se multos annos contenderent, factum esse uti ab Arvernis Sequanisque Germani mercede arcesserentur. ||so greatly||power|among||||they contended|deed||||Arvernians|and Sequani||payment|would be summoned When these had so much contended with each other for power for many years, it came to pass that they were brought from the Arvernes and the Seine by the Germans as a reward. 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. ||||||to have crossed|||||cultivation culture|||||wild||the barbarians|they had subdued|having been crossed||||about||||||| Of the first of these, about 15,000 crossed the Rhine; afterwards, when the wild and barbarous men had fallen in love with the lands and the worship and the forces of the Gauls, many were carried away; being now in Gaul to the number of one hundred and twenty thousand. Cum his Haeduos eorumque clientes semel atque iterum armis contendisse; magnam calamitatem pulsos accepisse, omnem nobilitatem, omnem senatum, omnem equitatum amisisse. ||Aedui|and their||once||||to have fought|||driven back|suffered defeat||nobility|||||lost everything With these the children and their clients have again and again contended with arms; that he had received a great calamity, that he had lost all the nobility, all the senate, and all the cavalry. 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. ||and calamities|broken||||||||hospitality|||very much||||could have achieved|forced to give|||hostages||||and||oath|citizenship|to bind|they|||demand them back||||||implore||refuse|||permanently||their|control||| Broken by these battles and calamities, who, both by their prowess and by the hospitality and friendship of the Roman people, had previously been able to do much in Gaul, were compelled to give hostages to the most noble of the city in the Sequani, and to bind themselves to the city by swearing by law that they would neither repeat the hostages, nor implore help from the Roman people, nor refuse them, much less perpetually under their they were under control and command. Unum se esse ex omni civitate Haeduorum qui adduci non potuerit ut iuraret aut liberos suos obsides daret. ||||||||be brought||could||he would swear||his children||hostages| That he was one of the whole city of the Aedui who could not be brought to swear an oath or to give his children as hostages. Ob eam rem se ex civitate profugisse et Romam ad senatum venisse auxilium postulatum, quod solus neque iure iurando neque obsidibus teneretur. |that|||||fled|||||||help requested||alone||law||||he was held For this reason he fled from the city and came to Rome to the senate asking for help, because he alone could not be held by oath or hostages. 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. |worse|to the victors||||the conquered|had happened|for this reason||king of the Germans||||||had settled|third||land||||best|||he would have occupied|and|now||||||to depart||for this reason||a few|||of the Harudes|||||||||||were being prepared But it happened worse to the conquerors of the Sequani than to the vanquished of the Aedi, because Ariovistus, king of the Germans, had settled in their borders, and had occupied a third part of the land of the Sequani, which was the best of all Gaul; 244 had come to him, for whom a place and a seat had been prepared. 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. ||few||||||territories|would be driven out|||||cross|||to be compared||Gallic|||||this|custom of living|victory|||compared It would be a few years from now that all would be driven from the borders of Gaul, and all the Germans would cross the Rhine; for the French should not be compared with the German country, nor should this habit of conquest be compared with that. 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. Ariovistus|||once||||he conquered||||be done||Magetobrigam|proudly||cruelly|to command|hostages||of each||demand hostages||||||and tortures||if|if any|||||||will|||to sit Now Ariovistus, having once defeated the forces of the Gauls in a battle, which battle was fought at Magetobriga, was to command proudly and cruelly, to demand hostages of the noblest of every man's children, and to inflict on them all examples and tortures, if any thing was not done at his command or will. Hominem esse barbarum, iracundum, temerarium: non posse eius imperia, diutius sustineri. ||barbarous|irritable|rash||||commands||to be endured To be a barbarous, hot-tempered, rash man: his dominions could not be long endured. 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. ||||and the Roman people||may be|of help|||the same||to be done|||have done|||emigrate|another|home|other|homes|remote|||seek fortune|fortune|||they may experience Unless there is something to help Caesar and the Roman people, all the Gauls must do the same as the Helvetii did, so that they emigrate from home, seek another residence, other seats, removed from the Germans, and try their luck, whatever happens. Haec si enuntiata Ariovisto sint, non dubitare quin de omnibus obsidibus qui apud eum sint gravissimum supplicium sumat. |||Ariovistus||||||||||||most severe|punishment|will take If these things were said to Ariovistus, he had no doubt that he would take the most severe punishment of all the hostages who were with him. 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. ||authority|||||recent victory||||||deterred|||||||be crossed|and all of Gaul|||Ariovistus|injury||to defend Caesar, either by his authority and his army, or by his recent victory, or by the name of the Roman people, should be able to deter a greater number of Germans from crossing the Rhine, and to defend all Gaul from the injury of Ariovist.

[32] Hac oratione ab Diviciaco habita omnes qui aderant magno fletu auxilium a Caesare petere coeperunt. |||||||were present||weeping|help|||to seek|began [32] At this speech delivered by Diviciacus, all who were present began to cry for help from Caesar. Animadvertit Caesar unos ex omnibus Sequanos nihil earum rerum facere quas ceteri facerent sed tristes capite demisso terram intueri. he noticed||only||||nothing||||||would do|||with heads|with head down||to gaze at Caesar noticed that some of the Sequani were not doing any of the things that the others were doing, but were looking sadly at the ground with their heads down. Eius rei quae causa esset miratus ex ipsis quaesiit. |||||astonished|||asked about it Wondering what the cause of this was, he inquired of them. Nihil Sequani respondere, sed in eadem tristitia taciti permanere. ||||||sadness|silent|remain silent Sequani made no reply, but remained silent in the same sadness. Cum ab his saepius quaereret neque ullam omnino vocem exprimere posset, idem Diviacus Haeduus respondit: hoc esse miseriorem et graviorem fortunam Sequanorum quam reliquorum, quod soli ne in occulto quidem queri neque auxilium implorare auderent absentisque Ariovisti crudelitatem, velut si cora 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. |||more often|he would seek|||||express|||Diviacus|||||more miserable||more serious|fortune|||the rest|||||||to complain|||to implore help||of the absent||cruelty|as if||heart|were present|they would shudder||||however||opportunity|was given|the Sequani|indeed||||||they had received||towns||||||all|tortures||to be endured When he repeatedly inquired of them, and was unable to express any voice at all, the Divine Gaedus answered the same: that this was a more miserable and more serious fate of the Sequani than of the rest, that they alone did not dare to complain even in secret, nor to implore help, and in the absence of the cruelty of Ariovistus, they would be horrified, as if the heart were present; therefore that the rest, however, would be given an opportunity of flight, but the Sequani, who had received Ariovistus within their borders, and all the towns of which were in his power, would all be tortured.

[33] 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. ||||of the Gauls|||he encouraged|promised|||||concern|future concern|great|||||benefit||||encouraged by|||| [33] When Caesar learned these things, he strengthened the hearts of the Gauls with words, and promised himself that he would take care of that matter in the future; that he had great hope that Ariovistus, brought by his favor and authority, would put an end to his injuries. Hac oratione habita, concilium dimisit. This||having been delivered|| Having made this speech, he dismissed the council. 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. ||||||were urging|therefore||||to be considered||to be undertaken||in the power|first||||and relatives|||||called|in the power|slavery|and||control power|he was seeing|Germans|||hostages|||||||||||||most disgraceful|||||| And according to this, many things encouraged him why he thought that he should consider and undertake the matter, first of all, that he saw that the Aedui, brothers and relatives often called by number by the senate, were held in servitude and under the control of the Germans, and understood that they were their hostages with Ariovistus and the Sequani; which he thought to be most disgraceful to himself and to the state in such a government of the Roman people. 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. ||Germans|get accustomed||||||||||||dangerous|||||wild||wild and barbarous||he thought|||||they had occupied|||Cimbri|Teutons|had done|in||||inde|||they would contend||||||||divided||||as soon as possible|to be met|he thought it necessary But little by little he saw that the Germans were accustomed to cross the Rhine, and that a large number of them should come into Gaul, to be dangerous to the Roman people, and he did not think that the people were wild and barbarous, lest, when they had occupied all Gaul, as the Cimbri and Teutons had done before, they should go out into the province, and thence march into Italy [, especially when the Rhone divided the Seine from our province]; which things he thought should be met as soon as possible. Ipse autem Ariovistus tantos sibi spiritus, tantam arrogantiam sumpserat, ut ferendus non videretur. ||Ariovistus|so many||spirit|such a|arrogance|he had taken||bearable||seemed But Ariovistus himself had taken so many spirits, and so much arrogance, that he did not seem to be wounded.

[34] 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. |||it pleased||||||||||should ask||some||||conversation|he would choose|||||||the highest|of both||||to act [34] For this reason it pleased him to send ambassadors to Ariovistus, who demanded of him that he should choose some place in the middle of the conversation between the two: he wished to deal with him about the affairs of the state and the highest matters of both. 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. |||||||||||himself|||coming||||||wants|||||it is necessary Ariovistus replied to his delegation that if he needed anything from Caesar, he would come to him himself; if he wants something, he must come to himself. 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. furthermore||||||||||to dare|||he was occupying|||without||supplies||effort||||to assemble| Moreover, he neither dared to enter without an army into those parts of Gaul which Caesar possessed, nor could he draw an army into one place without a great supply and preparation. Sibi autem mirum videri quid in sua Gallia, quam bello vicisset, aut Caesari aut omnino populo Romano negotii esset. ||strange||||||||he had conquered|||||||business| But it seemed strange to him that in his own Gaul, which he had won in war, it was of no business either to Caesar or to the Roman people at all.

[35] His responsis ad Caesarem relatis, iterum ad eum Caesar legatos cum his mandatis mittit: quoniam tanto suo populique Romani beneficio adtectus, 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: 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. ||||having been reported|again|||||||mandates|||||||benefit|having been affected|||consulship|||||||||||||||||conversation||invited|was burdened|||||to be said|||to be known|||||||||||||more||||||||||||having been reported||he would allow||whom|||by his will||to report||it is permitted|snow||||snow|||of them|| [35] Having reported these answers to Caesar, Caesar again sends ambassadors to him with these instructions: because he was so much favored by himself and the Roman people, when in his consulship the king and his friend had been called by the senate, he would return this favor to himself and the Roman people, so that he was invited to come to the conference he was burdened, nor did he think that he should be told about the common matter and should be known, that these were the things which he demanded of him: first, that he should not transport any more multitude of men across the Rhine into Gaul; then he would return the hostages he had from the Aedui, and he would allow the Sequani to return those they had by his will to them; nor would he attack the Aedui with injury, nor would he bring war upon them and their allies. 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 lacere posset, Haeduos ceterosque amicos populi Romani defenderet, se Haeduorum iniurias non neglecturum. ||||||||||||||||he obtained|||||||||had decided|||||he would obtain||conveniently|||to be able|||and the others|||||||injuries|| If he had done so, he and the Roman people would have perpetual favor and future friendship with him; if he did not obtain it, since M. Messala, M. Piso, the consuls, the senate had decided that whoever should obtain the province of Gaul, which he could tear to the advantage of the state, should defend the Aedui and the other friends of the Roman people, he would not neglect the injuries of the Aedui.

[36] Ad haec Ariovistus respondit: ius esse belli ut qui vicissent iis quos vicissent quem ad modum vellent imperarent. |||||||||had conquered|||they had conquered||||| [36] To these things Ariovistus answered: that the right of war is that those who have conquered may rule over those whom they have conquered in whatever manner they please. Item populum Romanum victis non ad alterius praescriptum, sed ad suum arbitrium imperare consuesse. |||the conquered||||prescription||||judgment||to be accustomed Again, when the Roman people had been conquered, they were accustomed to rule not according to the dictates of another, but according to their own will. Si ipse populo Romano non praescriberet quem ad modum suo iure uteretur, non oportere se a populo Romano in suo iure impediri. |||||||||||he would use||it is not right||||||||to be hindered If he himself did not prescribe to the Roman people what he should use according to his own right, he should not be hindered by the Roman people in his own right. Haeduos sibi, quoniam belli fortunam temptassent et armis congressi ac superati essent, stipendiarios esse factos. ||since|||had attempted|||having engaged||||mercenaries|| The children themselves, since they had tried their luck in war and had been met and overcome by arms, were made soldiers. Magnam Caesarem iniuriam facere, qui suo adventu vectigalia sibi deteriora faceret. |||||||taxes||worse|would make To do Caesar a great wrong, who by his coming would make the taxes worse for him. 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. ||hostages|to return||||||||||bringing upon||||they remained|||and the payment||they would pay|||||||||||future Quod sibi Caesar denuntiaret se Haeduorum iniurias non neglecturum, neminem secum sine sua pernicie contendisse. |||should announce|||injuries|||||||| Cum vellet, congrederetur: intellecturum quid invicti Germani, exercitatissimi in armis, qui inter annos XIIII tectum non subissent, virtute possent. |||||||most experienced|||||||||had submitted||

[37] Haec eodem tempore Caesari mandata referebantur et legati ab Haeduis et a Treveris veniebant: Haedui questum quod Harudes, qui nuper in Galliam transportati essent, fines eorum popularentur: sese ne obsidibus quidem datis pacem Ariovisti redimere potuisse; Treveri autem, pagos centum Sueborum ad ripas Rheni consedisse, qui Rhemum transire conarentur; his praeesse Nasuam et Cimberium fratres. |||||were being reported||||||||were coming||||||recently|||||||were ravaging||||||||to redeem||||||||the banks||to have settled||||were trying|||||| Quibus rebus Caesar vehementer commotus maturandum sibi existimavit, ne, si nova manus Sueborum cum veteribus copiis Ariovisti sese coniunxisset, minus facile resisti posset. |||very much||to be done|||||||||the old|||||||| Itaque re frumentaria quam celerrime potuit comparata magnis itineribus ad Ariovistum contendit. ||||||obtained||journeys|||he marched

[38] 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]. |of three days|||it was announced||||||||||||||||to march|||||| Id ne accideret, magnopere sibi praecavendum Caesar existimabat. Namque omnium rerum quae ad bellum usui erant summa erat in eo oppido facultas, idque natura loci sic muniebatur ut magnam ad ducendum bellum daret facultatem, propterea quod flumen [alduas] Dubis ut circino circumductum paene totum oppidum cingit, 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, hunc murus circumdatus arcem efficit et cum oppido coniungit. |||||||||||||opportunity|||||was fortified||||leading||gave|opportunity|||||||I draw|circumductum|almost|||surrounds||space||||greater|||||intermittit||||altitude|||||||||of the banks||were happening|||surrounded|the citadel|it provides||||joins Huc Caesar magnis nocturnis diurnisque itineribus contendit occupatoque oppido ibi praesidium conlocat. ||||and daily|journeys||and having occupied|||garrison|he places

[39] 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. |||||||and supplies||he delays||inquiry||and the voices||and|||of great|||||||from the questioning||||they were proclaiming||number||||congresses||the face||||of the eyes|||||suddenly||||he occupied|||moderately||minds|and courage|he was disturbing [39] While he stayed a few days at Vesontion for grain and supplies, from our inquiry and the voices of the Gauls and merchants, who declared that the Germans were of enormous size, with incredible valor and training in arms (often when they met with them in numbers they said they did not even have a face or a line of eyes could have borne), so much fear suddenly took possession of the whole army that it did not moderately disturb the minds and hearts of all. Hic primum ortus est a tribunis militum, praefectis, reliquisque qui ex urbe amicitiae causa Caesarem secuti non magnum in re militari usum habebant: 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. |||||tribunes||the prefects|and the rest|||||||having followed||||||||||||brought in||||||||he was seeking|||by will|to depart|it was permitted|||shame|adduced||||they would avoid|remained Here first arose the tribunes of the soldiers, the captains, and the rest who had followed Caesar from the city for the sake of friendship, and had no great use in military matters; they remained unmoved by any shame, in order to avoid the suspicion of fear. Hi neque vultum fingere neque interdum lacrimas tenere poterant: abditi in tabernaculis aut suum fatum querebantur aut cum familiaribus suis commune periculum miserabantur. ||face|to feign||sometimes|tears||they were able|hidden||tents||||they were complaining|||||||they were lamenting These could neither put on a face, nor sometimes hold back tears: hidden in the shelters, they either lamented their fate, or pitied their common danger with their relatives. Vulgo totis castris testamenta obsignabantur. commonly|in all the||testaments|were sealed In general, the wills of the whole camp were sealed. Horum vocibus ac timore paulatim etiam ii qui magnum in castris usum habebant, milites centurionesque quique equitatui praeerant, perturbabantur. ||||little by little|||||||||||who|cavalry|were in charge of|were disturbed By these voices and fear, even those who had great use in the camp, the soldiers and centurions and those who were in charge of the cavalry, were gradually disturbed. 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. |||||timid|to be considered|they wanted||||to fear||the difficulties||||||interceded|||||||the supply of grain||sufficiently||to be supported||to fear| Those who wished to be considered the least timid of these, said that they did not fear the enemy, but that they feared the narrowness of the road, and the greatness of the woods which would intervene between them and Ariovistus, or the grain, so that it could be sufficiently supported. Non nulli etiam Caesari nuntiabant, cum castra moveri ac signa ferri iussisset, non fore dicto audientes milites neque propter timorem signa laturos. ||||they were reporting|||||standards||||||||||||would bring Nor did they tell anyone to Caesar, when he had ordered the camp to be moved and the standards to be carried, that the soldiers would not listen to what was said, nor would they pass the standards out of fear.

[40] 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. |||having been summoned|council||of the orders||||||vehemently||he blamed|||||||||by what plan|||to be sought||to be considered|they were being led [40] When he had noticed this, having called together a council of all ranks, and employing centurions for that purpose, he vehemently accused them: first, that either in what direction or by what plan they were being led, they thought that they should seek or think for themselves. Ariovistum se consule cupidissime populi Romani amicitiam adpetisse; cur hunc tam temere quisquam ab officio discessurum iudicaret? ||consulting|very eagerly||||to have sought||||so rashly||||to depart|should judge Ariovistus advised himself that he had most eagerly obtained the friendship of the Roman people; Why should anyone so rashly judge him to leave office? Sibi quidem persuaderi cognitis suis poslulatis atque aequitate condicionum perspecta eum neque suam neque populi Romani gratiam repudiaturum. |||having been informed||demands||equity|of the conditions|||||||of the Roman||will reject Indeed, he was convinced that, knowing his subjects and perceiving the equity of the situation, he would not repudiate either his favor or that of the Roman people. Quod si furore atque amentia impulsum bellum intulisset, quid tandem vererentur? ||||||||||would they have feared But if, with fury and madness, he had brought on the impulse of war, what would they be afraid of? Aut cur de sua virtute aut de ipsius diligentia desperarent? |||||||||they would despair Or why should they despair of their power or of his diligence? 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. |||||||||||||||||||||||seemed|||recently||||the tumult|||something|the deed||||||they had accepted|was done The threat of his enemy being made by the memory of our fathers, the Cimbri and the Teutons driven off by C. Marius [when the army seemed to deserve no less praise than the emperor himself]; which also happened lately in the tumult of the slaves in Italy, who, however, were relieved by some experience and training which they had received from us. 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|||steadfastness|therefore|||some||unarmed|||they had feared||afterwards|armed|||they had overcome From this it may be judged how much constancy of good he had in him, for the reason that those who had been for a long time unarmed without cause feared, these afterwards armed and victorious overcame. 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. finally|||the same||||||having met||||their||||their|borders|usually|they have overcome||yet|equal||||| In short, these were the same Germans with whom the Helvetii had often met in numbers, and had generally outnumbered them not only in their own but also in their borders, who, however, could not be equal to our army. 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. |||||||||||to find||for a long time||weary|||||||||marshes|had held|||||despairing|||battle||scattered|suddenly|adortum|more||||||to have conquered If he should stir up those against the battle and the flight of the Gauls, these, if they sought, could find that Ariovistus, exhausted by the length of the war with the Gauls, having held himself for many months in the camp and in the marshes, and having not gained power of himself, having already despaired of the battle and having been scattered, had suddenly won the battle more by reason and counsel than by valor . Cui rationi contra homines barbaros atque imperitos locus fuisset, hac ne ipsum quidem sperare nostros exercitus capi posse. |reason|||||||||||||||to capture| Qui suum timorem in rei frumentariae simulationem angustiasque itineris conferrent, facere arroganter, cum aut de officio imperatoris desperare aut praescribere viderentur. |||||||||would bring together||arrogantly||||||||to prescribe|they seemed Haec sibi esse curae; frumentum Sequanos, Leucos, Lingones subministrare, iamque esse in agris frumenta matura; de itinere ipsos brevi tempore iudicaturos. ||||grain|||||||||crops||||||| 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. ||||||||they are said|||||to be moved||for|whomsoever|||||||||done||had failed|||crime|having been discovered|avarice||convicted Suam innocentiam perpetua vita, felicitatem Helvetiorum bello esse perspectam. 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. ||||longer||to bring together|||||||the fourth|watch||would move||||||whether|||shame||||||would be Quod si praeterea nemo sequatur, tamen se cum sola decima legione iturum, de qua non dubitet, sibique eam praetoriam cohortem futuram. ||besides||follows|||||tenth||about to go||||doubts|and to himself|||| Huic legioni Caesar et indulserat praecipue et propter virtutem confidebat maxime.