Humanitext Reader

Julius Caesar · Gallic War §5.25.1-5.25.5

Assassination of Tasgetius and Dispatch of Plancus

Passage 181 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Because Tasgetius, the king of the Carnutes, was assassinated, Caesar orders Lucius Plancus to winter there and arrest the perpetrators. Meanwhile, Caesar receives reports from all other legions that they have safely arrived at their winter quarters.

§5.25.1Erat in Carnutibus summo loco natus Tasgetius, cuius maiores in sua civitate regnum obtinuerant.
There was among the Carnutes Tasgetius, born of a very high rank, whose ancestors had held the sovereignty in their state.
§5.25.2Huic Caesar pro eius virtute atque in se benevolentia, quod in omnibus bellis singulari eius opera fuerat usus, maiorum locum restituerat.
To him Caesar, in return for his valor and goodwill toward himself, because in all wars he had availed himself of his singular service, had restored the position of his ancestors.
§5.25.3Tertium iam hunc annum regnantem inimici, multis palam ex civitate eius auctoribus, eum interfecerunt.
While he was now reigning in this third year, his enemies, with many from his state openly instigating it, put him to death.
§5.25.4Defertur ea res ad Caesarem.
This matter is reported to Caesar.
Ille veritus, quod ad plures pertinebat, ne civitas eorum impulsu deficeret, Lucium Plancum cum legione ex Belgio celeriter in Carnutes proficisci iubet ibique hiemare quorumque opera cognoverat Tasgetium interfectum, hos comprehensos ad se mittere.
He, fearing lest the state should revolt through their instigation because the affair concerned a larger number of people, orders Lucius Plancus to set out quickly with a legion from Belgium into the Carnutes and to winter there, and to arrest and send to him those by whose agency he should discover that Tasgetius had been killed.
§5.25.5Interim ab omnibus legatis quaestoreque, quibus legiones tradiderat, certior factus est in hiberna perventum locumque hibernis esse munitum.
Meanwhile, he was informed by all the lieutenants and the quaestor, to whom he had entrusted the legions, that they had arrived at their winter quarters and that the place had been fortified for the winter quarters.

Notes

  1. §5.25.3multis palam ex civitate eius auctoribus — An ablative absolute consisting of the pronoun (here functioning as a noun) 'multis' (modified by 'ex civitate eius') and the noun 'auctoribus' acting as a predicate, without a participle. It translates literally to 'with many from his state as instigators'.
  2. §5.25.4quorumque opera cognoverat Tasgetium interfectum — An inverted construction where the relative clause 'quorum opera...' precedes its antecedent 'hos'. 'interfectum' is a perfect passive participle with 'esse' omitted, forming an accusative with infinitive clause ('Tasgetium interfectum esse') as the direct object of 'cognoverat'.
  3. §5.25.5in hiberna perventum — An impersonal passive construction of the intransitive verb 'pervenio' ('perventum esse' with 'esse' omitted). It functions as an accusative with infinitive clause representing the substance of what Caesar was informed of, meaning '(that they) had arrived at the winter quarters'.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §5.25.1-5.25.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:5.25.1-5.25.5

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.