Latin via Caesar: Text

Wigtil's "Latin via Caesar"

C. Iulii Caesaris Commentarii De Bello Gallico

(Gaius Julius Caesar's Memoirs on the War in Gaul)

This is the starting page for Latin via Caesar, showing the text in various forms. Other pages display noun grammar, verb grammar, adjective grammar, pronoun grammar, other items of grammatical interest, and vocabulary and etymologies and word functions within the sentence, addressing items appearing in the text shown below.

There are several text displays available:

The plain text form displays just the words of Book One, the first paragraph.
The version showing markings over all long vowels offers a review of vowel lengths and an assistance in pronunciation. (Remember that all penultimate [next-to-last] long syllables, including any with long vowels, are pronounced with stress.)
The paragraph with links to vocabulary provides a quick way to go and look up all the words in the text for assistance meaning, grammatical function, and vocabulary building.
A sample translation gives the general sense in English of the Latin text.
- Beware (!!!) of the translator's own interests, though: translations not only lose something of the original, they also add things that don't exist in the original. (I wrote a doctoral dissertation on the topic: "The Translation of Religious Texts in the Greco-Roman World," by David N. Wigtil, University of Minnesota, 1980, available from the Ann Arbor archives.) This includes translators named Wigtil!
An interlinear translation in very awkward English tries to show the general grammatical sense of each Latin word or short phrase in its own context.

(Plain Text Form)

Liber Primus

I.
Gallia est omnis diuisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam, qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana diuidit. horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate prouinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant, atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important. proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt, qua de causa Heluetii quoque reliquos Gallos uirtute praecedunt, quod fere quotidianis proeliis cum Germanis contendunt, cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent aut ipsi in eorum finibus bellum gerunt. eorum una pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est, initium capit a flumine Rhodano. continetur Garumna flumine Oceano finibus Belgarum. attingit etiam ab Sequanis et Heluetiis flumen Rhenum. uergit ad septentriones. Belgae ab extremis Galliae finibus oriumtur. pertinent ad inferiorem partem fluminis Rheni. Spectant in septentriones et orientem solem. 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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(Text with Marked Long Vowels)

Liber Primus I. Gallia est omnis dîuîsa in partês três, quârum ûnam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquîtânî, tertiam, quî ipsôrum linguâ Celtae, nostrâ Gallî appellantur. hî omnês linguâ, înstitûtîs, lêgibus inter sê differunt. Gallôs ab Aquîtânîs Garumna flumen, â Belgîs Mâtrona et Sêquana diuidit. hôrum omnium fortissimî sunt Belgae, propterea quod â cultû atque hûmânitâte prôuinciae longissimê absunt, minimêque ad eôs mercâtôrês saepe commeant, atque ea quae ad effêminandôs animôs pertinent important. proximîque sunt Germânîs, quî trâns Rhênum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt, quâ dê causâ Heluetiî quoque reliquôs Gallôs uirtûte praecêdunt, quod ferê quotidiânîs proeliîs cum Germânîs contendunt, cum aut suîs fînibus eôs prohibent aut ipsî in eôrum fînibus bellum gerunt. eôrum ûna pars, quam Gallôs obtinêre dictum est, initium capit â flûmine Rhodânô. continêtur Garumnâ flûmine Ôceanô fînibus Belgârum. attingit etiam ab Sêquânîs et Heluetiîs flûmen Rhênum. uergit ad septentriônês. Belgae ab extrêmîs Galliae fînibus oriuntur. pertinent ad inferiôrem partem flûminis Rhênî. spectant in septentriônês et orientem sôlem. Aquîtânia â Garumnâ flûmine ad Pyrenaeôs montês, et eam partem Ôceanî quae est ad Hispaniam, pertinet. spectat inter occâsum sôlis et septentriônês.

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(Links to Vocabulary Information)

Liber Primus

(Translation into English)

Liber Primus

The whole of Gaul is divided into three areas. The Belgs live in one, the Aquitanians in another, and the people we call Gauls, called Celts in their own language, live in the third. All three differ from one another in speech, customs, and laws. The Gauls are separated from the Aquitanians by the Garonne River and from the Belgs by the Marne and the Seine.

The Belgs are the most fearsome of them all since they are most distant from the refinements of the Province, and the merchants often simply do not travel to sell them the things that effeminize the spirit. The Belgs live closest to the Germans who are across the Rhine River, and they are constantly warring with them. This is also why the Helvetians surpass all the other Gauls militarily, because they fight battles with the Germans nearly every day, either keeping them out of their own lands or else invading the German's own territory.

Of these regions, the one said to be occupied by the Gauls starts at the Rhone River and is bounded by the Garonne, the ocean, and the Belgic lands. It also touches the Rhine River where the Sequanians and the Helvetians live. It runs toward the north.

The Belgs are found along the farthest territory of Gaul and spread to the lower end of the Rhine, so they extend to the north and east.

Aquitania stretches from the Garonne to the Pyrenees Mountains and where the Atlantic Coast approaches Spain, so it faces to the west and north.

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(Plain Text Form with Interlinear Translation)

Liber Primus

Gallia	est	omnis	diuisa	in partes tres,
Gaul	has been/is	all/entire	divided	into three parts,

quarum	unam	incolunt Belgae,	aliam	Aquitani
of which	one	Belgs inhabit,	another (part)	Aquitanians (do)

tertiam,	qui	ipsorum lingua	Celtae	nostra
a third,	those who	in their own language	Celts,	in ours

Galli appellantur.
are called Gauls.

Hi omnes	lingua	institutis,	legibus	inter se
These all	in language,	in customs,	in laws,	among themselves

differunt.
differ.

Gallos	ab Aquitanis		Garumna flumen,
The Gauls	from the Aquitanians		the Garonne River (separates),

a Belgis	Matrona et Sequana diuidit.
from the Belgs	the Marne and the Seine separate(s).

Horum omnium	fortissimi	sunt Belgae,	propterea quod	a cultu
Of all these	bravest	the Belgs are,	because	from the behavior

atque	humanitate	prouinciae	longissime	absunt,
and	the society	of the province	farthest	they are away

minimeque	ad eos	mercatores	saepe	commeant
and not at all	to them	merchants	often	come and go

atque	ea	quae	ad effeminandos animos
and (nor)	those things	which	to feminizing the mind

pertinent	important,		proximique	sunt
connect	do they bring in.		and closest	they are

Germanis	qui	trans Rhenum	incolunt,	quibuscum
to the Germans	who	across the Rhine	reside,	with whom

continenter	bellum gerunt,
continually	they wage war,

qua de causa		Heluetii	quoque	reliquos Gallos
for which reason		the Helvetians	also	the other Gauls

uirtute	praecedunt,	quod	fere quotidianis proeliis
in valor	exceed,	because	in almost daily battles

cum Germanis		contendunt,
with the Germans		they fight,

cum	aut	suis finibus		eos
since	either	from their own territory		them

prohibent		aut	ipsi
they are keeping out		or	they themselves

in eorum finibus			bellum gerunt.
in their (the Germans') territory			are waging war.

Eorum		una pars,	quam	Gallos
Of these (territories)		one part	which	the Gauls

obtinere	dictum est,		initium capit
occupy,	(as) it has been said/is said,		gets its start

a flumine Rhodano.
from the Rhone River.

Continetur		Garumna flumine,	Oceano,	finibus
It is surrounded		by the Garonne River,	by the Ocean,	by the territory

Belgarum.
of the Belgs.

Attingit	etiam	ab Sequanis	et	Heluetiis
It touches	even	from the Sequanians	and	the Helvetians

flumen Rhenum.
the Rhine River.

Vergit	ad septentriones.
It faces	toward the north.

Belgae	ab extremis Galliae finibus		oriuntur.
The Belgs	from the farthest territory of Gaul		come up.

Pertinent	ad inferiorem partem		fluminis Rheni.
They connect	to the lower part		of the Rhine River.

Spectant	in septentriones		et	orientem solem.
They look	toward the north		and	the rising sun.

Aquitania	a Garumna flumine		ad Pyrenaeos montes,
Aquitania	from the Garonne River		to the Pyrenees Mountains

et	eam partem	Oceani	quae	est
and	that side	of the Ocean	that	is

ad Hispaniam	pertinet.
toward Spain	connects.

Spectat	inter	occasum	solis	et
It faces	between	the setting	of the sun	and

septentriones.
the north.

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