De Bello Gallico 8.24

8.24.1Bellicōsissimīs gentibus dēvictīs Caesar, cum vidēret nūllam iam esse cīvitātem quae bellum parāret quō sibi resisteret, sed nōnnūllōs ex oppidīs dēmigrāre, ex agrīs diffugere ad praesēns imperium ēvītandum, plūrēs in partēs exercitum dīmittere cōnstituit.

With the most warlike peoples subdued, Caesar, seeing that there was no longer any state preparing war with which to resist him, but that some were moving out of the towns and fleeing from the fields to escape his present rule, decided to send the army off in several directions.

Note. Bellicōsissimīs gentibus dēvictīs: ablative absolute. ad praesēns imperium ēvītandum: gerundive of purpose, 'to avoid his present rule'. plūrēs in partēs: 'in several directions'.

8.24.2M. Antōnium quaestōrem cum legiōne duodecimā sibi coniungit.

He attaches Mark Antony, his quaestor, with the twelfth legion to himself.

Note. M. = Mārcum. Mark Antony was Caesar's quaestor in 51 BC. duodecimā: 'the twelfth'.

8.24.2C. Fabium lēgātum cum cohortibus XXV mittit in dīversissimam partem Galliae, quod ibi quāsdam cīvitātēs in armīs esse audiēbat neque C. Canīnium Rebilum lēgātum, quī in illīs regiōnibus erat, satis firmās duās legiōnēs habēre exīstimābat.

He sends Gaius Fabius, his legate, with twenty-five cohorts to the opposite end of Gaul, because he heard that certain states there were in arms and judged that Gaius Caninius Rebilus, the legate who was in those parts, did not have two legions strong enough.

Note. C. = Gāium. XXV = vīgintī quīnque. in dīversissimam partem: 'to the furthest opposite part'. neque … exīstimābat: 'and did not think'.

8.24.3Titum Labiēnum ad sē ēvocat;

He summons Titus Labienus to himself;

Note. ad sē ēvocat: 'summons to himself'.

8.24.3legiōnem autem XV, quae cum eō fuerat in hībernīs, in togātam Galliam mittit ad colōniās cīvium Rōmānōrum tuendās, nē quod simile incommodum accideret dēcursiōne barbarōrum ac superiōre aestāte Tergestīnīs acciderat, quī repentīnō latrōciniō atque impetū illōrum erant oppressī.

the Fifteenth legion, however, which had been with him in winter quarters, he sends into Cisalpine Gaul to protect the colonies of Roman citizens, so that no such disaster should befall them from a raid of the barbarians as had befallen the people of Tergeste the summer before, who had been overwhelmed by a sudden plundering attack by those men.

Note. XV = quīntam decimam. togātam Galliam: 'toga-wearing Gaul', the part south of the Alps whose people had Roman citizenship. nē quod simile incommodum: quod after nē is the indefinite 'any'. Tergestīnīs: the people of Tergeste (Trieste), raided the year before.

8.24.4Ipse ad vāstandōs dēpopulandōsque fīnēs Ambiorīgis proficīscitur;

He himself sets out to lay waste and plunder the territory of Ambiorix;

Note. ad vastandōs dēpopulandōsque fīnēs: gerundives of purpose. Ambiorix, king of the Eburones, had destroyed a Roman legion and a half in 54 BC (Book V) and was never caught.

8.24.4quem perterritum ac fugientem cum redigī posse in suam potestātem dēspērāsset, proximum suae dignitātis esse dūcēbat, adeō fīnēs eius vāstāre cīvibus, aedificiīs, pecore, ut odiō suōrum Ambiorīx, sī quōs fortūna reliquōs fēcisset, nūllum reditum propter tantās calamitātēs habēret in cīvitātem.

since he had despaired of being able to bring him, terrified and in flight, into his power, he thought it the next best thing for his own dignity to strip his lands so completely of people, buildings and cattle that Ambiorix, hated by his own people (if fortune had left any of them alive), would have no way back into his state because of such great disasters.

Note. quem … cum … dēspērāsset: 'since he had given up hope that he (Ambiorix) could be brought into his power'. prōximum suae dignitātis: 'the next best thing for his own dignity'. odiō suōrum: 'through the hatred of his own people'.