LIBER PRIMVS XLII - LIV ||XLII| BOOK FIRST 42 - LIV LIVRE IV PRENOTA PRIMA 42 - LIV RESERVE PRIMEIRO 42 - LIV

[42] Cognito Caesaris adventu Ariovistus legatos ad eum mittit: quod antea de conloquio postulasset, id per se fieri licere, quoniam propius accessisset seque id sine periculo facere posse existimaret. Cognito|||||||||||conversation|he had demanded||||to be done|to be allowed||closer|had approached|||||do||he would consider Having learned of Caesar's arrival, Ariovistus sent envoys to him: what he had previously requested regarding a conference, he believed could be done on his own accord, since he had come closer and thought he could do it without danger. [42] Arioviste, en apprenant l'arrivée de César, lui envoie des ambassadeurs : parce qu'il avait préalablement demandé une conférence, afin qu'elle fût faite par lui-même, puisqu'il s'était approché de lui, et pensait pouvoir le faire sans danger. [42] Ariovisto, appreso l'arrivo di Cesare, gli manda degli ambasciatori: perché prima aveva chiesto un convegno, che lo facesse da solo, essendosi avvicinato a lui, e credendo di poterlo fare senza pericolo. Non respuit condicionem Caesar iamque eum ad sanitatem reverti arbitrabatur, cum id quod antea petenti denegasset ultro polliceretur, magnamque in spem veniebat pro suis tantis populique Romani in eum beneficiis cognitis suis postulatis fore uti pertinacia desisteret. |he rejected||||||health|to return|he was considering|||||to the one asking|had denied|of its own accord|he was promising|and was coming into great|||was coming|||such great things|||||benefits|having been informed||postulates|||pertinacity|he would desist Caesar did not reject the proposal and already considered that he was returning to sanity, when he unexpectedly promised what he had previously denied to the one seeking it, and he was greatly hopeful that, in light of his own and the Roman people's benefits recognized by Ariovistus, he would cease his insistence. César n'a pas rejeté la condition et a pensé qu'il revenait maintenant à sa santé mentale, car il avait refusé de promettre ce qu'il avait précédemment demandé, et il est venu avec un grand espoir, à cause de ses si grandes gentillesses, et de la les gens, en apprenant ses demandes, qu'il s'en abstiendrait obstinément. Dies conloquio dictus est ex eo die quintus. |conversation|said||||| The day for the conference was set for the fifth day from that day. Interim saepe cum legati ultro citroque inter eos mitterentur, Ariovistus postulavit ne quem peditem ad conloquium Caesar adduceret: vereri se ne per insidias ab eo circumveniretur; uterque cum equitatu veniret: alia ratione sese non esse venturum. meanwhile|||||back and forth|||were being sent||demanded|||infantry||conversation||he would bring|to fear||||ambushes|||he was being surrounded|either|||would come||||||coming Meanwhile, often when envoys were sent back and forth between them, Ariovistus requested that Caesar not bring any foot soldiers to the meeting: he feared that he would be surrounded by treachery from him; both would come with cavalry: otherwise he said he would not come. Caesar, quod neque conloquium interposita causa tolli volebat neque salutem suam Gallorum equitatui committere audebat, commodissimum esse statuit omnibus equis Gallis equitibus detractis eo legionarios milites legionis X., cui quam maxime confidebat, imponere, ut praesidium quam amicissimum, si quid opus facto esset, haberet. |||conversation|interposed||to be taken away|||safety|||to the cavalry|to entrust|he was daring|most advantageous||he decided|||||with the Gauls' cavalry having been removed||the legionaries||of the legion|||||he was trusting|to impose||protection||most friendly||||||he would have Caesar, because he did not want the meeting to be interrupted by a reason nor dared to entrust his safety to the Gallic cavalry, decided it would be most advantageous to mount legionary soldiers from the 10th legion, which he trusted very much, with all Gallic cavalrymen dismissed, so that he would have a very friendly guard, if anything needed to be done. Quod cum fieret, non inridicule quidam ex militibus X. legionis dixit: plus quam pollicitus esset Caesarem facere; pollicitum se in cohortis praetoriae loco X. legionem habiturum ad equum rescribere. ||was happening||not without ridicule|a certain||||of the legion|said|||promised||||promised|||of the cohort|of the praetorian|||legion|||horse|to write back When this was done, it was not without humor that some of the soldiers of the 10th legion said: that Caesar was doing more than he had promised; he had promised that he would have the 10th legion in place of the praetorian cohort to respond to cavalry.

[43] Planities erat magna et in ea tumulus terrenus satis grandis. the plain|||||||earthen|sufficiently| [43] There was a great plain, and in it a very large earthy mound. Hic locus aequum fere spatium a castris Ariovisti et Caesaris aberat. ||level ground||||||||was away This place was almost a fair distance from the camp of Ariovistus and Caesar. Eo, ut erat dictum, ad conloquium venerunt. |||||conversation|they came They came to the meeting, as it had been said. Legionem Caesar, quam equis devexerat, passibus CC ab eo tumulo constituit. ||||had conveyed|by foot|two hundred|||mound|he established Caesar positioned the legion, which he had brought by horseback, 200 paces from that mound. Item equites Ariovisti pari intervallo constiterunt. |the cavalry||equal||stopped Similarly, the cavalry of Ariovistus established themselves at an equal distance. Ariovistus ex equis ut conloquerentur et praeter se denos ad conloquium adducerent postulavit. ||||they would converse||besides||ten|||they would bring|he demanded Ariovistus demanded that they come down from their horses to talk and bring ten men besides himself to the meeting. Ubi eo ventum est, Caesar initio orationis sua senatusque in eum beneficia commemoravit, quod rex appellatus esset a senatu, quod amicus, quod munera amplissime missa; quam rem et paucis contigisse et pro magnis hominum officiis consuesse tribui docebat; illum, cum neque aditum neque causam postulandi iustam haberet, beneficio ac liberalitate sua ac senatus ea praemia consecutum. ||arrival|||at the beginning|of the speech||and the Senate|||benefits|he mentioned||||||||||gifts|very generously|sent|||||had happened|||||offices||he had bestowed|he was teaching|him|||access|||of asking|just||||liberality|||||rewards|consequence When he had arrived there, Caesar, at the beginning of his speech, recalled the benefits conferred by himself and the Senate on him, because he had been called king by the Senate, because he was a friend, because gifts had been sent most generously; he taught that this had occurred only to a few and that it was accustomed to be attributed for great services to men; although he had neither access nor a just cause for demanding it, he had attained those rewards through his own generosity and that of the Senate. Docebat etiam quam veteres quamque iustae causae necessitudinis ipsis cum Haeduis intercederent, quae senatus consulta quotiens quamque honorifica in eos facta essent, ut omni tempore totius Galliae principatum Haedui tenuissent, prius etiam quam nostram amicitiam adpetissent. he was teaching|||the ancients|as well|just||of necessity||||interceded|||decrees|how often||honorable||||||||||||they had held|before|||||they had desired He also taught how the ancient and just causes of necessity interceded with the Haedui, which senatorial decrees had been made in honor of them as often as they could, so that at all times the Haedui held the leadership of all Gaul, even before they sought our friendship. Populi Romani hanc esse consuetudinem, ut socios atque amicos non modo sui nihil deperdere, sed gratia, dignitate, honore auctiores velit esse; quod vero ad amicitiam populi Romani attulissent, id iis eripi quis pati posset? of the people||||||||||||nothing|to lose||favor|dignity|honor|greater|he wishes|||||friendship||of the Romans|they had brought|it|to them|to be taken away||to suffer|they could This is the custom of the Roman people, that they wish their allies and friends not only to lose nothing of their own, but to be increased in grace, dignity, and honor; for what they have contributed to the friendship of the Roman people, who could bear for that to be taken from them? Postulavit deinde eadem quae legatis in mandatis dederat: ne aut Haeduis aut eorum sociis bellum inferret, obsides redderet, si nullam partem Germanorum domum remittere posset, at ne quos amplius Rhenum transire pateretur. he demanded|then|the same|which|the legates|in|the mandates|he had given||either||or|||war|he would bring upon|hostages|he would return||no||of the Germans||send back|he could|||them||the Rhine|to cross|he should suffer He then demanded the same things that he had given in instructions to the envoys: that he would not wage war against either the Haedui or their allies, that he would return hostages, if he could send any part of the Germans home, and that he would not allow anyone to cross the Rhine any further.

[44] Ariovistus ad postulata Caesaris pauca respondit, de suis virtutibus multa praedicavit: transisse Rhenum sese non sua sponte, sed rogatum et arcessitum a Gallis; non sine magna spe magnisque praemiis domum propinquosque reliquisse; sedes habere in Gallia ab ipsis concessas, obsides ipsorum voluntate datos; stipendium capere iure belli, quod victores victis imponere consuerint. Ariovistus||demands|of Caesar|few|||his|virtues||he proclaimed||the Rhine|||his|volition|but|having been asked||summoned||||without||hope||rewards|home|and his relatives|having left|sitting|||||he|granted|hostages|of them||data|stipendium|to take|by right|of war|||victis|to impose|they have become accustomed [44] Ariovistus answered a few words to Caesar's demands, and preached many things concerning his own virtues: that he had crossed the Rhine, not of his own accord, but had requested and been summoned by the Gauls; that he had not left home and kindred without great expectations and great rewards; that he had settlements in Gaul, granted by them, and that the hostages had been given by their own will; to receive tribute by the right of war, which the conquerors had been accustomed to impose on the vanquished. Non sese Gallis sed Gallos sibi bellum intulisse: omnes Galliae civitates ad se oppugnandum venisse ac contra se castra habuisse; eas omnes copias a se uno proelio pulsas ac superatas esse. |themselves|the Gauls||||war|had brought|||||to them|to fight||and|||camps|had|them||||||battle|driven|and|defeated| They have not waged war against the Gauls, but the Gauls against themselves: all the cities of Gaul have come to attack them and have had camps against them; all those forces have been repulsed and defeated in a single battle by them. Si iterum experiri velint, se iterum paratum esse decertare; si pace uti velint, iniquum esse de stipendio recusare, quod sua voluntate ad id tempus pependerint. |again|to try|they want||again|ready|to be|to fight|||to use|they want|unfair|||pay|to refuse|||||||they have depended If they want to try again, they should be prepared to battle again; if they want to use peace, it is unfair to refuse to pay the stipend, which they have agreed to at that time voluntarily. Amicitiam populi Romani sibi ornamento et praesidio, non detrimento esse oportere, atque se hac spe petisse. ||||ornament||protection||detriment||to be necessary||||hope|to have sought The friendship of the Roman people ought to be for them an ornament and protection, not a detriment, and they sought this hope. Si per populum Romanum stipendium remittatur et dediticii subtrahantur, non minus libenter sese recusaturum populi Romani amicitiam quam adpetierit. |||||is remitted||the dediticii|are subtracted|||willingly||will refuse|||||he has sought If the stipend is remitted through the Roman people and the subjugated are taken away, they will no less willingly refuse the friendship of the Roman people than they will have sought it. Quod multitudinem Germanorum in Galliam traducat, id se sui muniendi, non Galliae oppugnandae causa facere; eius rei testimonium esse quod nisi rogatus non venerit et quod bellum non intulerit sed defenderit. |||||leads||||of fortifying|||of attacking||do|||testimony||||asked||he has come|||||he has brought upon||he has defended That he conducts a multitude of Germans into Gaul, he does this not for the purpose of attacking Gaul, but for the sake of fortifying himself; there is evidence of this in that he has not come unless requested and that he has not waged war but has defended it. Se prius in Galliam venisse quam populum Romanum. |before|||||| He had come into Gaul before the Roman people. Numquam ante hoc tempus exercitum populi Romani Galliae provinciae finibus egressum. ||||||||||having gone out Never before this time has the army of the Roman people exited the borders of the province of Gaul. Quid sibi vellet? ||he would want What did he want? Cur in suas possessiones veniret? |||possessions|he would come Why would he come to his own possessions? Provinciam suam hanc esse Galliam, sicut illam nostram. province||this|to be||as|it| This province of theirs is Gallia, just like ours. Ut ipsi concedi non oporteret, si in nostros fines impetum faceret, sic item nos esse iniquos, quod in suo iure se interpellaremus. ||to concede||it would be proper|||||attack||||us|to be|unjust||||||we were to interrupt Just as it would not be right for them to be granted if they made an invasion into our territory, so it would also be unjust for us to interrupt them in their own rights. Quod fratres a senatu Haeduos appellatos diceret, non se tam barbarum neque tam imperitum esse rerum ut non sciret neque bello Allobrogum proximo Haeduos Romanis auxilium tulisse neque ipsos in iis contentionibus quas Haedui secum et cum Sequanis habuissent auxilio populi Romani usos esse. |||||called||||||||unskilled|||||he knew||||next||||had brought|||||contentions|||||||they would have|help|||uses| That he said that the Haedui were called by the Senate brothers, he was not so barbarous nor so unlearned in matters that he did not know that the Haedui had provided help to the Romans in the recent war against the Allobroges, nor that they themselves had used the support of the Roman people in the disputes that the Haedui had with themselves and the Sequani. Debere se suspicari simulata Caesarem amicitia, quod exercitum in Gallia habeat, sui opprimendi causa habere. to owe||to suspect|simulated|||||||||of oppressing|| They ought to suspect that Caesar is pretending friendship, because he has an army in Gaul for the purpose of crushing them. Qui nisi decedat atque exercitum deducat ex his regionibus, sese illum non pro amico sed pro hoste habiturum. ||he departs|||he leads|||from these regions|himself|||||||enemy| Unless he departs and leads the army out of these regions, he will regard him not as a friend but as an enemy. Quod si eum interfecerit, multis sese nobilibus principibusque populi Romani gratum esse facturum (id se ab ipsis per eorum nuntios compertum habere), quorum omnium gratiam atque amicitiam eius morte redimere posset. |||he will have killed|||to the nobles|and princes|||pleasing|||||||||messengers|having learned||||favor||||death|to redeem| If he should kill him, he will make himself grateful to many noble leaders of the Roman people (which he has learned from them through their messengers), and he could redeem the favor and friendship of all of them with his death. Quod si decessisset et liberam possessionem Galliae sibi tradidisset, magno se illum praemio remuneraturum et quaecumque bella geri vellet sine ullo eius labore et periculo confecturum. ||had departed|||possession|||he had handed over||||reward|would reward|||wars|to be waged|||||labor|||would accomplish But if he should depart and surrender to him the free possession of Gaul, he would recompense him with a great reward, and would execute whatever wars he wished to be carried on without any trouble or danger to him.

[45] Multa a Caesare in eam sententiam dicta sunt quare negotio desistere non posset: neque suam neque populi Romani consuetudinem pati ut optime meritos socios desereret, neque se iudicare Galliam potius esse Ariovisti quam populi Romani. |||||opinion|things said|||business|to desist||||||||custom|to endure||best|||he would abandon|||to judge||rather||||| [45] Many things were said to Caesar against that opinion, on which account he could not desist from this affair; nor did he suffer his own, nor the custom of the Roman people, to desert his most well-deserved allies, nor to judge that Gaul was rather of Ariovistus than of the Roman people. Bello superatos esse Arvernos et Rutenos a Q. Fabio Maximo, quibus populus Romanus ignovisset neque in provinciam redegisset neque stipendium posuisset. |defeated||||the Ruteni||Q(1)|Fabio|||||he had forgiven||||he had brought back||tax or tribute|he had placed Quod si antiquissimum quodque tempus spectari oporteret, populi Romani iustissimum esse in Gallia imperium; si iudicium senatus observari oporteret, liberam debere esse Galliam, quam bello victam suis legibus uti voluisset. ||the most ancient|and||to be considered|it should be necessary|||most just||||||||to be observed|it should be necessary||to be owed|||||conquered||||would have wanted

[46] Dum haec in conloquio geruntur, Caesari nuntiatum est equites Ariovisti propius tumulum accedere et ad nostros adequitare, lapides telaque in nostros coicere. while|||conversation|are happening||it was reported||||closer|tomb|to approach||||to charge|stones|and javelins|||to throw While these things are happening in the conversation, it was reported to Caesar that the cavalry of Ariovistus were approaching the hill and preparing to engage with our men, throwing stones and weapons at us. Caesar loquendi finem fecit seque ad suos recepit suisque imperavit ne quod omnino telum in hostes reicerent. |speaking||||||he returned|and to his|he commanded||||weapon|||they should throw back Caesar ended the speaking and withdrew to his men, commanding them not to throw any weapons at the enemy at all. Nam etsi sine ullo periculo legionis delectae cum equitatu proelium fore videbat, tamen committendum non putabat ut, pulsis hostibus, dici posset eos ab se per fidem in conloquio circumventos. |even if||any|||of the chosen|||||he saw||to be committed||he thought||||to say||||||faith||conversation|surrounded For although he saw that there would be a battle without any danger to the chosen legion with the cavalry, he did not think it should be committed so that, with the enemies being beaten back, it could be said that they were surrounded by him through faith in the conversation. Postea quam in vulgus militum elatum est qua arrogantia in conloquio Ariovistus usus omni Gallia Romanis interdixisset, impetumque in nostros eius equites fecissent, eaque res conloquium ut diremisset, multo maior alacritas studiumque pugnandi maius exercitui iniectum est. |||the common people||elevation|||arrogance||||had used||||had forbidden|and an attack|||||they had made|||conversation||would separate|||alacrity|and study|of fighting|greater||injection| After the arrogance that Ariovistus had used in conversation had been raised among the common soldiers, having forbidden all of Gaul to the Romans, and after his cavalry had made an attack on our men, this circumstance interrupted the conversation, and a much greater eagerness and zeal for fighting was infused into the army.

[47] Biduo post Ariovistus ad Caesarem legatos misit: velle se de iis rebus quae inter eos egi coeptae neque perfectae essent agere cum eo: uti aut iterum conloquio diem constitueret aut, si id minus vellet, ex suis legatis aliquem ad se mitteret. two days|||||||to wish||||||||I did|begun||perfect||to act|||||again|conversation||he would establish|||||he would want||||someone||| [47] Two days later, Ariovistus sent ambassadors to Caesar: he wanted to discuss those matters which had begun between them and were neither completed nor resolved: either he would appoint another day for a conference or, if he was less willing, he would send someone from his own ambassadors to him. Conloquendi Caesari causa visa non est, et eo magis quod pridie eius diei Germani retineri non potuerant quin tela in nostros coicerent. for speaking|||seemed|||||more||the day before||||to be held back||they were able|but|weapons|||they threw Legatum ex suis sese magno cum periculo ad eum missurum et hominibus feris obiecturum existimabat. heirloom|||||||||would send|||wild|to be subjected|he thought He thought he would send a legate to him with great danger to himself and would expose him to wild men. Commodissimum visum est C. Valerium Procillum, C. Valerii Caburi filium, summa virtute et humanitate adulescentem, cuius pater a C. Valerio Flacco civitate donatus erat, et propter fidem et propter linguae Gallicae scientiam, qua multa iam Ariovistus longinqua consuetudine utebatur, et quod in eo peccandi Germanis causa non esset, ad eum mittere, et una M. Metium, qui hospitio Ariovisti utebatur. |it seems||||Procillus||of Valerius|Caburus|son|||||the young man|||||Valerius|Flaccus||gifted||||faith|||language|of Gaul|knowledge|||||distant|custom|he was using|||||of sinning|||||||to send||||Metium|||| It seemed most advisable to send Gaius Valerius Procillus, the son of Gaius Valerius Caburus, a young man of the highest virtue and humanity, whose father had been granted citizenship by Gaius Valerius Flaccus, and because of his loyalty and knowledge of the Gallic language, which Ariovistus had been using for a long time due to custom, and because there would be no reason for the Germans to commit wrongs against him, and along with him to send Marcus Metius, who was enjoying hospitality from Ariovistus. His mandavit quae diceret Ariovistus cognoscerent et ad se referrent. |he ordered||||they should know||||they referred He ordered that they should find out what Ariovistus was saying and report it back to him. Quos cum apud se in castris Ariovistus conspexisset, exercitu suo praesente conclamavit: quid ad se venirent? |||||||he had seen|||in the presence of|he shouted|||to them|they were coming When Ariovistus had noticed them in his camp, he shouted with his army present: why had they come to him? an speculandi causa? |for the purpose of spying| was it for the sake of reconnaissance? Conantes dicere prohibuit et in catenas coniecit. Conantes||he prohibited|||chains|he threw He forbade them to speak and threw them into chains.

[48] Eodem die castra promovit et milibus passuum VI a Caesaris castris sub monte consedit. |||moved forward||||||||||he camped On the same day, he advanced the camp and settled six miles from Caesar's camp at the foot of a mountain. Postridie eius diei praeter castra Caesaris suas copias traduxit et milibus passuum duobus ultra eum castra fecit eo consilio uti frumento commeatuque qui ex Sequanis et Haeduis supportaretur Caesarem intercluderet. on the next day|||beyond|||||he led across||||two|beyond|||||plan|||and supplies||||||was being supplied|Caesar|interrupted On the day after that day, he led his forces past Caesar's camp and made a camp two miles beyond him, with the intention of cutting off Caesar from the supplies of grain and provisions that were being transported from the Sequani and the Aedui. Ex eo die dies continuos V Caesar pro castris suas copias produxit et aciem instructam habuit, ut, si vellet Ariovistus proelio contendere, ei potestas non deesset. |||||||||||he led out||the battle line|drawn up|||||||to contend||power||should be lacking From that day, Caesar continuously led his troops out of camp and had them in battle formation, so that if Ariovistus wished to contend in battle, he would not be lacking in the opportunity. Ariovistus his omnibus diebus exercitum castris continuit, equestri proelio cotidie contendit. ||||||he kept|cavalry||| Ariovistus kept his army in the camp for all these days and engaged in cavalry battles daily. Genus hoc erat pugnae, quo se Germani exercuerant: equitum milia erant VI, totidem numero pedites velocissimi ac fortissimi, quos ex omni copia singuli singulos suae salutis causa delegerant: cum his in proeliis versabantur, ad eos se equites recipiebant; hi, si quid erat durius, concurrebant, si qui graviore vulnere accepto equo deciderat, circumsistebant; si quo erat longius prodeundum aut celerius recipiendum, tanta erat horum exercitatione celeritas ut iubis sublevati equorum cursum adaequarent. |||of the battle||||had exercised|||||the same number||infantry|very fast||||||||individual||of safety||they had chosen|||||were engaged|||||they were receiving|||||harder|they were running|||heavier|wound|accept||had decided|were surrounding|||||to be advanced||faster|to be received||||exercise|speed||of the moon|having been raised|of the horsemen|course|they were equaling This was the type of fighting in which the Germans had trained: there were 6,000 horsemen, and an equal number of very swift and very strong foot soldiers, whom each had chosen from all available troops for their own safety: they engaged with them in battles, and the horsemen would retreat to them; if there was anything more difficult, they would gather together; if someone had fallen from his horse after receiving a more serious wound, they would surround him; if there was a need to advance further or retreat more quickly, the speed of these men was such that, lifted up by their stirrups, they would match the pace of the horses.

[49] Ubi eum castris se tenere Caesar intellexit, ne diutius commeatu prohiberetur, ultra eum locum, quo in loco Germani consederant, circiter passus DC ab his, castris idoneum locum delegit acieque triplici instructa ad eum locum venit. ||||||understood||||he was being prohibited||||||||had settled|about|paces|200||||suitable||he chose|and in battle|triplicate|having been set up||||he comes When Caesar realized that he was being held in camp, so that he was no longer delayed by supplies, he chose a suitable place for a camp about 200 paces beyond the location where the Germans had settled, and he came to that place arranged in three lines. Primam et secundam aciem in armis esse, tertiam castra munire iussit. ||second|||||||to fortify| He ordered that the first and second lines be armed, and the third to fortify the camp. [Hic locus ab hoste circiter passus DC, uti dictum est, aberat.] ||||about|paces|||||was away This place was about 200 paces from the enemy, as it has been said. Eo circiter hominum XVI milia expedita cum omni equitatu Ariovistus misit, quae copiae nostros terrerent et munitione prohiberent. |about||||unhindered|||||||||would terrify||from fortification|they would prohibit About sixteen thousand armed men, along with all of Ariovistus's cavalry, were sent in order to terrify our men and prevent them from fortifying. Nihilo setius Caesar, ut ante constituerat, duas acies hostem propulsare, tertiam opus perficere iussit. |more seriously||||he had decided||||to drive back|||| Nevertheless, Caesar, as he had previously decided, ordered to repel the enemy with two battalions and to complete the work with a third. Munitis castris duas ibi legiones reliquit et partem auxiliorum, quattuor reliquas legiones in castra maiora reduxit. from the fortified|from the camp||||he left|||of the auxiliaries||||||larger|he led back Having fortified the camp, he left two legions there and a part of the auxiliaries, while he led the remaining four legions back to the larger camp.

[50] Proximo die instituto suo Caesar ex castris utrisque copias suas eduxit paulumque a maioribus castris progressus aciem instruxit hostibusque pugnandi potestatem fecit. ||institute|||||for both|||led out|and a little||||having advanced|||and to the enemies|fighting||he made The next day, Caesar, according to his plan, led out his forces from both sides of the camp, and, advancing a little from the larger camp, drew up his line, and gave the enemy the opportunity of fighting. Ubi ne tum quidem eos prodire intellexit, circiter meridiem exercitum in castra reduxit. |||||to come forth|he understood||noon||||he led back Where he did not understand that they would come forth even then, around noon he led the army back into the camp. Tum demum Ariovistus partem suarum copiarum, quae castra minora oppugnaret, misit. |at last|||of his|||||he was attacking| Then at last Ariovistus sent part of his forces, which were to attack the smaller camp. Acriter utrimque usque ad vesperum pugnatum est. fiercely|on both sides|until|||| The fighting was fierce on both sides until evening. Solis occasu suas copias Ariovistus multis et inlatis et acceptis vulneribus in castra reduxit. |setting||||||having been brought in||having accepted||||he brought back Cum ex captivis quaereret Caesar quam ob rem Ariovistus proelio non decertaret, hanc reperiebat causam, quod apud Germanos ea consuetudo esset ut matres familiae eorum sortibus et vaticinationibus declararent utrum proelium committi ex usu esset necne; eas ita dicere: non esse fas Germanos superare, si ante novam lunam proelio contendissent. |from||was asking||||||||should fight||||||||custom||that|mothers|of the families||by lots||prophecies|they declared|||to commit||||or not||||||fate||to overcome|||new|the moon||had contended When Caesar asked the captives why Ariovistus did not fight in battle, he found this reason: that among the Germans it was customary for the matrons of their families to declare by lots and prophecies whether it was customary to engage in battle or not; they said this: it was not right for the Germans to engage if they had contended in battle before the new moon.

[51] Postridie eius diei Caesar praesidio utrisque castris quod satis esse visum est reliquit, alarios omnes in conspectu hostium pro castris minoribus constituit, quod minus multitudine militum legionariorum pro hostium numero valebat, ut ad speciem alariis uteretur; ipse triplici instructa acie usque ad castra hostium accessit. on the following day|of that|day||protection||||sufficient||seemed|||the light-armed troops|||sight||||the smaller|he established|||||of the legionaries||||was strong|||the appearance|the auxiliaries|should be used||triplicate|having been arranged|of the battle|||||approached The day after that day, Caesar left a garrison in both camps, which he deemed sufficient, and he stationed all the light-armed troops in view of the enemy in front of the smaller camp, since they were weaker in number compared to the enemy's legionaries, in order to serve as a semblance of light troops; he himself approached the enemy's camp with a triple battle line. Tum demum necessario Germani suas copias castris eduxerunt generatimque constituerunt paribus intervallis, Harudes, Marcomanos, Tribocos, Vangiones, Nemetes, Sedusios, Suebos, omnemque aciem suam raedis et carris circumdederunt, ne qua spes in fuga relinqueretur. |at last||||||they led out|and generally|they established|at equal intervals|intervals|the Harudes|Marcomans|Triboci|Vangiones|Nemetes|Sedusios|Suebi|and all||their|in the chariots||carriages|they surrounded|||hope|in||would be left Then at last the Germans brought their troops out of the camp and generally positioned them at equal intervals: the Harudes, Marcomans, Triboci, Vangiones, Nemetes, Sedusios, Suebi, and surrounded their entire battle line with wagons and carts, so that no hope would be left for flight. Eo mulieres imposuerunt, quae ad proelium proficiscentes milites passis manibus flentes implorabant ne se in servitutem Romanis traderent. |the women|they imposed|||battle|setting out|soldiers|with outstretched|hands|weeping|were imploring|not||into|||they would betray There women placed themselves, who, as the soldiers set out for battle, were weeping with outstretched hands and imploring that they not surrender themselves into slavery to the Romans.

[52] Caesar singulis legionibus singulos legatos et quaestorem praefecit, uti eos testes suae quisque virtutis haberet; ipse a dextro cornu, quod eam partem minime firmam hostium esse animadverterat, proelium commisit. |to each|to the legions|single|||the quaestor|he appointed||them|witnesses||each||he should have|||the right|wing||||least|firm||to be|he had noticed|battle|he committed Caesar appointed one legate and one quaestor to each legion, so that they might witness each one's virtue; he himself engaged in battle from the right wing, having observed that this part of the enemy was the least strong. Ita nostri acriter in hostes signo dato impetum fecerunt itaque hostes repente celeriterque procurrerunt, ut spatium pila in hostes coiciendi non daretur. |our|fiercely||the enemy|signal|||made|||suddenly|and quickly|ran forward|so that||spear|on|the enemy|throwing||were given Thus our men fiercely attacked the enemy at the given signal, and the enemy suddenly and swiftly ran forward, so that there was no time to throw the javelins at them. Relictis pilis comminus gladiis pugnatum est. with the remaining|hairs|at close quarters|swords|fighting| With the spears left behind, it was fought with swords at close quarters. At Germani celeriter ex consuetudine sua phalange facta impetus gladiorum exceperunt. |the Germans||from|custom||phalanx|||of swords|they received The Germans quickly received the attack of swords from their phalanx as was their custom. Reperti sunt complures nostri qui in phalanga insilirent et scuta manibus revellerent et desuper vulnerarent. there are||several||||the phalanx|were leaping||shields|with their hands|they would lift up||from above|they would wound Several of our men were discovered to be jumping into the phalanx and tearing away shields with their hands and wounding from above. Cum hostium acies a sinistro cornu pulsa atque in fugam coniecta esset, a dextro cornu vehementer multitudine suorum nostram aciem premebant. |of the enemy|line of battle||left||||||thrown|||right||||of their own|||were pressing When the enemy's line was pushed from the left flank and thrown into flight, on the right flank they were pressing our line vigorously with the multitude of their men. Id cum animadvertisset P. Crassus adulescens, qui equitatui praeerat, quod expeditior erat quam ii qui inter aciem versabantur, tertiam aciem laborantibus nostris subsidio misit. ||||Crassus|young man|||was in charge of||faster|||||||were engaged|||to the laboring||for assistance| When P. Crassus, the young man who was in command of the cavalry, noticed this, since he was more agile than those who were engaged in the line, he sent a third line as support to our struggling men.

[53] Ita proelium restitutum est, atque omnes hostes terga verterunt nec prius fugere destiterunt quam ad flumen Rhenum milia passuum ex eo loco circiter L pervenerunt. ||restored|||||backs|turned|||flee|they stopped|||||||||||| Thus the battle was restored, and all the enemies turned their backs, nor did they cease to flee until they had reached the river Rhine some 50 miles from that place. Ibi perpauci aut viribus confisi tranare contenderunt aut lintribus inventis sibi salutem reppererunt. |||strengths|trusting|to swim|they attempted|||having been found|||found There, very few either relied on their strength to swim across or, having found boats, were able to secure their safety. In his fuit Ariovistus, qui naviculam deligatam ad ripam nactus ea profugit; reliquos omnes consecuti equites nostri interfecerunt. |||||a small boat|tied||the bank|having obtained||fled|||having pursued|||killed Among them was Ariovistus, who, having found a small boat tied to the shore, escaped in it; our horsemen pursued and killed all the others. Duae fuerunt Ariovisti uxores, una Sueba natione, quam domo secum eduxerat, altera Norica, regis Voccionis soror, quam in Gallia duxerat a fratre missam: utraque in ea fuga periit; duae filiae: harum altera occisa, altera capta est. two||||||of the Suebi||||he had taken out||Norican|of the king|of Voccio|sister||||||brother|sent|||||perished||daughters|||killed||captured| Ariovistus had two wives, one from the Suebi tribe, whom he had taken from home, the other from Noricum, a sister of King Voccio, whom he had brought from his brother in Gaul: both perished in that flight; there were two daughters: one was killed, the other was captured. C. Valerius Procillus, cum a custodibus in fuga trinis catenis vinctus traheretur, in ipsum Caesarem hostes equitatu insequentem incidit. |Valerius|Procillus|||the guards|||three|chains|bound|was being dragged||||||following|encountered C. Valerius Procillus, while being dragged away by his guards bound with three chains in flight, encountered Caesar himself, who was being pursued by the enemy cavalry. Quae quidem res Caesari non minorem quam ipsa victoria voluptatem attulit, quod hominem honestissimum provinciae Galliae, suum familiarem et hospitem, ereptum ex manibus hostium sibi restitutum videbat neque eius calamitate de tanta voluptate et gratulatione quicquam fortuna deminuerat. |||||||itself||pleasure|brought|||most honorable||||||guest|having been taken away||||||||||||pleasure||gratulatione|anything|fortune|had diminished This indeed brought not less pleasure to Caesar than the victory itself, because he saw a very honorable man of the province of Gaul, his own friend and guest, restored to him from the hands of the enemies, and that nothing in his great pleasure and joy was diminished by the misfortune of that man. Is se praesente de se ter sortibus consultum dicebat, utrum igni statim necaretur an in aliud tempus reservaretur: sortium beneficio se esse incolumem. |||||to have||consulted|he was saying|||immediately|he should be killed|||||should be reserved|of the lots||||safe He was saying that in his presence a consultation had been made about him three times by lots, whether he should be killed by fire immediately or reserved for another time: by the benefit of the lots he was kept safe. Item M. Metius repertus et ad eum reductus est. ||Metius|found||||reduced| Similarly, M. Metius was found and brought back to him.

[54] Hoc proelio trans Rhenum nuntiato, Suebi, qui ad ripas Rheni venerant, domum reverti coeperunt; quos ubi qui proximi Rhenum incolunt perterritos senserunt, insecuti magnum ex iis numerum occiderunt. this||across|the Rhine|having been announced|the Suebi|who||the banks|of the Rhine||home|to return||||who|nearest||||they sensed||||||they killed [54] Having reported this battle beyond the Rhine, the Suevi, who had come to the banks of the Rhine, began to return home; and when those who dwell nearest to the Rhine felt alarmed, pursued them, and slew a great number of them. Caesar una aestate duobus maximis bellis confectis maturius paulo quam tempus anni postulabat in hiberna in Sequanos exercitum deduxit; hibernis Labienum praeposuit; ipse in citeriorem Galliam ad conventus agendos profectus est. |one|summer|||wars|having been completed|sooner|a little|||year|was demanding||winter quarters||||led down||Labienus|he placed in charge|||this side of|||conventus|agendas|| Caesar, having finished the two most important wars in one summer, led his army into winter-quarters among the Sequani, a little earlier than the time of the year required; he placed Labienus over for winter quarters; he himself set out for Hither Gaul, to hold an assembly.