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Gallic War

§5.7.1-5.7.9

Flight of Dumnorix and His Death

Caesar attempts to restrain Dumnorix's rebellious movements, but during the delay caused by unfavorable winds, Dumnorix flees the camp without permission. Caesar sends pursuers, who kill him when he resists.

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§5.7.1

​Qua re cognita Caesar, quod tantum civitati Aeduae dignitatis tribuebat, coercendum atque deterrendum1 quibuscumque rebus posset Dumnorigem statuebat;

​On learning this, Caesar, because he attributed so much importance to the Aeduan state, determined that Dumnorix should be restrained and deterred by whatever means he could;

§5.7.2

​quod longius eius amentiam progredi videbat, prospiciendum,2 ne quid sibi ac rei publicae nocere posset. Itaque dies circiter XXV in eo loco commoratus, ​quod Corus ventus navigationem impediebat, qui magnam partem omnis temporis3 in his locis flare consuevit, dabat operam ut in officio Dumnorigem contineret, nihilo tamen setius omnia eius consilia cognosceret.

​because he saw that his madness was proceeding further, he thought that precaution must be taken lest he should be able to do any harm to himself and the republic. Therefore, having delayed in that place for about twenty-five days, ​because the Carus wind, which is accustomed to blow in these parts for a great part of every season, was preventing their sailing, he took pains to keep Dumnorix in his duty, and yet nonetheless to learn all his plans.

§5.7.4

​Tandem idoneam nactus tempestatem milites equitesque conscendere in naves iubet.

​At length, having obtained suitable weather, he ordered the soldiers and cavalry to embark on the ships.

§5.7.5

​At omnium impeditis animis Dumnorix cum equitibus Aeduorum a castris insciente Caesare4 domum discedere coepit.

​But while the minds of all were occupied, Dumnorix, with the cavalry of the Aedui, began to depart from the camp for home, without the knowledge of Caesar.

§5.7.6

​Qua re nuntiata Caesar intermissa profectione atque omnibus rebus postpositis magnam partem equitatus ad eum insequendum mittit retrahique imperat;

​When this was reported, Caesar, postponing the departure and putting aside all other matters, sent a large part of the cavalry to pursue him and ordered him to be brought back;

§5.7.7

​si vim faciat neque pareat, interfici iubet, nihil hunc se absente pro sano facturum5 arbitratus, qui praesentis imperium neglexisset.

​he ordered him to be put to death if he should use force and refuse to obey, thinking that he who had disregarded the command of one who was present would do nothing in a sane manner in his absence.

§5.7.8

​Ille enim revocatus resistere ac se manu defendere suorumque fidem implorare coepit, saepe clamitans liberum se liberaeque esse civitatis.6

​For when recalled, he began to resist, to defend himself with his hand, and to implore the loyalty of his men, repeatedly crying out that he was a free man and of a free state.

§5.7.9

​Illi, ut erat imperatum, circumsistunt hominem atque interficiunt: at equites Aedui ad Caesarem omnes revertuntur.

​They, as had been commanded, surrounded the man and put him to death; but the Aeduan cavalry all returned to Caesar.

Syntax notes6 items
  1. 5.7.1coercendum atque deterrendum

    An accusative with infinitive construction serving as the object of statuebat. It functions as the predicate for the subject accusative Dumnorigem, with esse omitted from the gerundives to express obligation or necessity.

  2. 5.7.2prospiciendum

    An impersonal gerundive with esse omitted (prospiciendum esse), dependent on statuebat from the preceding sentence, meaning 'that precaution must be taken.'

  3. 5.7.3magnam partem omnis temporis

    Accusative of duration of time, used adverbially to mean 'for a great part of every season' or 'most of the time.'

  4. 5.7.5insciente Caesare

    An ablative absolute consisting of the noun Caesare and the present participle insciente (not knowing), meaning 'without Caesar's knowledge.'

  5. 5.7.7nihil hunc se absente pro sano facturum

    An accusative with infinitive clause dependent on the participle arbitratus, with hunc (this man, i.e., Dumnorix) as the subject accusative and facturum [esse] as the future active infinitive. The phrase se absente is an ablative absolute meaning 'in his (Caesar's) absence.'

  6. 5.7.8liberae civitatis

    Genitive of quality, functioning as the predicate of se esse in indirect speech, meaning '[that he] was of a free state' (i.e., a citizen of a free state).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
  • 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:5.7.1-5.7.9