- Source
- Julius Caesar. Aulus Hirtius. C. Iuli Commentarii Rerum in Gallia Gestarum VII A. Hirti Commentarius VII. Holmes, T. Rice (Thomas Rice), editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.12.1-1.12.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-24
Caesar made a surprise attack on and destroyed the Tigurini, the one-fourth of the Helvetian forces that had not yet crossed the Arar. In doing so, Caesar avenged both public and private wrongs against the tribe that had once defeated a Roman army and slain its consul and legate.
Flumen est Arar, quod per fines Haeduorum et Sequanorum in Rhodanum influit, incredibili lenitate, ita ut oculis in utram partem fluat iudicari non possit.1 Id Helvetii ratibus ac lintribus iunctis transibant.
There is a river called the Arar, which flows through the territories of the Haedui and the Sequani into the Rhone with such incredible slowness that it cannot be determined by the eyes in which direction it flows. The Helvetii were crossing this by means of rafts and boats joined together.
Ubi per exploratores Caesar certior factus est tres iam partes copiarum Helvetios id flumen traduxisse,2 quartam vero partem citra flumen Ararim reliquam esse, de tertia vigilia cum legionibus tribus e castris profectus ad eam partem pervenit quae nondum flumen transierat.
When Caesar was informed by scouts that the Helvetii had already conveyed three parts of their forces across that river, but that the fourth part was left on this side of the river Arar, he set out from the camp during the third watch with three legions, and came to that part which had not yet crossed the river.
Eos impeditos et inopinantes adgressus magnam partem eorum concidit; reliqui sese fugae mandarunt atque in proximas silvas abdiderunt.
Attacking them encumbered with baggage and suspecting nothing, he cut down a great part of them; the rest betook themselves to flight and concealed themselves in the nearest woods.
Is pagus appellabatur Tigurinus; nam omnis civitas Helvetia in quattuor pagos divisa est.
This canton was called the Tigurinus; for the whole Helvetian state is divided into four cantons.
Hic pagus unus, cum domo exisset, patrum nostrorum memoria L. Cassium consulem interfecerat et eius exercitum sub iugum miserat.
This single canton, having left its home, had, within the memory of our fathers, slain the consul Lucius Cassius, and sent his army under the yoke.
Ita sive casu sive consilio deorum immortalium quae pars civitatis Helvetiae insignem calamitatem populo Romano intulerat, ea princeps poenam persolvit.3
Thus, whether by chance or by the design of the immortal gods, that part of the Helvetian state which had inflicted a signal calamity on the Roman people was the first to pay the penalty.
Qua in re Caesar non solum publicas, sed etiam privatas iniurias ultus est, quod eius soceri L. Pisonis avum, L. Pisonem legatum, Tigurini eodem proelio quo Cassium interfecerant.4
In this matter, Caesar avenged not only public but also private wrongs, because the Tigurini, in the same battle in which they had slain Cassius, had also slain the legate Lucius Piso, the grandfather of his father-in-law, Lucius Piso.
- 1.12.1incredibili lenitate, ita ut oculis in utram partem fluat iudicari non possit
incredibili lenitate is an ablative of description or manner ('with incredible slowness'). It is followed by a consecutive ita ut clause ('so... that'). Within this clause, the indirect question in utram partem fluat ('in which direction it flows') functions as the subject of the impersonal passive infinitive iudicari ('to be judged/determined').
- 1.12.2tres iam partes copiarum Helvetios id flumen traduxisse
The verb traducere ('to lead across') takes a double accusative: one of the thing crossed (id flumen) and one of the persons led (tres partes copiarum). Here, in the accusative-and-infinitive (AcI) construction, Helvetios is the subject accusative, and tres partes is the direct object.
- 1.12.6quae pars civitatis Helvetiae ... ea princeps poenam persolvit
This is a relative attraction where the antecedent (pars) is incorporated into the relative clause (quae pars... ea is equivalent to ea pars, quae...). Additionally, the nominative adjective princeps ('first') is used adverbially, meaning 'first' or 'as the first.'
- 1.12.7quod eius soceri L. Pisonis avum, L. Pisonem legatum, Tigurini eodem proelio quo Cassium interfecerant
eius refers to Caesar. eius soceri L. Pisonis avum ('the grandfather of his father-in-law Lucius Piso') and L. Pisonem legatum ('the legate Lucius Piso') are in apposition, referring to the same person. The relative quo introduces an abbreviated relative clause qualifying eodem proelio ('in the same battle in which they had slain Cassius').