De Bello Gallico 1.14

1.14.1Hīs Caesar ita respondit: eō sibi minus dubitātiōnis darī, quod eās rēs quās lēgātī Helvētiī commemorāssent memoriā tenēret, atque eō gravius ferre quō minus meritō populī Rōmānī accidissent;

To this Caesar replied as follows: he had all the less hesitation because he remembered the events the Helvetian envoys had mentioned, and he resented them all the more because the Roman people had not deserved them;

Note. eō … quod: 'on this account … because'. quō minus meritō: 'the less deservedly'.

1.14.2quī sī alicuius iniūriae sibi cōnscius fuisset, nōn fuisse difficile cavēre;

if the Roman people had been aware of any wrong on its part, it would not have been hard to be on guard;

1.14.2sed eō dēceptum, quod neque commissum ā sē intellegeret quārē timēret neque sine causā timendum putāret.

but it had been deceived because it knew of nothing it had done to cause fear, and did not think it should fear without cause.

1.14.3Quod sī veteris contumēliae oblīvīscī vellet, num etiam recentium iniūriārum, quod eō invītō iter per prōvinciam per vim temptāssent, quod Haeduōs, quod Ambarrōs, quod Allobrogās vexāssent, memoriam dēpōnere posse?

And even if he were willing to forget the old insult, could he also put aside the memory of fresh wrongs: that they had tried to force a way through the Province against his will, and that they had harassed the Haedui, the Ambarri and the Allobroges?

Note. Quod sī: 'but if'. num … posse?: a question in indirect speech expecting the answer 'no'.

1.14.4Quod suā victōriā tam īnsolenter glōriārentur quodque tam diū sē impūne iniūriās tulisse admīrārentur, eōdem pertinēre.

Their boasting so arrogantly of their victory, and their surprise that they had gone unpunished for so long, pointed the same way.

1.14.5Cōnsuēsse enim deōs immortālēs, quō gravius hominēs ex commūtātiōne rērum doleant, quōs prō scelere eōrum ulcīscī velint, hīs secundiōrēs interdum rēs et diūturniōrem impūnitātem concēdere.

For the immortal gods are accustomed, when they mean to punish men for their crimes, to grant them at times greater success and longer freedom from punishment, so that they suffer more bitterly from the change in their fortunes.

Note. cōnsuēsse is a shortened form of cōnsuēvisse. quō gravius … doleant: purpose clause with a comparative.

1.14.6Cum ea ita sint, tamen, sī obsidēs ab iīs sibi dentur, utī ea quae polliceantur factūrōs intellegat, et sī Haeduīs dē iniūriīs quās ipsīs sociīsque eōrum intulerint, item sī Allobrogibus satis faciunt, sēsē cum iīs pācem esse factūrum.

Even so, if they give him hostages, so that he may know they will do what they promise, and if they make amends to the Haedui for the wrongs they have done them and their allies, and likewise to the Allobroges, he will make peace with them.

1.14.7Divicō respondit: ita Helvētiōs ā maiōribus suīs īnstitūtōs esse utī obsidēs accipere, nōn dare, cōnsuērint;

Divico replied that the Helvetii had been taught by their ancestors to take hostages, not to give them;

1.14.7eius reī populum Rōmānum esse testem.

the Roman people was witness of that.

1.14.7Hōc respōnsō datō discessit.

With this reply he left.