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Gallic War

§7.6.1-7.6.4

Caesar's Return to Gaul and Dilemma of Rejoining His Army

Caesar, learning that affairs in Rome have stabilized through Pompey's efforts, sets out for Gaul, but faces a great difficulty on how to safely reach his army.

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§7.6.1

​His rebus in Italiam Caesari nuntiatis,1 cum iam ille urbanas res virtute Cn. Pompei commodiorem in statum pervenisse intellegeret, in Transalpinam Galliam profectus est.

​When these matters were reported to Caesar in Italy, and as he understood that affairs in the city had reached a more favorable state through the merit of Gnaeus Pompey, he set out for Transalpine Gaul.

§7.6.2

​Eo cum venisset, magna difficultate adficiebatur, qua ratione ad exercitum pervenire posset.2

​When he had arrived there, he was beset by a great difficulty as to how he could reach the army.

§7.6.3

​Nam si legiones in provinciam arcesseret, se absente3 in itinere proelio dimicaturas intellegebat;

​For he understood that if he should summon the legions into the province, they would have to fight on their march in his absence;

§7.6.4

​si ipse ad exercitum contenderet, ne eis quidem eo tempore qui quieti viderentur4 suam salutem recte committi videbat.

​if, on the other hand, he himself should hasten to the army, he saw that his safety could not be properly entrusted at that time even to those who seemed to be quiet.

Syntax notes4 items
  1. 7.6.1Caesari nuntiatis

    "Caesari" in the ablative absolute "His rebus... nuntiatis" is a dative of indirect object (person to whom news is reported), indicating the person to whom the news was brought.

  2. 7.6.2qua ratione ad exercitum pervenire posset

    An indirect question clause with the subjunctive "posset", functioning as an appositive that explains the specific nature of the preceding "magna difficultate".

  3. 7.6.3se absente

    An ablative absolute consisting of the pronoun "se" and the adjective "absens" (acting as a present participle), meaning "in his absence" or "while he was absent."

  4. 7.6.4ne eis quidem ... qui quieti viderentur

    "ne... quidem" means "not even." The verb "viderentur" in the relative clause "qui quieti viderentur" is in the subjunctive because it expresses Caesar's subjective characterization at the time ("such as seemed quiet") rather than a mere objective fact.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.6.1-7.6.4