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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §7.10.1-7.10.4

Caesar's Decision to March from Agedincum

Passage 268 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Faced with the dilemma of whether to stay in winter quarters or march early due to Vercingetorix's attack on Gorgobina, Caesar decides on the latter. After urging the Aedui for supplies and encouraging the Boii, he sets out from Agedincum.

§7.10.1Magnam haec res Caesari difficultatem ad consilium capiendum adferebat, si reliquam partem hiemis uno loco legiones contineret, ne stipendiariis Aeduorum expugnatis cuncta Gallia deficeret, quod nullum amicis in eo praesidium videretur positum esse; si maturius ex hibernis educeret, ne ab re frumentaria duris subvectionibus laboraret.
This situation brought great difficulty to Caesar in making a decision: if he should keep the legions in one place for the remainder of the winter, he feared lest, if the dependents of the Aedui were stormed, the whole of Gaul might revolt, because it would seem that no protection was placed in him for his friends; if he should lead them out of their winter quarters earlier than usual, he feared lest he might suffer from a lack of provisions due to the difficult transport.
§7.10.2Praestare visum est tamen omnis difficultates perpeti, quam tanta contumelia accepta omnium suorum voluntates alienare.
Nevertheless, it seemed better to endure all difficulties than, by accepting so great an insult, to alienate the goodwill of all his allies.
§7.10.3Itaque cohortatus Aeduos de supportando commeatu praemittit ad Boios qui de suo adventu doceant hortenturque ut in fide maneant atque hostium impetum magno animo sustineant.
Therefore, having encouraged the Aedui concerning the supply of provisions, he sends messengers ahead to the Boii to inform them of his arrival and to encourage them to remain in their allegiance and withstand the attack of the enemy with great courage.
§7.10.4Duabus Agedinci legionibus atque impedimentis totius exercitus relictis ad Boios proficiscitur.
Leaving two legions and the baggage of the entire army at Agedincum, he sets out for the Boii.

Notes

  1. §7.10.1difficultatem ... si ... ne ... si ... ne ... — Two conditional clauses starting with si are parallelly dependent on difficultatem. Each conditional clause contains a subjunctive clause introduced by ne expressing apprehension ('lest...'). The first ne clause further embeds an ablative absolute stipendiariis Aeduorum expugnatis and a causal clause quod ... videretur, making the overall syntactic structure highly complex.
  2. §7.10.1stipendiariis Aeduorum — Refers to 'the tributaries (dependents) of the Aedui,' which in this context means the Boii, whom Caesar had placed under the clientage of the Aedui. stipendiarius denotes a dependent status obligated to pay tribute.
  3. §7.10.4Agedinci — The locative case of the place name Agedincum (the chief town of the Senones, modern Sens), meaning 'at Agedincum.' It is identical in form to the genitive singular of the second declension.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §7.10.1-7.10.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.10.1-7.10.4

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