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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §6.33.1-6.33.5

Division of the Army and Pursuit of Ambiorix

Passage 247 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar divides his army into three parts, dispatching Labienus and Trebonius on their respective missions, while he himself pursues Ambiorix toward the Scheldt and the Ardennes. He promises to rejoin them in seven days for the distribution of grain to the garrison.

§6.33.1Partito exercitu Titum Labienum cum legionibus tribus ad Oceanum versus in eas partes quae Menapios attingunt proficisci iubet; §6.33.2Gaium Trebonium cum pari legionum numero ad eam regionem quae ad Aduatucos adiacet depopulandam mittit; §6.33.3ipse cum reliquis tribus ad flumen Scaldem, quod influit in Mosam, extremasque Arduennae partis ire constituit, quo cum paucis equitibus profectum Ambiorigem audiebat.
Having divided the army, he orders Titus Labienus to proceed with three legions toward the Ocean into those parts which border on the Menapii; he sends Gaius Trebonius with an equal number of legions to devastate that region which lies adjacent to the Aduatuci; he himself determines to go with the remaining three to the river Scheldt, which flows into the Meuse, and to the outermost parts of the Ardennes, whither he heard Ambiorix had gone with a few horsemen.
§6.33.4Discedens post diem septimum sese reversurum confirmat; quam ad diem ei legioni quae in praesidio relinquebatur deberi frumentum sciebat.
On departing, he assures them that he will return after the seventh day; by which day he knew that grain was due to that legion which was being left in garrison.
§6.33.5Labienum Treboniumque hortatur, si rei publicae commodo facere possint, ad eum diem revertantur, ut rursus communicato consilio exploratisque hostium rationibus aliud initium belli capere possint.
He exhorts Labienus and Trebonius, if they could do so with advantage to the commonwealth, to return by that day, so that, having again consulted together and investigated the plans of the enemy, they might be able to take another starting-point for the war.

Notes

  1. §6.33.3quo cum paucis equitibus profectum Ambiorigem audiebat — A relative clause introduced by the relative adverb quo (whither). Within the clause, there is an accusative-with-infinitive (AcI) construction serving as the object of audiebat (he was hearing), with Ambiorigem as the subject accusative and profectum [esse] (with esse omitted) as the perfect active infinitive.
  2. §6.33.4quam ad diem — A reversal of word order (anastrophe) where the preposition ad is placed after the relative pronoun quam. The noun dies is here treated as feminine because it refers to a specific deadline or appointed day, with its antecedent being the temporal expression post diem septimum (after the seventh day) in the preceding clause.
  3. §6.33.5si rei publicae commodo facere possint — The phrase rei publicae commodo employs commodo (advantage, convenience) as an ablative of accordance or manner, meaning 'if they could do so without detriment to the state' or 'consistently with the public interest.' The present subjunctive possint in the conditional (si) clause expresses a future less vivid or potential condition.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §6.33.1-6.33.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:6.33.1-6.33.5

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