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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §7.54.1-7.54.4

Caesar Reminds the Aeduan Leaders of His Favors and Dismisses Them

Passage 312 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar is informed by Aeduan envoys of Litaviccus's hostile movement, but instead of detaining them, he reminds them of his past services and dismisses them.

§7.54.1Ibi a Viridomaro atque Eporedorige Aeduis appellatus discit cum omni equitatu Litaviccum ad sollicitandos Aeduos profectum: opus esse ipsos antecedere ad confirmandam civitatem.
There, being addressed by the Aeduans Viridomarus and Eporedorix, he learned that Litaviccus had set out with all the cavalry to solicit the Aedui, and that it was necessary for them to go ahead to secure the allegiance of the state.
§7.54.2Etsi multis iam rebus perfidiam Aeduorum perspectam habebat atque horum discessu admaturari defectionem civitatis existimabat, tamen eos retinendos non constituit, ne aut inferre iniuriam videretur aut dare timoris aliquam suspicionem.
Although he had already clearly perceived the treachery of the Aedui from many circumstances, and thought that the defection of the state would be hastened by their departure, yet he determined not to detain them, lest he should either seem to inflict an injury or give some suspicion of fear.
Discedentibus his breviter sua in Aeduos merita exposuit, §7.54.3quos et quam humiles accepisset, compulsos in oppida, multatos agris omnibus ereptis copiis, imposito stipendio, obsidibus summa cum contumelia extortis, §7.54.4et quam in fortunam quamque in amplitudinem deduxisset, ut non solum in pristinum statum redissent, sed omnium temporum dignitatem et gratiam antecessisse viderentur.
To them, as they were departing, he briefly set forth his own services toward the Aedui: in what condition and how humbled he had received them, driven into their towns, deprived of all their lands, stripped of their resources, a tribute imposed upon them, and their hostages extorted with the greatest insult, and to what fortune and what grandeur he had brought them, so that they not only returned to their former state, but seemed to have surpassed the dignity and influence of all previous times.
His datis mandatis eos ab se dimisit.
Having given these instructions, he dismissed them from him.

Notes

  1. 7.54.2perspectam habebat — The combination of the verb `habeo` and the perfect passive participle `perspectam` (from `perspicio`) is a periphrastic expression that, instead of a simple pluperfect `perspexerat` (he had perceived), emphasizes the continued state resulting from the action ('he held [them] perceived'). This construction is a precursor to the auxiliary perfect tenses in Romance languages.
  2. 7.54.2Discedentibus his — This phrase is not an ablative absolute but the dative of indirect object governed by the main verb `exposuit` ('he set forth to them as they were departing'). The present participle `discedentibus` describes an action in progress or about to happen at the moment of departure.
  3. 7.54.3quos et quam humiles accepisset — This marks the beginning of the indirect question dependent on the main verb `exposuit`, taking the subjunctive imperfect `accepisset` (and `deduxisset` in the following section). The pronoun `quos`, though appearing relative, functions here as an interrogative ('whom and in how humbled a state he had received'), forming a double indirect question alongside `quam humiles`.

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §7.54.1-7.54.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.54.1-7.54.4

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