De Bello Gallico 1.44

1.44.1Ariovistus ad postulāta Caesaris pauca respondit, dē suīs virtūtibus multa praedicāvit: trānsīsse Rhēnum sēsē nōn suā sponte, sed rogātum et arcessītum ā Gallīs;

Ariovistus answered Caesar's demands briefly and spoke at length about his own merits: he had crossed the Rhine not of his own will but because the Gauls had asked and summoned him;

Note. From here to the end of the chapter Ariovistus' speech is in indirect speech. sēsē is the subject of trānsīsse.

1.44.2nōn sine magnā spē magnīsque praemiīs domum propinquōsque relīquisse;

he had left home and family only with great hopes and great rewards in view;

1.44.2sēdēs habēre in Galliā ab ipsīs concessās, obsidēs ipsōrum voluntāte datōs;

he had settlements in Gaul granted by the Gauls themselves, and hostages given with their consent;

1.44.2stīpendium capere iūre bellī, quod victōrēs victīs impōnere cōnsuērint.

he took tribute by the law of war, which victors are accustomed to impose on the conquered.

Note. iūre bellī: 'by the law of war'. quod … cōnsuērint: the subjunctive marks a reason given inside reported speech.

1.44.3Nōn sēsē Gallīs sed Gallōs sibi bellum intulisse: omnēs Galliae cīvitātēs ad sē oppugnandum vēnisse ac contrā sē castra habuisse;

He had not made war on the Gauls; the Gauls had made war on him: all the states of Gaul had come to attack him and had camped against him;

1.44.3eās omnēs cōpiās ā sē ūnō proeliō pulsās ac superātās esse.

all those forces had been driven back and defeated by him in a single battle.

1.44.4Sī iterum experīrī velint, sē iterum parātum esse dēcertāre;

If they wanted to try again, he was ready to fight it out again;

1.44.4sī pāce utī velint, inīquum esse dē stīpendiō recūsāre, quod suā voluntāte ad id tempus pependerint.

if they wanted peace, it was unfair to refuse the tribute, which they had paid of their own free will up to that time.

1.44.5Amīcitiam populī Rōmānī sibi ōrnāmentō et praesidiō, nōn dētrīmentō esse oportēre, atque sē hāc spē petīsse.

The friendship of the Roman people ought to bring him honour and protection, not harm, and he had sought it in that hope.

1.44.5Sī per populum Rōmānum stīpendium remittātur et dēditīciī subtrahantur, nōn minus libenter sēsē recūsātūrum populī Rōmānī amīcitiam quam adpetierit.

If through the Roman people the tribute were cancelled and his subjects taken away from him, he would give up the friendship of the Roman people no less willingly than he had sought it.

1.44.6Quod multitūdinem Germānōrum in Galliam trādūcat, id sē suī mūniendī, nōn Galliae oppugnandae causā facere;

As for bringing a host of Germans into Gaul, he was doing it to protect himself, not to attack Gaul;

Note. suī mūniendī causā: 'for the sake of protecting himself', a gerundive with causā. Galliae oppugnandae causā is built the same way.

1.44.6eius reī testimōnium esse quod nisi rogātus nōn vēnerit et quod bellum nōn intulerit sed dēfenderit.

the proof of this was that he had not come except when asked, and had not made war but defended himself.

1.44.7Sē prius in Galliam vēnisse quam populum Rōmānum.

He had come into Gaul before the Roman people.

1.44.7Numquam ante hoc tempus exercitum populī Rōmānī Galliae prōvinciae fīnibus ēgressum.

Never before this time had an army of the Roman people gone beyond the borders of the province of Gaul.

1.44.8Quid sibi vellet?

What did Caesar want?

Note. Quid sibi vellet? A question in indirect speech: 'what did Caesar mean by it?'

1.44.8Cūr in suās possessiōnēs venīret?

Why was he coming into his territory?

1.44.8Prōvinciam suam hanc esse Galliam, sīcut illam nostram.

This part of Gaul was his province, just as that other part was ours.

1.44.8Ut ipsī concēdī nōn oportēret, sī in nostrōs fīnēs impetum faceret, sīc item nōs esse inīquōs, quod in suō iūre sē interpellārēmus.

Just as it would not be right to let him alone if he attacked our territory, so we too were unfair in interfering with him in what was his by right.

1.44.9Quod frātrēs ā senātū Haeduōs appellātōs dīceret, nōn sē tam barbarum neque tam imperītum esse rērum ut nōn scīret neque bellō Allobrogum proximō Haeduōs Rōmānīs auxilium tulisse neque ipsōs in iīs contentiōnibus quās Haeduī sēcum et cum Sēquanīs habuissent auxiliō populī Rōmānī ūsōs esse.

As for Caesar's saying that the Haedui had been called brothers by the Senate, he was not so uncivilised or so ignorant of affairs as not to know that in the last war with the Allobroges the Haedui had not helped the Romans, and that in the struggles the Haedui had had with him and with the Sequani they had not had the help of the Roman people.

Note. Quod … dīceret: 'as for the fact that he said'. tam barbarum … ut nōn scīret: a result clause, 'so uncivilised as not to know'.

1.44.10Dēbēre sē suspicārī simulātā Caesarem amīcitiā, quod exercitum in Galliā habeat, suī opprimendī causā habēre.

He had to suspect that Caesar, under a pretence of friendship, kept the army he had in Gaul in order to crush him.

1.44.11Quī nisi dēcēdat atque exercitum dēdūcat ex hīs regiōnibus, sēsē illum nōn prō amīcō sed prō hoste habitūrum.

If Caesar did not withdraw and lead his army out of these parts, he would treat him not as a friend but as an enemy.

1.44.12Quod sī eum interfēcerit, multīs sēsē nōbilibus prīncipibusque populī Rōmānī grātum esse factūrum (id sē ab ipsīs per eōrum nūntiōs compertum habēre), quōrum omnium grātiam atque amīcitiam eius morte redimere posset.

And if he killed him, he would be doing a favour to many nobles and leading men of the Roman people (he knew this from them directly, through their messengers), whose favour and friendship he could win by Caesar's death.

Note. Quod sī: 'but if'. Caesar reports a remarkable claim: Ariovistus says Caesar's enemies in Rome would be grateful for his death.

1.44.13Quod sī dēcessisset et līberam possessiōnem Galliae sibi trādidisset, magnō sē illum praemiō remūnerātūrum et quaecumque bella gerī vellet sine ūllō eius labōre et perīculō cōnfectūrum.

But if Caesar withdrew and handed over to him free possession of Gaul, he would reward him greatly and would fight whatever wars Caesar wanted fought without any effort or danger on his part.