Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 1
De Bello Gallico 1.32
The silence of the Sequani
Caesar, De Bello Gallico I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō1.32.1Hāc ōrātiōne ab Dīviciācō habitā omnēs quī aderant magnō flētū auxilium ā Caesare petere coepērunt.
When Diviciacus had made this speech, all who were present began to beg Caesar for help with loud weeping.
1.32.2Animadvertit Caesar ūnōs ex omnibus Sēquanōs nihil eārum rērum facere quās cēterī facerent sed trīstēs capite dēmissō terram intuērī.
Caesar noticed that the Sequani alone of them all did none of the things the others were doing, but with heads bowed looked sadly at the ground.
Note. ūnōs ex omnibus Sēquanōs: 'the Sequani alone of all'. capite dēmissō is an ablative absolute.
1.32.2Eius reī quae causa esset mīrātus ex ipsīs quaesiit.
Surprised, he asked them what the reason for this was.
1.32.3Nihil Sēquanī respondēre, sed in eādem trīstitiā tacitī permanēre.
The Sequani made no reply, but stayed silent in the same sadness.
Note. Nihil Sēquanī respondēre: a historic infinitive, used like a past tense: 'the Sequani answered nothing'.
1.32.3Cum ab hīs saepius quaereret neque ūllam omnīnō vōcem exprimere posset, īdem Dīviciācus Haeduus respondit: hōc esse miseriōrem et graviōrem fortūnam Sēquanōrum quam reliquōrum, quod sōlī nē in occultō quidem querī neque auxilium implōrāre audērent absentisque Ariovistī crūdēlitātem, velut sī cōram adesset, horrērent, proptereā quod reliquīs tamen fugae facultās darētur, Sēquanīs vērō, quī intrā fīnēs suōs Ariovistum recēpissent, quōrum oppida omnia in potestāte eius essent, omnēs cruciātūs essent perferendī.
When he had asked them several times and could not get a single word out of them, Diviciacus the Haeduan answered again: the lot of the Sequani was more wretched and harder than that of the rest for this reason, that they alone did not dare even in secret to complain or beg for help, and dreaded the cruelty of Ariovistus even when he was absent, as if he were there in person; for the others at least had a chance to flee, but the Sequani, who had taken Ariovistus inside their borders and whose towns were all in his power, had to endure every torture.
Note. absentis Ariovistī: 'of Ariovistus even when absent'. omnēs cruciātūs essent perferendī: the gerundive of obligation, 'all tortures had to be endured'.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ōrātiō, -ōnis, f. | speech; ōrātiōnem habēre, to deliver an oration, speak |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| adsum, adesse, adfuī | be present, be at hand |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| flētus, -ūs m. | weeping |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| 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 |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | the other, the remaining, the rest of |
| sed, conj. | but |
| trīstis, -e | sad, gloomy |
| caput, capitis, n. | head |
| dēmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send down, let fall; animōs dēmittere, to lose courage |
| terra, -ae, f. | land, earth |
| intueor, -tuērī, -tuitus | look upon, behold |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| mīror, -ārī, -ātus | wonder, wonder at |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus | seek; ask, inquire |
| respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsus | reply, answer |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| trīstitia, -ae, f. | sadness |
| tacitus, -a, -um | silent |
| permaneō, -manēre, -mānsi, -mānsus | remain |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| saepe, adv. | often, frequently |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| ūllus, -a, -um | any |
| omnīnō, adv. | altogether, wholly, entirely |
| vōx, vōcis, f. | voice; word |
| exprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus | press out |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| miser, misera, miserum | wretched, unhappy |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| gravis, -e | heavy; severe, grievous, serious |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| sōlus, -a, -um | alone |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| occultum, -ī n. | hiding place (in occultō: in secret) |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| queror, -ī, questus sum | complain |
| implōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | beg for, appeal for |
| audeō, audēre, ausus sum | dare |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| crūdēlitās, -ātis f. | cruelty |
| velut | even or just as, as |
| sī, conj. | if |
| cōram (adv.) | face to face, in person |
| horreō, -ēre, horruī | shudder at, dread |
| proptereā | for this reason; proptereā quod: because |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| fuga, -ae, f. | flight |
| facultās, -tātis, f. | possibility, opportunity, chance, means |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| vērō, adv. | in truth, indeed; however |
| intrā, prep. with acc. | within |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| potestās, -ātis f. | power, authority |
| cruciātus, -ūs, m. | torture |
| perferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bear through, bear, endure; weather |