- 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-lat2:3.9.1-3.9.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Caesar orders the construction of war galleys on the Loire and the recruitment of rowers. The Veneti and their allies, fully aware of their crime in detaining the Roman ambassadors, fortify their towns, collect a massive fleet, and forge alliances with neighboring tribes and Britain.
Quibus de rebus Caesar a Crasso certior factus, quod ipse aberat longius,1 naves interim longas aedificari in flumine Ligeri, quod influit in Oceanum, remiges ex provincia institui, nautas gubernatoresque comparari iubet.
Caesar, being informed of these matters by Crassus, as he himself was rather far away, orders in the meantime that war galleys be built on the river Loire, which flows into the Ocean, rowers be drafted from the province, and sailors and pilots be procured.
His rebus celeriter administratis ipse, cum primum per anni tempus potuit, ad exercitum contendit.
These matters being quickly dispatched, he himself, as soon as the season of the year permitted, hastened to the army.
Veneti reliquaeque item civitates cognito Caesaris adventu [certiores facti], simul quod quantum in se facinus admisissent intellegebant, [legatos, quod nomen ad omnes nationes sanctum inviolatumque semper fuisset, retentos ab se et in vincula coniectos,]2 pro magnitudine periculi bellum parare et maxime ea quae ad usum navium pertinent providere instituunt, hoc maiore spe quod3 multum natura loci confidebant.
The Veneti and likewise the other states, having learned of Caesar’s arrival, and at the same time because they realized how great a crime they had committed—in that ambassadors, a name which had always been sacred and inviolable among all nations, had been detained by them and cast into chains—began, in proportion to the magnitude of their danger, to prepare for war, and especially to provide those things which relate to the use of ships, with a hope so much the greater because they relied heavily on the nature of their position.
Pedestria esse itinera concisa aestuariis, navigationem impeditam propter inscientiam locorum paucitatemque portuum sciebant, neque nostros exercitus propter inopiam frumenti diutius apud se morari posse confidebant;
They knew that the foot-paths were interrupted by estuaries, and that navigation was difficult because of their ignorance of the localities and the scarcity of harbors, and they trusted that our armies could not remain long among them on account of the scarcity of corn;
ac iam ut omnia contra opinionem acciderent,4 tamen se plurimum navibus posse,5 [quam] Romanos neque ullam facultatem habere navium, neque eorum locorum ubi bellum gesturi essent vada, portus, insulas novisse;
and even if all things should turn out contrary to their expectation, yet they were very powerful in ships, whereas the Romans had no supply of ships, and were ignorant of the shallows, the harbors, and the islands of those places where they were about to carry on the war;
ac longe aliam esse navigationem in concluso mari atque in vastissimo atque apertissimo Oceano perspiciebant.
and they clearly saw that navigation in a closed sea was far different from that in a vast and open Ocean.
His initis consiliis oppida muniunt, frumenta ex agris in oppida comportant, naves in Venetiam, ubi Caesarem primum bellum gesturum constabat, quam plurimas possunt cogunt. Socios sibi ad id bellum Osismos, Lexovios, Namnetes, Ambiliatos, Morinos, Diablintes, Menapios adsciscunt; auxilia ex Britannia, quae contra eas regiones posita est, arcessunt.
These plans having been adopted, they fortify their towns, convey corn from the fields into the towns, and gather into Venetia, where it was certain that Caesar would first wage war, as many ships as they could. They ally to themselves for that war the Osismi, the Lexovii, the Namnetes, the Ambiliati, the Morini, the Diablintes, and the Menapii; and they send for auxiliaries from Britain, which is situated opposite to those regions.
- 3.9.1longius
The comparative longius is used here as an absolute comparative, meaning 'rather far' or 'quite far away,' rather than a direct comparison with a specific object.
- 3.9.3legatos ... retentos ... coniectos
This accusative with infinitive clause (with esse omitted) stands as an object of intellegebant, or in apposition to it, explaining the specific nature of the crime mentioned in quantum in se facinus admisissent (how great a crime they had committed).
- 3.9.3hoc maiore spe quod
hoc is an ablative of cause or measure of difference, meaning 'with a hope so much the greater on this account.' The subsequent quod clause explains the ground for this hope ('because they relied much on the nature of the place').
- 3.9.6ut omnia contra opinionem acciderent
The conjunction ut with the subjunctive (here imperfect acciderent due to sequence of tenses in a past narrative) expresses concession ('even though all things should happen contrary to expectation').
- 3.9.6se plurimum navibus posse
navibus is an ablative of specification ('in respect of ships'). plurimum posse is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to be very powerful' or 'to have the greatest influence.'