- 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-lat2:7.52.1-7.52.4
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
Caesar calls an assembly of the soldiers to censure their rashness and insubordination in advancing without orders, contrasting their behavior with his own cautious strategy at Avaricum and emphasizing that self-restraint is as necessary for a soldier as courage.
Postero die Caesar contione advocata temeritatem cupiditatemque militum reprehendit, quod sibi ipsi iudicavissent1 quo procedendum aut quid agendum videretur, neque signo recipiendi dato constitissent neque ab tribunis militum legatisque retineri potuissent.
On the following day, Caesar, having called an assembly, censured the rashness and eagerness of the soldiers, because they had judged for themselves where they should advance or what they should do, and had not halted when the signal for retreat was given, nor could they be held back by the military tribunes and lieutenants.
Exposuit quid iniquitas loci posset,2 quid ipse ad Avaricum sensisset, cum sine duce et sine equitatu deprehensis hostibus exploratam victoriam dimisisset, ne parvum modo detrimentum in contentione propter iniquitatem loci accideret.
He explained what the disadvantage of the ground could effect, and what he himself had felt at Avaricum, when, having caught the enemy without a leader and without cavalry, he had given up a certain victory, lest even a small loss should occur in the struggle on account of the disadvantage of the ground.
Quanto opere eorum animi magnitudinem admiraretur, quos non castrorum munitiones, non altitudo montis, non murus oppidi tardare potuisset, tanto opere licentiam arrogantiamque reprehendere,3 quod plus se quam imperatorem de victoria atque exitu rerum sentire existimarent;
He said that, as much as he admired the greatness of their courage, whom neither the fortifications of the camp, nor the height of the mountain, nor the wall of the town had been able to retard, so much did he censure their license and presumption, because they thought that they understood more than their general about victory and the issue of events;
nec minus se ab milite modestiam et continentiam quam virtutem atque animi magnitudinem desiderare.
and that he required of a soldier no less modesty and self-restraint than valor and greatness of soul.
- 7.52.1iudicavissent
The subjunctive mood introduced by quod expresses the subjective reason alleged by Caesar for his censure; hence the pluperfect subjunctives iudicavissent, constitissent, and potuissent are used.
- 7.52.2quid iniquitas loci posset
posset is an imperfect subjunctive in an indirect question. The verb posse here functions not just as "to be able," but in the sense of "to have power or influence" (what impact the disadvantage of the ground could have).
- 7.52.3reprehendere
An infinitive (accusative with infinitive) in the main clause of indirect speech (oratio obliqua), with the subject pronoun se omitted. The subordinate clauses (admiraretur and existimarent) take the subjunctive.