De Bello Gallico 1.40

1.40.1Haec cum animadvertisset, convocātō cōnsiliō omniumque ōrdinum ad id cōnsilium adhibitīs centuriōnibus, vehementer eōs incūsāvit: prīmum, quod aut quam in partem aut quō cōnsiliō dūcerentur sibi quaerendum aut cōgitandum putārent.

When he saw this, Caesar called a council, summoned to it the centurions of all ranks, and rebuked them sharply: first, because they thought it was their business to ask or consider where they were being led or with what plan.

Note. aut quam in partem aut quō cōnsiliō dūcerentur: indirect questions, 'where or with what plan they were being led'.

1.40.2Ariovistum sē cōnsule cupidissimē populī Rōmānī amīcitiam adpetīsse;

Ariovistus, in Caesar's own consulship, had most eagerly sought the friendship of the Roman people;

1.40.2cūr hunc tam temerē quisquam ab officiō discessūrum iūdicāret?

why should anyone think he would so rashly abandon his duty?

1.40.3Sibi quidem persuādērī cognitīs suīs postulātīs atque aequitāte condiciōnum perspectā eum neque suam neque populī Rōmānī grātiam repudiātūrum.

He himself was convinced that once Ariovistus knew his demands and saw how fair the terms were, he would not reject his goodwill or that of the Roman people.

1.40.4Quod sī furōre atque āmentiā impulsum bellum intulisset, quid tandem verērentur?

And even if, driven by rage and madness, he made war, what were they afraid of?

1.40.4Aut cūr dē suā virtūte aut dē ipsīus dīligentiā dēspērārent?

Or why did they despair of their own courage or of his care as a commander?

1.40.5Factum eius hostis perīculum patrum nostrōrum memoriā Cimbrīs et Teutonīs ā C. Mariō pulsīs cum nōn minōrem laudem exercitūs quam ipse imperātor meritus vidēbātur;

This enemy had been put to the test in our fathers' time, when the Cimbri and Teutoni were driven back by Gaius Marius and the army seemed to have earned no less praise than the general himself;

Note. Factum eius hostis perīculum: 'a trial had been made of this enemy'. The Cimbri and Teutoni were defeated by Marius in 102–101 BC.

1.40.5factum etiam nūper in Ītaliā servīlī tumultū, quōs tamen aliquid ūsus ac disciplīna, quam ā nōbīs accēpissent, sublevārint.

it had been tested again recently in Italy in the slave revolt, though the slaves were helped somewhat by the experience and training they had learned from us.

Note. servīlī tumultū: the slave war of Spartacus (73–71 BC), whose army included many Germans and Gauls.

1.40.6Ex quō iūdicārī posse quantum habēret in sē bonī cōnstantia, proptereā quod quōs aliquam diū inermēs sine causā timuissent hōs posteā armātōs ac victōrēs superāssent.

From this one could judge how much good there was in steadiness, since men they had feared for a long time without cause when they were unarmed, they had later defeated when they were armed and victorious.

1.40.7Dēnique hōs esse eōsdem Germānōs quibuscum saepe numerō Helvētiī congressī nōn sōlum in suīs sed etiam in illōrum fīnibus plērumque superārint, quī tamen parēs esse nostrō exercituī nōn potuerint.

Finally, these were the same Germans whom the Helvetii had often fought, not only in their own territory but in the Germans' too, and had generally beaten, and yet the Helvetii had not been a match for our army.

1.40.8Sī quōs adversum proelium et fuga Gallōrum commovēret, hōs, sī quaererent, reperīre posse diūturnitāte bellī dēfatīgātīs Gallīs Ariovistum, cum multōs mēnsēs castrīs sē ac palūdibus tenuisset neque suī potestātem fēcisset, dēspērantēs iam dē pugnā et dispersōs subitō adortum magis ratiōne et cōnsiliō quam virtūte vīcisse.

If any were troubled by the defeat and flight of the Gauls, they could find out, if they asked, that when the Gauls were worn out by the length of the war, Ariovistus, after keeping himself for many months in his camp and the marshes and giving them no chance to fight, had suddenly attacked them when they had given up hope of a battle and had scattered, and had won more by cunning and planning than by courage.

Note. neque suī potestātem fēcisset: 'and had not given them a chance at him', that is, had refused battle.

1.40.9Cui ratiōnī contrā hominēs barbarōs atque imperītōs locus fuisset, hāc nē ipsum quidem spērāre nostrōs exercitūs capī posse.

Even he did not hope that our armies could be caught by the kind of cunning that had worked against barbarous and inexperienced men.

1.40.10Quī suum timōrem in reī frūmentāriae simulātiōnem angustiāsque itineris cōnferrent, facere arroganter, cum aut dē officiō imperātōris dēspērāre aut praescrībere vidērentur.

Those who put their fear down to pretended worry about the grain supply and the narrow roads were acting arrogantly, since they seemed either to despair of their general's doing his duty or to be giving him orders.

1.40.11Haec sibi esse cūrae;

These things were his concern;

1.40.11frūmentum Sēquanōs, Leucōs, Lingonēs subministrāre, iamque esse in agrīs frūmenta mātūra;

the Sequani, the Leuci and the Lingones were supplying grain, and the crops in the fields were already ripe;

1.40.11dē itinere ipsōs brevī tempore iūdicātūrōs.

as for the road, they would judge it themselves in a short time.

1.40.12Quod nōn fore dictō audientēs neque signa lātūrī dīcantur, nihil sē eā rē commovērī: scīre enim, quibuscumque exercitus dictō audiēns nōn fuerit, aut male rē gestā fortūnam dēfuisse aut aliquō facinore compertō avāritiam esse convictam.

As for the report that the soldiers would not obey orders or advance, that did not trouble him at all: for he knew that whenever an army had not obeyed its commander, either fortune had failed him after a defeat, or some crime had been discovered and he had been convicted of greed.

Note. dictō audiēns nōn fuerit: 'had not obeyed'. aut male rē gestā … aut … avāritiam esse convictam: the two usual reasons an army disobeys, a defeat or a greedy commander.

1.40.13Suam innocentiam perpetuā vītā, fēlīcitātem Helvētiōrum bellō esse perspectam.

His own integrity had been seen throughout his whole life, his good fortune in the war with the Helvetii.

1.40.14Itaque sē quod in longiōrem diem conlātūrus fuisset repraesentātūrum et proximā nocte dē quārta, vigiliā castra mōtūrum, ut quam prīmum intellegere posset utrum apud eōs pudor atque officium an timor plūs valēret.

So he would do at once what he had meant to put off to a later day, and would break camp the next night in the fourth watch, to find out as soon as possible whether shame and duty or fear had more power with them.

Note. quod in longiōrem diem collātūrus fuisset: 'what he had meant to put off to a later day'. quam prīmum: 'as soon as possible'.

1.40.15Quod sī praetereā nēmō sequātur, tamen sē cum sōlā decimā legiōne itūrum, dē quā nōn dubitet, sibique eam praetōriam cohortem futūram.

And if no one else followed, he would go anyway with the tenth legion alone, which he did not doubt, and it would be his bodyguard.

Note. praetōriam cohortem: the commander's personal guard. The tenth legion was Caesar's favourite from then on.

1.40.15Huic legiōnī Caesar et indulserat praecipuē et propter virtūtem cōnfīdēbat maximē.

Caesar had especially favoured this legion and trusted it most because of its courage.