- 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-lat2:6.29.1-6.29.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
Caesar decides not to advance further into Germania due to a shortage of supplies, partially dismantles the bridge to keep the barbarians in fear, leaves a garrison under Tullus, and marches through the Ardennes forest towards the war with Ambiorix, sending Basilus ahead with the cavalry.
Caesar, postquam per Vbios exploratores comperit Suebos sese in silvas recepisse, inopiam frumenti veritus,1 quod, ut supra demonstravimus, minime omnes Germani agriculturae student, constituit non progredi longius; sed, ne omnino metum reditus sui barbaris tolleret atque ut eorum auxilia tardaret, reducto exercitu partem ultimam pontis, quae ripas Vbiorum contingebat, in longitudinem pedum ducentorum rescindit atque in extremo ponte turrim tabulatorum quattuor constituit praesidiumque cohortium duodecim pontis tuendi causa ponit magnisque eum locum munitionibus firmat. Ei loco praesidioque Gaium Volcatium Tullum adulescentem praefecit.
Caesar, after he learned through scouts of the Ubii that the Suebi had retreated into the forests, fearing a scarcity of corn, because, as we have shown above, the Germans by no means attend to agriculture, resolved not to proceed any further; but, that he might not altogether relieve the barbarians from the fear of his return, and that he might delay their auxiliaries, having led back his army, the furthest part of the bridge, which touched the banks of the Ubii, he broke down to the length of two hundred feet, and at the end of the bridge he built a tower of four stories, and placed a garrison of twelve cohorts for the purpose of defending the bridge, and strengthened that place with strong fortifications. Over this place and garrison he appointed Gaius Volcatius Tullus, a young man.
Ipse, cum maturescere frumenta inciperent, ad bellum Ambiorigis profectus per Arduennam silvam, quae est totius Galliae maxima atque ab ripis Rheni finibusque Treverorum ad Nervios pertinet milibusque amplius quingentis2 in longitudinem patet, Lucium Minucium Basilum cum omni equitatu praemittit, si quid3 celeritate itineris atque opportunitate temporis proficere possit;
He himself, when the corn was beginning to ripen, having set out for the war of Ambiorix through the Ardennes forest, which is the largest of all Gaul, and extends from the banks of the Rhine and the borders of the Treveri to the Nervii, and lies open for more than five hundred miles in length, sent forward Lucius Minucius Basilus with all the cavalry, to see if he could perform any service by the speed of his march and the opportuneness of the time;
monet, ut ignes in castris fieri prohibeat,4 ne qua eius adventus procul significatio fiat: sese confestim subsequi dicit.
he admonished him to forbid fires being made in the camp, lest any indication of his approach should be made from a distance: he said that he would follow immediately.
- 6.29.1veritus
The perfect participle of the deponent verb vereor (to fear). It is used here with a present force, meaning 'fearing' or 'out of fear', to express the motivating state of mind contemporaneous with the main action.
- 6.29.4milibusque amplius quingentis
milibus is an ablative of comparison, with passuum (paces) understood, meaning 'miles'. The adverb amplius (more) is inserted parenthetically without affecting the case construction, giving the sense of 'more than five hundred miles'.
- 6.29.4si quid
si introduces a subjunctive clause of purpose or expectation ('to see if', 'in the hope that'). quid is an indefinite pronoun (for aliquid after si), neuter accusative singular, used adverbially to mean 'at all' or 'any advantage'.
- 6.29.5ignes in castris fieri prohibeat
prohibere here takes an accusative with infinitive construction. ignes (fires) is the accusative subject, and fieri (to be made) is the passive infinitive, meaning 'to forbid fires to be made in the camp'.