Chapter 1.4

Orgetorix is tried for conspiracy, but escapes. His sudden death.

ea res: ‘this conspiracy.’ The generic word res is constantly used in Caesar, where in English we should use the specific words, ‘occurrence,’ ‘movement,’ ‘exploit,’ ‘misfortune,’ ‘undertaking,’ ‘intelligence,’ ‘fact,’ ‘heads of a summary,’ ‘mode of life,’ ‘supplies,’ &c., according to the context. (Moberly); ea res…enuntiata: ‘when this design was disclosed.’ No word in Latin admits of such a variety of meanings as res. The student must always determine by the context the most suitable word to employ in translating, (Harper & Tolman)

ex vinculis: ‘in chains’ (Kelsey)

causam dicere: ‘to plead his case’ (Kelsey)

moribus suis: ‘according to their custom’ (Moberly) May be taken as an ablative of cause ( AG 404) or an ablative of specification ( AG 418) (Finch).

damnatum poenam sequi oportebat: damnatum agrees with eum understood as object of sequi; ‘if condemned’ (Kelsey); poenam: subject of sequi; ‘the penalty,’ defined by the following ut-clause (Kelsey); poenam sequi oportebat: ‘the penalty would inevitably follow,’ lit. ‘it was necessary that the penalty follow.’ (Kelsey); In this sentence the subject of oportebat is the clause damnatum…sequi; the subject of sequi is poenam; and ut…cremaretur is in apposition with poenam, defining the puishment. Translate, ‘he was doomed, if condemned, to be burned by fire’; lit. ‘it must needs be that the penalty should overtake him condemned of being burned with fire.’ 

familiam: ‘slaves’ (Merryweather & Tancock); ‘clansmen’: by Roman use this would mean slaves; but it is more probable that it here means all who bore his name or regarded him as their chief (Allen & Greenough); ‘all his dependants:’ the word, as being connected with famulus, properly means ‘a body of slaves;’ and is opposed to the liberi, who constitute the family, as now understood. (Moberly)

ad…decem: ad with numerals denotes an approach to the number, ‘to the number of;’ hence ‘about.’ It is sometimes used as a preposition in this way, and sometimes as an adverb. (Harper & Tolman) ( AG 221.2)

ne...diceret: 'to avoid pleading his case' (Walker) ( AG 531)

cum…conaretur: Note the tense; it was while these measures were being carried out that Orgetorix committed suicide. (Walpole); ‘while the state was trying’ (Towle & Jenks) ( AG 546)

neque abest suspicio: ‘and there is ground for suspecting,’ lit. ‘not is there lacking (ground for) suspecting.’ (Kelsey)