De Bello Gallico 7.29

7.29.1Posterō diē conciliō convocātō cōnsōlātus cohortātusque est nē sē admodum animō dēmitterent, nē perturbārentur incommodō;

The next day he called a council and consoled and encouraged them not to lose heart altogether and not to be upset by the setback;

Note. From here to the end of chapter 29 Caesar reports Vercingetorix's speech in indirect speech: the main verbs are infinitives and the subordinate verbs are subjunctive.

7.29.2nōn virtūte neque in aciē vīcisse Rōmānōs, sed artificiō quōdam et scientiā oppugnātiōnis, cuius reī fuerint ipsī imperītī;

the Romans had not won by courage or in pitched battle, but by a kind of skill and knowledge of siegecraft, in which they themselves were inexperienced;

7.29.3errāre, sī quī in bellō omnēs secundōs rērum prōventūs exspectent.

anyone who expected every outcome in war to be favourable was mistaken.

Note. sī quī … exspectent: 'if any people expect'. After sī, quī is the indefinite pronoun 'anyone, any'.

7.29.4Sibi numquam placuisse Avaricum dēfendī, cuius reī testēs ipsōs habēret;

It had never been his wish that Avaricum be defended, and he had them as witnesses to that;

7.29.4sed factum imprūdentiā Biturīgum et nimiā obsequentiā reliquōrum utī hoc incommodum acciperētur;

but it was due to the rashness of the Bituriges and the excessive compliance of the rest that this setback had been suffered;

7.29.5id tamen sē celeriter maiōribus commodīs sānātūrum.

yet he would soon make it good by greater successes.

7.29.6Nam quae ab reliquīs Gallīs cīvitātēs dissentīrent, hās suā dīligentiā adiūnctūrum atque ūnum cōnsilium tōtīus Galliae effectūrum, cuius cōnsēnsuī nē orbis quidem terrārum possit obsistere;

For the states that disagreed with the rest of the Gauls he would win over by his own efforts, and he would create a single policy for the whole of Gaul, whose united will not even the whole world could withstand;

Note. nē orbis quidem terrārum: 'not even the whole world'. In nē … quidem the emphasised word stands between the two parts.

7.29.6idque sē prope iam effectum habēre.

and he had that almost achieved already.

7.29.7Intereā aequum esse ab eīs commūnis salūtis causā impetrārī ut castra mūnīre īnstituerent, quō facilius repentīnōs hostium impetūs sustinērent.

Meanwhile it was fair that he should obtain from them, for the sake of their common safety, that they begin to fortify their camp, so that they might more easily withstand sudden attacks by the enemy.

Note. quō facilius … sustinērent: a purpose clause with a comparative is introduced by quō instead of ut.