Caesar De Bello Gallico I.1 Course Notes

Latin III:  De Bello Gallico

Instructor:  James Ransom

December 16, 2013

Caesar DBG 1:1

Course Notes
© 2014 James Ransom, M.A., J.D.

[1] 1.         Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur.        

2         Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit.         3         Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important,

4         Proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt. Qua de causa Helvetii quoque reliquos Gallos virtute praecedunt, quod fere cotidianis proeliis cum Germanis contendunt, cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent aut ipsi in eorum finibus bellum gerunt. 5         Eorum una, pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est, initium capit a flumine Rhodano, continetur Garumna flumine, Oceano, finibus Belgarum, attingit etiam ab Sequanis et Helvetiis flumen Rhenum, vergit ad septentriones. 6         Belgae ab extremis Galliae finibus oriuntur, pertinent ad inferiorem partem fluminis Rheni, spectant in septentrionem et orientem solem. 7                  Aquitania a Garumna flumine ad Pyrenaeos montes et eam partem Oceani quae est ad Hispaniam pertinet; spectat inter occasum solis et septentriones.

[1] 1.         Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur.

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Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres The whole of Gaul is divided into three parts; "est...divisa" is a predicate adjective modifying "Gallia."  "omnis" is nominative singular of the third declension adjectiive omnis, omnis, m/f.  "partes" is accusative plural of the third declension noun pars, partis, f.  "tres" is accusative plural (no singular by definition) of the third declension noun tres, trium. 

quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, one of which is inhabited by the Belgae, another by the Aquitani, and a third by a people called in their own tongue Celts; "quarum" is genitive feminine plural of the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod.  "incolunt" is third person plural present indicative active of incolo, inxolwew, incolui.  '"ipsorum" is genitive masculine plural of the irregular reflexive pronoun ipse, ipsa, ipsum.  "lingua" is ablative singular of the first declension noun lingua, linguae, f.              nostra Galli appellantur but in ours are called "Gauls"; "appellantur" is third person plural present indicative passive of appello, appellare, appelavi, appellatum.  "nostra" is nominative feminine singular of the first/second declension adjective noster, nostra, nostrum. 

2         Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit.

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 Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. All these are different from one another in language, institutions, and laws; the nouns are ablatives of respect.  "Hi" is nominative masculine plural of the demonstrative pronoun hic, haec, hoc.  "differunt" is third person plural present indicative active of the irregular verb differo, differe, distuli, dilatum. "se":  accusative plural of the reflexive pronoun, controlled by the preposition "inter."  "omnes":  accusative plural of omnis.              Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit The Gauls are separated from the Aquitani by the Garumna river, from the Belgae by the Matrona [Marne] and Sequana [Seine];  Caesar's economical use of verbs is one facet of his concise style: observe how "dividit" serves double duty here.  "dividit" is third person singular present indicative active of divido, dividere, divisi, divisus.  "ab Aquitanis," "a Belgis":  ablatives of separation. 

3         Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important,

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Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae Of all these the most formidable are the Belgae; "Horum" is genitive  plural of the near demonstrative pronoun hic, haec, hoc.  "omnium" is genitive plural of omnis. "fortissimi" is the nominative plural of fortissimus, the superlative of the third declension adjective fortis, fortis, m./f.            

propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt on account of and because they are most distant from the culture and refinement of the province; "propterea quod"=pleonasm. "propterea" is an indeclinable adverb meaning "therefore, for that reason."  The conjunction "quod" means "because." "a cultu atque humanitate"=ablatives of separation.  "cultu" is ablative singular of the fourth declension noun cultus, cultus, m. "humanitate" is ablative singular of the third declension noun humanitas, humanitatis, f.  "provinciae" is genitive singular of the first declension noun provincia, provinciae, f.  "longissime" is the superlative of the adverb longe, longius, longissime. "absunt" is third person plural present indicative active of the irregular verb absum, abesse, afui, abfuturus. 

minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important and least often visited by merchants marketing those goods which induce effeminacy; "minime"=indeclinable adverb and the superlative of parum, minus, minime, "little, very little, least."  Here "minime" modifies "saepe."  "commeant" is third person plural present indicative active of commeo, commeare, commeavi, commeatum.  "effeminandos":  see Steadman p. 7 note.  "pertinent" is third person plural present indicative active of pertineo, pertinere, pertinui.  "important"is third person plural present indicative active of importo, importare, importavi, importatum. "animos" is accusative plural of the second declension noun animus, animi, m. 

4         Proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt. Qua de causa Helvetii quoque reliquos Gallos virtute praecedunt, quod fere cotidianis proeliis cum Germanis contendunt, cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent aut ipsi in eorum finibus bellum gerunt.

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Proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt ...and also because they are nearest to the Germans dug in across the Rhine, against whom they wage constant war; note that Caesar switches from pleonasm to omission of the causal conjunction. "incolunt" is third person plural present indicative active of incolo, incolere, incolui.  "continenter":  continuously, incessantly. "gerunt" is third person plural present indicative active of gero, gerere, gessi, gestum. 

Qua de causa Helvetii quoque reliquos Gallos virtute praecedunt  For this cause the Helvetii also excel the rest of the Gauls in valor; "praecedunt" is third person plural present indicative active of praecedo, praecedere, praecessi, praecessum.  virtute:  ablative of respect.  quod fere cotidianis proeliis cum Germanis contendunt  because they contend daily in skirmishes with the Germans; "contendunt" is third person plural present indicative active of contendo, contendere, contendi, contentus.  cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent aut ipsi in eorum finibus bellum gerunt either defending their own borders or themselves invading German territory;  "suis finibus":  ablative of separation.  "cum...prohibenet...gerunt":  causal with cum +ind.  "suis": reflexive possessive, referring to the Helvetians.  "eos":  i.e. Germans.  "ipsi":  Helvetians. 

5         Eorum una, pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est, initium capit a flumine Rhodano, continetur Garumna flumine, Oceano, finibus Belgarum, attingit etiam ab Sequanis et Helvetiis flumen Rhenum, vergit ad septentriones.

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Eorum una, pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est The distinct territory which, as already observed, is controlled by the Gauls; "dictum est": see line 2 above.  continetur Garumna flumine, Oceano, finibus Belgarum, attingit etiam ab Sequanis et Helvetiis flumen Rhenum, vergit ad septentriones starts from the river Rhone, and is bounded by the river Garonne, the Ocean, and the territory of the Belgae; moreover, on the side of the Sequani and the Helvetii, it touches the river Rhine; and its general trend is northward; "continetur" is third person singular present indicative active of contineo, continere, continui, contentum.  "continetur" controls three ablatives of means:  "flumine," "Oceano," and "finibus."  "attingit" is third person singular present indicative active of attingo, attingere, attigi, tactum.  "vergit" is third person singular present indicative active of vergo, vergere, versi

6         Belgae ab extremis Galliae finibus oriuntur, pertinent ad inferiorem partem fluminis Rheni, spectant in septentrionem et orientem solem.

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Belgae ab extremis Galliae finibus oriuntur The Belgae, emerging from the furthest reaches of Gaul;  "oriuntur" is third person plural present indicative active of orior, oriri, ortus.   

pertinent ad inferiorem partem fluminis Rheni reach to the lower art of the river Rhine; "pertinent" is third person singular present indicative active of pertineo, pertinere, pertinui.  spectant in septentrionem et orientem solem.  bearing northeast;  "orientem":  present participle of orior, oriri, ortus. 

7                  Aquitania a Garumna flumine ad Pyrenaeos montes et eam partem Oceani quae est ad Hispaniam pertinet; spectat inter occasum solis et septentriones.

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Aquitania a Garumna flumine ad Pyrenaeos montes et eam partem Oceani quae est ad Hispaniam pertinet;  Aquitania, starting from the Garonne, reaches to the Pyrenees and to coastal Spain; spectat inter occasum solis et septentriones its bearing is northwest; "inter...occasum solis et septentriones":  lit. "between the falling sun [i.e., the west] and the seven stars [i.e., the north].