LIBER PRIMVS XXX-XLI (1) ||XXX|XLI BUCHEN SIE EINS 30-41 (1) BOOK ONE 30-41 (1) LIVRE UN 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|the leaders|of the states|||to congratulate|gathered|||although||ancient||injuries|||||punishments|war|he had sought|however|that|||||use|of the land|||||happened|||to that place|purpose|flourishing|affairs|homes|||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 Helvetii war was concluded, the envoys and leaders of almost all of Gaul met to congratulate Caesar: they understood that, although the Roman people had sought revenge from the Helvetii for the ancient injuries, nonetheless this matter had occurred as much for the benefit of the land of Gaul as for the Roman people, because the Helvetii had left their homes with such a plan that they might bring war upon all of Gaul and take control, and choose a place for residence from a large abundance which they deemed the most convenient and fruitful from all of Gaul and have the other states pay tribute. 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|||certain||||common|agreement|||request| They requested that a council of all Gaul be summoned for a certain day and that it be allowed to do this by the will of Caesar: they claimed to have certain matters which they wished to request from 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||mandate|||among themselves|sanctioned Having permitted this matter, they established a day for the council and mutually sworn that no one should declare anything, except those to whom it had been entrusted by common counsel.

[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 After that council was dismissed, the same prince of the cities who had been there returned to Caesar and requested that he be allowed to discuss secretly and privately the safety of himself and 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 Having obtained that matter, they all weeping threw themselves at Caesar's feet: they were striving and laboring no less to ensure that what they had said would not be revealed than to obtain those things which they wanted, because, if it were disclosed, they saw that they would come to the utmost torture. Locutus est pro his Diviciacus Haeduus: Galliae totius factiones esse duas; harum alterius principatum tenere Haeduos, alterius Arvernos. Spoken||||Diviciacus|Aeduan|||factions|||of these|of the other||hold|||Arverni Diviciacus the Aeduan spoke on behalf of them: there are two factions in all of Gaul; one of these has the leadership of the Aedui, the other of the Arverni. 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 While they were contending so fiercely about power among themselves for many years, it happened that the Germans were recruited by the Arverni and Sequani for pay. 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. |first|||||to have crossed|||||cultivation culture|||||wild||the barbarians|they had subdued|having been crossed|more|now||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||again||to have fought|||driven back|suffered defeat||nobility||the Senate|||lost everything The Haedui and their clients had fought with arms once and again against these; they had received great calamity, losing all their nobility, all the senate, 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||friendship|very much||||could have achieved|forced to give|||hostages||||and||oath|citizenship|to bind|they|||demand them back||||||implore||refuse|||permanently||their|control||| Having been broken by these battles and calamities, those who had previously been able to achieve much in Gaul both through their own valor and through the hospitality and friendship of the Roman people were compelled by the Sequani to give the noblest hostages of the state and to bind themselves by an oath not to seek back the hostages nor to implore assistance from the Roman people nor to refuse to be under their rule and authority forever. 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|he would give One who was unable to be brought from all the state of the Aedui to swear 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|||||to have come||help requested||alone||law||||he was held For this reason, he fled from the state and came to Rome to ask for help from the Senate, for he was held neither by an oath nor by 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|king|||||had settled|third||land||||best|||he would have occupied|and|now||||||to depart||for this reason||a few|months||of the Harudes|||24|||they had come||||he settled|were being prepared But worse happened to the victorious Sequani than to the defeated Aedui, because Ariovistus, king of the Germans, had settled in their territory and had occupied a third part of the Sequani’s land, which was the best of all Gaul, and now he was ordering the Sequani to withdraw from the other third part because, a few months before, twenty-four thousand men of the Harudes had come to him, for whom a place and homes were to be 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|years|||||territories|would be driven out|||||cross|||to be compared||Gallic|||land||this|custom of living|victory|||compared In a few years it will happen that all from the borders of Gaul will be driven out and all Germans will cross the Rhine; for we must not compare the Gallic territory with that of the Germans, nor this way of living with that one. 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 the noblest|of each||demand hostages|||||examples|and tortures|to eat|if|if any||||nutum|||will|||to sit Ariovistus, however, once he has defeated the Gallic forces in battle, which battle took place at Magetobrica, rules arrogantly and cruelly, demanding the children of the noblest as hostages and inflicting all sorts of tortures upon them if anything is done not at his nod or will. Hominem esse barbarum, iracundum, temerarium: non posse eius imperia, diutius sustineri. man||barbarous|irritable|rash||||commands||to be endured He is a barbarous man, irascible, reckless: his commands cannot be sustained any longer. 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. |if anything|||and the Roman people||may be|of help|||the same||to be done|||have done|||emigrate|another|home|other|homes|remote|||seek fortune|fortune|whatever||they may experience Unless there is some help in Caesar and the Roman people, all the Gauls must do the same thing that the Helvetii have done, to emigrate from home, seek another dwelling and other seats, remote from the Germans, and try their fortune, whatever may happen. 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 have been announced to Ariovistus, do not doubt that he will take the most severe punishment against all the hostages who are 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|||greater|multitude|||be crossed|and all of Gaul|all||Ariovistus|injury||to defend Caesar is able to deter either by his own authority and the army or by recent victory or by the name of the Roman people, so that a greater multitude of Germans is not brought across the Rhine, and he is able to defend all of Gaul from the injury of Ariovistus.

[32] Hac oratione ab Diviciaco habita omnes qui aderant magno fletu auxilium a Caesare petere coeperunt. ||||having been spoken|||were present||weeping|help|||to seek|began [32] After this speech was delivered by Diviciacus, all those present began to weep greatly and seek 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|of||the Sequani|nothing|of them||do|||would do||sad|with heads|with head down|the ground|to gaze at Caesar noticed that the Sequani, unlike all others, did nothing of the things the others were doing, but instead stared at the ground with their heads downcast. Eius rei quae causa esset miratus ex ipsis quaesiit. ||||was|astonished|from|them|asked about it He wondered about the reason for this and asked them. Nihil Sequani respondere, sed in eadem tristitia taciti permanere. nothing|the Sequani|to respond|||the same|sadness|silent|remain silent The Sequani responded nothing, 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. ||them|more often|he would seek|nor|any||voice|express|he could|the same|Diviacus|Haeduan|answered||to be|more miserable||more serious|fortune|||the rest||alone|||||to complain|||to implore help|they dared|of the absent||cruelty|as if||heart|were present|they would shudder|||the rest|however||opportunity|was given|the Sequani|indeed||within||||they had received||towns|||power|||all|tortures||to be endured When he frequently asked them and could not elicit any voice at all, the same Diviacus Haeduus replied: this is a more wretched and severe fortune for the Sequani than for the others, because they alone dared not complain even in secret nor beg for help against the cruelty of the absent Ariovistus, as if he were present, they shuddered, because the others nonetheless were given the opportunity to flee, but for the Sequani, who had received Ariovistus within their borders, whose towns were all under his control, all tortures had to be borne.

[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||||both|benefit|his|||encouraged by||the end|| [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||he dismissed 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. |according to|||||were urging|therefore||||to be considered||to be undertaken|he would consider|in the power|first|||brothers|and relatives|||||called|in the power|slavery|and||control power|he was seeing|Germans|to be held||hostages|||||||||so much||||most disgraceful||||||he was considering And according to these things, many matters urged him on, for which he thought that he ought to consider and undertake this matter, especially because he saw the Aedui, who were frequently called by the Senate as brothers and blood relatives, to be held in servitude and under the control of the Germans and understood that their hostages were with Ariovistus and the Sequani; which, in such a great power of the Roman people, he deemed to be most disgraceful for himself and for the republic. 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. little by little||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 Moreover, he saw that the Germans were gradually becoming accustomed to crossing the Rhine and that a great multitude of them were coming into Gaul, which appeared dangerous to the Roman people, nor did he believe that the savage and barbarous men would be able to restrain themselves, but that, after they had occupied all of Gaul, as the Cimbri and Teutons had done before, they would exit into the province and then make their way into Italy, especially since the Rhône divided them from our province. He thought that these matters ought to 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 However, Ariovistus had taken on such great arrogance and pride that he did not seem bearable.

[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||||||send||||should ask||some||middle|for both|conversation|he would choose|to wish||||public affairs||the highest|of both||||to act For this reason, he decided to send ambassadors to Ariovistus, who would demand from him that he choose some central location for a meeting between both parties: he wanted to discuss the affairs of the state and the most important matters with 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. |to the legation||||||||||himself|||coming||||||wants|||||it is necessary Ariovistus replied to that delegation: if he needed anything from Caesar, he would have gone to him; if Caesar wanted anything from him, he should come to him. 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 dared not come into those parts of Gaul which Caesar occupied without an army, nor could he gather an army in one place without great supplies and efforts. Sibi autem mirum videri quid in sua Gallia, quam bello vicisset, aut Caesari aut omnino populo Romano negotii esset. ||strange|to seem|||||||he had conquered|||||||business| However, it seemed to him a wonder what business there was for either Caesar or the Roman people in his Gaul, which he had conquered in war.

[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. |responses||Caesar|having been reported|again||||envoys|||mandates||since|||of the people||benefit|having been affected|||consulship||||||||||||||having been reported|||conversation||invited|was burdened|||||to be said|||to be known|||||||he was demanding||||||more|||||he would translate|||||||having been reported||he would allow||whom|||by his will||to report||it is permitted|snow|||was being provoked|snow|||of them||he would bring [35] After these responses were reported to Caesar, Caesar again sent envoys to him with these orders: since he was so protected by the benefit of himself and the Roman people, when in his consulship he had been called king and friend by the senate, he should show this favor to himself and the Roman people by being reluctant to come to a meeting when invited, and he should not think it necessary to speak and understand about a common matter, these were the things he requested from him: first, that he should not lead any larger crowd of men across the Rhine into Gaul; secondly, that he should return the hostages he had from the Aedui and allow the Sequani to return those they had with his consent; and that he should not unjustly attack the Aedui nor 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. |||||||perpetual|||||||||he obtained||||||||the Senate|had decided||whoever|||he would obtain||conveniently|||to be able|||and the others|friendship|||he would defend|||injuries||would neglect If he did this, there would be for him and the Roman people a perpetual favor and friendship with him; if he did not obtain it, since the senate had resolved during the consulship of Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso that whoever held the province of Gaul should defend the Aedui and the other friends of the Roman people, he himself would not disregard the injuries to the Aedui.

[36] Ad haec Ariovistus respondit: ius esse belli ut qui vicissent iis quos vicissent quem ad modum vellent imperarent. ||Ariovistus|||||||had conquered|||they had conquered|||manner||they should rule [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 The Roman people are accustomed to rule not according to the prescription of another, but according to their own discretion. Si ipse populo Romano non praescriberet quem ad modum suo iure uteretur, non oportere se a populo Romano in suo iure impediri. |||||should prescribe||||||he would use||it is not right||||||||to be hindered If he himself were not to prescribe to the Roman people how they should use their own rights, he should not be prevented by the Roman people in his own rights. Haeduos sibi, quoniam belli fortunam temptassent et armis congressi ac superati essent, stipendiarios esse factos. ||since|||had attempted|||having engaged||||mercenaries||made The Haedui made themselves tributaries because they had tested the fortune of war and had engaged in arms and had been defeated. 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||he had agreed|and the payment|every year|they would pay|||||||brotherly||||future The Haedui stated that they would not surrender hostages nor would they bring injury or war against either them or their allies, if they remained in the agreement and paid the stipulated tax each year; if they did not do this, the fraternal name of the Roman people would be distant from them. Quod sibi Caesar denuntiaret se Haeduorum iniurias non neglecturum, neminem secum sine sua pernicie contendisse. |||should announce|||injuries|||||||destruction| Caesar threatened that he would not ignore the injuries of the Haedui, and that no one had contended with him without facing destruction. Cum vellet, congrederetur: intellecturum quid invicti Germani, exercitatissimi in armis, qui inter annos XIIII tectum non subissent, virtute possent. |he would want|he would meet|to understand||unconquered||most experienced|||||||||had submitted|| Whenever he wanted, he would engage in battle: he would understand what the unconquered Germans, the most experienced in arms, could do, who had not taken shelter for fourteen years, in terms of their virtue.

[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. ||||commands|were being reported|||||||from the Treveri|were coming||complaint||the Harudes||recently|||transported||||were ravaging|||||given|||to redeem|to have been able|the Treveri|||hundred|of the Suebi||the banks||to have settled||Rheims||were trying||to be in charge|Nasuam||Cimberium| [37] At the same time, orders were being reported to Caesar and ambassadors were coming from the Haedui and the Treveri: the Haedui complained that the Harudes, who had recently been transported into Gaul, were plundering their lands: they could not redeem peace from Ariovistus even with hostages given; however, the Treveri reported that a hundred settlements of the Suebi had settled on the banks of the Rhine, who were trying to cross over to the other side; that Nasuam and the Cimbri, brothers, were in command of them. 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|moved|to be done|||||new|force|||the old||||he had joined|||resistance| With these matters, Caesar was greatly disturbed and thought it necessary to act quickly, lest if a new force of the Suebi had joined with the old troops of Ariovistus, it would be less easy to resist. Itaque re frumentaria quam celerrime potuit comparata magnis itineribus ad Ariovistum contendit. ||grain||as quickly as possible||obtained||journeys|||he marched Therefore, after gathering supplies as quickly as he could, he hastened to Ariovistus by great marches.

[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|journey|he had traveled|it was announced|||||||||occupying|Vesontio||||||to march|of three days||||boundaries|had traveled When he had traveled three days' journey, it was announced to him that Ariovistus was marching with all his forces to occupy Vesontio, which is the largest town of the Sequani, and that he had advanced three days' journey from his own borders. Id ne accideret, magnopere sibi praecavendum Caesar existimabat. ||should happen|||to be on guard|| So that it would not happen, Caesar believed that he must take great precautions. 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. for||||||use|||||||opportunity||||thus|was fortified||||leading||gave|opportunity||||the Alduans|of the Dubis||I draw|circumductum|almost|||surrounds||space||||greater||MDC|||intermittit||it contains||altitude|||the roots||||both||of the banks||were happening|this|wall|surrounded|the citadel|it provides||||joins For in that town there was the greatest supply of everything that was useful for war, and the nature of the location fortified it in such a way that it provided a great opportunity to conduct war, because the river Dubis, almost entirely encircled like with a compass, surrounds the town, while the remaining space, which is not more than 1600 feet, is contained by a mountain of great height, such that its roots touch both banks of the river; this wall surrounding it creates a citadel and connects with the town. Huc Caesar magnis nocturnis diurnisque itineribus contendit occupatoque oppido ibi praesidium conlocat. here|||nightly|and daily|journeys||and having occupied|||garrison|he places To this place, Caesar hurried with great journeys by night and day, and having occupied the town, he stationed a garrison there.

[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. |few||||||and supplies||he delays||inquiry||and the voices||and|of the merchants||of great||of bodies|||||from the questioning||||they were proclaiming||number||||congresses||the face|||the edge|of the eyes|they were saying|||so great|suddenly|fear|||he occupied|||moderately||minds|and courage|he was disturbing While he is delaying a few days at Vesontio for the purpose of provisions and supplies, from the inquiry of our men and the voices of the Gauls and merchants, who were reporting that the Germans were of immense size, incredible virtue, and experience in arms (often they said that they had fought with these men, unable even to bear their countenance and the gaze of their eyes), such a sudden fear seized the entire army that it disturbed the minds and spirits of all not a little. 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. ||arose|||tribunes||the prefects|and the rest|||||||having followed|||||military||||one|||brought in|||||||he would say|he was seeking|||by will|to depart|it was permitted|||shame|adduced||of fear|suspicion|they would avoid|remained Here, for the first time, they arose from the military tribunes, commanders, and the others who, for the sake of friendship, had followed Caesar from the city and had not much experience in military matters: some were requesting that, for a reason they claimed was necessary for their departure, they could leave with his permission; not a few, ashamed, remained 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|||fate|they were complaining|||their relatives||common|danger|they were lamenting They could neither feign their expressions nor hold back tears: hidden in tents, they either lamented their fate or shared the common danger with their families. Vulgo totis castris testamenta obsignabantur. commonly|in all the||testaments|were sealed In the camps, wills were being sealed all around. Horum vocibus ac timore paulatim etiam ii qui magnum in castris usum habebant, milites centurionesque quique equitatui praeerant, perturbabantur. |voices|||little by little||||||||||and centurions|who|cavalry|were in charge of|were disturbed By these voices and fear, even those who had great experience in the camps, the soldiers and centurions, as well as those in command of the cavalry, were 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|||the size|of the forests||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|||to be moved||standards|to be carried|||to be|his word|obedient||||fear||would bring Some even reported to Caesar that when he ordered the camp to be moved and the standards to be carried, the soldiers would not heed his command nor would they bring the standards due to 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. ||he had noticed|having been summoned|council||of the orders|||plan|having been summoned|to the centurions|vehemently||he blamed|||||||||by what plan|||to be sought||to be considered|they were being led When he had noticed this, having summoned a council and having brought in centurions of all ranks to that council, he vehemently accused them: first, because they thought it necessary to consider or reflect on what direction they were being led or by what plan. 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|anyone||duty|to depart|should judge That Ariovistus had eagerly sought the friendship of the Roman people while he was consul; why would anyone judge that he would abandon his duty so recklessly? Sibi quidem persuaderi cognitis suis poslulatis atque aequitate condicionum perspecta eum neque suam neque populi Romani gratiam repudiaturum. ||to be persuaded|having been informed||demands||equity|of the conditions|having been considered||||||of the Roman||will reject Indeed, he was persuaded that, having understood his demands and having seen the fairness of the conditions, he would reject neither his own favor nor that of the Roman people. Quod si furore atque amentia impulsum bellum intulisset, quid tandem vererentur? ||fury|||impulse|||||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? ||||||||diligence|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. ||enemy|||||||||||||||||||general||seemed|||recently||Italy|of the slaves|the tumult|||something|the deed||discipline|||to us|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. ||||how much||in||goodness|steadfastness|therefore|||some||unarmed|||they had feared||afterwards|armed||victors|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|||||could 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. |||||||moved|||they were seeking|to find||for a long time||weary|||||months||||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|||||unskilled|||||||to hope|||to capture| To whom the reasoning against barbaric and unskilled men had a place, not even he hoped that our armies could be captured. Qui suum timorem in rei frumentariae simulationem angustiasque itineris conferrent, facere arroganter, cum aut de officio imperatoris desperare aut praescribere viderentur. |||||||and the difficulties||would bring together||arrogantly|||||of the commander|||to prescribe|they seemed Those who would bring their fear to the pretense of grain supplies and the hardships of the journey acted arrogantly, when they seemed either to despair of the duty of the commander or to presume to prescribe. Haec sibi esse curae; frumentum Sequanos, Leucos, Lingones subministrare, iamque esse in agris frumenta matura; de itinere ipsos brevi tempore iudicaturos. |||of concern|grain||the Leuci|the Lingones|to supply|||||crops|||||in a short time||will judge This was a concern for them; to supply grain to the Sequani, Leuci, and Lingones, and that grain was already ripe in the fields; they would judge about the journey themselves in a short time. 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. |||||||bringing|they are said|||||to be moved||for|whomsoever|||listening||has been||badly||done||had failed||some|crime|having been discovered|avarice||convicted That they would not be moved by what was said or by the signs that would be brought, since they knew that, regardless of whom the army had not heeded, either bad fortune had failed them due to some wrongdoing or greed had been proven through some crime. Suam innocentiam perpetua vita, felicitatem Helvetiorum bello esse perspectam. |||life|the happiness|||| His innocence has been clearly demonstrated through his lifelong existence and the happiness of the Helvetii in war. 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||duty|or|||would be Therefore, he would present what he would have meant to discuss on a longer day and would move the camp on the next night of the fourth watch, so that he could understand as soon as possible whether shame and duty or fear were more powerful among them. Quod si praeterea nemo sequatur, tamen se cum sola decima legione iturum, de qua non dubitet, sibique eam praetoriam cohortem futuram. ||besides||follows||||alone|tenth||about to go||||doubts|and to himself||the praetorian|cohort| But if no one follows him besides, he will nonetheless go with the 10th legion alone, about which he has no doubt, and he will have that cohort as his vanguard. Huic legioni Caesar et indulserat praecipue et propter virtutem confidebat maxime. to this|to the legion|||had been lenient|especially|||valor|he was trusting| Caesar had especially favored this legion and trusted it greatly because of its courage.