§8.49.1Caesar in Belgio cum hiemaret, unum illud propositum habebat, continere in amicitia civitates, nulli spem aut causam dare armorum.
When Caesar was wintering in Belgium, he had this one purpose in mind: to keep the states in friendship, and to give to none any hope or cause for arms.
§8.49.2Nihil enim minus volebat quam sub decessu suo necessitatem sibi aliquam imponi belli gerendi, ne, cum exercitum deducturus esset, bellum aliquod relinqueretur quod omnis Gallia libenter sine praesenti periculo susciperet.
For he wished nothing less than that, on the eve of his departure, some necessity of waging war should be imposed upon him, lest, when he was about to withdraw his army, some war should be left behind which all Gaul would gladly undertake without present danger.
§8.49.3Itaque honorifice civitates appellando, principes maximis praemiis adficiendo, nulla onera iniungendo defessam tot adversis proeliis Galliam condicione parendi meliore facile in pace continuit.
Therefore, by addressing the states honorably, by rewarding the leading men with the greatest presents, and by imposing no burdens, he easily kept Gaul, exhausted by so many unsuccessful battles, in peace under a better condition of obedience.