Liber Secundus (I-XV)
|Second||
Buch Zwei (1-15)
Book Two (1-15)
Livre deux (1-15)
[1] 1 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.
when||||nearer||||||above|we have demonstrated|frequent|||rumors|were being brought|and by letter||||was being made||the Belgians||||||we had said||||to conspire|and hostages|||to be
2 Coniurandi has esse causas: primum quod vererentur ne, omni pacata Gallia, ad eos exercitus noster adduceretur; 3 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; 4 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.
of conspiring|to be|||||they were afraid|||peaceful|||||our|should be brought against||because|||by some||they were being incited|partly|who|||longer|||to be involved|they had not wanted|||||to winter||to grow old|||troublesome|they were bringing|||mobility||levy|||empires|they were studying|||||||||the more powerful|||||conducting||||the common people||they were being occupied||less||||||to follow|
[2] 1 His nuntiis litterisque commotus Caesar duas legiones in citeriore Gallia novas conscripsit et inita aestate in ulteriorem Galliam qui deduceret Q. Pedium legatum misit.
|messages|and letters|||||in|this side of||new|he enlisted||in the summer||||||would lead||Pedium||
1 Having been moved by his messengers and letters, Caesar recruited two new legions in Gallia Citerior and, at the beginning of summer, sent Quintus Pedius, his legate, to lead them into Gallia Ulterior.
2 Ipse, cum primum pabuli copia esse inciperet, ad exercitum venit.
|||forage|||began|||came
2 He himself, as soon as there began to be a supply of fodder, came to the army.
3 Dat negotium Senonibus reliquisque Gallis qui finitimi Belgis erant uti ea quae apud eos gerantur cognoscant seque de his rebus certiorem faciant.
to the Dat||to the Senones|and the rest of|||||||||||are being done|they may know|themselves|||||they make
3 He assigns the task to the Senones and the other Gauls who were neighboring the Belgians to learn about the matters that are taking place among them and to inform themselves about these affairs.
4 Hi constanter omnes nuntiaverunt manus cogi, exercitum in unum locum conduci.
|surely||they announced|hand|to be gathered|||||to be led
4 Indeed, all consistently reported that the hands were to be gathered, and the army was to be led to one place.
Tum vero dubitandum non existimavit quin ad eos proficisceretur.
||to be doubted||he thought||||he would set out
Then indeed he did not think it necessary to hesitate whether he should set out to them.
Re frumentaria provisa castra movet diebusque circiter XV ad fines Belgarum pervenit.
|grain|having been provided||moves|and on the days||||||he arrives
With the grain supply arranged, he moved the camp and arrived at the borders of the Belgae in about 15 days.
[3] 1 Eo cum de improviso celeriusque omnium opinione venisset, Remi, qui proximi Galliae ex Belgis sunt, ad eum legatos Iccium et Andebrogium, primos civitatis, miserunt, 2 qui dicerent se suaque omnia in fidem atque potestatem populi Romani permittere, neque se cum reliquis Belgis consensisse neque contra populum Romanum coniurasse, 3 paratosque esse et obsides dare et imperata facere et oppidis recipere et frumento ceterisque rebus iuvare; 4 reliquos omnes Belgas in armis esse, Germanosque qui cis Rhenum incolant sese cum his coniunxisse, 5 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.
||||and more quickly||opinion|had come|the Remi||||||||||Iccius||Andebrogium|the first||||||their own things|||faith|||||to allow||||the remaining||to have agreed|||||to have conspired|and prepared||||||imperata||||to receive|||and the others|rebus|to help|||||||and the Germans||cis||to inhabit||||to have joined|and only||||fury|||the Suessiones|indeed||||||||the same||they may use|||and|magistrate|||they have|to deter|they would be able|that|||they would consent
[3] 1 When he had arrived unexpectedly and more quickly than everyone had expected, the Remi, who are the nearest from the Belgae, sent ambassadors to him, Iccius and Andebrogium, the leading men of the state, 2 who stated that they were placing themselves and all their belongings in the faith and power of the Roman people, and that they had neither conspired with the other Belgae nor against the Roman people, 3 and that they were prepared to give hostages and obey orders and take in troops and assist with grain and other matters; 4 that all the remaining Belgae were in arms and that the Germans living on this side of the Rhine had joined themselves with them, 5 and that the madness of all of them was so great that even the Suessiones, their brothers and kinsmen, who used the same rights and laws, could not deter them from agreeing with them, nor could they share one command and one magistracy with them.
[4] 1 Cum ab iis quaereret quae civitates quantaeque in armis essent et quid in bello possent, sic reperiebat: plerosque Belgos esse ortos a Germanis Rhenumque antiquitus traductos propter loci fertilitatem ibi consedisse Gallosque qui ea loca incolerent expulisse, solosque esse qui, 2 patrum nostrorum memoria omni Gallia vexata, Teutonos Cimbrosque intra suos fines ingredi prohibuerint; 3 qua ex re fieri uti earum rerum memoria magnam sibi auctoritatem magnosque spiritus in re militari sumerent.
|||he was asking|||and how great|||||||||||most|Belgians||originated|||and the Rhine|from ancient times|transferred|||fertility||to have settled|and the Gauls|||fertility|inhabited|to have expelled|and||who||||||vexata|Teutons|and the Cimbri||||to enter|they had prohibited||||to be||of them|||||authority|and great|||||they took
1 When he sought from them which cities were how strong in arms and what they could achieve in war, he found that most of the Belgians were descended from the Germans, who had been transferred across the Rhine long ago because of the fertility of the land and had settled there, having expelled the Gauls who inhabited those places, and that they alone, in the memory of our ancestors, had kept the Teutons and Cimbri from entering their territories while all of Gaul was being ravaged; from this circumstance came about that the memory of these events gave them great authority and great confidence in military matters.
4 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.
||||||explored|||||by reason of their proximity|and by ties of affinity|joined|how great||the multitude||||council||||promised||they would know
4 They said that they had thoroughly examined the number of them, because they had learned how many people each had promised for the common council of the Belgae for that war, due to their connections by kinship and marriage.
5 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.
very much|||Bellovaci||||authority||||to be strong|||to accomplish|armed|||promising||||elected||60|of the whole||||to demand
5 Among them, the Bellovaci are very powerful both in virtue and authority and in the number of men: they can assemble armed forces of a hundred thousand, and from that number they promise to elect sixty thousand and claim command of the whole war.
6 Suessiones suos esse finitimos; fines latissimos feracissimosque agros possidere.
|||||very wide|and very fertile||to possess
6 The Suessiones consider themselves neighbors; they possess extensive and very fertile lands.
7 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, 8 qui maxime feri inter ipsos habeantur longissimeque absint; 9 XV milia Atrebates, Ambianos X milia, Morinos XXV milia, Menapios VII milia, Caletos X milia, Veliocasses et Viromanduos totidem, Atuatucos XVIIII milia; 10 Condrusos, Eburones, Caerosos, Paemanos, qui uno nomine Germani appellantur, arbitrari ad XL milia.
|||king|||||||most powerful|||of a great||of these||||of Britain||has obtained||||Galba|||||and prudence||of the whole||||to be carried||||XII|to promise||army||as many|Nervios|||to be|||be held|and very long|absent|||Atrebates|Ambianos|||Morinos|XXV||Menapians|VII||Caletos|||Veliocasses||Viromanduos||Atuatucos|||Condrusos|Eburones|Caerosos|Paemanos||||||to consider||XL|
7 Among them there was a king, Diviciacus, who is still remembered, the most powerful in all of Gaul, who held the power over a large part of these regions, and also over Britain; now the king is Galba: to him, on account of his great justice and wisdom, all the will of the war is directed; they have twelve towns, promise fifty thousand armed men; the Nervii are the same number, who are considered the most fierce among them and are very far away; fifteen thousand Atrebates, ten thousand Ambiani, twenty-five thousand Morini, seven thousand Menapii, ten thousand Caletes, the same number for Veliocasses and Viromanduos, eighteen thousand Atuatucos; I estimate the Condrusi, Eburones, Caerosi, Paemani, who are all called Germans, to be around forty thousand.
[5] 1 Caesar Remos cohortatus liberaliterque oratione prosecutus omnem senatum ad se convenire principumque liberos obsides ad se adduci iussit.
|the Romans|having encouraged|and liberally||having encouraged|||||to come together|and the leaders||||||
1 Caesar encouraged the Romans and having pursued them with a generous speech, ordered all the Senate to convene to him and the children of the leaders to be brought to him as hostages.
Quae omnia ab his diligenter ad diem facta sunt.
||||diligently||||
All these things were diligently done by them by the appointed day.
2 Ipse Diviciacum Haeduum magnopere cohortatus docet quanto opere rei publicae communisque salutis intersit manus hostium distineri, ne cum tanta multitudine uno tempore confligendum sit.
|||greatly|encouraged|he teaches|||||common||it is important|||to be separated|||such a||||to be fought|
2 He himself greatly encouraged Diviciacus the Aeduan and shows how much it concerns the republic and the common safety to keep the hands of the enemies apart, so that they do not have to clash at one time with such a large multitude.
3 Id fieri posse, si suas copias Haedui in fines Bellovacorum introduxerint et eorum agros populari coeperint.
|to be done|||||the Haedui|||of the Bellovaci|they have introduced||||to plunder|they have begun
3 It could happen if the Haedui introduce their forces into the territories of the Bellovaci and begin to pillage their fields.
4 His datis mandatis eum a se dimittit.
||commands||||sends away
4 After giving these orders, he dismisses him from himself.
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.
|||||||gathered||||he saw||||to be away||||he had sent||||the Remi|he learned||Axon|||||of the Remi|of the territory||to translate|matured||||he placed
After he saw all the forces of the Belgae gathered in one place coming to him and learned that those whom he had sent as scouts were not far away from them and from the Remi, he hastened to lead the army across the Axona river, which is at the farthest borders of the Remi, and there he set up camp.
5 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.
|||side||of the camp|the banks||was fortifying||||||safe|||was returning||supplies|||and the remaining|||||||to be carried||it was being done
5 This thing fortified one side of the camp with the banks of the river and made safe those areas which were guarded from the enemy, and it ensured that supplies could be carried to him without danger from the Remi and other cities.
6 In eo flumine pons erat.
6 There was a bridge over that river.
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.
|garrison|he places|||||||Titius|Sabinus|||six|cohorts|he leaves|||height|feet||by a rampart|and with a ditch|eighteen||to be fortified|
There he places a garrison and leaves Q. Titurius Sabinus the lieutenant on the other side of the river with six cohorts; he orders the camp to be fortified to a height of twelve feet with a rampart and a ditch of eighteen feet.
[6] 1 Ab his castris oppidum Remorum nomine Bibrax aberat milia passuum VIII.
||from the camp||of the Remi||Bibrax|was away|||eight
1. From these camps, the town of the Remi named Bibrax was 8 miles away.
Id ex itinere magno impetu Belgae oppugnare coeperunt.
||||force||to attack|
Then, with a great attack from their journey, the Belgians began to assault.
Aegre eo die sustentatum est.
sick|||sustained|
It was endured with difficulty on that day.
2 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.
||||attack||||surrounded||||walls|from all sides|||stones|throwing|began||and the wall|defenders|stripped||tortoise||gates|they succeed|and the wall|they undermine
The siege of the Gauls is the same as that of the Belgae: when the surrounding multitude of people began to throw stones against the wall from all sides, the wall was stripped of its defenders, a tortoise was formed, they advanced on the gates and undermined the wall.
Quod tum facile fiebat.
|||was happening
This was easily accomplished at that time.
3 Nam cum tanta multitudo lapides ac tela coicerent, in muro consistendi potestas erat nulli.
||||stones|||were throwing||wall|of standing firm|||
For when such a great multitude was throwing stones and missiles, there was no opportunity for anyone to stand on the wall.
4 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.
||of fighting|night||Iccius|Remus||nobility||||||||was in charge|||||||||||message|||||aid||submittatur|||||
4 When night had brought an end to the siege, Iccius Remus, of the highest nobility and favor among his own people, who was then in charge of the town, sent a message to him (Caesar), that unless aid was sent to him, he would be unable to hold out any longer.
[7] 1 Eo de media nocte Caesar isdem ducibus usus qui nuntii ab Iccio venerant, Numidas et Cretas sagittarios et funditores Baleares subsidio oppidanis mittit; 2 quorum adventu et Remis cum spe defensionis studium propugnandi accessit et hostibus eadem de causa spes potiundi oppidi discessit.
||midnight|||the same||||the messengers||Iccio||Numidians||the Cretans|archers||slingers|Balearic||to the townspeople||||||||of defense||of defending|he approached|||the same||||of obtaining|of the town|he departed
[7] 1 At midnight, Caesar using the same leaders as the messengers who had come from Iccius, sent Numidians and Cretan archers and Balearic slingers to aid the townspeople; 2 with their arrival, both the Remi, with the hope of defense, increased their eagerness to fight, and for the same reason, the enemy's hope of capturing the town diminished.
3 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; 4 quae castra, ut fumo atque ignibus significabatur, amplius milibus passuum VIII latitudinem patebant.
|for a little while||||and the fields||having ravaged||villages|and buildings||to approach||burned||||||they marched||||||||they placed||||smoke||by fire|it was being signified|more|||||they were opening
3 Therefore they lingered for a little while near the town, ravaging the fields of the Remi, and burned down all the villages and buildings they could reach; they then marched with all their forces to Caesar's camp and set up camp less than two miles away; 4 this camp, as was indicated by the smoke and fires, spread more than eight miles in width.
[8] 1 Caesar primo et propter multitudinem hostium et propter eximiam opinionem virtutis proelio supersedere statuit; 2 cotidie tamen equestribus proeliis quid hostis virtute posset et quid nostri auderent periclitabatur.
||||the multitude|||because of|exceptional|opinion|||to refrain|he decided|daily||cavalry||||||||||was in danger
1 Caesar, at first, decided to abstain from battle due to the multitude of enemies and the exceptional reputation of their bravery; 2 however, every day he tested through cavalry skirmishes what the enemy could achieve with their valor and how far our men would dare to risk.
3 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 4 et ad extremas fossas castella constituit ibique tormenta conlocavit, ne, cum aciem instruxisset, hostes, quod tantum multitudine poterant, ab lateribus pugnantes suos circumvenire possent.
where||||inferior|he understood||||||for setting up||opportune||suitable|||hill|||||a little||the plain|elevated|only|against|||was evident|||||to occupy||||both||of the side|dejected||||the front|gently|rising|||the plain|he returned||both||||transverse|the ditch|he had led|about||CCCC|||the extremes|the ditches||he established|and there|storms|he placed||||he had arranged|||||||the sides|fighting||to surround|
3 When he realized that our men were not inferior, he chose a location suitable and appropriate for arranging the army in battle, for that hill where the camp was placed was elevated slightly above the plain and only exposed against the width as far as the battle line could occupy, and it sloped down on both sides and gradually returned to the plain gently in the front. He constructed a transverse ditch around it about 400 paces long and established fortifications at the ends of the ditches, and there he placed artillery, lest, after he had arranged the battle line, the enemies, who could only manage by their numbers, might surround his men fighting from the sides.
5 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.
||||||he had enlisted|||having been left behind|so that|||||help|to lead|||||||||he stationed
After this was done, he left behind the two legions which he had recently enlisted in the camp, so that they might be able to serve as a backup for the commander if needed, and he positioned the remaining six legions in battle formation in front of the camp.
Hostes item suas copias ex castris eductas instruxerunt.
||||||having been led out|they arranged
The enemies similarly arranged their troops drawn out of the camp.
[9] 1 Palus erat non magna inter nostrum atque hostium exercitum.
the marsh||||||||
[9] There was a not large marsh between our army and the enemy's.
Hanc si nostri transirent hostes expectabant; nostri autem, si ab illis initium transeundi fieret, ut impeditos adgrederentur, parati in armis erant.
|||were to cross||were waiting|||||||crossing|were made||impeded|would attack|ready|||
If our men were to cross here, the enemy would be waiting; however, our men were ready in arms to engage them if the enemy began to cross.
2 Interim proelio equestri inter duas acies contendebatur.
in the meantime||cavalry||||it was being fought
Meanwhile, a cavalry battle was being fought between the two lines.
Ubi neutri transeundi initium faciunt, secundiore equitum proelio nostris Caesar suos in castra reduxit.
where|neither|crossing|beginning||second|of the cavalry|||Caesar|||camp|he led back
When neither side began to cross, Caesar withdrew his men to the camp after a second cavalry battle in favor of our side.
3 Hostes protinus ex eo loco ad flumen Axonam contenderunt, quod esse post nostra castra demonstratum est.
|immediately|||||||they marched||||||has been demonstrated|
3 The enemies immediately marched from that place to the Axona river, which has been shown to be behind our camp.
4 Ibi vadis repertis partem suarum copiarum traducere conati sunt eo consilio ut, si possent, castellum, cui praeerat Q. Titurius legatus, expugnarent pontemque interscinderent; 5 si minus potuissent, agros Remorum popularentur, qui magno nobis usui ad bellum gerendum erant, commeatuque nostros prohiberent.
||having been found||||to transfer|they tried|||||||fortress||was in charge of||Titurius|legate|they would capture|and the bridge|they would cut|||||||||||||||and supplies||
4 There, having found fords, they attempted to transfer part of their troops with the plan that, if they could, they would capture the fort which was commanded by the legate Q. Titurius and cut off the bridge; 5 if they could not succeed, they would plunder the fields of the Remi, which were of great use to us for conducting war, and would prevent our supplies.
[10] 1 [Caesar] certior factus ab Titurio omnem equitatum et levis armaturae Numidas, funditores sagittariosque pontem traducit atque ad eos contendit.
||||Titus||||light|infantry|||and archers||he leads across||||he marches
[10] 1 [Caesar] having been informed by Titurius, led all the cavalry and light-armed Numidians, slingers, and archers across the bridge and marched against them.
Acriter in eo loco pugnatum est.
fiercely|||||
Fiercely there was fighting in that place.
2 Hostes impeditos nostri in flumine adgressi magnum eorum numerum occiderunt; 3 per eorum corpora reliquos audacissime transire conantes multitudine telorum reppulerunt primosque, qui transierant, equitatu circumventos interfecerunt.
|the impeded||||having attacked|||||||bodies||very boldly||attempting||of spears|they repelled|the first|||||they killed
2 Our forces attacked the enemies, who were impeded in the river, and killed a great number of them; 3 they repelled the rest, who were attempting to cross audaciously through their bodies, with a multitude of missiles, and surrounded and killed the first ones who had crossed with cavalry.
4 Hostes, ubi et de expugnando oppido et de flumine transeundo spem se fefellisse intellexerunt neque nostros in locum iniquiorem 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.
||||taking the town|||||crossing|||had deceived|they realized|||||more unfavorable|to advance|fighting|cause|they saw||||grain|to fail||council|having been called|they decided|||||each|to return||||the borders||||they had introduced|||defending|from all sides|they would agree||rather|||||from others|from the borders|they would fight||domestic|the troops||of the grain|they would use
4 When the enemies realized that they had been deceived in their hope of capturing the town and of crossing the river, and they saw that our forces were not advancing to a more advantageous position for the sake of fighting, and also that their own supplies of food began to fail, they convened a council and decided that it was best for each one to return home, and that those whose lands the Roman army had first entered should gather from all sides to defend those lands, so that they would rather fight on their own territory than in foreign lands and utilize their domestic supplies of food.
5 Ad eam sententiam cum reliquis causis haec quoque ratio eos deduxit, quod Diviciacum atque Haeduos finibus Bellovacorum adpropinquare cognoverant.
||opinion|||causes|||||led||||the Aedui|||to approach|they had learned
5 This reasoning, along with other causes, led them to this decision, as they had learned that Diviciacus and the Aedui were approaching from the territory of the Bellovaci.
His persuaderi ut diutius morarentur neque suis auxilium ferrent non poterat.
||||they stayed||||they would bring||
He could not persuade them to stay longer nor to bring help.
[11] 1 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.
||having been decided|second|watch|||noise||tumult||having exited|no|certain|order|||||||||sought|||to arrive|was hastening|they made||similar||departure|it seemed
[11] 1 With this matter settled, at the second watch, they left the camp with great noise and commotion, in no certain order or command, as each one sought the first place of the journey and hurried to reach home, making it appear as if a similar flight was taking place.
2 Hac re statim Caesar per speculatores cognita insidias veritus, quod qua de causa discederent nondum perspexerat, exercitum equitatumque castris continuit.
||immediately|||scouts||ambush|having feared|||||they were departing||had perceived||and the cavalry||he kept
2 Immediately, Caesar, having learned of the ambush through scouts and fearing for what reason they were departing, which he had not yet perceived, kept the army and cavalry in the camp.
3 Prima luce, confirmata re ab exploratoribus, omnem equitatum, qui novissimum agmen moraretur, praemisit.
||having been confirmed||||||||column|was delaying|he sent ahead
3 At dawn, having confirmed the situation from the scouts, he sent forward all the cavalry that was delaying at the rear guard.
His Q. Pedium et L. Aurunculeium Cottam legatos praefecit; T. Labienum legatum cum legionibus tribus subsequi iussit.
|||||Aurunculeium|Cottam|||||||||to follow|
He appointed Q. Pedius and L. Aurunculeius Cottus as legates; he ordered T. Labienus, a legate, to follow with three legions.
4 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, 5 priores, quod abesse a periculo viderentur neque ulla necessitate neque imperio continerentur, exaudito clamore perturbatis ordinibus omnes in fuga sibi praesidium ponerent.
|the last|they attacked||many|||having pursued||||of those fleeing|they fell|||from the rear|from the rear guard|||had come||they were standing firm|and bravely||||they were standing|the previous||to be away|||they seemed||none|necessity|||they were standing|having been heard|with a shout|having been disturbed|to the orders|||||the guard|they were standing
4 They attacked the rear guard and pursued them for many thousands of paces, cutting down a great multitude of those fleeing, as they stood firm against the attack of our soldiers; 5 the first ones, seeing that they seemed far from danger and were held neither by necessity nor by command, when they heard the shout, broke ranks in confusion and all took refuge in flight.
6 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.
||||||||they killed||||time||sunset||to follow|they stopped|they|||||commanded|they retreated
6 Thus, without any danger, our men killed as great a multitude of them as the duration of the day allowed; they ceased to pursue them at sunset and returned to the camp, as it had been commanded.
[12] 1 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.
on the next day|of that|||before|||||terror|||they recovered|||of the Suessiones|||the Remi|||led|||journey|having been completed|||Noviodunum|he hastens
[12] 1 The following day, Caesar, before the enemy could recover from their terror and flight, led the army into the territory of the Suessiones, who were nearest to the Remi, and after a long march, he hastened to the town of Noviodunum.
2 Id ex itinere oppugnare conatus, quod vacuum ab defensoribus esse audiebat, propter latitudinem fossae murique altitudinem paucis defendentibus expugnare non potuit.
||journey|to attack|attempt||vacant||defenders||he was hearing|||the ditch|of the wall|height|with a few|defending|to capture||
2 Attempting to attack it from the march, which he had heard was devoid of defenders, he was unable to capture it due to the width of the ditch and the height of the wall, with only a few defending.
3 Castris munitis vineas agere quaeque ad oppugnandum usui erant comparare coepit.
|fortified|vineyards|to do|each||to attack||||he began
3 With the fortified camps, he began to prepare the vineyards for use in the siege.
4 Interim omnis ex fuga Suessionum multitudo in oppidum proxima nocte convenit.
||||of the Suessiones||||||gathered
4 Meanwhile, the whole multitude fleeing from the Suessiones gathered in the nearby town during the night.
5 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.
|from the vineyards|||having been done|after the mound|thrown|and with the towers|having been established||of the works|||they had seen||||had heard||speed||moved||||||they send||to those requesting|||they were being preserved|they obtain
5 Swiftly, after the vineyards had been turned to the town, after a mound had been thrown up and towers had been established, the magnitude of the works, which neither the Gauls had seen before nor had heard of, and the speed of the Romans moved them to send envoys to Caesar regarding surrender, and when the Remi sought that they be preserved, they obtained it.
[13] 1 Caesar, obsidibus acceptis primis civitatis atque ipsius Galbae regis duobus filiis armisque omnibus ex oppido traditis, in deditionem Suessiones accipit exercitumque in Bellovacos ducit.
||||||of Galba|of Galba||||and arms|||the town|having been surrendered||||receives|and the army|||
[13] 1 Caesar, having received hostages, the first men of the state and the two sons of King Galba himself, and all arms surrendered from the town, received the Suessiones into surrender and led his army against the Bellovaci.
2 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.
|||and their own||||Bratuspantium|they had brought||||||||about||||||elders|age|||having exited||||stretched|||to mean|they had begun|||||||||||||had brought
2 When they had gathered all their possessions into the town of Bratuspantium and Caesar was about five miles away from that town with his army, all the elders came out of the town, extended their hands to Caesar, and began to signify with their voices that they were coming under his faith and power and would not contend against the Roman people with arms.
3 Item, cum ad oppidum accessisset castraque ibi poneret, pueri mulieresque ex muro passis manibus suo more pacem ab Romanis petierunt.
||||had approached|and the camp||he would set up||||||||||||
Item, when he had approached the town and was about to set up camp there, the boys and women, with their hands outstretched from the wall, sought peace from the Romans in their own manner.
[14] 1 Pro his Diviciacus (nam post discessum Belgarum dimissis Haeduorum copiis ad eum reverterat) facit verba: 2 Bellovacos omni tempore in fide atque amicitia civitatis Haeduae fuisse; 3 impulsos ab suis principibus, qui dicerent Haeduos a Caesare in servitutem redactos.
|||||departure||dismissed|||||had returned||words|||||loyalty||||of the Haedui||driven|||||||||||redacted
Diviciacus speaks for these matters (for after the departure of the Belgae, with the forces of the Haedui having been dismissed, he returned to him): The Bellovaci were always faithful and friendly to the Haeduan state; they were urged on by their leaders, who said that the Haedui had been reduced to servitude by Caesar.
Omnes indignitates contumeliasque perferre, et ab Haeduis defecisse et populo Romano bellum intulisse.
|outrages|and insults|to endure||||to have defected|||||have brought
To endure all indignities and insults, and to have defected from the Haedui and waged war against the Roman people.
4 Qui eius consilii principes fuissent, quod intellegerent quantam calamitatem civitati intulissent, in Britanniam profugisse.
||||they had been||they would have understood||||they had brought upon||Britain|to have fled
4 Those who had been the leaders of this plan, realizing how much calamity they had brought upon the state, fled to Britain.
5 Petere non solum Bellovacos, sed etiam pro his Haeduos, ut sua clementia ac mansuetudine in eos utatur.
to seek|||||||||||mercy||gentleness|||he uses
5 Not only to seek the Bellovaci, but also on behalf of them the Haedui, so that he might use his clemency and gentleness towards them.
6 Quod si fecerit, Haeduorum auctoritatem apud omnes Belgas amplificaturum, quorum auxiliis atque opibus, si qua bella inciderint, sustentare consuerint.
||he will have done||authority||||will be amplified||with the help of the Haedui||resources||||should happen|to support|
6 And if he does this, the authority of the Haedui will be amplified among all the Belgae, whose aid and resources they have been accustomed to rely upon in case any wars should arise.
[15] 1 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.
||||||||||to receive||will preserve|||||||||||||was superior|||he demanded
2 His traditis omnibusque armis ex oppido conlatis, ab eo loco in fines Ambianorum pervenit; qui se suaque omnia sine mora dediderunt.
||and all||||having been brought together||||||of the Ambians||||||||
2 Having handed over everything and brought together all arms from the town, he reached that place and came into the territory of the Ambiani; who surrendered themselves and all their belongings without delay.
3 Eorum fines Nervii attingebant.
||the Nervii|were reaching
3 Their borders were bordering on the Nervii.
Quorum de natura moribusque Caesar cum quaereret, sic reperiebat: 4 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; 5 esse homines feros magnaeque virtutis; increpitare atque incusare reliquos Belgas, qui se populo Romano dedidissent patriamque virtutem proiecissent; 6 confirmare sese neque legatos missuros neque ullam condicionem pacis accepturos.
|||and customs|||||||||||to the merchants|||of wine|of the remaining|||luxury|pertaining|to be brought in||||to weaken||||to be sent back||||||and of great||to be weak||to accuse|||||||they had dedicated|and the country||they had thrown|||||missuros||||of peace|accepting
When Caesar inquired about their nature and customs, he discovered the following: 4 that there was no access to them for merchants; they did not allow wine and other things pertaining to luxury to be brought in, believing that these things would weaken their spirits and diminish their courage; 5 that they were fierce men of great virtue; they reproached and blamed the other Belgae, who had surrendered to the Roman people and had forsaken their native virtue; 6 they affirmed that they would neither send ambassadors nor accept any terms of peace.
