Caesar De Bello Gallico 6 17 Course Notes

Latin III:  Caesar, De Bello Gallico

Instructor:  James Ransom

March 16, 2014

Caesar DBG 16:17

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

[17] 1  Deum maxime Mercurium colunt. Huius sunt plurima simulacra: hunc omnium inventorem artium ferunt, hunc viarum atque itinerum ducem, hunc ad quaestus pecuniae mercaturasque habere vim maximam arbitrantur. Post hunc Apollinem et Martem et Iovem et Minervam.  2   De his eandem fere, quam reliquae gentes, habent opinionem: Apollinem morbos depellere, Minervam operum atque artificiorum initia tradere, Iovem imperium caelestium tenere, Martem bella regere.       3   Huic, cum proelio dimicare constituerunt, ea quae bello ceperint plerumque devovent: cum superaverunt, animalia capta immolant reliquasque res in unum locum conferunt. 4                  Multis in civitatibus harum rerum exstructos tumulos locis consecratis conspicari licet; neque saepe accidit, ut neglecta quispiam religione aut capta apud se occultare aut posita tollere auderet, gravissimumque ei rei supplicium cum cruciatu constitutum est.

[17] 1Deum maxime Mercurium colunt They worship Mercury above all other gods; “colunt” is third person plural present indicative active of colo, colere, colui, cultum, “to cultivate, worship, honor.”  Huius sunt plurima simulacra There are numerous likenesses of him;

hunc omnium inventorem artium ferunt, hunc viarum atque itinerum ducem, hunc ad quaestus pecuniae mercaturasque habere vim maximam arbitrantur. They proclaim him the genius of all arts, the guide for road and journey, and the well-spring of wealth and commerce; “arbitrantur” is third person plural present indicative active of the deponent arbitror, arbitrari, arbitratus sum, “to judge, witness, observe.”  “habere” is present infinitive of habeo, habere, habui, habitum.  “ferunt” is third person plural present indicative active of fero, ferre, tuli, latum, “to bring, bear, to report.”    

Post hunc Apollinem et Martem et Iovem et Minervam After Mercury, Apollo, Mars, Jove and Minerva are also worshipped. 

2  De his eandem fere, quam reliquae gentes, habent opinionem: Apollinem morbos depellere, Minervam operum atque artificiorum initia tradere, Iovem imperium caelestium tenere, Martem bella regere Their views of these gods generally conform to those of other peoples:  Apollo wards off disease, Minerva imparts skill to the artisans and craftsmen, Jove rules the cosmos, and Mars is the god of war; “regere” is present infinitive of rego, regere, rexi, rectum, “to rule, govern, guide.”  “tenere” is present infinitive of teneo, tenere, tenui, tentum.  “tradere” is present infinitive of trado, tradere, tradidi, traditum.  “depellere” is present infinitive of depello, depellere, depuli, depulsum, “to drive off, ward off, repel.” 

3  Huic, cum proelio dimicare constituerunt, ea quae bello ceperint plerumque devovent: cum superaverunt, animalia capta immolant reliquasque res in unum locum conferunt Should they resolve to go to war, to Mars they dedicate the greater part of any spoils; when victorious, they sacrifice the captured beasts and pile up the rest of the booty in one place; “conferunt” is third person plural present indicative active of confero, conferre, contuli, collatum, “to bring or collect together.”  “immolant” is third person plural present indicative active of immolo, immolare, immolavi, immolatum, “to immolate, sacrifice.”  “superaverunt” is third person plural perfect indicative active of supero, superare, superavi, superatum, “to overcome, conquer.”  “devovent” is third person plural present indicative active of devoveo, devovere, devovi, devotum, “to devote, dedicate.”  “ceperint” is third person plural perfect subjunctive active of capio, capere, cepi, captum, “to capture, seize.”  See Steadman’s note.  “constituerunt” is third person plural perfect indicative active of constituo, constituere, constitui, constitutum, “to set up, decide, resolve.” 

4              Multis in civitatibus harum rerum exstructos tumulos locis consecratis conspicari licet In many districts, one can see mounds of such loot built on holy ground; “licet” is third person singular present indicative active of the impersonal licet, licere, licuit, licitum, “it is permitted.”  “conspicari” is present infinitive active of the deponent conspicor, conspicari, conspicatus sum, “to see, observe, notice.” “exstructos” is present participle of exstruo, extruere, extruxi, exstructum, “to build up.” 

neque saepe accidit, ut neglecta quispiam religione aut capta apud se occultare aut posita tollere auderet, And seldom does anyone dare to flout religion and hide away some war prize for himself or pilfer something from the mound; “auderet” is third person singular imperfect subjunctive active of the semi-deponent audeo, audere, ausus sum, “to dare, venture, risk.”  “tollere” is present infinitive of tollo, tollere, sustuli, sublatum, “to remove, take away.”  “posita” is perfect passive participle of pono, ponere, posui, positum, “to place, put, lay aside.”  “occultare” is present infinitive of occulto, occultare, occultavi, occultatum, “to conceal,, hide.””capta” is perfect passive participle of capio, capere, cepi, captum, “to seize, take.”  “neglecta” is perfect passive participle of neglego, neglere, neglexi, neglectum, “to neglect.”

gravissimumque ei rei supplicium cum cruciatu constitutum est. The most excruciating tortures are reserved for such crimes; “constitutum” is perfect passive participle of constituo, constituere, constitui, constitutus, “to set up, establish, confirm.”