De Bello Gallico 8.22

Caesar's reply

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8.22.1Haec ōrantibus lēgātīs commemorat Caesar: Eōdem tempore superiōre annō Bellovacōs cēterāsque Galliae cīvitātēs suscēpisse bellum: pertinācissimē hōs ex omnibus in sententiā permānsisse neque ad sānitātem reliquōrum dēditiōne esse perductōs.To the envoys making these pleas Caesar recalls that in the previous year, at the same time, the Bellovaci and the other states of Gaul had taken up war; that of them all these had held most stubbornly to their purpose and had not been brought to their senses by the surrender of the rest.Note. Caesar's answer, also in indirect speech. superiōre annō: 52 BC, the great revolt under Vercingetorix. pertinācissimē: superlative of the adverb pertināciter. ad sānitātem … perductōs: 'brought to their senses'. 8.22.2Scīre atque intellegere sē causam peccātī facillimē mortuīs dēlēgārī.He knew and understood that the blame for wrongdoing was very easily put on the dead.Note. Scīre … sē: Caesar 'knew' (indirect statement). mortuīs: 'on the dead'; the Bellovaci blame the dead Correus. 8.22.2Nēminem vērō tantum pollēre, ut invītīs prīncipibus, resistente senātū, omnibus bonīs repugnantibus īnfirmā manū plēbis bellum concitāre et gerere posset.But no one was so powerful that he could stir up and wage a war with the weak band of the common people, against the will of the leading men, with the senate resisting and all good men opposed.Note. Nēminem … tantum pollēre, ut …: 'no one was so powerful that…'. invītīs prīncipibus, resistente senātū, omnibus bonīs repugnantibus: three ablatives absolute in a row.

8.22.2Sed tamen sē contentum fore eā poenā quam sibi ipsī contrāxissent.But still he would be content with the punishment which they had brought on themselves.Note. contentum fore: fore = futūrum esse. quam sibi ipsī contrāxissent: 'which they had brought on themselves'.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×3, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (61 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
ōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	speak; beg, pray
lēgātus, -ī, m.	ambassador
commemorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	mention, recount
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
annus, -ī, m.	year
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	the other, the remaining, the rest of
que, enclitic conj.	and
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
suscipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	undertake
bellum, -ī, n.	war
pertināciter (adv.)	stubbornly, persistently
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
omnis, -e	all, every
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
sententia, -ae, f.	opinion; purpose
permaneō, -manēre, -mānsi, -mānsus	remain
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
sānitās, -tātis, f.	soundness; right reason, sanity
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
dēditiō, -ōnis f.	surrender
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
perdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead or bring through, lead, bring
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	know
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
peccātum, -ī n.	fault, sin
facile, adv.	easily
mortuus, -a, -um	dead
dēlēgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	assign, entrust; lay (blame) on, attribute to
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.	no one, nobody
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
tantum, adv.	so much or far, only
polleō, -ēre	be strong, be powerful
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
invītus, -a, -um	unwilling
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
resistō, -sistere, -stitī	stand back, resist
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
bonus, -a, -um	good
repugnō, -pugnāre, -pugnāvī, -pugnātus	fight against, struggle, resist
īnfirmus, -a, -um	weak
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
plēbs, plēbis f.	the common people
concitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	stir up, rouse
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
sed, conj.	but
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
contentus, -a, -um	content, satisfied (+ abl.)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
poena, -ae, f.	penalty, punishment
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
contrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -trāctum	draw together, collect

Hirtius, De Bello Gallico VIII. Latin text: T. Rice Holmes, C. Iuli Commentarii Rerum in Gallia Gestarum VII, A. Hirti Commentarius VIII (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. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.