Humanitext Reader

Julius Caesar · Gallic War §2.5.1-2.5.6

Crossing of the Axona and Diversion by Diviciacus

Passage 59 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar demands hostages from the Remi and instructs Diviciacus the Haeduan to invade the territory of the Bellovaci to divide the enemy's forces, before advancing his army across the Axona River to establish a fortified camp.

§2.5.1Caesar Remos cohortatus liberaliterque oratione prosecutus omnem senatum ad se convenire principumque liberos obsides ad se adduci iussit.
Caesar, having encouraged the Remi and addressed them in generous terms, ordered their whole senate to convene before him and the children of their leaders to be brought to him as hostages.
Quae omnia ab his diligenter ad diem facta sunt.
All these things were diligently performed by them to the day.
§2.5.2Ipse Diviciacum Haeduum magnopere cohortatus docet quanto opere rei publicae communisque salutis intersit manus hostium distineri, ne cum tanta multitudine uno tempore confligendum sit.
He himself, having greatly encouraged Diviciacus the Haeduan, explained to him how greatly it concerned the republic and their common safety that the forces of the enemy should be kept apart, so that they might not have to contend with so great a multitude at one time.
§2.5.3Id fieri posse, si suas copias Haedui in fines Bellovacorum introduxerint et eorum agros populari coeperint.
This, he showed, could be done if the Haedui should introduce their forces into the territories of the Bellovaci and begin to lay waste their fields.
§2.5.4His datis mandatis eum a se dimittit.
Having given these instructions, he dismissed him from his presence.
Postquam omnes Belgarum copias in unum locum coactas ad se venire vidit neque iam longe abesse ab iis quos miserat exploratoribus et ab Remis cognovit, flumen Axonam, quod est in extremis Remorum finibus, exercitum traducere maturavit atque ibi castra posuit.
After he saw that all the forces of the Belgae, having been collected into one place, were coming toward him, and learned from the scouts whom he had sent and from the Remi that they were now not far distant, he hastened to lead his army across the river Axona, which is on the outermost borders of the Remi, and there pitched his camp.
§2.5.5Quae res et latus unum castrorum ripis fluminis muniebat et post eum quae erant tuta ab hostibus reddebat et commeatus ab Remis reliquisque civitatibus ut sine periculo ad eum portari possent efficiebat.
This position both fortified one side of his camp by the banks of the river, and rendered those parts which were behind him safe from the enemy, and made it possible for provisions to be brought to him from the Remi and the other states without danger.
§2.5.6In eo flumine pons erat.
There was a bridge over that river.
Ibi praesidium ponit et in altera parte fluminis Q. Titurium Sabinum legatum cum sex cohortibus relinquit; castra in altitudinem pedum XII vallo fossaque duodeviginti pedum muniri iubet.
There he stationed a guard, and on the other side of the river he left Quintus Titurius Sabinus, his lieutenant, with six cohorts; he ordered the camp to be fortified with a rampart twelve feet in height and a trench eighteen feet in width.

Notes

  1. §2.5.2rei publicae communisque salutis intersit — The present subjunctive `intersit` of the impersonal verb `interest` introduces an indirect question. The entities to whom something is of interest or importance are expressed in the genitive case, hence `rei publicae` and `communis salutis` are possessive genitives. The subject of the impersonal verb is the following infinitive clause `manus hostium distineri` (that the forces of the enemy be kept apart).
  2. §2.5.3Id fieri posse, si suas copias Haedui in fines Bellovacorum introduxerint et eorum agros populari coeperint — This sentence continues the indirect discourse (oratio obliqua) dependent on `docet` (explains) from the previous section. The main clause `Id fieri posse` is an accusative with infinitive construction (corresponding to direct `Id fieri potest`). The verbs in the conditional clause, `introduxerint` and `coeperint`, represent the future perfect indicative in direct speech, which are represented here by the perfect subjunctive because the main verb of speaking (`docet`) is a historical present treated as a primary tense.
  3. §2.5.4ab iis quos miserat exploratoribus — The noun `exploratoribus`, which serves as the antecedent, is incorporated into the relative clause `quos miserat`, yet it retains the ablative case governed by the preposition `ab` rather than taking the accusative case of the relative pronoun `quos` (equivalent to `ab iis exploratoribus quos miserat`). This ablative phrase and `ab Remis` are coordinated by `et` and modify the verb `cognovit` (learned).
  4. §2.5.5commeatus ab Remis reliquisque civitatibus ut sine periculo ad eum portari possent efficiebat — The verb `efficiebat` (rendered, made it possible) takes a noun clause of result introduced by `ut` with the subjunctive (`possent`). The noun `commeatus` (provisions, plural), which is the logical subject of this `ut`-clause, is placed before the clause in anticipation (prolepsis). Although it appears to be a direct object of `efficiebat`, syntactically it functions as the subject of `portari possent`.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §2.5.1-2.5.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.5.1-2.5.6

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.