- 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-lat2:1.36.1-1.36.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-24
Ariovistus rejects Caesar's demands, asserting that it is the right of the conqueror to rule the conquered, that the Haedui are his tributaries by right of war, and that he is ready to engage in battle at any time.
Ad haec Ariovistus respondit: ius esse belli ut qui vicissent iis quos vicissent quem ad modum vellent imperarent.1 Item populum Romanum victis non ad alterius praescriptum, sed ad suum arbitrium imperare consuesse.
To this Ariovistus replied: that it was the right of war that those who had conquered should rule those whom they had conquered in what manner they pleased; that in like manner the Roman people were accustomed to rule the conquered, not according to the dictation of any other, but according to their own discretion.
Si ipse populo Romano non praescriberet2 quem ad modum suo iure uteretur, non oportere se a populo Romano in suo iure impediri.
If he himself did not dictate to the Roman people how they should use their own right, he ought not to be obstructed by the Roman people in his own right.
Haeduos sibi, quoniam belli fortunam temptassent et armis congressi ac superati essent, stipendiarios esse factos.
That the Haedui had become tributary to him, because they had tried the fortune of war, and had engaged in arms and been vanquished.
Magnam Caesarem iniuriam facere, qui suo adventu vectigalia sibi deteriora faceret.
That Caesar was doing a great injustice, since by his arrival he was making his revenues less valuable to 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.3
That he would not restore the hostages to the Haedui, nor would he make war on them or their allies without cause, if they remained in that which had been agreed upon, and paid their tribute yearly; if they did not do so, the brotherly name of the Roman people would be far from helping them.
Quod sibi Caesar denuntiaret4 se Haeduorum iniurias non neglecturum, neminem secum sine sua pernicie contendisse.
As to Caesar’s declaring to him that he would not overlook the wrongs of the Haedui, no one had ever contended with him without his own destruction.
Cum vellet, congrederetur:5 intellecturum quid invicti Germani, exercitatissimi in armis, qui inter annos XIIII tectum non subissent, virtute possent.
Let him engage when he pleased; he would learn what the invincible Germans, who were highly trained in arms, and who had not gone under a roof for fourteen years, could accomplish by their valor.
- 1.36.1ius esse belli ut qui vicissent iis quos vicissent quem ad modum vellent imperarent
The ut-clause (ut... imperarent) functions as an appositive clause defining the 'ius' (or as the subject of 'ius esse'). Since it is within indirect speech (oratio obliqua), the verbs in its subordinate clauses (vicissent, vicissent, vellent) are all in the subjunctive mood.
- 1.36.2Si ipse populo Romano non praescriberet
This is the protasis of a conditional sentence in indirect speech; the verb praescriberet is in the imperfect subjunctive. It is in the imperfect due to the sequence of tenses following the historical main verb respondit. The pronoun ipse refers to the speaker, Ariovistus.
- 1.36.5longe iis fraternum nomen populi Romani afuturum
afuturum is a spelling variant of abfuturum (future infinitive of abesse). The construction abesse with the dative (iis) means 'to be far from helping someone' or 'to be of no avail to someone.' 'fraternum nomen populi Romani' refers to the honorary title of 'brothers' granted to the Haedui by the Roman people.
- 1.36.6Quod sibi Caesar denuntiaret
quod is a conjunction of limitation or reference, meaning 'as to the fact that' or 'as for the circumstance that' (derived from the neuter accusative singular of the relative pronoun).
- 1.36.7congrederetur
A hortatory subjunctive in the imperfect tense (third-person singular), representing an imperative (congredere) in direct speech. The imperfect tense is used in accordance with the historical sequence initiated by respondit.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1