Mounting Peril and Labienus' Plan to Retreat — Julius Caesar, Gallic War Book 7 (7.59.1–7.59.6), Latin & English

§7.59.1

Iam Caesar a Gergovia discessisse audiebatur,¹ iam de Aeduorum defectione et secundo Galliae motu rumores adferebantur, Gallique in colloquiis interclusum itinere et Ligeri Caesarem inopia frumenti coactum in provinciam contendisse² confirmabant.

Now Caesar was reported to have departed from Gergovia, now rumors were brought concerning the defection of the Aedui and the second uprising in Gaul, and the Gauls in their conferences asserted that Caesar, cut off from his route and the Liger, and compelled by the scarcity of corn, had hastened toward the Province.

§7.59.2

Bellovaci autem defectione Aeduorum cognita, qui ante erant per se infideles, manus cogere atque aperte bellum parare coeperunt.

But the Bellovaci, who even before were of themselves untrustworthy, having learned of the defection of the Aedui, began to assemble forces and openly to prepare for war.

§7.59.3

Tum Labienus tanta rerum commutatione longe aliud sibi capiendum consilium³ atque antea senserat intellegebat, neque iam, ut aliquid adquireret proelioque hostes lacesseret, sed ut incolumem exercitum Agedincum reduceret, cogitabat.

Then Labienus, in so great a change of affairs, understood that he must adopt a plan far different from what he had previously intended, and he was no longer thinking how he might acquire something and provoke the enemy to battle, but how he might bring his army back safe to Agedincum.

§7.59.5

Namque altera ex parte Bellovaci, quae civitas in Gallia maximam habet opinionem virtutis,⁴ instabant, alteram Camulogenus parato atque instructo exercitu tenebat; tum legiones a praesidio atque impedimentis interclusas maximum flumen distinebat.⁵

For on the one side the Bellovaci, a state which has the highest reputation for valor in Gaul, were pressing upon them; on the other side Camulogenus with a prepared and well-equipped army held the ground; moreover, a very great river separated the legions, cut off from their garrison and baggage.

§7.59.6

Tantis subito difficultatibus obiectis ab animi virtute auxilium petendum videbat.

Facing such great difficulties so suddenly thrown in his way, he saw that he must seek aid from the valor of his own mind.

Syntax notes5 items

7.59.1Caesar ... audiebatur
The passive verb audiebatur forms a personal passive construction with the subject Caesar and the infinitive discessisse ('Caesar was reported to have departed'). It is equivalent to the impersonal construction 'it was heard that Caesar had departed'.
7.59.1interclusum ... contendisse
An accusative-and-infinitive construction (indirect discourse) introduced by confirmabant. The subject accusative is Caesarem and the main infinitive is contendisse. Both interclusum (with the ablatives of separation itinere et Ligeri) and coactum (with the ablative of cause/means inopia frumenti) are perfect passive participles modifying Caesarem.
7.59.3longe aliud sibi capiendum consilium
A passive periphrastic conjugation expressing obligation with the omission of esse (capiendum [esse]). sibi is the dative of agent. The adjective aliud correlates with atque to mean 'different from [what he had previously intended]'.
7.59.5quae civitas ... virtutis
The relative pronoun quae agrees in gender and number with the noun civitas incorporated into the relative clause, although its real antecedent is the plural Bellovaci. This functions as an explanatory parenthetical: 'the Bellovaci, a state which...'.
7.59.5legiones ... distinebat
The word order is inverted. The subject of the sentence is the singular noun maximum flumen, with which the singular verb distinebat agrees. The object is the plural accusative legiones, modified by the perfect passive participle interclusas. The meaning is that the river separated the legions.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.59.1-7.59.6