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2

1. Gallia est omnis, &c. "All Gaul is divided into three parts." Cæsar here means by "Gaul" that part which had not yet been subdued by the Romans. The latter had already reduced the Allobroges in the south, and had formed in that quarter what was called "Gallia Provincia," or "Gallia Narbonensis," or, as is the case in these commentaries, simply "Provincia." Consult Geographi

cal Index.

2. Quarum. Supply partium.

3. Tertiam, qui, &c. "The third, they who are called in their own language Celta, in ours Galli." The order of construction is, (ii) qui appellantur Celtæ ipsorum lingua, Galli nostra (lingua, incolunt) tertiam (partem).

4. Celta. The Celta mark the parent stem, or genuine Gallic race. From the extent of their territory, the Greeks gave the whole country of Gaul the name of Keλrun (Celtica). Among the earlier Greeks, the whole of western Europe, at some distance from the shores of the Mediterranean, went by the appellation of the "Celtic land," xúpa Keλrik. (Scymn. Ch. v., 166.) Consult Geographical Index. The term Galli is only "Gael" Latinized.

5. Lingua. This is not correct as regards the Belgæ and Celtæ, who merely spoke two different dialects of the same tongue, the former being of the Cymric, the latter of the Gallic stock. The Aquitani, however, would appear to have belonged to the Iberian race, and to have spoken a language of Iberian origin. (Thierry, Hist. des Gaulois, vol. i., Introd. p. xii., seq.)

6. Institutis. "In customs."-Inter se.

Literally, " among themselves."

"From one another."

7. Gallos ab Aquitanis, &c. "The river Garumna separates the Galli from the Aquitani, the Matrona and Sequana divide them from the Belga." With flumen supply dividit. The student will note, that the singular verb dividit follows after the two nominatives Matrona and Sequana, as referring to one continuous boundary, and to the circumstance also of the Matrona being only a tributary of the Sequana.

8. Fortissimi sunt Belga. The same idea is expressed in Tacitus, Hist. 4, 76.—A cultu atque humanitate Provincia. "From the civilization and intellectual refinement of the province." Cultus refers here to the mode of life, humanitas to mental improvement and culture; and hence cultus is given by Oberlinus, in his Index Latinitatis, as "vitæ ratio, ab omni ruditate remota." The civilization and refinement of the Roman province was principally derived from the Greek city of Massilia, now Marseilles. (Justin, 43, 4.)

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1. Minime sæpe commeant. “Least frequently resort,” i. e., very 3 seldom penetrate to these distant regions.—Ad effeminandos animos. "To enervate their minds," i. e., break down their warlike spirit.

2. Proximique sunt Germanis. “And because they are nearest to the Germans," i. e., are in their immediate neighbourhood. According to the punctuation which we have adopted, this is the corresponding clause to the one beginning with propterea quod.

3. Helvetii quoque. Because they also dwell near the Germans. 4. Cum. "On which occasions."- Eos. Referring to the Germans.-Aut ipsi, &c. "Or else they themselves carry on war in the territories of the latter." Ipsi refers to the Helvetii.

5. Eorum una pars. "One part of these main divisions of Gaul." Eorum refers back to Hi omnes, or, in other words, to the Belgæ, Celta, and Aquitani. As, however, the idea of territory is necessarily involved, we may, in order to adapt the phrase to our idiom, translate as if there were an ellipsis of finium, though, in reality, none such is to be supplied. As regards the remote reference which sometimes occurs in the case of hic and is, consult Perizonius, ad Sanct. Min. 2, 9 (vol. i., p. 276, ed. Bauer), where the présent passage comes under review.

Obtineo is here used in its primitive

6. Obtinere. "Possess." and genuine sense, "to hold against others," i. e., to possess❞ or "enjoy." Initium capit, &c. "Commences at the river Rhone." Literally, "takes its beginning from the river Rhone." 7. Continetur. "Is bounded." Literally, "is encompassed" or "hemmed in.”—Attingit etiam, &c. "It touches also on the Rhine in the quarter of the Sequani and Helvetii.” More literally, “on the side of the Sequani and Helvetii,” i. e., where these two communities dwell.

8. Vergit ad septentriones. "It stretches away towards the north." Literally, "it inclines" or "tends towards the north," i. e., from its point of commencement on the Rhodanus.

9. Ab extremis Gallia finibus. "From the farthest confines of Gaul." By Gaul is here meant the middle division of the country, or that occupied by the Celta, who have been mentioned in the preceding sentence under the name of Galli. By fines extremi Cæsar means the boundaries most remote from Rome, or, in other words, the northern.

10. Spectant in septentriones, &c. "They look towards the north and the rising sun," i. e., their country, commencing on the

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3 northern borders of Celtica, faces, or stretches away to the north

and east.

11. Et eam partem Oceani, &c. "And that part of the Atlantic Ocean which is next to Spain," i. e., in the immediate vicinity of Spain, and washing its northern coast. The reference is to the lower part of the Bay of Biscay. As regards the force of ad ir. this passage, compare the common form of expression esse ad urbem, "to be near the city," and Cicero (Ep. ad Fam. 15, 2), Castra ad Cybistra locavi. "I pitched my camp in the neighbourhood of Cybistra."

12. Spectat inter, &c. "It looks between the setting of the sun and the north," i. e., it looks northwest; it faces towards that point. Morus thinks we ought to read in for inter; but the Greek paraphrase sanctions the common lection: ¿popã dè rà peražu "Apktwv te

καὶ ̓Ανατολῶν.

13. Orgetorix. This name is said by Celtic scholars to mean "chief of a hundred hills," from or, 66 a hill," ced, "a hundred,” and righ, "a chief." (Compare Thierry, Hist. des Gaulois, vol. ii.,

p. 289.)

14. Marco Messala, &c. "Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso being consuls," i. e., in the consulship of Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso. Supply existentibus. The date is A. U. C. 693, B. C. 61. 15. Regni cupiditate inductus. "Led on by a desire of enjoying the chief authority." Regni is to be here regarded as equivalent to regnandi.-Nobilitatis. The higher class of chieftains are meant. 16. Civitati. "His state,” i. e., the people. By civitas are here meant all the inhabitants of a district or state, under one and the same government. This usage is very frequent in our author. 17. De finibus suis. "From their territories." Fines, in the sense of "territories" or "country," is of very common occur. rence in Cæsar.

18. Imperio potiri. "To possess themselves of the sovereignty," i. e., to rule as masters over the other Gallic tribes.

19. Id hoc facilius, &c. "He persuaded them to that step the more easily on this account." The order is, persuasit id eis facilius hoc.-Undique loci natura continentur. "Are confined on alı sides by the nature of their situation," i. e., are kept in, are prevented from wandering far.

20. Monte Jura. The name, in Celtic, is said to mean "the domain of God," from Jou, an appellation for the Deity, and rag, the domain of a chieftain or ruler. The term appears a very appropriate

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one to be applied by a barbarous people to a lofty mountain-range. 3 Consult Geographical Index.

21. Lacu Lemanno. Now the Lake of Geneva. Strabo gives the form Λιμέννα, the Greek paraphrast Λεμάνος.

22. Minus late. 'Less widely," i. e., than they could have wished.-Homines bellandi cupidi. "Men (like themselves) fond of warfare."

23. Pro multitudine, &c. "They thought, besides, that they possessed narrow territories, considering the extent of their population, and their high character for war and bravery." More literally, 66 narrow territories, in proportion to the number of inhabitants," &c. 24. Qui in longitudinem, &c. "Which extended in length," &c. Cluverius condemns the inaccuracy of this measurement, both as regards length and breadth. (Germ. 2, 4.) But we must bear in mind that Cæsar, when he wrote this, had never been in the land of the Helvetii, and followed, therefore, merely the rude estimate furnished him by some of that nation. Cæsar makes the length of Helvetia forty-eight geographical miles; the true distance, however, from Geneva to the Lake of Constance, is only forty. (Mannert, vol. ii., p. 214.)

1. His rebus adducti. "Induced by these considerations."-Ad 4 proficiscendum. "To their departure."

2. Carrorum. "Of wagons." This term has two forms for the nominative, carrus and carrum. Cæsar employs the former, and the author of the commentaries on the Spanish war the latter (c. 6). The word is of Celtic origin, and denotes a kind of fourwheeled wagon. Compare the German Karre. In later Latinity the neuter form prevailed. (Adelung, Gloss. Med. et Inf. Lat. vol. ü., p. 231.)

3. Sementes quam maximas facere. "To make as extensive sowings as possible," i. e., to sow as much land as possible. 4. In tertium annum, &c. 'They fix upon their departure for the third year by a law," i. e., they fix upon the third year for their departure. The term lege is here employed as denoting merely the assent of the general assembly of the nation to the proposition of Orgetorix. It is analogous, therefore, in the present instance, to decreto.

5. Ad eas res conficiendas. The repetition of this phrase here is extremely inelegant, though it may be cited as one proof, among others that might be adduced, of Cæsar's having hastily written these commentaries, either at the close of each day, or else very soon after

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4 the occurrences detailed in them. Oberlinus suggests ad ea n place of ad eas res conficiendas; but the emendation, though neat, rests on no MSS. authority.

6. Regnum obtinuerat. "Had enjoyed the sovereign power." (Compare note 6, p. 3.) The sovereign authority was not generally hereditary among the Gallic tribes, but was conferred by the people on the one whom they judged most worthy.

7. A senatu Populi Romani. "By the senate of the Roman people," i. e., by the senate of Rome. We have here adopted the reading of the oldest and best MSS. The copyists have been misled by the common form, S. P. Q. R., i. e., senatu populoque Romano, and have introduced it here, where it does not at all apply, for the title of "amicus" was conferred by the senate, not by the people. Compare book 4, c. 12, “amicus ab senatu nostro appellatus," and 7, 31, "cujus pater ab senatu nostro amicus erat appellatus."

8. Occuparet. The student will observe that the leading verb is in the present tense, persuadet, and yet the verb following is in the past tense, occuparet. The rule that operates in such cases is given as follows by Zumpt, L. G. p. 322. "When an historian uses the present for the perfect aorist, to transport his reader back to the time of which he is speaking, he often joins an imperfect with this present, which in sense is past.".

9. Principatum obtinebat. "Enjoyed the chief authority." The phrase principatum obtinere applies to one who is the leader of his countrymen, but without the name of king. Thus we have in Lactantius, de fals. rel. 1, 13, "Primus Uranus eminere inter cæteros potentia cœperit, et principatum habere, non regnum.”

10. Perfacile factu esse, &c. 'He proves unto them that it was a very easy matter to accomplish their designs," i. e., that the accomplishment of their intended designs would be a very easy

matter.

11. Quin totius Galliæ, &c. "But that the Helvetii could do the most of all Gaul," i. e., were the most powerful state of all Gaul.

12. Illis regna conciliaturum. "Would gain for them the sovereignty in their respective states."

13. Et, regno occupato, &c. "And they entertain the hope, that, if the sovereign power be seized by each of them, they can make themselves masters of all Gaul, by means of its three most powerful and valiant communities." The three communities here re