- 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-lat2:7.55.1-7.55.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
The Aeduans Eporedorix and Viridomarus seize Noviodunum, a crucial Roman supply depot, plundering hostages and supplies before burning the town. They station guards along the swollen Loire River, hoping to cut off Roman provisions and force them back into the Province through starvation.
Noviodunum erat oppidum Aeduorum ad ripas Ligeris opportuno loco positum.
Noviodunum was a town of the Aedui, situated in a favorable position on the banks of the Loire.
Huc Caesar omnes obsides Galliae, frumentum, pecuniam publicam, suorum atque exercitus impedimentorum magnam partem contulerat;
Hither Caesar had brought all the hostages of Gaul, the corn, the public money, and a great part of his own baggage and that of his army;
huc magnum numerum equorum huius belli causa in Italia atque Hispania coemptum miserat.
hither he had sent a great number of horses purchased in Italy and Spain for the purpose of this war.
Eo cum Eporedorix Viridomarusque venissent et de statu civitatis cognovissent, Litaviccum Bibracti ab Aeduis receptum,1 quod est oppidum apud eos maximae auctoritatis, Convictolitavim magistratum magnamque partem senatus ad eum convenisse, legatos ad Vercingetorigem de pace et amicitia concilianda publice missos, non praetermittendum tantum commodum existimaverunt.
When Eporedorix and Viridomarus had come there and learned the state of their nation—that Litaviccus had been received by the Aeduans at Bibracte, which is a town of the greatest authority among them, that Convictolitavis the chief magistrate and a great part of the senate had assembled to meet him, and that ambassadors had been publicly sent to Vercingetorix to conclude a peace and alliance—they thought that so great an advantage ought not to be neglected.
Itaque interfectis Novioduni custodibus quique eo negotiandi causa convenerant pecuniam atque equos inter se partiti sunt;
Therefore, having put to death the guards of Noviodunum and those who had assembled there for the purpose of trading, they divided the money and horses among themselves;
obsides civitatum Bibracte ad magistratum deducendos curaverunt;2 oppidum, quod a se teneri non posse iudicabant, ne cui esset usui Romanis, incenderunt;
they took care that the hostages of the states should be brought to the magistrate at Bibracte; the town, which they judged could not be held by them, they set on fire, that it might be of no use to the Romans;
frumenti quod3 subito potuerunt navibus avexerunt, reliquum flumine atque incendio corruperunt.
what corn they could quickly carry off they transported in ships; the remainder they ruined by throwing it into the river and setting it on fire.
Ipsi ex finitimis regionibus copias cogere, praesidia custodiasque ad ripas Ligeris disponere equitatumque omnibus locis iniciendi timoris causa ostentare coeperunt, si ab re frumentaria Romanos excludere aut adductos inopia in provinciam expellere possent.
They themselves began to collect forces from the neighboring regions, to station guards and outposts along the banks of the Loire, and to display their cavalry in all places for the purpose of striking terror, to see if they could exclude the Romans from provisions, or, reduced by want, drive them into the Province.
quam ad spem multum eos adiuvabat, quod Liger ex nivibus creverat,4 ut omnino vado non posse transiri videretur.
In which hope they were greatly assisted by the fact that the Loire had risen from the melting snow, so that it seemed altogether impossible to be crossed by a ford.
- 7.55.4Litaviccum Bibracti ab Aeduis receptum
This marks the beginning of the accusative and infinitive construction (indirect discourse) serving as the object of cognovissent ("had learned"). The participles receptum and missos (with esse omitted) and the infinitive convenisse all function as infinitive verbs dependent on cognovissent.
- 7.55.6deducendos curaverunt
The verb curo combined with an accusative noun (obsides) and a gerundive (deducendos) forms a construction expressing care or causation, meaning "they saw to it that the hostages were brought" or "had them brought."
- 7.55.8frumenti quod
frumenti is a partitive genitive qualifying the relative pronoun quod. The logical structure is id frumenti quod subito [avehere] potuerunt ("that portion of the corn which they were able [to carry away] suddenly").
- 7.55.10quod Liger ex nivibus creverat
The conjunction quod introduces a noun clause of fact ("the fact that..."), which functions as the subject of the main verb adiuvabat. This clause explains what actually assisted them in their hope (quam ad spem).