- 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-lat2:8.23.1-8.23.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
The other Gallic tribes accept Caesar's terms and surrender, with the sole exception of Commius. Hirtius explains that in the previous year, Labienus discovered Commius's plot and tried to have him assassinated during a fake conference, but the attempt failed, causing Commius to avoid Romans permanently.
Nocte insequenti legati responsa ad suos referunt, obsides conficiunt. Concurrunt reliquarum civitatium legati, quae Bellovacorum speculabantur eventum;
On the following night, the ambassadors carry back the answers to their people and prepare the hostages. The ambassadors of the remaining states, who were watching the outcome of the Bellovaci, flock together;
obsides dant, imperata faciunt excepto Commio,1 quem timor prohibebat cuiusquam fidei suam committere salutem.
they give hostages and execute the orders, with the exception of Commius, whom fear prevented from committing his safety to anyone’s protection.
Nam superiore anno Titus Labienus, Caesare in Gallia citeriore ius dicente, cum Commium comperisset sollicitare civitates et coniurationem contra Caesarem facere, infidelitatem eius sine ulla perfidia iudicavit comprimi posse.
For in the preceding year, while Caesar was administering justice in Cisalpine Gaul, Titus Labienus, having discovered that Commius was soliciting the states and forming a conspiracy against Caesar, judged that his infidelity could be suppressed without any perfidy on his own part.
Quem quia non arbitrabatur vocatum in castra venturum, ne temptando cautiorem faceret, Gaium Volusenum Quadratum misit, qui eum per simulationem colloqui curaret interficiendum.2 Ad eam rem delectos idoneos ei tradit centuriones.
Because he did not think that he, if summoned, would come to the camp, lest by making the attempt he should make him more cautious, he sent Gaius Volusenus Quadratus to see to his killing under the pretense of a conference. For this purpose, he assigns to him selected and suitable centurions.
Cum in colloquium ventum esset, et, ut convenerat, manum Commi3 Volusenus arripuisset, centurio vel insueta re permotus vel celeriter a familiaribus prohibitus Commi conficere hominem non potuit; graviter tamen primo ictu gladio caput percussit.
When they had come to the conference, and Volusenus, as had been agreed, had seized the hand of Commius, a centurion, either deeply moved by the unusual task or quickly prevented by the companions of Commius, was unable to dispatch the man; yet with his first blow he struck his head severely with his sword.
Cum utrimque gladii destricti essent, non tam pugnandi quam diffugiendi fuit utrorumque consilium: nostrorum, quod mortifero vulnere Commium credebant adfectum; Gallorum,4 quod insidiis cognitis plura quam videbant extimescebant. Quo facto statuisse Commius dicebatur numquam in conspectum cuiusquam Romani venire.
When swords were drawn on both sides, the design of both was not so much to fight as to flee: of our men, because they believed Commius was afflicted with a mortal wound; of the Gauls, because, having recognized the ambush, they feared more than they saw. After this event, it was said that Commius resolved never to come into the sight of any Roman.
- 8.23.2excepto Commio
An ablative absolute construction consisting of excepto, the perfect passive participle of excipere in the ablative masculine singular, and Commio, the ablative of Commius. Literally 'Commius having been excepted', meaning 'except Commius'.
- 8.23.4curaret interficiendum
The verb curo used with an accusative object (eum, understood from the relative clause) and a gerundive (interficiendum) to express purpose or causation, meaning 'to arrange for someone to be killed' or 'to have someone killed'. The relative pronoun qui introduces a relative clause of purpose, requiring the imperfect subjunctive curaret.
- 8.23.5Commi
The genitive singular of Commius. Although it stands immediately before the infinitive conficere (to dispatch, finish off), it cannot be its direct object because a genitive is not used as the direct object of a transitive verb. It actually modifies the preceding phrase a familiaribus ('by the companions of Commius'), resulting in a striking hyperbaton.
- 8.23.6nostrorum ... Gallorum
Genitive plurals that detail and divide the preceding utrorumque consilium (the design of both) into 'that of our men' and 'that of the Gauls', respectively, with an ellipsis of the noun consilium.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1