De Bello Gallico 8.50

8.50.1Ipse hībernīs perāctīs contrā cōnsuētūdinem in Ītaliam quam maximīs itineribus est profectus, ut mūnicipia et colōniās appellāret, quibus M. Antōnī quaestōris suī, commendāverat sacerdōtī petītiōnem.

When the winter was over, contrary to his custom, he set out for Italy by the fastest possible marches, to visit the towns and colonies to which he had commended the candidacy of his quaestor Mark Antony for a priesthood.

Note. contrā cōnsuētūdinem: Caesar normally wintered in Cisalpine Gaul. mūnicipia et colōniās: the towns of Cisalpine Gaul, whose citizens voted at Rome. sacerdōtī petītiōnem: Antony was standing for a place in the college of augurs.

8.50.2Contendēbat enim grātiā cum libenter prō homine sibi coniūnctissimō, quem paulō ante praemīserat ad petītiōnem, tum ācriter contrā factiōnem et potentiam paucōrum, quī M. Antōnī repulsā Caesaris dēcēdentis grātiam convellere cupiēbant.

For he was using his influence both gladly on behalf of a man very close to him, whom he had sent ahead a little before to stand for office, and keenly against the faction and power of a few men who wanted, by Antony's defeat, to break the influence of Caesar as he was leaving his province.

Note. cum … tum: 'both … and especially'. Caesaris dēcēdentis: 'of Caesar as he was leaving (his province)'. M. Antōnī repulsā: 'by Antony's defeat at the polls'.

8.50.3Hunc etsī augurem prius factum quam Ītaliam attingeret in itinere audierat, tamen nōn minus iūstam sibi causam mūnicipia et colōniās adeundī exīstimāvit, ut eīs grātiās ageret, quod frequentiam atque officium suum Antōniō praestitissent, simulque sē et honōrem suum sequentis annī commendāret, proptereā quod īnsolenter adversāriī suī glōriārentur L. Lentulum et C. Mārcellum cōnsulēs creātōs quī omnem honōrem et dignitātem Caesaris spoliārent, ēreptum Ser. Galbae cōnsulātum, cum is multō plūs grātiā suffrāgiīsque valuisset, quod sibi coniūnctus et familiāritāte et cōnsuētūdine lēgātiōnis esset.

Although he had heard on the road, before he reached Italy, that Antony had been made augur, he still thought he had no less good reason to visit the towns and colonies, to thank them for having given Antony their support in such numbers, and at the same time to commend himself and his own candidacy for the following year; for his opponents were boasting insolently that Lucius Lentulus and Gaius Marcellus had been made consuls to strip Caesar of all his honour and standing, and that the consulship had been snatched from Servius Galba, though he had had far more influence and votes, because he was closely tied to Caesar both by friendship and by his service as his legate.

Note. augurem … factum: Antony was elected augur in 50 BC. sequentis annī: Caesar intended to stand for the consulship of 48 BC. L. Lentulum et C. Mārcellum: the consuls of 49 BC, both hostile to Caesar. ēreptum Ser. Galbae cōnsulātum: Servius Galba, Caesar's former legate, had lost the election. quod … coniūnctus … esset: the subjunctive gives the opponents' claimed reason.