Ch. 90

• Link to Latin Library

Title

His¹ rebus confectis in Aeduos proficiscitur²; civitatem recipit. 2 Eo³ legati ab Arvernis missi quae⁴⁵ imperaret se facturos pollicentur. Imperat magnum numerum obsidum⁶. 3 Legiones in hiberna⁷ mittit. Captivorum circiter viginti milia Aeduis Arvernisque reddit. 4 Titum Labienum⁸ duabus cum legionibus et equitatu in Sequanos⁹ proficisci iubet: huic¹⁰ Marcum Sempronium Rutilum¹¹ attribuit. 5 Gaium Fabium¹² legatum et Lucium Minucium Basilum¹³ cum legionibus duabus in Remis¹⁴ collocat, ne¹⁵ quam ab finitimis Bellovacis¹⁶ calamitatem accipiant. 6 Gaium Antistium Reginum¹⁷ in Ambivaretos¹⁸, Titum Sextium¹⁹ in Bituriges²⁰, Gaium Caninium Rebilum²¹ in Rutenos²² cum singulis²³ legionibus mittit. 7 Quintum Tullium Ciceronem²⁴ et Publium Sulpicium²⁵ Cabilloni²⁶ et Matiscone in Aeduis²⁷ ad Ararim²⁸ rei²⁹ frumentariae causa collocat. Ipse Bibracte³⁰ hiemare constituit. His³¹ litteris cognitis Romae³² dierum viginti supplicatio³³ redditur.

1. His rebus confectis: conficio, -ere – “to complete” ↩

2. Proficiscitur: Caesar is the subject of this verb ↩

3. Eo: there or in this (spot), ablative of location ↩

4. quae imperaret se facturos pollicentur: Take in this order - pollicentur se facturos quae imperaret ↩

5. quae imperaret: the things which he ordered ↩

6. obsidum: obses, obsidis (m/f) is a “hostage.” These were often the children of prominent Gallic families who were handed over to the Romans, and acted as insurance that their tribe would not rebel out of fear that, if they did, these hostages would be killed ↩

7. in hiberna: into winter camps. The Romans stationed their men in camps during the winter, since fighting largely stopped due to unfriendly weather. This allowed the men to regroup, rest, and continue to train ↩

8. Titum Labienum: as we’ve seen, Titus Labienus was one of Caesar’s top legates during the Gallic Wars, but turned against him during the Civil War with Pompey. ↩

9. in Sequanos: the Sequani were a prominent Gallic tribe ↩

10. huic: dative, masculine, singular, referring to Titus Labienus, to him ↩

11. Marcum Sempronium Rutilum: we have no other historical mention of this figure ↩

12. Gaium Fabium: Gaius Fabius is another legate of Caesar, mentioned in Chapter 87 ↩

13. Lucium Minucium Basilum: Basilus is another legate of Caesar, mentioned in DBG 6 ↩

14. in Remis: The Remi are a notable Gallic tribe because they ally themselves with Caesar early on and then remain loyal through the course of the Gallic Wars ↩

15. ne quam ab finitimis Bellovacis calamitatem accipiant: quam is short for aliquam, since “after si, nisi, num, and ne, all the ali-s fly away.” This is a negative purpose clause ↩

16. ab finitimis Bellovacis: The Bellovaci are a Gallic tribe previously subjugated by Caesar ↩

17. Gaium Antistium Reginum: we have no other historical mention of this figure ↩

18. Ambivaretos: we are unsure where this Gallic tribe was located ↩

19. Titum Sextium: we have no other historical mention of this figure ↩

20. in Bituriges: The Bituriges are a Gallic tribe, beaten by Caesar ↩

21. Gaium Caninium Rebilum: a military tribune and close ally of Caesar who sticks with him through the Civil War with Pompey ↩

22. in Rutenos: the Ruteni are another Gallic tribe ↩

23. cum singulis legionibus: with one legion each ↩

24. Quintum Tullium Ciceronem: This Quintus Tullius Cicero is the younger brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous orator and statesmen. He is notable for successfully defending a Roman camp against an ambush of Gauls in DBG 5. This Cicero allied himself with Pompey during the Civil War, but was later pardoned by Caesar ↩

25. Publium Sulpicium: an otherwise unknown legate of Caesar ↩

26. Cabilloni et Matiscone: both of these are locative case. At Cabillonum and Matisco, which are two cities in central Gaul ↩

27. in Aeduis: the Aedui were a prominent Gallic tribe. ↩

28. ad Ararim: this is the Arar River, which is today called the Saône. It is a tributary of the Rhone river in southern Gaul ↩

29. rei frumentariae causa: for the cause of the grain supply, literally “the grain matter” ↩

30. Bibracte: locative case. Notably, Caesar spends the winter in Gaul, rather than in the Roman province of Cis-Alpine Gaul. This likely shows that he did not trust the peace to hold ↩

31. His litteris cognitis: with these books/accounts/records having been known, this refers to Caesar’s work De bello Gallico being published ↩

32. Romae: locative case, at/in Rome ↩

33. Supplicatio: a supplicatio is a Roman religious holiday of thanksgiving, or other times used in crisis to pray for divine aid ↩