De Bello Gallico 8.23

8.23.1Nocte īnsequentī lēgātī respōnsa ad suōs referunt, obsidēs cōnficiunt.

The following night the envoys take the answer back to their people, and they get the hostages together.

Note. Nocte īnsequentī: 'the following night'. obsidēs cōnficiunt: 'they get the hostages together'.

8.23.1Concurrunt reliquārum cīvitātium lēgātī, quae Bellovacōrum speculābantur ēventum;

Envoys gather from the other states, which were waiting to see how things turned out for the Bellovaci;

Note. speculābantur ēventum: the other states had been watching to see how the Bellovaci fared before deciding what to do.

8.23.2obsidēs dant, imperāta faciunt exceptō Commiō, quem timor prohibēbat cuiusquam fideī suam committere salūtem.

they give hostages and carry out orders, except for Commius, whom fear kept from trusting his safety to anyone's good faith.

Note. exceptō Commiō: 'except Commius', ablative absolute. cuiusquam fideī … committere: 'to entrust to anyone's good faith'.

8.23.3Nam superiōre annō Titus Labiēnus, Caesare in Galliā citeriōre iūs dīcente, cum Commium comperisset sollicitāre cīvitātēs et coniūrātiōnem contrā Caesarem facere, īnfidēlitātem eius sine ūllā perfidiā iūdicāvit comprimī posse.

For in the previous year, while Caesar was holding court in Nearer Gaul, Titus Labienus had found out that Commius was stirring up the states and forming a conspiracy against Caesar, and he judged that his faithlessness could be put down without any treachery.

Note. Hirtius now explains Commius' fear with a story from the year before. iūs dīcente: 'holding court', literally 'pronouncing law'; Caesar spent winters as governor in Cisalpine Gaul. sine ūllā perfidiā: Labienus thought that killing a traitor by a trick was not itself treachery.

8.23.4Quem quia nōn arbitrābātur vocātum in castra ventūrum, nē temptandō cautiōrem faceret, Gāium Volusēnum Quadrātum mīsit, quī eum per simulātiōnem colloquī cūrāret interficiendum.

Because he did not think that Commius would come to the camp if invited, so as not to make him more cautious by trying, he sent Gaius Volusenus Quadratus to see that he was killed under pretence of a parley.

Note. nē temptandō cautiōrem faceret: 'so as not to make him more wary by testing him'. per simulātiōnem colloquī: 'under pretence of a parley', colloquī being the genitive of colloquium. cūrāret interficiendum: cūrō with a gerundive, 'to have him killed'.

8.23.4Ad eam rem dēlēctōs idōneōs eī trādit centuriōnēs.

For this task he hands over to him picked and suitable centurions.

Note. dēlēctōs: 'picked'. eī: dative, 'to him' (Volusenus).

8.23.5Cum in colloquium ventum esset, et, ut convēnerat, manum Commī Volusēnus arripuisset, centuriō vel īnsuētā rē permōtus vel celeriter ā familiāribus prohibitus Commī cōnficere hominem nōn potuit;

When they had come to the parley and, as had been agreed, Volusenus had seized Commius' hand, the centurion, whether disturbed by the strangeness of the deed or quickly stopped by Commius' companions, could not finish the man off;

Note. ventum esset: impersonal passive, 'when they had come'. ut convēnerat: 'as had been agreed'. vel … vel: 'either … or'. cōnficere: 'to finish off, kill'.

8.23.5graviter tamen prīmō ictū gladiō caput percussit.

still, with his first blow he struck him hard on the head with his sword.

Note. graviter … caput percussit: 'he struck his head hard'. Commius survived; he appears again later in this book.

8.23.6Cum utrimque gladiī dēstrictī essent, nōn tam pugnandī quam diffugiendī fuit utrōrumque cōnsilium: nostrōrum, quod mortiferō vulnere Commium crēdēbant adfectum;

When swords had been drawn on both sides, both parties thought not so much of fighting as of scattering: ours, because they believed Commius had been dealt a mortal wound;

Note. nōn tam … quam: 'not so much … as'. pugnandī, diffugiendī: gerunds in the genitive with cōnsilium: 'the intention of fighting, of fleeing'. nostrōrum: understand cōnsilium fuit, 'ours (was to flee) because…'.

8.23.6Gallōrum, quod īnsidiīs cognitīs plūra quam vidēbant extimēscēbant.

the Gauls, because, having discovered the ambush, they feared more than they could see.

Note. plūra quam vidēbant: 'more than they could see', i.e. a bigger trap.

8.23.6Quō factō statuisse Commius dīcēbātur numquam in cōnspectum cuiusquam Rōmānī venīre.

After this Commius was said to have resolved never to come into the sight of any Roman.

Note. Quō factō: 'after this'. numquam … venīre: indirect statement after statuisse, 'that he would never come'.