De Bello Gallico 6.31

6.31.1Ambiorīx cōpiās suās iūdiciōne nōn condūxerit, quod proeliō dīmicandum nōn exīstimārit, an tempore exclūsus et repentīnō equitum adventū prohibitus, cum reliquum exercitum subsequī crēderet, dubium est.

Whether Ambiorix did not gather his forces on purpose, because he thought he should not fight a battle, or whether he was cut off by lack of time and prevented by the sudden arrival of our cavalry, since he believed the rest of the army was following, is uncertain.

Note. iūdiciōne … an: 'whether on purpose … or'; -ne on the first word and an before the second make a double indirect question, which depends on dubium est at the very end.

6.31.2Sed certē dīmissīs per agrōs nūntiīs sibi quemque cōnsulere iussit.

But certainly he sent messengers through the countryside and ordered each man to look after himself.

6.31.2Quōrum pars in Arduennam silvam, pars in continentēs palūdēs profūgit;

Part of them fled into the Ardennes forest, part into the continuous marshes;

6.31.3quī proximī Ōceanō fuērunt, hīs īnsulīs sēsē occultāvērunt, quās aestūs efficere cōnsuērunt;

those who were nearest the Ocean hid themselves on the islands which the tides usually form;

Note. quās aestūs efficere cōnsuērunt: cōnsuēvī is perfect in form but present in meaning, 'are accustomed', so 'which the tides usually form'.

6.31.4multī ex suīs fīnibus ēgressī sē suaque omnia aliēnissimīs crēdidērunt.

many left their own lands and entrusted themselves and all their belongings to complete strangers.

6.31.5Catuvolcus, rēx dīmidiae partis Eburōnum, quī ūnā cum Ambiorīge cōnsilium inierat, aetāte iam cōnfectus, cum labōrem aut bellī aut fugae ferre nōn posset, omnibus precibus dētestātus Ambiorīgem, quī eius cōnsiliī auctor fuisset, taxō, cuius magna in Galliā Germāniāque cōpia est, sē exanimāvit.

Catuvolcus, king of half the Eburones, who had entered into the plan together with Ambiorix, being now worn out by age, since he could not bear the hardship either of war or of flight, cursed Ambiorix with every kind of imprecation as the author of that plan and killed himself with yew, of which there is a great supply in Gaul and Germany.

Note. taxō: the yew is poisonous, and Catuvolcus took it to kill himself. cuius … cōpia est is a short aside by Caesar about Gaul and Germany.