- 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-lat2:6.21.1-6.21.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
The author describes the religious and social customs of the Germans, noting that they do not have druids, worship only visible deities, and highly value physical training and sexual abstinence before adulthood.
Germani multum ab hac consuetudine differunt. Nam neque druides habent, qui rebus divinis praesint, neque sacrificiis student.
The Germans differ much from this custom. For they neither have druids to preside over divine affairs, nor do they pay attention to sacrifices.
Deorum numero1 eos solos ducunt, quos cernunt et quorum aperte opibus iuvantur, Solem et Vulcanum et Lunam, reliquos ne fama quidem acceperunt.
They reckon in the number of the gods only those whom they see and by whose resources they are openly benefited, namely, the Sun, Vulcan, and the Moon; the rest they have not received even by report.
Vita omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei militaris consistit: ab parvulis labori ac duritiae student. Qui diutissime impuberes permanserunt, maximam inter suos ferunt laudem: hoc ali2 staturam, ali vires nervosque confirmari putant.
Their whole life consists in hunting and in the pursuits of military science; from childhood they devote themselves to labor and hardship. Those who have remained chaste for the longest time receive the greatest praise among their people; by this they think that their stature is increased, their physical strength is nourished, and their sinews are strengthened.
Intra annum vero vicesimum feminae notitiam habuisse3 in turpissimis habent rebus; cuius rei nulla est occultatio, quod et promiscue in fluminibus perluuntur et pellibus aut parvis renonum tegimentis utuntur magna corporis parte nuda.
Indeed, to have had knowledge of a woman before the twentieth year they hold among the most disgraceful things; of which matter there is no concealment, because they bathe promiscuously in the rivers and use skins or small coverings of reindeer hides, with a great part of their body naked.
- 6.21.2Deorum numero
'numero' is the ablative singular of 'numerus' (number), which, combined with 'ducunt' (they reckon/consider), forms the idiomatic expression 'to reckon in the number of the gods,' i.e., 'to consider as gods.'
- 6.21.4ali
The present passive infinitive of the verb 'alere' (to nourish, foster). It functions within the accusative-and-infinitive construction with 'staturam' (stature) as its subject accusative, meaning 'stature is nourished/increased.'
- 6.21.5feminae notitiam habuisse
'feminae' is an objective genitive modifying 'notitiam' (knowledge of woman, referring to sexual intercourse). The perfect infinitive 'habuisse' (to have had) is used substantively as the object of 'habent in turpissimis rebus' (they hold among the most disgraceful things).