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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §8.46.1-8.46.6

Pacification of Aquitania and Winter Quarters

Passage 395 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar set out for Aquitania to complete its submission, and after visiting Narbo, distributed his legions into winter quarters. Having concluded his official duties in the province, he returned to the winter quarters in Belgium.

§8.46.1Ea re cognita Caesar, cum in omnibus partibus Galliae bene res geri videret iudicaretque superioribus aestivis Galliam devictam subactamque esse, Aquitaniam numquam adisset, per Publium Crassum quadam ex parte devicisset, cum duabus legionibus in eam partem Galliae est profectus, ut ibi extremum tempus consumeret aestivorum. §8.46.2Quam rem sicuti cetera celeriter feliciterque confecit.
Upon learning of this, Caesar, although he saw that operations were going well in all parts of Gaul and judged that Gaul had been conquered and subdued in the previous summer campaigns, yet because he had never entered Aquitania himself and had only conquered it in part through Publius Crassus, set out with two legions for that part of Gaul, in order to spend the end of the summer season there. He settled this matter, as he did everything else, quickly and successfully.
Namque omnes Aquitaniae civitates legatos ad Caesarem miserunt obsidesque ei dederunt. §8.46.3Quibus rebus gestis ipse equitum praesidio Narbonem profectus est, exercitum per legatos in hiberna deduxit: §8.46.4quattuor legiones in Belgio collocavit cum M. Antonio et C. Trebonio et P. Vatinio legatis, duas legiones in Aeduos deduxit, quorum in omni Gallia summam esse auctoritatem sciebat, duas in Turonis ad fines Carnutum posuit, quae omnem illam regionem coniunctam Oceano continerent, duas reliquas in Lemovicum finibus non longe ab Arvernis, ne qua pars Galliae vacua ab exercitu esset. §8.46.5Paucos dies ipse in provincia moratus, cum celeriter omnes conventus percucurrisset, publicas controversias cognosset, §8.46.6bene meritis praemia tribuisset (cognoscendi enim maximam facultatem habebat, quali quisque fuisset animo in totius Galliae defectione, quam sustinuerat fidelitate atque auxiliis provinciae illius), his confectis rebus ad legiones in Belgium se recipit hibernatque Nemetocennae.
For all the states of Aquitania sent ambassadors to Caesar and gave him hostages. When these affairs were settled, he himself set out for Narbo with an escort of cavalry, and led the army into winter quarters through his legates: he stationed four legions in Belgium with the legates Marcus Antonius, Gaius Trebonius, and Publius Vatinius; he led two legions to the Aedui, whose authority he knew to be the highest in all Gaul; he placed two among the Turoni near the borders of the Carnutes, to control all that region bordering on the Ocean; and the remaining two in the territory of the Lemovices, not far from the Arverni, so that no part of Gaul should be left without an army. Having himself delayed for a few days in the province, where he quickly went through all the assemblies and investigated public controversies, and distributed rewards to those who had deserved well (for he had the best opportunity of ascertaining what disposition each had shown during the general defection of Gaul, which he had withstood through the loyalty and aid of that province), when these matters were finished, he withdrew to the legions in Belgium and wintered at Nemetocenna.

Notes

  1. §8.46.1Aquitaniam numquam adisset, per Publium Crassum quadam ex parte devicisset — The pluperfect subjunctives adisset (= adiisset) and devicisset are subordinated to the preceding 'cum', representing actions prior to the main verb 'profectus est'. They can be interpreted either causally (since he had never visited...) or concessively (although he had never visited...), providing the background reason for Caesar's personal expedition to Aquitania, which had previously only been partially subdued by Publius Crassus (B.G. 3.20-27).
  2. §8.46.4quae omnem illam regionem coniunctam Oceano continerent — The relative pronoun 'quae' refers back to 'duas [legiones]'. Used with the subjunctive 'continerent', it introduces a relative clause of purpose ('in order to control...') or characteristic ('such as to control...').
  3. §8.46.6quali quisque fuisset animo — An indirect question clause featuring the ablative of quality 'quali animo' ('with what disposition'), serving as the object of the genitive gerund 'cognoscendi'.
  4. §8.46.6quam sustinuerat fidelitate atque auxiliis provinciae illius — The relative pronoun 'quam' refers to 'defectione'. The subject of the transitive verb 'sustinuerat' is Caesar. It indicates that Caesar had withstood the difficult rebellion through the loyalty and assistance of the Roman Province (Gallia Narbonensis).

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §8.46.1-8.46.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:8.46.1-8.46.6

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