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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §6.21.1-6.21.5

Religious Practices, Physical Training, and Chastity of the Germans

Passage 235 of 404 · Latin

Summary

The author describes the religious and social customs of the Germans, noting that they do not have druids, worship only visible deities, and highly value physical training and sexual abstinence before adulthood.

§6.21.1Germani multum ab hac consuetudine differunt.
The Germans differ much from this custom.
Nam neque druides habent, qui rebus divinis praesint, neque sacrificiis student.
For they neither have druids to preside over divine affairs, nor do they pay attention to sacrifices.
§6.21.2Deorum numero eos solos ducunt, quos cernunt et quorum aperte opibus iuvantur, Solem et Vulcanum et Lunam, reliquos ne fama quidem acceperunt.
They reckon in the number of the gods only those whom they see and by whose resources they are openly benefited, namely, the Sun, Vulcan, and the Moon; the rest they have not received even by report.
§6.21.3Vita omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei militaris consistit: ab parvulis labori ac duritiae student.
Their whole life consists in hunting and in the pursuits of military science; from childhood they devote themselves to labor and hardship.
Qui diutissime impuberes permanserunt, §6.21.4maximam inter suos ferunt laudem: hoc ali staturam, ali vires nervosque confirmari putant.
Those who have remained chaste for the longest time receive the greatest praise among their people; by this they think that their stature is increased, their physical strength is nourished, and their sinews are strengthened.
§6.21.5Intra annum vero vicesimum feminae notitiam habuisse in turpissimis habent rebus; cuius rei nulla est occultatio, quod et promiscue in fluminibus perluuntur et pellibus aut parvis renonum tegimentis utuntur magna corporis parte nuda.
Indeed, to have had knowledge of a woman before the twentieth year they hold among the most disgraceful things; of which matter there is no concealment, because they bathe promiscuously in the rivers and use skins or small coverings of reindeer hides, with a great part of their body naked.

Notes

  1. §6.21.2Deorum numero — 'numero' is the ablative singular of 'numerus' (number), which, combined with 'ducunt' (they reckon/consider), forms the idiomatic expression 'to reckon in the number of the gods,' i.e., 'to consider as gods.'
  2. §6.21.4ali — The present passive infinitive of the verb 'alere' (to nourish, foster). It functions within the accusative-and-infinitive construction with 'staturam' (stature) as its subject accusative, meaning 'stature is nourished/increased.'
  3. §6.21.5feminae notitiam habuisse — 'feminae' is an objective genitive modifying 'notitiam' (knowledge of woman, referring to sexual intercourse). The perfect infinitive 'habuisse' (to have had) is used substantively as the object of 'habent in turpissimis rebus' (they hold among the most disgraceful things).

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §6.21.1-6.21.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:6.21.1-6.21.5

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