- 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-lat2:1.45.1-1.45.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
Caesar counters Ariovistus, arguing that Rome cannot withdraw from Gaul due to obligations to its allies and historical precedence.
Multa a Caesare in eam sententiam1 dicta sunt quare negotio desistere non posset: neque suam neque populi Romani consuetudinem pati ut optime meritos socios desereret,2 neque se iudicare Galliam potius esse Ariovisti quam populi Romani.
Many arguments to this effect were stated by Caesar, as to why he could not desist from the undertaking: that neither his own custom nor that of the Roman people permitted him to desert allies who had deserved so well, nor did he judge that Gaul belonged to Ariovistus rather than to the Roman people.
Bello superatos esse Arvernos et Rutenos a Q. Fabio Maximo, quibus populus Romanus ignovisset neque in provinciam redegisset neque stipendium posuisset.
That the Arverni and the Ruteni had been overcome in war by Quintus Fabius Maximus, whom the Roman people had pardoned, and had neither reduced into a province nor imposed a tribute upon them.
Quod si antiquissimum quodque tempus3 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.4
But if it were proper that the most ancient time should be regarded, the sovereignty of the Roman people in Gaul was most just; if the judgment of the senate ought to be observed, Gaul ought to be free, which, though conquered in war, the senate had willed should enjoy its own laws.
- 1.45.1in eam sententiam
Meaning 'to this effect' or 'in this sense', serving to introduce and summarize the subsequent indirect speech clauses.
- 1.45.1pati ut optime meritos socios desereret
The verb pati ('to permit') here takes an ut-clause with the subjunctive (desereret) as its object, instead of the more common accusative with infinitive construction. The imperfect subjunctive is used in accordance with the sequence of tenses after the historical perfect dicta sunt.
- 1.45.3antiquissimum quodque tempus
The superlative combined with quisque, meaning literally 'each most ancient time', translated as 'the oldest times' or 'priority of time', referring to historical precedence.
- 1.45.3bello victam suis legibus uti voluisset
Inside the relative clause quam... voluisset. The subject of voluisset is senatus, understood from the preceding clause. bello victam is a perfect participle modifying the relative pronoun quam (= Galliam) with a concessive force ('although conquered in war'). uti is a complementary infinitive dependent on voluisset and governs the ablative legibus.