De Bello Gallico 5.1

5.1.1L. Domitiō Ap.

In the consulship of Lucius Domitius and Ap-

Note. L. Domitiō Ap. Claudiō cōnsulibus: ablative absolute dating the year by its consuls, 54 BC. Ap. is the abbreviation of Appius; the text has been split after it, so the sentence runs on into the next line.

5.1.1Claudiō cōnsulibus, discēdēns ab hībernīs Caesar in Ītaliam, ut quotannīs facere cōnsuērat, lēgātīs imperat quōs legiōnibus praefēcerat utī quam plūrimās possent hieme nāvēs aedificandās veterēsque reficiendās cūrārent.

-pius Claudius, Caesar, leaving his winter quarters for Italy, as he had been accustomed to do every year, ordered the legates whom he had put in charge of the legions to see to it that as many ships as possible were built during the winter and the old ones repaired.

Note. uti … cūrārent: indirect command after imperat. nāvēs aedificandās … cūrārent: cūrō with a gerundive means 'have something done' — 'see to the building of ships'. quam plūrimās possent: quam with a superlative, 'as many as they could'.

5.1.1Eārum modum fōrmamque dēmōnstrat.

He explained their size and shape.

5.1.2Ad celeritātem onerandī subductiōnēsque paulō facit humiliōrēs quam quibus in nostrō marī utī cōnsuēvimus, atque id eō magis, quod propter crēbrās commūtātiōnēs aestuum minus magnōs ibi flūctūs fierī cognōverat;

For speed of loading and for hauling ashore he made them a little lower than those we are accustomed to use in our own sea, and all the more so because he had learned that, because of the frequent changes of the tides, the waves there were less large;

Note. humiliōrēs quam quibus … ūtī cōnsuēvimus: the comparison is compressed, 'lower than (those) which we use'; ūtor takes the ablative, so the relative is quibus. id eō magis: 'and that all the more'.

5.1.2ad onera, ad multitūdinem iūmentōrum trānsportandam paulō lātiōrēs quam quibus in reliquīs ūtimur maribus.

for cargoes and for carrying a large number of pack animals, a little broader than those we use in the other seas.

5.1.3Hās omnēs āctuāriās imperat fierī, quam ad rem multum humilitās adiuvat.

He ordered all of these to be built as fast ships, for which purpose their low build helps a great deal.

Note. āctuāriās: 'fast', ships that could be rowed as well as sailed. quam ad rem: a connecting relative, 'and for this purpose'.

5.1.4Ea quae sunt ūsuī ad armandās nāvēs ex Hispāniā apportārī iubet.

He ordered the things which were of use for equipping the ships to be brought from Spain.

5.1.5Ipse conventibus Galliae citeriōris perāctīs in Illyricum proficīscitur, quod ā Pīrūstīs fīnitimam partem prōvinciae incursiōnibus vāstārī audiēbat.

He himself, when the assemblies of Nearer Gaul were finished, set out for Illyricum, because he heard that the nearby part of the province was being laid waste by raids of the Pirustae.

Note. conventibus … perāctīs: the conventūs were the assize meetings at which a governor heard cases in his province.

5.1.6Eō cum vēnisset, cīvitātibus mīlitēs imperat certumque in locum convenīre iubet.

When he had come there, he ordered soldiers from the states and told them to assemble at a fixed place.

5.1.7Quā rē nūntiātā Pīrūstae lēgātōs ad eum mittunt quī doceant nihil eārum rērum pūblicō factum cōnsiliō, sēsēque parātōs esse dēmōnstrant omnibus ratiōnibus dē iniūriīs satisfacere.

When this was reported, the Pirustae sent envoys to him to explain that none of these things had been done by public decision, and they declared that they were ready to make amends for the wrongs in every way.

Note. quī doceant: relative clause of purpose, 'to explain'. The present subjunctive follows the historic present mittunt.

5.1.8Acceptā ōrātiōne eōrum Caesar obsidēs imperat eōsque ad certam diem addūcī iubet;

Having heard their speech, Caesar demanded hostages and ordered them to be brought by a fixed day;

5.1.8nisi ita fēcerint, sēsē bellō cīvitātem persecūtūrum dēmōnstrat.

unless they did so, he declared that he would make war on their state.

Note. nisi ita fēcerint … persecūtūrum: the future perfect of the original threat ('unless you do so') becomes a perfect subjunctive in indirect speech after the historic present dēmōnstrat.

5.1.9Eīs ad diem adductīs, ut imperāverat, arbitrōs inter cīvitātēs dat quī lītem aestiment poenamque cōnstituant.

When these had been brought by the day, as he had ordered, he appointed arbitrators between the states to assess the damages and fix the penalty.

Note. arbitrōs … quī lītem aestiment: a relative clause of purpose. lītem aestimāre is a legal phrase, 'to assess the damages'.