Caesar: COMMENTARIORUM LIBRI VII DE BELLO GALLICO CUM A. HIRTI SUPPLEMENTO

[1] L. Domitio Ap. Claudio consulibus, discedens ab hibernis Caesar in Italiam, ut quotannis facere consuerat, legatis imperat quos legionibus praefecerat uti quam plurimas possent hieme naves aedificandas veteresque reficiendas curarent. Earum modum formamque demonstrat. Ad celeritatem onerandi subductionesque paulo facit humiliores quam quibus in nostro mari uti consuevimus, atque id eo magis, quod propter crebras commutationes aestuum minus magnos ibi fluctus fieri cognoverat; ad onera, ad multitudinem iumentorum transportandam paulo latiores quam quibus in reliquis utimur maribus.

[1] In the consulship of L. Domitius and Ap. Claudius, departing from winter-quarters Caesar goes into Italy, as he was accustomed to do every year, and he orders the legates whom he had set over the legions to take care that as many ships as they could be built in the winter, and that the old ones be repaired. He indicates the measure and the form of them. For speed of loading and of hauling ashore he makes them a little lower than those which we are accustomed to use on our sea, and that all the more because, on account of the frequent changes of the tides, he had learned that less great waves arise there; for burdens, for transporting a multitude of beasts of burden, a little broader than those which we use on the other seas.

Has omnes actuarias imperat fieri, quam ad rem multum humilitas adiuvat. Ea quae sunt usui ad armandas naves ex Hispania apportari iubet. Ipse conventibus Galliae citeribris peractis in Illyricum proficiscitur, quod a Pirustis finitimam partem provinciae incursionibus vastari audiebat.

He orders all these to be made as actuariae (swift transports), for which purpose their low draft greatly helps. He orders the things that are of use for arming/equipping the ships to be brought from Spain. He himself, the assizes of Cisalpine Gaul having been completed, sets out into Illyricum, because he was hearing that by the Pirustae a neighboring part of the province was being ravaged by incursions.

Eo cum venisset, civitatibus milites imperat certumque in locum convenire iubet. Qua re nuntiata Pirustae legatos ad eum mittunt qui doceant nihil earum rerum publico factum consilio, seseque paratos esse demonstrant omnibus rationibus de iniuriis satisfacere. Accepta oratione eorum Caesar obsides imperat eosque ad certam diem adduci iubet; nisi ita fecerint, sese bello civitatem persecuturum demonstrat.

When he had come there, he commands the communities to furnish soldiers and orders them to assemble in a fixed place. When this had been announced, the Pirustae send envoys to him to show that none of those things had been done by public counsel, and they demonstrate themselves prepared by every means to make satisfaction concerning the injuries. Their oration having been received, Caesar demands hostages and orders them to be brought by a fixed day; unless they shall have done so, he demonstrates that he will prosecute the community with war.

Eis ad diem adductis, ut imperaverat, arbitros inter civitates dat qui litem aestiment poenamque constituant.

When they had been brought by the appointed day, as he had ordered, he appoints arbiters between the states to estimate the dispute and constitute the penalty.

[2] His confectis rebus conventibusque peractis, in citeriorem Galliam revertitur atque inde ad exercitum proficiscitur. Eo cum venisset, circuitis omnibus hibernis, singulari militum studio in summa omnium rerum inopia circiter sescentas eius generis cuius supra demonstravimus naves et longas XXVIII invenit instructas neque multum abesse ab eo quin paucis diebus deduci possint. Collaudatis militibus atque eis qui negotio praefuerant, quid fieri velit ostendit atque omnes ad portum Itium convenire iubet, quo ex portu commodissimum in Britanniam traiectum esse cognoverat, circiter milium passuum XXX transmissum a continenti: huic rei quod satis esse visum est militum reliquit.

[2] With these matters finished and the conventus carried through, he returns into Hither Gaul and from there sets out to the army. When he had come there, after going around all the winter quarters, through the exceptional zeal of the soldiers, in the greatest scarcity of all things, he found about 600 ships of the kind which we have shown above, and 28 long ships, equipped, and that it was not far from the case that in a few days they could be launched. After the soldiers and those who had been in charge of the business were highly commended, he shows what he wishes to be done and orders all to assemble at the Port Itius, from which port he had learned the passage into Britain to be most commodious, about 30 miles across from the continent: for this matter he left of soldiers as many as seemed sufficient.

Ipse cum legionibus expeditis IIII et equitibus DCCC in fines Treverorum proficiscitur, quod hi neque ad concilia veniebant neque imperio parebant Germanosque Transrhenanos sollicitare dicebantur.

He himself, with 4 unencumbered legions and 800 cavalry, sets out into the territory of the Treveri, because these were neither coming to the councils nor obeying his command and were said to be stirring up the Transrhenane Germans.

[3] Haec civitas longe plurimum totius Galliae equitatu valet magnasque habet copias peditum Rhenumque, ut supra demonstravimus, tangit. In ea civitate duo de principatu inter se contendebant, Indutiomarus et Cingetorix; e quibus alter, simul atque de Caesaris legionumque adventu cognitum est, ad eum venit, se suosque omnes in officio futuros neque ab amicitia populi Romani defecturos confirmavit quaeque in Treveris gererentur ostendit. At Indutiomarus equitatum peditatumque cogere, eisque qui per aetatem in armis esse non poterant in silvam Arduennam abditis, quae ingenti magnitudine per medios fines Treverorum a flumine Rheno ad initium Remorum pertinet, bellum parare instituit.

[3] This state by far is the most strong in all Gaul in cavalry, and it has great forces of infantry, and it touches the Rhine, as we have shown above. In that state two were contending between themselves for the principate, Indutiomarus and Cingetorix; of whom the one, as soon as the arrival of Caesar and the legions was learned, came to him, affirmed that he and all his would remain in duty and would not defect from the friendship of the Roman people, and he showed what things were being done among the Treveri. But Indutiomarus began to muster cavalry and infantry, and, with those who by age could not be in arms hidden in the Ardennes Forest, which of enormous magnitude extends through the middle borders of the Treveri from the river Rhine to the beginning of the Remi, he set about preparing war.

Sed posteaquam nonnulli principes ex ea civitate et familiaritate Cingetorigis adducti et adventu nostri exercitus perterriti ad Caesarem venerunt et de suis privatim rebus ab eo petere coeperunt, quoniam civitati consulere non possent, veritus ne ab omnibus desereretur Indutiomarus legatos ad Caesarem mittit: sese idcirco ab suis discedere atque ad eum venire noluisse, quo facilius civitatem in officio contineret, ne omnis nobilitatis discessu plebs propter imprudentiam laberetur: itaque esse civitatem in sua potestate, seseque, si Caesar permitteret, ad eum in castra venturum, suas civitatisque fortunas eius fidei permissurum.

But after some leading men from that state, induced by their familiarity with Cingetorix and terrified by the arrival of our army, came to Caesar and began to petition him about their own private affairs, since they could not consult for the state, fearing lest he be deserted by all, Indutiomarus sends envoys to Caesar: that for that reason he had not wished to depart from his own people and come to him, in order the more easily to keep the state in its duty, lest, by the departure of all the nobility, the plebs, on account of imprudence, should lapse; and so that the state was in his power, and that he himself, if Caesar permitted, would come to him into the camp, and would commit his own and the state’s fortunes to his good faith.

[4] Caesar, etsi intellegebat qua de causa ea dicerentur quaeque eum res ab instituto consilio deterreret, tamen, ne aestatem in Treveris consumere cogeretur omnibus ad Britannicum bellum rebus comparatis, Indutiomarum ad se cum CC obsidibus venire iussit. His adductis, in eis filio propinquisque eius omnibus, quos nominatim evocaverat, consolatus Indutiomarum hortatusque est uti in officio maneret; nihilo tamen setius principibus Treverorum ad se convocatis hos singillatim Cingetorigi conciliavit, quod cum merito eius a se fieri intellegebat, tum magni interesse arbitrabatur eius auctoritatem inter suos quam plurimum valere, cuius tam egregiam in se voluntatem perspexisset. Id tulit factum graviter Indutiomarus, suam gratiam inter suos minui, et, qui iam ante inimico in nos animo fuisset, multo gravius hoc dolore exarsit.

[4] Caesar, although he understood for what cause these things were being said and what matter would deter him from his established counsel, nevertheless, lest he be compelled to consume the summer among the Treveri, with all things prepared for the British war, ordered Indutiomarus to come to him with 200 hostages. These having been brought in, among them his son and all his kinsmen, whom he had summoned by name, he consoled Indutiomarus and exhorted him to remain in obedience; nonetheless, with the chiefs of the Treveri summoned to him, he conciliated these one by one to Cingetorix, because he understood that this was being done by him according to his merit, and he judged it to be of great importance that his authority prevail as much as possible among his own, whose so egregious goodwill toward himself he had perceived. Indutiomarus took that deed grievously, that his own favor among his people was being diminished, and, who already before had been of a hostile mind toward us, he blazed up much more grievously with this pain.

[5] His rebus constitutis Caesar ad portum Itium cum legionibus pervenit. Ibi cognoscit LX naves, quae in Meldis factae erant, tempestate reiectas cursum tenere non potuisse atque eodem unde erant profectae revertisse; reliquas paratas ad navigandum atque omnibus rebus instructas invenit. Eodem equitatus totius Galliae convenit, numero milium quattuor, principesque ex omnibus civitatibus; ex quibus perpaucos, quorum in se fidem perspexerat, relinquere in Gallia, reliquos obsidum loco secum ducere decreverat, quod, cum ipse abesset, motum Galliae verebatur.

[5] With these things settled, Caesar came with the legions to the port of Itius. There he learns that 60 ships, which had been built among the Meldi, having been driven back by a storm, had not been able to hold their course and had returned to the same place whence they had set out; he found the rest prepared for sailing and equipped with all things. To the same place the cavalry of all Gaul assembled, to the number of four thousand, and the chiefs from all the states; of whom he had decided to leave in Gaul a very few, whose loyalty to himself he had discerned, and to lead the rest with him in the place of hostages, because, when he himself was away, he feared a movement of Gaul.

[6] Erat una cum ceteris Dumnorix Aeduus, de quo ante ab nobis dictum est. Hunc secum habere in primis constituerat, quod eum cupidum rerum novarum, cupidum imperi, magni animi, magnae inter Gallos auctoritatis cognoverat. Accedebat huc quod in concilio Aeduorum Dumnorix dixerat sibi a Caesare regnum civitatis deferri; quod dictum Aedui graviter ferebant, neque recusandi aut deprecandi causa legatos ad Caesarem mittere audebant.

[6] Together with the rest there was Dumnorix the Aeduan, about whom it has been said by us before. He had determined above all to have this man with him, because he had recognized him as eager for revolution (res novae), eager for imperium, of great spirit, and of great authority among the Gauls. To this there was added that, in the council of the Aedui, Dumnorix had said that the kingship of the state was being conferred upon him by Caesar; which statement the Aedui took grievously, nor did they dare to send envoys to Caesar for the sake of refusing or deprecating it.

Id factum ex suis hospitibus Caesar cognoverat. Ille omnibus primo precibus petere contendit ut in Gallia relinqueretur, partim quod insuetus navigandi mare timeret, partim quod religionibus impediri sese diceret. Posteaquam id obstinate sibi negari vidit, omni spe impetrandi adempta principes Galliae sollicitare, sevocare singulos hortarique coepit uti in continenti remanerent: metu territare: non sine causa fieri, ut Gallia omni nobilitate spoliaretur; id esse consilium Caesaris, ut quos in conspectu Galliae interficere vereretur, hos omnes in Britanniam traductos necaret; fidem reliquis interponere, iusiurandum poscere, ut quod esse ex usu Galliae intellexissent communi consilio administrarent.

Caesar had learned that deed from his own guest‑friends. He at first strove with every entreaty to be allowed to be left in Gaul, partly because, unaccustomed to sailing, he feared the sea, partly because he said he was hindered by religions (religious scruples). After he saw that this was being stubbornly denied to him, with all hope of obtaining taken away, he began to solicit the princes of Gaul, call aside individuals and exhort them to remain on the Continent; to terrify them with fear: that it was not without cause that Gaul was being despoiled of all its nobility; that this was Caesar’s consilium—that those whom he would fear to kill in the sight of Gaul, all these, once conveyed over into Britain, he would slay; to pledge his faith to the rest, to demand an oath, that they should administer by common counsel what they had understood to be for the advantage of Gaul.

Haec a compluribus ad Caesarem deferebantur.

These things were being reported to Caesar by several.

[7] Qua re cognita Caesar, quod tantum civitati Aeduae dignitatis tribuebat, coercendum atque deterrendum quibuscumque rebus posset Dumnorigem statuebat; quod longius eius amentiam progredi videbat, prospiciendum, ne quid sibi ac rei publicae nocere posset. Itaque dies circiter XXV in eo loco commoratus, quod Corus ventus navigationem impediebat, qui magnam partem omnis temporis in his locis flare consuevit, dabat operam ut in officio Dumnorigem contineret, nihilo tamen setius omnia eius consilia cognosceret: tandem idoneam nactus tempestatem milites equitesque conscendere in naves iubet. At omnium impeditis animis Dumnorix cum equitibus Aeduorum a castris insciente Caesare domum discedere coepit.

[7] With this matter known, Caesar—because he was attributing so much dignity to the Aeduan state—resolved that Dumnorix must be coerced and deterred by whatever means he could; and because he saw his insanity advancing further, provision had to be made lest he be able to harm himself and the commonwealth. And so, having tarried about 25 days in that place, because the Corus wind was impeding navigation—which in these regions is accustomed to blow for the greater part of all time—he gave effort to keep Dumnorix in duty, yet nonetheless learned all his plans just the same: at last, having found a suitable weather, he orders the soldiers and the cavalry to embark onto the ships. But with everyone’s spirits impeded, Dumnorix, with the cavalry of the Aedui, began to depart home from the camp, Caesar being unaware.

Qua re nuntiata Caesar intermissa profectione atque omnibus rebus postpositis magnam partem equitatus ad eum insequendum mittit retrahique imperat; si vim faciat neque pareat, interfici iubet, nihil hunc se absente pro sano facturum arbitratus, qui praesentis imperium neglexisset. Ille enim revocatus resistere ac se manu defendere suorumque fidem implorare coepit, saepe clamitans liberum se liberaeque esse civitatis. Illi, ut erat imperatum, circumsistunt hominem atque interficiunt: at equites Aedui ad Caesarem omnes revertuntur.

When this was announced, Caesar, the departure having been intermitted and all matters set aside, sends a great part of the cavalry to pursue him and orders that he be brought back; if he should use force and not obey, he orders him to be killed, judging that a man who had disregarded the command when he was present would do nothing sane in his absence. For he, when recalled, began to resist and to defend himself by hand, and to implore the loyalty of his own, often shouting that he was a free man and of a free commonwealth. They, as it had been ordered, surround the man and kill him; but the Aeduan horsemen all return to Caesar.

[8] His rebus gestis, Labieno in continente cum tribus legionibus et equitum milibus duobus relicto ut portus tueretur et rem frumentariam provideret quaeque in Gallia gererentur cognosceret consiliumque pro tempore et pro re caperet, ipse cum quinque legionibus et pari numero equitum, quem in continenti reliquerat, ad solis occasum naves solvit et leni Africo provectus media circiter nocte vento intermisso cursum non tenuit, et longius delatus aestu orta luce sub sinistra Britanniam relictam conspexit. Tum rursus aestus commutationem secutus remis contendit ut eam partem insulae caperet, qua optimum esse egressum superiore aestate cognoverat. Qua in re admodum fuit militum virtus laudanda, qui vectoriis gravibusque navigiis non intermisso remigandi labore longarum navium cursum adaequarunt.

[8] With these things done, Labienus being left on the continent with three legions and two thousand cavalry to guard the harbors and to provide for the grain-supply and to learn what was being done in Gaul and to adopt a plan according to the time and the situation, he himself, with five legions and an equal number of cavalry which he had left on the continent, set sail at sunset; and, carried forward by a gentle Africus, about the middle of the night, the wind having dropped, he did not hold his course, and, having been borne farther by the tide, at day’s first light he saw Britain left on his left. Then, again following the change of the tide, he strained at the oars to reach that part of the island which he had learned in the previous summer was the best landing-place. In this matter the valor of the soldiers was greatly to be praised, who, in transport and heavy vessels, with the labor of rowing not intermitted, matched the speed of the long ships.

Accessum est ad Britanniam omnibus navibus meridiano fere tempore, neque in eo loco hostis est visus; sed, ut postea Caesar ex captivis cognovit, cum magnae manus eo convenissent, multitudine navium perterritae, quae cum annotinis privatisque quas sui quisque commodi fecerat amplius octingentae uno erant visae tempore, a litore discesserant ac se in superiora loca abdiderant.

Approach was made to Britain with all the ships at almost meridian time, and in that place no enemy was seen; but, as Caesar afterward learned from captives, although great bands had assembled there, terrified by the multitude of ships—which, together with the ships of this year and the private ones which each had made for his own advantage, had been seen at one time to be more than 800—they had departed from the shore and had concealed themselves in higher places.

[9] Caesar exposito exercitu et loco castris idoneo capto, ubi ex captivis cognovit quo in loco hostium copiae consedissent, cohortibus decem ad mare relictis et equitibus trecentis, qui praesidio navibus essent, de tertia vigilia ad hostes contendit, eo minus veritus navibus, quod in litore molli atque aperto deligatas ad ancoram relinquebat, et praesidio navibus Q. Atrium praefecit. Ipse noctu progressus milia passuum circiter XII hostium copias conspicatus est. Illi equitatu atque essedis ad flumen progressi ex loco superiore nostros prohibere et proelium committere coeperunt.

[9] Caesar, with the army put ashore and a place suitable for a camp seized, when he learned from captives in what place the forces of the enemy had sat down, with ten cohorts left at the sea and three hundred horsemen, to be a garrison for the ships, made for the enemy about the third watch, all the less anxious about the ships, because on a soft and open shore he was leaving them fastened at anchor, and he set Q. Atrius over the ships as a guard. He himself, advancing by night, at about 12 miles caught sight of the enemy’s forces. They, having advanced with cavalry and war-chariots to a river, from higher ground began to keep our men off and to join battle.

Repulsi ab equitatu se in silvas abdiderunt, locum nacti egregie et natura et opere munitum, quem domestici belli, ut videbantur, causa iam ante praeparaverant: nam crebris arboribus succisis omnes introitus erant praeclusi. Ipsi ex silvis rari propugnabant nostrosque intra munitiones ingredi prohibebant. At milites legionis septimae, testudine facta et aggere ad munitiones adiecto, locum ceperunt eosque ex silvis expulerunt paucis vulneribus acceptis.

Repulsed by the cavalry, they hid themselves in the woods, having found a place excellently fortified both by nature and by work, which, for the cause of a domestic (civil) war, as it seemed, they had already prepared: for, with numerous trees cut down in close succession, all the entrances had been blocked. They themselves, in scattered order, were defending from the woods and were preventing our men from entering within the fortifications. But the soldiers of the Seventh Legion, a testudo having been formed and an agger (earthwork) added up to the fortifications, seized the place and drove them out of the woods, having received few wounds.

Sed eos fugientes longius Caesar prosequi vetuit, et quod loci naturam ignorabat, et quod magna parte diei consumpta munitioni castrorum tempus relinqui volebat.

But Caesar forbade pursuing them farther, both because he did not know the nature of the place, and because, with a great part of the day consumed, he wished time to be left for the fortification of the camp.

[10] Postridie eius diei mane tripertito milites equitesque in expeditionem misit, ut eos qui fugerant persequerentur. His aliquantum itineris progressis, cum iam extremi essent in prospectu, equites a Quinto Atrio ad Caesarem venerunt, qui nuntiarent superiore nocte maxima coorta tempestate prope omnes naves adflictas atque in litore eiectas esse, quod neque ancorae funesque subsisterent, neque nautae gubernatoresque vim tempestatis pati possent; itaque ex eo concursu navium magnum esse incommodum acceptum.

[10] On the morning of the following day he sent the soldiers and the horsemen, in three parts, on an expedition, so that they might pursue those who had fled. When they had advanced a considerable distance on the march, when now the hindmost were in sight, cavalry from Quintus Atrius came to Caesar to announce that on the previous night, with a very great storm having arisen, almost all the ships had been damaged and thrown up on the shore, because neither anchors and cables could hold fast, nor could the sailors and helmsmen endure the force of the storm; and thus from that collision of ships a great detriment had been incurred.

[11] His rebus cognitis Caesar legiones equitatumque revocari atque in itinere resistere iubet, ipse ad naves revertitur; eadem fere quae ex nuntiis litterisque cognoverat coram perspicit, sic ut amissis circiter XL navibus reliquae tamen refici posse magno negotio viderentur. Itaque ex legionibus fabros deligit et ex continenti alios arcessi iubet; Labieno scribit, ut quam plurimas posset eis legionibus, quae sunt apud eum, naves instituat. Ipse, etsi res erat multae operae ac laboris, tamen commodissimum esse statuit omnes naves subduci et cum castris una munitione coniungi.

[11] With these matters learned, Caesar orders the legions and the cavalry to be called back and to halt on the march; he himself returns to the ships; he sees in person almost the same things that he had learned from messengers and letters, namely, that with about 40 ships lost, the rest nevertheless seemed able to be repaired with great trouble. Therefore he selects artificers from the legions and orders others to be summoned from the Continent; he writes to Labienus to fit out as many ships as he can for those legions which are with him. He himself, although the matter was of much work and labor, nevertheless decided it was most expedient that all the ships be drawn up and be joined with the camp by a single fortification.

In his rebus circiter dies X consumit ne nocturnis quidem temporibus ad laborem militum intermissis. Subductis navibus castrisque egregie munitis easdem copias, quas ante, praesidio navibus reliquit: ipse eodem unde redierat proficiscitur. Eo cum venisset, maiores iam undique in eum locum copiae Britannorum convenerant summa imperi bellique administrandi communi consilio permissa Cassivellauno, cuius fines a maritimis civitatibus flumen dividit, quod appellatur Tamesis, a mari circiter milia passuum LXXX.

In these matters he consumes about 10 days, with not even the nocturnal times intermitted from the soldiers’ labor. With the ships hauled up and the camp excellently fortified, he left the same troops as before as a guard for the ships; he himself sets out to the same place whence he had returned. When he had come there, greater forces of the Britons had now gathered from all sides to that place, the supreme command of authority and of administering war having been entrusted by common counsel to Cassivellaunus, whose borders are divided from the maritime states by a river which is called the Thames, about 80 miles from the sea.

Huic superiore tempore cum reliquis civitatibus continentia bella intercesserant; sed nostro adventu permoti Britanni hunc toti bello imperioque praefecerant.

For this man, in earlier time, continual wars with the remaining states had intervened; but, moved by our advent, the Britons had appointed him over the whole war and over the command.

[12] Britanniae pars interior ab eis incolitur quos natos in insula ipsi memoria proditum dicunt, maritima ab eis, qui praedae ac belli inferendi causa ex Belgio transierunt (qui omnes fere eis nominibus civitatum appellantur, quibus orti ex civitatibus eo pervenerunt) et bello illato ibi permanserunt atque agros colere coeperunt. Hominum est infinita multitudo creberrimaque aedificia fere Gallicis consimilia, pecorum magnus numerus. Vtuntur aut aere aut nummo aureo aut taleis ferreis ad certum pondus examinatis pro nummo.

[12] The interior part of Britain is inhabited by those whom they themselves say, by tradition, were born on the island; the maritime part by those who crossed from Belgium for the sake of booty and of inflicting war (who are almost all called by the names of the states by which, being sprung from those states, they arrived there), and, war having been brought in, they remained there and began to cultivate fields. There is a countless multitude of humans, and very crowded buildings, almost similar to the Gallic, and a great number of herds. They use either bronze or a golden coin or iron tallies, weighed to a fixed weight, as money.

Nascitur ibi plumbum album in mediterraneis regionibus, in maritimis ferrum, sed eius exigua est copia; aere utuntur importato. Materia cuiusque generis ut in Gallia est, praeter fagum atque abietem. Leporem et gallinam et anserem gustare fas non putant; haec tamen alunt animi voluptatisque causa.

Tin is produced there in the inland regions; in the maritime regions, iron, but its supply is scant; they use imported bronze. Timber of every kind is as in Gaul, except beech and fir. They do not think it lawful to taste hare, hen, or goose; yet they rear these for the sake of the spirit and of pleasure.

Loca sunt temperatiora quam in Gallia, remissioribus frigoribus.

The places are more temperate than in Gaul, with milder cold.

[13] Insula natura triquetra, cuius unum latus est contra Galliam. Huius lateris alter angulus, qui est ad Cantium, quo fere omnes ex Gallia naves appelluntur, ad orientem solem, inferior ad meridiem spectat. Hoc pertinet circiter mila passuum quingenta.

[13] The island is by nature three-cornered, one side of which is opposite Gaul. Of this side, the other corner, which is at Cantium, where almost all the ships from Gaul put in, looks toward the rising sun; the lower looks toward the south. This side extends about 500 miles.

Alterum vergit ad Hispaniam atque occidentem solem; qua ex parte est Hibernia, dimidio minor, ut aestimatur, quam Britannia, sed pari spatio transmissus atque ex Gallia est in Britanniam. In hoc medio cursu est insula, quae appellatur Mona: complures praeterea minores subiectae insulae existimantur, de quibus insulis nonnulli scripserunt dies continuos triginta sub bruma esse noctem. Nos nihil de eo percontationibus reperiebamus, nisi certis ex aqua mensuris breviores esse quam in continenti noctes videbamus.

The second side inclines toward Spain and the setting sun; on which side is Hibernia, estimated to be smaller by half than Britain, but the crossing is equal in distance to that from Gaul into Britain. In the middle of this course is an island called Mona; besides these, several smaller islands are thought to lie adjacent, about which islands some have written that at the winter solstice the night is continuous for thirty days. We, by inquiries, discovered nothing of this, except that by certain water-measures we observed the nights to be shorter than on the continent.

Huius est longitudo lateris, ut fert illorum opinio, septingentorum milium. Tertium est contra septentriones; cui parti nulla est obiecta terra, sed eius angulus lateris maxime ad Germaniam spectat. Hoc milia passuum octingenta in longitudinem esse existimatur.

Of this side the length, as their opinion bears, is seven hundred miles. The third is toward the north; to which part no land is set opposite, but its angle of the side looks chiefly toward Germany. This is estimated to be eight hundred miles in length.

Ita omnis insula est in circuitu vicies centum milium passuum.

Thus the whole island is in circumference of 2,000 miles.

[14] Ex his omnibus longe sunt humanissimi qui Cantium incolunt, quae regio est maritima omnis, neque multum a Gallica differunt consuetudine. Interiores plerique frumenta non serunt, sed lacte et carne vivunt pellibusque sunt vestiti. Omnes vero se Britanni vitro inficiunt, quod caeruleum efficit colorem, atque hoc horridiores sunt in pugna aspectu; capilloque sunt promisso atque omni parte corporis rasa praeter caput et labrum superius.

[14] Of all these, by far the most civilized are those who inhabit Cantium, which region is entirely maritime, and they do not differ much from Gallic custom. The interior peoples for the most part do not sow grain, but live on milk and flesh and are clothed in skins. Indeed, all the Britons dye themselves with woad, which produces a cerulean color, and by this they are more horrid in aspect in battle; and they have hair grown long and every part of the body shaved except the head and the upper lip.

Vxores habent deni duodenique inter se communes et maxime fratres cum fratribus parentesque cum liberis; sed qui sunt ex his nati, eorum habentur liberi, quo primum virgo quaeque deducta est.

They have wives in common, in groups of ten and twelve, among themselves, and especially brothers with brothers and parents with children; but those who are born from these are held to be the children of him to whom each virgin was first conducted.

[15] Equites hostium essedariique acriter proelio cum equitatu nostro in itinere conflixerunt, tamen ut nostri omnibus partibus superiores fuerint atque eos in silvas collesque compulerint; sed compluribus interfectis cupidius insecuti nonnullos ex suis amiserunt. At illi intermisso spatio imprudentibus nostris atque occupatis in munitione castrorum subito se ex statione pro castris collocati, acriter pugnaverunt, duabusque missis subsidio cohortibus a Caesare atque eis primis legionum duarum, cum hae perexiguo intermisso loci spatio inter se constitissent, novo genere pugnae perterritis nostris per medios audacissime perruperunt seque inde incolumes receperunt. Eo die Quintus Laberius Durus, tribunus militum, interficitur.

[15] The enemy’s cavalry and chariot-fighters fought fiercely in battle with our cavalry on the march, nevertheless with the result that our men were superior in all parts and drove them into the woods and hills; but, when several had been slain, pursuing too eagerly, they lost some of their own. But they, after an interval, while our men were unwary and occupied in the fortification of the camp, suddenly, having taken position from an outpost in front of the camp, fought fiercely, and when two cohorts were sent by Caesar as a relief, these the first cohorts of two legions, and when these had taken their stand with a very small interval of ground left between them, with our men terrified by the new kind of combat, they most boldly broke through the midst and withdrew thence unharmed. On that day Quintus Laberius Durus, military tribune, is slain.

Illi pluribus submissis cohortibus repelluntur.

They are repelled, several cohorts having been sent in as reinforcements.

[16] Toto hoc in genere pugnae, cum sub oculis omnium ac pro castris dimicaretur, intellectum est nostros propter gravitatem armorum, quod neque insequi cedentes possent neque ab signis discedere auderent, minus aptos esse ad huius generis hostem, equites autem magno cum periculo proelio dimicare, propterea quod illi etiam consulto plerumque cederent et, cum paulum ab legionibus nostros removissent, ex essedis desilirent et pedibus dispari proelio contenderent. Equestris autem proeli ratio et cedentibus et insequentibus par atque idem periculum inferebat. Accedebat huc ut numquam conferti sed rari magnisque intervallis proeliarentur stationesque dispositas haberent, atque alios alii deinceps exciperent, integrique et recentes defetigatis succederent.

[16] In this whole kind of combat, since the fighting was under the eyes of all and before the camp, it was understood that our men, on account of the weight of their arms—because they could neither pursue those giving way nor dared to depart from the standards—were less apt for an enemy of this kind; but that the cavalry fought with great danger in battle, for the reason that they (the enemy) even deliberately for the most part would retreat, and, when they had removed our men a little from the legions, they would leap down from their chariots and contend on foot in an unequal combat. Moreover, the manner of an equestrian battle brought equal and the same danger both to those retreating and to those pursuing. Added to this was the fact that they never fought packed together, but scattered and with great intervals, and had their relief-stations disposed, and that some relieved others in succession, and men fresh and intact succeeded the wearied.

[17] Postero die procul a castris hostes in collibus constiterunt rarique se ostendere et lenius quam pridie nostros equites proelio lacessere coeperunt. Sed meridie, cum Caesar pabulandi causa tres legiones atque omnem equitatum cum Gaio Trebonio legato misisset, repente ex omnibus partibus ad pabulatores advolaverunt, sic uti ab signis legionibusque non absisterent. Nostri acriter in eos impetu facto reppulerunt neque finem sequendi fecerunt, quoad subsidio confisi equites, cum post se legiones viderent, praecipites hostes egerunt magnoque eorum numero interfecto neque sui colligendi neque consistendi aut ex essedis desiliendi facultatem dederunt.

[17] On the next day the enemies took their stand far from the camp on the hills and, in scattered order, showed themselves and began to provoke our horsemen to battle more mildly than on the previous day. But at midday, when Caesar, for the sake of foraging, had sent three legions and all the cavalry with Gaius Trebonius, legate, suddenly from all sides they swooped upon the foragers, in such a way that they did not get away from the standards and the legions. Our men, having made an attack sharply on them, drove them back and did not make an end of pursuing, until the horsemen, relying on the support, since they saw the legions behind them, drove the enemies headlong; and, after a great number of them had been slain, they gave them neither the opportunity of rallying themselves nor of making a stand nor of leaping down from their war-chariots.

Ex hac fuga protinus, quae undique convenerant, auxilia discesserunt, neque post id tempus umquam summis nobiscum copiis hostes contenderunt.

From this flight immediately the auxiliaries which had assembled from all sides withdrew, nor after that time did the enemy ever contend with us with their full forces.

[18] Caesar cognito consilio eorum ad flumen Tamesim in fines Cassivellauni exercitum duxit; quod flumen uno omnino loco pedibus, atque hoc aegre, transiri potest. Eo cum venisset, animum advertit ad alteram fluminis ripam magnas esse copias hostium instructas. Ripa autem erat acutis sudibus praefixis munita, eiusdemque generis sub aqua defixae sudes flumine tegebantur.

[18] Caesar, the counsel of them having been learned, led the army to the river Thames into the borders of Cassivellaunus; which river in only one place can be crossed on foot, and this with difficulty. When he had come there, he noticed that on the other bank of the river great forces of the enemy were drawn up. Moreover, the bank had been fortified with sharp stakes set in front, and stakes of the same kind, fixed beneath the water, were covered by the river.

His rebus cognitis a captivis perfugisque Caesar praemisso equitatu confestim legiones subsequi iussit. Sed ea celeritate atque eo impetu milites ierunt, cum capite solo ex aqua exstarent, ut hostes impetum legionum atque equitum sustinere non possent ripasque dimitterent ac se fugae mandarent.

With these matters learned from the captives and defectors, Caesar, the cavalry having been sent ahead, at once ordered the legions to follow close. But with such speed and with such impetus the soldiers went, while with only their heads standing out from the water, that the enemies could not sustain the assault of the legions and the cavalry, and they abandoned the banks and committed themselves to flight.

[19] Cassivellaunus, ut supra demonstravimus, omni deposita spe contentionis dimissis amplioribus copiis milibus circiter quattuor essedariorum relictis itinera nostra servabat paulumque ex via excedebat locisque impeditis ac silvestribus sese occultabat, atque eis regionibus quibus nos iter facturos cognoverat pecora atque homines ex agris in silvas compellebat et, cum equitatus noster liberius praedandi vastandique causa se in agros eiecerat, omnibus viis semitisque essedarios ex silvis emittebat et magno cum periculo nostrorum equitum cum eis confligebat atque hoc metu latius vagari prohibebat. Relinquebatur ut neque longius ab agmine legionum discedi Caesar pateretur, et tantum in agris vastandis incendiisque faciendis hostibus noceretur, quantum labore atque itinere legionarii milites efficere poterant.

[19] Cassivellaunus, as we have shown above, with all hope of contention laid aside, having dismissed the larger forces and leaving behind about four thousand charioteers (essedarii), kept watch on our routes and would step a little off the road and hide himself in obstructed and wooded places; and in those regions where he had learned we were going to make our march, he drove cattle and people from the fields into the woods, and when our cavalry, more freely for the sake of preying and devastating, had thrown itself into the fields, he sent out charioteers from the woods onto all roads and paths and fought with them with great peril to our horsemen, and by this fear prevented them from ranging more widely. It was left, therefore, that Caesar should not allow any farther departure from the column of the legions, and that the enemy should be harmed only so far in ravaging the fields and in making burnings as the legionary soldiers could accomplish by toil and by march.

[20] Interim Trinobantes, prope firmissima earum regionum civitas, ex qua Mandubracius adulescens Caesaris fidem secutus ad eum in continentem Galliam venerat, cuius pater in ea civitate regnum obtinuerat interfectusque erat a Cassivellauno, ipse fuga mortem vitaverat, legatos ad Caesarem mittunt pollicenturque sese ei dedituros atque imperata facturos; petunt, ut Mandubracium ab iniuria Cassivellauni defendat atque in civitatem mittat, qui praesit imperiumque obtineat. His Caesar imperat obsides quadraginta frumentumque exercitui Mandubraciumque ad eos mittit. Illi imperata celeriter fecerunt, obsides ad numerum frumentumque miserunt.

[20] Meanwhile the Trinobantes, almost the firmest commonwealth of those regions, from which Mandubracius, a young man, having followed Caesar’s faith (protection), had come to him into continental Gaul—whose father had held kingship in that commonwealth and had been slain by Cassivellaunus, while he himself had avoided death by flight—send envoys to Caesar and promise that they will surrender themselves to him and do the things commanded; they ask that he defend Mandubracius from the injury of Cassivellaunus and send him into the commonwealth to preside and obtain the imperium. To these Caesar imposes forty hostages and grain for the army, and he sends Mandubracius to them. They quickly did the things commanded, sent the hostages to the full number and the grain.

[21] Trinobantibus defensis atque ab omni militum inuria prohibitis Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci, Cassi legationibus missis sese Caesari dedunt. Ab his cognoscit non longe ex eo loco oppidum Cassivellauni abesse silvis paludibusque munitum, quo satis magnus hominum pecorisque numerus invenerit. Oppidum autem Britanni vocant, cum silvas impeditas vallo atque fossa munierunt, quo incursionis hostium vitandae causa convenire consuerunt.

[21] The Trinobantes having been defended and kept from every injury by the soldiers, the Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci, and Cassi, having sent embassies, surrender themselves to Caesar. From these he learns that not far from that place a stronghold of Cassivellaunus was at a distance, fortified by woods and marshes, in which a sufficiently great number of men and cattle had found refuge. Moreover, the Britons call it an “oppidum” when they have fortified tangled woods with a rampart and a ditch, to which, for the sake of avoiding incursions of enemies, they have been accustomed to assemble.

Eo proficiscitur cum legionibus: locum reperit egregie natura atque opere munitum; tamen hunc duabus ex partibus oppugnare contendit. Hostes paulisper morati militum nostrorum impetum non tulerunt seseque alia ex parte oppidi eiecerunt. Magnus ibi numerus pecoris repertus, multique in fuga sunt comprehensi atque interfecti.

He sets out thither with the legions; he finds a place excellently fortified by nature and by work; nevertheless he endeavors to assault it from two sides. The enemies, having delayed a little while, did not withstand the attack of our soldiers and hurled themselves out from another part of the stronghold. A great number of cattle was found there, and many in flight were captured and killed.

[22] Dum haec in his locis geruntur, Cassivellaunus ad Cantium, quod esse ad mare supra demonstravimus, quibus regionibus quattuor reges praeerant, Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus, Segovax, nuntios mittit atque eis imperat uti coactis omnibus copiis castra navalia de improviso adoriantur atque oppugent. Ei cum ad castra venissent, nostri eruptione facta multis eorum interfectis, capto etiam nobili duce Lugotorige suos incolumes reduxerunt. Cassivellaunus hoc proelio nuntiato tot detrimentis acceptis, vastatis finibus, maxime etiam permotus defectione civitatum legatos per Atrebatem Commium de deditione ad Caesarem mittit.

[22] While these things are being done in these places, Cassivellaunus sends messengers to Cantium, which, as we have shown above, is by the sea—a region over which four kings presided: Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus, Segovax—and he orders them that, all forces having been assembled, they should attack the naval camp unexpectedly and assault and besiege it. When they had come to the camp, our men, making a sally, with many of them slain and the noble leader Lugotorix also captured, brought their own back safe. This battle having been reported, after so many losses sustained, the borders laid waste, and especially moved by the defection of the states, Cassivellaunus sends legates through Commius the Atrebatian to Caesar concerning surrender.

Caesar, cum constituisset hiemare in continenti propter repentinos Galliae motus, neque multum aestatis superesset, atque id facile extrahi posse intellegeret, obsides imperat et quid in annos singulos vectigalis populo Romano Britannia penderet constituit; interdicit atque imperat Cassivellauno, ne Mandubracio neu Trinobantibus noceat.

Caesar, since he had decided to winter on the mainland on account of the sudden commotions of Gaul, and since not much of summer remained, and he understood that this could easily be protracted, demands hostages and fixes what tribute Britain should pay to the Roman people year by year; he interdicts and commands Cassivellaunus not to harm Mandubracius nor the Trinobantes.

[23] Obsidibus acceptis exercitum reducit ad mare, naves invenit refectas. His deductis, quod et captivorum magnum numerum habebat, et nonnullae tempestate deperierant naves, duobus commeatibus exercitum reportare instituit. Ac sic accidit, uti ex tanto navium numero tot navigationibus neque hoc neque superiore anno ulla omnino navis, quae milites portaret, desideraretur; at ex eis, quae inanes ex continenti ad eum remitterentur et prioris commeatus eitis militibus et quas postea Labienus faciendas curaverat numero LX, perpaucae locum caperent, reliquae fere omnes reicerentur.

[23] Hostages having been received, he leads the army back to the sea, finds the ships repaired. With these led down, because he had a great number of captives and some ships had perished by storm, he resolved to carry back the army in two voyages. And thus it befell that, out of so great a number of ships, in so many sailings, neither this year nor the previous year was any ship at all that carried soldiers missed; but of those which, empty, were sent back to him from the continent—both after the soldiers of the earlier convoy had been disembarked, and those which Labienus had afterward taken care to have made, to the number of 60—very few could make harbor, almost all the rest were driven back.

Quas cum aliquamdiu Caesar frustra exspectasset, ne anni tempore a navigatione excluderetur, quod aequinoctium suberat, necessario angustius milites collocavit ac summa tranquillitate consecuta, secunda inita cum solvisset vigilia, prima luce terram attigit omnesque incolumes naves perduxit.

After Caesar had waited for them in vain for some time, lest he be excluded from navigation by the season of the year, because the equinox was at hand, he of necessity placed the soldiers more narrowly; and when the greatest tranquility ensued, having put out as the second watch began, at first light he touched land and brought all the ships through unharmed.

[24] Subductis navibus concilioque Gallorum Samarobrivae peracto, quod eo anno frumentum in Gallia propter siccitates angustius provenerat, coactus est aliter ac superioribus annis exercitum in hibernis collocare legionesque in plures civitates distribuere. Ex quibus unam in Morinos ducendam Gaio Fabio legato dedit, alteram in Nervios Quinto Ciceroni, tertiam in Esubios Lucio Roscio; quartam in Remis cum Tito Labieno in confinio Treverorum hiemare iussit. Tres in Belgis collocavit: eis Marcum Crassum quaestorem et Lucium Munatium Plancum et Gaium Trebonium legatos praefecit.

[24] With the ships hauled up and the council of the Gauls at Samarobriva completed, because in that year the grain-crop in Gaul had come forth more narrowly on account of droughts, he was compelled otherwise than in previous years to station the army in winter quarters and to distribute the legions among more states. Of these he gave one, to be led into the Morini, to the legate Gaius Fabius; another into the Nervii to Quintus Cicero; a third into the Esubii to Lucius Roscius; a fourth among the Remi, with Titus Labienus, he ordered to winter on the confines of the Treveri. He placed three among the Belgae: over these he set Marcus Crassus, quaestor, and Lucius Munatius Plancus and Gaius Trebonius, legates.

Vnam legionem, quam proxime trans Padum conscripserat, et cohortes V in Eburones, quorum pars maxima est inter Mosam ac Rhenum, qui sub imperio Ambiorigis et Catuvolci erant, misit. Eis militibus Quintum Titurium Sabinum et Lucium Aurunculeium Cottam legatos praeesse iussit. Ad hunc modum distributis legionibus facillime inopiae frumentariae sese mederi posse existimavit.

One legion, which he had most recently enrolled across the Po, and 5 cohorts he sent into the Eburones, the greater part of whom is between the Meuse and the Rhine, who were under the command of Ambiorix and Catuvolcus. He ordered Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta, legates, to be in command over these soldiers. With the legions distributed in this manner, he judged that he could most easily remedy the frumentary scarcity.

Atque harum tamen omnium legionum hiberna praeter eam, quam Lucio Roscio in pacatissimam et quietissimam partem ducendam dederat, milibus passuum centum continebantur. Ipse interea, quoad legiones collocatas munitaque hiberna cognovisset, in Gallia morari constituit.

And yet the winter quarters of all these legions, except the one which he had given to Lucius Roscius to be led into the most pacified and most quiet part, were contained within one hundred miles. He himself, meanwhile, resolved to remain in Gaul until he had learned that the legions had been stationed and the winter quarters fortified.

[25] Erat in Carnutibus summo loco natus Tasgetius, cuius maiores in sua civitate regnum obtinuerant. Huic Caesar pro eius virtute atque in se benevolentia, quod in omnibus bellis singulari eius opera fuerat usus, maiorum locum restituerat. Tertium iam hunc annum regnantem inimici, multis palam ex civitate eius auctoribus, eum interfecerunt.

[25] There was among the Carnutes Tasgetius, born in the highest rank, whose ancestors had held the kingship in his own state. To this man Caesar, for his virtue and his benevolence toward himself, because in all the wars he had used his singular service, had restored the station of his forefathers. While he was now reigning in this third year, his enemies, with many openly from his state as instigators, killed him.

Defertur ea res ad Caesarem. Ille veritus, quod ad plures pertinebat, ne civitas eorum impulsu deficeret, Lucium Plancum cum legione ex Belgio celeriter in Carnutes proficisci iubet ibique hiemare quorumque opera cognoverat Tasgetium interfectum, hos comprehensos ad se mittere. Interim ab omnibus legatis quaestoreque, quibus legiones tradiderat, certior factus est in hiberna perventum locumque hibernis esse munitum.

This matter is reported to Caesar. He, fearing—since it pertained to more—that their state might defect at their instigation, orders Lucius Plancus with a legion to set out swiftly from Belgica into the Carnutes and to winter there, and to send to him, once apprehended, those by whose agency he had learned that Tasgetius had been slain. Meanwhile he was informed by all the legates and the quaestor, to whom he had entrusted the legions, that they had arrived at the winter quarters and that the place for the winter quarters was fortified.

[26] Diebus circiter XV, quibus in hiberna ventum est, initium repentini tumultus ac defectionis ortum est ab Ambiorige et Catuvolco; qui, cum ad fines regni sui Sabino Cottaeque praesto fuissent frumentumque in hiberna comportavissent, Indutiomari Treveri nuntiis impulsi suos concitaverunt subitoque oppressis lignatoribus magna manu ad castra oppugnatum venerunt. Cum celeriter nostri arma cepissent vallumque adscendissent atque una ex parte Hispanis equitibus emissis equestri proelio superiores fuissent, desperata re hostes suos ab oppugnatione reduxerunt. Tum suo more conclamaverunt, uti aliqui ex nostris ad colloquium prodiret: habere sese, quae de re communi dicere vellent, quibus rebus controversias minui posse sperarent.

[26] On about 15 days from the time when it had been come into winter quarters, the beginning of a sudden tumult and defection arose from Ambiorix and Catuvolcus; who, when they had been at hand to Sabinus and Cotta at the borders of their kingdom and had conveyed grain into the winter quarters, impelled by the messages of Indutiomarus the Treveran, stirred up their own men and, with the wood‑gatherers suddenly overpowered, came with a great band to the camp to attack. When our men had quickly taken up arms and had mounted the rampart, and, the Spanish horsemen having been sent out on one side, had been superior in a cavalry battle, the enemy, the case being despaired of, led their men back from the assault. Then according to their custom they shouted together that someone of ours should come forth to a colloquy: that they had things which they wished to say about the common weal, by which things they hoped that controversies could be diminished.

[27] Mittitur ad eos colloquendi causa Gaius Arpineius, eques Romanus, familiaris Quinti Tituri, et Quintus Iunius ex Hispania quidam, qui iam ante missu Caesaris ad Ambiorigem ventitare consuerat; apud quos Ambiorix ad hunc modum locutus est: Sese pro Caesaris in se beneficiis plurimum ei confiteri debere, quod eius opera stipendio liberatus esset, quod Aduatucis, finitimis suis, pendere consuesset, quodque ei et filius et fratris filius ab Caesare remissi essent, quos Aduatuci obsidum numero missos apud in servitute et catenis tenuissent; neque id, quod fecerit de oppugnatione castrorum, aut iudicio aut voluntate sua fecisse, sed coactu civitatis, suaque esse eiusmodi imperia, ut non minus haberet iuris in se multitudo quam ipse in multitudinem. Civitati porro hanc fuisse belli causam, quod repentinae Gallorum coniurationi resistere non potuerit. Id se facile ex humilitate sua probare posse, quod non adeo sit imperitus rerum ut suis copiis populum Romanum superari posse confidat.

[27] For the sake of colloquy Gaius Arpineius, a Roman knight, an intimate of Quintus Titurius, is sent to them, and a certain Quintus Junius from Spain, who already before, by Caesar’s dispatch, had been accustomed to come and go to Ambiorix; in whose presence Ambiorix spoke in this manner: that he, on account of Caesar’s benefactions toward him, owed him very much in confession, because by his agency he had been freed from tribute, which he had been accustomed to pay to the Aduatuci, his neighbors, and because both his son and his brother’s son had been sent back to him by Caesar, whom, sent in the number of hostages, the Aduatuci had held among them in servitude and chains; and that he had not done that which he had done concerning the assault of the camp either by his own judgment or will, but by the compulsion of the state, and that the commands among them were of such a sort that the multitude had no less right over him than he himself over the multitude. Moreover, that for the state this had been the cause of war: that it had not been able to resist the sudden conspiracy of the Gauls. This he could easily prove from his own lowliness, in that he is not so unskilled in affairs as to be confident that the Roman people can be overcome by his own forces.

Sed esse Galliae commune consilium: omnibus hibernis Caesaris oppugnandis hunc esse dictum diem, ne qua legio alterae legioni subsidio venire posset. Non facile Gallos Gallis negare potuisse, praesertim cum de recuperanda communi libertate consilium initum videretur. Quibus quoniam pro pietate satisfecerit, habere nunc se rationem offici pro beneficiis Caesaris: monere, orare Titurium pro hospitio, ut suae ac militum saluti consulat.

But that there is a common counsel of Gaul: that for attacking all of Caesar’s winter quarters this day has been appointed, lest any legion be able to come as aid to another legion. That the Gauls could not easily refuse the Gauls, especially since a counsel seemed to have been entered upon for the recovering of the common liberty. Since to these he has satisfied in accordance with duty, he now has regard to the obligation of duty in return for Caesar’s benefactions: he warns, he begs Titurius by the bond of hospitality, to consult for the safety of himself and of the soldiers.

Magnam manum Germanorum conductam Rhenum transisse; hanc adfore biduo. Ipsorum esse consilium, velintne priusquam finitimi sentiant eductos ex hibernis milites aut ad Ciceronem aut ad Labienum deducere, quorum alter milia passuum circiter quinquaginta, alter paulo amplius ab eis absit. Illud se polliceri et iureiurando confirmare tutum iter per fines daturum.

A large contracted band of Germans has crossed the Rhine; this will be at hand within two days. The counsel is theirs—whether they wish, before the neighbors perceive it, to lead the soldiers drawn out from the winter-quarters either to Cicero or to Labienus, of whom the one is about 50 miles away, the other a little more distant from them. This he promises and confirms by oath: that he will give a safe passage through their borders.

Quod cum faciat, et civitati sese consulere, quod hibernis levetur, et Caesari pro eius meritis gratiam referre. Hac oratione habita discedit Ambiorix.

While he does this, he says that he is consulting for the civitas, since it is relieved from the winter-quarters, and that he returns gratitude to Caesar for his merits. This oration delivered, Ambiorix departs.

[28] Arpineius et Iunius, quae audierunt, ad legatos deferunt. Illi repentina re perturbati, etsi ab hoste ea dicebantur, tamen non neglegenda existimabant maximeque hac re permovebantur, quod civitatem ignobilem atque humilem Eburonum sua sponte populo Romano bellum facere ausam vix erat credendum. Itaque ad consilium rem deferunt magnaque inter eos exsistit controversia.

[28] Arpineius and Junius report what they had heard to the legates. They, disturbed by the sudden affair, although these things were being said by the enemy, nevertheless judged that they were not to be neglected, and were especially moved by this consideration: that it was scarcely to be believed that the state of the Eburones, ignoble and humble, had dared of its own accord to make war upon the Roman People. Therefore they refer the matter to a council, and a great controversy arises among them.

Lucius Aurunculeius compluresque tribuni militum et primorum ordinum centuriones nihil temere agendum neque ex hibernis iniussu Caesaris discedendum existimabant: quantasvis [magnas] copias etiam Germanorum sustineri posse munitis hibernis docebant: rem esse testimonio, quod primum hostium impetum multis ultro vulneribus illatis fortissime sustinuerint: re frumentaria non premi; interea et ex proximis hibernis et a Caesare conventura subsidia: postremo quid esse levius aut turpius, quam auctore hoste de summis rebus capere consilium?

Lucius Aurunculeius and several military tribunes and centurions of the first ranks thought that nothing should be done rashly nor should they depart from the winter quarters without Caesar’s order: they showed that however great [great] forces, even of the Germans, could be sustained with the winter quarters fortified: the fact was testimony, because they had most bravely withstood the first assault of the enemies, with many wounds inflicted by them in return: in the grain-supply they were not hard-pressed; meanwhile from the nearest winter quarters and from Caesar reinforcements would assemble: finally, what is more light or more disgraceful than, with the enemy as author, to take counsel concerning the highest matters?

[29] Contra ea Titurius sero facturos clamitabat, cum maiores manus hostium adiunctis Germanis convenissent aut cum aliquid calamitatis in proximis hibernis esset acceptum. Brevem consulendi esse occasionem. Caesarem arbitrari profectum in Italiam; neque aliter Carnutes interficiendi Tasgeti consilium fuisse capturos, neque Eburones, si ille adesset, tanta contemptione nostri ad castra venturos esse.

[29] In reply to these things, Titurius kept shouting that they would be doing it too late, when larger bands of the enemy, the Germans having been adjoined, had assembled, or when some calamity had been met with in the nearest winter quarters. That the occasion for taking counsel was brief. That he supposed Caesar had set out into Italy; and that otherwise the Carnutes would not have seized upon the counsel of killing Tasgetius, nor would the Eburones, if he were present, have come to the camp with such contempt of us.

Non hostem auctorem, sed rem spectare: subesse Rhenum; magno esse Germanis dolori Ariovisti mortem et superiores nostras victorias; ardere Galliam tot contumeliis acceptis sub populi Romani imperium redactam superiore gloria rei militaris exstincta. Postremo quis hoc sibi persuaderet, sine certa re Ambiorigem ad eiusmodi consilium descendisse? Suam sententiam in utramque partem esse tutam: si nihil esset durius, nullo cum periculo ad proximam legionem perventuros; si Gallia omnis cum Germanis consentiret, unam esse in celeritate positam salutem.

that he looked not to the enemy as instigator, but to the matter itself: the Rhine was close at hand; the death of Ariovistus and our earlier victories were a great grief to the Germans; Gaul was burning, after so many contumelies received, reduced under the dominion of the Roman people, with her former glory of military prowess extinguished. Lastly, who could persuade himself that Ambiorix had descended to a plan of this sort without some definite ground? His opinion was safe on either side: if nothing proved more grievous, they would reach the nearest legion with no danger; if all Gaul were in accord with the Germans, their one salvation lay in speed.

Cottae quidem atque eorum, qui dissentirent, consilium quem habere exitum? In quo si non praesens periculum, at certe longinqua obsidione fames esset timenda.

Indeed, what outcome would the plan of Cotta and of those who dissented have? In which, if not a present danger, yet assuredly famine from a far-drawn siege would have to be feared.

[30] Hac in utramque partem disputatione habita, cum a Cotta primisque ordinibus acriter resisteretur, "Vincite," inquit, "si ita vultis," Sabinus, et id clariore voce, ut magna pars militum exaudiret; "neque is sum," inquit, "qui gravissime ex vobis mortis periculo terrear: hi sapient; si gravius quid acciderit, abs te rationem reposcent, qui, si per te liceat, perendino die cum proximis hibernis coniuncti communem cum reliquis belli casum sustineant, non reiecti et relegati longe ab ceteris aut ferro aut fame intereant."

[30] With this debate held on both sides, since Cotta and the first ranks were resisting sharply, “Win out,” said Sabinus, “if you wish it so,” and he said it in a clearer voice, so that a great part of the soldiers might overhear; “nor am I the one among you who is most gravely terrified by the danger of death: they will be wise; if anything more serious happens, they will demand an account from you—you who, if it should be permitted by you, on the day after tomorrow, joined with the nearest winter-quarters, would sustain a common chance of war with the rest, and not, cast back and relegated far from the others, perish either by iron or by famine.”

[31] Consurgitur ex consilio; comprehendunt utrumque et orant, ne sua dissensione et pertinacia rem in summum periculum deducat: facilem esse rem, seu maneant, seu proficiscantur, si modo unum omnes sentiant ac probent; contra in dissensione nullam se salutem perspicere. Res disputatione ad mediam noctem perducitur. Tandem dat Cotta permotus manus: superat sententia Sabini.

[31] They rise from the council; they lay hold of both and beg that, by their dissension and pertinacity, they not lead the matter into the utmost peril: that the matter is easy, whether they remain or set out, if only all think one thing together and approve it; on the contrary, in dissension they perceive no safety. The matter is carried on by disputation to midnight. At last Cotta, moved, yields: the opinion of Sabinus prevails.

Pronuntiatur prima luce ituros. Consumitur vigiliis reliqua pars noctis, cum sua quisque miles circumspiceret, quid secum portare posset, quid ex instrumento hibernorum relinquere cogeretur. Omnia excogitantur, quare nec sine periculo maneatur, et languore militum et vigiliis periculum augeatur.

It is proclaimed that they will go at first light. The remaining part of the night is consumed in vigils, while each soldier looked around his own belongings, what he could carry with him, what from the equipment of the winter-quarters he was compelled to leave behind. Everything is excogitated: why they should not remain without danger, and how by the languor of the soldiers and by the vigils the danger would be augmented.

Prima luce sic ex castris proficiscuntur, ut quibus esset persuasum non ab hoste, sed ab homine amicissimo Ambiorige consilium datum, longissimo agmine maximisque impedimentis.

At first light they thus set out from the camp, as those who had been persuaded that the counsel had been given not by an enemy, but by a most friendly man, Ambiorix, in a very long column and with the greatest baggage train.

[32] At hostes, posteaquam ex nocturno fremitu vigiliisque de profectione eorum senserunt, collocatis insidiis bipertito in silvis opportuno atque occulto loco a milibus passuum circiter duobus Romanorum adventum exspectabant, et cum se maior pars agminis in magnam convallem demisisset, ex utraque parte eius vallis subito se ostenderunt novissimosque premere et primos prohibere ascensu atque iniquissimo nostris loco proelium committere coeperunt.

[32] But the enemies, after they perceived from the nocturnal din and the vigils about their departure, having stationed an ambuscade in two parts in the woods, in a suitable and hidden place about two miles from the Romans, were awaiting the Romans’ arrival; and when the greater part of the marching column had let itself down into a great valley, from either side of that valley they suddenly showed themselves and began to press the rearmost and to prevent the foremost from an ascent, and to commence battle in a most disadvantageous place for our men.

[33] Tum demum Titurius, qui nihil ante providisset, trepidare et concursare cohortesque disponere, haec tamen ipsa timide atque ut eum omnia deficere viderentur; quod plerumque eis accidere consuevit, qui in ipso negotio consilium capere coguntur. At Cotta, qui cogitasset haec posse in itinere accidere atque ob eam causam profectionis auctor non fuisset, nulla in re communi saluti deerat et in appellandis cohortandisque militibus imperatoris et in pugna militis officia praestabat. Cum propter longitudinem agminis minus facile omnia per se obire et, quid quoque loco faciendum esset, providere possent, iusserunt pronuntiare, ut impedimenta relinquerent atque in orbem consisterent.

[33] Then at last Titurius, who had foreseen nothing beforehand, began to panic and run about and to deploy the cohorts—yet these very actions timidly and in such a way that everything seemed to fail him; which for the most part is accustomed to happen to those who are compelled to take counsel in the very business itself. But Cotta, who had considered that these things could happen on the march and for that reason had not been an advocate of setting out, in no respect was failing the common safety, and in calling and encouraging the soldiers he was performing the duties of a commander, and in the fight those of a soldier. Since, on account of the length of the column, they were less easily able to attend to everything by themselves and to foresee what ought to be done in each place, they ordered it to be proclaimed that they should leave the baggage and take their stand in a circle.

Quod consilium etsi in eiusmodi casu reprehendendum non est, tamen incommode accidit: nam et nostris militibus spem minuit et hostes ad pugnam alacriores effecit, quod non sine summo timore et desperatione id factum videbatur. Praeterea accidit, quod fieri necesse erat, ut vulgo milites ab signis discederent, quae quisque eorum carissima haberet, ab impedimentis petere atque arripere properaret, clamore et fletu omnia complerentur.

Which counsel, although in a case of this kind is not to be reprehended, nevertheless turned out incommodiously: for it both diminished hope for our soldiers and made the enemies more alacritous for battle, because it seemed to have been done not without utmost fear and desperation. Moreover, it happened, as it had to happen, that the soldiers, en masse, departed from the standards, and each hurried to seek and snatch from the baggage whatever he held most dear, and everything was filled with shouting and weeping.

[34] At barbaris consilium non defuit. Nam duces eorum tota acie pronuntiare iusserunt, ne quis ab loco discederet: illorum esse praedam atque illis reservari quaecumque Romani reliquissent: proinde omnia in victoria posita existimarent. Erant et virtute et studio pugnandi pares; nostri, tametsi ab duce et a fortuna deserebantur, tamen omnem spem salutis in virtute ponebant, et quotiens quaeque cohors procurrerat, ab ea parte magnus numerus hostium cadebat.

[34] But the barbarians did not lack for counsel. For their leaders ordered it to be proclaimed along the whole battle-line that no one should depart from his place: that the booty was theirs and that whatever the Romans had left behind was reserved for them; accordingly they should consider everything as placed in victory. They were equal both in valor and in zeal for fighting; our men, although they were being deserted by their leader and by fortune, nevertheless placed all hope of safety in valor; and as often as each cohort had run forward, on that side a great number of the enemy fell.

Qua re animadversa Ambiorix pronuntiari iubet, ut procul tela coniciant neu propius accedant et, quam in partem Romani impetum fecerint, cedant (levitate armorum et cotidiana exercitatione nihil eis noceri posse), rursus se ad signa recipientes insequantur.

Upon this matter being noticed, Ambiorix orders it to be proclaimed that they should hurl missiles from afar and not approach nearer, and, to whatever side the Romans have made an attack, they should yield (that by the lightness of their arms and daily exercise nothing could be able to harm them), and again pursue them as they take themselves back to the standards.

[35] Quo praecepto ab eis diligentissime observato, cum quaepiam cohors ex orbe excesserat atque impetum fecerat, hostes velocissime refugiebant. Interim eam partem nudari necesse erat et ab latere aperto tela recipi. Rursus cum in eum locum unde erant egressi reverti coeperant, et ab eis qui cesserant et ab eis qui proximi steterant circumveniebantur; sin autem locum tenere vellent, nec virtuti locus relinquebatur, neque ab tanta multitudine coniecta tela conferti vitare poterant.

[35] With this precept most diligently observed by them, whenever any cohort had gone out from the circle and had made an onset, the enemies were fleeing most swiftly. Meanwhile it was necessary that that part be denuded and receive missiles from the open flank. Again, when they began to return to the place whence they had gone out, they were being surrounded both by those who had given way and by those who had stood nearest; but if, however, they wished to hold their position, neither was a place left for valor, nor could they, packed together, avoid the missiles hurled by so great a multitude.

Tamen tot incommodis conflictati, multis vulneribus acceptis resistebant et magna parte diei consumpta, cum a prima luce ad horam octavam pugnaretur, nihil quod ipsis esset indignum committebant. Tum Tito Balventio, qui superiore anno primum pilum duxerat, viro forti et magnae auctoritatis, utrumque femur tragula traicitur; Quintus Lucanius, eiusdem ordinis, fortissime pugnans, dum circumvento filio subvenit, interficitur; Lucius Cotta legatus omnes cohortes ordinesque adhortans in adversum os funda vulneratur.

Nevertheless, though harried by so many inconveniences and having received many wounds, they were resisting, and with a great part of the day consumed—since from first light to the eighth hour they were fighting—they committed nothing that was unworthy of themselves. Then Titus Balventius, who in the previous year had served as primus pilus, a brave man and of great authority, is pierced through both thighs by a javelin; Quintus Lucanius, of the same order, fighting most bravely, while he comes to the aid of his son who had been surrounded, is slain; Lucius Cotta the legate, exhorting all the cohorts and ranks, is wounded full in the face by a sling(-stone).

[36] His rebus permotus Quintus Titurius, cum procul Ambiorigem suos cohortantem conspexisset, interpretem suum Gnaeum Pompeium ad eum mittit rogatum ut sibi militibusque parcat. Ille appellatus respondit: si velit secum colloqui, licere; sperare a multitudine impetrari posse, quod ad militum salutem pertineat; ipsi vero nihil nocitum iri, inque eam rem se suam fidem interponere. Ille cum Cotta saucio communicat, si videatur, pugna ut excedant et cum Ambiorige una colloquantur: sperare ab eo de sua ac militum salute impetrari posse.

[36] Moved by these things, Quintus Titurius, when he had caught sight at a distance of Ambiorix exhorting his men, sends his interpreter Gnaeus Pompeius to him to ask that he spare himself and the soldiers. He, being addressed, replied: if he wishes to hold a colloquy with him, it is permitted; he hopes that from the multitude it can be obtained, which pertains to the safety of the soldiers; that nothing at all will be done to harm himself, and for this matter he interposes his own good faith. He confers with the wounded Cotta, that, if it seems advisable, they should withdraw from the fight and together hold a colloquy with Ambiorix: he hopes that from him it can be obtained concerning his own and the soldiers’ safety.

Cotta se ad armatum hostem iturum negat atque in eo perseverat.

Cotta denies that he will go to an armed enemy and persists in that.

[37] Sabinus quos in praesentia tribunos militum circum se habebat et primorum ordinum centuriones se sequi iubet et, cum propius Ambiorigem accessisset, iussus arma abicere imperatum facit suisque ut idem faciant imperat. Interim, dum de condicionibus inter se agunt longiorque consulto ab Ambiorige instituitur sermo, paulatim circumventus interficitur. Tum vero suo more victoriam conclamant atque ululatum tollunt impetuque in nostros facto ordines perturbant.

[37] Sabinus orders the military tribunes whom he had around him at the moment and the centurions of the first ranks to follow him; and when he had approached nearer to Ambiorix, being ordered to throw away his arms he does what was commanded, and he orders his men to do the same. Meanwhile, while they are dealing between themselves about the conditions, and a longer speech is deliberately set up by Ambiorix, he is gradually surrounded and slain. Then indeed, in their customary manner, they shout victory and raise an ululation, and with an assault made upon our men they perturb the ranks.

Ibi Lucius Cotta pugnans interficitur cum maxima parte militum. Reliqui se in castra recipiunt unde erant egressi. Ex quibus Lucius Petrosidius aquilifer, cum magna multitudine hostium premeretur, aquilam intra vallum proiecit; ipse pro castris fortissime pugnans occiditur.

There Lucius Cotta, fighting, is slain with the very greatest part of the soldiers. The rest withdraw into the camp whence they had gone out. Of these, Lucius Petrosidius, the aquilifer, when he was being pressed by a great multitude of enemies, threw the eagle within the rampart; he himself, fighting most bravely before the camp, is killed.

Illi aegre ad noctem oppugnationem sustinent; noctu ad unum omnes desperata salute se ipsi interficiunt. Pauci ex proelio lapsi incertis itineribus per silvas ad Titum Labienum legatum in hiberna perveniunt atque eum de rebus gestis certiorem faciunt.

They with difficulty sustain the assault until night; by night, to a man, all, with their safety despaired of, kill themselves. A few, having slipped from the battle, by uncertain routes through the forests, arrive at Titus Labienus, the legate, in winter quarters, and make him more certain about the deeds done.

[38] Hac victoria sublatus Ambiorix statim cum equitatu in Aduatucos, qui erant eius regno finitimi, proficiscitur; neque noctem neque diem intermittit pedita tumque subsequi iubet. Re demonstrata Aduatucisque concitatis postero die in Nervios pervenit hortaturque, ne sui in perpetuum liberandi atque ulciscendi Romanos pro eis quas acceperint iniuriis occasionem dimittant: interfectos esse legatos duos magnamque partem exercitus interisse demonstrat; nihil esse negoti subito oppressam legionem quae cum Cicerone hiemet interfici; se ad eam rem profitetur adiutorem. Facile hac oratione Nerviis persuadet.

[38] Uplifted by this victory, Ambiorix at once sets out with the cavalry to the Aduatuci, who were neighbors to his kingdom; and he intermits neither night nor day, and he orders the foot-soldiers to follow. With the matter shown and the Aduatuci roused, on the next day he arrives among the Nervii and exhorts them not to let slip the opportunity of freeing themselves forever and of avenging themselves upon the Romans for the injuries which they have received: he points out that two legates have been slain and that a great part of the army has perished; that it is no trouble to kill the legion which winters with Cicero, if it be suddenly overpowered; he declares himself a helper for that undertaking. By this speech he easily persuades the Nervii.

[39] Itaque confestim dimissis nuntiis ad Ceutrones, Grudios, Levacos, Pleumoxios, Geidumnos, qui omnes sub eorum imperio sunt, quam maximas manus possunt cogunt et de improviso ad Ciceronis hiberna advolant nondum ad eum fama de Tituri morte perlata. Huic quoque accidit, quod fuit necesse, ut nonnulli milites, qui lignationis munitionisque causa in silvas discessissent, repentino equitum adventu interciperentur. His circumventis magna manu Eburones, Nervii, Aduatuci atque horum omnium socii et clientes legionem oppugnare incipiunt.

[39] Therefore, immediately, with messengers sent to the Ceutrones, the Grudii, the Levaci, the Pleumoxii, the Geidumni, who are all under their command, they muster as great forces as they can and, unexpectedly, swoop upon Cicero’s winter quarters, the report about Titurius’s death not yet conveyed to him. To him also it befell, as was necessary, that some soldiers, who had gone off into the woods for the sake of wood-gathering and fortification, were intercepted by the sudden arrival of cavalry. When these had been surrounded by a great band, the Eburones, the Nervii, the Aduatuci, and the allies and clients of all these begin to attack the legion.

Nostri celeriter ad arma concurrunt, vallum conscendunt. Aegre is dies sustentatur, quod omnem spem hostes in celeritate ponebant atque hanc adepti victoriam in perpetuum se fore victores confidebant.

Our men swiftly run to arms and mount the rampart. With difficulty that day is sustained, because the enemies were placing all their hope in celerity, and, having obtained this victory, were confident that they would be victors in perpetuity.

[40] Mittuntur ad Caesarem confestim ab Cicerone litterae magnis propositis praemiis, si pertulissent: obsessis omnibus viis missi intercipiuntur. Noctu ex materia, quam munitionis causa comportaverant, turres admodum CXX excitantur incredibili celeritate; quae deesse operi videbantur, perficiuntur. Hostes postero die multo maioribus coactis copiis castra oppugnant, fossam complent.

[40] Letters are sent forthwith to Caesar by Cicero, with great rewards proposed if they should deliver them: with all the roads beset, those sent are intercepted. By night, out of the material which they had brought in for the sake of fortification, towers—no fewer than 120—are raised with incredible speed; the things which seemed to be lacking to the work are completed. On the next day the enemy, with much greater forces gathered, attack the camp, they fill up the ditch.

Eadem ratione, qua pridie, ab nostris resistitur. Hoc idem reliquis deinceps fit diebus. Nulla pars nocturni temporis ad laborem intermittitur; non aegris, non vulneratis facultas quietis datur.

By the same method as on the day before, resistance is offered by our men. The same is done on the remaining days in succession. No part of the nocturnal time is intermitted from labor; not to the sick, not to the wounded, is any opportunity of rest given.

Quaecumque ad proximi diei oppugnationem opus sunt noctu comparantur; multae praeustae sudes, magnus muralium pilorum numerus instituitur; turres contabulantur, pinnae loricaeque ex cratibus attexuntur. Ipse Cicero, cum tenuissima valetudine esset, ne nocturnum quidem sibi tempus ad quietem relinquebat, ut ultro militum concursu ac vocibus sibi parcere cogeretur.

Whatever things are needed for the assault of the next day are prepared by night; many fire-hardened stakes, a great number of mural javelins are set in place; towers are furnished with floors, and battlements and parapets are woven on from hurdles. Cicero himself, though he was of very slight health, did not leave even the nighttime to himself for rest, so that by the concourse and cries of the soldiers he was compelled to spare himself.

[41] Tunc duces principesque Nerviorum qui aliquem sermonis aditum causamque amicitiae cum Cicerone habebant colloqui sese velle dicunt. Facta potestate eadem quae Ambiorix cum Titurio egerat commemorant: omnem esse in armis Galliam; Germanos Rhenum transisse; Caesaris reliquorumque hiberna oppugnari. Addunt etiam de Sabini morte: Ambiorigem ostentant fidei faciendae causa.

[41] Then the leaders and chief men of the Nervii, who had some access of conversation and a ground of amity with Cicero, say that they wish to hold a colloquy. Permission having been granted, they commemorate the same things which Ambiorix had transacted with Titurius: that all Gaul is in arms; that the Germans have crossed the Rhine; that the winter-quarters of Caesar and of the rest are being attacked. They add also concerning the death of Sabinus; they produce Ambiorix as a guarantee of good faith.

Errare eos dicunt, si quidquam ab his praesidi sperent, qui suis rebus diffidant; sese tamen hoc esse in Ciceronem populumque Romanum animo, ut nihil nisi hiberna recusent atque hanc inveterascere consuetudinem nolint: licere illis incolumibus per se ex hibernis discedere et quascumque in partes velint sine metu proficisci. Cicero ad haec unum modo respondit: non esse consuetudinem populi Romani accipere ab hoste armato condicionem: si ab armis discedere velint, se adiutore utantur legatosque ad Caesarem mittant; sperare pro eius iustitia, quae petierint, impetraturos.

They say that they are in error, if they hope for any protection from those who despair of their own resources; nevertheless they are in this mind toward Cicero and the Roman people, that they refuse nothing except the winter-quarters and do not wish this custom to become inveterate: it is permitted by them that they, unharmed, depart from the winter-quarters on their own authority and set out without fear into whatever parts they wish. To these things Cicero made only one reply: that it is not the custom of the Roman people to accept a condition from an armed enemy; if they should be willing to depart from arms, let them use himself as helper and send legates to Caesar; he hopes, in view of his justice, that they will obtain what they have sought.

[42] Ab hac spe repulsi Nervii vallo pedum IX et fossa pedum XV hiberna cingunt. Haec et superiorum annorum consuetudine ab nobis cognoverant et, quos clam de exercitu habebant captivos, ab eis docebantur; sed nulla ferramentorum copia quae esset ad hunc usum idonea, gladiis caespites circumcidere, manibus sagulisque terram exhaurire nitebantur. Qua quidem ex re hominum multitudo cognosci potuit: nam minus horis tribus milium pedum XV in circuitu munitionem perfecerunt reliquisque diebus turres ad altitudinem valli, falces testudinesque, quas idem captivi docuerant, parare ac facere coeperunt.

[42] Repulsed from this hope, the Nervii encircle the winter quarters with a rampart of 9 feet and a ditch of 15 feet. These things they had learned from us both by the practice of previous years and were being taught by those prisoners from the army whom they held secretly; but with no supply of tools suitable for this use, they strove to cut the turfs with their swords and to scoop out the earth with their hands and little cloaks. From which fact indeed the multitude of men could be recognized: for in less than 3 hours they completed a fortification of 15,000 feet in circuit, and in the remaining days they began to prepare and construct towers to the height of the rampart, grappling hooks and mantelets, which the same prisoners had taught them.

[43] Septimo oppugnationis die maximo coorto vento ferventes fusili ex argilla glandes fundis et fervefacta iacula in casas, quae more Gallico stramentis erant tectae, iacere coeperunt. Hae celeriter ignem comprehenderunt et venti magnitudine in omnem locum castrorum distulerunt. Hostes maximo clamore sicuti parta iam atque explorata victoria turres testudinesque agere et scalis vallum ascendere coeperunt.

[43] On the seventh day of the assault, with a very great wind having arisen, they began to hurl by slings glowing bullets cast from clay and red-hot javelins into the huts, which in the Gallic manner were roofed with straw. These quickly caught fire and, by the magnitude of the wind, spread into every place of the camp. The enemies, with a very great clamor, as if victory were already obtained and ascertained, began to bring up towers and tortoises and to climb the rampart with ladders.

At tanta militum virtus atque ea praesentia animi fuit, ut, cum undique flamma torrerentur maximaque telorum multitudine premerentur suaque omnia impedimenta atque omnes fortunas conflagrare intellegerent, non modo demigrandi causa de vallo decederet nemo, sed paene ne respiceret quidem quisquam, ac tum omnes acerrime fortissimeque pugnarent. Hic dies nostris longe gravissimus fuit; sed tamen hunc habuit eventum, ut eo die maximus numerus hostium vulneraretur atque interficeretur, ut se sub ipso vallo constipaverant recessumque primis ultimi non dabant. Paulum quidem intermissa flamma et quodam loco turri adacta et contingente vallum tertiae cohortis centuriones ex eo, quo stabant, loco recesserunt suosque omnes removerunt, nutu vocibusque hostes, si introire vellent, vocare coeperunt; quorum progredi ausus est nemo.

Yet so great was the valor of the soldiers and such presence of mind, that, although on all sides they were being scorched by flame and pressed by a very great multitude of missiles, and understood that all their baggage and all their fortunes were blazing, not only did no one depart from the rampart for the sake of withdrawing, but almost no one even looked back, and then all fought most keenly and most bravely. This day was by far the most grievous for our men; yet nevertheless it had this outcome, that on that day the greatest number of the enemy were wounded and killed, because they had packed themselves close beneath the very rampart and the hindmost were not giving a retreat to the foremost. When the flame was indeed somewhat abated, and in a certain place a tower had been driven up and was touching the rampart, the centurions of the third cohort withdrew from the place where they were standing and removed all their men, and by nod and by voices began to summon the enemy, if they wished to enter; of whom no one dared to advance.

Tum ex omni parte lapidibus coniectis deturbati, turrisque succensa est.

Then, with stones hurled from every part, they were driven off, and the tower was set on fire.

[44] Erant in ea legione fortissimi viri, centuriones, qui primis ordinibus appropinquarent, Titus Pullo et Lucius Vorenus. Hi perpetuas inter se controversias habebant, quinam anteferretur, omnibusque annis de locis summis simultatibus contendebant. Ex his Pullo, cum acerrime ad munitiones pugnaretur, "Quid dubitas," inquit, " Vorene?

[44] In that legion there were most brave men, centurions, who were approaching the foremost ranks, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus. These had perpetual controversies between themselves as to which should be preferred, and every year they contended with animosities about the highest positions. Of these, Pullo, when there was fiercest fighting at the fortifications, said, "Why do you hesitate," says he, " Vorenus?"

aut quem locum tuae probandae virtutis exspectas ? hic dies de nostris controversiis iudicabit." Haec cum dixisset, procedit extra munitiones quaque pars hostium confertissima est visa irrumpit. Ne Vorenus quidem tum sese vallo continet, sed omnium veritus existimationem subsequitur. Mediocri spatio relicto Pullo pilum in hostes immittit atque unum ex multitudine procurrentem traicit; quo percusso et exanimato hunc scutis protegunt, in hostem tela universi coniciunt neque dant regrediendi facultatem.

"or what place are you awaiting for your virtue to be proved ? this day will adjudicate our controversies." When he had said these things, he proceeds outside the fortifications and bursts in where the part of the enemy seemed most crowded. Nor indeed does Vorenus then keep himself within the rampart, but, fearing the estimation of all, he follows close. With a moderate space left between, Pullo sends his javelin into the enemy and pierces one from the multitude who was running forward; when he was struck and knocked senseless, they cover this man with shields, they all hurl missiles at the enemy, and they do not give him the opportunity of retreating.

Transfigitur scutum Pulloni et verutum in balteo defigitur. Avertit hic casus vaginam et gladium educere conanti dextram moratur manum, impeditumque hostes circumsistunt. Succurrit inimicus illi Vorenus et laboranti subvenit.

Pullo’s shield is transfixed and a javelin is driven into his belt. This mishap turns the scabbard aside and, as he tries to draw his sword, delays his right hand; and the enemy, with him hampered, surround him. Vorenus, his rival, succors him and comes to the aid of the hard‑pressed man.

Ad hunc se confestim a Pullone omnis multitudo convertit: illum veruto arbitrantur occisum. Gladio comminus rem gerit Vorenus atque uno interfecto reliquos paulum propellit; dum cupidius instat, in locum deiectus inferiorem concidit. Huic rursus circumvento fert subsidium Pullo, atque ambo incolumes compluribus interfectis summa cum laude sese intra munitiones recipiunt.

Toward this man the whole multitude immediately turns, away from Pullo; they suppose Pullo to have been slain by the javelin. Vorenus conducts the affair with the sword at close quarters and, one having been slain, drives the rest back a little; while he presses on too eagerly, cast down into a lower place he falls. To this man, again surrounded, Pullo brings succor, and both, unharmed, with several slain, with the highest praise withdraw themselves within the fortifications.

Sic fortuna in contentione et certamine utrumque versavit, ut alter alteri inimicus auxilio salutique esset, neque diiudicari posset, uter utri virtute anteferendus videretur.

Thus Fortune, in contention and in contest, turned each about, so that each, though an enemy to the other, was an aid and a salvation to him; nor could it be adjudged which of the two seemed to be preferred to the other in virtue.

[45] Quanto erat in dies gravior atque asperior oppugnatio, et maxime quod magna parte militum confecta vulneribus res ad paucitatem defensorum pervenerat, tanto crebriores litterae nuntiique ad Caesarem mittebantur; quorum pars deprehensa in conspectu nostrorum militum cum cruciatu necabatur. Erat unus intus Nervius nomine Vertico, loco natus honesto, qui a prima obsidione ad Ciceronem perfugerat suamque ei fidem praestiterat. Hic servo spe libertatis magnisque persuadet praemiis, ut litteras ad Caesarem deferat.

[45] The assault was day by day graver and harsher, and especially because, with a great part of the soldiers worn out by wounds, the situation had come to a paucity of defenders; all the more frequent letters and messengers were being sent to Caesar, a portion of whom, when apprehended, were put to death with torture in the sight of our soldiers. There was within a Nervian by the name Vertico, born of honorable rank, who from the first siege had fled for refuge to Cicero and had exhibited his fidelity to him. He persuades a slave, by hope of liberty and by great rewards, to deliver letters to Caesar.

Has ille in iaculo illigatas effert et Gallus inter Gallos sine ulla suspicione versatus ad Caesarem pervenit. Ab eo de periculis Ciceronis legionisque cognoscitur.

He carries them out bound to a javelin, and, a Gaul among Gauls, moving about without any suspicion, he arrives at Caesar. From him it is learned about the perils of Cicero and of the legion.

[46] Caesar acceptis litteris hora circiter XI diei statim nuntium in Bellovacos ad M. Crassum quaestorem mittit, cuius hiberna aberant ab eo milia passuum XXV; iubet media nocte legionem proficisci celeriterque ad se venire. Exit cum nuntio Crassus. Alterum ad Gaium Fabium legatum mittit, ut in Atrebatium fines legionem adducat, qua sibi iter faciendum sciebat.

[46] Caesar, the letters having been received, at about the 11th hour of the day, immediately sends a messenger among the Bellovaci to Marcus Crassus, quaestor, whose winter quarters were 25 miles away from him; he orders that in the middle of the night the legion set out and come to him quickly. Crassus departs with the messenger. He sends another to Gaius Fabius, legate, to bring a legion into the borders of the Atrebates, by which route he knew he would have to make his way.

Scribit Labieno, si rei publicae commodo facere posset, cum legione ad fines Nerviorum veniat. Reliquam partem exercitus, quod paulo aberat longius, non putat exspectandam; equites circiter quadringentos ex proximis hibernis colligit.

He writes to Labienus that, if he could do it to the advantage of the Republic, he should come with a legion to the borders of the Nervii. He does not think the remaining part of the army, since it was a little farther off, is to be awaited; he collects about 400 horsemen from the nearest winter quarters.

[47] Hora circiter tertia ab antecursoribus de Crassi adventu certior factus eo die milia passuum XX pro cedit. Crassum Samarobrivae praeficit legionemque attribuit, quod ibi impedimenta exercitus, obsides civitatum, litteras publicas frumentumque omne quod eo tolerandae hiemis causa devexerat relinquebat. Fabius, ut imperatum erat, non ita multum moratus in itinere cum legione occurrit.

[47] About the third hour, informed by the forerunners about the arrival of Crassus, he advances 20 miles that day. He puts Crassus in command at Samarobriva and assigns him a legion, because there he was leaving the baggage of the army, the hostages of the states, the public letters, and all the grain which he had conveyed there for the sake of enduring the winter. Fabius, as had been ordered, not having delayed very much, meets him on the march with the legion.

Labienus interitu Sabini et caede cohortium cognita, cum omnes ad eum Treverorum copiae venissent, veritus, si ex hibernis fugae similem profectionem fecisset, ut hostium impetum sustinere posset, praesertim quos recenti victoria efferri sciret, litteras Caesari remittit, quanto cum periculo legionem ex hibernis educturus esset; rem gestam in Eburonibus perscribit; docet omnes equitatus peditatusque copias Treverorum tria milia passuum longe ab suis castris consedisse.

Labienus, the demise of Sabinus and the slaughter of the cohorts having become known, since all the forces of the Treveri had come to him, fearing that, if he made from the winter-quarters a setting-forth like a flight, he would not be able to sustain the enemy’s onset, especially those whom he knew to be carried away by a recent victory, remits letters to Caesar, setting forth with how great a peril he was about to lead the legion out of the winter-quarters; he writes out in full the affair accomplished among the Eburones; he informs that all the cavalry and infantry forces of the Treveri had encamped three miles away from his camp.

[48] Caesar consilio eius probato, etsi opinione trium legionum deiectus ad duas redierat, tamen unum communis salutis auxilium in celeritate ponebat. Venit magnis itineribus in Nerviorum fines. Ibi ex captivis cognoscit, quae apud Ciceronem gerantur, quantoque in periculo res sit.

[48] Caesar, with his counsel approved, although, in the expectation of three legions, having been reduced he had returned to two, nevertheless placed the one aid of the common safety in speed. He came by great marches into the borders of the Nervii. There from captives he learns what is being done at Cicero’s, and how great a peril the situation is in.

Tum cuidam ex equitibus Gallis magnis praemiis persuadet uti ad Ciceronem epistolam deferat. Hanc Graecis conscriptam litteris mittit, ne intercepta epistola nostra ab hostibus consilia cognoscantur. Si adire non possit, monet ut tragulam cum epistola ad amentum deligata intra munitionem castrorum abiciat.

Then he persuades a certain one of the Gallic horsemen, with great rewards, to carry an epistle to Cicero. He sends this written in Greek letters, lest, if our epistle is intercepted by the enemy, our counsels be recognized. If he cannot gain access, he advises that he should cast a javelin, with the epistle tied to the thong, within the fortification of the camp.

In litteris scribit se cum legionibus profectum celeriter adfore; hortatur ut pristinam virtutem retineat. Gallus periculum veritus, ut erat praeceptum, tragulam mittit. Haec casu ad turrim adhaesit neque ab nostris biduo animadversa tertio die a quodam milite conspicitur, dempta ad Ciceronem defertur.

In the letter he writes that he, having set out with the legions, will be present quickly; he urges that he retain his pristine valor. The Gaul, fearing the danger, as it had been prescribed, sends the javelin. This by chance stuck to a tower and, not noticed by our men for two days, on the third day is seen by a certain soldier; taken down, it is carried to Cicero.

Ille perlectam in conventu militum recitat maximaque omnes laetitia adficit. Tum fumi incendiorum procul videbantur; quae res omnem dubitationem adventus legionum expulit.

He, having read it through, recites it in the assembly of the soldiers and fills everyone with very great joy. Then the smokes of fires were seen far off; which matter expelled all doubt about the advent of the legions.

[49] Galli re cognita per exploratores obsidionem relinquunt, ad Caesarem omnibus copiis contendunt. Hae erant armata circiter milia LX. Cicero data facultate Gallum ab eodem Verticone, quem supra demonstravimus, repetit, qui litteras ad Caesarem deferat; hunc admonet, iter caute diligenterque faciat: perscribit in litteris hostes ab se discessisse omnemque ad eum multitudinem convertisse. Quibus litteris circiter media nocte Caesar adlatis suos facit certiores eosque ad dimicandum animo confirmat.

[49] The Gauls, the matter learned through scouts, abandon the siege and hasten toward Caesar with all their forces. These were about 60 thousand armed men. Cicero, opportunity having been given, asks again from that same Vertico, whom we have pointed out above, for a Gaul to carry letters to Caesar; he warns him to make the journey cautiously and carefully. He writes in full in the letters that the enemies have departed from him and have turned their whole multitude toward him. With these letters brought to Caesar about midnight, he apprises his men and strengthens them in spirit to do battle.

Postero die luce prima movet castra et circiter milia passuum quattuor progressus trans vallem et rivum multitudinem hostium conspicatur. Erat magni periculi res tantulis copiis iniquo loco dimicare; tum, quoniam obsidione liberatum Ciceronem sciebat, aequo animo remittendum de celeritate existimabat: consedit et quam aequissimo loco potest castra communit atque haec, etsi erant exigua per se vix hominum milium septem praesertim nullis cum impedimentis, tamen angustiis viarum quam maxime potest contrahit, eo consilio, ut in summam contemptionem hostibus veniat. Interim speculatoribus in omnes partes dimissis explorat quo commodissime itinere vallem transire possit.

On the next day at first light he moves camp, and after advancing about 4 miles he beholds the multitude of the enemy across the valley and the brook. It was a matter of great danger to fight with such very small forces in an unfavorable place; then, since he knew that Cicero had been freed from the siege, with an even mind he judged that haste ought to be relaxed: he sat down and fortifies a camp in the most level ground he can, and this—although in itself it was exiguous, scarcely 7 thousand men, especially with no impediments—nevertheless he contracts as much as he can by the narrowness of the roads, with this plan: that he may come into the utmost contempt with the enemy. Meanwhile, with scouts sent out into all parts, he explores where by the most commodious route he can cross the valley.

[50] Eo die parvulis equestribus proeliis ad aquam factis utrique sese suo loco continent: Galli, quod ampliores copias, quae nondum convenerant, exspectabant; Caesar, si forte timoris simulatione hostes in suum locum elicere posset, ut citra vallem pro castris proelio contenderet, si id efficere non posset, ut exploratis itineribus minore cum periculo vallem rivumque transiret. Prima luce hostium equitatus ad castra accedit proeliumque cum nostris equitibus committit. Caesar consulto equites cedere seque in castra recipere iubet, simul ex omnibus partibus castra altiore vallo muniri portasque obstrui atque in his administrandis rebus quam maxime concursari et cum simulatione agi timoris iubet.

[50] On that day, with very small equestrian skirmishes at the water having taken place, both sides keep themselves to their own position: the Gauls, because they were awaiting larger forces which had not yet assembled; Caesar, in order that, if by a simulation of fear he could lure the enemy into his own ground, he might contend in battle before the camp on this side of the valley, but if he could not bring that about, then, with the routes explored, he might cross the valley and the stream with less danger. At first light the enemy’s cavalry approaches the camp and joins battle with our horsemen. Caesar, by design, orders the horsemen to give way and withdraw themselves into the camp; at the same time he orders the camp to be fortified on all sides with a higher rampart and the gates to be barricaded, and, in administering these matters, that there be as much running to and fro as possible, and that it be conducted with a simulation of fear.

[51] Quibus omnibus rebus hostes invitati copias traducunt aciemque iniquo loco constituunt, nostris vero etiam de vallo deductis propius accedunt et tela intra munitionem ex omnibus partibus coniciunt praeconibusque circummissis pronuntiari iubent, seu quis Gallus seu Romanus velit ante horam tertiam ad se transire, sine periculo licere; post id tempus non fore potestatem: ac sic nostros contempserunt, ut obstructis in speciem portis singulis ordinibus caespitum, quod ea non posse introrumpere videbantur, alii vallum manu scindere, alii fossas complere inciperent. Tum Caesar omnibus portis eruptione facta equitatuque emisso celeriter hostes in fugam dat, sic uti omnino pugnandi causa resisteret nemo, magnumque ex eis numerum occidit atque omnes armis exuit.

[51] Enticed by all these measures, the enemies lead their forces across and set their battle-line in an unfavorable place; and, with our men even drawn down from the rampart, they come nearer and hurl missiles inside the fortification from all sides, and, heralds sent around, they order it to be proclaimed that, whether any Gaul or Roman should wish to go over to them before the third hour, it is permitted without danger; after that time there will be no power to do so. And thus they held our men in contempt, with the gates blocked up for show with single ranks of sods—because they seemed unable to break in through them—so that some began to tear the rampart by hand, others to fill the ditches. Then Caesar, a sally having been made from all the gates and the cavalry sent out, quickly puts the enemies to flight, in such a way that no one at all stood and resisted for the sake of fighting, and he kills a great number of them and strips all of their arms.

[52] Longius prosequi veritus, quod silvae paludesque intercedebant neque etiam parvulo detrimento illorum locum relinqui videbat, omnibus suis incolumibus copiis eodem die ad Ciceronem pervenit. Institutas turres, testudines munitionesque hostium admiratur; legione producta cognoscit non decimum quemque esse reliquum militem sine vulnere: ex his omnibus iudicat rebus, quanto cum periculo et quanta cum virtute res sint administratae. Ciceronem pro eius merito legionemque collaudat; centuriones singillatim tribunosque militum appellat, quorum egregiam fuisse virtutem testimonio Ciceronis cognoverat.

[52] Fearing to pursue farther, because woods and marshes intervened, and he also did not see that their position would be relinquished by them at even a very slight detriment of theirs, he reached Cicero on the same day with all his forces safe. He admires the towers set up, the tortoises and fortifications of the enemy; with the legion drawn out he learns that not even one in ten soldiers was left without a wound: from all these things he judges with how great peril and with how great virtue the matters have been administered. He highly praises Cicero according to his merit and the legion; he addresses individually the centurions and the tribunes of the soldiers, whose outstanding virtue he had learned by the testimony of Cicero.

De casu Sabini et Cottae certius ex captivis cognoscit. Postero die contione habita rem gestam proponit, milites consolatur et confirmat: quod detrimentum culpa et temeritate legati sit acceptum, hoc aequiore animo ferendum docet, quod beneficio deorum immortalium et virtute eorum expiato incommodo neque hostibus diutina laetatio neque ipsis longior dolor relinquatur.

He learns more certainly from the captives about the fate of Sabinus and Cotta. On the next day, an assembly having been held, he sets forth the deed done, he consoles and confirms the soldiers: that the detriment was incurred through the fault and temerity of the legate, this, he teaches, is to be borne with more equanimity, because, the inconvenience having been expiated by the beneficence of the immortal gods and by their valor, neither to the enemies will long-continued rejoicing be left nor to themselves a longer grief.

[53] Interim ad Labienum per Remos incredibili celeritate de victoria Caesaris fama perfertur, ut, cum ab hibernis Ciceronis milia passuum abesset circiter LX, eoque post horam nonam diei Caesar pervenisset, ante mediam noctem ad portas castrorum clamor oreretur, quo clamore significatio victoriae gratulatioque ab Remis Labieno fieret. Hac fama ad Treveros perlata Indutiomarus, qui postero die castra Labieni oppugnare decreverat, noctu profugit copiasque omnes in Treveros reducit. Caesar Fabium cum sua legione remittit in hiberna, ipse cum tribus legionibus circum Samarobrivam trinis hibernis hiemare constituit et, quod tanti motus Galliae exstiterant, totam hiemem ipse ad exercitum manere decrevit.

[53] Meanwhile to Labienus through the Remi, with incredible celerity, the report of Caesar’s victory is borne, with the result that, when he was about 60 miles from Cicero’s winter quarters, and Caesar had arrived there after the ninth hour of the day, before midnight a shout arose at the gates of the camp, by which shout a signification of victory and congratulation was made by the Remi to Labienus. This report having been conveyed to the Treveri, Indutiomarus, who had decided to assault Labienus’s camp on the next day, fled by night and led back all his forces into the Treveri. Caesar sends Fabius back with his legion into winter quarters; he himself determined to winter with three legions around Samarobriva in three winter camps, and, because such great commotions of Gaul had arisen, he decided to remain himself with the army the whole winter.

Nam illo incommodo de Sabini morte perlato omnes fere Galliae civitates de bello consultabant, nuntios legationesque in omnes partes dimittebant et quid reliqui consili caperent atque unde initium belli fieret explorabant nocturnaque in locis desertis concilia habebant. Neque ullum fere totius hiemis tempus sine sollicitudine Caesaris intercessit, quin aliquem de consiliis ac motu Gallorum nuntium acciperet. In his ab Lucio Roscio, quem legioni tertiae decimae praefecerat, certior factus est magnas Gallorum copias earum civitatum, quae Armoricae appellantur, oppugnandi sui causa convenisse neque longius milia passuum octo ab hibernis suis afuisse, sed nuntio allato de victoria Caesaris discessisse, adeo ut fugae similis discessus videretur.

For, that disaster concerning the death of Sabinus having been reported, nearly all the states of Gaul were consulting about war, sending messengers and embassies into all parts and exploring what remaining plan they should adopt and whence a beginning of war should be made, and they were holding nocturnal councils in deserted places. Nor did almost any time of the whole winter pass without Caesar’s solicitude, without his receiving some message about the counsels and movement of the Gauls. Among these matters he was informed by Lucius Roscius, whom he had put in command of the Thirteenth Legion, that great forces of the Gauls, of those states which are called Armorican, had assembled for the purpose of attacking him and had not been farther than eight miles from his winter quarters; but, upon the report of Caesar’s victory being brought, they had withdrawn, to such a degree that the departure seemed like a flight.

[54] At Caesar principibus cuiusque civitatis ad se evocatis alias territando, cum se scire quae fierent denuntiaret, alias cohortando magnam partem Galliae in officio tenuit. Tamen Senones, quae est civitas in primis firma et magnae inter Gallos auctoritatis, Cavarinum, quem Caesar apud eos regem constituerat, cuius frater Moritasgus adventu in Galliam Caesaris cuiusque maiores regnum obtinuerant, interficere publico consilio conati, cum ille praesensisset ac profugisset, usque ad fines insecuti regno domoque expulerunt et, missis ad Caesarem satisfaciendi causa legatis, cum is omnem ad se senatum venire iussisset, dicto audientes non fuerunt. Tantum apud homines barbaros valuit esse aliquos repertos principes inferendi belli tantamque omnibus voluntatum commutationem attulit, ut praeter Aeduos et Remos, quos praecipuo semper honore Caesar habuit, alteros pro vetere ac perpetua erga populum Romanum fide, alteros pro recentibus Gallici belli officiis, nulla fere civitas fuerit non suspecta nobis.

[54] But Caesar, the chiefs of each civitas having been summoned to him, at times by terrifying them—declaring that he knew what was happening—at times by exhorting them, held a great part of Gaul in obedience. Nevertheless the Senones, a civitas among the foremost in strength and of great authority among the Gauls, attempted by public counsel to kill Cavarinus, whom Caesar had established as king among them—whose brother Moritasgus, at Caesar’s arrival in Gaul, had held the kingship, and whose ancestors had held it—and when he perceived it and fled, pursuing him up to the borders they drove him out from his kingship and home, and, having sent envoys to Caesar for the sake of making satisfaction, when he had ordered their whole senate to come to him, they were not obedient to the order. So greatly among barbarian men did it avail that some leaders were found for bringing on war, and it brought such a change of dispositions upon all, that, besides the Aedui and the Remi—whom Caesar always held in especial honor, the former for their ancient and perpetual fidelity toward the Roman people, the latter for their recent services in the Gallic war—hardly any civitas was not suspect to us.

Idque adeo haud scio mirandumne sit, cum compluribus aliis de causis, tum maxime quod ei, qui virtute belli omnibus gentibus praeferebantur, tantum se eius opinionis deperdidisse ut a populo Romano imperia perferrent gravissime dolebant.

And this indeed I hardly know whether it is to be wondered at, for several other causes, but most of all because those who were preferred before all nations for the virtue of war lamented most grievously that they had so lost that opinion as to have to bear commands from the Roman people.

[55] Treveri vero atque Indutiomarus totius hiemis nullum tempus intermiserunt, quin trans Rhenum legatos mitterent, civitates sollicitarent, pecunias pollicerentur, magna parte exercitus nostri interfecta multo minorem superesse dicerent partem. Neque tamen ulli civitati Germanorum persuaderi potuit, ut Rhenum transiret, cum se bis expertos dicerent, Ariovisti bello et Tencterorum transitu: non esse amplius fortunam temptaturos. Hac spe lapsus Indutiomarus nihilo minus copias cogere, exercere, a finitimis equos parare, exules damnatosque tota Gallia magnis praemiis ad se allicere coepit.

[55] The Treveri indeed, and Indutiomarus, let pass no time of the whole winter without sending legates across the Rhine, soliciting the states, promising monies, saying that, with a great part of our army slain, a much smaller part remained. And yet no state of the Germans could be persuaded to cross the Rhine, since they said they had found out by experience twice— in the war of Ariovistus and in the crossing of the Tencteri— that they would not any further tempt fortune. This hope having failed, Indutiomarus nonetheless began to gather forces, to exercise and drill them, to procure horses from his neighbors, and to entice to himself, throughout all Gaul, exiles and the condemned by great rewards.

Ac tantam sibi iam his rebus in Gallia auctoritatem comparaverat ut undique ad eum legationes concurrerent, gratiam atque amicitiam publice privatimque peterent.

And by these measures he had already acquired for himself such authority in Gaul that from every side legations flocked to him, seeking favor and friendship both publicly and privately.

[56] Vbi intellexit ultro ad se veniri, altera ex parte Senones Carnutesque conscientia facinoris instigari, altera Nervios Aduatucosque bellum Romanis parare, neque sibi voluntariorum copias defore, si ex finibus suis progredi coepisset, armatum concilium indicit. Hoc more Gallorum est initium belli, quo lege communi omnes puberes armati convenire consuerunt; qui ex eis novissimus convenit, in conspectu multitudinis omnibus cruciatibus affectus necatur. In eo concilio Cingetorigem, alterius principem factionis, generum suum, quem supra demonstravimus Caesaris secutum fidem ab eo non discessisse, hostem iudicat bonaque eius publicat.

[56] When he understood that people were coming to him of their own accord, that on one side the Senones and the Carnutes were being instigated by the consciousness of their crime, on the other that the Nervii and the Aduatuci were preparing war against the Romans, and that a force of volunteers would not be lacking to him if he began to advance from his own borders, he proclaims an armed council. By this custom of the Gauls this is the beginning of war: by a common law all adults are accustomed to assemble in arms; he who of them convenes last, having been afflicted with every torture in the sight of the multitude, is put to death. In that council he declares Cingetorix, leader of the other faction, his son‑in‑law—whom we have shown above to have followed Caesar and not to have departed from allegiance to him—an enemy, and makes his goods public.

His rebus confectis, in concilio pronuntiat arcessitum se a Senonibus et Carnutibus aliisque compluribus Galliae civitatibus; huc iturum per fines Remorum eorumque agros popula turum ac, priusquam id faciat, castra Labieni oppugnaturum. Quae fieri velit praecipit.

With these matters completed, in the council he announces that he has been summoned by the Senones and the Carnutes and several other states of Gaul; that he will go thither through the borders of the Remi and lay waste their fields, and that, before he does this, he will attack Labienus’s camp. He orders that the things he wishes be done.

[57] Labienus, cum et loci natura et manu munitissumis castris sese teneret, de suo ac legionis periculo nihil timebat; ne quam occasionem rei bene gerendae dimitteret, cogitabat. Itaque a Cingetorige atque eius propinquis oratione Indutiomari cognita, quam in concilio habuerat, nuntios mittit ad finitimas civitates equitesque undique evocat: his certum diem conveniendi dicit. Interim prope cotidie cum omni equitatu Indutiomarus sub castris eius vagabatur, alias ut situm castrorum cognosceret, alias colloquendi aut territandi causa: equites plerumque omnes tela intra vallum coniciebant.

[57] Labienus, since both by the nature of the location and by workmanship he was holding himself in a camp most strongly fortified, feared nothing concerning the danger of himself and the legion; he was considering lest he let slip any opportunity of conducting the matter well. And so, the speech of Indutiomarus having been learned from Cingetorix and his kinsmen, which he had delivered in the council, he sends messengers to the neighboring states and summons horsemen from all sides: for these he appoints a fixed day for assembling. Meanwhile, nearly every day with all his cavalry Indutiomarus was roaming beneath his camp, at one time to learn the lay of the camp, at another for the purpose of conversing or of terrifying: the horsemen, for the most part all of them, were hurling missiles within the rampart.

Labienus suos intra munitionem continebat timorisque opinionem, quibuscumque poterat rebus, augebat.

Labienus was keeping his own men within the fortification and, by whatever means he could, was augmenting the opinion of fear.

[58] Cum maiore in dies contemptione Indutiomarus ad castra accederet, nocte una intromissis equitibus omnium finitimarum civitatum quos arcessendos curaverat, tanta diligentia omnes suos custodiis intra castra continuit, ut nulla ratione ea res enuntiari aut ad Treveros perferri posset. Interim ex consuetudine cotidiana Indutiomarus ad castra accedit atque ibi magnam partem diei consumit; equites tela coniciunt et magna cum contumelia verborum nostros ad pugnam evocant. Nullo ab nostris dato responso, ubi visum est, sub vesperum dispersi ac dissipati discedunt.

[58] As Indutiomarus was approaching the camp with greater contempt day by day, in a single night, after the cavalry of all the neighboring states whom he had taken care to summon had been admitted, he kept all his men within the camp under guards with such diligence that in no way could this matter be announced or carried to the Treveri. Meanwhile, according to his daily custom Indutiomarus approaches the camp and there spends a great part of the day; the horsemen hurl missiles and, with great contumely of words, call our men out to battle. No answer having been given by our side, when it seemed good, toward evening they depart scattered and dispersed.

Subito Labienus duabus portis omnem equitatum emittit; praecipit atque interdicit, proterritis hostibus atque in fugam coniectis (quod fore, sicut accidit, videbat) unum omnes peterent Indutiomarum, neu quis quem prius vulneret, quam illum interfectum viderit, quod mora reliquorum spatium nactum illum effugere nolebat; magna proponit eis qui occiderint praemia; summittit cohortes equitibus subsidio. Comprobat hominis consilium fortuna, et cum unum omnes peterent, in ipso fluminis vado deprehensus Indutiomarus interficitur, caputque eius refertur in castra: redeuntes equites quos possunt consectantur atque occidunt. Hac re cognita omnes Eburonum et Nerviorum quae convenerant copiae discedunt, pauloque habuit post id factum Caesar quietiorem Galliam.

Suddenly Labienus sends out all the cavalry by two gates; he commands and forbids that, the enemy routed and cast into flight (which he saw would be, as it happened), all should seek Indutiomarus alone, and that no one wound anyone before he has seen that man slain—because by the delay of the rest he did not wish that one, having caught an opening, to escape; he sets forth great rewards for those who shall have killed him; he sends down cohorts as succor to the horsemen. Fortune approves the man’s plan, and when all were aiming at one, Indutiomarus, apprehended in the very ford of the river, is killed, and his head is carried back into the camp; the returning cavalry pursue and slay those they can. When this matter was known, all the forces of the Eburones and the Nervii which had assembled disperse, and after that deed Caesar had Gaul somewhat quieter.