De Bello Gallico 1.14

Caesar's answer

In brief. Caesar lists the Helvetii's old and new wrongs but offers peace if they give hostages and make amends to the Haedui and the Allobroges. Divico replies that the Helvetii take hostages rather than give them, and leaves.

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

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.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×2, indirect statement ×7, gerunds and gerundives ×1, cum clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (109 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsus	reply, answer
eō (adv.)	to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more)
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
dubitātiō, -ōnis f.	doubt, hesitation
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
lēgātus, -ī, m.	ambassador
Helvētius, -a, -um	Helvetian
commemorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	mention, recount
memoria, -ae, f.	memory
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
graviter, adv.	severely, seriously
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
minus, comp. adv.	less
meritum, -ī n.	service, desert
populus, -ī m.	people, nation
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
accidō, -cidere, -cidī	fall to or upon; befall, happen
sī, conj.	if
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
iniūria, -ae, f.	injury, wrong, hurt, harm
cōnscius, -a, -um	aware, conscious (of)
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
nōn, adv.	not
difficilis, -e	not easy, difficult
caveō, cavēre, cāvī, cautus	beware, take care; be on one's guard against, beware of
sed, conj.	but
dēcipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	catch, deceive
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
quārē (adv.)	why; for which reason
timeō, -ēre, -uī	fear
sine, prep. with abl.	without
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
vetus, veteris	old, former
contumēlia, -ae f.	insult, outrage
oblīvīscor, -līvīscī, -lītus	forget
volō, velle, voluī	wish
num, adv., introducing a question to which a negative answer is expected	untranslatable
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
recēns, -entis	recent, fresh
invītus, -a, -um	unwilling
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
prōvincia, -ae f.	province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
vīs, vīs, f.	violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
temptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	try, attempt
vexō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	harass, ravage
dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
victōria, -ae, f.	victory
tam, adv.	so
īnsolenter (adv.)	arrogantly
glōrior, -ārī, -ātus sum	boast
diū, adv.	for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
impūne (adv.)	without punishment
admīror, -mīrārī, -mīrātus	wonder at, admire
eōdem	to the same place
pertineō, -ēre, -uī	extend, reach; tend toward, concern
cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētus	become accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont
enim, conj.	for
deus, -ī, m.	god
immortālis, -e	immortal
homō, hominis, m.	man
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
commūtātiō, -tiōnis, f.	change
doleō, -ēre, doluī, dolitum	grieve, be pained
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
scelus, sceleris, n.	wickedness, crime
ulcīscor, ulcīscī, ultus	avenge
secundus, -a, -um	following, favorable
interdum (adv.)	sometimes
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
diūturnus, -a, -um	long-lasting
impūnitās, -ātis f.	freedom from punishment
concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	grant, yield
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
obses, obsidis m./f.	hostage
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
polliceor, -licērī, -licitus	promise
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
socius, -ī, m.	companion, comrade, ally
que, enclitic conj.	and
īnferō, īnferre, intulī, inlātus	bring in or against, wage against; inflict
item	likewise, also
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
cum, prep, with abl.	with
pāx, pācis f.	peace
maiōrēs, -um m. pl.	ancestors
īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	decide upon, determine
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
testis, -is m./f.	witness
respōnsum, -ī, n.	reply, answer, response
discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go apart, withdraw, depart

Caesar, De Bello Gallico I. Latin text: T. Rice Holmes (Oxford, 1914), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.