Humanitext Reader

Julius Caesar · Gallic War §1.29.1-1.29.3

Helvetian Records and Census of the Survivors

Passage 29 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Greek-letter tablets found in the Helvetian camp reveal their original numbers totaling about 368,000, with 92,000 warriors. A census ordered by Caesar shows that 110,000 people returned home.

§1.29.1In castris Helvetiorum tabulae repertae sunt litteris Graecis confectae et ad Caesarem relatae, quibus in tabulis nominatim ratio confecta erat, qui numerus domo exisset eorum qui arma ferre possent, et item separatim, quot pueri, senes mulieresque.
In the camp of the Helvetii, tablets written in Greek characters were found and brought to Caesar, in which tablets an account had been made out in detail by name, showing what number of those who could bear arms had gone forth from home, and likewise separately, how many boys, old men, and women there were.
§1.29.2[Quarum omnium rerum] summa erat capitum Helvetiorum milium CCLXIII, Tulingorum milium XXXVI, Latobrigorum XIIII, Rauracorum XXIII, Boiorum XXXII; ex his qui arma ferre possent ad milia nonaginta duo.
The sum of all these classes was 263,000 heads of the Helvetii, 36,000 of the Tulingi, 14,000 of the Latobrigi, 23,000 of the Rauraci, 32,000 of the Boii; out of these, those who could bear arms were about 92,000.
§1.29.3Summa omnium fuerunt ad milia CCCLXVIII. Eorum qui domum redierunt censu habito, ut Caesar imperaverat, repertus est numerus milium C et X.
The sum of all was about 368,000. When a census was taken, as Caesar had ordered, of those who returned home, the number was found to be 110,000.

Notes

  1. 1.29.1quibus in tabulis — A relative adjective construction in which the antecedent tabulae is repeated within the relative clause as tabulis. This is a characteristic stylistic feature favored by Caesar to ensure logical clarity.
  2. 1.29.1qui numerus domo exisset — An indirect question clause functioning as the object of confecta erat. The noun numerus is incorporated into the clause with the interrogative adjective qui, and the verb exisset is in the pluperfect subjunctive due to the indirect question.
  3. 1.29.2ad — Placed immediately before numerals, functioning not as a preposition but as an adverb meaning "about" or "approximately."
  4. 1.29.3Summa omnium fuerunt — Although the subject Summa is a singular feminine noun, the verb fuerunt is in the plural. This is an instance of grammatical attraction to the plural predicate noun milia (copula agreement), or an agreement based on the plural meaning of the context (constructio ad sensum).

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §1.29.1-1.29.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:1.29.1-1.29.3

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