- 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-lat2:4.9.1-4.9.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The envoys request three days to report back to their people and ask Caesar not to move his camp closer in the meantime, but Caesar refuses. He perceives that they are trying to gain time while waiting for the return of a large cavalry force they had sent across the Meuse.
Legati haec se ad suos relaturos dixerunt et re deliberata post diem tertium1 ad Caesarem reversuros: interea ne propius se2 castra moveret petierunt.
The envoys said that they would report these things to their people and, after deliberating on the matter, would return to Caesar on the third day; in the meantime, they requested that he not move his camp closer to them.
Ne id quidem Caesar ab se3 impetrari posse dixit.
Caesar said that not even this could be granted by him.
Cognoverat enim magnam partem equitatus ab iis aliquot diebus ante praedandi frumentandi causa ad Ambivaritos trans Mosam missam:4 hos expectari equites atque eius rei causa moram interponi arbitrabatur.
For he had learned that a large part of their cavalry had been sent by them a few days before across the Meuse to the Ambivariti for the purpose of plundering and foraging: he believed that these horsemen were being waited for, and that a delay was being introduced for this very reason.
- 4.9.1post diem tertium
"on the third day" or "two days later". According to the Roman system of inclusive reckoning (counting the current day as the first), "the third day" from today refers to what we would call two days later.
- 4.9.1propius se
propius is a comparative adverb (from prope) which here functions like a preposition governing the accusative. se is an indirect reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject of the main clause, the envoys (Legati).
- 4.9.2ab se
se is a direct reflexive pronoun referring to the subject of the sentence, Caesar (Caesar).
- 4.9.3magnam partem... missam
An accusative-with-infinitive clause functioning as the object of the verb cognoverat. missam is a perfect passive infinitive with the omission of esse (missam esse), agreeing in gender, number, and case with its subject magnam partem (feminine singular accusative).