- 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-lat2:7.77.1-7.77.16
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Besieged and starving at Alesia, the Gauls hold a council where Critognatus of the Arverni delivers a speech advocating that they sustain themselves on the bodies of those unfit for war, citing the historical example of the Cimbrian war, rather than surrendering.
At ei, qui Alesiae obsidebantur praeterita die, qua auxilia suorum exspectaverant,1 consumpto omni frumento, inscii quid in Aeduis gereretur, concilio coacto de exitu suarum fortunarum consultabant. Ac variis dictis sententiis, quarum pars deditionem, pars, dum vires suppeterent, eruptionem censebat, non praetereunda oratio Critognati videtur propter eius singularem et nefariam crudelitatem.
But those who were besieged at Alesia, the day having passed on which they had expected the auxiliary forces of their people, all their corn being consumed, and being ignorant of what was going on among the Aedui, having assembled a council, were deliberating on the final outcome of their fortunes. And when various opinions had been expressed, of which one part recommended surrender, and another, while their strength sufficed, a sally, the speech of Critognatus seems not to be passed over on account of its singular and abominable cruelty.
Hic summo in Arvernis ortus loco et magnae habitus auctoritatis,2 "Nihil," inquit, "de eorum sententia dicturus sum, qui turpissimam servitutem deditionis nomine appellant, neque hos habendos civium loco neque ad concilium adhibendos censeo.
He, born of the highest rank among the Arverni and considered of great authority, said, “I am going to say nothing concerning the opinion of those who call the most shameful slavery by the name of surrender, nor do I think that these should be held in the place of citizens or admitted to the council.
Cum his mihi res sit, qui eruptionem probant; quorum in consilio omnium vestrum consensu pristinae residere virtutis memoria videtur. Animi est ista mollitia,3 non virtus, paulisper inopiam ferre non posse. Qui se ultro morti offerant facilius reperiuntur quam qui dolorem patienter ferant.
Let my business be with those who approve of a sally; in whose advice, by the consensus of all of you, the memory of ancient valor seems to reside. That is weakness of mind, not valor, to be unable to bear want for a short time. Those who of their own accord offer themselves to death are more easily found than those who bear pain patiently.
Atque ego hanc sententiam probarem (tantum apud me dignitas potest), si nullam praeterquam vitae nostrae iacturam fieri viderem:4
And I would approve this opinion (so much does their dignity influence me), if I saw that no loss except that of our life was being made;
sed in consilio capiendo omnem Galliam respiciamus, quam ad nostrum auxilium concitavimus.
but in making our decision let us look back upon all Gaul, which we have aroused to our assistance.
Quid hominum milibus LXXX uno loco interfectis propinquis consanguineisque nostris animi fore existimatis,5 si paene in ipsis cadaveribus proelio decertare cogentur?
What of courage do you think eighty thousand men slain in one place will have left to our relatives and kinsmen, if they shall be compelled to contend in battle almost upon their very corpses?
Nolite hos vestro auxilio exspoliare, qui vestrae salutis causa suum periculum neglexerunt, nec stultitia ac temeritate vestra aut animi imbecillitate omnem Galliam prosternere et perpetuae servituti subicere.
Do not deprive these of your aid, who for the sake of your safety have disregarded their own danger, nor by your folly and rashness, or weakness of mind, lay prostrate all Gaul and subject it to perpetual slavery.
An, quod ad diem non venerunt, de eorum fide constantiaque dubitatis? Quid ergo? Romanos in illis ulterioribus munitionibus animine causa cotidie exerceri putatis?
Or do you doubt of their good faith and constancy, because they have not come to the day? What then? Do you think the Romans are being employed daily in those outer fortifications for the sake of amusement?
Si illorum nuntiis confirmari non potestis omni aditu praesaepto, his utimini testibus appropinquare eorum adventum;6 cuius rei timore exterriti diem noctemque in opere versantur.
If you cannot be reassured by their messengers, since every approach is blocked, use these as witnesses that their arrival is approaching; terrified by the fear of which thing, they are occupied day and night in the work.
quid ergo mei consili est?7 Facere, quod nostri maiores nequaquam pari bello Cimbrorum Teutonumque fecerunt; qui in oppida compulsi ac simili inopia subacti eorum corporibus qui aetate ad bellum inutiles videbantur vitam toleraverunt neque se hostibus tradiderunt.
What then is my advice? To do what our ancestors did in the by no means equal war of the Cimbri and Teutones; who, driven into their towns and subdued by similar want, sustained life on the bodies of those who by reason of age seemed useless for war, and did not surrender themselves to the enemy.
cuius rei si exemplum non haberemus, tamen libertatis causa institui et posteris prodi pulcherrimum iudicarem.8
Even if we did not have an example of this thing, yet for the sake of liberty I would judge it a most noble thing to be established and handed down to posterity.
nam quid illi simile bello fuit? Depopulata Gallia Cimbri magnaque illata calamitate finibus quidem nostris aliquando excesserunt atque alias terras petierunt; iura, leges, agros, libertatem nobis reliquerunt.
For what was similar in that war? The Cimbri, having devastated Gaul and inflicted great calamity, did at length depart from our territories and sought other lands; they left to us our rights, laws, lands, and liberty.
Romani vero quid petunt aliud aut quid volunt, nisi invidia adducti, quos fama nobiles potentesque bello cognoverunt, horum in agris civitatibusque considere atque his aeternam iniungere servitutem? Neque enim ulla alia condicione bella gesserunt.
But what else do the Romans seek or what do they want, except, induced by envy, to settle in the lands and states of those whom they have known by reputation to be noble and powerful in war, and to impose upon them eternal slavery? For they have never waged wars on any other condition.
Quod si ea quae in longinquis nationibus geruntur ignoratis, respicite finitimam Galliam, quae in provinciam redacta iure et legibus commutatis securibus subiecta perpetua premitur servitute."
But if you are ignorant of those things which are going on in distant nations, look back upon neighboring Gaul, which, reduced into a province, its rights and laws being changed, and subjected to the axes, is oppressed by perpetual slavery.”
- 7.77.1praeterita die, qua auxilia suorum exspectaverant
praeterita die is an ablative absolute ('the day having passed'). The relative pronoun qua is in the ablative, functioning as an ablative of time referring to the antecedent die.
- 7.77.3magnae habitus auctoritatis
magnae ... auctoritatis is a genitive of quality. It modifies the perfect participle habitus ('considered as').
- 7.77.4Animi est ista mollitia
Animi is a predicate genitive of characteristic or possession ('it is characteristic of a mind'). The subject is ista mollitia.
- 7.77.6Atque ego hanc sententiam probarem ... si ... viderem
A present contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. Both the protasis (si clause) and the apodosis use the imperfect subjunctive (viderem, probarem).
- 7.77.8Quid ... animi fore ... existimatis
Quid is followed by the partitive genitive animi ('what of courage/mind'). fore (future infinitive futurum esse) is the infinitive in the accusative-and-infinitive construction dependent on existimatis, while propinquis ... nostris is the dative of possessor.
- 7.77.11his utimini testibus appropinquare eorum adventum
utimini is the second-person plural imperative of the deponent verb utor (which governs the ablative his testibus). appropinquare eorum adventum is an accusative-and-infinitive construction explaining the content of testibus ('use these as witnesses that their arrival is approaching').
- 7.77.12quid ergo mei consili est?
mei consili is a partitive or possessive genitive depending on the impersonal quid ... est (literally, 'what therefore is of my counsel?').
- 7.77.13cuius rei si exemplum non haberemus ... iudicarem
A present contrary-to-fact condition with imperfect subjunctives (haberemus, iudicarem). institui and prodi are present passive infinitives with an implied accusative subject id (referring to the example), serving as the object of iudicarem in an indirect statement with pulcherrimum [esse].