De Bello Gallico 6.1

6.1.1Multīs dē causīs Caesar maiōrem Galliae mōtum exspectāns per Mārcum Sīlānum, Gāium Antistium Rēgīnum, Titum Sextium lēgātōs dēlēctum habēre īnstituit.

For many reasons Caesar expected a greater rising in Gaul, and he set about holding a levy through his legates Marcus Silanus, Gaius Antistius Reginus and Titus Sextius.

Note. dēlēctum habēre: 'to hold a levy', the regular phrase for enlisting troops. 53 BC: the Gauls had risen in the winter of 54, and Caesar expects worse.

6.1.2Simul ab Gnaeō Pompēiō prōcōnsule petit, quoniam ipse ad urbem cum imperiō reī pūblicae causā remanēret, quōs ex Cisalpīnā Galliā cōnsulis sacrāmentō rogāvisset, ad signa convenīre et ad sē proficīscī iubēret, magnī interesse etiam in reliquum tempus ad opīniōnem Galliae exīstimāns tantās vidērī Ītaliae facultātēs ut, sī quid esset in bellō dētrīmentī acceptum, nōn modo id brevī tempore sarcīrī, sed etiam maiōribus augērī cōpiīs posset.

At the same time he asked Gnaeus Pompeius, the proconsul, since he himself was staying near the city with military command for the sake of the state, to order the men whom he had sworn in as consul in Cisalpine Gaul to join the standards and set out to him; he thought it of great importance, for the future as well, for the opinion the Gauls held, that the resources of Italy should be seen to be so great that, if any loss had been suffered in war, it could not only be made good in a short time but even be increased with larger forces.

Note. Pompey, as proconsul of the Spains, governed them through legates and stayed near Rome (ad urbem), since a commander could not enter the city without giving up his imperium. quōs … sacrāmentō rogāvisset: the recruits Pompey had sworn in as consul in 55 BC; Caesar asks him to release them. magnī interesse: 'it was of great importance'; magnī is a genitive of value.

6.1.4Quod cum Pompēius et reī pūblicae et amīcitiae tribuisset, celeriter cōnfectō per suōs dīlēctū tribus ante exāctam hiemem et cōnstitūtīs et adductīs legiōnibus duplicātōque eārum cohortium numerō, quās cum Quīntō Titūriō āmīserat, et celeritāte et cōpiīs docuit, quid populī Rōmānī disciplīna atque opēs possent.

Pompeius granted this both to the state and to their friendship; the levy was quickly completed by Caesar's officers, and before the winter was over three legions had been formed and brought to him, and he doubled the number of the cohorts he had lost with Quintus Titurius; by both his speed and his forces he showed what the discipline and the resources of the Roman people could do.

Note. quid … possent: indirect question after docuit. Quīntō Titūriō: Sabinus, lost with his fifteen cohorts in Book V.