De Bello Gallico 5.4

Caesar settles the Treveri

In brief. Eager to begin the British campaign, Caesar accepts 200 hostages from Indutiomarus, including his son and relatives, but wins the Treveran leaders over to Cingetorix one by one. Indutiomarus resents his loss of influence and becomes even more hostile.

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5.4.1Caesar, etsī intellegēbat quā dē causā ea dīcerentur quaeque eum rēs ab īnstitūtō cōnsiliō dēterrēret, tamen, nē aestātem in Trēverīs cōnsūmere cōgerētur omnibus ad Britannicum bellum rēbus comparātīs, Indutiomārum ad sē cum CC obsidibus venīre iussit.Although Caesar understood why this was being said and what was deterring him from the plan he had formed, still, so as not to be forced to spend the summer among the Treveri when everything had been prepared for the British war, he ordered Indutiomarus to come to him with two hundred hostages.Note. quā dē causā … quaeque eum rēs …: two indirect questions; quae is the interrogative adjective with rēs. 5.4.2Hīs adductīs, in eīs fīliō propinquīsque eius omnibus, quōs nōminātim ēvocāverat, cōnsōlātus Indutiomārum hortātusque est utī in officiō manēret;When these had been brought, among them his son and all his relatives, whom he had summoned by name, he reassured Indutiomarus and urged him to remain loyal; 5.4.3nihilō tamen sētius prīncipibus Trēverōrum ad sē convocātīs hōs singillātim Cingetorīgī conciliāvit, quod cum meritō eius ā sē fierī intellegēbat, tum magnī interesse arbitrābātur eius auctōritātem inter suōs quam plūrimum valēre, cuius tam ēgregiam in sē voluntātem perspexisset.but none the less he called the leading men of the Treveri to him and won them over one by one to Cingetorix, because he understood both that this was owed by him to Cingetorix's merit and that it was very important that the influence of a man whose remarkable goodwill towards himself he had seen so clearly should be as strong as possible among his own people.Note. nihilō tamen sētius: 'none the less'. cum … tum: 'both … and especially'. magnī interesse: genitive of value, 'that it mattered greatly'.

5.4.4Id tulit factum graviter Indutiomārus, suam grātiam inter suōs minuī, et, quī iam ante inimīcō in nōs animō fuisset, multō gravius hōc dolōre exārsit.Indutiomarus took this act hard, that his influence among his people was being lessened, and he, who had already been hostile to us before, blazed up much more fiercely in resentment at this.Note. Id … suam grātiam inter suōs minuī: the infinitive clause explains id, 'this — that his influence was being lessened'.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×3, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (81 words)

etsī, conj.	even if, although
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.	what?
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	decide upon, determine
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
dēterreō, -terrēre, -terruī, -territus	frighten off, deter
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
aestās, -tātis, f.	summer
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
cōnsūmō, -sūmere, -sūmpsī, -sūmptus	take completely, use up, consume, spend
cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus	drive together, collect; compel
omnis, -e	all, every
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
Britannicus, -a, -um	British, in Britain
bellum, -ī, n.	war
comparō, -parāre, -parāvī, -parātus	prepare, collect
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
cum, prep, with abl.	with
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
obses, obsidis m./f.	hostage
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead to, bring, take; induce, influence
fīlius, -ī, m.	son
propinquus, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m./-a f.	near; (noun) relative
que, enclitic conj.	and
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
nōminātim (adv.)	by name, one by one
ēvocō, -vocāre, -vocāvī, -vocātus	call out, challenge
cōnsōlor, -ārī, -ātus sum	comfort, console
hortor, -ārī, -ātus	exhort, encourage, urge
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
officium, -ī, n.	service; duty
maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsus	remain
nihil, n., indecl.	nothing
sētius (adv.)	less (nihilō sētius: nevertheless)
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
convocō, -vocāre, -vocāvī, -vocātus	call together, summon, assemble
singillātim (adv.)	one by one
conciliō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	win over; win, obtain
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
meritum, -ī n.	service, desert
fīō, fierī, factus sum	be done or made, become, happen
tum, adv.	then, at that time
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
intersum, -esse, -fuī, -futūrus	be or lie between
arbitror, -ārī, -ātus	consider, think, judge
auctōritās, -tātis f.	influence, authority, prestige
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
plūrimum (adv.)	most, very much (plūrimum posse: be most powerful)
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
tam, adv.	so
ēgregius, -a, -um	outstanding, excellent
voluntās, -tātis, f.	wish, will
perspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum	see clearly, observe
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
factum, -ī n.	deed, act
graviter, adv.	severely, seriously
grātia, -ae, f.	favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
minuō, -ere, minuī, minūtum	lessen, reduce
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
iam, adv.	now, already
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
inimīcus, -a, -um	unfriendly, hostile
nōs	plur. of ego
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
multō, adv.	by much or far, much, far
dolor, -ōris, m.	pain, grief; anger
exārdēscō, -ārdēscere, -ārsī, -ārsus	blaze out, be inflamed, rage

Caesar, De Bello Gallico V. 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.