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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §5.55.1-5.55.4

Indutiomarus Raises Troops and Gains Influence

Passage 211 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Indutiomarus of the Treveri attempts to gain the support of the Germans but is refused; nevertheless, he gathers an army and gains immense authority and followers across Gaul.

§5.55.1Treveri vero atque Indutiomarus totius hiemis nullum tempus intermiserunt, quin trans Rhenum legatos mitterent, civitates sollicitarent, pecunias pollicerentur, magna parte exercitus nostri interfecta multo minorem superesse dicerent partem.
The Treveri and Indutiomarus, however, let no time during the whole winter pass without sending ambassadors across the Rhine, soliciting the states, promising money, and declaring that, as a great part of our army had been slain, a much smaller part survived.
§5.55.2Neque tamen ulli civitati Germanorum persuaderi potuit, ut Rhenum transiret, cum se bis expertos dicerent, Ariovisti bello et Tencterorum transitu: non esse amplius fortunam temptaturos.
Yet, not a single state of the Germans could be persuaded to cross the Rhine, since they said they had twice made the trial, in the war of Ariovistus and the passage of the Tencteri, and would not tempt fortune any further.
Hac spe lapsus Indutiomarus nihilo minus copias cogere, §5.55.3exercere, a finitimis equos parare, exules damnatosque tota Gallia magnis praemiis ad se allicere coepit.
Deprived of this hope, Indutiomarus nevertheless began to collect forces, to train them, to procure horses from his neighbors, and to entice to himself from all Gaul, with great rewards, exiles and condemned persons.
§5.55.4Ac tantam sibi iam his rebus in Gallia auctoritatem comparaverat ut undique ad eum legationes concurrerent, gratiam atque amicitiam publice privatimque peterent.
And by these means he had already acquired such great authority for himself in Gaul that embassies flocked to him from all sides, seeking his favor and friendship both publicly and privately.

Notes

  1. §5.55.1quin trans Rhenum legatos mitterent — The `quin` clause with the subjunctive follows the negative expression `nullum tempus intermiserunt` (they let no time pass), functioning as a double negation to express a strong affirmative: "without sending..." meaning "they constantly sent...".
  2. §5.55.2ulli civitati Germanorum persuaderi potuit — The passive of the intransitive verb `persuadere` (which governs the dative) can only be used impersonally in the third-person singular; thus, the entity being persuaded remains in the dative case (`ulli civitati`).
  3. §5.55.2copias cogere — The infinitive `cogere` and the subsequent infinitives in §5.55.3 (`exercere`, `parare`, `allicere`) all depend on the main verb `coepit` (began) at the end of §5.55.3. Although some interpret them as historical infinitives, it is syntactically smoother to construe them as depending on `coepit`.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §5.55.1-5.55.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:5.55.1-5.55.4

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