- 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-lat2:5.41.1-5.41.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
The leaders of the Nervii request a conference with Cicero, offering him safe passage on the condition of abandoning the winter quarters. Cicero firmly replies that the Romans do not accept terms from an armed enemy, and advises them to send envoys to Caesar instead.
Tunc duces principesque Nerviorum qui aliquem sermonis aditum causamque amicitiae cum Cicerone habebant colloqui sese velle dicunt.
Then the leaders and chiefs of the Nervii, who had some avenue of conversation and grounds of friendship with Cicero, say that they wish to confer.
Facta potestate eadem quae Ambiorix cum Titurio egerat commemorant: omnem esse in armis Galliam;
Opportunity being granted, they recount the same things which Ambiorix had discussed with Titurius: that all Gaul is in arms;
Germanos Rhenum transisse; Caesaris reliquorumque hiberna oppugnari.
that the Germans have crossed the Rhine; that the winter quarters of Caesar and of the others are being attacked.
Addunt etiam de Sabini morte: Ambiorigem ostentant fidei faciendae causa.
They add also concerning the death of Sabinus; they point to Ambiorix for the sake of producing belief.
Errare eos dicunt, si quidquam ab his praesidi1 sperent, qui suis rebus diffidant; sese tamen hoc esse in Ciceronem populumque Romanum animo,2 ut nihil nisi hiberna recusent atque hanc inveterascere consuetudinem nolint:
They say that they are mistaken, if they hope for any protection from those who despair of their own affairs; that they, however, are of this mind toward Cicero and the Roman people, that they refuse nothing except winter quarters and do not wish this custom to become established:
licere illis incolumibus per se3 ex hibernis discedere et quascumque in partes velint sine metu proficisci.
that it is permitted them to depart from the winter quarters unharmed, as far as they are concerned, and to set out without fear into whatever parts they wish.
Cicero ad haec unum modo respondit: non esse consuetudinem populi Romani accipere ab hoste armato condicionem:
To this Cicero made only one reply: that it was not the custom of the Roman people to accept terms from an armed enemy:
si ab armis discedere velint, se adiutore utantur4 legatosque ad Caesarem mittant; sperare pro eius iustitia, quae petierint, impetraturos.5
if they wished to lay down their arms, they might use him as an advocate and send ambassadors to Caesar; that he hoped, in accordance with his justice, they would obtain what they requested.
- 5.41.5praesidi
Partitive genitive modifying the neuter pronoun quidquam. It literally means 'any of protection/aid'.
- 5.41.5hoc... animo
Ablative of quality, functioning as a predicate with the linking verb esse, meaning 'to be of this mind'. The prepositional phrase in + accusative (in Ciceronem...) expresses 'toward...'.
- 5.41.6per se
Prepositional phrase with a reflexive pronoun referring to the subject (the Nervii). It means 'as far as they are concerned' or 'without hindrance on their part', guaranteeing safe passage.
- 5.41.8se adiutore utantur
The deponent verb utor governs the ablative case, hence the reflexive pronoun se and the noun adiutor are in the ablative, forming a predicative structure meaning 'use him as an advocate'. Since this is in indirect discourse, the original imperative changes to the present subjunctive utantur.
- 5.41.8sperare... impetraturos
Double omission of subject accusatives in indirect discourse. The subject se (Cicero) of the governing infinitive sperare is omitted, and the subject eos (the Nervii) of the dependent future infinitive impetraturos (esse) is also omitted. Structurally it means: '[Cicero] hopes that [they] will obtain...'.