Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 8
De Bello Gallico 8.21
The Bellovaci ask for mercy
Hirtius, De Bello Gallico VIII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō8.21.1Hōc omnibus probātō cōnsiliō Commius Atrebās ad eōs cōnfūgit Germānōs, ā quibus ad id bellum auxilia mūtuātus erat.
This plan was approved by all; Commius the Atrebatian fled to those Germans from whom he had borrowed auxiliaries for that war.
Note. Atrebās: 'the Atrebatian', a man of the Atrebates; Commius had been Caesar's ally and king of that people before joining the revolt. mūtuātus erat: 'had borrowed' (of troops).
8.21.2Cēterī ē vestīgiō mittunt ad Caesarem lēgātōs petuntque, ut ea poena sit contentus hostium, quam sī sine dīmicātiōne īnferre integrīs posset, prō suā clēmentiā atque hūmānitāte numquam profectō esset illātūrus.
The rest at once send envoys to Caesar and ask him to be satisfied with that punishment of his enemies which, if he could have inflicted it on them unharmed without a battle, he would surely never have inflicted, in view of his mercy and humanity.
Note. e vestīgiō: 'on the spot, at once'. From here to chapter 22 the envoys' plea is in indirect speech. ut … sit contentus: indirect command. illātūrus esset: future participle with esset, the subjunctive of a hypothetical future in reported speech.
8.21.3Adflīctās opēs equestrī proeliō Bellovacōrum esse;
The strength of the Bellovaci had been shattered in the cavalry battle;
Note. The plea continues in indirect statement, hence the infinitive esse: 'the power of the Bellovaci had been shattered'. Adflīctās: from adflīgō, 'strike down'.
8.21.3dēlēctōrum peditum multa mīlia interīsse, vix refūgisse nūntiōs caedis.
many thousands of picked infantry had perished, and scarcely any had escaped to bring news of the slaughter.
Note. vix refūgisse nūntiōs caedis: 'scarcely any had escaped to report the slaughter', literally 'scarcely had messengers of the slaughter escaped'.
8.21.4Tamen magnum ut in tantā calamitāte Bellovacōs eō proeliō commodum esse cōnsecūtōs, quod Correus, auctor bellī, concitātor multitūdinis, esset interfectus.
Still, in so great a disaster, the Bellovaci had gained a great advantage from that battle, in that Correus, the author of the war and the stirrer-up of the crowd, had been killed.
Note. magnum … commodum: 'a great advantage'. quod … esset interfectus: subjunctive because it is the envoys' reason, given in reported speech.
8.21.4Numquam enim senātum tantum in cīvitāte illō vīvō quantum imperītam plēbem potuisse.
For while he lived the senate had never had as much power in the state as the ignorant common people.
Note. illō vīvō: ablative absolute, 'while he was alive'. tantum … quantum: 'as much … as'. The envoys blame the war on the common people stirred up by Correus.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | prove, show; approve |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| cōnfugiō, -fugere, -fūgī | flee for refuge |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| mūtuor, -ārī, -ātus sum | borrow; obtain (help) from others |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | the other, the remaining, the rest of |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| vestīgium, -ī, n. | track, foot-print |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| poena, -ae, f. | penalty, punishment |
| contentus, -a, -um | content, satisfied (+ abl.) |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| sī, conj. | if |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| dīmicātiō, -ōnis f. | fight, struggle, combat |
| īnferō, īnferre, intulī, inlātus | bring in or against, wage against; inflict |
| integer, -gra, -grum | untouched, fresh, whole |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| clēmentia, -ae, f. | mercy, kindness |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| hūmānitās, -tātis f. | culture, refinement |
| numquam, adv. | never |
| profectō, adv. | certainly, surely |
| afflīgō, -ere, -flīxī, -flīctus | strike against, damage, wreck |
| ops, opis f.; pl. opēs, -um | help; (pl.) resources, wealth, power |
| equester, -tris, -tre | of cavalry |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| dēligō, -ligere, -lēgī, -lēctus | choose out, choose, select |
| pedes, peditis m. | foot soldier |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| intereō, -īre, -iī, -itūrus | perish, die |
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| refugiō, -fugere, -fūgī | flee back, run away, retreat |
| nūntius, -ī, m. | messenger; message |
| caedēs, -is, f. | cutting down, killing, slaughter |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| calamitās, -tātis, f. | misfortune, calamity, disaster |
| commodum, -ī n. | advantage, interest |
| cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, follow; overtake |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| auctor, -ōris m. | originator, instigator |
| concitātor, -ōris m. | one who stirs up, an agitator, instigator |
| multitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | multitude |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| enim, conj. | for |
| senātus, -ūs m. | senate |
| tantum, adv. | so much or far, only |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| vīvus, -a, -um | alive, living |
| quantum, adv. | how much? how? |
| imperītus, -a, -um | inexperienced, unskilled, ignorant |
| plēbs, plēbis f. | the common people |