De Bello Gallico 1.16

1.16.1Interim cōtīdiē Caesar Haeduōs frūmentum, quod essent pūblicē pollicitī, flāgitāre.

Meanwhile Caesar was daily pressing the Haedui for the grain they had officially promised.

Note. flāgitāre is a historic infinitive: Caesar uses a plain infinitive like a past tense to show repeated action, 'kept demanding'.

1.16.2Nam propter frīgora quod Gallia sub septentriōnibus, ut ante dictum est, posita est, nōn modo frūmenta in agrīs mātūra nōn erant, sed nē pābulī quidem satis magna cōpia suppetēbat;

For because of the cold, since Gaul, as was said before, lies in the north, not only was the grain in the fields not ripe, but there was not even a large enough supply of fodder;

1.16.3eō autem frūmentō quod flūmine Ararī nāvibus subvēxerat proptereā utī minus poterat quod iter ab Ararī Helvētiī āverterant, ā quibus discēdere nōlēbat.

and he could make less use of the grain he had brought up the Arar by boat, because the Helvetii had turned their route away from the Arar, and he did not want to lose touch with them.

1.16.4Diem ex diē dūcere Haeduī: cōnferrī, comportārī, adesse dīcere.

The Haedui put him off day after day: it was being collected, it was being brought in, it was at hand, they said.

Note. Diem ex diē dūcere: another historic infinitive, 'they put him off from day to day'.

1.16.5Ubi sē diūtius dūcī intellēxit et diem īnstāre quō diē frūmentum mīlitibus mētīrī oportēret, convocātīs eōrum prīncipibus, quōrum magnam cōpiam in castrīs habēbat, in hīs Dīviciācō et Liscō, quī summō magistrātuī praeerat, quem vergobretum appellant Haeduī, quī creātur annuus et vītae necisque in suōs habet potestātem, graviter eōs accūsat, quod, cum neque emī neque ex agrīs sūmī possit, tam necessāriō tempore, tam propinquīs hostibus ab iīs nōn sublevētur, praesertim cum magnā ex parte eōrum precibus adductus bellum suscēperit;

When he realised he was being strung along too long, and the day was near when grain had to be measured out to the soldiers, he called together their leaders, of whom he had a great number in his camp, among them Diviciacus and Liscus, who held the highest office, which the Haedui call the vergobret, elected each year with power of life and death over his people, and he sharply rebuked them because, when grain could neither be bought nor taken from the fields, at so critical a time and with the enemy so near, he was not supported by them, especially since he had undertaken the war largely at their request;

Note. vītae necisque … potestātem: 'power of life and death'.

1.16.6multō etiam gravius quod sit dēstitūtus queritur.

he complains even more bitterly that he has been abandoned.