2.4.1Cum ab iīs quaereret quae cīvitātēs quantaeque in armīs essent et quid in bellō possent, sīc reperiēbat: plērōsque Belgās esse ortōs ā Germānīs Rhēnumque antīquitus trāductōs propter locī fertilitātem ibi cōnsēdisse Gallōsque quī ea loca incolerent expulisse, sōlōsque esse quī, patrum nostrōrum memoriā omnī Galliā vexātā, Teutonōs Cimbrōsque intrā suōs fīnēs ingredī prohibuerint;When he asked them which states were in arms, how large they were and what they could do in war, he learned the following: most of the Belgae were descended from the Germans; they had crossed the Rhine long ago and settled there because of the fertility of the land, driving out the Gauls who lived in those parts; and they alone, within our fathers' memory, when all Gaul was being ravaged, had kept the Teutoni and Cimbri from entering their territory;Note. quae cīvitātēs quantaeque … essent: an indirect question with interrogative adjectives, 'which states and how large'. 2.4.3quā ex rē fierī utī eārum rērum memoriā magnam sibi auctōritātem magnōsque spīritūs in rē mīlitārī sūmerent.as a result, remembering those events, they claimed great authority and great pride in military matters. 2.4.4Dē numerō eōrum omnia sē habēre explōrāta Rēmī dīcēbant, proptereā quod propinquitātibus adfīnitātibusque coniūnctī quantam quisque multitūdinem in commūnī Belgārum conciliō ad id bellum pollicitus sit cognōverint.The Remi said they had full information about their numbers, because, being joined to them by kinship and marriage, they knew how many men each had promised for this war in the common council of the Belgae.Note. omnia sē habēre explōrāta: 'that they had everything found out', habeō + perfect participle stresses the completed result.
2.4.5Plūrimum inter eōs Bellovacōs et virtūte et auctōritāte et hominum numerō valēre: hōs posse cōnficere armāta mīlia centum, pollicitōs ex eō numerō ēlēcta mīlia LX tōtīusque bellī imperium sibi postulāre.The most powerful among them in courage, influence and numbers were the Bellovaci: they could put together a hundred thousand armed men, had promised sixty thousand picked men from that number, and were demanding command of the whole war for themselves.Note. armāta mīlia centum: 'a hundred thousand armed men'. mīlia is a noun and takes the genitive or, as here, an adjective in agreement. 2.4.6Suessiōnēs suōs esse fīnitimōs;The Suessiones were their own neighbours; 2.4.6fīnēs lātissimōs ferācissimōsque agrōs possidēre.they held very wide and very fertile lands. 2.4.7Apud eōs fuisse rēgem nostrā etiam memoriā Dīviciācum, tōtīus Galliae potentissimum, quī cum magnae partis hārum regiōnum, tum etiam Britanniae imperium obtinuerit;Within our own memory their king had been Diviciacus, the most powerful man in all Gaul, who held power over a large part of these regions and of Britain as well;Note. cum … tum: 'both … and', 'not only … but also'. 2.4.7nunc esse rēgem Galbam: ad hunc propter iūstitiam prūdentiamque summam tōtīus bellī omnium voluntāte dēferrī;now the king was Galba: because of his justice and good sense, the supreme command of the whole war was being given to him by common consent; 2.4.7oppida habēre numerō XII, pollicērī mīlia armāta L;they had twelve towns and were promising fifty thousand armed men; 2.4.7totidem Nerviōs, quī maximē ferī inter ipsōs habeantur longissimēque absint;the Nervii, who are considered the fiercest among them and live farthest away, the same number; 2.4.9XV mīlia Atrebatēs, Ambiānōs X mīlia, Morinōs XXV mīlia, Menapiōs VII mīlia, Caletōs X mīlia, Veliocassēs et Viromanduōs totidem, Atuatucōs XVIIII mīlia;the Atrebates fifteen thousand, the Ambiani ten thousand, the Morini twenty-five thousand, the Menapii seven thousand, the Caleti ten thousand, the Veliocasses and the Viromandui the same, the Atuatuci nineteen thousand; 2.4.10Condrūsōs, Eburōnēs, Caerosōs, Paemānōs, quī ūnō nōmine Germānī appellantur, arbitrārī ad XL mīlia.the Condrusi, Eburones, Caerosi and Paemani, who are called by the one name of Germans, they thought about forty thousand.