- 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-lat2:2.15.1-2.15.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Caesar spares the Bellovaci out of respect for Diviciacus and accepts the surrender of the Ambiani, before learning about the fierce and strictly disciplined Nervii who refuse all luxury and surrender.
Caesar honoris Diviciaci atque Haeduorum causa1 sese eos in fidem recepturum et conservaturum dixit, et quod erat civitas magna inter Belgas auctoritate atque hominum multitudine praestabat,2 DC obsides poposcit.
Caesar, for the sake of the honor of Diviciacus and the Haedui, said that he would receive them into his protection and preserve them; and because it was a state of great influence among the Belgae and excelled in the multitude of its men, he demanded six hundred hostages.
His traditis omnibusque armis ex oppido conlatis, ab eo loco in fines Ambianorum pervenit; qui se suaque omnia sine mora dediderunt.
When these were handed over and all the arms collected from the town, he arrived from that place in the territory of the Ambiani, who surrendered themselves and all their possessions without delay.
Eorum fines Nervii attingebant. Quorum de natura moribusque Caesar cum quaereret, sic reperiebat:
The Nervii bordered on their territory. When Caesar inquired about their character and customs, he found out as follows:
nullum esse aditum ad eos mercatoribus; nihil pati vini3 reliquarumque rerum ad luxuriam pertinentium inferri, quod his rebus relanguescere animos eorum et remitti virtutem existimarent;
that there was no access for merchants to them; that they allowed no wine or other things tending to luxury to be imported, because they thought that by these things their minds were enervated and their courage impaired;
esse homines feros magnaeque virtutis;4 increpitare atque incusare reliquos Belgas, qui se populo Romano dedidissent5 patriamque virtutem proiecissent;
that they were fierce men and of great courage; that they upbraided and accused the rest of the Belgae, who had surrendered themselves to the Roman people and cast aside their ancestral courage;
confirmare sese neque legatos missuros neque ullam condicionem pacis accepturos.
that they asserted that they would neither send ambassadors nor accept any condition of peace.
- 2.15.1honoris Diviciaci atque Haeduorum causa
honoris is an objective genitive meaning 'respect/honor toward Diviciacus and the Haedui'. causa is an ablative governing the genitives to express purpose or reason ('for the sake of', 'out of respect for').
- 2.15.1quod erat civitas magna ... praestabat
A causal clause introduced by quod ('because'). The subject of the clause is civitas (the state of the Bellovaci), which 'was a great state' (erat... magna) and 'excelled in population' (multitudine praestabat), explaining why Caesar demanded such a large number of hostages (600).
- 2.15.4nihil pati vini
vini is a partitive genitive depending on the neuter pronoun nihil ('nothing of wine', i.e., 'no wine'). pati ('to allow') takes an accusative with infinitive construction, here with the passive infinitive inferri ('to be imported').
- 2.15.5magnae virtutis
A genitive of quality (or description) describing the character of the Nervii, coordinate with the accusative noun/adjective phrase homines feros ('[men] of great courage').
- 2.15.5qui se populo Romano dedidissent
The subjunctive (dedidissent) in the relative clause is due to its being a subordinate clause in indirect discourse (expressing the allegation or reason of the Nervii for blaming the other Belgae).