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Now let's get back to Caesar!
1.16.1 Meanwhile, Caesar was daily demanding grain from the Haedui, because they had publicly promised it.
1.16.2 For just after the cold season (because Gaul, as noted before, is positioned beneath the Great Bear), not only was there no ripe grain in the fields, but not even a large enough supply of fodder was at hand.
1.16.3 However, he was little able to use that grain which was brought up the Arar River by ships for him, because the Helvetii turned away from the Arar, and he was unwilling to move away from them.
1.16.4 Day after day the Haedui deceived him: they were saying it was being carried, was being gathered, was present.
1.16.5 Then he realized that daily he was being deceived and that the day had arrived on which it was necessary to measure out the grain for the soldiers. When their leaders (a great number of which he had in the camps) were called together, among them were Diviciacus and Liscus, who ruled as the highest magistrates. The Haedui call this office the "vergobretus": they are elected annually, hold the power of life and death over their people. He severely reprimanded these people.
1.16.6 Since grain could neither be purchased nor seized from the fields, and time was so much of the essence, and the enemy so close by, and he got no support from them--particularly since he had largely taken up the war on account of their requests--he complained of being abandoned all the more bitterly.
ETA: And I would like to note, for the record, that 1.15.5 and 1.15.6 were a SINGLE SENTENCE in the original. I changed some clauses to finite verbs and so forth just to make it moderately more manageable. Yeesh.
1.16.1 Meanwhile, Caesar was daily demanding grain from the Haedui, because they had publicly promised it.
1.16.2 For just after the cold season (because Gaul, as noted before, is positioned beneath the Great Bear), not only was there no ripe grain in the fields, but not even a large enough supply of fodder was at hand.
1.16.3 However, he was little able to use that grain which was brought up the Arar River by ships for him, because the Helvetii turned away from the Arar, and he was unwilling to move away from them.
1.16.4 Day after day the Haedui deceived him: they were saying it was being carried, was being gathered, was present.
1.16.5 Then he realized that daily he was being deceived and that the day had arrived on which it was necessary to measure out the grain for the soldiers. When their leaders (a great number of which he had in the camps) were called together, among them were Diviciacus and Liscus, who ruled as the highest magistrates. The Haedui call this office the "vergobretus": they are elected annually, hold the power of life and death over their people. He severely reprimanded these people.
1.16.6 Since grain could neither be purchased nor seized from the fields, and time was so much of the essence, and the enemy so close by, and he got no support from them--particularly since he had largely taken up the war on account of their requests--he complained of being abandoned all the more bitterly.
ETA: And I would like to note, for the record, that 1.15.5 and 1.15.6 were a SINGLE SENTENCE in the original. I changed some clauses to finite verbs and so forth just to make it moderately more manageable. Yeesh.
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(The notes explain that the fodder shortage is because the Helvetii already passed by with all their horses and cattle, and ate up all the available spring grass.)