- 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-lat2:1.2.1-1.2.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
Orgetorix plots a conspiracy for royal power and persuades the Helvetii to leave their territory to conquer all of Gaul. The Helvetii are dissatisfied with their narrow borders, which limit their expansion despite their large population and warlike nature.
Apud Helvetios longe nobilissimus fuit et ditissimus Orgetorix. Is M. Messala, [et P.] M. Pisone consulibus1 regni cupiditate inductus coniurationem nobilitatis fecit et civitati persuasit ut de finibus suis cum omnibus copiis exirent:
Among the Helvetii, Orgetorix was by far the most noble and wealthy. Guided by a desire for royal power, he formed a conspiracy among the nobility during the consulship of Marcus Messala and [Publius] Marcus Piso, and persuaded the state to depart from their territories with all their forces:
perfacile esse, cum virtute omnibus praestarent, totius Galliae imperio potiri.2
asserting that it would be very easy, since they surpassed all in valor, to acquire the sovereignty of the whole of Gaul.
Id hoc facilius3 iis persuasit, quod undique loci natura Helvetii continentur: una ex parte flumine Rheno latissimo atque altissimo, qui agrum Helvetium a Germanis dividit; altera ex parte monte Iura altissimo, qui est inter Sequanos et Helvetios; tertia lacu Lemanno et flumine Rhodano, qui provinciam nostram ab Helvetiis dividit.
He persuaded them of this the more easily, because the Helvetii are confined on every side by the nature of their situation: on one side by the Rhine, a very broad and deep river, which divides the Helvetian territory from the Germans; on a second side by the Jura, a very high mountain range, which is between the Sequani and the Helvetii; on a third by the Lake of Geneva and the river Rhone, which divides our Province from the Helvetii.
His rebus fiebat ut4 et minus late vagarentur et minus facile finitimis bellum inferre possent;
From these circumstances it resulted that they could range less widely, and could less easily wage war upon their neighbors;
qua ex parte homines bellandi cupidi5 magno dolore adficiebantur.
for which reason, being men fond of war, they were affected with great regret.
Pro multitudine autem hominum et pro gloria6 belli atque fortitudinis angustos se fines habere arbitrabantur, qui in longitudinem milia passuum CCXL, in latitudinem CLXXX patebant.
Furthermore, in proportion to the multitude of their population, and to their glory in war and bravery, they thought that they had narrow limits, which extended two hundred and forty miles in length, and one hundred and eighty in width.
- 1.2.1M. Messala, [et P.] M. Pisone consulibus
An ablative absolute construction combining nouns to express the standard Roman method of dating by mentioning the consuls of the year (61 BC), meaning 'when Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso were consuls.'
- 1.2.2perfacile esse... potiri
An accusative and infinitive construction in indirect speech representing the content of the persuasion (persuasit in the preceding sentence). The infinitive potiri (from a deponent verb) acts as the subject of perfacile esse (neuter) and governs the ablative imperio.
- 1.2.3Id hoc facilius
Id is the direct object (neuter accusative) of persuasit. hoc is an ablative of degree of difference (or cause) anticipating the subsequent quod clause, meaning 'more easily by this reason (that...).'
- 1.2.4fiebat ut
The impersonal verb fiebat ('it happened') takes the ut clause (with imperfect subjunctives vagarentur and possent) as a noun clause of result acting as its subject, meaning 'the result was that...' or 'it happened that...'
- 1.2.5bellandi cupidi
bellandi is the genitive of the gerund of bello, acting as an objective genitive governed by the adjective cupidi ('desirous of'), which expresses eagerness or desire.
- 1.2.6pro multitudine... pro gloria
The preposition pro (governing the ablative) is used here in the sense of 'in proportion to' or 'considering,' highlighting the disproportion felt by the Helvetii between their small territory and their large population and military reputation.