Bello Helvetiorum confecto totius fere Galliae legati principes civitatum ad Caesarem gratulatum convenerunt:  Intellegere sese, tametsi pro veteribus Helvetiorum iniuriis populi Romani ab his poenas bello repetisset, tamen eam rem non minus ex usu terrae Galliae quam populi Romani accidisse, propterea quod eo consilio florentissimis rebus domos suas Helvetii reliquissent, uti toti Galliae bellum inferrent imperioque potirentur locumque domicilio ex magna copia deligerent, quem ex omni Gallia opportunissimum ac fructuosissimum iudicassent, reliquasque civitates stipendiarias haberent.  Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere idque Caesaris voluntate facere liceret:  sese habere quasdam res quas ex communi consensus ab eo petere vellent.  Ea re permissa diem concilio constituerunt et iureiurando, ne quis enuntiaret, nisi quibus communi consilio mandatum esset, inter se sanxerunt.


When the war with the Helvetii was concluded, ambassadors from almost all parts of Gaul, the chiefs of states, assembled to congratulate Caesar, saying that they were well aware, that, although he had taken vengeance on the Helvetii in war, for the old wrong done by them to the Roman people, yet that circumstance had happened no less to the benefit of the land of Gaul than of the Roman people, because the Helvetii, while their affairs were most flourishing, had quitted their country with the design of making war upon the whole of Gaul, and seizing the government of it, and selecting, out of a great abundance, that spot for an abode, which they should judge to be the most convenient and most productive of all Gaul, and hold the rest of the states as tributaries. They requested that they might be allowed to proclaim an assembly of the whole of Gaul for a particular day, and to do that with Caesar's permission, [stating] that they had some things which, with the general consent, they wished to ask of him. This request having been granted, they appointed a day for the assembly, and ordained by an oath with each other, that no one should disclose [their deliberations] except those to whom this [office] should be assigned by the general assembly.


C. Julius Caesar. Caesar's Gallic War. Translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn. 1st Edition. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1869.


<< Previous | De Bello Gallico | Next >>

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.