De Bello Gallico 6.16

Human sacrifice

In brief. Caesar says the Gauls sacrifice human beings, with the Druids as ministers, believing a life must be given for a life. Some burn living men inside huge wicker figures, preferring criminals but using the innocent when criminals run short.

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6.16.1Nātiō est omnis Gallōrum admodum dēdita religiōnibus, atque ob eam causam, quī sunt adfectī graviōribus morbīs quīque in proeliīs perīculīsque versantur, aut prō victimīs hominēs immolant aut sē immolātūrōs vovent administrīsque ad ea sacrificia druidibus ūtuntur, quod, prō vītā hominis nisi hominis vīta reddātur, nōn posse deōrum immortālium nūmen plācārī arbitrantur, pūblicēque eiusdem generis habent īnstitūta sacrificia.The whole Gallic nation is greatly given to religious observances, and for that reason those who are afflicted with serious illnesses and those who are engaged in battles and dangers either sacrifice men as victims or vow that they will sacrifice themselves, and they use the Druids as ministers for these sacrifices, because they think that unless a man's life is given for a man's life, the power of the immortal gods cannot be appeased; and they have sacrifices of the same kind established by the state.Note. pūblicē: 'by the state'. The wicker figures of the next sentence are among the most famous details of the book. 6.16.3Aliī immānī magnitūdine simulācra habent, quōrum contexta vīminibus membra vīvīs hominibus complent;Others have images of huge size, whose limbs, woven of wicker, they fill with living men; 6.16.4quibus succēnsīs circumventī flammā exanimantur hominēs.these are set on fire, and the men, surrounded by the flames, perish.

6.16.5Supplicia eōrum quī in fūrtō aut in latrōciniō aut aliquā noxiā sint comprehēnsī grātiōra dīs immortālibus esse arbitrantur;They think the punishment of those caught in theft or robbery or some other crime is more pleasing to the immortal gods;Note. grātiōra … esse: indirect statement after arbitrantur. 6.16.5sed, cum eius generis cōpia dēfēcit, etiam ad innocentium supplicia dēscendunt.but when the supply of such men runs out, they go so far as to punish even the innocent.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×2, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (74 words)

nātiō, -ōnis f.	people, nation; birth
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
omnis, -e	all, every
admodum (adv.)	very, quite
dēditus, -a, -um	devoted, given up (to)
religiō, -ōnis f.	religious scruple, religious duty
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
ob, prep. with acc.	on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
afficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectum	affect, afflict
gravis, -e	heavy; severe, grievous, serious
morbus, -ī m.	sickness, disease
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
perīculum, -ī, n.	danger, peril, risk
que, enclitic conj.	and
versor, -ārī, -ātus	keep turning, be busy or employed, be
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
victima, -ae, f.	victim
homō, hominis, m.	man
immolō, -molāre, -molāvī, -molātus	sacrifice (the victim was sprinkled with consecrated meal)
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
voveō, -ēre, vōvī, vōtus	vow, promise
administer, -trī m.	assistant, helper
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
sacrificium, -ī, n.	sacrifice
druidēs, -um m. pl.	the Druids (Gallic priests)
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus	use
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
vīta, -ae, f.	life
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give back, return, restore; render
nōn, adv.	not
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
deus, -ī, m.	god
immortālis, -e	immortal
nūmen, -inis n.	divine power, divinity
plācō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	calm, appease
arbitror, -ārī, -ātus	consider, think, judge
pūblicē (adv.)	officially, as a state
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	decide upon, determine
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
immānis, -e	huge, enormous; savage
magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	greatness, size
simulācrum, -ī n.	image, statue
contexō, -ere, -texuī, -textus	weave together, join, fasten
vīmen, -minis, n.	osier
membrum, -ī, n.	limb, member
vīvus, -a, -um	alive, living
compleō, -plēre, -plēvī, -plētus	fill full, fill up
succendō, -cendere, -cendī, -cēnsus	kindle beneath, set on fire
circumveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventum	surround
flamma, -ae, f.	flame
exanimō, -animāre, -animāvī, -animātus	put out of breath, fatigue, tire, exhaust; stupefy; kill
supplicium, -ī, n.	punishment, torture
fūrtum, -ī, n.	theft
latrōcinium, -ī n.	robbery, raiding
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
noxia, -ae f.	offense, crime
comprehendō, -prehendere, -prehendī, -prehēnsus	seize, catch
grātus, -a, -um	pleasing, grateful
sed, conj.	but
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
dēficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	fail
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
innocēns, -entis	harmless; innocent
dēscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus	climb down, descend

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.