De Bello Gallico 1.47

Envoys in chains

In brief. Ariovistus asks for more talks. Caesar sends Gaius Valerius Procillus, who speaks Gaulish, and Marcus Metius, Ariovistus' guest-friend, but Ariovistus accuses them of spying and throws them into chains.

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1.47.1Bīduō post Ariovistus ad Caesarem lēgātōs mīsit: velle sē dē iīs rēbus quae inter eōs agī coeptae neque perfectae essent agere cum eō: utī aut iterum conloquiō diem cōnstitueret aut, sī id minus vellet, ex suīs lēgātīs aliquem ad sē mitteret.Two days later Ariovistus sent envoys to Caesar: he wanted to discuss with him the matters that had begun to be discussed between them and had not been settled; Caesar should either set a day for another meeting or, if he did not want that, send one of his officers to him. 1.47.2Conloquendī Caesarī causa vīsa nōn est, et eō magis quod prīdiē eius diēī Germānī retinērī nōn potuerant quīn tēla in nostrōs coicerent.Caesar saw no reason for a meeting, all the more because the day before the Germans could not be held back from throwing weapons at our men. 1.47.3Lēgātum ex suīs sēsē magnō cum perīculō ad eum missūrum et hominibus ferīs obiectūrum exīstimābat.He thought he would be sending one of his officers to him at great risk, and exposing him to savage men. 1.47.4Commodissimum vīsum est C. Valerium Procillum, C. Valeriī Caburī fīlium, summā virtūte et hūmānitāte adulēscentem, cuius pater ā C. Valeriō Flaccō cīvitāte dōnātus erat, et propter fidem et propter linguae Gallicae scientiam, quā multa iam Ariovistus longinquā cōnsuētūdine ūtēbātur, et quod in eō peccandī Germānīs causa nōn esset, ad eum mittere, et ūnā M. Mētium, quī hospitiō Ariovistī ūtēbātur.The most suitable course seemed to be to send to him Gaius Valerius Procillus, son of Gaius Valerius Caburus, a young man of great courage and culture, whose father had been granted citizenship by Gaius Valerius Flaccus, both because of his loyalty and because of his knowledge of Gaulish, which Ariovistus now spoke a good deal from long practice, and because the Germans would have no reason to harm him; and with him Marcus Metius, who was a guest-friend of Ariovistus.Note. Commodissimum vīsum est … mittere: 'it seemed best to send'. The infinitive mittere is the subject. hospitiō … ūtēbātur: 'was a guest-friend of', a formal bond of hospitality.

1.47.5Hīs mandāvit quae dīceret Ariovistus cognōscerent et ad sē referrent.He told them to find out what Ariovistus had to say and report back to him. 1.47.5Quōs cum apud sē in castrīs Ariovistus cōnspexisset, exercitū suō praesente conclāmāvit: quid ad sē venīrent?When Ariovistus saw them with him in his camp, he shouted out in front of his army: why were they coming to him?Note. quid ad sē venīrent?: a question in indirect speech, 'why were they coming to him?' 1.47.5an speculandī causā?Was it to spy? 1.47.5Cōnantēs dīcere prohibuit et in catēnās coniēcit.When they tried to speak he stopped them and threw them into chains.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×3, cum clauses ×1, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (94 words)

bīduum, -ī n.	two days
post, adv.	after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
lēgātus, -ī, m.	ambassador
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
volō, velle, voluī	wish
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
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
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action)	have begun, began
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
perficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	do or make through, accomplish
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
cum, prep, with abl.	with
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
iterum, adv.	again, a second time
conloquium, -ī, n.	conversation
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
sī, conj.	if
minus, comp. adv.	less
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
colloquor (conloquor), -ī, -locūtus sum	talk with, confer
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
nōn, adv.	not
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
eō (adv.)	to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more)
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
prīdiē (adv.)	the day before
retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
quīn, conj.	so that ... not, but that, but
tēlum, -ī, n.	missile, spear, weapon
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
noster, -tra, -trum	our
coiciō, -ere, coiēcī, coiectum	throw, hurl
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
perīculum, -ī, n.	danger, peril, risk
homō, hominis, m.	man
ferus, -a, -um	wild, savage
obiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw in the way or to
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, believe, think
commodus, -a, -um	convenient, suitable
fīlius, -ī, m.	son
summus, -a, -um	uppermost, highest, greatest
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
hūmānitās, -tātis f.	culture, refinement
adulēscēns, -entis, m.	youth, young man
pater, patris, m.	father
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
dōnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	give; present (someone with something)
propter, prep. with acc.	on account of, because of
fidēs, -eī f.	faith, trust; pledge
lingua, -ae f.	tongue; language
Gallicus, -a, -um	Gallic, of Gaul
scientia, -ae, f.	knowledge, skill
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
iam, adv.	now, already
longinquus, -a, -um	distant, remote
cōnsuētūdō, -inis f.	custom, habit; way of life
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus	use
peccō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	do wrong
ūnā	together, along
hospitium, -ī, n.	hospitality
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
mandō, -dāre, -dāvī, -dātus	put in hand, intrust, commit; charge, command
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
referō, referre, rettulī, relātus	bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
cōnspiciō, -spicere, -spēxī, -spectus	behold, perceive, see
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
praesēns, -sentis, adj.	present, immediate, imminent
conclāmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	shout out, cry out
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
an, conj.	or (in questions)
speculor, -ārī, -ātus sum	spy, watch
cōnor, -ārī, -ātus	try, attempt
prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus	hold back, prevent, hinder
catēna, -ae, f.	chain
coniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw together; throw, cast, hurl

Caesar, De Bello Gallico I. Latin text: T. Rice Holmes (Oxford, 1914), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.