Humanitext Reader

Julius Caesar · Gallic War §2.3.1-2.3.5

Submission of the Remi and Their Report on the Belgae

Passage 57 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Upon Caesar's rapid arrival in the territory of the Belgae, the Remi sent ambassadors to submit to Roman authority and to report that all other Belgae, Germans, and even their close kinsmen the Suessiones had joined the rebellion.

§2.3.1Eo cum de improviso celeriusque omnium opinione venisset, Remi, qui proximi Galliae ex Belgis sunt, ad eum legatos Iccium et Andebrogium, primos civitatis, miserunt, §2.3.2qui dicerent se suaque omnia in fidem atque potestatem populi Romani permittere, neque se cum reliquis Belgis consensisse neque contra populum Romanum coniurasse, §2.3.3paratosque esse et obsides dare et imperata facere et oppidis recipere et frumento ceterisque rebus iuvare; §2.3.4reliquos omnes Belgas in armis esse, Germanosque qui cis Rhenum incolant sese cum his coniunxisse, §2.3.5tantumque esse eorum omnium furorem ut ne Suessiones quidem, fratres consanguineosque suos, qui eodem iure et isdem legibus utantur, unum imperium unumque magistratum cum ipsis habeant, deterrere potuerint quin cum iis consentirent.
When he had arrived there unexpectedly and more quickly than anyone had expected, the Remi, who are the nearest of the Belgae to Gaul, sent to him Iccius and Andebrogius, the leading men of their state, as ambassadors, to say that they surrendered themselves and all their possessions to the protection and power of the Roman people, and that they had neither confederated with the rest of the Belgae, nor conspired against the Roman people; and that they were prepared to give hostages, to obey his commands, to receive him into their towns, and to assist him with grain and other supplies; that all the rest of the Belgae were in arms, and that the Germans who dwell on this side of the Rhine had joined themselves with them; and that so great was the madness of them all, that they had not been able to deter even the Suessiones, their own brothers and kinsmen, who enjoyed the same rights and the same laws, and shared one government and one magistracy with themselves, from siding with them.

Notes

  1. §2.3.1celeriusque omnium opinione — The ablative of comparison opinione dependent on the comparative celerius, with omnium as a possessive genitive. A common Latin idiom meaning 'sooner than anyone expected' to emphasize extreme speed.
  2. §2.3.2qui dicerent — The imperfect subjunctive dicerent introduced by the relative pronoun qui. This is a relative clause of purpose (qui = ut ei), meaning 'in order to say', introducing the following indirect speech (accusative with infinitive).
  3. §2.3.5quin cum iis consentirent — Subjunctive clause introduced by quin, dependent on the verb of hindering deterrere. Because the main clause contains the negative ne... quidem, quin is used instead of quominus or ne, meaning 'from agreeing/siding with them'.
  4. §2.3.5cum ipsis — The intensive pronoun ipsis refers back to the Remi, the main subject of the sentence (indirect reflexive), meaning that the Suessiones shared a single government 'with themselves (the Remi)'. It contrast with iis in cum iis, which refers to the rebelling Belgae and Germans.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §2.3.1-2.3.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.3.1-2.3.5

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.