De Bello Gallico 6.13

6.13.1In omnī Galliā eōrum hominum, quī aliquō sunt numerō atque honōre, genera sunt duo.

Throughout Gaul there are two classes of those men who are of any account and honor.

6.13.1Nam plēbēs paene servōrum habētur locō, quae nihil audet per sē, nūllō adhibētur cōnsiliō.

For the common people are treated almost as slaves; they dare nothing by themselves and are called to no council.

Note. habētur locō: 'is held in the place of', i.e. treated as.

6.13.2Plērīque, cum aut aere aliēnō aut magnitūdine tribūtōrum aut iniūriā potentiōrum premuntur, sēsē in servitūtem dicant nōbilibus: in hōs eadem omnia sunt iūra, quae dominīs in servōs.

Most of them, when they are crushed by debt, by the weight of taxes, or by the wrongs of the more powerful, give themselves into slavery to the nobles: these have all the same rights over them as masters have over slaves.

Note. aere aliēnō: 'debt', literally 'another's bronze (money)'. in hōs … quae dominīs in servōs: supply sunt iūra.

6.13.3Sed dē hīs duōbus generibus alterum est druidum, alterum equitum.

Of these two classes, one is that of the Druids, the other that of the knights.

6.13.4Illī rēbus dīvīnīs intersunt, sacrificia pūblica ac prīvāta prōcūrant, religiōnēs interpretantur: ad hōs magnus adulēscentium numerus disciplīnae causā concurrit, magnōque hī sunt apud eōs honōre.

The Druids take part in religious matters, look after public and private sacrifices, and interpret religious questions: a great number of young men flock to them for instruction, and they are held in great honor among them.

6.13.5Nam ferē dē omnibus contrōversiīs pūblicīs prīvātīsque cōnstituunt, et, sī quod est admissum facinus, sī caedēs facta, sī dē hērēditāte, dē fīnibus contrōversia est, īdem dēcernunt, praemia poenāsque cōnstituunt;

For they decide almost all disputes, public and private, and if any crime has been committed, if there has been a murder, if there is a dispute about an inheritance or about boundaries, they also judge it and fix rewards and penalties;

Note. sī quod … facinus: quod is the indefinite adjective after sī. īdem: nominative plural, 'they also', 'the same men'.

6.13.6sī quī aut prīvātus aut populus eōrum dēcrētō nōn stetit, sacrificiīs interdīcunt.

if any person, private individual or people, has not abided by their decision, they ban them from the sacrifices.

Note. sī quī: indefinite after sī. sacrificiīs interdīcunt: interdīcō takes the dative of the person and the ablative of the thing forbidden.

6.13.6Haec poena apud eōs est gravissima.

This is the heaviest punishment among them.

6.13.7Quibus ita est interdictum, hī numerō impiōrum ac scelerātōrum habentur, hīs omnēs dēcēdunt, aditum sermōnemque dēfugiunt, nē quid ex contāgiōne incommodī accipiant, neque hīs petentibus iūs redditur neque honōs ūllus commūnicātur.

Those who are banned in this way are counted among the impious and criminal; everyone avoids them and shuns meeting and speaking with them, so that they may not suffer any harm from contact with them, and no justice is done for them when they ask it, nor is any honor shared with them.

Note. Quibus … est interdictum: impersonal passive, 'those who have been banned'. nē quid … incommodī: 'that no harm …', quid with a partitive genitive.

6.13.8Hīs autem omnibus druidibus praeest ūnus, quī summam inter eōs habet auctōritātem.

Over all these Druids one man presides, who has the highest authority among them.

6.13.9Hōc mortuō aut sī quī ex reliquīs excellit dignitāte succēdit, aut, sī sunt plūrēs parēs, suffrāgiō druidum, nōnnumquam etiam armīs dē prīncipātū contendunt.

When he dies, either the one who stands out in dignity among the rest succeeds him, or, if there are several equals, they compete for the leadership by vote of the Druids, sometimes even by arms.

6.13.10hī certō annī tempore in fīnibus Carnutum, quae regiō tōtīus Galliae media habētur, cōnsīdunt in locō cōnsecrātō.

At a fixed time of year they meet in a consecrated place in the territory of the Carnutes, a region which is considered the center of all Gaul.

6.13.10Hūc omnēs undique, quī contrōversiās habent, conveniunt eōrumque dēcrētīs iūdiciīsque pārent.

All who have disputes gather there from everywhere and obey their decrees and judgments.

6.13.11Disciplīna in Britanniā reperta atque inde in Galliam trānslāta esse exīstimātur, et nunc, quī dīligentius eam rem cognōscere volunt, plērumque illō discendī causā proficīscuntur.

Their doctrine is thought to have been found in Britain and brought over from there to Gaul, and now those who want to learn it more thoroughly usually go there to study.

Note. illō: adverb, 'to that place'. discendī causā: gerund, 'for the sake of learning'.