De Bello Gallico 5.54

5.54.1At Caesar prīncipibus cuiusque cīvitātis ad sē ēvocātīs aliās territandō, cum sē scīre quae fierent dēnūntiāret, aliās cohortandō magnam partem Galliae in officiō tenuit.

But Caesar called the leading men of each state to him, and by sometimes frightening them, when he declared that he knew what was going on, and sometimes encouraging them, he kept a great part of Gaul loyal.

5.54.2Tamen Senonēs, quae est cīvitās in prīmīs firma et magnae inter Gallōs auctōritātis, Cavarīnum, quem Caesar apud eōs rēgem cōnstituerat, cuius frāter Moritasgus adventū in Galliam Caesaris cuiusque maiōrēs regnum obtinuerant, interficere pūblicō cōnsiliō cōnātī, cum ille praesēnsisset ac profūgisset, usque ad fīnēs īnsecūtī regnō domōque expulērunt et, missīs ad Caesarem satisfaciendī causā lēgātīs, cum is omnem ad sē senātum venīre iussisset, dictō audientēs nōn fuērunt.

Nevertheless the Senones, a state among the strongest and of great influence among the Gauls, tried by public decision to kill Cavarinus, whom Caesar had made king among them, whose brother Moritasgus had held the kingship at the time of Caesar's arrival in Gaul, as had his ancestors; when he sensed it in advance and fled, they pursued him right to their borders and drove him from his kingdom and his home; and though they sent envoys to Caesar to make amends, when he ordered their whole senate to come to him, they did not obey.

Note. Senonēs, quae est cīvitās: the relative agrees with cīvitās, not with Senonēs. dictō audientēs nōn fuērunt: an idiom, 'they were not obedient to the order'.

5.54.4Ac tantum apud hominēs barbarōs valuit esse aliquōs repertōs prīncipēs īnferendī bellī tantamque omnibus voluntātum commūtātiōnem attulit, ut praeter Aeduōs et Rēmōs, quōs praecipuō semper honōre Caesar habuit, alterōs prō vetere ac perpetuā ergā populum Rōmānum fidē, alterōs prō recentibus Gallicī bellī officiīs, nūlla ferē cīvitās fuerit nōn suspecta nōbīs.

Among barbarians it counted for so much that some men had been found to lead the way in making war, and it brought about such a change of attitude in everyone, that apart from the Aedui and the Remi, whom Caesar always held in special honour, the one for their old and unbroken loyalty to the Roman people, the other for their recent services in the Gallic war, there was hardly a state that was not suspected by us.

5.54.5Idque adeō haud sciō mīrandumne sit, cum complūribus aliīs dē causīs, tum maximē quod eī, quī virtūte bellī omnibus gentibus praeferēbantur, tantum sē eius opīniōnis dēperdidisse ut ā populō Rōmānō imperia perferrent gravissimē dolēbant.

And I do not know whether this is really to be wondered at, both for several other reasons and above all because those who were ranked above all nations for their courage in war were bitterly grieved that they had lost so much of that reputation as to submit to orders from the Roman people.

Note. haud sciō … mīrandumne sit: 'I am not sure whether it is to be wondered at', a polite way of saying it is not surprising. cum … tum maximē: 'both … and especially'.