De Bello Gallico 4.13

4.13.1Hōc factō proeliō Caesar neque iam sibi lēgātōs audiendōs neque condiciōnēs accipiendās arbitrābātur ab iīs quī per dolum atque īnsidiās petīta pāce ultrō bellum intulissent;

After this battle Caesar thought that he should no longer listen to envoys or accept terms from men who, having asked for peace by trickery and treachery, had gone on to make war without provocation;

Note. neque … audiendōs neque … accipiendās: passive periphrastic in indirect statement, 'that envoys should not be heard'. petītā pāce: ablative absolute.

4.13.2expectāre vērō dum hostium cōpiae augērentur equitātusque reverterētur summae dēmentiae esse iūdicābat, et cognitā Gallōrum īnfirmitāte quantum iam apud eōs hostēs ūnō proeliō auctōritātis essent cōnsecūtī sentiēbat;

and he judged that to wait until the enemy's forces grew and their cavalry returned would be the height of madness; and knowing the fickleness of the Gauls, he saw how much prestige the enemy had already gained among them by one battle;

Note. summae dēmentiae esse: predicate genitive, 'was a sign of the greatest madness'. The text has augērentur equitātus for augērentur equitātusque.

4.13.3quibus ad cōnsilia capienda nihil spatiī dandum exīstimābat.

he thought that no time should be given them for making plans.

4.13.4Hīs cōnstitūtīs rēbus et cōnsiliō cum lēgātīs et quaestōre commūnicātō, nē quem diem pugnae praetermitteret, oportūnissima rēs accidit, quod postrīdiē eius diēī māne eādem et perfidiā et simulātiōne ūsī Germānī frequentēs, omnibus prīncipibus maiōribusque nātū adhibitīs, ad eum in castra vēnērunt, simul, ut dīcēbātur, suī pūrgandī causā, quod contrā atque esset dictum et ipsī petīssent, proelium prīdiē commīsissent, simul ut, sī quid possent, dē indūtiīs fallendō impetrārent.

When he had settled this and shared his plan with his officers and the quaestor, so as not to let any day for battle slip by, a very lucky thing happened: the next day, early in the morning, the Germans came to him in the camp in great numbers, with all their leading men and elders, using the same treachery and pretense, partly, as was said, to clear themselves, because they had fought a battle the day before contrary to what had been agreed and what they themselves had asked for, and partly to obtain by deceit whatever they could about a truce.

Note. suī pūrgandī causā: the genitive suī with a gerundive in the genitive singular, though suī refers to many, 'to clear themselves'. contrā atque: 'contrary to what'. fallendō: gerund in the ablative, 'by deceiving'.

4.13.6Quōs sibi Caesar oblātōs gāvīsus illōs retinērī iussit;

Caesar was glad that they had been delivered into his hands, and ordered them to be held;

4.13.6ipse omnēs cōpiās castrīs ēdūxit equitātumque, quod recentī proeliō perterritum esse exīstimābat, agmen subsequī iussit.

he himself led all his forces out of the camp and ordered the cavalry, which he thought had been shaken by the recent battle, to follow the column.