De Bello Gallico 1.43

1.43.1Plānitiēs erat magna et in eā tumulus terrēnus satis grandis.

There was a large plain, and on it a fairly big mound of earth.

1.43.1Hic locus aequum ferē spatium ā castrīs Ariovistī et Caesaris aberat.

This spot was about the same distance from Ariovistus' camp and from Caesar's.

1.43.1Eō, ut erat dictum, ad conloquium vēnērunt.

They came there to the meeting, as had been agreed.

1.43.2Legiōnem Caesar, quam equīs dēvēxerat, passibus CC ab eō tumulō cōnstituit.

Caesar posted the legion he had brought on horseback two hundred paces from the mound.

1.43.2Item equitēs Ariovistī parī intervallō cōnstitērunt.

Ariovistus' cavalry likewise halted at the same distance.

1.43.3Ariovistus ex equīs ut conloquerentur et praeter sē dēnōs ad conloquium addūcerent postulāvit.

Ariovistus demanded that they talk on horseback and that each bring ten men besides himself to the meeting.

Note. ex equīs: 'on horseback', literally 'from their horses'. dēnōs: distributive numeral, 'ten each'.

1.43.4Ubi eō ventum est, Caesar initiō ōrātiōnis sua senātūsque in eum beneficia commemorāvit, quod rēx appellātus esset ā senātū, quod amīcus, quod mūnera amplissimē missa;

When they arrived there, Caesar began his speech by recalling his own and the Senate's kindnesses to Ariovistus: that he had been called king by the Senate, called friend, and sent very generous gifts;

Note. Ubi eō ventum est: impersonal passive, 'when they had come there'. The three quod clauses list Caesar's points.

1.43.4quam rem et paucīs contigisse et prō magnīs hominum officiīs cōnsuēsse tribuī docēbat;

he explained that this honour had fallen to few, and was usually given for great services;

1.43.5illum, cum neque aditum neque causam postulandī iūstam habēret, beneficiō ac līberālitāte suā ac senātūs ea praemia cōnsecūtum.

Ariovistus, though he had neither access nor just grounds for asking, had won those rewards through the kindness and generosity of Caesar and the Senate.

1.43.6Docēbat etiam quam veterēs quamque iūstae causae necessitūdinis ipsīs cum Haeduīs intercēderent, quae senātūs cōnsulta quotiēns quamque honōrifica in eōs facta essent, ut omnī tempore tōtīus Galliae prīncipātum Haeduī tenuissent, prius etiam quam nostram amīcitiam adpetīssent.

He explained too how old and how just were the ties that bound the Romans themselves to the Haedui, what decrees of the Senate had been passed in their honour, how often and how honourable they were, and how the Haedui had always held the leadership of all Gaul, even before they had sought our friendship.

Note. quam veterēs quamque iūstae: 'how old and how just'; quamque = et quam. These are indirect questions, so the verbs are subjunctive.

1.43.8Populī Rōmānī hanc esse cōnsuētūdinem, ut sociōs atque amīcōs nōn modo suī nihil dēperdere, sed grātiā, dignitāte, honōre auctiōrēs velit esse;

It was the custom of the Roman people to want its allies and friends not only to lose nothing of their own, but to be greater in influence, rank and honour;

Note. suī nihil dēperdere: 'to lose nothing of their own'; suī is the genitive of suum, 'their property'.

1.43.8quod vērō ad amīcitiam populī Rōmānī attulissent, id iīs ēripī quis patī posset?

who, then, could allow what they had brought to the friendship of the Roman people to be torn away from them?

1.43.9Postulāvit deinde eadem quae lēgātīs in mandātīs dederat: nē aut Haeduīs aut eōrum sociīs bellum īnferret, obsidēs redderet, sī nūllam partem Germānōrum domum remittere posset, at nē quōs amplius Rhēnum trānsīre paterētur.

Then he made the same demands he had given his envoys as instructions: that Ariovistus should not make war on the Haedui or their allies, that he should give back the hostages, and that, if he could not send any of the Germans back home, he should at least let no more of them cross the Rhine.