Gallic War (Julius Caesar)

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	Gallic War Author: Julius Caesar	Translator: W. A. McDevitte
253	Interim confecta frumentatione milites nostri clamorem exaudiunt : praecurrunt equites ; quanto res sit in periculo cognoscunt . Hic vero nulla munitio est quae perterritos recipiat : modo conscripti atque usus militaris imperiti ad tribunum militum centurionesque ora convertunt ; quid ab his praecipiatur exspectant . Nemo est tam fortis quin rei novitate perturbetur . Barbari signa procul conspicati oppugnatione desistunt : redisse primo legiones credunt , quas longius discessisse ex captivis cognoverant ; postea despecta paucitate ex omnibus partibus impetum faciunt .	The foraging having in the mean time been completed, our soldiers distinctly hear the shout; the horse hasten on before and discover in what danger the affair is. But here there is no fortification to receive them, in their alarm: those last enlisted, and unskilled in military discipline turn their faces to the military tribune and the centurions; they wait to find what orders may be given by them. No one is so courageous as not to be disconcerted by the suddenness of the affair. The barbarians, espying our standard in the distance, desist from the attack; at first they suppose that the legions, which they had learned from their prisoners had removed further off, had returned; afterward, despising their small number, they make an attack on them at all sides.
254	Calones in proximum tumulum procurrunt . Hinc celeriter deiecti se in signa manipulosque coniciunt : eo magis timidos perterrent milites . Alii cuneo facto ut celeriter perrumpant censent , quoniam tam propinqua sint castra , et si pars aliqua circumventa ceciderit , at reliquos servari posse confidunt ; alii , ut in iugo consistant atque eundem omnes ferant casum . Hoc veteres non probant milites , quos sub vexillo una profectos docuimus . Itaque inter se cohortati duce Gaio Trebonio , equite Romano , qui eis erat praepositus , per medios hostes perrumpunt incolumesque ad unum omnes in castra perveniunt . Hos subsecuti calones equitesque eodem impetu militum virtute servantur . At ei qui in iugo constiterant , nullo etiam nunc usu rei militaris percepto neque in eo quod probaverant consilio permanere , ut se loco superiore defenderent , neque eam quam prodesse aliis vim celeritatemque viderant imitari potuerunt , sed se in castra recipere conati iniquum in locum demiserunt . Centuriones , quorum nonnulli ex inferioribus ordinibus reliquarum legionum virtutis causa in superiores erant ordines huius legionis traducti , ne ante partam rei militaris laudem amitterent , fortissime pugnantes conciderunt . Militum pars horum virtute summotis hostibus praeter spem incolumis in castra pervenit , pars a barbaris circumventa periit .	The camp-followers run forward to the nearest rising ground; being speedily driven from this they throw themselves among the standards and companies: they thus so much the more alarm the soldiers already affrighted. Some propose that, forming a wedge, they suddenly break through, since the camp was so near; and if any part should be surrounded and slain, they fully trust that at least the rest may be saved; others, that they take their stand on an eminence, and all undergo the same destiny. The veteran soldiers whom we stated to have set out together [with the others] under a standard, do not approve of this. Therefore encouraging each other, under the conduct of Caius Trebonius, a Roman knight, who had been appointed over them, they break through the midst of the enemy, and arrive in the camp safe to a man. The camp attendants and the horse following close upon them with the same impetuosity, are saved by the courage of the soldiers. But those who had taken their stand upon the eminence having even now acquired no experience of military matters, neither could persevere in that resolution which they approved of, namely, to defend themselves from their higher position, nor imitate that vigor and speed which they had observed to have availed others; but, attempting to reach the camp, had descended into an unfavorable situation. The centurions, some of whom had been promoted for their valor from the lower ranks of other legions to higher ranks in this legion, in order that they might not forfeit their glory for military exploits previously acquired, fell together fighting most valiantly. The enemy having been dislodged by their valor, a part of the soldiers arrived safe in camp contrary to their expectations; a part perished, surrounded by the barbarians.
255	Germani desperata expugnatione castrorum , quod nostros iam constitisse in munitionibus videbant , cum ea praeda quam in silvis deposuerant trans Rhenum sese receperunt . Ac tantus fuit etiam post discessum hostium terror ut ea nocte , cum Gaius Volusenus missus cum equitatu ad castra venisset , fidem non faceret adesse cum incolumi Caesarem exercitu . Sic omnino animos timor praeoccupaverat ut paene alienata mente deletis omnibus copiis equitatum se ex fuga recepisse dicerent neque incolumi exercitu Germanos castra oppugnaturos fuisse contenderent . Quem timorem Caesaris adventus sustulit .	The Germans, despairing of taking the camp by storm, because they saw that our men had taken up their position on the fortifications, retreated beyond the Rhine with that plunder which they had deposited in the woods. And so great was the alarm, even after the departure of the enemy, that when C. Volusenus, who had been sent with the cavalry, arrived that night, he could not gain credence that Caesar was close at hand with his army safe. Fear had so pre-occupied the minds of all, that their reason being almost estranged, they said that all the other forces having been cut off, the cavalry alone had arrived there by flight, and asserted that, if the army were safe, the Germans would not have attacked the camp; which fear the arrival of Caesar removed.
256	Reversus ille eventus belli non ignorans unum , quod cohortes ex statione et praesidio essent emissae , questus ne minimo quidem casu locum relinqui debuisse , multum fortunam in repentino hostium adventu potuisse iudicavit , multo etiam amplius , quod paene ab ipso vallo portisque castrorum barbaros avertisset . quarum omnium rerum maxime admirandum videbatur , quod Germani , qui eo consilio Rhenum transierant , ut Ambiorigis fines depopularentur , ad castra Romanorum delati optatissimum Ambiorigi beneficium obtulerunt .	He, on his return, being well aware of the casualties of war, complained of one thing [only], namely, that the cohorts had been sent away from the outposts and garrison [duty], and pointed out that room ought not to have been left for even the most trivial casualty; that fortune had exercised great influence in the sudden arrival of their enemy; much greater, in that she had turned the barbarians away from the very rampart and gates of the camp. Of all which events, it seemed the most surprising, that the Germans, who had crossed the Rhine with this object, that they might plunder the territories of Ambiorix, being led to the camp of the Romans, rendered Ambiorix a most acceptable service.
257	Caesar rursus ad vexandos hostes profectus magno coacto numero ex finitimis civitatibus in omnes partes dimittit . Omnes vici atque omnia aedificia quae quisque conspexerat incendebantur ; praeda ex omnibus locis agebatur ; frumenta non solum tanta multitudine iumentorum atque hominum consumebantur , sed etiam anni tempore atque imbribus procubuerant ut , si qui etiam in praesentia se occultassent , tamen his deducto exercitu rerum omnium inopia pereundum videretur . Ac saepe in eum locum ventum est tanto in omnes partes diviso equitatu , ut modo visum ab se Ambiorigem in fuga circumspicerent captivi nec plane etiam abisse ex conspectu contenderent , ut spe consequendi illata atque infinito labore suscepto , qui se summam ab Caesare gratiam inituros putarent , paene naturam studio vincerent , semperque paulum ad summam felicitatem defuisse videretur , atque ille latebris aut saltibus se eriperet et noctu occultatus alias regiones partesque peteret non maiore equitum praesidio quam quattuor , quibus solis vitam suam committere audebat .	Caesar, having again marched to harass the enemy, after collecting a large number [of auxiliaries] from the neighboring states, dispatches them in all directions. All the villages and all the buildings, which each beheld, were on fire: spoil was being driven off from all parts; the corn not only was being consumed by so great numbers of cattle and men, but also had fallen to the earth, owing to the time of the year and the storms; so that if any had concealed themselves for the present, still, it appeared likely that they must perish through want of all things, when the army should be drawn off. And frequently it came to that point, as so large a body of cavalry had been sent abroad in all directions, that the prisoners declared Ambiorix had just then been seen by them in flight, and had not even passed out of sight, so that the hope of overtaking him being raised, and unbounded exertions having been resorted to, those who thought they should acquire the highest favor with Caesar, nearly overcame nature by their ardor, and continually, a little only seemed wanting to complete success; but he rescued himself by [means of] lurking-places and forests, and, concealed by the night made for other districts and quarters, with no greater guard than that of four horsemen, to whom along he ventured to confide his life.
258	Tali modo vastatis regionibus exercitum Caesar duarum cohortium damno Durocortorum Remorum reducit concilioque in eum locum Galliae indicto de coniuratione Senonum et Carnutum quaestionem habere instituit et de Accone , qui princeps eius consili fuerat , graviore sententia pronuntiata more maiorum supplicium sumpsit . Non nulli iudicium veriti profugerunt . Quibus cum aqua atque igni interdixisset , duas legiones ad fines Treverorum , duas in Lingonibus , sex reliquas in Senonum finibus Agedinci in hibernis collocavit frumentoque exercitui proviso , ut instituerat , in Italiam ad conventus agendos profectus est .	Having devastated the country in such a manner, Caesar leads back his army with the loss of two cohorts to Durocortorum of the Remi, and, having summoned a council of Gaul to assemble at that place, he resolved to hold an investigation respecting the conspiracy of the Senones and Carnutes, and having pronounced a most severe sentence upon Acco, who had been the contriver of that plot, he punished him after the custom of our ancestors. Some fearing a trial, fled; when he had forbidden these fire and water, he stationed in winter quarters two legions at the frontiers of the Treviri , two among the Lingones , the remaining six at Agendicum, in the territories of the Senones ; and, having provided corn for the army, he set out for Italy, as he had determined, to hold the assizes.
259	COMMENTARIUS SEPTIMUS Quieta Gallia Caesar , ut constituerat , in Italiam ad conventus agendos proficiscitur . Ibi cognoscit de Clodii caede [ de ] senatusque consulto certior factus , ut omnes iuniores Italiae coniurarent , delectum tota provincia habere instituit . Eae res in Galliam Transalpinam celeriter perferuntur . Addunt ipsi et adfingunt rumoribus Galli , quod res poscere videbatur , retineri urbano motu Caesarem neque in tantis dissensionibus ad exercitum venire posse . Hac impulsi occasione , qui iam ante se populi Romani imperio subiectos dolerent liberius atque audacius de bello consilia inire incipiunt . Indictis inter se principes Galliae conciliis silvestribus ac remotis locis queruntur de Acconis morte ; posse hunc casum ad ipsos recidere demonstrant : miserantur communem Galliae fortunam : omnibus pollicitationibus ac praemiis deposcunt qui belli initium faciant et sui capitis periculo Galliam in libertatem vindicent . In primis rationem esse habendam dicunt , priusquam eorum clandestina consilia efferantur , ut Caesar ab exercitu intercludatur . Id esse facile , quod neque legiones audeant absente imperatore ex hibernis egredi , neque imperator sine praesidio ad legiones pervenire possit ; postremo in acie praestare interfici quam non veterem belli gloriam libertatemque quam a maioribus acceperint recuperare .	Gaul being tranquil, Caesar, as he had determined, sets out for Italy to hold the provincial assizes. There he receives intelligence of the death of Clodius; and, being informed of the decree of the senate, [to the effect] that all the youth of Italy should take the military oath, he determined to hold a levy throughout the entire province. Report of these events is rapidly borne into Transalpine Gaul. The Gauls themselves add to the report, and invent what the case seemed to require, [namely] that Caesar was detained by commotions in the city, and could not, amid so violent dissensions, come to his army. Animated by this opportunity, they who already, previously to this occurrence, were indignant that they were reduced beneath the dominion of Rome , begin to organize their plans for war more openly and daringly. The leading men of Gaul, having convened councils among themselves in the woods, and retired places, complain of the death of Acco: they point out that this fate may fall in turn on themselves: they bewail the unhappy fate of Gaul; and by every sort of promises and rewards, they earnestly solicit some to begin the war, and assert the freedom of Gaul at the hazard of their lives. They say that special care should be paid to this, that Caesar should be cut off from his army before their secret plans should be divulged. That this was easy, because neither would the legions, in the absence of their general, dare to leave their winter quarters, nor could the general reach his army without a guard: finally, that it was better to be slain in battle, than not to recover their ancient glory in war, and that freedom which they had received from their forefathers.
260	His rebus agitatis profitentur Carnutes se nullum periculum communis salutis causa recusare principesque ex omnibus bellum facturos pollicentur et , quoniam in praesentia obsidibus cavere inter se non possint ne res efferatur , ut iureiurando ac fide sanciatur , petunt , collatis militaribus signis , quo more eorum gravissima caerimonia continetur , ne facto initio belli ab reliquis deserantur . Tum collaudatis Carnutibus , dato iureiurando ab omnibus qui aderant , tempore eius rei constituto ab concilio disceditur .	While these things are in agitation, the Carnutes declare "that they would decline no danger for the sake of the general safety, and promise" that they would be the first of all to begin the war; and since they can not at present take precautions, by giving and receiving hostages, that the affair shall not be divulged, they require that a solemn assurance be given them by oath and plighted honor, their military standards being brought together (in which manner their most sacred obligations are made binding), that they should not be deserted by the rest of the Gauls on commencing the war.
261	Vbi ea dies venit , Carnutes Cotuato et Conconnetodumno ducibus , desperatis hominibus , Cenabum signo dato concurrunt civesque Romanos , qui negotiandi causa ibi constiterant , in his Gaium Fufium Citam , honestum equitem Romanum , qui rei frumentariae iussu Caesaris praeerat , interficiunt bonaque eorum diripiunt . Celeriter ad omnes Galliae civitates fama perfertur . Nam ubicumque maior atque illustrior incidit res , clamore per agros regionesque significant ; hunc alii deinceps excipiunt et proximis tradunt , ut tum accidit . Nam quae Cenabi oriente sole gesta essent , ante primam confectam vigiliam in finibus Arvernorum audita sunt , quod spatium est milium passuum circiter centum LX .	When the appointed day came, the Carnutes, under the command of Cotuatus and Conetodunus, desperate men, meet together at Genabum , and slay the Roman citizens who had settled there for the purpose of trading (among the rest, Caius Fusius Cita, a distinguished Roman knight, who by Caesar's orders had presided over the provision department), and plunder their property. The report is quickly spread among all the states of Gaul; for, whenever a more important and remarkable event takes place, they transmit the intelligence through their lands and districts by a shout; the others take it up in succession, and pass it to their neighbors, as happened on this occasion; for the things which were done at Genabum at sunrise, were heard in the territories of the Arverni before the end of the first watch, which is an extent of more than a hundred and sixty miles.
262	Simili ratione ibi Vercingetorix , Celtilli filius , Arvernus , summae potentiae adulescens , cuius pater principatum Galliae totius obtinuerat et ob eam causam , quod regnum appetebat , ab civitate erat interfectus , convocatis suis clientibus facile incendit . Cognito eius consilio ad arma concurritur . Prohibetur ab Gobannitione , patruo suo , reliquisque principibus , qui hanc temptandam fortunam non existimabant ; expellitur ex oppido Gergovia ; non destitit tamen atque in agris habet dilectum egentium ac perditorum . Hac coacta manu , quoscumque adit ex civitate ad suam sententiam perducit ; hortatur ut communis libertatis causa arma capiant , magnisque coactis copiis adversarios suos a quibus paulo ante erat eiectus expellit ex civitate . Rex ab suis appellatur . Dimittit quoque versus legationes ; obtestatur ut in fide maneant . Celeriter sibi Senones , Parisios , Pictones , Cadurcos , Turonos , Aulercos , Lemovices , Andos reliquosque omnes qui Oceanum attingunt adiungit : omnium consensu ad eum defertur imperium . Qua oblata potestate omnibus his civitatibus obsides imperat , certum numerum militum ad se celeriter adduci iubet , armorum quantum quaeque civitas domi quodque ante tempus efficiat constituit ; in primis equitatui studet . Summae diligentiae summam imperi severitatem addit ; magnitudine supplici dubitantes cogit . nam maiore commisso delicto igni atque omnibus tormentis necat , leviore de causa auribus desectis aut singulis effossis oculis domum remittit , ut sint reliquis documento et magnitudine poenae perterreant alios .	There in like manner, Vercingetorix the son of Celtillus the Arvernian, a young man of the highest power (whose father had held the supremacy of entire Gaul, and had been put to death by his fellow-citizens, for this reason, because he aimed at sovereign power), summoned together his dependents, and easily excited them. On his design being made known, they rush to arms: he is expelled from the town of Gergovia , by his uncle Gobanitio and the rest of the nobles, who were of opinion, that such an enterprise ought not to be hazarded: he did not however desist, but held in the country a levy of the needy and desperate. Having collected such a body of troops, he brings over to his sentiments such of his fellow-citizens as he has access to: he exhorts them to take up arms in behalf of the general freedom, and having assembled great forces he drives from the state his opponents, by whom he had been expelled a short time previously. He is saluted king by his partisans; he sends embassadors in every direction, he conjures them to adhere firmly to their promise. He quickly attaches to his interests the Senones , Parisii , Pictones, Cadurci, Turones , Aulerci, Lemovice, and all the others who border on the ocean; the supreme command is conferred on him by unanimous consent. On obtaining this authority, he demands hostages from all these states, he orders a fixed number of soldiers to be sent to him immediately; he determines what quantity of arms each state shall prepare at home, and before what time; he pays particular attention to the cavalry. To the utmost vigilance he adds the utmost rigor of authority; and by the severity of his punishments brings over the wavering: for on the commission of a greater crime he puts the perpetrators to death by fire and every sort of tortures; for a slighter cause, he sends home the offenders with their ears cut off, or one of their eyes put out, that they may be an example to the rest, and frighten others by the severity of their punishment.
263	His suppliciis celeriter coacto exercitu Lucterium Cadurcum , summae hominem audaciae , cum parte copiarum in Rutenos mittit ; ipse in Bituriges proficiscitur . Eius adventu Bituriges ad Aeduos , quorum erant in fide , legatos mittunt subsidium rogatum , quo facilius hostium copias sustinere possint . Aedui de consilio legatorum , quos Caesar ad exercitum reliquerat , copias equitatus peditatusque subsidio Biturigibus mittunt . Qui cum ad flumen Ligerim venissent , quod Bituriges ab Aeduis dividit , paucos dies ibi morati neque flumen transire ausi domum revertuntur legatisque nostris renuntiant se Biturigum perfidiam veritos revertisse , quibus id consili fuisse cognoverint , ut , si flumen transissent , una ex parte ipsi , altera Arverni se circumsisterent . Id eane de causa , quam legatis pronuntiarunt , an perfidia adducti fecerint , quod nihil nobis constat , non videtur pro certo esse proponendum . Bituriges eorum discessu statim cum Arvernis iunguntur .	Having quickly collected an army by their punishments, he sends Lucterius, one of the Cadurci, a man the utmost daring, with part of his forces, into the territory of the Ruteni; and marches in person into the country of the Bituriges. On his arrival, the Bituriges send embassadors to the Aedui, under whose protection they were, to solicit aid in order that they might more easily resist the forces of the enemy. The Aedui, by the advice of the lieutenants whom Caesar had left with the army, send supplies of horse and foot to succor the Bituriges. When they came to the river Loire , which separates the Bituriges from the Aedui, they delayed a few days there, and, not daring to pass the river, return home, and send back word to the lieutenants that they had returned through fear of the treachery of the Bituriges, who, they ascertained, had formed this design, that if the Aedui should cross the river, the Bituriges on the one side, and the Arverni on the other, should surround them. Whether they did this for the reason which they alleged to the lieutenants, or influenced by treachery, we think that we ought not to state as certain, because we have no proof. On their departure, the Bituriges immediately unite themselves to the Arverni.
264	His rebus in Italiam Caesari nuntiatis , cum iam ille urbanas res virtute Cn . Pompei commodiorem in statum pervenisse intellegeret , in Transalpinam Galliam profectus est . Eo cum venisset , magna difficultate adficiebatur , qua ratione ad exercitum pervenire posset . Nam si legiones in provinciam arcesseret , se absente in itinere proelio dimicaturas intellegebat ; si ipse ad exercitum contenderet , ne eis quidem eo tempore qui quieti viderentur suam salutem recte committi videbat .	These affairs being announced to Caesar in Italy, at the time when he understood that matters in the city had been reduced to a more tranquil state by the energy of Cneius Pompey, he set out for Transalpine Gaul. After he had arrived there, he was greatly at a loss to know by what means he could reach his army. For if he should summon the legions into the province, he was aware that on their march they would have to fight in his absence; he foresaw too that if he himself should endeavor to reach the army, he would act injudiciously, in trusting his safety even to those who seemed to be tranquilized.
265	Interim Lucterius Cadurcus in Rutenos missus eam civitatem Arvernis conciliat . Progressus in Nitiobriges et Gabalos ab utrisque obsides accipit et magna coacta manu in provinciam Narbonem versus eruptionem facere contendit . Qua re nuntiata Caesar omnibus consiliis antevertendum existimavit , ut Narbonem proficisceretur . Eo cum venisset , timentes confirmat , praesidia in Rutenis provincialibus , Volcis Arecomicis , Tolosatibus circumque Narbonem , quae loca hostibus erant finitima , constituit ; partem copiarum ex provincia supplementumque , quod ex Italia adduxerat , in Helvios , qui fines Arvernorum contingunt , convenire iubet .	In the mean time Lucterius the Cadurcan, having been sent into the country of the Ruteni, gains over that state to the Arverni. Having advanced into the country of the Nitiobriges, and Gabali, he receives hostages from both nations, and, assembling a numerous force, marches to make a descent on the province in the direction of Narbo . Caesar, when this circumstance was announced to him, thought that the march to Narbo ought to take the precedence of all his other plans. When he arrived there, he encourages the timid and stations garrisons among the Ruteni, in the province of the Volcae Arecomici, and the country around Narbo which was in the vicinity of the enemy; he orders a portion of the forces from the province, and the recruits which he had brought from Italy, to rendezvous among the Helvii who border on the territories of the Arverni.
266	His rebus comparatis , represso iam Lucterio et remoto , quod intrare intra praesidia periculosum putabat , in Helvios proficiscitur . Etsi mons Cevenna , qui Arvernos ab Helviis discludit , durissimo tempore anni altissima nive iter impediebat , tamen discussa nive sex in altitudinem pedum atque ita viis patefactis summo militum sudore ad fines Arvernorum pervenit . Quibus oppressis inopinantibus , quod se Cevenna ut muro munitos existimabant , ac ne singulari quidem umquam homini eo tempore anni semitae patuerant , equitibus imperat , ut quam latissime possint vagentur et quam maximum hostibus terrorem inferant . Celeriter haec fama ac nuntiis ad Vercingetorigem perferuntur ; quem perterriti omnes Arverni circumsistunt atque obsecrant , ut suis fortunis consulat , neve ab hostibus diripiantur , praesertim cum videat omne ad se bellum translatum . Quorum ille precibus permotus castra ex Biturigibus movet in Arvernos versus .	These matters being arranged, and Lucterius now checked and forced to retreat, because he thought it dangerous to enter the line of Roman garrisons, Caesar marches into the country of the Helvii; although mount Cevennes , which separates the Arverni from the Helvii, blocked up the way with very deep snow, as it was the severest season of the year; yet having cleared away the snow to the depth of six feet, and having opened the roads, he reaches the territories of the Arverni, with infinite labor to his soldiers. This people being surprised, because they considered themselves defended by the Cevennes as by a wall, and the paths at this season of the year had never before been passable even to individuals, he orders the cavalry to extend themselves as far as they could, and strike as great a panic as possible into the enemy. These proceedings are speedily announced to Vercingetorix by rumor and his messengers. Around him all the Arverni crowd in alarm, and solemnly entreat him to protect their property, and not to suffer them to be plundered by the enemy, especially as he saw that all the war was transferred into their country. Being prevailed upon by their entreaties he moves his camp from the country of the Bituriges in the direction of the Arverni.