De Bello Gallico 6.11

Factions in Gaul

In brief. Caesar begins his account of the customs of Gaul and Germany. He says Gaul is split into factions at every level, even within households, so that ordinary people have a leader to protect them, and all the states form two parties.

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

6.11.1Quoniam ad hunc locum perventum est, nōn aliēnum esse vidētur dē Galliae Germāniaeque mōribus et quō differant hae nātiōnēs inter sēsē prōpōnere.Since we have reached this point, it seems not out of place to describe the customs of Gaul and Germany and how these nations differ from each other.Note. Here Caesar begins his account of the customs of the Gauls and Germans (chapters 11–28). 6.11.2In Galliā nōn sōlum in omnibus cīvitātibus atque in omnibus pāgīs partibusque, sed paene etiam in singulīs domibus factiōnēs sunt, eārumque factiōnum prīncipēs sunt quī summam auctōritātem eōrum iūdiciō habēre exīstimantur, quōrum ad arbitrium iūdiciumque summa omnium rērum cōnsiliōrumque redeat.In Gaul there are factions not only in all the states and in all the cantons and districts, but almost in each household as well, and the leaders of these factions are those who are thought, in their people's judgment, to have the greatest influence, to whose decision and judgment the final word on all matters and plans is referred.Note. summa omnium rērum: 'the final decision on all matters'; summa is a noun here. 6.11.4Itaque eius reī causā antīquitus īnstitūtum vidētur, nē quis ex plēbe contrā potentiōrem auxilī egēret: suōs enim quisque opprimī et circumvenīrī nōn patitur, neque, aliter sī faciat, ūllam inter suōs habet auctōritātem.This seems to have been established long ago for this reason, that no man of the common people should lack help against someone more powerful: for each leader does not allow his own people to be oppressed and cheated, and if he does otherwise, he has no influence among them.Note. eius reī causā … nē: 'for this reason, that no one …'. suōs: 'his own people'.

6.11.5Haec eadem ratiō est in summā tōtīus Galliae: namque omnēs cīvitātēs in partēs dīvīsae sunt duās.The same principle holds for Gaul as a whole: for all the states are divided into two parties.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (74 words)

quoniam, conj.	since now, since
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come through, come, arrive, reach
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
nōn, adv.	not
aliēnus, -a, -um	belonging to another, out of place
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
que, enclitic conj.	and
mōs, mōris, m.	way, manner, habit, custom
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum	differ; scatter, put off
nātiō, -ōnis f.	people, nation; birth
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
prōpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put or set before, offer, propose; set forth, say
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n.	only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil
omnis, -e	all, every
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
pāgus, -ī m.	district, canton
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
sed, conj.	but
paene, adv.	almost, nearly
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
singulī, -ae, -a	one at a time, single
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
factiō, -ōnis f.	party, faction
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
summus, -a, -um	uppermost, highest, greatest
auctōritās, -tātis f.	influence, authority, prestige
iūdicium, -ī n.	trial, court; judgment
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, believe, think
arbitrium, -ī n.	judgment, will, pleasure
summa, -ae f.	total, sum; supreme command
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go back, return
itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
antīquitus (adv.)	long ago, from ancient times
īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	decide upon, determine
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.	any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
plēbs, plēbis f.	the common people
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
potēns, -entis	powerful
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
egeō, -ēre, eguī (+ abl. or gen.)	need, lack, be in want of
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
enim, conj.	for
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.	each
opprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus	press against, overpower, crush
circumveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventum	surround
patior, patī, passus, bear	suffer, allow
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
aliter, adv.	in another way, otherwise, differently
sī, conj.	if
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
ūllus, -a, -um	any
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
ratiō, -ōnis, f.	plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
tōtus, -a, -um	all the, the whole or entire
namque, conj.	for
dīvidō, -videre, -vīsī, -vīsus	divide, separate
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two

Caesar, De Bello Gallico VI. 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.