Lectitō › Julius Caesar › Gallic War, Book 8
De Bello Gallico 8.44
A harsh example; the fate of Drappes and Lucterius
Hirtius, De Bello Gallico VIII. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō8.44.1Caesar, cum suam lēnitātem cognitam omnibus scīret neque verērētur nē quid crūdēlitāte nātūrae vidērētur asperius fēcisse, neque exitum cōnsiliōrum suōrum animadverteret, sī tālī ratiōne dīversīs in locīs plūrēs cōnsilia inīssent, exemplō supplicī dēterrendōs reliquōs exīstimāvit.
Caesar knew that his clemency was known to all and did not fear that any harsher act would seem to come from a cruel nature; at the same time he saw no end to his undertakings if more peoples in different places were to form plans of this kind, and he judged that the rest must be deterred by an exemplary punishment.
Note. A long sentence explaining Caesar's motives. cum … scīret, … nec verērētur, … neque … animadverteret: three causal cum-clauses. nē quid … vidērētur asperius fēcisse: after a verb of fearing, nē = 'that'. exemplō supplicī dēterrendōs: gerundive of obligation, '(that) the rest must be deterred by an example of punishment'.
8.44.2Itaque omnibus quī arma tulerant manūs praecīdit vītamque concessit, quō testātior esset poena improbōrum.
So he cut off the hands of all who had borne arms, but spared their lives, so that the punishment of the wicked might be all the more plainly seen.
Note. manūs praecīdit vītamque concessit: a famous and grim act; Hirtius presents it as policy rather than cruelty. quō testātior esset: purpose clause with comparative.
8.44.3Drappēs, quem captum esse ā Canīniō docuī, sīve indignitāte et dolōre vinculōrum sīve timōre graviōris supplicī paucīs diēbus cibō sē abstinuit atque ita interiit.
Drappes, who, as I have told, was captured by Caninius, whether from shame and the pain of his chains or from fear of a harsher punishment, refused food for a few days and so died.
Note. quem captum esse … docuī: Hirtius speaks in the first person, as author. sīve … sīve: 'whether … or'. cibō sē abstinuit: abstineō takes an ablative of separation, 'he kept himself from food'.
8.44.4Eōdem tempore Lucterius, quem profūgisse ex proeliō scrīpsī, cum in potestātem vēnisset Epasnactī Arvernī (crēbrō enim mūtandīs locīs multōrum fideī sē committēbat, quod nusquam diūtius sine perīculō commorātūrus vidēbātur, cum sibi cōnscius esset, quam inimīcum dēbēret Caesarem habēre), hunc Epasnactus Arvernus, amīcissimus populī Rōmānī, sine dubitātiōne ūllā vīnctum ad Caesarem dēdūxit.
At the same time Lucterius, who I wrote had escaped from the battle, fell into the hands of Epasnactus the Arvernian (for he kept changing his hiding places and trusting himself to the good faith of many, since he thought he could not stay anywhere for long without danger, conscious as he was of how hostile Caesar must be to him); and Epasnactus the Arvernian, a very good friend of the Roman people, without any hesitation brought him in chains to Caesar.
Note. The text printed Lacterius; it is the same Lucterius named earlier (a Cadurcan leader). in potestātem vēnisset: 'had come into the power of'. The parenthesis explains why Lucterius kept moving. commorātūrus: future participle of the deponent commoror. hunc: resumes Lucterium after the long parenthesis. vīnctum: 'in chains', from vinciō.
Vocabulary
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| lēnitās, -ātis f. | gentleness, slowness |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | know |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| crūdēlitās, -ātis f. | cruelty |
| nātūra, -ae, f. | nature, character |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| asper, -era, -erum | rough, harsh; difficult |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| exitus, -ūs m. | way out; outcome, end |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| sī, conj. | if |
| tālis, -e | such |
| ratiō, -ōnis, f. | plan, means, method, manner; reason; account |
| dīversus, -a, -um | turned different ways, opposite, contrary, different |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| ineō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go into, enter; adopt |
| exemplum, -ī n. | example, precedent |
| supplicium, -ī, n. | punishment, torture |
| dēterreō, -terrēre, -terruī, -territus | frighten off, deter |
| reliquus, -a, -um | left, the remaining, the other, the rest of |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| praecīdō, -ere, -cīdī, -cīsus | cut off |
| vīta, -ae, f. | life |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | grant, yield |
| quō, adv. | to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long? |
| testātus, -a, -um | attested, plain to see, publicly known |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| poena, -ae, f. | penalty, punishment |
| improbus, -a, -um | wicked. in, prep, with acc., into, in, to, upon; with abl., in, on |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tus | teach, explain |
| sīve or seu, conj. | or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or |
| indignitās, -ātis f. | humiliation, indignity |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| dolor, -ōris, m. | pain, grief; anger |
| vinculum, -ī, n. | bond, chain |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| gravis, -e | heavy; severe, grievous, serious |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| cibus, -ī, m. | food |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| abstineō, -ēre, abstinuī, abstentum | keep away, hold back (from) |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| intereō, -īre, -iī, -itūrus | perish, die |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| profugiō, -ere, -fūgī | flee, escape |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
| potestās, -ātis f. | power, authority |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| crēbrō (adv.) | often, again and again |
| enim, conj. | for |
| mūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | change |
| fidēs, -eī f. | faith, trust; pledge |
| committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| nūsquam, adv. | nowhere |
| diū, adv. | for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| commoror, -morārī, -morātus | tarry, linger, delay, stay |
| cōnscius, -a, -um | aware, conscious (of) |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| inimīcus, -a, -um | unfriendly, hostile |
| dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | owe; with infin., ought |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| amīcus, -ī, m. | friend |
| populus, -ī m. | people, nation |
| Rōmānus, -a, -um | Roman |
| dubitātiō, -ōnis f. | doubt, hesitation |
| ūllus, -a, -um | any |
| vinciō, vincīre, vinxī, vinctus | bind |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship |