De Bello Gallico 7.38

7.38.1Litaviccus acceptō exercitū, cum mīlia passuum circiter XXX ab Gergoviā abesset, convocātīs subitō mīlitibus lacrimāns, "Quō proficīscimur," inquit, "mīlitēs?

Litaviccus took over the army, and when he was about thirty miles from Gergovia, he suddenly called the soldiers together and said, weeping, "Where are we marching, soldiers?

Note. cum … abesset: cum with the subjunctive, 'when he was … away'. mīlia passuum circiter XXX: accusative of extent of space, 'about thirty miles'.

7.38.2Omnis noster equitātus, omnis nōbilitās interiit;

All our cavalry, all our nobility has perished;

7.38.2prīncipēs cīvitātis, Eporēdorīx et Viridomārus, īnsimulātī prōditiōnis ab Rōmānīs indictā causā interfectī sunt.

the leading men of the state, Eporedorix and Viridomarus, have been accused of treachery by the Romans and put to death without a hearing.

Note. indictā causā: ablative absolute, literally 'their case not having been pleaded', i.e. without a trial. Litaviccus's whole story is a lie: both men are alive with Caesar (sentence 33).

7.38.3Haec ab ipsīs cognōscite, quī ex ipsā caede fūgērunt: nam ego frātribus atque omnibus meīs propinquīs interfectīs dolōre prohibeor, quae gesta sunt, prōnūntiāre." Prōdūcuntur hī quōs ille ēdocuerat quae dīcī vellet, atque eadem, quae Litaviccus prōnūntiāverat, multitūdinī expōnunt: multōs equitēs Aeduōrum interfectōs, quod collocūtī cum Arvernīs dīcerentur;

Learn this from these men themselves, who escaped from the very slaughter: for I, with my brothers and all my kinsmen killed, am prevented by grief from telling what happened." Men are brought forward whom he had taught what he wanted said, and they set out before the crowd the same things that Litaviccus had declared: that many horsemen of the Aedui had been killed because they were said to have held talks with the Arverni;

7.38.5ipsōs sē inter multitūdinem mīlitum occultāsse atque ex mediā caede fūgisse.

that they themselves had hidden among the mass of soldiers and escaped from the middle of the slaughter.

7.38.6Conclāmant Aeduī et Litaviccum obsecrant ut sibi cōnsulat.

The Aedui shout out and beg Litaviccus to look after them.

7.38.6"Quasi vērō," inquit ille, "cōnsilī sit rēs, ac nōn necesse sit nōbīs Gergoviam contendere et cum Arvernīs nōsmet coniungere.

"As if," he says, "it were a matter for deliberation, and it were not necessary for us to hurry to Gergovia and join ourselves to the Arverni.

Note. Quasi vērō … sit: 'as if, of course, it were …', a sarcastic comparison with the subjunctive. cōnsilī sit rēs: a genitive of characteristic, 'it is a matter for deliberation'. nōsmet: an emphatic form of nōs.

7.38.7An dubitāmus quīn nefāriō facinore admissō Rōmānī iam ad nōs interficiendōs concurrant?

Or do we doubt that the Romans, having committed this wicked crime, are already rushing together to kill us?

Note. An dubitāmus quīn …: 'Or do we doubt that …?' After a negative or doubting verb, quīn with the subjunctive introduces the thing not doubted.

7.38.7Proinde, sī quid in nōbīs animī est, persequāmur eōrum mortem quī indignissimē interiērunt, atque hōs latrōnēs interficiāmus." Ostendit cīvēs Rōmānōs, quī eius praesidī fīdūciā ūnā erant: magnum numerum frūmentī commeātūsque dīripit, ipsōs crūdēliter excruciātōs interficit.

So, if there is any spirit in us, let us avenge the death of those who have perished so shamefully, and let us kill these robbers." He points to some Roman citizens who were with them, trusting in his protection: he plunders a great quantity of grain and supplies, and puts the men themselves to death after cruel torture.

Note. sī quid … animī: 'if there is any spirit', quid with a partitive genitive. persequāmur, interficiāmus: hortatory subjunctives, 'let us …'.

7.38.10nūntiōs tōtā cīvitāte Aeduōrum dīmittit, eōdem mendāciō dē caede equitum et prīncipum permovet;

He sends messengers throughout the whole state of the Aedui and stirs it up with the same lie about the slaughter of the horsemen and the leading men;

7.38.10hortātur ut similī ratiōne atque ipse fēcerit suās iniūriās persequantur.

he urges them to avenge their wrongs in the same way as he himself has done.