Reading Caesar's Gallic Wars

By the end of this lesson, you will read and analyze three connected passages from Bellum Gallicum 1.1–1.3, applying A2 grammar — ablative absolutes, perfect tense, indirect statement — to full Latin prose.

About the Text

Caesar wrote his Bellum Gallicum (Gallic War) in 7 books between approximately 58 and 52 BC, reporting his campaigns in Gaul (modern France, Belgium, and parts of Germany) to a Roman audience. The prose is deliberately clear, fast-moving, and structured — ideal for intermediate readers.

At A2 level, you will encounter:

• Ablative absolutes (hostibus victis, his rebus cognitis)
• Perfect active and passive
• Indirect statement with accusative + infinitive
• Participial phrases modifying nouns
• Relative clauses

Passage 1: BG 1.1 (Opening — reviewed and extended)

Gallia est omnis divisa 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.

Vocabulary

Latin	Meaning
divisa (PPP of dividere)	divided
incolunt	they inhabit (3rd pl. pres. of incolere)
ipsorum	their own (gen. pl.)
lingua	language; also "tongue"
appellantur	are called (3rd pl. pres. pass.)
institutis	customs, practices (abl. pl. of institutum)
legibus	laws (abl. pl. of lex, legis)
differunt	they differ (3rd pl. pres. of differre)

Analysis

Sentence 1 (Gallia est omnis divisa…): est divisa = perfect passive ("is divided / has been divided"). quarum = genitive plural of qui, quae, quod, relative pronoun referring to partes. The three qui-clauses are parallel: Belgae / Aquitani / qui...appellantur.

Sentence 2 (): three ablatives of respect — (in language), (in customs), (in laws). No preposition. = "they differ among themselves."