- 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-lat2:4.27.1-4.27.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
After their defeat, the Britons sent peace envoys to Caesar, returned Commius whom they had held captive, and blamed the multitude for their aggression. Caesar pardoned them on the condition of delivering hostages, prompting the British chiefs to submit to his authority.
Hostes proelio superati, simul atque se ex fuga receperunt, statim ad Caesarem legatos de pace miserunt; obsides sese daturos quaeque imperasset facturos1 polliciti sunt.
The enemy, defeated in battle, as soon as they recovered themselves from flight, immediately sent ambassadors to Caesar concerning peace; they promised that they would give hostages and perform whatever he should command.
Una cum his legatis Commius Atrebas venit, quem supra demonstraveram a Caesare in Britanniam praemissum.
Together with these ambassadors came Commius the Atrebatian, whom I have mentioned above as having been sent before by Caesar into Britain.
Hunc illi e navi egressum, cum ad eos oratoris modo Caesaris mandata deferret, comprehenderant atque in vincula coniecerant;
They had seized him when he had got out of his ship, although he was carrying the commands of Caesar to them in the character of an ambassador, and had cast him into chains;
tum proelio facto remiserunt et in petenda pace eius rei culpam in multitudinem contulerunt et propter imprudentiam ut ignosceretur2 petiverunt.
then, after the battle was fought, they sent him back, and in suing for peace cast the blame of that act upon the multitude, and entreated that it might be pardoned on account of their indiscretion.
Caesar questus quod, cum3 ultro in continentem legatis missis pacem ab se petissent, bellum sine causa intulissent, ignoscere se imprudentiae dixit obsidesque imperavit;
Caesar, having complained that, though they had sued for peace from him of their own accord by sending ambassadors to the continent, they had made war upon him without cause, said that he would pardon their indiscretion, and demanded hostages;
quorum illi partem statim dederunt, partem ex longinquioribus locis arcessitam paucis diebus sese daturos dixerunt.
of these they gave a part immediately, and said that they would give the remainder, which had to be brought from more distant places, in a few days.
Interea suos in agros remigrare iusserunt, principesque undique convenire et se civitatesque suas Caesari commendare coeperunt.
Meanwhile they ordered their people to return to the fields, and the chiefs began to assemble from all quarters, and to commend themselves and their states to Caesar.
- 4.27.1quaeque imperasset facturos
In the future infinitive construction sese daturos ... facturos [esse], the relative clause quaeque imperasset means 'whatever he should command.' The indicative future perfect is attracted into the subjunctive pluperfect (contracted form of imperavisset) in indirect discourse depending on the historical main verb polliciti sunt.
- 4.27.4ut ignosceretur
Since ignosco (to pardon) governs the dative and is intransitive, its passive voice can only be used impersonally (ignoscitur, 'it is pardoned'). Here, it is in the subjunctive imperfect passive used impersonally without a personal subject, meaning 'that pardon might be granted [to them]'.
- 4.27.5questus quod, cum
Questus is the perfect participle of the deponent verb queror, indicating an action prior to the main verb dixit (having complained). Within the quod-clause, cum is adversative ('although'), governing the subjunctives petissent and intulissent.