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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §7.5.1-7.5.7

Aeduan Retreat and Defection of the Bituriges

Passage 263 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Vercingetorix raises an army and advances toward the Bituriges, who seek help from the Aedui; the Aedui send assistance but retreat midway fearing treachery, leading the Bituriges to immediately allied themselves with the Arverni.

§7.5.1His suppliciis celeriter coacto exercitu Lucterium Cadurcum, summae hominem audaciae, cum parte copiarum in Rutenos mittit; ipse in Bituriges proficiscitur.
Having quickly assembled an army by means of these punishments, he sends Lucterius the Cadurcan, a man of the greatest audacity, with a part of his forces into the country of the Ruteni; he himself sets out for the Bituriges.
Eius adventu Bituriges ad Aeduos, §7.5.2quorum erant in fide, legatos mittunt subsidium rogatum, quo facilius hostium copias sustinere possint.
Upon his arrival, the Bituriges to the Aedui, under whose protection they were, send ambassadors to ask for assistance, so that they might more easily withstand the forces of the enemy.
§7.5.3Aedui de consilio legatorum, quos Caesar ad exercitum reliquerat, copias equitatus peditatusque subsidio Biturigibus mittunt.
The Aedui, by the advice of the lieutenants whom Caesar had left with the army, send forces of cavalry and infantry as an aid to the Bituriges.
§7.5.4Qui cum ad flumen Ligerim venissent, quod Bituriges ab Aeduis dividit, paucos dies ibi morati neque flumen transire §7.5.5ausi domum revertuntur legatisque nostris renuntiant se Biturigum perfidiam veritos revertisse, quibus id consili fuisse cognoverint, ut, si flumen transissent, una ex parte ipsi, altera Arverni se circumsisterent.
When they had come to the river Loire, which divides the Bituriges from the Aedui, having delayed there for a few days, and not daring to cross the river, they return home, and report to our lieutenants that they had returned because they feared the treachery of the Bituriges, whom they had discovered to have this design, that if they crossed the river, they themselves on one side, and the Arverni on the other, would surround them.
§7.5.6Id eane de causa, quam legatis pronuntiarunt, an perfidia adducti fecerint, quod nihil nobis constat, non videtur pro certo esse proponendum.
Whether they did this for the reason which they declared to the lieutenants, or whether they were induced by treachery, as nothing is clear to us, does not seem proper to be asserted as certain.
§7.5.7Bituriges eorum discessu statim cum Arvernis iunguntur.
The Bituriges, upon their departure, immediately join themselves with the Arverni.

Notes

  1. 7.5.2subsidium rogatum — rogatum is the accusative of the supine of the transitive verb rogo, expressing purpose ('to ask for aid') after the verb of motion mittunt.
  2. 7.5.2quo facilius — In purpose clauses containing a comparative (facilius), the ablative of the relative pronoun quo is used instead of the conjunction ut, introducing the subjunctive possint to mean 'so that... more easily'.
  3. 7.5.5quibus id consili fuisse cognoverint — quibus is a dative of possession, functioning with the infinitive fuisse, whose subject is id consili (consili is a partitive genitive, 'this design'). cognoverint is in the subjunctive because it is a subordinate clause within indirect discourse.
  4. 7.5.6Id eane de causa ... an ... fecerint — eane ... an ... introduces a double indirect question (with the enclitic -ne attached to the first option). fecerint is the subjunctive perfect verb of this indirect question, which forms a noun clause functioning as the subject of the main clause non videtur.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §7.5.1-7.5.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.5.1-7.5.7

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