De Bello Civili 1.7

BC 1.7.1Quibus rēbus cognitīs Caesar apud mīlitēs cōntiōnātur.

When he learned of these events, Caesar addresses his soldiers.

Note. Quibus rēbus cognitīs: connecting relative ('and when these things were known'). contiōnātur: 'he addresses an assembly'; a contiō was a meeting to hear a speech.

BC 1.7.1omnium temporum iniūriās inimīcōrum in sē commemorat;

He recalls the wrongs done to him by his enemies at every time;

Note. The speech is reported in indirect discourse throughout.

BC 1.7.1ā quibus dēductum ac dēprāvātum Pompēium queritur invidiā atque obtrectātiōne laudis suae, cuius ipse honōrī et dignitātī semper fāverit adiūtorque fuerit.

he complains that Pompey has been led astray and corrupted by them through envy and jealousy of his glory, though he himself had always supported and helped Pompey's honour and standing.

Note. dēductum ac dēprāvātum Pompeium: 'that Pompey had been led astray and corrupted'. faverit, fuerit: subjunctives in a relative clause inside indirect speech.

BC 1.7.2novum in rē pūblicā intrōductum exemplum queritur, ut tribūnicia intercessiō armīs votārētur atque opprimerētur, quae superiōribus annīs armīs esset restitūta.

He complains that a new precedent has been brought into the republic, that the tribunes' veto should be forbidden and crushed by arms, the veto which in recent years had been restored by arms.

Note. novum … exemplum: Caesar presents himself as the defender of the tribunes. In 70 BC Pompey had restored the tribunes' powers, which Sulla had cut. vōtārētur: an old spelling of vetārētur, 'should be forbidden'.

BC 1.7.3Sullam nūdātā omnibus rēbus tribūniciā potestāte tamen intercessiōnem līberam relīquisse;

Sulla, though he stripped the tribunes' power of everything, had nevertheless left the veto free;

Note. Sullam … relīquisse: even Sulla, who stripped the tribunate of almost everything, left the veto.

BC 1.7.4Pompēium, quī āmissa restituisse videātur bona, etiam, quae ante habuerint, adēmisse.

Pompey, who seemed to have restored what had been lost, had taken away even what they had before.

Note. quī āmissa restituisse videātur bona: 'who seems to have restored the privileges that were lost'; bona = goods, here rights.

BC 1.7.5quotiēnscumque sit dēcrētum, darent operam magistrātūs, nēquid rēs pūblica dētrīmentī caperet, quā vōce et quō senātūs cōnsultō populus Rōmānus ad arma sit vocātus, factum in perniciōsīs lēgibus, in vī tribūniciā, in sēcessiōne populī, templīs locīsque ēditiōribus occupātīs;

Whenever it had been decreed that the magistrates should see to it that the republic suffer no harm, the declaration and decree by which the Roman people were called to arms had been made in the face of ruinous laws, tribunes' violence, and secession of the people with the temples and high ground occupied;

Note. quotiēnscumque: 'whenever'. The final decree had been used only in true emergencies: violent laws, riots, and occupation of temples and high ground.

BC 1.7.6atque haec superiōris aetātis exempla expiāta Sāturnīnī atque Gracchōrum cāsibus docet.

and he shows that these examples from an earlier age had been atoned for by the fates of Saturninus and the Gracchi.

Note. Sāturnīnus (100 BC) and the Gracchi (133 and 121 BC) were reforming tribunes killed after the senate's decree.

BC 1.7.6quārum rērum illō tempore nihil factum, nē cōgitātum quidem.

None of these things had been done at this time, or even thought of.

Note. nē … quidem: 'not even'.

BC 1.7.7hortātur, cuius imperātōris ductū viiii annīs rem pūblicam fēlīcissimē gesserint plūrimaque proelia secunda fēcerint, omnem Galliam Germāniamque pācāverint, ut eius exīstimātiōnem dignitātemque ab inimīcīs dēfendant.

He urges them to defend from his enemies the reputation and standing of the general under whose leadership for nine years they had served the republic most successfully, fought very many successful battles, and pacified all Gaul and Germany.

Note. Caesar had commanded in Gaul since 58 BC. VIIII annīs: 'for nine years'. ut … dēfendant depends on hortātur.

BC 1.7.8conclāmant legiōnis xiii, quae aderat, mīlitēs— hanc enim initiō tumultūs ēvocāverat, reliquae nōndum convēnerant— sēsē parātōs esse imperātōris suī tribūnōrumque plēbis iniūriās dēfendere.

The soldiers of the thirteenth legion, which was present (for he had called it out at the beginning of the troubles; the others had not yet assembled), shout out that they are ready to defend their general and the tribunes of the plebs from injury.

Note. legiōnis XIII: the thirteenth legion, the only one with Caesar south of the Alps. The famous crossing of the Rubicon is not mentioned: Caesar simply says he went to Ariminum.