- 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-lat2:6.14.1-6.14.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Caesar describes the privileges of the Druids (exemption from military service and taxation), their oral training and refusal to write down their teachings, their belief in the immortality of the soul, and their intellectual studies.
Druides a bello abesse consuerunt neque tributa una cum reliquis pendunt; militiae vacationem omniumque rerum habent immunitatem.
The druids are accustomed to hold aloof from war, nor do they pay taxes together with the rest; they have exemption from military service and immunity from all duties.
Tantis excitati praemiis et sua sponte multi in disciplinam conveniunt et a parentibus propinquisque mittuntur.
Attracted by such great privileges, many gather for instruction of their own accord, and many are sent by their parents and relations.
Magnum ibi numerum versuum ediscere dicuntur. Itaque annos nonnulli vicenos in disciplina permanent.
They are said to learn by heart a great number of verses there. And so some remain in training for twenty years.
Neque fas esse existimant ea litteris mandare, cum in reliquis fere rebus, publicis privatisque rationibus Graecis litteris utantur. Id mihi duabus de causis instituisse videntur, quod neque in vulgum disciplinam efferri velint neque eos, qui discunt, litteris confisos minus memoriae studere:1 quod fere plerisque accidit, ut2 praesidio litterarum diligentiam in perdiscendo ac memoriam remittant.
Nor do they think it right to commit these instructions to writing, although in almost all other matters, in both public and private accounts, they make use of Greek letters. They seem to me to have established this practice for two reasons: because they neither wish their doctrine to be spread among the common people, nor those who learn, relying on writing, to pay less attention to memory; which indeed generally happens to most people, that through the assistance of writing they relax their diligence in learning thoroughly and their memory.
In primis hoc3 volunt persuadere, non interire animas, sed ab aliis post mortem transire ad alios, atque hoc maxime ad virtutem excitari putant metu mortis neglecto.
Above all they wish to persuade people of this, that souls do not perish, but pass after death from one to another, and they think that by this belief men are most especially excited to virtue, the fear of death being disregarded.
Multa praeterea de sideribus atque eorum motu, de mundi ac terrarum magnitudine, de rerum natura, de deorum immortalium vi ac potestate disputant et iuventuti tradunt.
Besides, they hold many discussions concerning the stars and their motion, concerning the size of the universe and the earth, concerning the nature of things, and concerning the strength and power of the immortal gods, and hand down these things to the youth.
- 6.14.4studere
In the construction following the subjunctive 'velint' inside the 'quod' clause, the syntax of the infinitive 'studere' can be understood in two ways: either by supplying 'velint' from the preceding clause, i.e., 'neque [velint] eos... studere' ('nor [do they wish] those who learn to pay less attention to memory'), or as a transition from the 'quod'-clause to an accusative with infinitive dependent on 'instituisse videntur' (perhaps supplying a verb of thinking like 'existiment'). In either case, the logical flow indicates their intention to prevent the degeneration of memory due to reliance on writing.
- 6.14.4quod fere plerisque accidit, ut
The relative pronoun 'quod' refers back to the concept of relying on writing, while the subsequent 'ut... remittant' clause (with subjunctive) functions as a substantive clause of result, acting as the subject of the impersonal verb 'accidit' ('it happens').
- 6.14.5hoc
This is an ablative of means ('by this belief / by this thing'), modifying the passive infinitive 'excitari' ('to be stimulated/excited').
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1