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OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF ILLINOIS

T. W. BALDWIN
ELIZABETHAN LIBRARY

8?1

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CESAR's Commentaries

ON THE

GALLIC WAR

literally translated

The Translation Publishing Company

31 West 15th Street	' New York CitySample page of the New Students' Interlinear Translation ^
of Caesar

THE COMMENTARIES OF

CAIUS JULIUS CAESAR

ON THE

GALLIC WAR

FIRST BOOK

Ccnr, in recounting the events of the war which he waged in
Gaul, first describes Gaul itself, then tells of two battles against the
Helvetians and then of one against the Germans.

1. Omnis1 Gallia est divisa in tres partes: unam
All Gaul is divided into three parts: one

quarum Belgae incdlunt; aliam Aquitani; tertiam,
of which the Belgae inhabit; another the Aquitani; the third,

qui lingu&	ipsorum	appellantur

(those) who in (the) language of themselves are called

Celt®, nostra, Galli. Omnes hi diffSrunt inter
Celts, in ours, Gauls.	All these differ between

se	lingua, institutis, leglbus. Flumen

themselves in language, in institutions, (and) inlaws. The river

Garumna divldit Gallos ab Aquitanis,
Garonne	divides the Gauls from the Aquitani,

Matrona et Sequ&na a Belgis. Belgae sunt

the Marne and Seine from the Belgae. The Belgae are

fortisslmi omnium horum, propterga quod absunt
the bravest of all these, because (that) they are distant

longisslmfe a cultu atque humanitate
farthest from the cultivation and humanity [refinement]

Provinclae;	que mercatores minlmfe saepe

of the Province (Provence]; and merchants least often

Copyright 1921, by Translation Publishing Company, Inc.	^THE COMMENTARIES OF C. JULIUS CJ3SA11

OK HIS

¥AE IN GAUL.

BOOK I.

the argument.

I. Description of Gaul and its divisions. — II.-IV. The ambi-
tious designs of the Helvetii under Orgetorix, and the suspi-
cious death of the latter. — V.,VI. The Helvetii still
proceed to carry out their designs. — VIII.-XI. Caesar's
opposition and measures.—XII. The battle at the river
Arar. — XIII. The Helvetii send ambassadors to sue for
peace.—XIV. Caesar's politic answer.—XV. Another
engagement with the Helvetii. — XVI. Caesar's reproof of
the ./Edu\ for not sending him the promised supplies.—
XVII.-XIX. The disclosures of Liscus respecting Dum-
norix. — XX. Diviti&cus, his brother, pleads for Dumn6rix.
— XXI.-XXVI. Various events in the war between Caesar
and the Helvetii. — XXVII. The Helvetii, being worsted,
offer a surrender, but some clandestinely return home. —
XXVIII., XXIX. The numbers of the several Helvetian
forces before and after the war. — XXX. Certain parts of
Gaul congratulate Caesar and request a council. — XXXI.
Complaints are there made against Ariovistus. — XXXII.-
XXXVI. Caesar's message to Ariovistus and the bold
answer of the latter.—XXXVII.-XXXIX. A panic in the
Roman camp. — XL. Caesar's speech on that occasion.—
XLI. Its effects. —XLII.-XLVI. Conference between
Caesar and Ariovistus.—XLVII.-LII. Which terminates
in war. — LIII. The overthrow of the Germans and their
flight from Gaul. — LIV. Caesar, having sent his army into
^ winter quarters amongst the Sequ&ni, proceeds to perform
the civil duties of his proconsular office.

Chap. I. — All Gaul is divided into three
parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the
Aquitani another, those who in their own lan-
guage are called Celts, in ours Gauls, the third.CJE&AR'S COMMENTABIES.

All these differ from each other in language,
customs, and laws. The river Garonne sepa-
rates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne
and the Seine separate them from the Belgse.
Of all these, the Belgse are the bravest, be-
cause they are farthest from the civilization
and refinement of [our] Province, and mer-
chants least frequently resort to them, and im-
port those things which tend to effeminate the
mind; and they are the nearest to the Ger-
mans, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom
they are continually waging war; for which
reason the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the
Gauls in valor, as they contend with the Ger-
mans in almost daily battles, when they either
repel them from their own territories, or them-
selves wage war on their frontiers. One part
of these, which it has been said that the Gauls
occupy, takes its beginning at the river Rhone :
it is bounded by the river Garonne, the ocean,
and the territories of the Belgse: it borders,
too, on the side of the Sequani and the Helve-
tii, upon the river Rhine, and stretches towards
the north. The Belgse rise from the extreme
frontier of Gaul, extend to the lower part of
the river Rhine; and look towards the north
and the rising sun. Aquitania extends from
the river Garonne to the Pyrenean mountains
and to that part of the ocean which is near
Spain : it looks between the setting of the sun
and the north star.

Chap. II.—Among the Helvetii, Orgetorix
was by far the most distinguished and wealthy.
He, when Marcus Messala and Marcus PisoCJEJSAR'S COMMENTARIES. ft

were consuls, incited by lust of sovereignty,
formed a conspiracy among the nobility, and
persuaded the people to go forth from their
territories with all their possessions, [saying]
that it would be very easy, since they excelled
all in valor, to acquire the supremacy of the
whole of Gaul. To this he the more easily
persuaded them, because the Helvetii are con-
fined on every side by the nature of their sit-
uation : on one side by the Rhine, a very broad
and deep river, which separates the Helvetian
territory from the Germans ; on a second side
by the Jura, a very high mountain, which is
[situated] between the Sequani and the Helve-
tii ; on a third by the Lake of Geneva, and by
the river Rhone, which separates our Province
from the Helvetii. From these circumstances
it resulted, that they could range less widely,
and could less easily make war upon their
neighbors ; for which reason men fond of war
[as they were] were affected with great regret.
They thought, that considering the extent of
their population, and their renown for warfare
and bravery, they had but narrow limits,
although they extended in length 240, and in
breadth 180 [Roman] miles.

Chap. III.—Induced by these considera-
tions, and influenced by the authority of Orge-
torix, they determined to provide such things
as were necessary for their expedition ; to buy
up as great a number as possible of beasts of
burden and wagons; to make their sowings
as large as possible, so that on their march
plenty of corn might be in store ; and to estab-6	CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

lish peace and friendship with the ^neighbor-
ing states. Thej reckoned that a term of
two years would be sufficient for them to exe-
cute their designs; they fix by decree their
departure, for the third year. Orgetorix is
chosen to complete these arrangements. He
took upon himself the office of ambassador to
the states : on this journey he persuades Castl-
cus, the son of Catamantaledes, (one of the
Sequani, whose father had possessed the sov-
ereignty among the people for many years,
and had been styled friend " by the senate
of the Roman people,) to seize upon the sov-
ereignty in his own state, which his father had
held before him, and he likewise persuades
Dumnorix, an JEduan, the brother of Diviti-
acus, who at that time possessed the chief
authority in the state, and was exceedingly
beloved by the people, to attempt the same,
and gives him his daughter in marriage. He
proves to fl^m that to accomplish their at-
tempts was a thing very easy ' to be done,
because he himself would obtain the govern-
ment of his own state ; that there was no doubt
that the Helvetii were the most powerful of
the whole of Gaul; he assures them that he
will, with his own forces and his own army,
acquire the sovereignty for them. Incited by
this speech, they give a pledge and oath to
one another, and hope that, when they have
seized the sovereignty , they will, by means of
the three most powerful and valiant nations,
be enabled to obtain possession of the whole
of Gaul.CAESAR'S COMMENTABIES.	IN

Chap. IV.—When this scheme was disu
closed to the Helvetii by informers, the>,
according to their custom, compelled Orgetorix
to plead his cause in chains; it was the law
that the penalty of being burned by fire should
await him if condemned. On the day appointed
for the pleading of his cause, Orgotorix drew
together from all quarters to the court, all his
vassals to the number of ten thousand persons ;
and led together to the same place all his
dependants and debtor-bondsmen, of whom he
had a great number ; by means of these he res-
cued himself from [the necessity of] pleading
his cause. While the state, incensed at this
act, was endeavoring to assert its right by
arms, and the magistrates were mustering g
large body of men from the country, Orgetorix
died ; and there is not wanting a suspicion, as
the Helvetii think, of his having committed
suicide.	t 0-»

Chap. V. — After his death, the- Helvetii
nevertheless attempt to do that which they had
resolved on, namely, to go forth from their terri-
tories. When they thought that they were at
length prepared for this undertaking, they set
fire to all their towns, in number about twelve,
to their villages about four hundred, and
to the private dwellings that remained; they
burn up all the corn, except what they intend
to carry with them; that after destroying the
hope of a return home, they might be the more
ready for undergoing all dangers. They order
every one to carry forth from home for himself
provisions for three months, ready ground.8	CJESAE \S COMMENT ABIES.

They persuade the Rauraci, and the Tulingi4
and the Latobrigi, their neighbors, to adopt
the same plan, and after burning down their
towns and villages, to set out with them : and
they admit to their party and unite to them-
selves as confederates the Boii, who had dwelt
on the other side of the Rhine, and had crossed
over into the Norican territory, and assaulted
Noreia.

Chap. VI. — There were in all two routes,
by which they could go forth from their coun-
try— one through the Sequani, narrow and
difficult, between Mount Jura and the river
Rhone, (by which scarcely one wagon at a
time could be led ; there was, moreover, a very
high mountain overhanging, so that a very
few might easily intercept them;) the other,
through our Province, much easier and freer
from obstacles, because the Rhone flows be-
tween the boundaries of the Helvetii and those
of the Allobroges, who had lately been sub-
dued ^ and is in some places crossed by a ford.
The farthest town of the Allobroges, and the
nearest to the territories of the Helvetii, is
Geneva. From this town a bridge extends to
the Helvetii. They thought that they should
either persuade the Allobroges, because they
did not seem as yet well-affected towards the
Roman people, or compel them by force to
allow them to pass through their territories.
Having provided everything for the expedition,
they appoint a day- on which they should all
meet on the bank of the Rhone. This day was
the fifth before the kalends of April, fi. e.,CAESAR '8 COMMENTARIES.	9

the 28tliof March,] in the consulship of Lucius
Piso and Aulus Gabinius [B. C. 58].

Chap. VII. — When it was reported to Cae-
sar, that they were attempting to make their
route through our Province, he hastens to set
out from the city, and, by as great marches as
he can, proceeds to Further Gaul, and arrives
at Geneva. He orders the whole Province [to
furnish] as great a number of soldiers as pos-
sible, as there was in all only one legion in
Further Gaul: he orders the bridge at Geneva
to be broken down. When the Helvetii are
apprised of his arrival, they send to him, as
ambassadors, the most illustrious men of their
state, (in which embassy Numeius and Veru-
doctius held the chief place,) to say u that it
was their intention to march through the Prov-
ince without doing any harm, because they
had" [according to their own representa-
tions] 4'no other route; that they requested
they might be allowed to do so with his
consent." Caesar, inasmuch as he kept in
remembrance that Lucius Cassius, the consul,
had been slain, and his army routed and made
to pass under the yoke by the Helvetii, did not
think that [their request] ought to be granted ;
nor was he of opinion that men of hostile
disposition, if an opportunity of marching
through the Province were given them, would
abstain from outrage and mischief. Yet, in
order that a period might intervene, until the
soldiers whom he had ordered [to be fur-
nished] should assemble, he replied to the
ambassadors, that he would take time to delib-10 C^ESAB yS COMMENTARIES.

erate; if they wanted anything, they might
return on the day before the ides of April [on
April 12th].

Chap. YIII. — Meanwhile, with the legion
which he had with him and the soldiers who
had assembled from the Province, he carries
along for nineteen [Roman, not quite eighteen
English] miles a wall, to the height of six-
teen feet, and a tr nch, from the Lake of Gene-
va, which flows into the river Rhone, to Mount
Jura, which separates the territories of the
Sequani from those of the Helvetii. When
that work was finished, he distributes garrisons,
and closely fortifies redoubts, in order that he
may the more easily intercept them, if they
should attempt to cross over against his will.
When the day which he had appointed with
the ambassadors came, and they returned to
him, he says, that .lie cannot, consistently
with the custom and precedent of the Roman
people, grant any one. a passage through the
Province; and he gives them to understand,
that, if they should attempt to use violence,
he would oppose them. The Helvetii, disap-
pointed in this hope, tried if they could force
a passage, (some by means of a bridge of
boats and numerous rafts constructed for the
purpose; others, by the fords of the Rhone,
where the depth x>f the river was least, some-
times by da}', but more frequently by .night,)
but being kept at bay by the strength of our
works, arid by the concourse of the soldiers,
and by the missiles, they desisted from this
attempt.CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 11

Chap. IX.—There was left one way,
[namely] through the Sequani, by which, on
account of its narrowness, they could not pass
without the consent of the Sequani. As they
could not of themselves prevail on them, they
3end ambassadors * to Dumnorix the ^Ednan,
that through his intercession they might ob-
tain their request from the Sequani. Dumno-
rix, by his popularity and liberality, had great
influence among the Sequani, and was friendly
to the Helvetii, because out of that state he
had married the daughter of Orgetorix ; and,
incited by lust of sovereignty, was anxious for
a revolution, and wished to have as many states
as possible attached to him by his kindness
towards them. He, therefore, undertakes the
affair, and prevails upon the Sequani to allow
the Helvetii to march through their territories,
and arranges that they should give hostages to
each other, — the Sequani not to obstruct the
Helvetii in their march; the Helvetii, to pass
without mischief and outrage.

Chap. X. — It is again told Caesar, that the
Helvetii intend to march through the country
of the Sequani and the JEdui into the terri-
tories of the San tones, which are not far dis-
tant from those boundaries of the Tolosates,
which [viz., Tolosa, Toulouse] is a state in the
Province. If this took place, he saw that it
would be attended with great danger to the
Province to have warlike men, enemies of the
Roman people, bordering upon an open and
very fertile tract of country. For these rea-
sons he appointed Titus Labienus, his lieuten-12 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

ant, to the command of the fortification which
he had made. He himself proceeds to Italy
by forced marches, and there levies two L gions,
and leads out from winter quarters three which
were wintering around Aquileia, and with
these five legions marches r. pidly by the near-
est route across the Alps into Further Gaul.
Here the Centrones and the Graioceli and the
Caturiges, having taken possession of the higher
parts, attempt to obstruct the army in their
march. After having routed these in several
battles, he arrives in the territories of the Vo-
contii in the Further Province on the seventh
day from Ocelum, which is the most remote
town of the Hither Province ; thence he leads
his army into the country of the Allobroges,
and from the Allobroges to the Segusiani.
These people are the first beyond the Province
on the opposite side of the Rhone.

Chap. XI. —The Helvetii had by this time
led their forces over through the narrow defile
and the territories of the Sequani, and had
arrived at the territories of the iEdui, and
were ravaging their lands. The iEdui, as they
could not defend themselves and their posses-
sions against them send ambassadors to Cae-
sar to ask assistance, [pleading] that they had
at all times so well deserved of the Roman
people, that their fields ought not to have been
laid waste, their children carried off into sla-
very, their towns stormed, almost within sight
of our army. At the same time the Am-
barri, the friends and kinsmen of the iEdui,
apprise Caesar, that it was not easy for them,CJESAli 'S COMMENTABIES. 13

now that their fields had been devastated, to
ward off the violence of the enemy from their
towns: the Allobroges likewise, who had vil-
lages and possessions on the other side of the
Rhone, betake themselves in flight to Caesar,
and assure him, that they had nothing remain-
ing, except the soil of their land. Caesar, in-
duced by these circumstances, decides, that
he ought not to wait until the Helvetii, after
destroying all the property of his allies, should
arrive among the Santones.

Chap. XII. — There is a river [called] the
Saone, which flows through the territories of
the JEdui and Sequani into the Rhone with
such incredible slowness, that it cannot be de-
termined by the eye in which direction it flows.
This the Helvetii were crossing by rafts and
boats joined together. When Caesar was in-
formed by spies that the Helvetii had already
conveyed three parts of their forces across
that river, but that the fourth part was left
behind on this side of the Saone, he set out
from the camp with three legions during the
third watch, and came up with that division
which had not yet crossed the river. Attack-
ing them, encumbered with baggage, and not
expecting him, he cut to pieces a great part of
them ; the rest betook themselves to flight, and
concealed themselves in the nearest woods.
That canton [which was cut down] was called
the Tigurine ; for the whole Helvetian state is
divided into four cantons. This single canton
having left their country, within the recollec-
tion of our fathers, had slain Lucius CassiusIt CJE SAB'S COMMENTARIES.

the consul, and had made his army pass under
the yoke £B. C. 107]. Thus, whether by
chance, or by the design of the immortal gods,
that part of the Helvetian state which had
brought a signal calamity upon the Roman peo-
ple, was the first to pay the penalty. In this
Caesar avenged not only the public, but also
his own personal wrongs, because the Tigurlni
had slain Lucius Piso the lieutenant [of Cas-
sius], the grandfather of Lucius Calpurnius
Piso, his [Caesar's] father-in-law, in the same
battle as Cassius himself.

Chap. XIII. — This battle ended, that he
might be able to come up with the remaining
forces of the Helvetii, he procures a bridge to
be made across the Saone, and thus leads his
army over. The Helvetii, confused by his
sudden arrival, when they found that he had ef-
fected in one day what they themselves had witlj
the utmost difficulty accomplished in twenty,
namely, the crossing of the river, send ambas-
sadors to him ; at the head of which embassy
was Divico, who had been commander of the,
Helvetii, in the war against Cassius. He thus
treats with Caesar that, u if the Roman
people would make peace with the Helvetii
they would go to that part and there remain,
where Caesar might appoint and desire them to
be ; but if he should persist in persecuting them
with war, that he ought to remember both the
ancient disg ace of the Roman people and
the characteristic valor of the Helvetii. As to
his having attacked one canton by surprise,
[at a time] when those who had crossedCJBSAB'JS COMMENTARIES. i5

the river could not bring assistance to their
friends, that he ought not on that account to
ascribe very much to his own valor, or despise
them ; that they had so learned from their sires
and ancestors, as to rely more on valor than
on artifice or stratagem. Wherefore let him
not bring it to pass that the place, where they
were standing, should acquire a name, from
the disaster of the Roman people and the de-
struction of their army or transmit the remem-
brance [of such an event to posterity]."

Chap. XIY. — To these words Caesar thus
replied : — that 4' on that very account he felt
less hesitation, because he kept in remem-
brance those circumstances which the Helve-
tian ambassadors had mentioned, and that he
felt the more indignant at them, in proportion
as they had happened undeservedly to the
Roman people : for if they had been conscious
of having don6 any wtong, it would not have
been difficult to be on their guard, but for that
very reason had they been deceived, because
neither were they aware that any offence had
been given by them, on account of which they
should be afraid, nor did they think that they
ought to be afraid without cause. But even if
he were willing to forget their former outrage,
could he also lay aside the remembrance of the
late, wrongs, in that they had against his will
attempted a route through the Province by
force, in that they had molested the JEdui, the
Ambarri, and the Allobroges? That as to
their so insolently boasting of their victory,
and as to their being astonished that they had16 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

so long committed their outrages with impu-
nity, [both these things] tended to the same
point; for the immortal gods are wont taallow
those persons whom they wish to punish for
tlieir guilt sometimes a greater prosperity and
longer impunity, in order that they may suffer
the more severely from a reverse of circum-
stances. Although these things are so, yet, if
hostages were to be given hi&i by them in order
that he may be assured they will do what they
promise, and provided they will give satisfac-
tion to the iEdui for the outrages which they
had committed against them and their allies,
and likewise to the Allobroges, he [Caesar]
will4nake peace with them." Divlco replied,
that " the Helvetii had been so trained by their
ancestors, that they were accustomed to re-
ceive, not to give, hostages; of that fact the
Roman people were witness." Having given
this reply, he withdrew.

Chap. XV. — On the following day they
move their camp from that place ; Caesar does
the same, and sends forward all his cavalry, to
the number of four thousand, (which he had
drawn together from all parts of the Province
and from theiEdui and their allies,) to observe
towards what parts the enemy are directing
their march. These, having too eagerly pursued
the enemy's rear, come to a battle with the cav-
alry of the Helvetii in a disadvantageous place,
and a few of our men fall. The Helvetii, elated
with this battle, because they had with five
hundred horse repulsed so large a body of horse,
began to face us more boldly, sometimes tooCAESAR'S COMMENT ABIES. 17

from their rear to provoke our men by an
attack. Caesar [however] restrained his men
from battle, deeming it sufficient for the pres-
ent to prevent the enemy from rapine, forage,
and depredation. They marched for about
fifteen days in such a manner that there was
not more than five or six miles between the
enemy's rear and our van.

Chap. XVI. — Meanwhile, Caesar kept daily
importuning the -ZEdui for the corn which they
had promised in the name of their state ; for,
in consequence of the cold, (Gaul being,
as before said, situated towards the north,)
not only was the corn in the fields not ripe,
but there was not in store a sufficiently large
quantity even of fodder : besides he was unable
to use the corn, which he had conveyed in ships
up the river Saone, because the Helvetii, from
whom he was unwilling to retire, had diverted
their march from the Saone. The iEdui kept
deferring from day to day, and saying that it
was being " collected—brought in—on the
road." When he saw that he was put off too
long, and that the day was close at hand on
which he ought to serve out the corn to his
soldiers, having called together their chiefs,
of whom he had a great number in his camp,
among them Divitiacus, and Liscus who was
invested with the chief magistracy,(whom the
iEdui style the Vergobretus, and who is elected
annually, and has power of life and death over
his countrymen.) he severely reprimands them,
because he is not assisti d by them on so urgent
an occasion, when the enemy were so close at13 CJSSAB'S COMMENT ABIES,

hand, and when [corn] could neither be bought,
nor taken from the fields, particularly as, in a
great measure urged by their prayers, he had
undertaken the war ; much more bitterly, there-
fore, does he complain of his being forsaken.

Chap. XVII.—Then at length Liscus, moved
by Caesar's speech, discloses what he had
hitherto kept secret: — that-"there are some
whose influence with the people is very great,
who, though private men, have more power
than the magistrates themselves : that these by
seditious and violent language are deterring
the populace from contributing the corn which
they ought to supply ; [by telling them] that
if they cannot any longer retain the supremacy
of Gaul, it were better to submit to the gov-
ernment of Gauls than of Romans, nor ought
they to doubt that, if the Romans should over-
power the Helvetii, they wou'd wrest their
freedom from the JEdui together with the
remainder of Gaul. By these very men, [said
he,] are our plans, and whatever is done in
the camp, disclosed to the enemy; that they
could not be restrained by him: nay more, he
was well aware, that though compelled by
necessity, he had disclosed the matter to Caesar,
at how great a risk he had done it; and for
that reason, he had been silent as long as he
could."

Chap. XVIII. — Caesar perceived that, by
this speech of Liscus, Dumnorix, the brother
of Divitiacus, was indicated; but, as he was
unwilling that these matters should be dis-
cussed while so many were present, he speed-CuESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 19

ily dismisses the council, but detains Liscus:
he inquires from him when alone, about those
things which he had said in the meeting. He
[Liscus] speaks more unreservedly and boldly.
He [Caesar] makes inquiries on the same
points "privately of others, and discovers that
it is all true ; that "Dumnorix is the person,
a man of the highest daring, in great favor
with the people on account of his liberality, a
man eager for a revolution: that for a great
many years he has been in the habit of con-
tracting for the customs and all the other taxes
of the -ZEdui at a small cost, because when he
bids, no one dares to bid against him. By
these means he has both increased his own
private property, and amassed great means
for giving largesses; that he maintains con-
stantly at his own expense and keeps about
his own person a great number of cavalry, and
that not oiily at home, but even among the
neighboring states, he has great influence,
and for the sake of strengthening this influence
has given his mother in marriage among the
Bitunges to a man the most noble and most
influential there ; that he has himself taken a
wife from among the Hel^tii, and has given
his sister by the mother's side and his female
relations in marriage into other states ; that he
favors and wishes well to the Helvetii on ac-
count of this connection; and that he hates
Caesar and the Romans, on his own account,
because by their arrival his power was weak-
ened, and his brother, Divitiacus, restored to
bis former position of mfiueaoe and dignity:20 CuE SAB'S COMMENTARIES.

that, if anything should happen to the Romans,
he entertains the highest hope of gaining the
sovereignty by means of the Helvetii, but that
under the government of the Roman people
he despairs not only of royalty, but even of
that influence which he already lias." Caesar
discovered too, on inquiring into the unsuc-
cessful cavalry engagement which had taken
place a few days before, that the commence-
ment of that flight had been made by Dumnorix
and his cavalry (for Dumnorix was in com-
mand of the cavalry which the JEdui had
sent for aid to Caesar) ; that by their flight
the rest of the cavalry was dismayed.

Chap. XIX. — After learning these circum-
stances, since to these suspicions the most un-
equivocal facts were added, viz., that lie had
led the Helvetii through the territories of the
Sequani; that he had provided that hostages
should be mutually given; that lie had done
all these things, not only without any orders of
his [Caesar's] and of his own state's, but even
without their [the JEdui] knowing anything
of it themselves; that he [Dumnorix] was
reprimanded by the [chief] magistrate of the
JEdui; he [Csesai\j considered that there was
sufficient reason, why he should either punish
him himself, or order the state to do so.
One thing [however] stood in the way of all
this—that he bad learned by experience his
brother Divitiacus's very high regard for the
Roman people, his great affection towards
him, his distinguished faithfulness, justice,
and moderation; for he was afraid lest by theC^E SAB'S COMMENT ABIES. 2l

punishment of this man, he should hurt the
feelings of Divitiacus. Therefore, before he
attempted anything, he orders Divitiacus to
be summoned to him, and. when the ordinary
interpreters had been wit!idrawn, converses
with him through Caius Valerius Procillus,
chief of the province of Gaul, an intimate
friend of his, in whom he reposed the highest
confidence in everything ; at the same time he
reminds him of what was said about Dumnorix
in the council of the Gauls, when he himself
was present, and shows what each had said of
him privately in his [Caesar's] own presence ;
he begs and exhorts him, that, without offence
to his feelings, he may either himself pass
judgment on him [Dumnorix] after trying the
case, or else order the [iEduan] state to do so.

Chap. XX. — Divitiacus, embracing Caesar,
begins to implore him, with many tears, that
" he would not pass any very severe sentence
upon his brother; saying, that he knows that
those [charges] are true, and that nobody
suffered more pain on that account than he
himself did ; for when he himself could effect
a very great deal by his influence at home
and in the rest of Gaul, and he [Dumnorix]
very little on account of his youth, the latter
had become powerful through his means,
which power and strength he used not only to
the lessening of his [Divitacus'] popularity,
but almost to his ruin; that he, however, was
influenced both by fraternal affection and by
public opinion. But if anything very severe
from Caesar should befall him [Dumnorix], uo22 CJE SAB'S C0MMENTAB1ES.

one would think that it had been done without
his consent, since he himself held such a place
in Caesar's friendship; from which circum-
stance it would arise, that the affections of
the whole of Gaul would be estranged from
him." As he was with tears begging these
things of Caesar in many words, Caesar takes
his right hand, and, comforting him, begs him
to make an end of entreating, and assures him
that his regard for him is so great, that he for-
gives both the injuries of the republic and his
private wrongs, at his desire and prayers.
He summons Dumnorix to him ; he brings in
his brother ; he points out what he censures in
him ; he lays before him what he of himself
perceives, and what the state complains of;
he* warns him for the future to avoid all
grounds of suspicion ; he says that he pardons
the past, for the sake of his brother, Divitia-
cus. He sets spies over Dumnorix that he
may be able to know what he does, and with
whom he communicates.

Chap. XXI. — Being on the same day in-
formed by his scouts, that the enemy had en-
camped at the foot of a mountain eight miles
from his own camp, he sent persons to ascer-
tain what the nature of the mountain was, and
of what kind the ascent on every side. Word
was brought back, that it was easy. During
the third watch he orders Titus Labienus, his
lieutenant with pretorian powers, to ascend to
the highest ridge of the mountain with two
legions, and with those as guides who had ex-
amined the road ; he explains what his plan is.CJESAM'S COMMENTARIES. 23

He himself during the fourth watch hastens to
them by the same route by which the enemy
had gone, and sends on all the cavalry before
him. Publius Considius, who was reputed to
be very experienced in military affairs, and
had been in the army of Lucius Sulla, and
afterwards in that of Marcus Crassus, is sent
forward with the scouts.

Chap XXII. — At daybreak, when the
summit of the mountain was in the possession
of Titus Labienus, and he himself was not
farther off than a mile and a half from the
enemy's camp, nor, as he afterwards ascer-
tained from the captives, had either his arrival
or that of Labienus been discovered; Consi-
dius, with his horse at full gallop, comes up to
him ; says that the mountain which he [Caesar]
wished should be seized by Labienus, is in
possession of the enemy; that he has discov-
ered this by the Gallic arms and ensigns.
Caesar leads off his forces to the next hill,
[and] draws them up in battle order. Labie-
nus, as he had been ordered by Caesar not to
come to an engagement unless [Caesar's] own
forces were seen near the enemy's camp, that
the attack upon the enemy might be made on
every side at the same time, was, after having
taken possession of the mountain, waiting for
our men, and refraining from battle. When,
at length, the day was far advanced, Caesar
learned through spies, t'mt the mountain was
in possession of his own men, and that the
Helvetii had moved their camp, and that Con-
sidius, struck with fear, had reported to him,24 CJBSAB'S COMMENTABIES.

as seen, that which he had not seen. On that
day be follows the enemy at his usual distance,
and pitches his camp three miles from theirs.

Chap. XXIII. — The next day, (as there
remained in all only two days' space [to the
time] when he must serve out the corn to his
army, and as he was not more than eighteen
miles from Bibracte, by far the largest and
best-stored town of the iEdui,) he thought
that he ought to provide for a supply of corn ;
and diverted his march from the Helvetii, and
advanced rapidly to Bibracte. This circum-
stance is reported to the enemy by some de-
serters from LucifTk iEmilius, a captain, of the
Gallic horse. The Helvetii, either because
they thought that the Romans, struck with ter-
ror, were retreating from them, the more so,
as the day before, though they had seized on
the higher grounds, they had not joined battle,
or because they flattered themselves that they
might be cut off from the provisions, altering
their plan and changing their route, began to
pursue, and to annoy our men in the rear.

Chap. XXIY.—Caesar, when he observes
this, draws off his forces to the next hill, and
sent the cavalry to sustain the attack of the
enemy. He himself, meanwhile, drew lip on
the middle of the hill a triple line of his four
veteran legions in such a manner, that he
placed above him on the very summit the two
legions, which he had lately levied in Hither
Gaul, and all the auxiliaries; and he ordered
that the whole mountain should be covered
with men, and that meanwhile the baggageCJESAB >■$ COMMENTARIES. 25

should be brought together into one place, and
the position be protected by those who were
posted in the upper line. The Helvetii, hav-
ing followed with all their wagons, collected
their baggage into one place : they themselves,
after having repulsed our cavalry and formed
a phalanx, advanced up to our front line in
very close order.

Ciiap. XXV. — Caesar, having removed out
of sight first his own horse, then those of all,
that he might make the danger of all equal,
and do away with the hope of flight, after en-
couraging his men, joined battle. His soldiers,
hurling their javelins from the higher ground,
eisily broke the enemy's phalanx. That being
dispersed, they made a charge on them with
drawn swords. It was a great hindrance to
the Gauls in fighting, that, when several of
their bucklers had been by one stroke of the
(Roman) javelins pierced through and pinned
fast together, as the point of the iron had bent
itself, they could neither pluck it out, nor, with
their left hand entangled, fight with sufficient
ease; so that many, after having long tossed
their arm about, chose rather to cast away the
buckler from their hand, and to fight with their
person unprotected. At length, worn out with
wounds, they be: an to give way, and, as there
was in the neighborhood a mountain about a
mile off, to betake themselves thither. When
the mountain had been gained, and our men
were advancing up, the Boii and Tulingi, who
with about 15,000 men closed the enemy's
line of march and served as a guard to their26	CAESAR'S COMMENTAMEk

rear, having assailed our men on the exposed
flank as they advanced [prepared] to surround
them; upon seeing which, the Helvetii, who
had betaken themselves to the mountain, began
to press on again and renew the battle. The
Romans having faced about, advanced to the
attack in two divisions : the first and second
line, to withstand those who had been defeated
and driven off the field; the third t > receive
those who were just arriving.

Chap. XXVI. — Thus was the contest long
and vigorously carried on with doubtful suc-
cess. When th;>y could no longer withstand
the attacks of our men, the one division, as
they had begun to do, betook themselves to
the mountain ; the other repaired to their bag-
gage and wagons. For during the whole of
this battle, although the fight lasted from the
seventh hour [>. e., 12 (noon) — 1 p. m ] to
eventide, no one could see an emeny with
his back turned. The figlit was carried on
also at the baggage till late in the night, for
they had set wagons in the wny as a rampart,
and from the' higher ground kept throwing
weapons upon our men, as they came on, and
some from between the wagons and the
wheels kept darting their lances and javelins
from beneath, and wounding our men After
the fight had lasted some time, our men gained
possession of their baggage and camp. There
the daughter and one of the sons of Orgetorix
were taken. After that battle about 130,000
men [of the enemy] remained alive, who
marched incessantly during the whole of thatCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 27

night; and after a march discontinued for no
part of the night, arrived in the territories of
the Lingones on the fourth day, whilst our
men, having stopped for three days, both on
account of the wounds of the soldiers and the
burial of the slain, had not been able to follow
them. Caesar sent letters and messengers to
the Lingones [with orders] that they should
not assist them with corn or with anything
else; for that if they should assist them, he
would regard them in the same light as the
HclvetiL After the thi\ e days' interval lie
began to follow them himself with all his
forces.

Chap. XXVII.—The Helvetii, compelled
by the want of everything, sent ambassadors
to him about a surrender. When these had
met him on the way and had thrown them-
selves at his feet, and speaking in suppliant
tone had with tears sued for peace, and
[when] he had ordered them to await his
arrival in the place where they then were,
they obeyed his commands. When Caesar
arrived at that place, he demanded hostages,
their arms, and the slaves who had deserted to
them. Whilst those things are being sought
for and got together, after a night's interval,
about 6,000 men of that canton which is called
the Verbigene, whether terrified by fear, lest,
after delivering up their arms, they should
suffer punishment, or else induced by the hope
of safety, because they supposed that, amid so
vast a multitude of those who had surrendered
themselves, their flight might either be don-28 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

cealed or entirely overlooked, having at night-
fall departed out of the camp of the Helvetii,
hastened to the Rhine and the territories of the
Germans.

Chap. XXVIII. — But when Caesar discov-
ered this, he commanded those through whose
territories they had gone, to seek them out and
to bring them back again, if they meant to
be acquitted before him; and consider them,
when brought back, in the light of enemies ; he
admitted all the rest to a surrender, upon their
delivering up the hostages, arms, andvdesert-
ers. He ordered the Helvetii, the Tulingi,
and the Latobrigi to return to their territories
from, which they had come, and as there was
at home nothing whereby they might support
their hunger, all the productions of the earth
having been destroyed, he commanded the
Allobroges to let them have a plentiful supply
of corn; and ordered them to rebuild the
towns and villages which they had burnt.
This he did, chiefly, on this account, becausa
he was unwilling that the country, from which
the Helvetii had departed, should be unten-
anted, lest the Germans, who dwell on the
other side of the Khine, should, on account of
the excellence of the lands, cross over from
their own territories into those of the Helvetii,
and become borderers upon the province of
Gaul and the Allobroges. He granted the
petition of the iEdui, that they m'ght settle the
Boii, in their own ( i. e , in theiEduan) territo-
ries, as these were known to be of distinguished
valor, to whom they gave lands, and whomCjESAB \S COMMENTARIES.	29

the}* afterwards admitted to the same state of
i ights and freedom as themselves.

Chvf. XXIX. — In the camp of the Hel-
vetii, lists were found, drawn up, in Greek
characters, and were brought to Caesar, in
which an estimate had been drawn up, name
by name, of the number which had gone forth
from their country of those who were able to
bear arms; and likewise the boys, the old
men, and the women, separately. Of all which
items the total was : —

Of the Helvetii [lit. of the heads of the
Helvetii] . ......... 263,000

The sum of all amounted to . . 368,000

Out of these, such as could bear arms
[amounted] to about 92,000. W hen the census
of those who returned home was taken, as
Caesar had commanded, the number was found
to be 110.000.

Chap. XXX. — 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 wrongs 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 Helvetia

Of the Tulingi
Of the Latobrigi
Of the Hauraci
Of the Boii. .

36,000
14,000
23,000
32,00030 CCESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

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 ho'd 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.

Chap. XXXI. — When that assembly was*
dismissed, the same chiefs of slates, who had
before been to Csesar, returned, and asked that
they might be allowed to treat with him pri-
vately (in secret) concerning the safety of
themselves and of all. That request having
been obtained, they all threw themselves in
tears at Caesar's feet, [saying] that they no
less begged and earnestly desired that what
they might say should not be disclosed, than
that they might obtain those things which they
wished for; inasmuch as they saw, that, if a
disclosure were made, they should be put to the
greatest tortures For these Divitiacus the
JEduan spoke and told him; — "That thereCjESAR'S COMMENTARIES. v 31

were two parties i,n the whole ot Gaul: that the
JEdui stood at the head of one of these, the
Arverni of the other. After these had been
violently struggling with one another for the
superiority for many years, ifr came to pass
that the Germans were called in for hire by
the Arverni and the Sequani. That about
15,000 of them [i. e., of the Germans] had
at first crossed the Rhine: but after these
wild and savage men had become enamoured
of the lands and the refinement*and the abun-
dance of the Gauls, more were brought over,
that there were now as mnny as 120,000 of them
in Gaul: that with these the JEdui and their
dependants had repeatedly struggled in arms ;
that they had been routed, and had sustained
a great calamity, — had lost all their nobility,
all their senate, all their cavalry. And that
broken by such engagements and calamities,
although they had formerly been very powerr
ful in Gaul, both from their own valor and
from the Roman people's hospitality and friend-
ship, they were now compelled to give the chief
nobles of their state as hostages to the Sequani,
and to bind their state by an oath, that they
would neither demand hostages in return, nor
supplicate aid from the Roman people, nor
refuse to be forever under their sway and em-
pire. That he was the only one out of all the
state of the iEdui, who could not be prevailed
upon to take the oath or to give his children as
hostages. On that account he had fled from
his state and had gone to the senate at Rome
to beseech aid, as he alone was bound neither32 * CAESAR '$ COMMENTARIES.

by oath nor hostages. But a worse tiling had
befallen the victorious Sequani than the van-
quished iEdui, for Ariovistus, th§ king of the
Germans, had settled in their territories, and
had seized upon a third of their lnnd, which
was the best in the whole of Gaul, and was
now ordering them to depart from another
third part, because a few months previously
24,000 men of the Harudes had come to him,
for whom room and settlements must be pro-
vided. The consequence would be, that in a
few years they would all be driven from the
territories of Gaul, and all the Germans would
cross the Rhine; for neither must the land of
Gaul be compared with the land of the Ger-
mans, nor must the habit of living of the latter
be put on a level with that of the former.
Moreover, [as for] Ariovistus, no sooner did
he defeat the forces of the Gauls in a battle,
which took place at Magetobria, than [he
began] to lord it haughtily and cruelly, to de-
mand as hostages the children of all the prin^
cipal nobles, and wreak on them every kind of
cruelty, if everything was not done at his nod
or pleasure ; that he was a savage, passionate,
and reckless man, and that his commands could
no longer be borne. Unless there was some aid
in Caesar and the Roman people, the Gauls
must all do the same thing that the Helvetii
have done, [viz.] emigrate from their country,
and seek another dwelling place, other settle-
ments remote from the Germans, and try
whatever fortune may fall to their lot. If
these things were to be disclosed to Ariovis*CJESABrS COMMENTARIES. 33

tus, [Divitiacus adds] that ho doubts not that
he would inflict the most severe punishment
on all the hostages who are in his possession,
[and says] that Caesar could, either by his own
influence and by that of his army, or by his
late victory, or by name of the Roman people,
intimidate him, so as to prevent a greater
number of Germans being brought over the
Rhine, and could protect all Gaul from the
outrages of Ariovistus.,,

Chap. XXXII.—When this speech had
been delivered b}7 Divitiacus, all who were
present began with loud lamentation to entreat
assistance of Caesar. Caesar noticed that the
Sequani were the only people of all who did
none of those things which the others did, but,
with their heads bowed down, gazed on the
earth in sadness. Wondering what was the
reason of this conduct, he inquired of them-
selves. No reply did the Sequani make, but
silently continued in the same sadness. When
he had repeatedly inquired of them and could
not elicit any answer at all, the same Divitia-
cus the ^Eduan answered, that — " the lot of
the Sequani was more wretched and grievous
than that of the rest, on this account, because
they alone durst not even in secret complain or
supplicate aid ; and shuddered at the cruelty of
Ariovistus [even when] absent, just as if he were
present ; for, to-the rest, despite of everything,
there was an opportunity of flight given; but
all tortures must be endured by the Sequani,
who had admitted Ariovistus within their terri-
tories, and whose towns were all in his power "34 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

Chap. XXXIII. — Caesar, on being in-
formed of these things, cheered the minds of
the Gauls with his words, and promised that
this affair should be an object of his concern,
[saying] that he had great hopes that Ario-
vistus, induced both by his kindness and his
power, would put "an end to his oppression.
After delivering this speech, lie dismissed the
assembly ; and, besides those statements, many
circumstances induced him to think that this
affair ought to 1 e consklered and taken up by
him; especially as lie saw that the JEdui,
styled [as they had been] repeatedly by the sen-
ate u brethren " and ^kinsmen," were held in
the thraldom and dominion of the Germans,
and understood that their hostages were with
Ariovistus and the Sequani, which in so mighty
an empire [as that] of the Roman people he'
considered very disgraceful to himself and the
republic. That, moreover, the Germans should
by degrees become accustomed to cross the
Rhine, and that a great body of them should
come into Gaul, he saw [would be] dangerous
to the Roman people, and judged, that wild
and savage men would not be likely to restrain
themselves, after they had possessed them-
selves of all Gaul, from going forth into the
province and thence marching into Italy, (as
the Cimbri and Teutones had done before them,)
particularly as the Rhone [was the sole barrier
that] separated the Sequani from our province.
Against which events he thought he ought to
provide as speedily as possible. Moreover,
Ariovistus for his part, had assumed to him-CJESAB 9S COMMENTARIES. 35

self such pride and arrogance, that he was felt
to be quite insufferable.

Chap. XXXIV. — He therefore determined
to send ambassadors to Ariovistus to demand
of him to name some intermediate spot for a
conference between the two, [saying] that he
wished to treat with him on state business and
matters of the highest importance to both of
them. To this embassy Ariovistus replied,
that if he himself had had need of anything
from Caesar, he would have gone to him ; and
that if Caesar wanted anything from him he
ought to come to him. That, besides, neither
dare he go without an army into those parts
of Gaul which Caesar had possession of, nor
could he, without great expense and trouble,
draw his army together to one place ; that to
him, moreover, it appeared strange, what bus-
iness either Caesar or the Roman people at all
had in his own Gaul, which he had conquered
in war.

Chap. XXXV. — When these answers were
reported to Caesar, he sends ambassadors to
him a second time with this message : " Since,
after having been treated with so much kind-
ness by himself and the Roman people, (as he
had in his consulship [B. C. 59] been styled
'king and friend' by the senate,) he makes
this recompense to [Caesar] himself and the,
Roman people, [viz.] that when invited to a
conference he demurs, and does not think that
it concerns him to advise and inform himself
about an object of mutual interest, these are
the things which he requires of him ; first, that36	C^JSAB'S COMMEN fABIE8.

he do not any more bring over any body of
men across the Rhine into Gaul; in the next
place, that he restore the hostages, which he
has from the iEdui, and grant the Sequani
permission to restore to them with his consent
those hostages which they have, and that he
neither provoke the iEdui by outrage nor make
war upon them or their allies; if he would
accordingly do this," [Caesar says] that 44 he
himself and the Roman people will entertain a
perpetual feeling of favor and friendship to-
wards him; but that if he [Caesar] does not
obtain [his desires] that he (forasmuch as in
the consulship of Marcus Messala and Marcus
Piso [B. C. 61] the senate had decreed that,
whoever should have the administration of the
province of Gaul should, as far as he could do
so consistently with the interests of the repub-
lic, protect the iEdui and the other friends
of the Roman people) will not overlook the
wrongs of the iEdui."

Chap. XXXVI.—To this Ariovistus re-
plied, that "the right of war was, that tli y
who had conquered should govei n those whoiii
they had conquered, in what manner they
pleased ; that in that way the Roman people
were wont to govern the nations which they
had conquered, not according to the dictation
of any other, but according to their own discre-
tion. If he for his part did not dictate to the
Roman people as to the manner in which they
were to exercise their right, he ought not to be
obstructed by the Roman people in his right;
that the iEdui, inasmuch as they had tried theCuESAB'S COMMENTABIES. 37

fortune of war and had engaged in arms and
been conquered, had become tributaries to
him; that Caesar was doing a great injustice,
in that by his arrival he was making his rev-
enues less valuable to him ; that he should not
restore their hostages to the iEdui, but should
not make war wrongfully either upon them or
their allies, if they abode by that which had
been agreed on, and paid their tribute an-
nually : if they did not continue to do that, the
Roman people's name of 'brothers** would
avail them naught. As to Caesar's threatening
him that he would not overlook the wrongs of
the iEdui, [he said] that no one had ever
entered into a contest with Mm [Ariovistus]
without utter ruin to himself. That Caesar
might enter the lists when he chose ; he would
feel what the invincible Germans, well trained
[as they were] beyond all others to arms, who
for fourteen years had not been beneath a roof,
could achieve bv their valor."

Chap. XXXVIL —At the same time that
this message was delivered to Caesar, ambassa-
dors came from the JEdui and the Treviri;
from the JEdui to complain that the Harudes,
who had lately been brought oyer into Gaul,
were ravaging their territories ; that they had
not been able to purchase peace from Ariovis-
tus, even by giving hostages: and from the
Treviri, [to state] that a hundred cantons of
the Suevi had encamped on the banks of the
Rhine, and were attempting to cross it; ,that
the brothers, Nasuas and Cimberius, headed
them. Being greatly alarmed at these things,38 GJESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

Caesar thought that he ought to use all de-
spatch, lest, if this new band of Suevi should
unite with the old troops of Ariovistus, he
[Ariovistus] might be less easily withstood.
Having, therefore, as quickly as he could, pro-
vided a supply of corn, he hastened to Ario-
vistus by forced marches.

Chap. XXXVIII. —When he had proceeded
three days' journey, word was brought to him
that Ariovistus was hastening with all his
forces to seize on Vesontio, which is the largest
town of the Sequani, and had advanced three
days' journey from his territories. Caesar
thought that he ought to take the greatest pre-
cautions lest this should happen, for there was
in that town a most ample supply of every-
thing which was serviceable for war; and so
fortified was it by the nature of the ground,
as to afford a great facility for protracting the
war, inasmuch as the river Doubs almost sur-
rounds the whole town, as though it were traced
round it with a pair of compasses. A moun-
tain of great height shuts in the remaining
space, which is not more than 600 feet, where
the river leaves a gap, in such a manner that
the roots of that mountain extend to the
river's bank on either side. A wall thrown
around it makes a citadel of this [mountain],
and connects it with the town. Hither Caesar
hastens by forced marches by night and day,
and, after having seized the town, stations a
garrison there.

Chap. XXXIX. -—Whilst he is tarrying a
few days at Vesontio, on account of corn andCJESAB '$ COMMENTABIES. 39

provisions, from the inquiries of our men and
the reports of the Gauls and traders, (who
asserted that the Germans were men of huge
stature, of incredible valor and practice in
arms; that ofttimes they, on encountering
them, could hot bear even their countenance,
and the fierceness of their eyes,) so great a
panic on a sudden seized the whole army, as
to discompose the minds and spirits of all in
no slight degree. This first arose from the
tribunes of the soldiers, the prefects and the
rest, who, having followed Caesar from the city
[Rome] from motives of friendship, had no
great experience in military affairs. And al-
leging, some of them one reason, some another,
which they said made it necessary for them to
depart, they requested that by his consent
they might be allowed to withdraw ; some, influ-
enced by shame, stayed behind in order that
they might; avoid the suspicion of cowardice.
These could neither compose their counte-
nance, nor even sometimes check their tears;
but hidden in their tents, either bewailed their
fate, or deplored with their comrades the gen-
eral danger. Wills were sealed universally
throughout the whole camp. By the expres-
sions and cowardice of these men, even those
who possessed great experience in the camp,
both soldiers and centurions, and those [the
decurions] who were in command of the cav-
alry, were gradually disconcerted. Such of
them as wished to be considered less alarmed,
said that they did not dread the enemy, but
feared the narrowness of the roads and the40 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

vastness of the forests which lay between
them and Ariovistus, or else that the supplies
could not be brought up readily enough.
Some even declared to Caesar, that when he
gave orders for the camp to be moved and
the troops to advance, the soldiers would
not be obedient to the command, nor advance
in consequence of their fear.

Chap. XL. — When Caesar observed these
things, having called a council, and sum-
moned to it the centurions of all the companies,
he severely reprimanded them, u particularly,
for supposing that it belonged to them to in-
quire or conjecture, either in what direction
they were marching, or with what object.
That Ariovistus, during his [Caesar'sJ consul-
ship, had mo4 anxiously sought after the
friendship of the Roman people ; why should
any one judge that he would so rashly depart
from his duty? He for his part was per-
suaded, that, when his demands were known
and the fairness of the terms considered, he
would reject neither his nor the Roman
people's favor. But even if, driven on by
rage and madness, he should make war upon
them, what after all were they afraid of? ov
why should they despair either of their own
valor or of his zeal? Of that enemy a trial
had been made within our fathers' recollection,
when, on the defeat of the Cimbri and Teu-
tones by Caius Marius, the army was regarded
as having deserved no less praise than their
commander himself. It had been made latety,
too, in Italy,during the rebellion of the slaves^CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 41

whom, however, the experience and training
which they had received from us assisted
in some respect. From which a judgment
might be formed of the advantages which res-
olution carries with it; inasmuch as those
whom for some time they had groundlessly
dreaded when unarmed, they had afterwards
vanquished, when well armed and flushed with
success. In short, that these were the same
men whom the He-lvetii, in frequent encoun-
ters, not only in their own territories, but also
in theirs [the German], have generally van-
quished, and yet cannot have been a match
for our army. If the unsuccessful battle and
flight of the Gauls disquieted any, these, if
they made inquiries, might discover that, when
the Gauls had been tired out by the long dura-
tion of the war, Ariovistus, after he had
many months kept himself in his camp and
in the marshes, and had given no opportunity
for an engagement, fell suddenly upon them,
by this tim3 despairing of a battle, and scat-
tered in all directions, and was victorious more
through stratagem and cunning than valor.
But though there had been room for such
stratagem against savage and unskilled men,
not even [Ariovistus] himself expected that
thereby our armies could be entrapped. That
those who ascribed their fear to a pretence
about the [deficiency of] supplies and the nar-
rowness of the roads, acted presumptuously, as
they seemed either to distrust their general's
discharge of his duty, or to dictate to him.
That these things were his concern; that the42 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

Sequani, the Leuci, and the Lingones were to
furnish the corn ; and that it was already ripe
in the fields; that as to the road they would
soon be able to judge for themselves. As to
its being reported that the soldiers would not
be obedient to command, or advance, he was
not at all disturbed at that; for he knew, that
in the case of all those whose army had not
been obedient to command, either upon some
mismanagement of an affair, fortune had de-
serted them, or, that upon some crime be-
ing discovered, covetousness had been clearly
proved [against them]. His integrity had
been seen throughout his whole life, his good
fortune in the war with the Helvetii. That
he would therefore instantly set about what he
had intended to put off till a more distant day,
and would break up his camp the next night,
in the fourth watch, that he might ascertain,
as soon as possible, whether a sense of honor
and duty, or whether fear had more influence
with them. But that, if no one else should
follow, yet he would go with only the tenth
legion, of which he had no misgivings, and it
should be his pretorian cohort." —This legion
Caesar had both greatly favored, and in it, on
account of its valor, placed the greatest confi-
dence.

Chap. XLI. — Upon the delivery of this
speech, the minds of all were changed in a
surprising manner, and the highest ardor and
eagerness for prosecuting the war were engen-
dered ; and the tenth legion was the first to
return thanks to him, through their militaryCJESAIi'S COMMENTARIES. 13

tribunes, for his having expressed this most
favorable opinion of them; and assured liira
that they were quite ready to prosecute the
war. Then, the other legions endeavored,
through their military tribunes and the centu-
rions of the principal companies, to excuse
themselves to Caesar, [raying] that they had
never either doubted or feared, or supposed
that the determination of the conduct of the
war was theirs and not their general's. Hav-
ing accepted their excuse, and having had the
road carefully reconnoitred by Divitiacus,
because in him of all others he had the greatest
faith, [he found] that by a circuitous route of
more than fifty miles he might lead his army
through open parts; he then set out in the
fourth watch, as he had said [he would]. On
the seventh day, as he did not discontinue his
march, he was informed by scouts that the
forces of Ariovistus were only four-and-twenty
miles distant from ours.

Ch\p. XL1I. —Upon being apprised of
Caesar's arrival, Ariovistus sends ambassadors
to him, [saying] that what he had before
requested as to a conference, might now, as
far as his permission went, take place, since
he [Caesar] had approached nearer, and he
considered that he might now do it without
danger. Caesar did not reject the proposal,
and began to think that he was now returning
to a rational state of miud, as he spontane-
ously proffered that which he had previously
refused to him when requesting it; and was in
great hopes that, in consideration of his own44 CJESAtt \S' COMMENTARIES.

and the Roman people's great favors towards
him, the issue would be tli it he would desist
from his obstinacy upon his demands being
made known. The fifth day after that was
appointed as the day of conference. Mean-
while, as ambassadors were being often sent
to and fro between them, Ariovistus demanded
that Caesar should not bring any foot-soldier
with him to the conference, [saying] that uhe
was afraid of being ensnared by him through
treachery; that both should come accompa-
nied by cavalry ; that he would not come on
any other condition." Csesar, as he neither
wished that the conference should, by an
excuse thrown in the way, be set aside, nor
durst trust his life to the cavalry of the Gauls,
decided that it would be most expedient to
take away from the Gallic cavalry all their
horses, and thereon to mount the legionary
soldiers of the tenth legion, in which he placed
the greatest confidence ; in order that he might
have a body-guard as trustworthy as possible,
should there be any need for action. And
when this was done, one of the soldiers of the
tenth legion said, not without a touch of
humor, "that Caesar did more for them than
he had promised ; he had promised to have the
tenth legion in place of his pretorian cohort;
but he now converted them into horse."

Chap. XLIII.—There was a large plain,
and in it a mound of earth of considerable
size. This spot was at nearly an equal dis-
tance from both camps. Thither, as had been
appointed, they came for the conference.C^E SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 45

Caesar stationed the legion, which he had
brought [with him] on horseback, 200 paces
from this mound. The cavalry of Ariovistus
also took their stand at an equal distance.
Ariovistus then demanded, that they should
confer on horseback, and that, besides them-
selves, they should bring with them ten men
each to the conference. When they were
come to the place, Caesar, in the opening of
his speech, detailed his own and the senate's
favors towards him [Ariovistus], "in that
he had been styled king, in that [he had been
styled] friend, by the senate, in that very
considerable presents had been sent him;
which circumstance he informed him had both
fallen to the lot of few, and had usually been
bestowed in consideration of important per-
sonal services; that. he, although he had
neither an introduction, nor a just ground
for the request, had obtained these honors
through the kindness and munificence of him-
self [Caesar] and the senate. He informed
him too, how old and how just were the grounds
of connection that existed between themselves
[the Romans] and the JEdui, what decrees
of the senate had been passed in their favor,
and how frequent and how honorable ; how
from time immemorial the iEdui had held
the supremacy of the whole of Gaul; even
[said Caesar] before they had sought our
friendship; that it was the custom of the Ro-
man people to desire not only that its allies
and friends should lose i one of their property,
but be advanced in influence, dignity, andU CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

honor; who then could endure that what they
had brought with them to the friendship of the
Roman people, should be torn from them?-"
He then made the same demands which he had
commissioned the ambassadors to make, that
[Ariovistus] should not make war either
upon the iEdui or their allies, that he should
restore tho hostages; that, if lie could not
send back to their country any part of the
Germans, lie should at all events suffer none
of them any more to cross the Rhine.

Chap. XLIY.—Ariovistus replied briefly
to the demands of Caesar; but expatiated
largely on his own virtues, " that he h id
crossed the Rhine not of his own accord, but
on being invited and sent for by the Gauls;
that he had not left home and kindred without
great expectations and great rewards ; that lie
had settlements in Gaul, granted by the Gauls
themselves ; that the hostages had been given
by their own good-will; that he took by right
of war the tribute which conquerors are accus-
tomed to impose on the c mquered; that he
had not made war upon the Gauls, but the
Gauls upon him; that all the states of Gaul
came to attack him, and had encamped against
him ; that all their forces had been routed and
beaten by liim in a single battle; that if they
chose to make a second trial, he was ready to
encounter them again ; but If they chose to
enjoy peace, it was unfair to refuse the tribute,
which of their own free will they had paid up
to that time. That the friendship of the Ro-
man people ought to prove to him an orna-a^JSAB >S COMMENTARIES. .47

ment and a safeguard, not a detriment; and
that he sought it with that expectation. But
if through the Roman people the tribute was
to be discontinued, and those who surrendered
to be seduced" from him, he would renounce
the friendship of the Roman people no less
heartily than lis had sought it. As to his
leading over a host of Germans into Gaul,
that he was doing this with a view of securing
himself, not of assaulting Gaul: that there was
evidence of this, in that he did not come with-
out being invited, and in that he did not make
war, but merely warded it off. That he had
come into Gaul before the Roman people.
That never before this time did a Roman army
go beyond the frontiers of the province of
Gaul. What [said he] does [Caesar] desire?
— why come into his [Ariovistus's] domains ?
•—that this was his province of Gaul, just
as that is ours. As it ought not to be
pardoned in him, if he were to make an
attack upon our territories; so, likewise, that
we were unjust , to obstruct him in his preroga-
tive. As for Caesar's saying that the JEdui
had been styled 'brethren' by the senate, he
was not so uncivilized nor so ignorant of
affairs, as not to know that the iEdui in the
very last war with the Allobroges had neither
rendered assistance tc the Romans, nor re-
ceived any from the Roman people in the
struggles which theiEdui had been maintaining
with him and with the Sequani. He must feel
suspicious, that Caesar, though feigning friend-
ship as the reason for his keeping an army in48	CJESAR'S COMMENTABIE&

Gaul, was keeping it with a view of crushing
him. And that unless he depart and withdraw
his army from these parts, he shall regard him
not as a friend, but as a foe ; and that, even if
he should put him to death, he should do what
would please many of the nobles and leading
men of the Roman people; he had assurance
of that from themselves through their messen-
gers, and could purchase the favor and the
friendship of them all by his [Caesar's] death.
But if he would depart and resign to him the
free possession of Gaul, he would recompense
him with a great reward, and would bring to a
close whatever wars he wished to be carried
on, without any trouble or risk to him."

Chap. XLV. — Many things were stated
by Caesar to the effect [to show] : " why he
could not waive the business, and that neither
his nor the Roman people's practice would suf-
fer him to abandon most meritorious allies, nor
did he deem that Gaul belonged to Ariovistus
rather than to the Roman people; that the
Arverni and the Ruteni had been subdued in
war by Quintus Fabius Maximus, and that the
Roman people had pardoned them and had not
reduced them into a province or imposed a
tribute upon them. And if the most ancient
period was to be regarded, then was the sov-
ereignty of the Roman people in Gaul most
just: if the decree of the senate was to be
observed, then ought Gaul to be free, which
they [the Romans] had conquered in war, and
had permitted to enjoy its own laws."

Chap. XLVI. — While these things areCJESA E 9 S COMMENTABIES. 49

being transacted in the conference, it was
announced to Caesar that the cavalry of Ario-
vistus were approaching nearer the mound,
and were riding up to our men, and casting
stones and weapons at them. Caesar made an
end of his speech and betook himself to his
men; and commanded them that they should
by no means return a weapon upon the enemy.
For though he saw that an engagement with
the cavalry would be without any danger to his
chosen legion, yet he did not think proper to en-
gage, lest, after the enemy were routed, it might
be said that they had been ensnared by him
under the sanction of a conference. When it
was spread abroad among the common soldiery
with what haughtin ss Ariovistus had behaved
at the conference, and how he had ordered the
Romans to quit Gaul, and how his cavalry had
made an attack upon our men, and how this
had broken off the conference, a much greater
alacrity and eagerness for battle was infused
into our army.

Chap. XLVIL — Two days after, Ariovis-
tus sends ambassadors to Caesar, to stnte
4 4 that he wished to treat with him about those
things which had been begun to be treated of
between them, but had not been concluded";
[and to beg] that u he would either again
appoint a day for a conference ; or, if he were
not willing to do that, that he would send one
of his [officers] as an ambassador to him."
There did not appear to Caesar any good rea-
son for holding a conference; and the more
so as the day before the Germans could not60 CJESAirS COMMENTARIES.

be restrained from casting weapons at our
men. He thought he should not without great
danger send to him as ambassador one of liis
[Roman] officers, and should expose him to
savage men. It seemed [therefore] most
proper to send to him C. Valerius Procillus,
the son of C. Valerius Caburus, a young man
of the highest courage and accomplishments
(whose father had been presented with the
freedom of the city by C. Valerius Flaccus),
both on account of his fidelity and on account
of his knowledge of the Gallic language,
which Ariovistus, by long practice, now spoke
fluently ; and because in his case the Germans
would have no motive for committing violence ;
and [as his colleague] M. Mettius, who had
shared the hospitality of Ariovistus. He
commissioned them to learn what Ariovistus
had to say, and to report to him. But when
Ariovistus saw them before him in his camp,
he cried out in the presence of his army,
" Why were they come to him? was it for the
purpose of acting as spies?" He stopped
them when attempting to speak, and cast
them into chains.

Chap. XLVIII. — The same day he moved
his camp forward and pitched under a hi;l six
miles from Caesar's camp. The day following
he led his forces past Caesar's camp, and
encamped two miles beyond him; with this
design, — that he might cutoff Caesar from
the corn and provisions, which might be con-
veyed to him from the Sequani and the iEdui.
For five successive days from that day, CaesarCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 51

drew out his forces before the campk, and put
them in battle order, that, if Ariovistus should
be willing to engage in battle, an opportunity
might not be wanting to him. Ariovistus all
this time kept his army in camp : but engaged
daily in cavalry skirmishes. The method of
battle in which the Germans had practised
themselves was this. There were 6,003 horse,
and as many very active and courageous foot,
one of whom each of the horse selected out of
the whole army for his own protection. By
these [foot] they were constantly accompanied
in their engagements; to these the horse
retired; these on an}7 emergency rushed for-
ward ; if any one, upon receiving a very severe
wound, had fallen from his horse, they stood
around him: if it was necessary to advance
farther than usual, or to retreat more rapidly,
so great,'from practice, was their swiftness,
that, supported by the manes of the horses,
they could keep pace with their speed.

Chap. XLIX. — Perceiving that Ariovistus
kept himself in camp, Caesar, that he might
not any longer be cut off from provisions,
chose a convenient position for a camp beyond
that place in which the Germans had encamped,
at about 600 paces from them, and having
drawn up his army in three lines, marched to
that place. He ordered the first and second
lines to be under arms ; the third to fortify the
camp. This place was distant from the enemy
about 600 paces, as has been stated. Thither
Ariovistus sent light troops, about 16,000 men
in number, with all his cavalry; which forces52 CJESAB 'S COMMENTARIES

were to intimidate our men, and hinder them
in their fortification. Caesar nevertheless, as
he had before arranged, ordered two lines to
drive off the enemy: the third to execute the
work. The camp being fortified, he left there
two legions and a ponion of the auxiliaries ;
and led back the other four legions into the
larger camp.

Chap. L — The next day, according to his
custom, Caesar led out his forces from both
camps, and having advanced a little from the
larger one, drew up his line of battle, and gave
the enemy an opportunity of fighting. When
he found that they did not even then come out
[from their intrenchments], he led back his
army into camp about noon. Then at last
Ariovistus sent part of his forces to attack the
lesser camp. The battle was vigorously main-
tained on both sides till the evening. At sun-
set, after many wounds had been inflicted and
received, Ariovistus led back his forces into
camp. When Caesar inquired of his prisoners,
wherefore Ariovistus did not come to an en-
gagement, he discovered this to be the reason:
that among the Germans it was the custom
for their matrons to pronounce from lots and
divination, whether it were expedient that the
battle should be engaged in or not; that they
had said, " that it was not the will of heaven
that the Germans should conquer, if they
engaged in battle before the new moon."

Chap. LI. —The day following, Caesar left
what seemed sufficient as a guard for both
camps; [and then] drew up all the auxiliariesCMS A li 'S COMMENTARIES. 53

in sight of the enemy, before the lesser camp,
because he was not very powerful in the num-
ber of legionary soldiers, considering the num-
ber of the enemy; that [thereby] he might
make use of his auxiliaries for appearance.
He himself, having drawn np his army in
three lines, advanced to the camp of the enemy.
Then at last of necessity the Germans drew
their forces out of camp, and disposed them
canton by canton, at equal distances, the
Harudes, Marcomanni, Tribocci, Yangiones,
Nemetes, Sedusii, Suevi; and surrounded their
whole army with their chariots and wagons,
that no hope might be left in flight. On these
they placed their women, who, with dishevelled
hair and in tears, entreated the soldiers, as
they went forward to battle, not to deliver
them into slavery to the Romans.

Chap. LII. — Caesar appointed over each
legion a lieutenant and a questor, that every
one might have them as witnesses of his valor.
He himself began the battle at the head of the
right wing, because he had observed that part
of the enemy to be the least strong. Accord-
ingly our men, upon the signal being given,
vigorously made an attack upon the enemy,
and the enemy so suddenly and rapidly rushed
forward, that there was no time for casting the
javelins at them. Throwing aside [therefore]
their javelins, they fought with swords hand
to hand. But the German *, according to their
custom, rapidly forming a phalanx, sustained
the attack of our swords. There were found
very many of our soldiers who leaped upon the5i (jjes^r's commentaries.

phalanx, and with their hands tore away the
shields, and wounded the enemy from above.
Although the army of the enemy was routed
on the left wing and put to flight, they [still]
pressed heavily on our men from the right wing,
by the great number of their troops. On
observing which, P. Crassus, a young man,
who commanded the cavalry, — as he was more
disengaged than those who were employed in
the fight, — sent the third line as a relief to
our men who were in distress.

Chap. LIU. — Thereupon the engagement
was renewed, and all the enemy turned their
ba^ks, nor did they cease to flee until they
arrived at the river Rhine, about fifty miles
from that place. There some few, either rely-
ing on their strength, endeavored to swim
over, or, finding boats, procured their safety.
Among the latter was Ariovistus, who, meeting
with a small vessel tied to the bank, escaped
in it: our horse pursued and slew all the rest
of them. Ariovistus had two wives, one a
Suevan by nation, whom he had brought with
him from home ; the other a Norican, the sister
of King Vocion, whom he had married in Gaul,
she having been sent [thither for that purpose]
by her brother. Both perished in that flight.
Of their two daughters, one was slain, the other
captured. C. Valerius Procillus, as he was
being dragged by his guards in the flight,
bound with a triple chain, fell into the hands of
Caesar himself, as he was pursuing the enemy
with his cavalry. This circumstance indeed
afforded Caesar no less pleasure than the victoryCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. M

itself; because he saw a man of the first rank
in the province of Gaul, his intimate acquaint-
ance and friend, rescued from the hand of the
enemy, and restored to him, and that fortune
had not diminished aught of the joy and exul-
tation [of that day] by his destruction. He
[Procillus] said that, in his own presence, the
lots had been thrice consulted respecting him,
whether he should immediately be put to death
by fire, or be reserved for another time : that
by the favor of the lots he was uninjured.
M. Mettius, also, was found and brought back
to him [Caesar].

Chap. LIV. — This battle having been re-
ported beyond the Rhine, the Suevi, who had
come to the banks of that river, began to
return home, when the Ubii, who dwelt near-
est to the Rhine, pursuing them, while much
alarmed, slew a great number of them. Caesar
having concluded two very important wars in
one campaign, conducted his army into winter
quarters among the Sequani, a little earlier than
the season of the year required. He appointed
Labienus over the winter quarters, and set out
in person for Hither Gaul to hold the assizes..56 CuESAB'S C OMMENTARIES.

BOOK II.

the argument.

I. The Belgae, from various motives, enter into a confederacy
against the Roman people. — II. Caesar, having received in-
telligence of it, proceeds against them. — III., IV. The Remi
submit to Caesar, and give him information respecting the
other Belgae.— V; He crosses the liver Aisne and encamps
beyond it.—VI., VII. The attack on Bibrax by the Belgae,
and its relief by the Romans. — VIII.-X. State of affairs be-
tween the Romans and the Belgae. — XI. The Bellovftci,
withdrawing from the warfare to return home, are pursued
by the Romans and suffer severely. — XII. Caesar proceeds
against the SuessiSnes.— XIII. Then against the Bellov&ci,
and receivas the surrender of both. — XIV. Diviti&cus pleads
in behalf of the Bellov&ci. — XV. Caesar's reply; the charac-
ter of the Nervii. — XVI.-XXIII. Engagements with them; a
peculiarity in their mode of warfare; their extraordinary
courage; they are finally subdued. — XXIX. The Aduatfici.
— XXX. Their ridicule of the Roman engineering. — XXXI.
Their pretended submission to the Romans. — XXXII. Cae-
sar's reply to their embassy.— XXXIII. Their treachery and
overthrow. — XXXIV. P. Crassus announces that several
nations had submitted to the Roman power. — XXXV. Cae-
sar returns to Italy; a solemn thanksgiving is decreed by the
senate.

Chap. I. — While Caesar was in winter
quarters in Hither Gaul, as we have shown
above, frequent reports were brought to hira,
and he was also informed by letters from La-
bienus, that all the Belgae, who we have said
are a third part of Gaul, were entering into a
confederacy against the Roman people, and
giving hostages to one another ; that the rea-
sons of the confederacy were these — first,
because they feared that, after all [Celtic]
Gaul was subdued, our army would be led
against them; secondly, because they were in-CjESAB>S comment A HIES.

57

stigated by several of the Gauls, some of whom
as [on the one hand] they had been unwilling
that the Germans should remain any longer in
Gaul, so [on the other] they were dissatisfied
that the army of the Roman people should pass
the winter in it, and settle there; and others
of them, from a natural instability and fickle-
ness of disposition, were anxious for a revolu-
tion ; [the Belgoe were instigated] by several,
also, because the government in Gaul was gen-
erally seized upon by the more powerful per-
sons and by those who had the means of hir-
ing troops, and they could less easily effect
this object under our dominion.

Chap. II. — Alarmed by these tidings and
letters, Caesar levied two new legions in
Hither Gaul, and, at the beginning of summer,
sent Q. Pedius, his lieutenant, to conduct them
farther into Gau'. He himself, as soon as
there began to be plenty of forage, came to
the army. lie gives a commission to the Sen-
ones and the other Gauls who were neighbors
of the Belgse, to learn what is going on
amongst them [i. e , the Belgae], and inform
him of these matters. These all uniformly
reported that troops were being raised, and
that an army was being collected in one place.
Then, indeed, he thought that he ought not to
hesitate about proceeding towards them, and
having provided supplies, moves his camp, and
in about fifteen days arrives at the territories
of the Helgae.

Chap. III. — As lie arrived there unexpect-
edly and sooner than any one anticipated, the88	SAB'S OOMMENTABIES.

Remi, who are the nearest of the Belgae to
[Celtic] Gaul, sent to him Icfeius aad Ante-
brogius, [two of] the principal persons of - the
state, as their nmbassiiorsv to tell him that
they surrenderecPthemselves and all their pos-
sessions to the protection and disposal of the
Roman people ; and that they had neither com-
bined with the rest of the Belgae, nor entered
into any confederacy against the Roman peo-
ple ; and were prepared to give hostages, to
obey his commands, to receive him into their
towns, and to aid him with corn and other
things ; that all the rest of the Belgae were in
arms; and that the Germans, who dwell on
this side the Rhine, had joined themselves to
them ; and that so great was the infatuation of
them all, that they could not restrain even the
Suessiones, their own brethren and kinsmen,
who enjoy the same rights, and the same laws,
and who have one government and one ma-
gistracy [in common] with themselves, from
uniting with them.

Chap. IV. —When Caesar inquired of them
what states were in arms, how powerful they
were, and what they could do in war, he
received the following information: that the
greater part of the Belgae were sprung from
the Germans, and that having crossed the
Rhine at an early period, they had settled
there, on account of the fertility of the coun-
try, and had driven out the Gauls who inhab-
ited those regions; and that they were the
only people who, in the memory of our fathers,
when all Gaul was overrun, had preventedCJESAU >S COMMENTARIES

the Teutones and the Cirabri from entering
their territories; the effect of which was,
that, from the recollection of those events,
they assume to themselves great authority
and haughtiness in military matters. The
Rem! said, that they had known accurately
everything respecting their number, because,
being united to them by neighborhood and by
alliances, they l ad learnt what number each
state had in the general council of the Belgse
promised for that war. That the Bellovaci
were the most powerful amongst them in valor,
influence, and number of men; that these
could muster 100,000 armed men [and had]
promised 60,000 picked men out of that num-
ber, and demanded for themselves the com-
mand of the whole war. That the Suessiones
were their nearest neighbors and possessed
a very extensive and fertile country; that
among them, even in our own memory, Divi-
tiacus, the most powerful man of all Gaul,
had been king ; who had held the government
of a great part of these regions, as well as of
Britain ; that their king at present was Galba;
that the direction of the whole war was con*
ferred, by the consent of all, upon him, on.
account of his integrity and prudence ; that
they had twelve towns ; that they had prom-
ised 50,000 armed men ; and that the Nervii,
who are reckoned the most warlike among
them, and are situated at a very great distance,
[had promised] as many; the Atrebates,
15,000; the Ambiani, 10,000; the Morini,
25,000; the Menapii, 9,000; the Caleti,60 CMS AH'8 COMMENTABIES.

10,000; the Yelocasses and the Veromandu
as many ; the Aduatuci, 19,000 ; that the Con-
drusi, the Eburones, the Csersesi, the Psemani,
who are call d by the common name of Ger-
mans, [had promised], they thought, to the
number of 40,000.

Chap V. — Caesar, haying encouraged the
Remi, and addressed them courteously, ordered
the whole senate to assemble before him, and
the children of their chief men to be brought
to him as hostages ; all which commands they
punctually performed by the day [appointed],
tie, addressing himself to Divitiacus, the
iEduan, with great earnestness, points out
how much it concerns the republic and their
common security, that the forces of the enemy
should be divided, so that it might not be
necessary to engage with so large a number,
at one time. [He asserts] that this might be
effected if the iEdui would lead their forces
into the territories of t'ie Bellovaci, and begin
to lay waste their country. With these
instructions he dismissed him from his pres-
ence. After he perceived that all the forces
of the Belgse, which had been collected in one
place, were approaching towards him, and
learnt from the scouts whom he had sent ©ut,
and [also] learnt from the Remi, that they
were not then far distant, he ha-tened to lead
his army over the Aisne which is on the bor-
ders of the Remi, and there pitched his camp.
This pos tion fortified one side of his camp by
the banks of the river, render d the country
which lay in his rear secur • from the enemy,CESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 61

and furthermore insured that provisions might
without danger be brought to him by the Remi
and the rest of the states. Over that river
was a bridge: there he places a guard; and
on the other • side of the river he leaver
Q. Titurius Sabinus, his lieutenant, with six
cohorts. He orders him to fortify a camp
with a rampart twelve feet in height, and a
trench eighteen feet in breadth.

Chap. VI. — There was a town of the
Remi, by name Bibrax, eight miles distant
from this camp. This the Belgae on their
march began to attack with great vigor. [The
assault] was with difficulty sustained for that
day. The Gauls* mode of besieging is the
same as that of the Belgae : when after having
drawn a large number of men around the
whole of the fortifications, stones have begun
to be cast against the wall on all sides, and
the wall has been stript of its defenders,
[then], forming a testudo, they advance to
the gates and undermine the wall: which was
easily effected on this occasion; for while so
large a number were casting stones and darts,
no one was able to maintain his position upon
e wall. When night had put an end to the
assault, Iccius, who was then in command of
the town, one of the Remi, a man of the high-
est rank and influence amongst his people, and
one of those who had come to Caesar as ambas-
sador [to sue] for a peace, sends messengers
to him, [to report] "That, unless assistance
were sent to him, he could not hold out any
longer."62 caesar's commentaries.

Chap. VII.—Thither, immediately after
midnight, Caesar, using as guides the same
persons who had come to him as messengers
from lecius, sends some Numidian and Cre-
tan archers and some Balearian slingers as a
relief to the towns-people, by whose arrival
both a desire to resist, together with the hope
of [making good their] defence, was infused
into the Remi, and, for the same reason, the
hope of gaining the town abandoned the
enemy. Therefore, after staying a short time
before the town, and laying waste the country
of th<' Remi, when all the villages and builds
ings which they could approach had been
burnt, they hastens d with all their forces to
the camp of Caesar, and encamped within less
than two miles [of it] ; and their camp, as was
indicated by the smoke and fires, extended
more than eight miles in breadth.

Chap. VIII. — Caesar at first determined to
decl ne a battle, as well on account of the
great number of the enemy as their distin-
guished reputation for valor: daily, however,
in cavalry actions, he strove to ascertain, by
frequent trials, what the enemy could effect
by their prowess and what our men would dare.
When he perceived that our men were not
inferior, as the place before the camp was nat-
urally c< nvenient and suitable for marshalling
an army, (since the hill where the camp was
pitched, rising gradually from the plain,
extended forward in breadth as far as the
space which the marshalled army could occupy,
and had steep declines of its side to eitherCESAR'S COMMENT ABIES. 63

direction, and gently sloping in front gradu-
ally sank to the plain;) on either side of that
hill he drew a cross trench of about four hun-
dred paces, and at the extremities of that
trench built forts, and placed there his mili-
tary engines, lest, after he had marshalled his
army, the enemy, since they were so powerful
in point of number, should be able to surround
his men in the flank, while fighting. After
doing this, and leaving in the camp the two
legions which he had last raised, that, if there
should be any occasion, they might be brought
as a reserve, he formed the other six legions
in order of battle before the camp. The
enemy, likewise, had drawn up their forces
which they had brought out of the camp.

Chap. IX.—There was a marsh of no
great extent between our army and that of the
enemy. The latter were waiting to see if our
men would pass this; our men, also, were
ready in arms to attack them while disordered,
if the first attempt to pass should be made by
them. In the mean time battle was com-
menced between the two armies by a cavalry
action. When neither army began to pass the
marsh, Caesar, upon the skirmishes of the
horse [proving] favorable to our men, led
back his forces into the camp. The enemy
immediately hastened from that place to the
river Aisne, which it has been stated was
behind our camp. Finding a ford there, they
endeavored to lead a part of their forces over
it; with the design, that, if they could, they
might carry by storm the fort which Q. Titu-64 CjESAB % 8 COMMENTARIES.

rius, Caesar's lieutenant, commanded, and
might cut off the bridge; but, if they could
not do that, they should lay waste the lands
of the Remi, which were of great use to us
in carrying on the war, and might hiijder our
men from foraging.

Chap. X. — Caesar, being apprised of this
by Titurius, leads all his cavalry and light-
armed Nuinidians, slingers and archers, over
the bridge, and hastens towards them. There
was a severe struggle in that place , Our
men, attacking in the river the disordered
enemy, slew a great part of them. By the
immense number of their missiles they drove
back the rest, who, in a most courageous
manner, were attempting to pass over their
bodies, and surrounded with their cavalry,
and cut to pieces those who had first crossed
the river. The enemy, when they perceived
that their hopes had deceived them both with
regard to their taking the town by storm and
also their passing the river, and did not see
our men advance to a more disadvantageous
place for the purpose of fighting, and when
provisions began to fail them, having called a
council, determined that it was best for each
to return to his country, and resolved to as-
semble from all quarters to defend those into
whose territories the Romans should first
march an army; that they might contend in
their own rather than in a foreign country,
and might enjoy the stores of provision which
they possessed at home. Together with other
causes, this consideration also led them toQjESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 65

that resolution, viz., that they ha 1 learnt that
Divitiacus and the iEclui were approaching
the territories of the Bellovaci. And it was
impossible to persuade the latter to stay any
longer, or to deter them from conveying sue*
cor to their own people.

Chap. XI. — That matter being determined
on marching out "of their camp at the second
watch, with great noise and confusion, in no
fixed order, nor under any command, since
each sought for himself the foremost place
in the journey, and hastened to reach home,
they made their departure appear very like
a flight. Caesar, immediately learning this
through his scouts, [but] fearing an ambus*
cade, because he had not yet discovered for
what reason they were departing, kept his
army and cavalry within the camp. At day-
break, the intelligence having been confirmed
by the scouts, he sent forward his cavalry to
harass their r«-ar; and gave the command of
it to two of his lieutenants, Q. Pedius, and L.
Aurunculeius Cotta. He ordered T. Labienus,
another of his lieutenants, to follow them
closely with three legions. These, attacking
their rear, and pursuing them for many miles,
slew a great number of them as they were
fleeing ; while those in the rear with whom they
had come up, halted, and bravely sustained
the attack of our soldiers ; the van, because
they appeared to be removed from danger,
and were not restrained by any necessity or
command, as soon as the noise was heard,
broke their ranks, and, to a man, rested their66 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

safety in flight. Thus without any risk [to
themselves] our men killed as great a number
of them as the length of the day allowed; and
at sunset desisted from the pursuit, and betook
themselves into the camp, as they had been
commanded.

Chap. XII. — On the day,following, before
the enemy could recover from their terror and
flight, Caesar led his army into the territories
of the Suessiones, which are next to the Remi,
and having accomplished a long march, hast-
ens to the town named Noviodunum. Having
attempted to take it by storm on his march,
because he heard that it was destitute of
[sufficient] defenders, he was not able to
carry it by assault, on account of the breadth
of the ditch and the height of the wall, though
few were defending it. Therefore, having
fortified the camp, he began to bring up the
vineae, and to provide whatever things were
necessary for the storm. In the mean time,
the whole body of the Suessiones, after their
flight, came the next night into the town.
The vinese having been quickly brought up
against the town, a mound thrown up, and
towers built, the Gauls, amazed by the great-
ness of the works, such as they had neither
seen nor heard of before, and struck, also, by
the despatch of the Romans, send ambassadors
to Caesar respecting a surrender, and succeed
in consequence of the Remi requesting that
they [the Suessiones] might be spared.

Chap. XIII. — Caesar, having received as
hostages the first men of the state, and evenCJB BAR'S COMMENTARIES. 67

the two sons of King Galba himself, and all
the arms in the town having been delivered
up, admitted the Suessiones to a surrender,
and led his army against the Bellovaci. Who,
when they had conveyed themselves and all
their possessions into the town called Bratus-
pantium, and Caesar with his army was about
five miles distant from that town, all the old
men, going out of the town, began to stretch out
their hands to Caesar, and to intimate by their
voice that they would throw themselves on his
protection and power, nor would contend in
arms against the Roman people. In like
manner, when he had come up to the town,
and there pitched his camp, the boys and the
women from the wall, with outstretched hands,
after their custom, begged peace from the
Romans.

Chap. XIV. — For these Divitiacus pleads
(for after the departure of the Belgae, having
dismissed the troops of the ^Edui, he had
returned to Caesar) : u The Bellovaci had at
all times been in the alliance and friendship
of the -iEduan state; that they had revolted
from the iEdui and made war upon the
Roman people, being urged thereto by their
nobles, who said that the JEdui, reduced to
slavery by Caesar, were suffering every indig-
nity and insult. That they who had been the
leaders of that plot, because they perceived
how great a calamity they had brought upon
the state, had fled into Britain. That not
only the Bellovaci, but also the iEdui, en-
treated him to use his [accustomed] clemency68 CAESAR'S COMMENT ABIES.

and lenity towards them [the Bellovaci]:
which if he did, he would increase the influ-
ence of the iEdui among all the Belgae, by
whose succor and resources they had been accus-
tomed to support themselves whenever any
wars occurred."

Chap. XV.— Caesar said that on account
of his respect for Divitiacus and the iEduans,
he would receive them into his protection, and
would spare them; but, because the state was
of great influence among the Belgse, and pre-
eminent in the number of its population, he
demanded 6 0 ho-tages. When these were
delivered, and all the arms in the town col-
lected, he went from that place into the
territorii s of the Ambiani, who, without delay,
surrendered themselves and all their posses-
sions. Upon their territories bordered the
Nervii, concerning whose character and cus-
toms when Caesar inquired he received the
following information: That "there was no
access for merchants to them ; that they suf-
fered no wine and other things tending to
luxury to be imported, because they thought
that by their use the mind is enervated and
the courage impaired ; that they were a savage
people and of great bravery; that they up-
braided and condemned the rest of the Belgae
who had surrendered themselves to the Roman
people and thrown aside their national cour-
age ; that they openly declared they would
neither send ambassadors, nor accept any con-
dition of peace."

Chap. XVI. — After he had made threeCAESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 69

days' march through their territQries, he dis-
covered from some prisoners that the river
Sambre was not more than ten miles from his
camp ; that all the Nervii had stationed them-
selves on the other side of that river, and
together with the Atrebates and the Vero-
mandui, their neighbors, were there awaiting
the arrival of the Romans ; for they had per-
suaded both these nations to try the same
fortune of war [as themselves}: that the
forces of the Aduatuci were also expected by
them, and were on their march ; that they had
put their women, and those who through age
appeared useless for war, in a place to which
there was no approach for an army, on account
of the marshes.

Chap. XVII. — Having learnt these things,
he sends forward scouts and centurions to
choose a convenient place for the camp.
And as a great many of the surrounding
Belgae and other Gauls, following Caesar,
marched with him, some of these, as was
afterwards learnt from the prisoners, having
accurately observed, during those days, the
army's method of marching, went by night to
the Nervii, and informed them that a great
number of baggage-trains passed between the
several legions, and that there would be no
difficulty, when the first legion had come
into the camp, and the other legions were at
a great distance, to attack that legion while
under baggage, which being routed, and the
baggage-train seized, it would come to pass
that the other legions would not dare to stand70 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

their ground. It added weight also to the
advice of those who reported that circum-
stance, that the Kervii, from early times,
because they were weak in cavalry, (for not
even at this time do they attend to it, but
accomplish by their infantry whatever they
can,) in order that they might the more
easily obstruct the cavalry of their neighbors
if they came upon them for the purpose of
plundering, having cut young trees, and bent
them, by meajis of their numerous branches
[extending] on to the sides, and the quick-
briers and thorns springing up between them,
had made these hedges present a fortification
like a wall, through which it was not only
impossible to enter, but even to penetrate
with the eye. Since [therefore] the march of
our army would be obstructed by these things,
the Nervii thought that the advice ought not to
be neglected by them.

Chap. XVIII. — The nature of the ground
which our men had chosen for the camp was this :
A hill, declining evenly from the top, extended
to the river Sambre, which we have mentioned
above : from this river there arose a [second]
hill of like ascent, on the other side and oppo-
site to the former, and open for about 200
paces at the lower part; but in the upper part,
woody, (so much so) that it was not easy to
see through it into the interior. Within those
woods the enemy kept themselves in conceal-
ment ; a few troops of horse-soldiers appeared
on the open ground, along the river. The
$epth of the river was about tbw fe§t-C^E SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 71

Chap. XIX. — Caesar, having sent his cav-
alry on before, followed close after them with
all his forces; but the plan and order of the
march was different from that which the Belgse
had reported to the Nervii. For as he was
approaching the enemy, Caesar, according to
his custom, led on [as the van] six legions
unencumbered by baggage; behind them he
had placed the baggage-trains of the whole
army; then the two legions which had been
last raised closed the rear, and were a guard
for the baggage-train. Our horse, with the
slingers and archers, having passed the river,
commenced action with the cavalry of the
enemy. While they from time to time betook
themselves into the woods to their companions,
and again made an assault out of the wood
upon our men, who did not dare to follow them
in their retreat farther than the limit to which
the plain and open parts extended, in the
mean time the six legions which had arrived
first, having measured out the work, began to
fortify the camp. When the first part of the
baggage-train of our army was seen by those
who lay hid in the woods, which had been
agreed on among them as the time for com-
mencing action, as soon as they had arranged
their line of battle and formed their ranks
within the woods, and had encouraged one
another, they rushed out suddenly with all their
forces and made an attack upon our horse.
The latter being easily routedund thrown into
confusion, the Nervii ran down to the river
with such incredible speed that they seemed12 CjESAR '8 COMMENTARIES.

to be in the woods, the .river, and close upon
us almost at the same time And with the
same speed they hastened up the hill to our
camp and to those who were employed in the
works.

Chap. XX.—Caesar had everything to do
at one time: the standard to be displayed,
which was the sign when it was necessary to
run to arms ; the signal to be given by the
trumpet; the sol iiers to be called off from the
works ; those who had proceeded some distance
for the purpose of seeking materials for the
rampart* to be summoned; the order of battle
to be formed ; the soldiers to be encouraged;
the watchword to be given. A great part
of these arrangements was prevented by the
shortness of time and the sudden approach and
charge of the enemy. Under these difficulties
two things proved of advantage: [first] the
skill and experience of the soldiers, because,
having been trained by former engagements,
they could suggest to themselves what ought
to be done, as conveniently as receive infor-
mation from others ; and [secondly] that Caesar
had forbidden his several lieutenants to depart
from the works and their respective legions,
before the camp was fortified. These, on ac-
count of the near approach and the speed of
the enemy, did not then wait for any command
from Caesar, but of themselves executed what-
ever appeared proper.

Chap. XXI. — Caesar, having given the ne-
cessary orders, hastened to and fro into what*
ever quarter fortune carried him, to animateCAESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 73

the troops, and came to the tenth legion.
Haying encouraged the soldiers with no further
speech than that 41 they should keep up the
remembrance of their wonted valor, and not
be confused in mind, but valiantly sustain the
assault of the enemy" ; as the latter were not
farther from them than the distance to which
a dart could be cast, he gave the signal for
commencing batlle. And having gone to
another quarter for the purpose of encour-
aging [the soldiers], he finds them fighting.
Such was the shortness of the time, and so
determi ed was the mind of the enemy on fight-
ing, that time was wanting not only for affix-
ing the military insignia, but even for putting
on the helmets and drawing off the covers from
the shields. To whatever part any one by
chance came from the works (in which he had
been employed), and whatever standards he
saw first, at these he stood, lest in seeking his
own company he should lose the time for
fighting.

Chap. XXII. — The army having been mar-
shalled, rather as the nature of the ground and
the declivity of the hill and the exigency of the
time, than as the method and order of military
matters required ; whilst the legions in the dif-
ferent places were withstanding the enemy,
some in one quarter, some in another, and the
view was obstructed by the very thick hedges
intervening, as we have before remarked,
neither could proper reserves be posted, nor
could the necessary measures be taken in each
part, nor could all the commands be issued by74 CJESAft' S COMMENTARIES.

one person. Therefore, in such an unfavor-
able state of affairs, various events of fortune
followed.

Chap. XXIII. — The soldiers of the ninth
and tenth legions, as they had been stationed
on the left part of the army, casting their weap-
ons, speedily drove the Atrebates, (for that
division had been opposed to them,) who were
breathless with running and fatigue, and worn
out with wounds, from the higher ground into
the river; and following them as they were
endeavoring to pass it, slew with their swords
a great part of them while impeded (therein).
They themselves did not hesitate to pass the
river; and having advanced to a disadvanta-
geous place, when the battle was renewed,
they [nevertheless] again put to flight the
enemy, who had returned and were opposing
them. In like manner, in another quarter two
different legions, the eleventh and the eighth,
having routed the Yeromandui, with whom
they had engaged, were fighting from the
higher ground upon the very banks of the river.
But, almost the whole camp on the front and
on the left side being then exposed, since the
twelfth legion was posted in the right wing,
and the seventh at no great distance from it,
all the Nervii, in a very close body, with Bod-
uognatus, who held the chief command, as
their leader, hastened towards that place ; and
part of them began to surround the legions on
their unprotected flank, part to make for the
highest point of the encampment.

Chap. XXIV. —At the same time ourCJSSAIl'S COMMENTARIES. 75

horsemen, and light-armed infantry, who had
been with those, who, as I have related, were
routed by the first assault of the enemy, as they
were betaking themselves into the camp, met
the enemy face to face, and again sought flight
into another quarter ; and the camp-followers,
who from the Decuman Gate and from the
highest ridge of the hill had seen our men pass
the river as victors, when, after going out for
the purposes of plundering, they looked back
and saw the enemy parading in our camp, com-
mitted themselves precipitately to flight; at the
same time there arose the cry and shout of
those who came with the baggage-train; and
they (affrighted) were carried some one way,
some another. By all these circumstances the
cavalry of the Treviri were much alarmed,
(whose reputation for courage is extraordinary
among the Gauls, and who had come to Caesar,
being sent by their state as auxiliaries,) and,
when they saw our camp filled with a large
number of the enemy, the legions hard pressed
and almost held surrounded, the camp-retain-
ers, horsemen, slingers, and Numidians fleeing
on all sides divided and scattered, they,
despairing of our affairs, hastened home, and
related to their state that the Romans were
routed and conquered, [and] that the enemy
were in possession of their camp and baggage-
train.

Chap. XXV.—Caesar proceeded, after en-
couraging the tenth legion, to the right wing;
where he perceived that his men were hard
pressed, and that in consequence of the stand-76 C^ESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

ards of the twelfth legion being collected to-
gether in one place, the crowded soldiers were
a hindrance to themselves in the fight; that all
the centurions of the fourth cohort were slain,
and the standard-bearer killed, the standard
itself lost, almost all the centurions of the othef
cohorts either wounded or slain, and among
them the chief centurion of the legion, P. Sex-
tius Baculus, a very valiant man, who was so
exhausted by many and severe wounds, that
he was already unable to support himself; he
likewise perceived that the rest were slack-
ening their efforts, and that some, deserted by
those in the rear, were retiring from the battle
and avoiding the weapons; that the enemy [on
the other hand], though advancing from the
lower ground, were not relaxing in front, and
were [at the same time] pressing hard on both
flanks ; he also perceived that the affair was at
a crisis, and that there was not any reserve
which could be brought up ; having therefore
snatched a shield from one of the soldiers in
the rear (for he himself had come without a
shield), he advanced to the front of the line,
and addressing the cenfurions by name, and
encouraging the rest of the soldiers, he ordered
them to carry forward the standards, and ex-
tend the companies, that they might the more
easily use their swords. On his arrival, as
hope was brought tc the soldiers and their
courage restored, whilst every one for his own
part, in the sight of his general, desired to
exert his utmost energy, the impetuosity of the
enemy was a little checked.CJBSAS'S COMMENTARIES. 77

Chap. XXVI. — Caesar, when he perceived
that the seventh legion, which stood close by
him, was also hard pressed by the enemy,
directed the tribunes of the soldiers to effect a
junction of the legions gradually, and make
their charge upon the enemy with a double
front; which having been done since they
brought assistance the one to the other, nor
feared lest their rear should be surrounded by
the enemy, they began to stand their ground
more boldly, and to fight more courageously.
In the mean time, the soldiers of the two
legions which had been in the rear of the army,
as a guard for the baggage-train, upon the bat-
tle being reported to them, quickened their
pace, and were seen by the enemy on the top
of the hill; and Titus Labienus, having gained
possession of the camp of the enemy, and ob-
served from the higher ground what was going
on in our camp, sent the tenth legion as a
relief to our men, who, when they had learnt
from the flight of the horse and the sutlers in
what position the affair was, and in how great
danger the camp and the legion and the com-
mander were involved, left undone nothing
[which tended] to despatch.

Chap. XXVII. -—By their arrival, so great
a change of matters was made, that our men,
even those who had fallen down exhausted with
wounds, leant on their shields, and renewed
the fight: then the camp-retainers, though un-
armed, seeing the enemy completely dismayed,
attacked [them though] armed; the horsemen
too, that they might by their valor blot out78 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

the disgrace of their flight, thrust themselves
before the legionary soldiers in all parts of the
battle. But the enemy, even in the last hope
of safety, displayed such great courage, that
when the foremost of them had fallen, the next
stood upon them prostrate, and fought from
their bodies ; when these were overthrown, and
their corpses heaped up together, those who
survived cast their weapons against our men
[thence,] as from a mound, and returned our
darts vhich had fallen short between [the
armies] ; so that it ought not to be concluded,
that men of such great courage had injudi-
ciously dared to pass a very broad river, ascend
very high banks, and come up to a very dis-
advantageous place; since their greatness of
spirit had rendered these actions easy, although
in themselves very difficult.

Chap. XXVIII. — This battle being ended,
and the nation and name of the Nervii be-
ing almost reduced to annihilation, their old
men, whom together with the boys and women
we have stated to have been collected togethei
in the fenny places and marshes, on this battle
having been reported to them, since they were
convinced that nothing was an obstacle to the
conquerors, and nothing safe to the conquered,
sent ambassadors to Caesar by the consent of
all who remained, and surrendered themselves
to him ; and in recounting the calamity of their
state, said that their senators were reduced
from 600 to three ; that from 60,000 men, they
[were reduced] to scarcely 500 who could bear
arms; whom Caesar, that he might appear toCJESAM'jS COMMENTARIES. 79

use compassion towards the wretched and the
suppliant, most carefully spared ; and ordered
them to enjoy their own territories and towns,
and commanded their neighbors that they
should restrain themselves and their depend-
ants from offering injury or outrage [to them].

Chap. XXIX. — When the Aduatuci, of
whom we have written above, were coming with
all their forces to the assistance of the Nervii,
upon this battle being reported to them, they
returned home after they were on the march ;
deserting all their towns and forts, they con-
veyed together all their possessions into one
t »wn, eminently fortified by nature. While
this town had on all sides around it very high
rocks and precipices, there was left on one side
a gently ascending approach, of not more than
200 feet in width ; which place they have forti-
fied with a very lofty double wall: besides, they
had placed stones of great weight and sharp-
ened stakes upon the walls. They were de-
scended from the Cimbri and Teutones, who,
when they were marching into our province and
Italy, having deposited on this side the river
Rhine such of their baggage-trains as they
could not drive or convey with them, left 6,000
of their men as a guard and defence for them.
These having, after the destruction of their
countrymen, been harassed for many years
by their neighbors, while one time they waged
war offensively, and at another resisted it when
waged against them, concluded a peace with
the consent of all, and chose this place as their
settlement.80 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

Chap. XXX.—And on the first arrival of
our army they made frequent sallies from the
town, and contended with our men in trifling
skirmishes ; afterwards, when hemmed in by a
rampart of twelve feet [in height], and fifteen
miles in circuit, they kept themselves within
the town. When, vineae having been brought
up and a mound raised, they observed that a
tower also was being built at a distance, they
at first began to mock the Romans from their
wall, and to taunt them with the following
speeches, " For what purpose was so vast a
machine constructed at so great a distance ?"
u With what hands," or u with what strength
did they, especially [as they were] men of such
very small stature " (for our shortness of stat-
ure, in comparison with the great size of their
bodies, is generally a subject of much contempt
to the men of Gaul), u trust to place against
their walls a tower of such great weight ? "

Chap. XXXI. — But when they saw that it
was being moved, and was approaching their
walls, startled- by the new and unaccustomed
sight, they sent ambassadors to Caesar [to
treat] about peace ; who spoke in the follow-
ing manner: uThat they did not believe the
Romans waged war without divine aid, since
they were able to move forward machines of
such a height with so great speed, and thus
fight from close quarters: that they resigned
themselves and all their possessions to
[Caesar's] disposal: that they begged and
earnestly entreated one thing, viz., that if per-
ch unce, agreeably to his clemency and human-CAESAR *JS COMMENTARIES. 81

ity, which they had heard of from others, he
should resolve that the Aduatuci were to be
spared, he would not deprive them of their
arms ; that all their neighbors were enemies to
them and envied their courage, from whom
they could not defend themselves if their arms
were delivered up ; that it was better for them,
if they should be reduced to that state, to suf-
fer any fate from the Roman people, than to
be tortured to death by those among whom
they had been accustomed to rule."

Chap. XXXII. — To these things C^sar
replied, "That he, in accordance with his cus-
tom, rather than owing to their desert, should
spare the state, if they should surrender them-
selves before the battering-ram should touch
the wall; but that there was no condition of
surrender, except upon their arms being deliv-
ered up ; that he should do to them that which
he had done in the case of the Nervii, and
would command their neighbors not to offer
any injury to those who had surrendered to the
Roman people." The matter being reported
to their countrymen, they said that they would
execute his commands. Having cast a very
large quantity of their arms from the wa 1 into
the trench which was before the town, so that
the heaps of arms almost equalled the top of
the wall and the rampart, and nevertheless
having retained and concealed, as we after-
wards discovered, about a third part in the
town, the gates were opened, and they enjoyed
peace for that day.

Chap, XXXIII. — Towards evening Caesar82 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

ordered the gates to be shut, and the soldiers
to go out of the town, lest the towns-people
should receive any injury from them by night.
They [the Aduatuci], by a design before en-
tered into, as we afterwards understood, be-
cause they believed that, as a surrender had
been made, our men would dismiss their guards,
or at least would keep watch less carefully,
partly with those arms which they had retained
and concealed, partly with shields made of
bark or interwoven wickers, which they had
hastily covered over with skins, (as the short-
ness of time required,) in the third watch,
suddenly made a sally from the town with all
their forces [in that direction] in which the
ascent to our fortifications seemed the least
difficult. The signal having been immediately
given by fires, as Caesar had previously com-
manded, a rush was made thither [i. e., by the
Roman soldiers] from the nearest fort; and
the battle was fought by the enemy as vigor*
ously as it ought to be fought by brave men,
in the last hope of safety, in a disadvanta-
geous place, and against those who were throw-
ing their weapons from a rampart and from
towers; since all hope of safety depended on
their courage alone. About 4,000 of the men
having been slain, the rest were forced back
into the town. The day after, Caesar, after
breaking open the gates, which there was no
one then to defend, and sending in our soldiers,
sold the whole spoil of that town. The num-
ber of 53,000 persons was reported to him by
those who had bought them.CJESAB >S COMMENT ABIES, 88

Chap. XXXIV. — At the same time he
whs informed by P. Crassus, whom he had
seat with one legion against the Vengti, the
Unelli, the Osismii, the Curiosolitae, the Sesuvii,
the Aulerci, and the Rhedones, which are
maritime states, and touch upon the [Atlantic]
ocean, that all these nations were brought
under the dominion and power of the Roman
people.

Chap. XXXV. — These things being
achieved, [and] all Gaul being subdued, so high
an opinion of this war was spread among the
barbarians, that ambassadors were sent to
Caesar by those nations who dwelt beyond the
Rhine, to promise that they would give host-
ages and execute his commands. Which em-
bassies Caesar, because he was hastening into
Italy and Illyricum, ordered to return to him
at the beginning of the following summer.
He himself, haying led his legions into winter
quarters among the Carnutes, the Andes, and
the Turones, which states were close to those
regions in which he had waged war, set out for
Italy ; and a thanksgiving of fifteen days was
decreed for those achievements, upon receiving
Caesar's letter; [an honor] which before that
time had been conferred on none.84 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

BOOK III.

the argument.

£> Caesar, at the close of the late campaign, sent Servius Galba
into the territories of the Nantuates, Veragri, and Seduni,
with permission to winter there, if expedient; his reason for
this. Gralba resolved to winter at Octodurus.— II. The
Seduni and Veragri combine against him. — III. And attack
his camp. — IV.-VI. A fierce battle ensues; in which, as
well as in several other engagements, Galba is successful.—
VII., VIII. An unexpected war in Gaul; the occasion of it.
The Vengti are the principal instigators. — IX. Caesar gives
orders for the equipment of a fleet. The VenSti and other
states augment their navy, and extend their alliances.—
X.-XII. Caesar's difficulties; arising chiefly from the posi-
tion of the Venetic towns. — XIII. The structure of the
Venetic ships accommodated to that position. — XIV., XV.
Caesar surmounts these disadvantages; and in a naval
engagement obtains a victory. — XVI. Which terminated the
war with the Veneti.— XVH.-XIX. Titurius Sabinus is
sent into the territories of the Unelli. Conduct of their king,
Viridovix. Sabinus is compelled to resort to stratagems; he
defeats the Unelli.—XX., XXI. P. Crassus enters Aqui-
tania, and is attacked by the Sotiates, who are signally
worsted. —XXII. The " Soldurii." — XXIII. Crassus
proceeds into the territories of the Vocates and Tarusates;
who engage in measures of opposition. — XXIV. He draws
up his forces for a battle; which the enemy decline.—
XXV., XXVI. He then attacks their encampment, and is
victorious. — XXVIII. Caesar advances against the Morini
and Menapii; his motives for this: the enemy make a sud-
den assault on the Roman forces, and are repelled vith
great loss.—XXIX. Caesar's provision against such at-
tacks : his operations interrupted by the inclemency of the
season: the army is led into winter quarters.

Chap. I. — Whea Caesar was setting out for
Italy, he sent Servius Galba with the twelfth
legion and part of the cavalry, against the
Nantuates, the Veragri, and Seduni, who
extend from the territories of the Allobrdges,
and the lake of Geneva, and the river RhoneCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 85

to the top of the Alps. The reason for send-
ing him was, that he desired that the pass
along the Alps, through which [the Roman]
merchants had been accustomed to travel with
great danger, and under great imposts, should
be opened. He permitted him, if he thought
it necessary, to station the legion in these
places, for the purpose of wintering. Galba,
having fought some successful battles, and
stormed several of their forts, upon ambassa-
dors being sent to him from all parts and host-
ages ^iven and a peace concluded, determined
to station two cohorts among the Nantuates,
and to winter in person with the other cohorts
of that legion in a village of the Yeragri,
which is called Octodurus; and this village
being situated in a valley, with a small plain
annexed to it, is bounded on all sides by very
high mountains. As this village was divided
into two parts by a river, he granted one part
of it to the Gauls, and assigned the other,
which had been left by them unoccupied, to
the cohorts to winter in. He fortified this
[latter] part with a rampart and a ditch.

Chap. II. — When several days had elapsed
in winter quarters, and he had ordered corn
to be brought in, he was suddenly informed by
his scouts that all the people had gone off in
the night from that part of the town which be
had given up to the Gauls, and that the moun-
tains which hung over it were occupied by a
very large force of the Seduni and Yeragri.
It had happened for several reasons that the
Gauls suddenly formed the design of renew-86 CJESAB' S COMMENT ABIES.

ing the war and cutting off that legion. First,
because they despised a single legion, on
account of its small number, and that not
quite full (two cohorts haying been detached,
and several individuals being absent, who had
been despatched for the purpose of seeking pro-
vision) ; then, likewise, because they thought
that 011 account of the disadvantageous char-
acter of the situation, even their first attack
could not be sustained [by us] when they
would rush from the mountains into the valley,
and discharge their weapons upon us. To
this was added, that they were indignant that,
their children were torn from them under the
title of hostages, and they were persuaded
that the Romans designed to seize upon the
summits of the Alps, and unite those parts to
the neighboring province [of Gaul], not only
to secure the passes, but also as a constant
possession.

Chap. III. —Having received these tidings,
Galba, since the works of the winter quarters
and the fortifications were not fully completed,
nor was sufficient preparation made with regard
to corn and other provisions (since, as a sur-
render had been made, and hostages received,
he had thought he need entertain no apprehen-
sion of a war), speedily summoning a council,
began to anxiously inquire their opinions. In
which council, since so much sudden danger
had happened contrary to the general expecta-
tion, and almost all the higher places were
seen already covered with a multitude of
armed men, nor could [eitherJ troops come toCJESAB 'S COMMENT ABIES. 87

their relief, or provisions be brought in, as the
passes were blocked up [by the enemy ;] safety
being now nearly despaired of, some opinions
of this sort were delivered, that, "leaving
their baggage, and making a sally, they should
hasten away for safety by the same routes by
which they had come thither." To the greater
part, however, it seemed best, reserving that
measure to the last, to await the issue of the
matter, and to defend the camp.

Chap. IV. — A short time only having
elapsed, so that time was scarcely given for
arranging and executing those things which
they had determined on, the enemy, upon the
signal being given, rushed down [upon our
men] from all parts, and discharged stones
and darts upon our rampart. Our men at first,
while their strength was fresh, resisted bravely,
nor did they cast any weapon ineffectually
from their higher station. As soon as any
part of the camp, being destitute of defenders,
seemed to be hard pressed, thither they ran,
and brought assistance. But they were over-
matched in this, that the enemy when wearied
by the long continuance of the battle, went
•out of the action, and others with fresh strength
came in their place; none of which things
could be done by our men, owing to the small-
ness of their number; and not only was per-
mission not given to the wearied [Roman] to
retire from the fight, but not even to the
wounded [was liberty granted] to quit the post
where he had been stationed, and recover.

Chap. V. — When they had now been fight-88 CJESAXl'S COMMENTARIES.

ing for more than six hours, without cessation,
and not only strength, but even weapons were
failing our men, and the enemy were pressing
on more rigorously, and had begun to demolish
the rampart and to fill up the trench, while
our men were becoming exhausted, and the
matter was now brought to the last extremity,
P. Sextius Baeulus, a centurion of the first
rank, whom we have related to have been dis-
abled by severe wounds in the engagement
Vith the Nervii, and also C. Yolusenus, a trib-
une of the soldiers, a man of great skill and
yalor, hasten to Galba, and assure him that
the only hope of safety lay in making a sally,
and trying the last resource. Whereupon,
assembling the centurions, he quickly gives
orders to the soldiers to discontinue the fight
a short time, and only collect the weapons
flung [at them], and recruit themselves after
their fatigue, and afterwards, upon the signal
being given, sally forth from the camp, and
place in their valor all their hope of safety.

Chap. VI. — They do what they were or-
dered; and, making a sudden sally from all
the gates [of the camp], leave the enemy the
means neither of knowing what was taking
place, nor of collecting themselves. Fortune
thus taking a turn, [our men] surround on
every side, and slay those who had entertained
the hope of gaining the camp, and having
killed more than the third part of an army of
more than 30,000 men (which number of the
barbarians it appeared certain had come up to
our camp), put to flight the rest when panic-CAESAR 9 8 COMMENTARIES, 89

itricken, and do not suffer them to halt even
upon the higher grounds. All the forces of
the enemy being thus routed, and stripped of
their arms, [our men] betake themselves to
their camp and fortifications. Which battle
being finished, inasmuch as Galba was unwill-
ing to tempt fortune again, and remembered
that he had come into winter quarters with
one design, and saw that he had met with a
different state of affairs ; chiefly, however, urged
by the want of corn and provision, having the
next day burned all the buildings of that vil-
lage, he hastens to return into the province;
and as no enemy opposed or hindered his
march, he brought the legiori safe into the
[country of the] Nantuates, thence into [that
of] the Allobroges, and there wintered.

Chap. VII. — These things being achieved,
while Caesar had every reason to suppose that
Gaul was reduced to a state of tranquillity,
the Belgse being overcome, the Germans ex-
pelled, the Seduni among the Alps defeated,
and when he had, therefore, in the beginning
of winter, set out for Illyricum, as he wished
to visit those nations, and acquire a knowl-
edge of their countries, a sudden war sprang
up in Gaul. The occasion of that war was
this: P. Crassus, a young man, had taken
up his winter quarters with the seventh legion
among the Andes, who border upon the [At-
lantic] ocean. He, as there was a scarcity of
corn in those parts, sent out some officers of
cavalry, and several military tribunes amongst
the neighboring states, for the purpose of pro-90 CuESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

curing corn and provision; in which number
T. Terrasidius was sent amongst the Esubii;
M. Trebius G-allus amongst the Curiosolitse;
Q. Yelanius, with T. Silius, amongst the
YengtL

Chap. YIII. — The influence of this state is
by far the most considerable of any of the
countries on the whole sea-coast, because the
Yeneti both have a very great number of ships,
with which they have been accustomed to sail
to Britain, and [thus] excel the rest in their
knowledge and experience of nautical affairs ;
and as only a few ports lie scattered along that
stormy and open sea, of which they are in pos-
session, they hold as tributaries almost all
those who are accustomed to traffic in that sea.
With them arose the beginning [of the revolt]
by their detaining Silius and Yelanius ; for they
thought that they should recover by their means
the hostages which they had given to Crassus.
The neighboring people, led on by their influ-
ence (as the measures of the Gauls are sudden
and hasty), detain Trebius and Terrasidius for
the same motive; and quickly sending ambas-
sadors, by means of their leading men, they
enter into a mutual compact to do nothing
except by general consent, and abide the same
issue of fortune; and they solicit the other
states to choose rather to continue in that liberty
which they had received from their ancestors,
than endure slavery under the Romans. All
the sea-coast being quickly brought over to
their sentiments, they send a common embassy
to P. Crassus [to say], " If he wished to re-QJESAB*8 COMMENTARIES. 91

eeire back bis officers, let him send back to
them their hostages."

Chap. IX. — Caesar, being informed of
these things by Crassus, since he was so far
distant himself, orders ships of war to be built
in the mean time on the river Loire, which flows
into the ocean; rowers to be raised from the
province; sailors and pilots to be provided.
These matters being quickly executed, he him-
self, as soon as the season of the year permits,
hastens to the army. The Vengti, and the other
Btates also, being informed of Caesar's arrival,
when they reflected how great a crime they had
committed, in that the ambassadors (a char-
acter which had amongst all nations ever been
sacred and inviolable) had by them been de-
tained and thrown into prison, resolve to pre-
pare for a war in proportion to the greatness
of their danger, and especially to provide those
things which appertain to the service of a
ttavy, with the greater confidence, inasmuch as
they greatly relied on the nature of their situ-
ation. They knew that the passes by land
were cut off by estuaries, that the approach
by sea was most difficult, by reason of our
ignorance of the localities, [and] the small
number of the harbors, and they trusted that
our army would not be able to stay very long
among them, on account of the insufficiency of
corn ; and again, even if all these things should
turn out contrary to their expectation, yet they
were very powerful in their navy. They well
understood that the Romans neither had any
number of ships, nor were acquainted with the92 CJESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

shallows, the harbors, or the islands of those
parts where they would have to carry on the
war ; and that navigation was very different in
a narrow sea from what it is in the vast and
open ocean. Having come to this resolution,
they fortify their towns, convey corn i$to them
from the country parts, bring together as many
ships as possible to Yenetia, where it appeared
Caesar would at first carry on the war. They
unite to themselves as allies for that war, the
Osismii, the Lexovii, the Nannetes, the Ambi^
liati, the Morini, the Diablintes, and the Me-
napii; and senclAtff auxiliaries from Britain,
which is situated over against those regions.

Chap. Xf—There were these difficulties
which we have mentioned above, in carrying
on the War, but many things, nevertheless,
urged Caesar to that war; — the open insult
offered to the state in the detention of the Ro-
man knights, the rebellion raised after surren-
dering, the revolt after hostages were given,
the confederacy of so many states, but princi-
pally, lest if [the conduct of] this part was
overlooked, the other nations should think that
the same thing was permitted them. Where-
fore, since he reflected that almost all the
Gauls were fond of revolution, and easily and
quickly excited to war; that all men likewise,
by nature, love liberty and hate the condition
of slavery, he thought he ought to divide and
more widely distribute his army, before more
states should join the confederation.

Chap. XI. — He therefore sends T. Labie-
nus, his lieutenant, with the cavalry to theCJSSAWS COMMENTARIES. 08

Treviri, who are nearest to the river Rhine. He
charges him to visit the Remi and the other
Belgians, and to keep them in their allegiance
mid repel the Germans, (who were said to have
been summoned by the Belgse to their aid,) if
they attempted to cross the river by force in
their ships. He orders P. Crassus to proceed
Into Aquitania with twelve legionary cohorts
ftnd a great number of the cavalry, lest auxili-
aries should be sent into Gaul by these states,
and such great nations be united. He sends
Q. Titurius Sabinus, his lieutenant, with three
legions, among the Unelli, the Curiosolltae,
and the Lexovii, to take care that their forces
should be kept separate from the rest. He
appoints D. Brutus, a young man, bver the
fleet anfl those Gallic vessels which he had
ordered to be furnished by the Pictones and
the Santoni, and the other provinces which
remained at peace ; and commands him to pro-
ceed towards the Veneti, as soon as he could.
He himself hastens hither with the land forces.

Chap. XII.—The sites of their towns
were generally such that, being placed on ex-
treme points [of land] and on promontories,
they neither had an approach by land when the
tide had rushed in from the main ocean, which
always happens twice in the space of twelve
hours; nor by ships, because, upon the tide
ebbing again, the ships were likely to be
dashed upon the shoals. Thus, by either cir-
cumstance, was the storming of their towns
rendered difficult; and if at an}- time perchance
the Veneti, overpowered by the greatness of our94 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

works, (the sea having been excluded by a
mound and large dams, and the latter being
made almost equal in height to the walls of the
town,) had begun to despair of their fortunes ;
bringing up a large number of ships, of which
they had a very great quantity, they carried
off all their property and betook themselves to
the nearest towns; there they again defended
themselves by the same advantages of situa-
tion. They did this the more easily during a
great part of the summer, because our ships
were kept back by storms, and the difficulty of
sailing was very great in that vast and open
sea, with its strong tides and its harbors far
apart and exceedingly few in number.

Chap. XIII. — For their ships were built
and equipped after this manner. The keels
were somewhat flatter than those of our ships,
whereby they could more easily encounter the
shallows and the ebbing of the tide : the prows
were raised very high, and, in like manner, the
sterns were adapted to the force of the waves
and storms [which they were formed to sus-
tain]. The ships were built wholly of oak,
and designed to endure any force and violence
whatever; the benches, which were made of
planks a foot in breadth, were fastened by iron
spikes of the thickness of a man's thumb ; the
anchors were secured fast by iron chains in-
stead of cables, and for sails they used skins
and thin dressed leather. These [were used]
either through their want of canvas and their
ignorance of its application, or for this reason,
which is more probable, that they thought thatC^ESAB'S COMMENT ABIES, 96

such storms of the ocean and such violent
gales of wind could not be resisted by sail,
nor ships of such great burden be conveniently
enough managed by them. The encounter of
our fleet tpith these ships was of such a nature
that our fleet excelled in speed alone, and the
plying of the oars; other things, considering
the nature of the place [and] the violence of
the storms, were more suitable and better
adapted 011 their side; for neither co ild our
ihips injure theirs with their beaks (so gi\ at
was their strength), nor on account of their
height was a weapon easily cast up to them;
and for the same reason they were less readily
locked in by rocks. To this was added, that
Whenever a storm began to rage and they ran
before the wind, they both could weather the
Storm more easily and heave to securely in the
shallows, and when left by the tide feared
nothing from rocks and shelves: the risk of
all which things was much to be dreaded by
our ships.

Chap. XIV.—Caesar, after taking many
of their towns, perceiving that so much labor
was spent in vain and that the flight of the
enemy could not be prevented on the capture
of their towns, and that injury could not be
clone them, determined to wait for his fleet.
As soon as it came up and was first seen by
the enemy, about 220 of their ships, fully
equipped and appointed with every kind of
[naval] implement, sailed forth from the har-
bor, and drew up opposite to ours ; nor did it
appear clear to Brutus, who commanded the96 CJESSAR 'S COMMENTARIES.

fleet, or to the tribunes of the soldiers and the
centurions, to whom the several ships were
assigned, what to do, or what system of tac-
tics to adopt; for they knew that damage
could not be done by their beaks; and that,
although turrets were built [on their decks],
yet the height of the stems of the barbarian
ships exceeded these; so that weapons could
not be cast up from [our] lower position with
sufficient effect, and those cast by the Gauls
fell the more forcibly upon us. One thing
provided by our men was of great service,
[viz.] sharp hooks inserted into and fastened
upon poles, of a form not unlike the hooks
used in attacking town walls. When the
ropes which fastened the sail-yards to the
masts were caught by them and pulled, and
our vessel vigorously impelled with the oars,
they [the ropes] were severed; and when they
were cut away, the yards necessarily fell
down; so that as all the hope of the Gallic
vessels depended on their sails and rigging,
upon these being cut away, the entire manage-
ment of the ships was taken from them at the
same time. The rest of the contest depended
on courage, in which our men decidedly had
the advantage; and the more so, because the
whole action was carried on in the sight of
Caesar and the entire army; so that no act, a
little more valiant than ordinary, could pass
unobserved, for all the hills and higher grounds,
from which there was a near prospect of the
sea, were occupied by our army.

Chap. XV. — The sail-yards [of the enemy],CJSSAB'S COMMENT ABIES.

97

as we have said, being brought down, although
two and [in some cases] three ships [of theirs]
surrounded each one [of ours], the soldiers
strove with the greatest energy to board the
ships of the enemy; and, after the barbarians
observed this taking place, as a great many of
their ships were beaten, and as no relief for
that evil could be discovered, they hastened to
seek safety in flight. And, having now turned
their vessels to that quarter in which the wind
blew, so great a calm and lull suddenly arose,
that they could not move out of their place,
which circumstance, truly, was exceedingly
opportune for finishing the business; for our
men gave chase and took them one by one, so
that very few out of all the number, [and
those] by the intervention of night, arrived at
the land, after the battle had lasted almost
from the fourth hour till sunset.

Chap, XVI. — By this battle the war with
the Veneti and the whole of the sea-coast was
finished; for both all the youth, and all, too,
of more advanced age, in whom there was any
discretion or rank, had assembled in that bat-
tle ; and they had collected in that one place
whatever naval forces they had anywhere ; and
when these were lost, the survivors had no
place to retreat to, nor means of defending
their towns. They accordingly surrendered
themselves and all their possessions to Caesar,
on whom Caesar thought that punishment
should be inflicted the more severely, in order
that for the future the rights of ambassadors
might be more carefully respected by barba-98 CJE SAB'S COMMENTABI&S.

rians: haying, therefore, put to death all their
senate, he sold the rest for slaves.

Chap. XVII.—While these things are go-
ing on amongst the Veneti, Q. Titurius Sabi-
nus, with those troops which he had received
from Caesar, arrives in the territories of the
Unelli. Over these people Viridovix ruled,
and held the chief command of all those states
which had revolted : from which he had col-
lected a large and powerful army. And in
those few days, the Aulerci and the Lexovii,
having slain their senate because they would
not consent to be promoters of the war, shut
their gates [against us] and united themselves
to Viridovix; a great multitude besides of
desperate men and robbers assembled out
of Gaul from all quarters, whom the hope of
plundering and the love of fighting had called
away from husbandry and their daily labor.
Sabinus kept himself within his camp, which
was in a position convenient for everything;
while Viridovix encamped over against him at
a distance of two miles, and daily bringing out
his forces, gave him an opportunity of fights
ing; so that Sabinus had now not only come
into contempt with the enemy, but also was
somewhat taunted by the speeches of our
soldiers; and furnished so great a suspicion
of his cowardice that the enemy presumed tb
approach even to the very rampart of our
camp. He adopted this conduct for the fol-
lowing reason: because he did not think that
a lieutenant ought to engage in battle with so
great a force, especially while he who held theCJESAR >S COMMENTARIES. 99

chief command was absent, except on advan-
tageous ground or unless some favorable cir-
cumstance presented itself.

Chap. XVIII. — After having established
this suspicion of his cowardice, he selected a
certain suitable and crafty Gaul, who was one
of those whom he.-had with him as auxiliaries.
He induces him by great gifts and promises to
go over to the enemy ; and informs [him] of
what he wished to be done. Who, when he
arrives amongst them as a deserter, lays before
them the fears of the Romans; and informs
them by what difficulties Caesar himself was
harassed, and that the matter was not far
removed from this: that Sabinus would the
next night privately draw off his army out of
the camp and set forth to Caesar, for the pur-
pose of carrying [him] assistance, which,
when they heard, they all cry out together
that an opportunity of successfully conducting
their enterprise ought not be thrown away;
that they ought to go to the [Roman] camp.
Many things persuaded the Gauls to this meas-
ure : the delay of Sabinus during the previous
days ; the positive assertion of the [pretended]
deserter; want pf provisions, for a supply of
which they h id not taken the requisite precau-
tions ; the hope springing from the Venetic
war; and [also] beciuse in most cases men
willingly believe whit they wish. Influenced
by these things, they do not discharge Virido-
vix and the other leaders from the council,
before they gained permission from them to
take up arms and hasten to [our] camp ; which100 CJESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

being granted, rejoicing as if victory were
fully certain, they collected fagots and brush-
wood, with which to fill up the Roman trenches,
and hastened to the camp.

Chap. XIX. — The situation of the camp
was a rising ground, gently sloping from the
bottom for about a mile. Thither they pro-
ceeded with great speed (in order that as little
time as possible might be given to the Romans
to collect and arm themselves), and arrived
quite out of breath. Sabinus having encour-
aged his men, gives them the signal, which
they earnestly desired. While the enemy
were encumbered by reason of the burdens
which they were carrying, he orders a sally to
be suddenly made from two gates [of the
camp]. It happened, by the advantage of sit-
uation, by the unskilfulness and the fatigue
of the enemy, by the valor of our soldiers,
and their experience in former battles/that
they could not stand one attack of our men,
and immediately turned their backs: and our
men with full vigor followed them while dis-
ordered, and slew a great number of them;
the horse pursuing the rest, left but few, who
escaped by flight. Thus, at the same time,
Sabinus was informed of the naval battle and
Caesar of victory gained by Sabinus; and all
the states immediately surrendered themselves
to Titurius : for as the temper of the Gauls is
impetuous and ready to undertake wars, so
their mind is weak, and by no means resolute
in enduring calamities.

Chap. XX.—About the same time, P.CuESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 101

Crassus, when he had arrived in Aquitania
(which, as has been before said, both from its
extent of territory and the great number of its
people, is to be reckoned a third part of Gaul),
understanding that he was to wage war in
these parts,.where a few years before, L. Va-
lerius Prseconinus, the lieutenant, bad been
killed, and his army routed, and from which L.
Manilius, the proconsul, had fled with the loss
of his baggage, he perceived that no ordinary
care must be used by him. Wherefore, hav-
ing provided cornt procured auxiliaries and
cavalry, [and] having summoned by name
many valiant men from Tolosa, Carcaso, and
Narbo, which are the states of the province of
Gaul that border on these regions [Aqui-
tania] , he led his army into the territories of
the Sotiates. On his arrival being known, the
Sotiates having brought together great forces
and [much] cavalry, in which their strength
principally lay, and assailing our army on the
march, engaged first in a cavalry action, then
when their cavalry was routed, and our men
pursuing, they suddenly display their infan-
try forces, which they had placed in ambuscade
in a valley. These attacked our men [while]
disordered, and renewed the fight.

Chap. XXI. The battle was long and vig-
orously contested, since the Sotiates, relying
on their former victories, imagined that the
safety of the whole of Aquitania rested on
their valor ; [and] our men, on the other hand,
desired it might be seen what they could ac-
complish without their general and without102 CJSSAB'8 COMMENTARIES.

the other' legions, under a very young com-
mander; at length the enemy, worn out with
wounds, began to turn their backs, and a great
number of them being slain, Crassus began to
besiege the [principal] town of the Sotiates on
his march. Upon their valiantly resisting, he
raised vineae and turrets. They at one time
attempting a sally, at another forming mines
to our rampart and vineae (at which the Aqui-
tani are eminently skilled, because in many
places amongst them there are copper mines),
when they perceived that nothing could be
gained by these operations through the perse-
verance of our men, they send ambassadors to
Crassus, and entreat him to admit them to a
surrender. Having obtained it, they, being
ordered to deliver up their arms, comply.

Chap. XXII. — And while the attention of
our men is engaged in that matter, in another
part Adcantuannus, who held the chief com-
mand, with 600 devoted followers whom they
call soldurii (the conditions of whose associa-
tion are these, that they enjoy all the con-
veniences of life with those to whose friendship
they have devoted themselves: if anything
calamitous* happen to them, either they endure
the same destiny together with them, or com-
mit suicide: nor hitherto, in the memory of
men, has there been fou^d any one who, upon
his being slain to whose friendship he had de-
voted himself, refused to die), Adcantuanrius,
[I say] endeavoring to make a sally with these,
when our soldiers had rushed together to arms,
upon a shout being raised at that part of theG^ESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 108

fortification, and a fierce battle having been
fought there, was driven back into the town;
yet he obtained from Crassus [the indulgence]
that he should enjoy the same terms of sur-
render [as the other inhabitants].

Chap. XXIII. — Crassus, having received
their arms and hostages, marched into the
territories of the Vocates and the Tarusates.
But then, the barbarians being alarmed, be-
cause they had heard that a town fortified by
the nature of the place and by art had been
taken by us in a few days after our arrival
there, began to send ambassadors into all
quarters, to combine, to give hostages one to
another, to raise troops. Ambassadors also
are sent to those states of Hither Spain which
are nearest to Aquitania, and auxiliaries and
leaders are summoned from them ; on whose
arrival they proceed to carry on the war with
great confidence, and with a great host of men.
They who had been with Q. Sertorius the whole
period [of his war in Spain], and were sup-
posed to have very great skill in military mat-
ters, are chosen leaders. These, adopting the
practice of the Roman people, began to select
[advantageous] places, to fortify their camp,
to cut off our men from provisions, which,
when Crassus observes, [and likewise] that
his forces, on account of their small number,
could not safely be separated ; that the enemy
both made excursions and beset the passes,
and [yet] left sufficient guard for their camp ;
that on,that account, corn and provision could
not very'conveniently be brought up to him.104 CuEBAR 'S COMMENT A HIES.

and that the number of the enemy was daily
increased, he thought that he ought not to
delay in giving battle. This matter being
brought to a council, when he discovered that
all thought the same thing, he appointed the
next day for the fight.

Chap. XXIV. — Having drawn out all his
forces at the break of day, and marshalled
them in a double line, he posted the auxiliaries
in the centre, and waited to sea what measures
the enemy would take. They, although on
account of their great number and their ancient
renown in war, and the small number of our
men thoy supposed they might safely fight,
nevertheless considered it safer to gain the
victory without any wound, by besetting the
passes [and] cutting off the provisions: and
if the Romans, on account of the want of corn,
should begin to retreat, they intended to attack
them while encumbered in their march and
depressed in spirit [as being assailed while]
under baggage. This measure being approved
of by the leaders and the forces of the Romans
drawn out, the enemy [still] kept themselves
in their camp. Crassus having remarked this
circumstance, since the enemy, intimidated by
their own delay, and by the reputation [*'. e.,
for cowardice arising thence] had rendered
our soldiers more eager for fighting, and the
remarks of all were heard [declaring] that no
longer ought delay to be made in going to the
camp, after encouraging his men, he marches
to the camp of ..the enemy, to the great grat-
ification of his wn troops.CuE SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 105

Chap. XXV. — There, while some were fill-
ing up the ditch, and others, by throwing a
large number of darts, were driving the defend-
ers from the rampart and fortifications, and
the auxiliaries, on whom Crassus did not much
rely in the battle, by supplying stones and
weapons [to the soldiers], and by conveying
turf to the mound, presented the appearance
and character of men engaged in fighting;
while also the enemy were fighting resolutely
and boldly, and their weapons, discharged from
their higher position, fell with great effect; the
horse, having gone round the camp of the
enemy, reported to Crassus that the camp was
not fortified with equal care on the side of the
Decuman gate, and had an easy approach.

Chap. XXVI. — Crassus, having exhorted
the commanders of the horse to animate their
men by great rewards and promises, points
out to them what he wished to have done.
They, as they had been commanded, having
brought out the four cohorts, which, as they
had been left as a guard for the camp, were
not fatigued by exertion, and having led them
round by a somewhat longer way, lest they
could be seen from the camp of the enemy,
when the eyes and minds of all were intent upon
the battle, quickly arrived at those fortifications
which we have spoken of, and, having demol-
ished these, stood in the camp of the enemy
before they were seen by them, or it was
known what was going on. And then, a shout
being heard in that quarter, our men, their
strength having been recruited (which usually106 CuESAB'S COMMENTABIES.

occurs on the hope of victory), began to fight
more vigorously. The enemy surrounded on
all sides, [and] all their affairs being despaired
of, made great attempts to cast themselves
down over the ramparts and to seek safety in
flight. These the cavalry pursued over the
Very open plains, and after leaving scarcely a
fourth part out of the number of 50,000, which
it was certain had assembled out of Aquitania
and from the Cantabri, returned late at night
to the camp.

Chap. XXVII. — Having heard of this bat-
tle, the greatest part of Aquitania surrendered
itself to Crassus, and of its own accord sent
hostages, in which number were the Tarbelli,
the Bigerriones, the Preciani, the Vocasates,
the Tarusates, the Elurates, the Garites, the
Ausci, the Garumni, the Sibuzates, the Coco-
sates. A few [and those] most remote nations,
relying on the time of the year, because winter
was at hand, neglected to do this.

Chap. XXVIII.—About the same time
Caesar, although the summer was nearly past,
yet, since, all Gaul being reduced, the Morini
and the Menapii alone remained in arms, and
had never sent ambassadors to him [to make
a treaty] of peace, speedily led his army thither,
thinking that that war might soon be termi-
nated. They resolved to conduct the war on a
very different method from the rest of the
Gauls, for as they perceived that the greatest
nations [of Gaul] who had engaged in war,
had been routed and overcome, and as they
possessed continuous ranges of forests andCESAR'S COMMENTARIES, 107

morasses, they removed themselves and all
their property thither. When Caesar had
arrived at the opening of these forests, and
had begur to fortify his camp, and no enem}r
was in the mean time seen, while our men were
dispersed on their respective duties, they sud-
denly rushed out from all parts of the forest,
and made an attack on our men. The latter
quickly took up arms ^ind drove tfiem back
again to their forests ; and having killed a great
many, lost a few of their own men while pursu-
ing them too far through those intricate places.

Chap. XXIX. — During the remaining days
after this, Caesar began to cut down the forests ;
and that no attack might be made on the flank
of the soldiers, while unarmed and not fore-
seeing it, he placed together (opposite to the
enemy) all that timber which was cut down,
and piled it up as a rampart on either flank.
When a great space had been, with incredible
speed, cleared in a few days, when the cattle
[of the enemy] and the rear of their baggage-
train were already seized by our men, and they
themselves were seeking for the thickest parts
of the forests, storms of such a kind came on
that the work was necessarily suspended, and,
through the continuance of the rains, the sol-
diers could not any longer remain in their tents.
Therefore, having laid waste all their country,
[and] having burnt their villages and houses,
Caesar led back his army and stationed them
in winter quarters among the Aulerci and Lex-
ovii, and the other states which had made war
upon him last.108 CJESAIL'S 00MMENTAME8.

BOOK IV.

the argument.

I.-III. TheUsipetes and Tenchtheri, oppressed by the Stievi.
migrate JFrom Germany into Gaul; the national character or
the Sue\i. — IV. The Usipetes and Tenchtheri possess them-
selves of the estates of the Menapii.— V.,VI. Caesar resolves
to make war upon the Germans. — VII.-IX. Receives an
overture of peace from them; their treacherous designs.—
X. Description of the Meuse and the Rhine. — XI.-XV. The
perfidy of the Germans; their overthrow and retreat.—
XVI.,-XVII. Caesar's bridge over the Rhine.—XVIII.,
XIX. Caesar leads his army into Germany; punishes the
Sigambri; frees the Ubii from the tyranny of the Suevi, and
returns into Gaul. — XX.-XXII. His design upon Britain ;
preparations for the expedition. —XXIII.-XXVII. Carries
it into effect; the defeat and surrender of the Britons.—
XXVIII., XXIX. The Roman vessels overtaken by a storm.
XXX. The Britons think to take advantage of this. —XXXI.
Caesar defeats their designs.—2£XXII. A stratagem of the
Britons for attacking a Roman legion.—XXXIII. Their
mode of fighting with chariots. — XXXIV. They advance
to the Roman camp.—XXXV. Are defeated. — XXXVI.
Sue for peace. —XXXVII., XXXVIII. The Morini attack
two legions which had just returned from Britain and suffer
a severe loss; Caesar goes into winter quarters among the
Belgae; a thanksgiving of twenty days decreed by the senate
for the successes of this campaign.

Chap. I. — The following winter (this was
the year in which Cn. Pompey and M. Crassus
were consuls) those Germans [called] the
Usipfctes, and likewise.the Tenchtheri, with a
great number of men, crossed the Shine, not
far from the place at which that river dis-
charges itself into the sea. The motive for
crossing [that river] was, that having been for
several years harassed by the Suevi, they were
constantly engaged in war, and hindered from
the pursuits of agriculture. The ontfon of theCAESAR'S COMMtih l ATUES.

121

and formed an alliance and given hostages^
earnestly entreated " that he would bring them
assistance, because they were grievously op-
pressed by the Suevi; or, if he was prevented
from doing so by the business of the common-
wealth, he would at least transport his army
over the Rhine; that that would be sufficient
for their present assistance and their hope for
the future ; that so great was the name and the
reputation of his army, even among the most
remote nations of the Germans, arising from
the defeat of Ariovistus and this last battle
which was fought, that they might be safe under
the fame and friendship of the Roman people."
They promised a large number of ships for
transporting the army.

Citap. XVII,—-Caesar, for those reasons
which I have mentioned, had resolved to cross
the Rhine; but to cross by ships he neither
deemed to be sufficiently safe, nor considered
consistent with his own dignity or that of the
Roman people. Therefore, although the great-
est difficulty in forming a bridge was presented
to him, on account of the breadth, rapidity, and
depth of the river, he nevertheless considered
that it ought to be attempted by him, or that
his army ought not otherwise to be led over.
He devised this plan of a bridge. He joined
together at the distance of two feet, two piles,
each a foot and a half thick, sharpened a little
at the lower end, and proportioned in length to
the depth of the river. After he had, by means
of engines, sunk these into the river, and fixed
them at the bottom, and then driven them in122 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

with rammers, not quite perpendicularly, like
a stake, but bending forward and sloping, so
as to incline in the direction of the current of
the river he also placed two [other piles] oppo-
site to these, at the distance of forty feet lower
down, fastened together in the same manner,
but directed against the fort e and current of
the river. Both these, moreover, were kept
firmly apart by beams two feet thi( k (the space
which the binding of the piles occupied), laid
in at their extremities between two braces on
each side ; and in consequence of these being in
different directions and fastened on sides the on6
opposite to the other, so great was the strength
of the work, and such the arrangement of the
materials, that in proportion as the greater
body of water dashed against the bridge, so
much the closer were its parts held fastened
together. These beams were bound together
by timber laid over them in the direction of the
length of the bridge, and were [then] covered
over with laths and hurdles ; and in addition to
this, piles were driven into the water obliquely,
at the lower side of the bridge, and these serv-
ing as buttresses, and being connected with
every portion of the work, sustained the force
of the stream ; and there were others also above
the bridge at a moderate distance ; that if trunks
of trees or vessels were floated down the river
by the barbarians for the purposo of destroy-
ing the work, the violence of such things might
be diminished by these defences, and might
not injure the bridge.

Chap. XVIII.—Within ten days after theCJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

123

timber began to be collected, the whole work
was completed, and the wbole army led over.
Caesar, leaving a strong guard at each end of
the bridge, hastens into the territories of the
Sigambri. In the mean time, ambassadors
from several nations come to him, whom, on
their suing for peace and alliance, he answers
in a courteous manner, and orders hostages to
he brought to him. But the Sigambri, at the
very time the bridge was begun to be built,
made preparations for a flight (by the advice
of such of the Tenchtheri and Usipetes as they
had amongst them), and quitted their terri-
tories and conveyed away all their possessions,
and conceale 1 themselves in deserts and woods.

Chap. XIX. — Caesar, having remained in
their territories a few days, and burnt all their
villages and houses, and cut down their corn,
proceeded into the territories of the Ubii; and
having promised them his assistance, if they
were ever harassed by the Suevi, he learned
from them these particulars: that the Suevi,
after they had by means of their scouts found
that the bridge was being built, had called a
council, according to their custom, and sent or-
ders to all parts of their state to remove from
the towns and convey their children, wives,
and all their possessions into the woods, and
that all who could bear arms should assemble
in one place; that the place thus chosen was
nearly the centre of those regions which the
Suevi possessed ; that in this spot they had
resolved to await the arrival of the Romans,
and give them battle there. When Caesar dis-124 cesar's commentaries:

covered this, having already accomplished all
these things on account of which he had re-
solved to lead his army over, namely, to strike
fear into the Germans, to take vengeance on the
Sigambri, and free the Ubii from the invasion
of the Suevi, having spent altogether eighteen
days beyond the Rhine, and thinking he had
advanced far enough to serve both honor and
interest, he returned into Gaul, and cut down
the bridge.

Chap. XX.—During the short part of sum-
mer which remained, Caesar, although in these
countries, as all Gaul lies toward the north,
the winters are early, nevertheless resolved to
proceed into Britain, because he discovered
that in almost all the wars with the Gauls suc-
cors had been furnished to our enemy from
that country; and even if the time of year
should be insufficient for carrying on the war,
yet he thought it would be of great service to
him if he only entered the island, and saw into
the character of the people, and got knowledge
of their localities, harbors, and landing places,
all which were for the most part unknown to
the Gauls. For neither does any one except
merchants generally go thither, nor even to
them was any portion of it known, except the
sea-coast and those parts which are opposite
to Gaul. Therefore, after having called up to
him the merchants from all parts, he could
learn neither what was the size of the island,
nor what or how numerous were the nations
which inhabited it, nor what system of war
they followed, nor what customs they used,CESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 125

nor what harbors were convenient for a great
number of large ships.

Chap. XXI. — He sends before him Cains
Yolusenus with a ship of war, to acquire a
knowledge of these particulars before he in
person should make a descent into the island,
as he was convinced that this was a judicious
measure. He commissioned him to thoroughly
examine into all matters, and then return to
him as soon as possible. He himself proceeds
td the Morini with all his forces. He orders
ships from all parts of the neighboring coun-
tries, and the fleet which the preceding sum-
mer he had built for the war with the Yeneti,
to assemble in this place. In the mean time,
his purpose having been discovered, and re-
ported to the Britons by merchants, ambassa-
dors come to him from several states of the
island, to promise that they will give hostages,
and submit to the government of the Roman
people. Having given them an audience, he,
after promising liberally, and exhorting them
to continue in that purpose, sends them back
to their own country, and [despatches] with
them Commius, whom, upon subduing the
Atrebates, he had created king there, a man
whose courage and conduct he esteemed, and
who he thought would be faithful to him, and
Whose influence ranked highly in those coun-
tries. He orders him to visit as many states
as he could, and persuade them to embrace the
protection of the Roman people, and apprise
them that he would shortly come thither.
Volusenus, having viewed the localities as far126 CjESAB • 8 COMMENTARIES.

as means could be afforded one who dared not
!eave his ship and trust himself to barbarians,
returns to Caesar on the fifth day, and reports
what he had there obsei*ved.

Chap. XXII. — While Caesar remains, in
these parts for the purpose of procuring ships,
ambassadors come to him from a great por-
tion of the Morini, to plead their excuse
respecting their conduct on the late occasion ;
alleging that it was as men uncivilized, and as
those who were unacquainted with our cus-
tom, that they had made war upon the Roman
people, and promising to perform what he
should command. Caesar, thinking that this
had happened fortunately enough for him,
because he neither wished to leave an enemy
behind him, nor had an opportunity for
carrying on a war, by reason of the time of
year, nor considered that employment in such
trifling matters was to be preferred to his
enterprise on Britain, imposes a large number
of hostages; and when these were brought,
he received them to his protection. Having
collected together, and provided about eighty
transport ships, as many as he thought neces-
sary for conveying over two legions, he as-
signed such [ships] of war as he had besides
to the questor, his lieutenants, and officers
of cavalry. There were in addition to these
eighteen ships of burden which were pre-
vented, eight miles from that place, by winds,
from being able to reach the same port.
These he distributed amongst the horse; the
Test of the army he delivered to Q. TituriusC^ESAS'S COMMENTARIES, 127

Sabinus and L. Aurunculeius Cotta, his lieu-
tenants, to lead into the territories of the Me-
napii and those cantons of the Morini from
which ambassadors had not come to him. He
ordered P. Sulpicius Rufus, his lieutenant, to
hold possession of the harbor, with such a gar-
rison as he thought sufficient.

Chap. XXIII.—These matters being ar-
ranged, finding the weather favorable for his
voyage, he set sail about the third watch, and
ordered the horse to march forward to the far-
ther port, and there embark and follow him.
As this was performed rather tardily by them,
he himself reached Britain with the first squad-
ron of ships, about the fourth hour of the
day, and there saw the forces of the enemy
drawn up in arms on all the hills. The nature
of the place was this: the sea was confined by ;
mountains so close to it that a dart could be
thrown from their summit upon the shore. Con-
sidering this by no means a fit place for disem-
barking, he remained at anchor till the ninth
hour, for the other ships to arrive there. Hav-
ing in the mean time assembled the lieutenants
and military tribunes, he told them both what he
had learnt from Volusenus, and what he wished
to be done; and enjoined them (a^ the prin-
ciple of military matters, and especially as
maritime affairs, which have a precipitate and
uncertain action, required) that all things
should be performed by them at a nod and at
the instant. Having dismissed them, meeting
both with wind and tide favorable at the same
time, the signal being given and the anchor128 CJESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

weighed, he advanced about seven miles from
that place, and stationed his fleet over against
an open and level shore.

Chap. XXIV. — But the barbarians, upon
perceiving the design of the Romans, sent for-
ward their cavalry and charioteers, a class of
warriors of whom it is their practice to make
great use in their battles, and following with
the rest of their forces, endeavored tQ prevent
our men landing. In this was the greatest
difficultyi for the following reasons, namely,
because our ships, on account of their great
size, could be stationed only in deep water;
and our soldiers, in places unknown to them,
with their hands embarrassed, oppressed with
a large and heavy weight of armor, had at
the same time to leap from the ships, stand
amidst the waves, and encounter the enemy;
whereas they, either on dry ground, or advan-
cing a little way into the water, free in all their
limbs, in places thoroughly known to them,
could confidently throw their weapons and spur
on their horses, which were accustomed to this
kind of service. Dismayed by these circum-
stances and altogether untrained in this mode
of battle, our men did not all exert the same
vigor and eagerness which they had been wont
to exert in engagements on dry ground. (

Chap. XXV.—When Caesar observed this,
he ordered the ships of war, the appearance of
'which was somewhat strange to the barbarians
and the motion more ready for service, to be
withdrawn a little from the transport vessels,
and to be propelled by their oars, and be sta-CJESAB'S COMMENTARIES. ,129

tioned towards the open flank of the enemy , and
the enemy to be beaten off and driven away,
with slings, arrows, and engines: which plan
was of great service to our men ; for the bar-
barians being startled by the form of our ships
and the motions of our oars and the nature of
our engines, which was strange to them,
stopped, and shortly after retreated a little.
And while ourmen were hesitating [whether they
should advance to the shore], chiefly on account
of the depth of the sea, he who carried the
eagle of thle tenth legion, after supplicating the
gods that the matter might turn out favorably
to the legion, exclaimed, " Leap, fellow-sol-
diers, unless you wish to betray your eagle to
the enemy. I, for my part, will perform my
duty to the commonwealth and my general."
WJien he had said this with a loud voi e, he
leaped from the ship and proceeded to bear
the eagle toward the enemy. Then our men,
exhorting one another that so great a disgrace
should not be incurred, all leaped from the ship.
When those in the nearest vessels saw them,
they speedily followed and approached the
enemy.

Chap. XXVI. — The battle was maintained
vigorously on both sides. Our men, however*
a§ they could neither keep their ranks, nor get
firm footing, nor follow their standards, and as
one from one ship and another from another
assembled around whatever standards they met,
were thrown into great confusion. But the
enemy, who were acquainted with all the shal-
lows, when from the shore they saw any com-130 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

ing from a ship one by one, spurred on their
horses, and attacked them while embarrassed,
many surrounded a few, others threw their
weapons upon our collected forces on their
exposed flank. When Caesar observed this,
he ordered the boats of the ships of war and
the spy sloops to be filled with soldiers, and
sent them up to the succor of those whom lie
had observed in distress. Our men, as soon as
they made good their footing on dry ground,
and all their comrades had joined them, made
an attack upon the enemy, and put them to
flight, but could not pursue them very far,
because the horse had not been able to main-
tain their course at sea and reach the island.
This alone was wanting to Caesar's accustomed
success.

Chap. XXVII. — The enemy being thus
vanquished in battle, as soon as they recovered
after their flight, instantly sent ambassadors
to Caesar to negotiate about peace. They prom-
ised to give hostages and perform what he
should command. Together with these ambas-
sadors came Commius the Atrebatian, who, as
I have above said, had been sent by Caesar into
Britain. Him they had seized upon when leav-
ing his ship, although in the character of
ambassador he bore the general's commission to
them, and thrown into chains: then after the
battle was fought, they sent him back, and in
suing for peace cast the blame of that act upon
the common people, and entreated that it might
be pardoned on account of their indiscretion.
Caesar, complaining, that after they had suedCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 181

for peace, and had voluntarily sent ambassa-
bors into the continent for that purpose, they
had made war without a reason, said that- he
would pardon their indiscretion, and imposed
hostages, a part of whom they gave immedi-
ately ; the rest they said they would give in a
few days, since they were sent for from remote
places. In the mean time they ordered their
people to return to the country parts, and the
chiefs assembled from all quarters, and pro-
ceeded to surrender themselves and their states
to Caesar.

Chap. XXVIII. — A peace being estab-
lished by these proceedings four days after we
had come into Britain, the eighteen ships, to
which reference has been made above, and
Which convej-ed the cavalry, set sail from the
Upper port with a gentle gale ; when, how-
ever, they were approaching Britain and were
*een from the camp, so great a storm sud-
denly arose that none of them could maintain
their course at sea; and some were taken
back to the same port from which they had
started; others, to their great danger, were
driven to the lower part of the island, nearer
to the west; which, however, after having
cast anchor, as they were getting filled with
water, put out to sea through necessity in a
stormy night, and made for the continent.

cftap. XXIX. — It happened that night to
be full moon, which usually occasions very
high tides in that ocean; and that circum-
stance was unknown to our men. Thus, at
the same time, the tide began to fill the ships132 G^J SAB'S COMMENTARIES*

of war which Caesar had provided to convey
over his army, and which he had drawn up on
the strand; and the storm began to dash the
ships of burden which were riding at anchor
against each other; nor was any means af-
forded our men of either managing them or
of rendering any service. A great many -ships
having been wrecked, inasmuch as the rest,
having lost their cables, anchors, and other
tackling, were unfit for sailing, a great confu-
sion, as would necessarily happen, arose
throughout the army; for there were no other
ships in which they could be conveyed back,
and all things which are of service in repair-
ing vessels were wanting, and corn for the
winter had not been provided in those places,
for it was understood by all that they would
certainly winter in Gaul.

Chap. XXX. — On discovering these things
the chiefs of Britain, who had come up after
the battle was fought to perform those condi-
tions which Caesar had imposed, held a con-
ference, when they perceived that cavalry, and
ships, and corn were wanting to the Romans,
and discovered the small number of our sol-
diers from the small extent of the camp (which,
too, was on this account more limited than
ordinary, because Caesar had conveyed over his
legions without baggage), and thought that
the best plan was to renew the war, and cut
off our men from corn and provisions and pro-
tract the affair till winter; because they felt
confident, that, if they were vanquished or cut
off from a return, no one would afterwardsCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 133

pass over into Britain for the purpose of mak-
ing war. Therefore, again entering into a
conspiracy, they began to depart from the
camp by degrees and secretly bring up their
people from the country parts.

Chap. XXXI. — But Caesar, although he
had-not as yet discovered their measures, yet,
both from what had occurred to his ships, and
from the circumstance that they had neglected
to give the promised hostages, suspected that
the thing would come to pass which really did
happen. He therefore provided remedies
against all contingencies; for he daily con-
veyed corn from the country parts into the
camp, used the timber and brass of such ships
as were most seriously damaged for repairing
the rest, and 01 dered whatever things besides
were necessary for this object to be brought
to him from the continent. And thus, since
that business was executed by the soldiers
with the greatest energy, he effected that,
after the loss of twelve ships, a voyage could
be made well enough in the rest.

Chap. XXXII. — While these things are
being transacted, one legion had been sent to
forage, according to custom, and no suspicion
of war had arisen as yet, and some of the peo-
ple remained in the country parts, others went
backwards and forwards to the camp, they
who were on duty at the gates of the camp
reported to Caesar that a greater dust than was
usual was seen in that direction in which the
legion had marched. Caesar, suspecting that
which was [really the case], —that some new134 GJESAR 9S COMMENTARIES.

enterprise was undertaken by the barbarians,
— ordered the two cohorts which were on duty
to march into that quarter with him, and two
other cohorts to relieve them on duty; the rest
to be armed and follow him immediately.
When he had advanced some little way from
the camp, he saw that his men were overpow-
ered by the enemy and scarcely able to stai d
their ground, and that, the legion being
crowded together, weapons were being cast
on them from all sides. For as all the corn
was reaped in every part with the exception
of one, the enemy, suspecting that our men
would repair to that, had concealed them-
selves in the woods during the night. Then
attacking them suddenly, scattered as they
were, and when they had laid aside their arms,
and were engaged in reaping, they killed a
small number, threw the rest into confusion,
and surrounded them with their cavalry and
chariots.

Chap. XXXIII.—Their mode of fighting
with their chariots is this: first, they drive
about in all directions and throw their weapons
and generally break the ranks of the enemy
with the very dread of their horses and the
noise of their wheels; and when they have
worked themselves in between the troops of
horse, leap from their chariots and engage on
foot. • The charioteers in the mean time with-
draw some little distance from the battle, and
so place themselves with the chariots that,
if their masters are overpowered by the num-
ber of the enemy, they may have a readyGuESAB'S COMMENT ABIES. 135

retreat to their ojpn troops. Thus they dis-
play in battle the speed of horse, [together
with] the firmness of infantry; and by daily
practice and exercise attain to such expert-
ness that they are accustomed, even on a de-
clining and steep place, to check their horses
at full speed, and manage and turn them in
an instant and run along the pole, and stand
on the yoke, and thence betake themselves
with the greatest celerity to their chariots
again.

Chap. XXXIV.—Under these circum-
stances, our men being dismayed by the nov-
elty of this mode of battle, Caesar most season-
ably brought assistance; for upon his arrival
the enemy paused, and our men recovered from
their fear; upon which, thinking the time un-
favorable for provoking the enemy and coming
to an action, he kept himself in his own quar-
ter, and a short time having intervened, drew
back the legions into the camp. While these
things are going on, and all our men engaged,
the rest of the Britons, who were in the fields,
departed. Storms then set in for several suc-
cessive days, which both confined our men to
camp and hindered the enemy from attacking
us. In the mean time the barbarians de-
spatched messengers to all parts, and reported
to their people the small number of our sol-
diers, and how good an opportunity was given
for obtaining spoil and for liberating them-
selves forever, if they should only drive the
Romans from their camp. Having by these
means speedily got together a large force ofm CESAR'S COMMENTABIES.

infantry and of cavalry, they came up to
the camp.

Chap. XXXV. —Although Caesar antici-
pated that the same thing which had happened
on former occasions would then occur; that,
if the enemy were routed, they would escape
from danger by their speed; still, having got
about thirty horse, which Commius the Atre-
batian, of whom mention has been made, had
brought over with him [from Gaul], he drew
up the legions in order of battle before the
camp. When the action commenced, the
enemy were unable to sustain the attack of
our men long, and turned their backs ; our
men pursued them as far as their speed and
strength permitted, and slew a great number
of them; then, having destroyed and burnt
everything far and wide, they retreated to
their camp.

Chap. XXXYI. —The same day, ambassa-
dors kent by the enemy came to Caesar to ne-
gotiate a peace. Caesar doubled the number
of hostages which he had before demanded ;
and ordered that they should be brought over
to the continent, because, since the time of
the equinox was near, he did not consider that,
with his ships out of repair, the voyage ought
to be deferred till winter. Having met with
favorable .weather, he set sail a little after mid-
night, and all his fleet arrived safe at the con-
tinent, except two of the ships of burden
which could not make the same port which the
other ships did, and were carried a little lower
down/CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 137

Chap. XXXVII. — When our soldiers,
about 300 in number, had been drawn out of
these two ships, and were marching to the
-?amp, the Morini, whom Caesar, when setting
forth for Britain, had left in a state of peace,
excited by the hope of spoil, at first sur-
rounded them with a small number of men, and
brdered them to lay down their arms, if they
did not wish to be slain ; afterwards, however,
when they, forming a circle, stood on their de-
fence, a shout was raised and about 6,000 of
the enemy soon assembled; which being re-
ported, Caesar sent all the cavalry in the camp
as a relief to his men. In the mean time our
soldiers sustained the attack of the enemy,
and fought most valiantly for more than four
hours, and, receiving but few wounds them-
selves, slew several of them. But after our
cavalry came in sight, the t nemy, throwing
away their arms, turned their backs, and a
great number of them were killed.

, Chap. XXXVIII. — The day following Cae-
sar sent Labienus, his lieutenant, with those
legions which he had brought back from Britain,
against the Morini, who had revolted ; who, as
they had no place to which they might retreat,
on account of the drying up of their marshes
(which they had availed themselves of as a
place of refuge the preceding year), almost all
fell into the power of Labienus. In the mean
time Caesar's lieutenants, Q. Titurius and L.
Cotta, who had led the legions into the territo-
ries of the Menapii, having laid waste all their
lands, cut down their corn and burnt their138 CJSSAB'S COMMENT ABIE8.

houses returned to Caesar because the Menapii
had all concealed themselves in their thickest
woods. Caesar fixed the winter quarters of all
the legions amongst the Belgae. Thither only
two British states sent hostages; the rest
omitted to do so. For these successes, a thanks-
giving of twenty days, was decreed by the sen-
ate upon receiving Caesar's letter.CJESAM' S COMMENTARIES. X69

BOOK V.

THE ARGUMENT.

i. Caesar orders a large fleet of peculiarly constructed ships to
be built; proceeds against thePirustae; they submit. — II.
Returns into Hither Gaul; marches against the Treviri. — III.
Indutiom&rus and Cingetorix. — V. Caesar goes to port Itius;
his policy in taking certain Gallic chieftains with hira to
Britain. — VI. DumnoriXj who was to have been in that
number, by craft and violence, escapes attending Caesar, but
is slain. — VII. Caesar proceeds on his second expedition
against Britain. —IX. The bold resistance of the Britons;
they are defeated. — X. The Roman fleet suffers severely in
a storm. — XI. Caesar gives orders to Labienus to build more
ships; Cassivellaunu . — XII.-XIV. — Description of Bri-
tain audits inhabitants.—XVII. The Britains again pre-
pare for war, and receive a signal defeat.—• XVIII. Caesar
advances into the territories of Cassivellaunus as far as the
Thames; an engagement with that prince. — XIX. The strat-
agem of Cassivellaunus. — XX. The Trinobantes send
ambassadors to Caesar respecting the conduct of Cassivel-
launus towards Mandubratius.— XXII. The latter induces
four princes of Cantiumto attack the Romans, by whom
they are defeated. — XXIII. Caesar receives hostages, and
leads back his army into Gaul. — XXIV. He quarters his
forces contrary to his custom, in several divisions. — XXV.
Tasgetius. — XXVI. The revolt of Ambiorix and Cativol-
cus.—XXVII. Ambiorix defends himself in reference to
hia share in the Gallic combination. — XXVIII.-XXXI. Dis-
pute between Titurius and Cotta. — XXXII. The valor
and conduct of Cotta.—XXXVIII.-XLII. The quarters of
Cicero attacked by the Eburones; he sends intelligence to
Caesar.—XLIV. The noble conduct of Pulfio and Varenus.
—XLVIII.-LII. Caesar marches to the relief of Cicero;
defeats the Eburones. — LIII. Indutiom&rus is thereby
deterred from attacking the camp of Labienus.—LV1.-
LVIII. Re-enforced, Indutiom&rus attacks Labienus; his
forces are routed, and he is slain; Gaul becomes more tran
quil.

Chap. I. — Lutius Domitius and Appius
Claudius being consuls, Caesar, when departing
from his winter quarters into Italy, as he had
been accustomed to do yearly, commands the140'	SAB'S COMMENTAttlES.

lieutenants whom lie appointed over the legions
to take c .re that during the winter as many
ships as possible should be built, and the old
repaired. He plans the size and shape of
them. For despatch of'dading, and for draw-
ing them on shore, lie makes them a little lower
than those which we have been accustomed td
use in our sea; and that so much the more,
because he knew that, on account of the fre-
quent changes of the tide, less swells occurred)
there ; for the purpose of transporting burdens
and a great number of horses, [lie makes them]
a little broader than those which we use in
other seas. All these he orders to be con-
structed for lightness and expedition, to which
object their lowness contributes greatly. He
orders those things which are necessary for
equipping ships to be brought thither from
Spain. He himse'f, on the assizes of Hither
Gaul being concluded, proceeds into Illyricum,
because he heard that the part of the province
nearest them was being laid waste by the incur-
sions of the Pirustae. When he had arrived
there, he levies soldiers upon the states, and
orders them to assemble at an appointed place.
Which circumstance having been reported [to
them], the Pirustae sent ambassadors to him to
inform him that no part of those proceedings
was done by public deliberation, and assert
that they were ready to make compensation by
all means for the injuries [inflicted]. Caesar,
accepting their defence, demands hostages, and
orders them to be brought to him on a speci-
fied day, and assures them that unless they didCJE8AR >S COMMENTARIES. HI

so lie would visit their state with war. These
being brought to him on the day which he had
ordered, he appoints arbitrators between the
states, who should estimate the damages and
determine the reparation.

Chap. IT. — These things being finished,
and the assizes being concluded, he returns
into Hither Gaul, and proceeds thence to the
army. When he had arrived there, haying
made a survey of the winter quarters, he finds
that, by the extraordinary ardor of the sol-
diers, amidst the utmost scarcity of all mate-
rials, about six hundred ships of that kind
which we have described above, and' twenty-
eight ships of war, had been built, and were
not far from that state, that they might be
launched in a few days. Having commended
the soldiers and those who had presided over
the work, he informs them what he wishes to
be done, and orders all the ships to assemble
at port Itius, from which port he had learned
that the passage into Britain was shortest,,
[being only] about thirty miles from the con-
tinent. He left what seemed a sufficient num-
ber of soldiers for that design; he himself pro-
ceeds into the territories of the Treviri with
four legions without baggage, and 800 horse,
because they neither came to the general diets
[of Gaul], nor obeyed his commands, and
were, moreover, said to be tampering with the
Germans beyond the Rhine.	>: ; :

Chap. III. —This state is by far the most
powerful of all Gaul in cavalry, and has great
forces of infantry, and as we have remarked142 CuE SAB'S COMMENTARIES.

above, borders on the Rhine* In that state,
two persons, Indutiomarus and Cingetorix,
were then contending with each other for the
supreme power; one of whom, as soon as the
arrival of Caesar and his legions was known,
capae to him; assures him that he and all his
party would continue in their allegiance, and
not revolt from the alliance of the Roman
people, and informs him of the things which
were going on amongst the Treviri. But Indu-
tiomarus began to collect cavalry and infantry,
and make preparations for war, having con-
cealed those who by reason of their age could
not be under arms, in the forest Arduenna,
which is of immense size, [and] extends from
the Rhine across the country of the Treviri to
the frontiers of the Remi. But after that, some
of the chief persons of the state, both influ-
enced by their friendship for Cingetorix, and
alarmed at the arrival of our army, came to
Cgesar and began to solicit him privately about
their own interests, since they could not pro-
vide for the safety of the state ; Indutiomarus,
dreading lest he should be abandoned by all,
sends ambassadors to Caesar, to declare that
he absented himself from his countrymen, and
refrained from coming to him on this account,
that he might the more easily keep the state
in its allegiance, lest on the departure of all
the nobility the commonalty should, in their
indiscretion, revolt. And thus the whole state
was at his control; and that he, if Caesar would
permit, would come to the camp to him, and
would commit his own fortunes and those of
the state to his good faith.SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 143

Chap. IY.— Caesar, though he discerned
from what motive these things were said, and
what circumstance deterred him from his med-
itated plan, still, in order that he might not
be compelled to waste the summer among the
Treviri, while all things were prepared for tho
war with Britain, ordered Indutiomarus to
come to him with 200 hostages. When these
were brought, [and] among them his son and
near relations whom he had demanded by name,
he consoled Indutiomarus, and enjoined him
to continue in his allegiance ; yet, neverth less,
summoning to him the chief men of the Treviri,
he reconciled them individually to Cingetorix :
this he both thought should be done by him in
justice to the merits of the latter, and also
judged that it was of great importance that
the influence of one whose singular attachment
towards him he had fully seen, should prevail
as much as possible among his people., In-
dutiomarus was very much offended at this
act, [seeing that] his influence was diminished
among his countrymen; and he, who already
before had borne a hostile mind towards us,
was much more violently inflamed against us
through resentment at this.

Chap. Y. — These matters being settled,
Caesar went to port Itius with the legions.
There lie discovers that forty ships which had
been built in the country of the Meldi, having
been driven back by a storm, had been unable
to maintain the course, and had returned to
the same port from which they had set out;
he finds the rest ready for sailing, and fur-*IU 0^1 SAB'S COMMEKTABmS.

nished with everything. In the same place^
the cavalry of the whole of Gaul, in number
4,000, assembles, and [also] the chief persons
of all the states; he had determined to leave
in Gaul a very few of them, whose fidelity
towards him he hid clearly discerned, and
take the rest with him as hostages; because
he feared a commotion in Gaul when he should
be absent.

Chap. VI.—There was together with the
others, Dumnorix, the -ZEduan, of whom \ve
have made previous mention. Him in partic-
ular he had resolved to have with him, because
he had discovered him to be fond of change,
fond of power, possessing great resolution,
and great influence among the Gauls. To
this was added, that Dumnorix had before
said in an assembly of JEduans, that the sov-
ereignty of the state had been made ove. to
him by Caesar; which speech the JEdui bore
with impatience and yet dared not send am-
bassadors to Caesar for the purpose of either
rejecting or deprecating [that appointment].
That fact Caesar had learned from his own
personal friends. He at first strove to obtain
by every entreaty that he should be left in
Gaul ; partly, because, being unaccustomed
to sailing, he feared the sea ; partly, because
he said he was prevented by divine admoni-
tions. After he saw that this request was firmly
refused him, all hope of success being lost, he
began to tamper with the chie persons of the
Gauls, to call them apart singly and exhort
them to remain on the continent; to agitateCjESAR 'S COMMENTARIES. 145

them with the fear that it was not without rea-
son that Gaul should be stript of all her no-
bility ; that it was Caesar's design, to bring
over to Britain and put to death all those whom
he feared ' j slay in the sight of Gaul, to pledge
his honor to the rest, to ask for their oath that
they would by common deliberation execute
what they should perceive to be necessary for
Gaul. These things were reported to Caesar
by several persons.

Chap. VII. — Having learned this fact, Cae-
sar, because he had conferred so much honor
upon the .ZEduan state, determined that Dum-
norix should be restrained and deterred by
whatever means he could; and that, because
lie perceived hi insane design- to be pro-
ceeding farther and farther, care should be
taken lest he might be abl to injure him and
the commonwealth. Therefore, having stayed
about twenty-five days in that place, because
the north wind, which usually blows a great
part of every season, prevented the'voyage, he
exerted himself to keep Dumnorix in his
allegiance [and] nevertheless learn all his
measures : having at length met with favorable
weather, he orders the foot soldii s and the
horse to embark in the ships. But, while the
minds of all were occupied, Dumnorix began to
take his departure from the camp homewards
with the cavalry of the iEdui, Caesar being
ignorant of it. Caesar, on this matter being
reported to him, ceasing from his expedition
and deferring all other affairs, sends a great
part of the cavalry to pursue him, and com-146 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

mands that he be brought back; he orders
that if he use violence and do not submit,
he be slain: considering that Dumnorix would
do nothing as a rational man while he himself
was absent, since he had disregarded his com-
mand even when present. He, however, when
recalled, began to resist and defend himself
with his hand, and implore the support of his
people, often exclaiming that " he was free and
the subject of a free state," They surround
and kill the man as they had been commanded;
but the iEduan horsemen all return to Caesar.

Chap. VIII. — When these things were
done [and] Labienus left on the continent
with three legions and 2,000 horse, to defend
the harbors and provide corn, and discover
what was going on in Gaul, and take meas-
ures according to the occasion and according
to the circumstance, he himself, with five
legions and a number of horse, equal to that
which he was leaving on the continent, set sail
at sunset, and [though for a time] borne for-
ward by a gentle southwest wind, he did not
maintain his course, in consequence of the
wind dying away about midnight, and being
carried on too far by the tide, when the sun
rose, espied Britain passed on his left. Then,
again, following the change of tide, he urged
on with the oars that he might make that part
of the island in which he had discovered the
preceding summer, that there was the best
landing-place, and in this affair the spirit of
our soldiers was very much to be extolled; for
they with the transports and heavy ships, theCJBSAB98 COMMENTARIES. 147

labor of rowing not being [for a moment] dis-
continued, equalled the speed of the ships of
war. All the ships reached Britain nearly at
mid-day; nor was there seen a [single] enemy
in that place, but, as Caesar afterwards found
from some prisoners, though large bodies of
troops had assembled there, yet being alarmed
by the great number of our ships, more than
eight hundred of which, including the ships ot
the preceding year, and those private vessels
which each had built for his own convenience,
had appeared at one time, they had quitted
the coast and concealed themselves among the
higher points.

Ghap.. IX. — Caesar, having disembarked
his army and chosen a convenient place for
the camp, when he discovered from the pris-
oners in what part the forces of the enemy
had lodged themselves, having left ten cohorts
and 300 horse at the sea, to be a guard to the
ships, hastens to the enemy, at the third
watch, fearing the less for the ships for the
reason that he was leaving them fastened at
anchor upon an even and open shore; and
he placed Q. Atrius over the guard of the
ships. He himself, having advanced by night
about twelve miles, espied the forces of the
enemy. They, advancing to the river with
their cavalry and chariots from the higher
ground, began to annoy our men and give bat'
tie. Being repulsed by our cavalry, they con'
cealed themselves in woods, as they had se-
cured a place admirably fortified by nature
and by art, which, as it seemed, they had be148 GuESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

fore prepared on account of a civil war; foi
all entrances to it were shut up by a great
number of felled trees. They themselves
rushed out of the woods to fight here and
there, and prevented our men from enter-
ing their fortifications. But the soldiers of
the seventh legion, having formed a testudo
and thrown up a rampart against the fortifica-
tion, took the place and drove them out of the
woods, receiving only a few wounds. But
Caesar forbade his men to pursue them in their
flight any great distance ; both because he was
ignorant of the nature of the ground, and be-
cause, as a great part of the day was spent,
he wished time to be left for the fortification
of the camp.

Chap. X. — The next day, early in the
morning, he sent both foot-soldiers and horse
in three divisions on an expedition to pursue
those who had fled. These having advanced a
little way, when already the reai [of the
enemy] was in sight, some horse came to
Caesar from Quintus Atrius, to report that the
preceding night, a very great storm having
arisen, almost all the ships were dashed to
pieces and cast upon the shore, because
neither the anchors and cable could resist, nor
could the sailors and pilots sustain the violence
of the storm; and thus great damage was re-
ceived by that collision of the ships.

Chap. XI.—These things being known [to
him], Caesar orders the legions and cavalry to
be recalled and to cease from their march; he
himself returns to the ships: he sees clearlyCuESAB'S COMMENT ABIES. 149

before him almost the same tilings which he
had heard of from the messengers and by let-
ter, so that, about forty ships being lost, the
remainder seemed capable of being repaired
with much labor. Therefore he selects work-
men from the legions, and orders others to be
sent for from the continent; he writes to Labi-
enus to build as many ships as he could with
those legions which were with him. He him-
self, though the matter was one of great diffi-
culty and labor, yet thought it to be most ex-
pedient for all the ships to be brought up on
shore and joined with the camp by one fortifi-
cation. In these matters he employed about
ten da}-s, the labor of the soldiers being unre-
mitting even during the hours of night. The
ships having been brought up on Shore and the
camp strongly fortified, he left the same forces
which he did before as a guard for the ships ;
he sets out in person for the same place that
lie had returned from. When he had come
thither, greater forces of the Britons had
already assembled at that place, the chief
command and management of the war haying
been intrusted to Cassivellaunus, whose terri-
tories a river, which is called the Thames, sep-
arates from the maritime states at about
eighty miles from the sea. At an earlier
period perpetual wars had taken place between
him and the other states ; but, greatly alarmed
by our arrival, the Britons had placed him
over the whole war and the conduct of it.

Chap. XII. — The interior portion of Brit-
ain is inhabited by those of whom they say150 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

that it is handed down by tradition that they
were born in the island itself: the maritime
portion by those who had passed over from
the country of the Belgae for the purpose of
plunder and making war; almost all of whom
are called by the names of those states from
which being sprung they went thither, and
having waged war, continued there and began
to cultivate the lands. The number of the
people is countless, and their buildings exceed-
ingly numerous, for the most part very like
those of the Gauls: the number of cattle is
great. They use either brass or iron rings,
determined at a certain weight, as their money.
Tin is produced in the midland regions ; in the
maritime, iron ; but the quantity of it is small:
they empio}7 brass, which is imported, There,
as in Gaul, is timber of every description, ex-
cept beech and fir. They do not regard it
lawful to eat the hare, and the cock, and the
goose ;; they, however, breed them for amuse-
ment and pleasure. The climate is more tem-
perate than in Gaul, the colds being less
severe.

Chap. XIII. — The island is triangular in
its form, and one of its sides is opposite to
Gaul. One angle of this side, which is in
Kent, whither almost all ships from Gaul are
directed, [looks] to the east; the lower looks
to the south. This side extends about 500
miles. Another side lies towards Spain and
the west, on which part is Ireland, less, as is
reckoned, than Britain, by one half; but the
passage [from it] into Britain is of equal dis-CuESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 151

tance with that from Gaul. In the middle of
this voyage is an island, which is called
Mona; many smaller islands besides are sup-
posed to lie [there], of which islands some have
written that at the time of the winter solstice
it is night there for thirty consecutive days.
We, in our inquiries about that matter, ascer-
tained nothing, except that, by accurate meas-
urements with water, we perceived the nights to
be shorter there than on the continent. The
length of this side, as their account states, is
700 miles. The third side is towards the
north, to which portion of the island no land is
opposite ; but an angle of that side looks prin-
cipally towards Germany. This side is con-
sidered to be 800 miles in length. Thus the
whole island is [about] 2,000 miles in circum-
ference.

Chap. XIV. — The most civilized of all
these nations are they who inhabit Kent, which
is entirely a maritime district, nor do they
differ much from the Gallic customs. Most
of the inland inhabitants do not sow corn, but
live on milk and flesh, and are clad with skins.
All the Britains, indeed, dye themselves with
woad, which occasions a bluish color, and
thereby have a more terrible appearance in
fight. They wear their hair long, and have
every part of their body shaved except their
head and upper lip. Ten and even twelve
have wives common to them, and particularly
brothers among brothers, and parents among
their children; but if there be any issue by
these wives, they are reputed tQ be the children152 CuE SAB'S COMMENTABIES.

of those by whom respectively each was first
espoused when a virgin.

Chap. XV. —■ The horse ana charioteers of
the enemy contended vigorously in a skirmish
with our cavalry on the march ; yet so that our
men were conquerors in all parts, and drove
them to their woods and hills; but, having
slain a great many, they pursued too eagerly,
and lost some of their men. But the enemy,
after some time had elapsed, when our men
Vvere off their guard, and occupied in the forti-
fication of the camp, rushed out of the woodrf,
and making an attack upon those who were
placed on duty before the camp, fought in a
determined manner; and two cohorts being
sent by Caesar to their relief, and these sever-
ally the first of two legions, when these had
taken up their position at a very small distance
from each other, as our men were disconcerted
by the unusual mode of battle, the. enemy broke
through the middle of them most courageously,
and retreated thence in safety. That day, Q.
Laberius Durus, a tribune of the soldiers, was
slain. The enemy, since more cohorts were
sent against them, were repulsed.

Chap. XVI.— In the whole of this method
of fighting, since the engagement took place
under the ej^es of all and before the camp, it
was perceived that our men, on account of the.
weight of their arms, inasmuch as they could
neither pursue [the enemy when] retreating,
nor dare quit their standards, were little suited
to this kind of enemy; that the horse also
fought with great danger, because they [theCJfiSATt *g COMMENT AMES. 153

Britons] generally retreated even designedly,
and, when they had drawn off our men a short
distance from the legions, leaped from their
chariots and fought on foot in unequal [and to
them advantageous] battle. But the system of
cavalry - engagement is wont to produce equal
danger, and indeed the same, both to those
who retreat and those who pursue. To this
was added, that they never fought in close
order, but in small parties and at great dis-
tances, and had detachments placed [in differ-
ent parts], and then the one relieved the other,
and the vigorous and fresh succeeded the wea-
ried.

Chap. XVII. — The following day the en-
emy halted on the hills, at a distance from our
camp, and presented themselves in small par
ties, and began to challenge our horse to bat-
tle with less spirit than the day before. But
at noon, when Caesar had sent three legions,
and all the cavalry withC. Trebonius, the lieu-
tenant, for the purpose of foraging, they flew
upon the foragers suddenly from all quarters,
so that they did not keep off [even] from the
standards and the legions. Our men making
an attack on them vigorously, repulsed them;
nor did they cease to pursue them until the
horse, relying on relief, as they saw the legions
behind them, drove the enemy .precipitately
before them, and, slaying a great number of
them, did not give them the opportunity either
of rallying, or'halting, or leaping from their
chariots. Immediately after this retreat, the
auxiliaries, who had assembled from all sides;.154 OJESAR'S XtQMMENTABIES.

departed; nor after that time did the enemy
ever engage with us in very large numbers.

Chap. XVIII. — Caesar, discovering their
design, leads his army into the territories of
Cassivellaunus to the river Thames; which
river can be forded in one place only, and that
with difficulty. When he had arrived there,
he perceives that numerous forces of the enemy
were marshalled on the other bank of the river ;
the bank also was defended by sharp stakes
fixed in front, and stakes of the same kind
fixed under the water were covered by the river.
These things being discovered from [some]
prisoners and deserters, Caesar, sending for-
ward the cavalry, ordered the legions to follow
them immediately. But the soldiers advanced
with such speed and such ardor, though they
stood above the water by their heads only, that
the enemy could not sustain the attack of the
legions and of the horse, and quitted the banks,
and committed themselves to flight.

Chap. XIX. — Cassivellaunus, as we have
stated above, all hope [rising out] of battle
being laid aside, the greater part of his forces
being dismissed, and about 4,000 charioteers
only being left, used to observe our marches
and retire a little from the road, and conceal
himself in intricate and woody places, and in
those neighborhoods in which he had discov-
ered we were about to march-, he used to drive
the cattle and the inhabitants from the fields
into the woods; and, when our cavalry, for
the sake of plundering and ravaging the more
freely, scattered themselves among the fields,CuESAB'S COMMENTARIES, ICS

be used to send out charioteers from the woods
by all the well-known roads and paths* and,
to the great danger of our horse, engage with
them; and this source of fear hindered them
from straggling very extensively. The result
was that Caesar did not allow excursions to be
made to a great distance from the main body of
the legions, and ordered that damage should
be done to the enemy in ravaging their lands
and kindling fires only so far as the legion-
ary soldiers could, by their own exertion and
marching, accomplish it.

Ciiap. XX. —In the mean time, the Trino-
bantes, almost the most powerful state of
those parts, from which the young man Man-
dubratius, embracing the protection of Caesar,
had come to the continent of Gaul to [meet]
him: (whose father, Imanuentius, had pos-
sessed the sovereignty in that state, and had
been killed by Cassivellanus; he himself had
escaped death by flight), send ambassadors to
Caesar, and promise that they will surrender
themselves to him and perform his commands ;
they entreat him to protect Mandubratius from
the violence of Cassivellaunus, and send to
their state some one to preside over it, and
possess the government. Caesar demands forty
hostages from them, and corn for his army*
and sends Mandubratius to them. They speed-
ily performed the things demanded, and sent
hostages to the number appointed, and the corn.

Chap. XXI. — The Trinobantes being pro-
tected and secured from any violence of the
soldiers, the Cenimagni, the Segontiaei, the156 CESAR'S COMMENTABIE&

Ancalites, the Bibroci, and the Cassi; sending
embassies, surrender themselves to Caesar.
From them he learns that the capital town of
Cassivellaunus was not far from that place,
and was defended by woods and morasses,
and a very large number of men and of cattle
had been collected in it. (Now the Britons,
when they have fortified the intricate woods,
in which they are wont to assemble for the
purpose of avoiding the incursion of an en-
emy, with an intrenchment and a rampart,
call them a town.) Thither he proceeds with
his legions: he finds the place admirably for-
tified by nature and art; he, however, un-
dertakes to attack it in two directions. The
enemy, having remained only a short time,
did not sustain the attack of our soldiers, and
hurried away on the other side of the town.
A great amount of cattle was found there,
and many of the enemy were taken and slain
in their flight.

Chap. XXII.— While these tilings are go-
ing forward in those places ^ Cassivellaunus
sends messengers into Kent, which, we have
observed above, is on the sea, over which dis-
tricts four several kings reigned, Cingetorix,
Carvilius, Taximagulus and Segonax, and
commands them to collect all their forces, and
unexpectedly assail and storm the naval camp.
When they had come to the camp, our men,
after making a sally, slaying many of their
men, and also capturing a distinguished leader
named Lugotorix, brought back their own men
in safety. Cassivellaunus, when this battleCMS AH'S COMMENTARIES. 157

was reported to liim, as so many losses had
been su tained, and his territories laid waste,
being alarmed most of all by the desertion of
the states, sends ambassadors to Caesar [to
treat] about a surrender through the media-
tion of Commius the Atrebatian. Caesar,
since he had determined to pass the winter on
the continent, on account of the sudden re-
volts of Gaul, and as much of the summer did
not remain, and he perceived that even that
could be easily protracted, demands hostages,
and prescribes what tribute Britain should pay
each year to the Roman people; he forbids
and commands Cassivellaunus that he wage
not war against Mandubratius or the Trino-
bantes.

Chap. XXIII. — When he had received the
hostages, he leads back the array to the sea,
and finds the ships repaired. After launch-
ing these, because he had a large number of
prisoners, and some of the ships had been lost
in the storm, he determines to convey back his
army at two embarcations. And it so hap-
pened, that out of so large a number of ships,
in so many voyages, neither in this nor in the
previous year was any ship missing which con-
veyed soldiers; but very few out of those
which were sent back to him from the conti-
nent empty, as the soldiers of the former con-
voy had been disembarked, and out of those
(sixty in number) which Labienus had taken
cai*e to have built, reached their destination;
almost all the rest were driven back, and
when Caesar had waited for them for some158 cj3sajr *s commentabies.

time in vain, lest lie should be debarred from
a voyage by the season of the year, inasmuch
as the equinox was at hand, he of necessity
stowed his soldiers the more closely, and, a
very great calm coming on, after he had
weighed anchor at the beginning of the second
watch, he reached land at break of day and
brought in all the ships in safety.

Chap. XXIV.—The ships having been
drawn up and a general assembly of the Gauls
held at Samarobriva, because the corn that
year had not prospered in Gaul by reason of
the droughts, he was compelled to station his
army in its winter quarters, differently from
the former years, and to distribute the legions
among several states : one of them he gave to
C. Fabius, his lieutenant, to be marched into
the territories of the Morini; a second to Q.
Cicero, into those of the Nervii; a third to L.
feoscius, into those of the Essui,- a fourth he
ordered to winter with T. Labienus, among
the Remi in the confines of the Treviri; he
stationed three in Belgium; over these he ap-
points d M. Crassus, his questor, and L. Muna-
tius Plancus and C. Trebonius, his lieuten-
ants. One legion which he had raised last on
the other side of the Po, and five cohorts, lie
sent amongst the Eburones, the greatest por-
tion of whom lie between the Meuse and the
Rhine, [and] who were under the government
of Ambiorix and Cativolcus. He ordered Q.
THurius Sabinus and L. Aurunculeius Cotta,
his lieutenants, to take the command of these
soldiers. The legions being distributed in thisCuESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 159

manner, he thought he could most easily rem-
edy the scarcity of corn; and yet the winter
quarters of all these legions (except that which
he had given to L. Roscius to be led into
the most peaceful and tranquil neighborhood)
were comprehended within [about] 100 miles.
He himself in the meanwhile, until he had sta-
tioned the legions and knew that the several
winter quarters were fortified, determined to
stay in Gaul.

Chap. XXY. — There Was among the Car-
nutes a man named Tasgetius, born of very
high rank, whose ancestors had held the sov-
ereignty in his state. To him Caesar had
restored the position of his ancestors, in con-
sideration of his prowess and attachment
towards him, because in all his wars he had
availed himself of his valuable services. His
personal enemies had killed him when in the
third year of his reign, many even of his own
state being openly promoters [of that act].
This event is related to Caesar. He, fearing,
because several were involved in the act, that
the state might revolt at their instigation,
orders Lucius Plancus, with a legion, to pro-
ceed quickly from Belgium to the Carnutes,
and winter there, and arrest and send to him
the persons by whose instrumentality he should
discover that Tasgetius was slain. In the
mean time, he was apprised by all the lieuten-
ants and questors to whom he had assigned
the legions, that the}7 had arrived in winter
quarters, and that the place for the quarters
was fortified.1G0 CJS SAB'S COMMENT ABIES.

Chap. XXVI.—About fifteen days after
they had come into winter quarters, the begin-
ning of a sudden insurrection and revolt arose
from Ambiorix and Cativolcus, who, though
they had met with Sabinus and Cotta at the
borders of their kingdom, and had conveyed
corn into our winter quarters, induced by the
messages of Indutiomarus, one of the Treviri,
excited their people, and after having sud-
denly assailed the soldiers, engaged in procur-
ing wood, came with a large body to attack
the camp. When our men had speedily taken
up ar us and had ascended the rampart, and
sending out some Spanish horse on one side,
had proved conquerors in a cavalry action, the
enemy, despairing of success, drew off their
troops from the assault. Then they shouted,
according to their custom, that some of our
men should go forward to a conference, [al-
leging] that they had some things which they
desired to say respecting the common interest,
by which they trusted their disputes could be
removed.

Chap, XXVII. — C. Arpineius, a Roman
knight, the intimate friend of Q. Titurius, and
with him, Q. Junius, a certain person from
Spain, who already on previous occasions had
been accustomed to go to Ambiorix, at Caesar's
mission, is sent to them for the purpose of
a conference: before them Ambiorix spoke
to this effect: "That he confessed, that for
Caesar's kindness towards him, he was very
much indebted to him, inasmuch as by his aid
he had been freed from a tribute which he hadCJESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 101

been accustomed to pay to the Aduatuci, bis
neighbors; and because his own son and the
son of his brother had been sent back to him,
whom, when sent in the number of hostages,
the Aduatuci had detained among them in
slavery and in chains; and that he had not
done that which he had done in regard to the
attacking of the camp, either by his own judg-
ment or desire, but by the compulsion of his
state; and that his government was of that
nature, that the people had as much of au-
thority over him as he over the people. To
the state moreover the occasion of the war was
this —that it could not withstand the sudden
combination of the Gauls ; that he could easily
prove this from his own weakness, since he
was not so little versed in affairs as to presume
that with his forces he could conquer the
Roman people; but that it was the common
resolution of Gaul; that that day was ap-
pointed for the storming of all Caesar's winter
quarters, in order that no legion should be
able to come to the relief of another legion,
that Gauls could not easily deny Gauls, espe-
cially when a measure seemed entered into
for recovering their common freedom. Since
he had performed his duty to them on the score
of patriotism [he said], he has now regard to
gratitude for the kindness of Caesar; that he
warned, that he prayed Titurius by the claims
of hospitality, to consult for his and his sol-
diers' safety; that a large force of the Ger-
mans had been hired and had passed the Rhine ;
that it would arrive in two days ; that it was for162 CuESAirS COMMENT ABIES.

them to con3ider, whether they thought fit, be-
fore the nearest people perceived it, to lead off
their soldiers when drawn out of winter quar-
ters, either to Cicero or to Labienus; one of
whom was about fifty miles distant from them,
the other rather more ; that this he promised
and confirmed by oath, that he would give them
a safe passage through his territories; and
when he did that, he was both consulting for
his own state, because it would be relieved
from the winter quarters, and also making a
requital to Caesar for his obligations."

Chap. XXVIII. — Arpineius and Junius
relate to the lieutenants what they had heard.
They, greatly alarmed by the unexpected affair,
though those things were spoken by an enemy ,
still thought they were not to be d sregarded ;
and they were especially influenced by this con-
sideration, that it was scarcely credible that
the obscure and humble state of the Eburones
had dared to make war upon the Roman
people of their own accord. Accordingly,
they refer the matter to a council, and a great
controversy arises among them. L. Auruncu-
leius, and several tribunes of the soldiers and
the centurions of the first rank, were of opinion
" that nothing should be done hastily, and
that they should not depart from the camp
without Caesar's orders" ; they declared, u that
any forces of the Germans, however great,
might be encountered by fortified winter
quarters; that this fact was a proof [of it];
that they had sustained the first assault of
the Germans most valiantly, inflicting manyCAESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 163

wounds upon them; that they were not dis-
tressed for corn ; that in the mean time relief
would come both from the nearest winter
quarters and from Caesar" ; lastly, they put
the query, u what could be more undetermined,
more undignified, than to adopt measures re-
specting the most important affairs on the au-
thority of an enemy ? "

Chap. XXIX.—In opposition to those
things Titurius exclaimed, " That they would
do this too late, when greater forces of the
enemy, after a junction with the Germans,
should have assembled ; or when some disaster
had been received in the neighboring winter
quarters; that the opportunity for deliberat-
ing was short; that he believed that Csesur
had set forth into Italy, as the Carnutes would
n6t otherwise have taken the measure of slay-
ing Tasgetius, nor would the Eburones, if he
had been present, have come to the camp with
so great defiance of us ; that he did not regard
the enemy, but the fact, as the authority ; that
the Rhine was near ; that the death of Ario-
vistus and our previous victories were subjects
of great indignation to the Germans; that
Gaul was inflamed that after having received
so many defeats she was reduced under the
sway of the Roman people, her pristine glory
in military matters being extinguished."
Lastly, " who would persuade himself of this,
that Ambiorix had resorted to a design of that
nature without sure grounds? That his own
opinion was safe on either side ; if there be
nothing very formidable, they would go with-1C4 C^E SAB'S COMMENTABIES.

out danger to the nearest legion; if all Gaul
conspired with the Germans, their only safety
lay in despatch. What issue would the advice
of Cotta and of those who differed from him,
have? from which, if immediate danger was
not to be dreaded, yet certainly famine, by a
protracted siege, was."

Chap. XXX. — This discussion having been
held on the two sides, when opposition was
offered strenuously by Cotta and the principal
officers, tfc Prevail," said Sabinus, 44 if so you
wish it" ; and he said it with a louder voice,
that a great portion of the soldiers might hear
him ; nor am I the person among you," he
said, u who is most powerfully alarmed by the
danger of death; these will be aware of it,
and then, if anything disastrous shall have
occurred, they will demand a reckoning at
your hands; these, who, if it were permitted
by you, united three days hence with the near-
est winter quarters, may encounter the com-
mon condition of war with the rest, and not,
as if forced away and separated far from
the rest, perish either by the sword or by
famine."

Chap. XXXI. — They rise from the council,
detain both, and entreat, that " they do not
bring the matter into the greatest jeopardy by
their dissension and obstinacy ; the affair was
an easy one, if only they all thought and
approved of the same thing, whether they
remain or depart; on the other hand, they saw-
no security in dissension." The matter is
prolonged by debate until midnight. At lastCJfiSAB'S COMMENTARIES. 165

Gotta, being overruled, yields his assent; the
opinion of Sabinus prevails. It is proclaimed
that they will march at daj'break; the re-
mainder of the night is spent without sleep,
since every soldier was inspecting his property,
[to see] what he could carry with him, and
what, out of the appurtenances of the winter
quarters, he would be compelled to leave;
every reason is suggested to show why they
could not stay without danger, and how that
danger would be increased by the fatigue of
the soldiers and their want of sleep. At break
of day they quit the camp, in a very extended
line and with a very large amount of baggage,
in such a manner as men who were convinced
that the advice was given by Ambiorix, not
as an lenemy, but as most friendty [towards
them].

Chap. XXXII. —But the enemy, after they
had made the discovery of their intended
departure by the noise during the night and
their not retiring to rest, having placed an
ambuscade in two divisions in the woods, in a
suitable and concealed place, two miles from
the camp, waited for the arrival of the Romans ;
and when the greater part of the lino of march
had descended into a considerable valley, they
suddenly presented themselves on either side
of that valley, and began both to harass the
rear and hinder the van from ascending, and to
give battle in a place exceedingly disadvanta-
geous to our men.

Chap. XXXIII. — Then at length Titurius,
as one who had provided nothing beforehand,166 CuESAB >S COMMENTARIES.

was confused, ran to and fro, and set about
arranging his troops; these very things, how-
ever, he did timidly and in such a. manner that
all resources seemed to fail him: which gen-
erally happens to those who are compelled to
take council in the action itself. But Cotta,
who had reflected that these things might occur
on the march, and on that account had not been
an adviser of the departure, was wanting to the
common safety in no respect; both in address-
ing and encouraging the soldiers, he performed
the duties of a general, and in the battle those
of a soldier. And since they [Titurius and
Cotta] could less easily perform everything by
themselves, and provide what was to be done
in each place, by reason of the length of the
line of march, they ordered [the officers] to
give the command that they should leave the
baggage and form themselves into an orb, which
measure, though in a contingency of that na-
ture it was not to be condemned, still turned
out unfortunately; for it both diminished the
hope of our soldiers and rendered the enemy
more eager for the fight, because it appeared
that this was not done without the greatest
fear and despair. Besides that happened,
which would necessarily be the case, that the
soldiers for the most part quitted their ensigns
and hurried to seek and carry off from the bag-
gage whatever each thought valuable, and all
parts were filled with uproar and lamentation.

Chap. XXXIV. — But judgment was not
wanting to the barbarians; for their leaders
Qrdered [the officers] to proclaim through theCjESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 167

ranks " that no man should quit his place ; that
the booty was theirs, and for them was reserved
whatever the Romans should leave ; therefore
let them consider that all things depended on
their victory." Our men were equal to them in
fighting, both in courage and in number, and
though they were deserted by their leader
and by fortune, yet they still placed all hope of
safety in their valor, and as often as any
cohort sallied forth on that side, a great num-
ber of the enemy usually fell. Ambiorix, when
he observed this, orders the command to be
issued that they throw their weapons from a
distance and do not approach too near, and in
whatever direction the Romans should make
an attack, there give way (from the lightness
of their appointments and from their daily
practice no damage could be done them) ;
[but] pursue them when betaking themselves
to their standards again.

Chap. XXXV. — Which command having
been most carefully obeyed, when any cohort
had quitted the circle and made a charge, the
enemy fled very precipitately. In the mean
time, that part of the Roman army, of neces-
sity, was left unprotected, and the weapons
received on their open flank. Again, when
they had begun to return to that place from
which they had advanced, they were surrounded
both by those who had recreated and by those
who stood next them ; but if, on the other hand,
they wished lo keep their place, neither was an
opportunity left for valor, nor could they, being
crowded together* escape the weapons cast b,y168 CvESAfi'S COMMENTARIES.

so large a body of men. Yet, though assailed
by so many disadvantages, [and] having
received many wounds, they withstood the
enemy, and, a great portion of the day being
spent, though they fought from daybreak till
the eighth hour, they did nothing which was
unworthy of them. At length, each thigh of
T. Balventius, who the year before had been
chief centurion, a brave man and one of great
authorit}', is pierced with a javelin; Q. Luca-
nius, of the same rank, fighting most valiantly,
is slain while he assists his son when sur-
rounded by the enemy; L. Cotta, the lieuten-
ant, when encouraging all the cohorts and
companies, is wounded full in the mouth by a
sling.

Chap. XXXVI.— Much troubled by these
events, Q. Titurius, when he had perceived
Ambiorix in the distance encouraging his men,
sends to him his interpreter, Cn. Pompey, to
beg that he would spare him and his soldiers.
He, when addressed, replied, 44 If he wished
to confer with him, it was permitted ; that ho
hoped what pertained to the safety of the sol-
diers could be obtained from the people ; that
to him, however, certainly no injury would be
done, and that he pledged his faith to that
effect." He consults with Cotta, who had
been wounded, whether it would appear right
to retire from battle, and confer with Ambiorix;
[saying] that he hoped to be able to succeed
respecting his own and the soldiers' safety.
Cotta says he will not go to an armed enemy,
and in that perseveres.CESAR'S COMMENTARIES. . 169

Chap. XXXYII. — Sabinus orders those
tribunes of the soldiers whom he had at the
time around him, and the centurions of the
first ranks, to follow him, and when he had
approached near to Ambiorix, being ordered
to throw down his arms, he obeys the order
and commands his men to do the same. In
the mean time, while they treat upon the terms
and a longer debate than necessary is design-
edly entered into by Ambiorix, being sur-
rounded by degrees, he is slain. Then they
according to their custom shout out" Victory,"
and raise their war-cry, and, making an attack
on our men, break their ranks. There L.
Cotta, while fighting, is slain, together with
the greater part of ilie soldiers; the rest be-
take themselves to the camp, from which they
had marched forth, and one of them, L. Petro-
sidius, the standard bearer, when he was over-
powered by the great number of the enemy,
threw the eagle within the intrenchments and
is himself slain while fighting with the great-
est courage before the camp. They with diffi-
culty sustain the attack till night; despairing
of safety, they all to a man destroy themselves
in the night. A few escaping from the battle,
make their way to Labienus at winter quarters,
after wandering at random through the woods,
and inform him of these events.

Chap. XXXYIII. —Elated by this victory,
Ambiorix marches immediately with his cav-
alry to the Aduatuci, who bordered on his
kingdom ; he halts neither day nor night, and
orders the infantry to follow him closely.170 . SAB'S COMMENTARIES.

Haying related the exploit and roused the
Aduatuci, the next day he arrived among the
Nervii, and entreats "that they should not
throw away the opportunity of liberating them-
selves forever and of punishing the Romans
for those wrongs which they had received from
them; [he tells them] u that two lieutenants
have been slain, and that a large portion of
the army has perished ; that it was not a mat-
ter of difficulty for the legion which was win-
tering with Cicero to be cut off, when suddenly
assaulted ; he declares himself ready to co-
operate in that design " lie easily gains over
the Nervii by this speech.

Ciiap XXXIX. — Accordingly, messen-
gers having been forthwith despatched to
the Centrones, the Grudii, the Levaci, the
Pleumoxii, and the Geiduni, all of whom are
under their government, they assemble as large
bodies as they can, and rush unexpectedly to
the winter quarters of Cicero, the report of
the death of Titurius not having as yet been
conveyed to him. That also occurred to him,
which was the consequence of a necessary
work, — that some soldiers who had gone off
into the woods for the purpose of procuring
timber and therewith constructing fortifica-
tions, were interc epted by the sudden arrival
of [the enemy's] horse. These having been
entrapped, the Eburones, the Nervii, and the
Aduatuci and all their allies and dependants,
begin to attack the legion : our men quickly
run together to arms and mount the ramp "it:
they sustained the attack that dav with greatC^ESAIl \Sy COMMENTARIES. 171

difficulty, since the enemy placed all their hope
in despatch, and felt assured that, if they
obtained this victory, they would be conquerors
forever.

Chap. XL. — Letters are immediately sent to
Caesar by Cicero, great rewards being offered
[to the messengers] if they carried them
through. All the passes having been beset,
those who were sent are intercepted. During
the night as many as 120 towers are raised
with incredible despatch out of the timber
which they had collected for the purpose of
fortification: the things which seemed neces-
sary to the work are completed. The follow-
ing day the enemy, having collected far greater
forces, attack the camp [and] fill up the ditch.
Resistance is made by our men in the same
manner as the day before: this same thing is
done afterwards during the remaining days.
The work is carried on incessantly in the night:
not even to the sick, or wounded, is oppoiv
tunity given for rest: whatever things are
required for resisting the assault of the next
day are provided during the night: many-
stakes burnt at the end, and a large number of
mural pikes are procured: towers are built-up,
battlements and parapets are formed of inter-
woven hurdles. Cicero himself, though he
was in very weak health, did not leave him-
self the night-time for repose, so that he was
forced to spare himself by the spontaneous
movement and entreaties of the soldiers.

Chap. XL I. — Then these leaders and
chiefs of the Nervii, who had any intimacy172 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

and grounds of friendship with Cicero, say
they desire to confer with him. When per-
mission was granted, they recount the same
things which Ambiorix had related to Titurius,
namely, "that all Gaul was in arms, that the
Germans had passed the Rhine, that the win-
ter quarters of Caesar and of the others were
attacked." They report in addition also,
about the death of Sabinus. They point to
Ambiorix for the purpose of obtaining cre-
dence; "they are mistaken," say the}T, 46if
they hoped for any relief from those who dis-
trust their own affairs; that they bear such
feelings towards Cicero and the Roman peo-
ple that they deny them nothing but winter
quarters and are unwilling that this practice
should become constant; that through their
[the Nervii's] means it is possible for them
{the Romans] to depart from their winter
quarters safely and to proceed without fear
into whatever parts they desire." To these
Cicero made one reply: " that it is not the
custom of the Roman people to accept any
•condition from an armed enemy: if they are
willing to lay down their arms, they may em-
ploy him as their advocate and send ambassa-
dors to Caesar: that he believed, from his [Cae-
sar's] justice, they would obtain the things
which they might request."

Chap. XLII.—Disappointed in this hope,
the N'ervii surround the winter quarters with a
rampart eleven feet high, and a ditch thirteen
feet in depth. These military works they had
learnt from our men in the intercourse of for-CJESAIi' S COMMENTARIES. 173

mer years, and, having taken some of our army
prisoners, were instructed by them: but, as
they bad no supply of iron tools which are
requisite for this service, they were forced to
cut the turf with their swords, and to empty out
the earth with their hands and cloaks, from
which circumstance, the vast number of the
men could be inferred; for in less than three
hours they completed a fortification of ten
miles in circumference ; and during the rest of
the days they began to prepare and construct
towers of the height of the ramparts, and grap-
pling irons, and mantlets, which the same pris-
oners had taught them.

Chap. XL11I.—On the seventh day of the
attack, a very high wind having sprung up,
they began to discharge by their slings hot
balls made of burnt or hardened clay, and
heated javelins, upon the huts, which, after
the Gallic custom, were thatched with straw.
These quickly took lire, and by the violence of
the wind, scattered their flames in every part
of the camp. The enemy following up their
success with a very loud shout, as if victory
were already obtained and secured, began to
advance their towers and mantlets, and climb
the rampart with ladders. But so great was
the courage of our soldiers, and such their
presence of mind, that though they were
scorched on all sides, and harassed by a vast
number of weapons, and were aware that their
baggage and their possessions were burning *
not only did no one quit the rampart for the
purpose of withdrawing from the scene, but174 GjESAR'8 COMMENTARIES.

scarcely did any one even then look behind ;
and they all fought most vigorously and most
valiantly. This day was by far the most calami-
tous to our meu ; it had this result, however,
that on that day the largest number of the
enemy was wrounded and slain, since they had
crowded beneath the very rampart, and the
hindmost did not afford the foremost a retreat.
The flame having abated a little, and a tower
having been brought up in a particular place
and touching the rampart, the centurions of
the third cohort retired from the place in
which they were standing, and drew off all
their men : they began to call on the enemy
by gestures and by words, to enter if they
wished; but none of them dared to advance.
Then stones having been cast from every
quarter, the enemy were dislodged, and their
tower set on fire.

Chap. XLIY. — In that legion there were
two very brave men, centurions, who were now
approaching the first ranks, T. Pulfio, and L.
Varenus. These used to have continual dis-
putes between them which of them should be
preferred, and every year used to contend for
promotion with the utmost animosity. When
the fight was going on most vigorously before
the fortifications, Pulfio, one of them, says,
" Why do you hesitate, Varenus ? or what
[better] opportunity of signalizing your valor
do you seek ? This very day shall decide our
disputes." When he had uttered these words,
he proceeds beyond the fortifications, and
rushes on that part of the enemy which ap-CjESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 175

petered the thickest. Nor does Varenus re-
main within the rampart, but respecting the
high opinion of all, follows close after. Then,
when an inconsiderable space intervened, Pulfio
throws his javelin at the enemy, and pierces
one of the multitude who was running up, and
while the latter was wounded and slain, the
enemy cover him with their shields, and all
throw their weapons at the other and afford
him no opportunity of retreating. The shield
of Pulfio is pierced and a javelin is fastened in
his belt. This circumstance turns aside his
scabbard and obstructs his right hand when
attempting to draw his sword: the enemy
crowd around him when [thus] embarrassed.
His rival runs up to him and succors him in
this emergency. Immediately the whole host
turn from Pulfio to him, supposing the other to
be pierced through by the javelin. Varenus
rushes on briskly with his sword and carries on
the combat hand to hand, and having slain
one man, for a short time drove back the rest:
while he urges on too eagerly, slipping into a
hollow, he fell. To him, in his turn, when
surrounded, Pulfio brings relief; and both
having slain a great number, retreat into the
fortifications amidst the highest applause.
Fortune so dealt with both in this rivalry and
conflict, that the one competitor was a succor
and a safeguard to the other, nor could it be
determined which of the two appeared worthy
of being preferred to the other.

Chap. XLV. —In proportion as the attack
became daily more formidable and violent, and176 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

particularly, because, as a great number of
the soldiers were exhausted with wounds, the
matter had come to a small number of defend-
ers, more frequent letters and messages were
sent to Caesar; a part of which messengers
were taken and tortured to death in the sight
of our soldiers. There was within our camp a
certain Nervian, by name Vertico, born in a
distinguished position, who in the beginning of
the blockade had deserted to Cicero, and had
exhibited his fidelity to him. He persuades
his slave, by the hope of freedom, and by
great rewards, to convey a letter to Caesar.
This he carries out bound about his javelin,
and mixing among the Gauls without any
suspicion by being a Gaul,- he reaches Caesar.
From him they received information of the im-
minent danger of Cicero and the legion.

Chap. XLYI.—Caesar having received the
letter about the eleventh hour of the day, im-
mediately sends a messenger to the Bellovaci,
to M. Crassus, questor there, whose winter
quarters were twenty-five miles distant from
him. He orders the legion to set forward in
the middle of the night and come to him
with despatch. Crassus set out with the mes-
senger. He sends another to C. Fabius, the
lieutenant, ordering him to lead forth his legion
into the territories of the Atrebates, to which
he knew his march must be made. He writes
to Labienus to come with his legion to the
frontiers of the Nervii, if he could do so to the
advantage of the commonwealth: he does not
consider that the remaining portion of theCjESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 177

army, because it was somewhat farther dis-
tant, should be waited for ; but assembles
about 400 horse from the nearest winter quar-
ters.

Chap. XLYII. — Haying been apprised of
the arrival of Crassus by the scouts at about
the third hour, he advances twenty miles that
day. He appoints Crassus over Samarobriva
and assigns him a legion, because he was
leaving there the baggage, of the army, the
hostages of the states, the public documents,
and all the corn, which he had conveyed
thither for passing the winter. Fabius, with-
out delaying a moment, meets him on the
march with his legion, as he had been com-
manded. Labienus, having learnt the death
of Sabinus and the destruction of the cohorts,
as all the forces of the Treviri had come
against him, beginning to fear lest, if he made
a departure from his winter quarters, resem-
bling a flight, he should not be able to support
the attack of th« enemy, particularly since he
knew them to be elated by their recent victory,
sends back a letter to Caesar, informing him
with what great hazard he would lead out his
legion from winter quarters; he relates at
large the affair which had taken place among
the Eburones ; he informs him that all the in-
fantry and cavalry of the Treviri had encamped
at a distance of only three miles from his own
camp.

Chap. XLVIII.—Caesar, approving of his
motives, although he was disappointed in his
expectation of three legions, and reduced to178 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

two, yet placed his only hopes of the common
safety in despatch. He goes into the terri-
tories of the Nervii by long marches. There
he learns from some prisoners what things are
going on in the camp of Cicero, and in how
great jeopardy the affair is. Then with great
rewards he induces a certain man of the Gallic
horse to convey a letter to Cicero. This he
sends written in Greek characters, lest the let-
ter being intercepted, our measures should be
discovered by the enemy. He directs him, if
he should be unable to enter, to throw his
spear with the letter fastened to the thong,
inside the fortifications of the camp. He
writes in the letter, that he having set out with
his legions, will quickly be there : he entreats
him to maintain his ancient valor. The Gaul,
apprehending danger, throws his spear as he
had been directed. It by chance stuck in a
tower, and, not being observed by our men
for two days, was seen by a certain soldier on
the third day: when taken down, it was car-
ried to Cicero. He, after perusing it, reads it
out in an assembly of the soldiers and fills all
with the greatest joy. Then the smoke of the
fires was seen in the distance, a circumstance
which banished all doubt of the arrival of the
legions.

Chap. XLIX. — The Gauls, having dis-
covered the matter through their scouts, aban-
don the blockade, and march towards Caesar
with all their forces : these were about GO,000
armed men. Cicero, an opportunity being
now afforded, again begs of that Vertico, theC^ESAB 'S COMMENT ABIES. 179

Gaul, whom we mentioned above, to convey
back a letter to Caesar; he advises him to per-
form his journey warily ; he writes in the letter
that the enemy had departed and had turned
their entire force against him. When this let-
ter was brought to him about the middle of
the night, Caesar apprises his soldiers of its
contents, and inspires them with courage for
fighting : the following day, at the dawn, he
moves his camp, and, having proceeded four
miles, he espies the forces of the enemy on the
other side of a considerable valley and rivulet.
It was an affair of great danger to fight with
such large forces in a disadvantageous situa-
tion. For the present, therefore, inasmuch as
he knew that Cicero was released from the
blockade, and thought that he might, on that
account, relax his speed, he halted there and
fortifies a camp in the most favorable position
he can. And this, though it was small in
itself, [there being] scarcely 7,000 men, and
these too without baggage, still by the narrow-
ness of the passages, he contracts as much as
he can, with this object, that he may come into
the greatest contempt with the enemy. In the
mean while, scouts having been sent in all di-
rections, he examines by what most convenient
path lie might cross the valley.

Chap. L.—That day, slight skirmishes of
cavalry having taken place near the river,
both armies kept in their own positions; the
Gauls, because they were awaiting larger forces
which had not then arrived; Caesar, [to see]
if perchance by pretence of f§&r he could allure180 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

the enemy towards his position, so that he
might engage in battle, in front of his camp,
on this side of the valley; if he could not ac.
complish this, that, having inquired about the
passes, he might cross the valley and the rivei
with the less hazard. At daybreak the cav«
airy of the enemy approaches to the camp and
joins battle with our horse. Caesar orders the
horse to give way purposely, and retreat to the
camp: at the same time he orders the camp
to be fortified with a higher rampart in all
directions, the gates to be barricaded, and in
executing these things as much confusion to
be shown as possible, and to perform them
under the pretence of fear.

Chap. LI.—Induced by these things, the
enemy lead over their forces and draw up
their lines in a disadvantageous position ; and
as our men also had been led down from the
ramparts, they approach nearer, and throw
their weapons into the fortification from all
sides, and sending heralds round, order it to be
proclaimed that, if " any, either Gaul or Ro-
man, was willing to go over to them before the
third hour, it was permitted; after that time
ihere would not be permission ; and so much did
they disregard our men, that the gates having
been blocked up with single rows of turf as a
mere appearance, because they did not seem
able to burst in that way, some began to pull
down the raippart with their hands, others to
fill up the trenches. Then Caesar, making a
sally from all the gates, and sending out the
cavalry, soon puts the enemy to flight, so thatCAESAR' S COMMENTARIES. 181

no one at all stood his ground with the inten-
tion of fighting; and he slew a great number
of them, and deprived all of their arms.

Chap. LII. — Caesar, fearing to pursue them
very far, because woods and morasses inter-
vened, and also [because] lie saw that they
suffered no small loss in abandoning their
position, reaches Cicero the same day with all
his forces safe. He witnesses with surprise
the towers, mantlets, and [other] fortifications
belonging to the enemy: the legion having
been drawn out, he finds that even every tenth
soldier had not escaped without wounds.
From all these things he judges with what
danger and with what great courage matters
had been conducted; he commends Cicero
according to his desert and likewise the legion ;
he addresses individually the centurions and
the tribunes of the soldiers, whose valor he
had discovered to have been signal. He re-
ceives information of the death of Sabinus
and Cotta from the prisoners. An assembly
being held the following day, he states the
occurrence; he consoles and encourages the
soldiers ; he suggests, that the disaster, which
had been occasioned by the misconduct and
rashness of his lieutenant, should be borne
with a patient mind, because by the favor of
the immortal gods and their own valor, neither
was lasting joy left ta the enemy, nor very
lasting grief to them.

Chap. LIII.—In the mean while the report
respecting the victory of Caesar is conveyed
to Labienus through the country of the Remi182 CuE SAB'S COMMENTARIES.

with incredible speed, so that, though he was
about sixty miles distant from the winter
quarters of Cicero, and Caesar had arrived
there after the ninth hour, before midnight a
shout arose at the gates of the camp, by which
shout an indication of the victory and a con-
gratulation on the part of the Remi were given
to Labienus. This report having been carried
to the Treviri, Indutiomarus, who had resolved
to attack the camp of Labienus the following
day, flies by night and k ads back all his forces
into the country of the Treviri. Caesar sends
back Fabius with his legion to his winter
quarters ; he himself determines to winter with
three legions near Samarobriva in three dif-
ferent quarters, and, because such great com-
motions had arisen in Gaul, he resolved to
remain during the whole winter with the army
himself. For the disaster respecting the death
of Sabinus having been circulated among them,
almost all the states of Gaul were deliberating
about war, sending messengers and embassies
into all quarters, inquiring what further meas-
ure they should take, and holding councils by
night in secluded places. Nor did any period
of the whole winter pass over without fresh
anxiety to Caesar, or, without his receiving
some intelligence respecting the meetings and
commotions of the Gauls. Among these, he
is informed by L. Roscius, the lieutenant
whom he had placed over the thirteenth le-
gion, that large forces of those states of the
Gauls, which are called the Armoricse, had
assembled for the purpose of attacking himCAESAR'S COMMENTARIES* 183

and were not more than eight miles distant;
but intelligence respecting the victory of Cae-
sar being carried [to them], had retreated in
such a manner that their departure appeared
like a flight.

Chap. LIY. — But Caesar, having sum-
moned to him the principal persons of each
state, in one case by alarming them, since he
declared that he knew what was going on, and
in another case by encouraging them, retained
a great part of Gaul in its allegiance. The
Senones, however, which is a state eminently
powerful and one of great influence among the
Gauls, attempting by general design to slay
Cavarinus whom Caesar had created king among
them (whose brother, Moritasgus, had held the
sovereignty at the period of the arrival of Cae-
sar in Gaul, and whose ancestors had also pre-
viously held it), when he discovered their plot
and fled, pursued him even to the frontiers [of
the state], and drove him from his kingdom
and his home ; and, after having sent ambassa-
dors to Caesar for the purpose of concluding a
peace, when he ordered all their senate to come
to him, did not obey that command. So far
did it operate among those barbarian people,
that there were found some to be the first to
wage war ; and so great a change of inclinations
did it produce in all, that except the iEdui and
the Kemi, whom Caesar had always held; in
especial honor, the one people for their long
standing and uniform fidelity towards the
Roman people, the other for their late service in
the Gallic war, there was scarcely a state which184 xJ^E SAB'S COMMENT ABIES.

was not suspected by us. And I do not know
whether that ought much to be wondered at, as
well for several other reasons, as particularly
because they who ranked above all nations for
prowess in war, most keenly regretted that they
had lost so much of that reputation as to sub-
mit to commands from the Roman people.

Chap. LV.— But the Treviri and Indu-
tiomarus let no part of the entire winter pass
without sending ambassadors across the Rhine,
importuning the states, promising money, and
asserting that, as a large portion of our army
had' been cut off, a much smaller portion
remained. However, none of the German
states could be induced to cross the Rhine,
since " they had twice essayed it," they said,
"in the war with Ariovistus and in the passage
of the Tenchtheri there ; that fortune was not
to be tempted any more." Jndutiomarus, dis-
appointed in this expectation, nevertheless
began to raise troops, and discipline them, and
procure horses from the neighboring people
and allure to him by great rewards the out-
laws and convicts throughout Gaul. And such
great influence had he already acquired for him-
self in Gaul by these means, that embassies were
flocking to him in all directions, and seeking,
publicly and privately, his favor and friend-
ship.

Chap. LYI. — When he perceived that they
were coming to him voluntarily; that on the
one side the Senones and the Carnutes were
stimulated by their consciousness of guilt, on
the other side the Nervii and the Aduatuci wereCAESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 185

preparing war against the Romans, and that
forces of volunteers would not be wanting to
him if he began to advance from his own ter-
ritories, he proclaims an armed council (this
according to the custom of the Gauls is the
commencement of war), at which, by a common
law, all the youth were wont to assemble in
arms ; whoever of them comes last is killed in
the sight of the whole assembly after being
racked with every torture. In that council he
declares Cingetorix, the leader of the other
faction, his own son-in-law (whom we have
above mentioned, as having embraced the pro-
tection of Caesar, and never having deserted
him) an enemy, and confiscates his property.
When these things were finished, lie asserts in
the council that he, invited by the Senones and
the Carnutes, and several other states of Gaul,
was about to march thither through the terri-
tories of the Remi, devastate their lands, and
attack the camp of Labienus: before he does
that, he informs them of what he desires to bq
done.

Chap. LYII. —Labienus, since he was con-
fining himself within a camp strongly fortified
by the nature of the ground and by art, had
no apprehensions as to his own and the legion's
danger, but was devising that he might throw
away no opportunity of conducting the war
successfully. Accordingly, the speech of Indu-
tiomarus, which he had delivered in the council,
having been made known [to him] by Cingeto?
rix and his allies, he sends messengers to the
neighboring states and summons horse from all186 CjESAB'S COMMENTABIES.

quarters : he appoints to them a fixed day for
assembling. In the mean time, Indutiomarus,
with all his cavalry, nearly every day used to
parade close to his [Labienus's] camp ; at one
time, that he might inform himself of the situa-
tion of the camp ; at another time, for the pur-
pose of conferring with or of intimidating him.
Labienus confined his men within the fortifica-
tions and promoted the enemy's belief of his fear
by whatever methods he could.

Chap. LVIII.—Since Indutiomarus was
daily advancing up to the camp with greater
defiance, all the cavalry of the neighboring
states which he [Labienus] had taken care to
have sent for, having been admitted in one
night, he confined all his men within the camp
by guards with such great strictness, that the
fact could by no means be reported or carried to
the Treviri. In the mean while Indutiomarus,
according to his daily practice, advances up to
the camp and spends a great part of the day
there: his horse cast their weapons, and with
very insulting language call out our men to
battle. No reply being given by our men,
the enemy, when they thought proper, depart
towards evening in a disorderly and scattered
manner. Labienus unexpectedly sends out all
the cavalry by two gates; he gives this com-
mand and prohibition, that, when the enemy
shguld be terrified and put to flight (which he
foi^saw would happen, as it did), they should
all make for Indutiomarus, and no one wound
any man before he should have seen him slain,
because he was unwilling that he should escape,CESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 187

in consequence of gaining time by the delay
[occasioned by the pursuit] of the rest. He
offers great rewards for those who should kill
him: he sends up the cohorts as a relief to
the horse. The issue justifies the policy of
the man, and, since all aimed atone, Indutiom-
arus is slain, haying been overtaken at the
very ford of the river, and his head is carried
to the camp : the horse, when returning, pur-
sue and slay all whom they can. This affair
having been known, all the forces of the
Eburones and the Nervii which had assembled,
depart ; and for a short time after this action,
Caesar was less harassed in the government of
Gaul.m CjEsar's commentaries.

BOOK VI.

THE ARGUMENT.

I. Caesar, apprehending commotions in Gaul, levies additional
forces —II.-VI. Defeats the Nervii, Benones, Carnutes,
and Menapii. — VII., VIII. Labienus defeats the Treviri. —
IX. Caesar again crosses the Rhine; the Ubii send ambas-
sadors to plead the defence of their state. — XI.-XXV. The
political factions of the Gallic states. The Druids, the sec-
ond order or knights, the third order or commonalty, and
the mythology of the Gauls. — XXI.-XX VII. The Ger-
mans; their customs; account of some remarkable animals
found in the Hercinian forest. — XXIX.-XXXI. Caesar re-
turns to Gaul; Ambiorix is worsted; death of Cativolcus.—
XXXII.-XXXIV. The territories of the Eburones are

Slundered. — XXXV.-XLII. The Sigambri attack the
,oman camp; some extraordinary incidents connected there-
with. Caesar arrives and restores confidence. — XLIII.,
XL1V. Caesar holds an investigation respecting the conspi-
racy of the Senones; Acco suffers capital punishment; the
appointment of winter quarters; Caesar departs for Italy.

Chap. I. — Caesar, expecting for many rea-
sons a greater commotion in Gaul, resolves to
hold a levy by the means of M. Silanus, C.
Antistius Reginus, and T. Sextius, his lieu-
tenants : at the same time he requested of Cn.
Pompey, the proconsul, that since he was
remaining near the city invested with military
command for the interests of the common-
wealth, he would command those men whom
wken consul he had levied by the military oath
in Cisalpine Gaul, to join their respective
corps, and to proceed to him ; thinking it of
great importance, as far as regarded the opinionCuESA U 'S COMMENTARIES. 189

which the Gauls would entertain for the future,
that the resources of Italy should appear so
great, that if any loss should be sustained in
war, not only could it be repaired in a short
time, but likewise be further supplied by still
larger forces. And when Pompev had granted
this to the interests of the commonwealth and
the claims of friendship, Caesar having quickly
completed the levy by means of his lieuten-
ants, after three legions had been both formed
and brought to him before the winter [had]
expired, and the number of those cohorts
which he had lost under Q. Titurius had been
doubled, taught the Gauls, both by his de-
spatch and by his forces, what the discipline
and the power of the Roman people could
accomplish.

Chap. II. — Indutiomarus having been slain,
as we have stated, the government was con-
ferred upon his relatives by the Treviri. They
cease not to importune the neighboring Ger-
mans and to promise them money: when they
could not obtain [their object] from those near-
est them, they try those more remote. Hav-
ing found some states willing to §£cede to their
wishes, they enter into a compact with them by
a mutual oath, and give hostages as a security
for the money : they attach Ambiorix to them
by an alliance and confederacy. Caesar, on
being informed of their acts, since he saw that
war was being prepared on all sides, that the
Nervii, Aduatuci, and Menapii, with the addi-
tion of all the Germans on this side of the Rhine,
were under arms, that the Senones did not100 C^ESAE'8 COMMENTARIES.

assemble according to his command, and wore
concerting measures with the Carnutes and the
neighboring states, that the Germans were im-
portuned by theTreviri in frequent embassies,
thought that he ought to take measures for the
war earlier [than usual] .

Chap. III. — Accordingly, while the winter
was not yet ended, having concentrated the four
nearest legions, he marched unexpectedly into
the territories of the Nervii, and before they
could either assemble, or retreat, after captur-
ing a large number of cattle and of men, and
wasting their lands and giving up that booty to
the soldiers, compelled them to enter into a sur-
render and give him hostages. That business
having been speedily executed, he again led
his legions back into winter quarters. Having
proclaimed a council of Gaul in the beginning
of the spring, as he had been accustomed [to
do], when the deputies from the rest, except
tlieSenones, the Carnutes, and the Treviri, had
come, judging this to be the commencement of
war and revolt, that he might appear to con-
sider all things of less consequence [than that
war], he transfers the council to Lutetia of the
Parisii. These were adjacent to the Senones,
and "had united their state to them during the
memory of their fathers, but were thought to
have no part in the present plot. Having pro-
claimed this from the tribunal, he advances the
same day toward the Senones with his legions
and arrives among them by long marches.

Chap. IV.—Acco, who had been the author
of that enterprise, on being informed of hisCESAR'S COMMENT ABIES. 191

arrival, orders the people to assemble in thq
towns ; to them, while attempting this and be-
fore it could be accomplished, news is brought
that the Romans are close at hand: through
necessity they give over their design and send
ambassadors to Caesar for the purpose of im-
ploring pardon; they make advances to him
through the iEdui, whose state was from
ancient times under the [protection of Rome.
Caesar readily grants them pardon and receives
their excuse, at the request of the iEdui;
because he thought thnt the summer season
was one for an impending war, not for an
investigation. Having imposed one hundred
hostages, he delivers these to the JEdui to be
held in charge by them. To the same place
the Carnutes send ambassadors and hostages,
employing as their mediators the Remi, under
whose protection they were : they receive thu
same answers. Caesar concludes the council
and imposes a levy of cavalry on the states.

Chap. Y.—This part of Gaul having been
tranquillized, he applies himself entirely both
in mind and soul to the war with the Treviri
and Ambiorix. He orders Cavarinus to march
with him with the cavalry of the Senones, lest
any commotion should arise either out of his
hot temper, or out of the hatred of the state
which he had incurred. After arranging these
things, as he considered it certain that Ambio-
rix would not contend in battle, he watched
his other plans attentively. The Menapii bor-
dered on the territories of the Eburones, and
were protected by one continued extent of192 CuESAR 'S COMMENT All IES.

morasses and woods ; and they alone out of
Gaul had never sent ambassadors to Caesar oil
the subject of peace. Caesar knew that a tie
<5f hospitality subsisted between them and
Ambiorix: he also discovered that the latter
had entered into an alliance with the Germans
by means of the Treviri. He thought that
these auxiliaries ought ta be detached from
him before he provoked him to war; lest he,
despairing of safety, should either proceed to
conceal himself in the territories of the Mena-
pii, or should be driven to coalesce with the
Germans beyond the Rhine. Having entered
upon this resolution, he sends the baggage of
the whole army to Labienus, in the territories
of the Treviri, and orders two legions to pro-
ceed to him : he himself proceeds against the
Menapii with five lightly equipped legions.
They, having assembled no troops, as they
relied on the defence of their position, retreat
into the woods and morasses, and convey
thither all their property.

Chap. VI. — Caesar, having divided his
forces with C. Fabius, his lieutenant, and M.
Crassus, his questor, and having hastily con-
structed some bridges, enters their country in
three divisions, burns their houses and vil-
lages, and gets possession of a large number
of cattle and men. Constrained by these cir-
cumstances, the Menapii send ambassadors to
him for the purpose of suing for peace. He,
after receiving hostages, assures them that he
Will consider them in the number of his ene-
mies if they shall receive within their territoriesCJESAR'S COMMENT ABIES. 193

either Ambiorix or his ambassadors. Having
determinately settled these things, he left
among the Menapii, Commius the Atrebatian
with some cavalry as a guard ; he himself pro-
ceeds towards the Treviri.

Chap. VII. — While these things are being
performed by Caesar, the Treviri, having drawn
together large forces of infantry and ©f .<cav*
airy, were preparing to attack Labienus and
the legion which was wintering in their terri-
tories, and were already not farther distant
from him than a journey of two days, when
they learn that two legions had arrived by the
order of Caesar. Having pitched their camp
fifteen miles off, they resolve to await the
support of the Germans. Labienus, having
learned the design of the enemy, hoping that
through their rashness there would be some
opportunity of engaging, after leaving a guard
of five cohorts for the baggage, advances
against the enemy with twenty-five cohorts
and a large body of cavalry, and, leaving the
space of a mile between them, fortifies his
camp. There was between Labienus and the
enemy a river difficult to cross and with steep
banks: this neither did he himself design to
cross, nor did he suppose the enemy would
cross it. Their hope of auxiliaries was daily
increasing. He, [Labienus] openly says in a
council that u since the Germans are said to
be approaching, he would not bring into
uncertainty his own and the army's fortunes,
and the next day would move his camp at
early dawn." These words are quickly carried194 C^ESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

to the enem}', since out of so large a number
of cavalry composed of Gauls, n-ature com-
pelled some to favor the Gallic interests.
Labienus, having assembled the tribunes of
the soldiers and principal centurions by night,
states what his design is, and, that he may the
more easily give the enemy a belief of his
fears, he orders the camp to be moved with
greater noise and confusion than was usual with
the Roman people. By these means he makes
his departure [appear] like a retreat. These
things, also, since the camps were so near, are
reported to the enemy by scouts before day-
light.

Ciiap. VIII. — Scarcely had the rear ad-
vanced beyond the fortifications when the
Gauls, encouraging one another " not to cast
from their hands the anticipated booty, tli t it
was a tedious thing, while the Romans were
panic stricken, to be waiting for the aid of the
Germans, and that their dignity did not suffer
them to fear to attack with such great forces
so small a band, particularly when retreating
and encumbered," do not hesitate to cross the
river and give battle in a disadvantageous
position. Labionus, suspecting that these
things would happen, was proceeding quietly,
and using the same pretence of a march, in
order that he might entice them across the
river. Then, having sent forward the baggage
some short distance and placed it on a certain
eminence, he says, u Soldiers, you have the
opportunity you have sought: you hold the
enemy in an encumbered and disadvantageousC^E SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 195

position: display to us your leaders the same
valor you have ofttimes displayed to your gen-
eral : imagine that he is present and actually
sees these exploits." At the same time he
orders the troops to face about towards the
enemy and form in line of battle, and, despatch-
ing a few troops of cavalry as a guard for the
baggage, he places the rest of the horse on
the wings. Our men, raising a shout, quickly
throw their javelins at the enemy. They,
when, contrary to their expectation, they saw
those whom they believed to be retreating,
advance toward them with threatening ban-
ners, were not able to sustain even the charge,
and being put to flight at the first onslaught,
sought the nearest woods ; Labienus pursuing
them with the cavalry, upon a large num-
ber being slain, and several taken prisoners,
got possession of the state a few days after;
for the Germans, who were coining to the
aid of the Treviri, having been informed of
their flight, retreated to their homes. The re-
lations of Indutiomarus, who had been the pro-
moters of the revolt, accompaying them, quit-
ted their own state with them. The supreme
power and government were delivered to Cin-
getorix, whom we have stated to have re-
mained firm in his allegiance from the com-
mencement.

Ciiap. IX. — Caesar, after he came from the
territories of the Menapii into those of Tre-
viri, resolved for two reasons to cross the Rhine ;
one of which was, because they had sent as-
sistance to the Treviri against him ; the other,19(5

CvESATI'S COMMENTARIES.

that Ambiorix might not have a retreat among
them. Haying determined on these matters,
he began to build a bridge a little above that
place, at -which he had before conveyed over
his army. The plan having been known and
laid down, the work is accomplished in a few
days by the great exertion of the soldiers.
Having left a strong guard on the bridge on
the side of the Treviri, lest any commotion
-should suddenly arise among them, he leads
over the rest of the forces and the cavalry.
The Ubii, who before had sent hostages and
come to a capitulation, send ambassadors to
him, for the purpose of vindicating themselves,
to assure him that u neither had auxiliaries
been sent to the Treviri from their state, nor
had they violati d their allegiance " ; they en-
treat and beseech him u to spare them, lest, in
his common hatred of the Germans, the inno-
cent should suffer the penalty of the guilty;
they promise to give more hostages, if he de-
sire them." Having investigated the case,
Caesar finds that the auxiliaries had been sent
by the Suevi; he accepts the apology of the
Ubii, and makes minute inquiries concerning
the approaches and the routes to the territories
of the Suevi.

Chap. X.—In the meantime he is informed
by the Ubii, a few days after, that the Suevi
are drawing all their forces into one place, and
are giving orders to those nations which are
under their government to send auxiliaries of
infantry and of cavalry. Having learned these
things, he provides a supply of corn, selects_aCJESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 197

proper place for his camp, and commands the
Ubii to drive off their cattle and carry away all
Ibeir possessions from the country parts into
the towns, hoping that they, being a barbarous
and ignorant people, when harassed by the
want of provisions, might be brought to an en-
gagement on disadvantageous terms : he orders
them to send numerous scouts among the Suevi,
and learn what things are goi? g on among them.
They execute the orders, and, a few days hav-
ing intervened, report that all the Suevi, after
certain intelligence concerning the army of the
Romans had come, retreated with all their own
forces and those of their allies, which they had
assembled, to the utmost extremities of their
territories : that there is a wood there of very
great extent, which is called Bacenis; that
this stretches a great way into the interior,
and, being opposed as a natural barrier, de-
fends from injuries and incursions the Cherusci
against the Suevi, and the Suevi against the
Cherusci: that at the entrance of that forest
the Suevi had determined to await the coming
up of the Romans.

Chap. XI. — Since we have come to this
place, it does not appear to be foreign to our
subject to lay before the reader an account
of the mariners of Gaul and Germany and
wherein these nations differ from each other.
In Gaul there are factions not only in all the
states, and in all the cantons and their divis-
ions, but almost in each family, and of these
factions those are the leaders who are con-
sidered according to their judgment to possess198 CuESATI'S COMMENTARIES.

the greatest influence, upon whose will and
determination the management of all affairs
and measures depends. And that seems to
have been instituted in ancient times with this
view, that no one of the common people should
be in want of support against one more pow-
erful; for none [of those leaders] suffers his
party to be oppressed and defrauded, and if
he do otherwise, he has no influence among
his party. This same policy exists throughout
the whole of Gaul; for all the states are
divided into two factions.

Chap. XII. — When Caesar arrived in Gaul,
the iEdui were the leaders of one faction, the
Sequani of the other. Since the latter were
less powerful by themselves, inasmuch as the
chief influence was from of old among the
JEdui, and their dependencies were great,
they had united to themselves the Germans
and Ariovistus, and had brought them over to
their party by great sacrifices and promises.
And having fought several successful battles
and slain all the nobility of the iEdui, they
had so far surpassed them in power, that they
brought over, from the iEdui to themselves,
a large portion of their dependants arid
received from them the sons of their leading
men as hostages, and compelled them to swear
in their public character that they would enter
into no design against them ; and held a por-
tion of the neighboring land, seized on by
force, and possessed the sovereignty of the
whole of Gaul. Divitiacus, urged by this neces-
sity, had proceeded to Rome to the senate, forCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 199

the purpose of entreating assistance, and had
returned without accomplishing his object. A
change of affairs ensued on the arrival of
Caesar, the hostages were returned to the
aEdui, their old dependencies restored, and
new acquired through Caesar (because those
who had attached themselves to their alliance
saw that they enjoyed a better state and a
milder government), their other interests,
their influence, their reputation were likewise
increased, and, in consequence, the Sequani
lost the sovereignty. The Remi succeeded to
their place, and, as it was perceived that they
equalled the JEdui in favor with Caesar, those,
who on account of their old animosities could
by no means coalesce with the -ZEdui, con-
signed themselves in clientship to the Remi.
The latter carefully protected them. Thus
they possessed both a new and suddenly
acquired influence. Affairs were then in that
position, that the JEdui were considered by
far the leading people, and the Remi held the
second post of honor.

Chap. XIII.—Throughout all Gaul there
are two orders of those men who are of any
rank and dignity: for the commonalty is
held almost in the condition of slaves, and
dares to undertake nothing of itself and is
admitted to no deliberation. The greater part,
when they are pressed either by debt, or the
large amount of their tributes, or the oppres-
sion of the more powerful, give themselves up
in vassalage to the nobles, who possess over
them the same rights without exception as mas-200 CJESAB '8 COMMENTARIES.

ters over their slaves. But of these two orders,
one is that of the Druids, the other that of
the knights. The former are engaged in
things sacred, conduct the public and the pri-
vate sacrifices, and interpret all matters of
religion. To these a large number of the
young men resort for the- purpose of instruc-
tion, and they [the Druids] are in great honor
among them. For they determine respecting
almost all controversies, public and private;
and if any crime has been perpetrated, if
murder has been committed, if there be any
dispute about an inheritance, if any about
boundaries, these same persons decide it;
they decree rewards and punishments . if any
one, either in a private or public capacity, has
not submitted to their decision, they interdict
him from the sacrifices. This among them is
the most heavy punishment. Those who have
been thus interdicted are esteemed in the num-
ber of the impiou* and the criminal : all shun
them, and avoid their society and conversation,
lest they receive some evil from their contact;
nor is justice administered to them when seeking
it, nor is any dignity bestowed on them. Over
all these Druids one presides, who possesses
supreme authority among them. Upon his
death, if any individual among the rest is pre-
eminent in dignity, he succeeds ; but, if there
are many equal, the election is made by the
suffrages of the Druids ; sometimes they even
contend for the presidency with arms. These
assemble at a fixed period of the year in a con-
secrated place in the territories of the Car-CuESAB 'S COMMENTARIES. 201

nutes, which is reckoned the central region of
the whole of Gaul. Hither all, who have dis-
putes, assemble from every part, and submit
to their decrees and determinations. This
institution is supposed to have been devised in
Britain, and to have been brought over from it
into Gaul; and now those who desire to gain
a more accurate knowledge of that system
generally proceed thither for the purpose of
studying it.

Chap. XIV. — The Druids do not go to
war, nor pay tribute together with the rest;
they have an exemption from military service
and a dispensation in all matters. Induced
by such great advantages, many embrace this
profession of their own accord, and [many]
are sent to it by their parents and relations.
They are said there to learn by heart a great
number of verses ; accordingly some remain in
the course of training twenty years. Nor do
they regard it lawful to commit these to writ-
ing, though in almost all other matters, in their
public and private transactions, they use Greek
characters. That practice they seem to me to
have adopted for two reasons; because they
neither desire their doctrines to be divulged
among the mass of the people, nor those who
learn, to devote themselves the less to the
efforts of memory, relying on writing; since
it generally occurs to most men, that, in their
dependence on writing, they relax their dili-
gence in learning thoroughly, and their em-
ployment of the memory. They wish to incul-
cate this as one of their leading tenets, that202 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

souls do not become extinct, but pass after
death from one body to another, and then
think that men by this tenet are in a great
degree excited to valor, the fear of death
being disregarded. They likewise discuss and
impart to the youth many things respecting
the stars and their motion, respecting the ex-
tent of the world and of our earth, respecting
the nature of things, respecting the power and
the majesty of the immortal gods.

Chap. XV. — The other order is that of the
knights. These, when there is occasion and
any war occurs (which before Csesar's arrival
was for the most part wont to happen every
year, as either they on their part were inflict-
ing injuries or repelling those which others
inflicted on them), are all engaged in war.
And those of them most distinguished by birth
and resources, have the greatest number of
vassals and dependants about them. They
acknowledge this sort of influence and power
only.

Chap. XVI. —The nation of all the Gauls
is extremely devoted to superstitious rites;
and on that account they who are troubled
with unusually severe diseases and they who
are engaged in battles and dangers, either sac-
rifice men as victims, or vow that the}' will
sacrifice them, and employ the Druids as the
performers of those sacrifices; because they
think that unless the life of a man be offered
for the life of a man, the mind of the immortal
gods cannot be rendered propitious, and they
have sacrifices of that kind ordained for na*C^E SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 203

.tional purposes. Others have figures of vast
size, the limbs of which formed of osiers they
fill with living men, which being set on fire,
the men perish enveloped in the flames. They
consider that the oblation of such as have been
taken in theft, or in robbery, or any other
offence, is more acceptable to the immortal
gods ; but when a supply of that class is want-
ing, they have recourse to the oblation of even
the innocent.

Chap. XVII. — They worship as their di-
vinity, Mercury in particular, and have many
images of him, and regard him as the inventor
of all arts, they consider him the guide of
their journeys and marches, and believe him
to have very great influence over the acqui-
sition of gain and mercantile transactions.
Next to him they worship Apollo, and Mars,
and Jupiter, and Minerva; respecting these
deities they have for the most part the same
belief as other nations: that Apollo averts
diseases, that Minerva imparts the invention
of manufactures, that Jupiter possesses the
sovereignty of the heavenly powers, that Mars
presides over wars. To him, when they have
determined to engage in battle, they commonly
vow those things which they shall take in war
When they have conquered, they sacrifice what-
ever captured animals may have survived the
conflict, and collect the other things into one
place. In many states you may see piles of
these things heaped up in their consecrated
spots ; nor does it often happen that any one,
disregarding the sanctity of the case, dares204 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES*

either to secrete in his house things captured,,
or take away those deposited; and the most
severe punishment, with torture, has been
established for such a deed.

Chap. XVIII. — All the Gauls assert that
they are descended from the god Dis, and say
that this tradition has been handed down by
the Druids. For that reason they compute
the divisions of every season, not by the
number of days, but of nights; the}' keep
birthdays and the beginnings of months and
years in such an order that the day follows
the night. Among the other usages of their
life, they differ in this from almost all other na-
tions, that they do not permit their children to
approach them openly until they are grown up
so as to be able to bear the service of war ;
and they regard it as indecorous for a son of
boyish age to stand in public in the presence
of his father.

Chap. XIX.—Whatever sums of money
the husbands have received in the name of
dowry from their wives, making an estimate
of it, they add the same amount out of their
own estates. An account is kept of all this
money conjointly, and the profits are laid by :
whichever of them shall have survived [the
other], to that one the portion of both reverts
together with the profits of the previous time.
Husbands have power of life and death over
their wives as well as over their children : and
when the father of a family, born in a more
than commonly distinguished rank, has died,
his relations assemble, and, if the circum-CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 205

stances of his death are suspicious, hold an
investigation upon the wives in the manner
adopted towards slaves; and, if proof be ob-
tained, put them to severe torture, and kill
them. Their funerals, considering the state
of civilization among the Gauls, are magnifi-
cent and costly ; and they cast into the fire all
things, including living creatures, which they
suppose to have been dear to them when alive ;
and, a little before this period, slaves and de-
pendants, who were ascertained to have been
beloved by them, were, after the regular
funeral rites were completed, burnt together
with them.

Chap. XX.-—Those states which are con-
sidered to conduct their commonwealth more
judiciously, have it ordained by their laws,
that, if any person shall have heard by rumor
and report from his neighbors anything con-
cerning the commonwealth, he shall convey it
to the magistrate and not impart it to any
other; because it has been discovered that
inconsiderate and inexperienced men were
often alarmed by false reports and driven to
some rash act, or else took hasty measures in
affairs of the highest importance. The magis-
trates conceal those things which require to
be kept unknown; and they disclose to the
people whatever they determine to be expe-
dient. It is not lawful to speak of the com-
monwealth, except in council.

Chap. XXI. —The Germans differ much
from these usages, for they have neither
pruids to preside over sacred offices, nor do206 CjESAM *8 COMMENTARIES.

they pay great regard to sacrifices. They
rank in the number of the gods those alone
whom they behold, and by whose instrumen-
tality they are obviously benefited, namely,
the sun, fire, and the moon ; they have not
heard of the other deities even by report.
Their whole life is occupied iii hunting and in
the pursuits of the military art; from child-
hood they devote themselves to fatigue and
hardships. Those who have remained chaste
for the longest time, receive the greatest com-
mendation among their people : they think that
by this the growth is promoted, by this the
physical powers are increased and the sinews
are strengthened. And to have had knowl-
edge of a woman before the twentieth year
they reckon among the most disgraceful acts ;
of which matter there is no concealment, be-
cause they bathe promiscuously in the rivers
and [only] use skins or small cloaks of deer's
hides, a large portion of the body being in
consequence naked.

Chap. XXII. — They do not pay much
attention to agriculture, and a large portion of
their food consists in milk, cheese, and flesh;
nor has any one a fixed quantity of land or
his own individual limits ; but the magistrates
and the leading men each year apportion to
the tribes and families, who have united
together, as much land as, and in the place in
which, they think proper, and the year after
compel them to remove elsewhere. For this
enactment they advance many reasons — lest
seduced by long-continued custom, they mayCJESAIt \S COMMENT AH IK 8. 20?

exchange their ardor in the waging of war
for agriculture; lest they may be anxious to
acquire extensive estates, and the more power-
ful drive the weaker from their possessions;
lest they construct their houses with too great
a desire to avoid cold and heat; lest the desire
of wealth spring up, from which cause divis-
ions and discords arise; and that they may
keep the common people in a contented state
of mind, when each sees his own means
placed on an equality with [those of] the most
powerful.

Chap. XXIII. —It is the greatest glory to
the several states to have as wide deserts as
possible around them, their frontiers having
been laid waste. They consider this the real
evidence of their prowess, that their neighbors
shall be driven out of their lands and abandon
them, and that no one dare settle near them;
at the same time they think that they shall be
on that account the more secure, because they
have removed the apprehension of a sudden
incursion. When a state either repels war
waged against it, or wages it against another,
magistrates are chosen to preside over that
war with such authority, that they have power
of life and death. In peace there is no com-
mon magistrate, but the chiefs of provinces
and cantons administer justice and determine
controversies among their own people. Rob-
beries which are committed beyond the boun-
daries of each state bear no infamy, and they
avow that these are committed for the pur-
pose of disciplining their youth and of pre-208 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

venting sloth. And when any of their chiefs
has said in an assembly u that he will be their
leader, let those who are willing to follow,
give in their names"; they who approve of
both the enterprise and the man arise and
promise their assistance and are applauded by
the people ; such of them as have not followed
him are accounted in the number of deserters
and traitors, and confidence in all matters is
afterwards refused them. To injure guests
they regard as impious; they defend from
wrong those who have come to them for any
purpose whatever, and esteem them inviolable ;
to them the houses of all are open and main-
tenance is freely supplied.

Chap. XXIV.— And there was formerly a
time when the Gauls excelled the Germans in
prowess, and waged war on them offensively,
and, on account of the great number of their
people and the insufficiency of their land, sent
colonies over the Rhine. Accordingly, the Vol-
cse Tectosages seized on those parts of Germany
which are the most fruitful [and lie] around
the Hercynian forest (which, I perceive, was
known by report to Eratosthenes and some
other Greeks, and which they call Orcynia) and
settled there. Which nation to this time re-
tains its position in those settlements, and has
a very high character for justice and military
merit: now also they continue in the same
scarcity, indigence, hardihood, as the Ger-
mans, and use the same food and dress; but
their proximity to the Province and knowledge
of commodities from countries beyond the seaCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 209

supplies to the Gauls many things tending to
luxury as well as civilization. Accustomed
by degrees to be overmatched and Worsted in
many engagements, they do not even compare
themselves to the Germans in prowess.

Chap. XXY. — The breadth of this Hercy-
nian forest, which has been referred to above,
is to a quick traveller a journey of nine days.
For it cannot be otherwise compated, nor are
they acquainted with the measures of roads.
It begins at the frontiers of the Helvetii, Ne-
metes, and Rauraci, and extends in a right line
along the river Danube to the territories'of the
Daci and the Anartes : it bends thence to the
left in a different direction from the river, and
owing to its extent touches the confines of
many nations ; nor is there any person belong-
ing to this part of Germany who says that he
either has gone to the extremity of that
forest, though he had advanced a journey
of sixty days, or has heard in what place it
begins. It is certain that many kinds of
wild beast are produced in it which have not
been seen in other parts; of which the fol-
lowing are such as differ principally from other
animals, and appear worthy of being commit-
ted to record.

Chap. XXVI.—There is an ox of the
shape of a stag, between whose ears a horn
rises from the middle of the forehead, higher
and straighter than those horns which are
known to us. From the top of this, branches,
like palms, stretch out a considerable distance.
The shape of the female and of the male is the210 CJSSAB'S COMMENTABIES.

same ; the appearance and the size of the horns
is the same.

Chap. XXVII. — There are also [animals]
which are called elks. The shape of these,
and the varied color of their skins, is much like
roes, but in size they surpass them a little and
are destitute of horns, an i have legs without
joints and ligatures ; nor do they lie down for
the purpose of rest, nor, if they have been
thrown down by any accident, can they raise
or lift themselves up. Trees serve as beds to
them; they lean themselves against them, and
thus reclining only slightly, they take their
rest; when the huntsmen have discovered
from the footsteps of these animals whither
they are accustomed to betake themselves,
they either undermine all the trees at the
roots, or cut into them so far that the upper
part of the trees may appear to be left stand-
ing. When they have leant upon them, ac-
cording to their habit, they knock down by
their weight the unsupported trees, and fall
down themselves along with them.

Chap. XXVIII. — There is a third kind,
consisting of those animals which are called
uri. These are a little below the elephant in
size, and of the appearance, color, and shape
of a bull. Their strength and speed are ex-
traordinary ; they spare neither man nor wild
beast which tliey have espied. These the
Germans take with much pains in pits and
kill them. The young men harden themselves
with this exercise, and practise themselves in
this kind of hunting, and those who haveCJESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 211

slain the greatest number of them, having pro-
duced the horns in public, to serve as evidence,
receive great praise. But not even when taken
very young can they be rendered familiar to
men and tamed. The size, shape, and appear-
ance of their horns differ much from the horns
of our oxen. These they anxiously seek after,
and bind at the tips with silver, and use as
cups at their most sumptuous entertainments.

Ciiap. XXIX.—Coesar, after he discovered
through the Ubian scouts that the Suevi had
retired into their woods, apprehending a scarcity
of corn, because, as we have observed above,
all the Germans pay very little attention to
agriculture, resolved not to proceed any farther;
but, that he might not altogether relieve the
barbarians from the fear of his return, and that
he might delay their succors, having led back
his army, he breaks down, to the length of 200
feet, the farther end of the bridge, which joined
the banks of the Ubii, and at the extremity of
the bridge raises towers of four stories, and sta-
tions a guard of twelve cohorts for the purpose
of defending the bridge, and strengthens the
place with considerable fortifications. Over
that fort and guard he appointed C. Volcatius
Tullus, a young man ; he himself, when the corn
began to ripen, having set forth for the war
with Ambiorix (through the forest Arduenna,
which is the largest of all Gaul, and reaches
from the banks of the Rhine and the frontiers
of the Treviri to those of the Nervii, and extends
over more than 500 miles), he sends forward
L. Minuet* Basils with all the cavalry, to try212 CuESAB '8 COMMENTARIES.

if he might gain any advantage by rapid marches
and the advantage of time, he warns him to
forbid fires being made in the camp, lest any
indication of his approach be given at a dis-
tance: he tells him that he will follow imme-
diately.

Chap. XXX. — Basilus does as he was
commanded ; having performed his march rap-
idly, and even surpassed the expectations of
all, he surprises in the fields many not expect-
ing hjm ; th ough their information he advances
towards Ambiorix himself, to the place in which
he was said to be with a few horse. Fortune
accomplishes much, not only in other matters,
but also in the art of war. For as it happened
by a remarkable chance, that he fell upon
[Ambiorix] himself unguarded and unprepared,
and that his arrival was seen by the people
before tho report or information of his arrival
was carried thither; so it was <*in incident of
extraordinary fortune that, although every
implement of war which he was accustomed to
have about him was seized, and his chariots
and horses surprised, yet he himself escaped
death. But it was effected owing to this cir-
cumstance, that his house being surrounded by
a wood (as are generally the dwellings of the
Gauls, who, for the purpose of avoiding heat,
mostly seek the neighborhood of woods and
rivers), his attendants and friends in a narrow
spot sustained for a short time the attack of our
horse. While they were fighting, one of his
followers mounted him on a horse: the woods
sheltered him as he fled. Thus fortune tendedCjESAB'S COMMENTARIES. Wb

much both towards his encountering and his
escaping danger.

Chap. XXXI. —Whether Ambiorix did not
collect his forces from cool deliberation,
because he considered he ought not to engage
in a battle, or [whether] he was debarred by time
and prevented by the sudden arrival of our
horse, when he supposed the rest of the army
was closely following, is doubtful: but cer-
tainly, despatching messengers through the
country, he ordered every one to provide for
himself; and a part of them fled into the forest
Arduenna, a part into the extensive morasses ;
those who were nearest the ocean, concealed
themselves in the islands which the tides usu-
ally form : many, departing from their territo-
ries, committed themselves and all tlieir posses-
sions to perfect strangers. Cativolcus, king
of one half of the Eburones, who had entered
into the design together with Ambiorix, since,
being now worn out by age, he was unable to
endure the fatigue either of war or flight, hav-
iug cursed Ambiorix with every imprecation,
as the person who had been the contriver of
that measure, destroyed himself with the juice
of the yew-tree, of which there is a great abun-
dance in Gaul and Germany.

Chap. XXXII. — The Segni and Condrusi,
of the nation and number of the Germans, and
who are between the Eburones and the Treviri,
sent ambassadors to Caesar to entreat that he
would not regard them in the number of his
enemies, nor consider that the cause of all the
Germans on this side the Rhine was one and214 OJBSAU '3 COMMENTAltmS.

the same; that they had formed no plans of
war, and had sent no auxiliaries to Ambiorix.
Caesar, haying ascertained this fact by an
examination of his prisoners, commanded that
if any of the Eburones in their flight had
repaired to them, they should be sent back to
him; he assures them that if they did that, he
will not injure their territories. Then, haying
divided his forces into three parts, he sent the
baggage of all the legions to Aduatuca. That
is the name of a fort. This is nearly in the
middle of the Eburones, where Titurius and
Aurunculeius had been quartered for the pur-
pose of wintering. This place he selected as
well on other accounts as because the fortifi-
cations of the previous year remained, in order
that he might relieve the labor of the soldiers.
He left the fourteenth legion as a guard for the
baggage, one of those three which he had lately
raised in Italy and brought over. Over that
legion and camp he places Q. Tullius Cicero and
gives him 200 horse.

Chap. XXXIII.—Having divided the army,
he orders T. Labienus to proceed with three
legions towards the ocean into those parts
which border on the Menapii; he sends C. Tre-
bonius with a like number of legions to lay
waste that district which lies contiguous to
the Aduatuci; he himself determines to go with
the remaining three to the river Sambre, which
flows into the Meuse, and to the most remote
parts of Arduenna, whither he heard that Am-
biorix had gone with a few horse. When
departing, he promises that he will return beforeCuESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 215

the end of the seventh day, on which day he was
aware corn was due to tfiat legion which was
being left in garrison. He directs Labienus
and Trebonius to return by the same day, if
they can do so agreeably to the interests of the
republic; so that their measures having been
mutually imparted, and the plans of the enemy
having been discovered, they might be able to
commence a different line of operations.

Chap. XXXIV.—There was, as we have
above observed, no regular army, nor a town,
nor a garrison which could defend itself by
arms; but the people were scattered in all
directions. Where either a hidden valley, or a
woody spot, or a difficult morass furnished any
hope of protection or of security to an}- one,
there he had fixed himself. These places were
known to those that dwelt in the neighborhood,
and the matter demanded great attention,
not so much in protecting the main body of
the army (for no peril could occur to them
altogether from those alarmed and scattered
troops), as in preserving individual soldiers;
which in some measure tended to the safety of
the army. For both the desire of booty was
leading many too far, and the woods with their
unknown and hidden routes would not allow
them to go in large bodies. If he desired the
business to be completed and the race of those
infamous people to be cut off, more bodies of
men must be sent in several directions and the
soldiers must be detached on all sides; if he
were disposed to keep the companies at their
standards, as the established discipline and216 C-JZSAB v<7 COMMENTARIES.

practice of the Roman army required, the situa-
tion itself was a safeguard tw the barbarians,
nor was there wanting to individuals the daring
to lay secret ambuscades and beset scattered
soldiers. But amidst difficulties of this nature,
as far as precautions could be taken by vigi-
lance, such precautions were taken; so that
some opportunities of injuring the enemy were
neglected, though the minds of all were burn-
ing to take revenge, rather than that injury
should be effected with any loss to our soldiers.
Caesar despatches messengers to the neighbor-
ing states; by the hope of booty he invites all
to him, for the purpose of plundering the
Eburones, in order that the life of the Gauls
might be hazarded in the woods rather than
the legionary soldiers; at the same time, in
order that a large force being drawn around
them, the race and name of that state may be
annihilated for such a crime. A large number
from all quarters speedily assembles.

Chap. XXXV.—These things were going on
in all parts of the territories of the Eburones,
and the seventh day was drawing near, by
which day Caesar had purposed to return to
the baggage and the legion. Here it might be
learned how much fortune achieves in war,
and how great casualties she produces. The
enemy having been scattered and alarmed, as
we related above, there was no force which
might pro luce even a slight occasion of fear.
The report extends beyond the Rhine to the
Germans that the Eburones are being pillaged,
and that all were without distinction invited toCJESAB\8 COMMENTARIES. 217

the plunder. The Sigaaibri, who are nearest
to the Rhine, by whom, we have mentioned
above, the Tenchtheri and Usipetes were re-
ceived after their retreat, collect 2,000 horse.;
they cross the Rhine in ships and barks thirty
miles below that place where the bridge was en-
tire and the garrison left by Caesar; they arrive
at the frontiers of the Eburones, surprise many
who were scattered in flight, and get possession
of a large amount of cattle, of which barbarians
are extremely covetous. Allured by booty,
they advance farther ; neither morass nor for-
est obstructs these men, born amidst war and
depredations ; they inquire of their prisoners in
what parts Caesar is; they find that he has
advanced farther, and learn that all the army
has removed. Thereon one of the prisoners
says, 4,Why do you pursue such wretched and
trifling spoil; you, to whom it is granted to
become even now most richly endowed by for-
tune ? In three hours you can reach Aduatuca ;
there the Roman army has deposited all its
fortunes; there is so little of a garrison that
not even the wall can be manned, nor dare any
one go beyond the fortifications." A hope
having been presented them, the Germans
leave in concealment the plunder they had ac-
quired ; they themselves hasten to Aduatuca,
employing as their guide the same man by
whose information they had become informed
of these things

Chap. XXXVI. — Cicero, who during all
the foregoing days had kept his soldiers in
camp with the greatest exactness, and agree-218 CJESAB >S COMMENTARIES.

ably to the injunctions of Caesar, had not per-
mitted even any of the camp-followers to
go beyond the fortification, distrusting on
the seventh day that Caesar would keep his
promise as to the number of days, because he
heard that he had proceeded farther, and no
report as to his return was brought to him, and
being urged at the same time by the expres-
sions of those who called his tolerance almost
a siege, if, forsooth, it was not permitted them
to go out of the camp, since he might expect
no disaster, whereby lie could be injured,
within three miles of the camp, while nine
legions and all the cavalry were under arms,
and the enemy scattered and almost annihi-
lated, sent five cohorts into the neighboring
corn-lands, between which and the camp only
one hill intervened, for the purp se of for-
aging. Many soldiers of the legions had been
left invalided in the camp, of whom those who
had recovered in this space of time, being
about 300, are sent together under one stand-
ard ; a large number of soldiers' attendants
besides, with a great number of beasts of
burden, which had remained in the camp, per-
mission being granted, follow them.

Chap. XXXVII. — At this very time, the
German horse by chance come up and imme-
diately, with the same speed with which they
had advanced, attempt to force the camp at
the Decuman gate, nor were they seen, in con-
sequence of woods tying in the way on that
side, before they were just reaching the camp :
so much so, that the sutlers who had theirCJESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 219

booths under the lampart had not an opportu-
nity of retreating within the camp. Our men,
not anticipating it, are perplexed by the sud-
den affair, and the cohort on the outpost
scarcely sustains the first attack. The enemy
ppread themselves on the other sides to ascer-
tain if they could find any access. Our men
with difficulty defend the gates ; the very posi-
tion of itself and the fortification secures the
other accesses. There is a panic in the entire
camp, and one inquires of another the cause of
the confusion, nor do they readily determine
whither the standards should be borne, nor into
what quarter each should betake himself. One
avows that the camp is already taken, another
maintains that, the enemy having destroyed
the army and commander-in-chief, are come
thither as conquerors; most form strange su-
perstitious fancies from the spot, and place
before their eyes the catastrophe of Cotta and
Titurius, who had fallen in the same fort. All
being greatly disconcerted by this alarm, the
belief of the barbarians is strengthened that
there is no garrison within, as they had heard
from their prisoner. They endeavor to force
an entrance and encourage one another not to
cast from their hands so valuable a prize.

Chap. XXXVIII. — P. Sextius Baculus,
who had led a principal century under Caesar
(of whom we have made mention in previous
engagements), had been left an invalid in the
garrison, and had now been five days without
food. He, distrusting his own safety and that
of ail, goes forth from his tent unarmed; he220 CJESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

sees that the enemy are close at hand and that
the matter is in the utmost danger ; lie snatches
arms from those nearest, and stations himself
at the gate. The centurions of that cohort
which was on guard follow him; for a short
time they sustain the fight together. Sextius
faints, after receiving many wounds ; he is with
difficulty saved, drawn away by the hands of
the soldiers. This space having intervened,
the others resume courage so far as to venture
to take their place on the fortifications and pre-
sent the aspect of defenders.

Chap. XXXIX. —The foraging having in
the mean time been completed, our soldiers dis-
tinctly hear the shout; the horse hasten on be-
fore and discover in what danger the affair is.
But here there is no fortification to receive
them, in their alarm: those last enlisted, and
unskilled in militar}'discipline, turn their faces
to the military tribune and the centurions;
they wait to find what, orders may be given by
them. No one is so courageous as not to be
disconcerted by the suddenness of the affair.
The barbarians, espying our standard in the
distance, desist from the attack; at first they
suppose that the legions, which they had
learned from their prisoners had removed far-
ther off, had returned; afterwards, despis-
ing their small number, they make an attack
on them at all sides.

Chap. XL. — The camp-followers run for-
ward to the nearest rising ground; being
speedily driven from this, they throw them-
selves among the standards and companies:CJESAB yS COMMENT ABIES, 221

they thus so much the more alarm the soldiers
already affrighted. Some propose that, form-
ing a wedge, they suddenly break through,
since the camp was so near; and if any part
should be surrounded and slain, they fully
trust that at least the rest may be saved;
others, that they take their stand on an emi-
nence, and all undergo the same destiny. The
veteran soldiers, whom we stated to have set
out together [with the others] under a stand-
ard, do not approve of this. Therefore en-
couraging each other, under the conduct of
Caius Trebonius, a Roman knight, who had
been appointed over them, they break through
the midst of the enemy, and arrive in the
camp safe to a man. The camp-attendants
and the horse foliowi g close upon them with
the same impetuosity, are s ved by the cour-
age of the soldiers. But those who had taken
their stand upon the eminence, having even
now acquired no experience of military mat-
ters, neither could persevere in that resolution
which they approved of, namely, to defend
themselves from their higher position, nor imi-
tate that vigor and speed which they had ob-
served to have availed others ; but, attempting
to reach the camp, had descended into an
unfavorable situation. The centurions, some
of whom had been promoted for their valor
from the lower ranks of other legions to
higher ranks in this legion, in order that they
might not forfeit their glory for military ex-
ploits previous^ acquired, fell together fight-
ing most valiantly. The enemy having been222 CuESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

dislodged by their valor, a part of the soldiers
arrived safe in camp contrary to their expec-
tations ; a part perished, surrounded by the
barbarians.

Chap. XLI.—The Germans, despairing of
taking the camp by storm, because they saw
that our men had taken up their position on
the fortifications, retreated beyond the Rhine
with that plunder which they had deposited in
the woods. And so great was the alarm, even
after the departure of the enemy, that when
C. Volusenus, who had been sent with the
cavalry, arrived that night, he could not gain
credence that Caesar was close at hand witlv
his army safe. Fear had so preoccupied the
minds of all, that, their reason being almost
estranged, they said that all the other forces
having been cut off, the cavalry alone had
arrived there by flight, and asserted that, if
the army were safe, the Germans would not
have attacked the camp : which fear the arrival
of Caesar removed.	.

Chap. XLII. — He, on his return, being
well aware of the casualties of war, complained
of one thing [only], namely, that the cohorts
had been sent away from the outposts and
garrison [duty], and pointed out that room
ought not to have been left for even the most
trivial casualty; that fortune had exercised
great influence in the sudden arrival of their
enemy; much greater, in that she had turned
the barbarians away from the very rampart
and gates of the camp. Of all which events,
it seemed the most surprising, that the Ger-CJEJSAR'S COMMENTARIES. 223

mans, who had crossed the Rhine with this
object, that they might plunder the territories
of Ambiorix, being led to the camp of the
feomans, rendered Ambiorix a most acceptable*
service.

Chap. XLIII. — Caesar, having again
marched to harass the enemy, after collecting
a large number [of auxiliaries] from the neigh*
boring states, despatches them in all direc-
tions. All the villages and all the buildings,
Which each beheld, were on fire: spoil was
being driven off from all parts; the corn not
only was being consumed by so great numbers
of cattle and men, but also had fallen to the
earth, owing to the time of the year and the
storms; so that if any had concealed them-
selves for the present, still, it appeared likely
that they must perish through want of all
things, when the army should be drawn oft.
And frequently it came to that poiht, as so
large a body of cavalry had been sent abroad
in all directions, that the prisoners declared
Ambiorix had just then been seen by them in
flight, and had not even passed out of sight,
so that the hope of overtaking him being raised,
and unbounded exertions having been resorted
to, those who thought they should acquire the
highest favor with Caesar, nearly overcame
nature by their ardor, and continually, a little
only seemed wanting to complete success ; but
he rescued himself b/ [means of] lurking-
places and forests, and, concealed by the
night, made for other districts and quarters,
With no greater guard than that of four horse-224 CuESAB'S COMMENTARIES.

men, to whom alone he ventured to confide his
life.

Chap. X LIV. — Having devastated the
country in such a manner, Caesar leads back
his army with the loss of two cohorts to Du-
rocortorum of the Remi, and, having sum-
moned a council of Gaul to assemble at that
place, he resolved to hold an investigation
respecting the conspiracy of the Senones and
Carnutes, and having pronounced a most se-
vere sentence upon Acco, who had been the
contriver of that plot, he punished him after
the custom of our ancestors. Some fearing a
trial, fled; when he had forbidden these fire
and water, he stationed in winter quarters two
legions at the frontiers of the Treviri, two
among the Lingones, the remaining six at
Agendicum, in the territories of the Senones ;
and, having provided corn for the army, he
set out for Italy, as he had determined, to hold
the assizes.CuESAR'S COMMENT ABIES. 225

BOOK YII.

THE ARGUMENT.

I.—IIP. Many of the Gallic nations conspire to assert their free,
dom, — Iv .-VII. And select Vercingetorix the Arvernian as
Commander-in-chief. — VIII., IX. Caesar suddenly invades
the country of the Arverni, — X. Succors the Boii, —XI.
Takes Vellaunodunum and Genabum,— XII.-XIV. And
Noviodunum.—XV.-XIX. The Gauls burn all the towns
of the Bituriges, except Avaricum, into which they throw a
strong garrison, as Caesar was then besieging it. — XX., XXI.
In the mean time Vercingetorix, being accused of treachery
by his countrymen, completely vindicates himself. — XXII.-

XXVII.	Avaricum is for some time ably defended,—

XXVIII.-XXXI.	But is at length taken by storm. — XXXII.,
XXXIII. Commotions among the iEdui divert Caesar from
the war.—XXXIV.-XXXVI. After quelling them, he
marches at the head of his army to Gergovia. — XXXVII.-
XLV. Whilst he is carrying on the war there, disturbances
break out a second time among the ^Edui. — XLVI. The
Romans take possession of three different camps belonging
to the enemy, — XLVII.-LII. But attacking the town too
impetuously, are repulsed with great loss. — LIII.-LVII.
Caesar, despairing or being able to take the town, removes
his camp into the country of the ^Edui.— LVIII.-LXI.
Labienus, after carrying on the war successfully against the
Parisii, — LXII. Joins him. —LXIII.-LXV. All the Gauls,
with very few exceptions, follow the example of the ^Edui,
and revolt. — LXVI., LXVII. Under the command of Ver-
cingetorix, they attack Caesar while marching into the
country of the Sequani, and are completely defeated.—
LXVIII.-LXXIV. He pursues them as far as Alesia, and
surrounds both the town and themselves with a line of
circumvallation. — LXXV.-LXXXVI. The Gauls select the
bravest men in their respective states, and endeavor to
relieve their besieged countrymen. — LXXXVII. They
sustain a total defeat. — LXXXIX. Alesia and Vercinget-
orix surrender, likewise the ^Edui and several other states.

Chap. T. — Gaul being tranquil, Caesar, as
he had determined, sets out for Italy to hold
the provincial assizes. There he receives intel-
ligence of the death of CJodius ; and, being226 CJESAITS COMMENT ABIES.

informed of the decree of the senate, [to the
effect] that all the youth of Italy should take
the military oath, he determined to hold a levy
throughout the entire province. Report of
these events is rapidly borne into Transalpine
Gaul. The Gauls themselves add to the report,
and invent, what the case seemed to require;
[namely] that Csesar was detained by com
motions in the city, and could not, amidst so
violent dissensions, come to his army. Ani-
mated by this opportunity, they who already,
previously to this occurrence, were indignant
that they were reduced beneath the dominion
of Rome, begin to organize their plans for war
more openly and daringly. The leading men
of Gaul, having convened councils among
themselves in the woods and retired places,
complain of the death of Acco : they point out
that this fate may fall in turn on themselves :
they bewail the unhappy fate of Gaul; and
by every sort of promises and rewards, they
earnestly solicit some to begin the war, and
assert the freedom of Gaul at the hazard of
their lives. They say that special care should
be paid to this, that Caesar should be cut off
from his army, before their secret plans should
be divulged. That this was easy, because
neither would the legions, in the absence of
their general, dare to leave their winter quar-
ters, nor could the general reach his army
without a guard : finally, that it was better to
be slain in battle, than not to recover their
ancient glory in war, and that freedom which
they had received from their forefathers.SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 227

Chap. IT. — Whilst these things are in agi-
tation, the Carnutes declare " that they would
decline no danger for the sake of the general
safety," and promise " that they would be the
first of all to begin the war; and since they
cannot at present take precautions, by giving
and receiving hostages, that the affair shall not
be divulged, they require that a solemn assur-
ance be given them by oath and plighted honor,
their military standards being brought together
(in which manner their most sacred obligations
are made binding), that they should not be de-
serted by the rest of the Gauls on commencing
the war."

Chap. III.—When the appointed day came,
the Carnutes, under the command of Cotuatus
and Conetodunus, desperate men, meet together
at Genabum, and slay the Roman citizens who
had settled there for the purpose of trading,
(among the rest, Caius Fusius Cita, a distin-
guished Roman knight, who by Caesar's orders
had presided over the provision department,)
and plunder their property. The report is
quickly spread among all the states of Gaul;
for, whenever a more important and remark-
able event takes place, they transmit the in-
telligence through their lands and districts by
a shout; the others take it up in succession,
and pass it to their neighbors, as happened on
this occasion ; for the things which were done
at Genabum at sunrise were heard in the ter-
ritories of the Arverni before the erd of the
first watch, which is an extent of more than a
hundred and sixty miles.228 cjesab's commentaries.

Chap. IV.—There in like manner, Vercin-
getorix, the son of Celtillus the Arvernian, a
young man of the highest power (whose father
had held the supremacy of entire Gaul, and
had been put to death by his fellow-citizens,
for this reason, because he aimed at sovereign
power), summoned together his dependants,
and easily excited them. On his design being
made known, they rush to arms : he is expelled
from the town of Gergovia, by his uncle Go-
banitio and the rest of the nobles, who were of
opinion, that such an enterprise ought not to
be hazarded : he did not, however, d< sist, but
held in the country a levy of the needy and
desperate. Having collected such a body of
troops, he brings over to his sentiments such
of his fellow-citizens as he has access to: he
exhorts them to take up arms in behalf of the
general freedom, and having assembled great
forces, he drives from the state his opponents,
b}r whom he had been expelled a short time
previously. He is saluted king by his partisans ;
he sends ambassadors in every direction, he
conjures them to adhere firmly to their promise.
He quickly attaches to his interests t e Senones,
Parisii, Pictones, Cadurci, Turones, Aulerci,
Lemovices, and all the others who border on
the ocean ; the supreme command is conferred
on him by unanimous consent. On obtaining
this authority, he demands hostages from all
these states, he orders a fixed number of sol-
diers to be sent to him immediately ; he deter-
mines what quantity of arms each state shall
prepare at home, and before what time; heCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 229

pays particular attention to the cavalry. To
the utmost vigilance he adds the utmost rigor
of authority ; and by the severity of his punish-
ments brings over the wavering: for on the
commission of a greater crime he puts the
perpetrators to death by fire and every sort of
tortures; for a slighter cause, he sends home
the offenders with their ears cut off, or one of
their eyes put out, that they may be an ex-
ample to the rest, and frighten others by the
severity of their punishment.

Chap. V.—Having quickly collected an army
by these punishments, he sends Lucterius, one
of the Cadurci, a man of the utmost daring,
with part of his forces, into the territory of
the Ruteni; and marches in person into the
country of the Bituriges. On his arrival, the
Bituriges send ambassadors to the iEdui, under
whose protection they were, to solicit aid in order
that they might more easily resist the forces of
the enemy. The iEdui, by the advice of the
lieutenants whom Caesar had left with the army,
send supplies of horse and foot to succor the
Bituriges. When they came to the river Loire,
which separates the Bituriges from the iEdui,
they delayed a few days there, and, not daring to
pass the river, return home, and send back word
to the lieutenants that they had returned through
fear of the treachery of the Bituriges, who, they
ascertained, had formed this design, that if
the JEdui should cross the river, the Bituriges
on the one side, and the Arverni on the other,
should surround them. Whether they did this
&r the reason which they alleged to the lieu-230 CJSSAB'S COMMENTARIES.

tenants, or influenced by treachery, we think
that we ought not to state as certain, because
we have no proof. On their departure, the
Bituriges immediately unite themselves to the
Arverni.

Chap. VI. — These affairs being announced
to Caesar in Italy, at the time when he under-
stood that matters in the city had been reduced
to a more tranquil state by the energy of Cneius
Pompey, he set out for Transalpine Gaul.
After he had arrived there, he was greatly at a
loss to know by what means he could reach his
army. For if he should summon the legions
into the province, he was aware that on their
march they would have to fight in his absence ;
he foresaw too, that if he himself should en-
deavor to reach the army, he would act inju-
diciously, in trusting his safety even to those
who seemed to be tranquillized.

Chap. VIL — In the mean time Lucterius
the Cadurcan, having been sent into the coun-
try of the Ruteni, gains over that state to the
Arverni. Having advanced into the country
of the Nitiobriges, and Gabali, he receives host-
ages from both nations, and, assembling a
numerous force, marches to make a descent on
the province in the direction of Narbo. Csesar,
when this circumstance was announced to him,
thought that the march to Narbo ought to take
the precedence of all his other plans. When
he arrived there, he encourages the timid, and
stations garrisons among the Ruteni, in the
province of the Volcse Arecomici, and the coun-
try around Narbo which was in the vicinity of0*ESAR'8 COMMENTARIES. 231

the enemy; he orders a portion of the forces
from the province, and the recruits which he
had brought from Itaty, to rendezvous among
the Helvii who border on the territories of the
Arverni.

Chap. VIII.—-These matters being ar-
ranged, and Lucterius now checked and forced
to retreat, because he thought it dangerous
to enter the line of Roman garrisons, Caesar
marches into the country of the Helvii; al-
though mount Cevennes, which separates the
Arverni from the Helvii, blocked up the way
with very deep snow, as it was the severest
season of the year; yet having cleared away
the snow to the depth of six feet, and having
opened the roads, he reaches the ten itorics of
the Arverni, with infinite labor to his soldiers.
This people being surprised, because they con-
sidered themselves defended by the Cevennes
as by a wall, and the paths at this season of
the year had never before been passable even to
individuals, he orders the cavalry to extend
themselves as far as they could, and strike
as great a panic as possible into the enemy.
These proceedings are speedily announced to
Vercingetorix by rumor and his messengers.
Around him all the Arverni crowd in alarm, and
solemnly entreat him to protect their property,
and not to suffer them to be plundered by the
enemy, especially as he saw that all the war
was transferred into their country. Being pre-
vailed upon by their entreaties, he moves his
camp from the country of the Bituriges in the
direction of the Arverni.232 CSAB'S COMMENTARIES.

Chap. IX. — Caesar, having delayed two
days in that place, because he had anticipated
that, in the natural course of events, such
would be the conduct of Vercingetorix, leaves
the army under pretence of raising recruits
and cavalry: he places Brutus, a young man,
in command of these forces; he gives him
instructions that the cavalry should range as
extensively as possible in all directions; that
he would exert himself not to be absent from
the camp longer than three days. Having
arranged these matters, he marches to Vienna
by as long journeys as he can, when his own
soldiers did not expect him. Finding there a
fresh Lody of cavalry, which he had sent on to
that place several days before, marching inces-
santly night and day, lie advanced rapidly
through the territory of the iEdui into that of
the Lingones, in which two legions were win-
tering, that, if any plan affecting his own safety
should have been organized by the JEdui, he
might defeat it by the rapidity of his move-
ments. When he arrived there, he sends infor-
mation to the rest of the legions, and gathers
all his army into one place before intelligence
<>f his arrival could be announced to the Arverni.
Vercingetorix, on hearing this circumstance,
leads back his army into the country of the
Bituriges ; and after marching from it to Ger-
govia, a town of the Boii, whom Caesar had
settled there after defeating them in the Hel-
vetian war, and had rendered tributary to the
iEdui, he determined to attack it.

Chap, X, — This action caused great per-C^ESAB'S COMMENT ABIES, 233

plexity to Caesar in the selection of his plan ;
[he feared] lest, if he should confine his le-
gions in one place for the remaining portion
of the winter, all Gaul should revolt when the
tributaries of the iEdui were subdued, because
it would appear that there was in him no pro-
tection for his friends ; but if he should draw
them too soon out of their winter quarters, he
might be distressed by the want of provisions,
in consequence of the difficulty of conveyance.
It seemed better, however, to endure every
hardship than to alienate the affections of all
his allies, by submitting to such an insult.
Having, therefore, impressed on the JEdui the
necessity of supplying him with provisions, he
sends forward messengers to the Boii to inform
them of his arrival, and encourage them to re-
main firm in their allegiance, and resist the
attack of the enemy with great resolution.
Having left two legions and the luggage of
the entire army at Agendicum, he marches to
the Boii

Chap. XT.— On the second day, when he
came to Vellaunodunum, a town of the Sen-
ones, he determined to attack it, in order,
that he might not leave an enemy in his rear,
and might the more easily procure supplies of
provisions, and draw a line of circumvallation
around it in two days: on the third day, am-
bassadors being sent from the town to treat
of a capitulation, he orders their arms to be
brought together, their cattle to be brought
forth, and six hundred hostages to be given.
He leaves Caius Trebonius his lieutenant, to234 C^ESAB'S COMMENT ABIES.

complete these arrangements ; he himself sets
out with the intention of marching as soon as
possible to Genabum, a town of the Carnutes,
who, having then for the first time received in-
formation of the siege of Vellaunodunum, as
they thought that it would be protracted to a
longer time, were preparing a garrison to send
to Genabum for the defence of that town.
Caesar arrived here in two days ; after pitching
his camp before the town, being prevented by
the time of the day, he defers the attach to
the next day, and orders his soldiers to pre-
pare whatever was necessary for that enter-
prise ; ancl'as a bridge over the Loire connected
the town of Genabum with the opposite bank,
fearing lest the inhabitants should escape by
night from the town, he orders two legions to
keep watch under arms. The people of Gena-
bum came forth silently from the city before
midnight, and began to cross the river. When
this circumstance was announced by scouts,
Caesar, having set fire to the gates, sends in
the legions which he had ordered to be ready,
and obtains possession of the town so com-*
pletely, that very few of the whole number of
the enemy escaped being taken alive, because
tfie narrowness of the bridge and the roads
prevented the multitude from escaping. He
pillages and burns the town, gives the booty
to the soldiers, then leads his army over the
Loire, and marches into the territories of the
Bituriges.

Chap. XII.—Vercingetorix, when he as-
certained the arrival of Caesar, desisted fromCjESAR%S COMMENTARIES. 235

the siege [of Gergovia], and marched to meet
Caesar. The latter had commenced to besiege
Noviodunum; and when ambassadors came
from this town to beg that he would pardon
them and spare their lives, in order that he
might execute the rest of Ms designs with the
rapidity by which he had accomplished most
of them, he orders their arms to be collected,
their horses to be brought forth, and hostages,
to be given. A part of the hostages being
now delivered up, when the rest of the terms
were being performed, a few centurions apd
soldiers being sent into the town to collect the
arms and horses, the enemy's cavalry which
had outstripped the main body of Vercingeto-
rix's army, was seen at a distance; as sopn
as the townsmen beheld them, and entertained
hopes of assistance, raising a shout , they began
to take up arms, shut the gates, and line the
walls. When the centurions in the town under-
stood from the signal-making of the Gauls that
they were forming some new design, they drew
their swords and seized the gates, and re-
covered all their men safe.

Chap. XIII. — Caesar orders the horse to
be drawn out of the camp, and commences a
cavalry action. Ilis men being now distressed,
Caesar sends to their aid about four hundred
German horse, which he had determined, at
the beginning, to keep with himself. The
Gauls could not withstand their attack, but
were put to flight, and retreated to their main
body, after losing a great number of men.
When they were routed, the townsmen, again236 GjESAH ' 8 COMMENTARIES,

intimidated, arrested those persons by whose
exertions they thought that the mob had been
roused, and brought them to Caesar, and sur-
rendered themselves to him. When these af-
fairs were accomplished, Caesar marched to
Avaricum, which was the largest and best
fortified town in the territories of the Bituri-
ges, and situated in a most fertile tract of
country ; because he confidently expected that
on taking that town, he would reduce beneath
his dominion the state of the Bituriges.

Chap. XIV.— Vercingetorix, after sustain-
ing such a series of losses at Vellaunodunum,
Genabum, and Noviodunum, summons his
men to a council. He impresses on them
" that the war must be prosecuted on a very
different sj'stem from that which had been
previously adopted; but they should by all
means aim at this object, that the Romans
should be prevented from foraging and pro-
curing provisions ; that this was easy, because
they themselves were well supplied with cav-
alry, and were likewise assisted by the season
of the year ; that forage could not be cut; that
the enemy must necessaiily disperse, and look
for it in the houses, that all these might be
daily destroyed by the horse. Besides that
the interests of private property must be neg-
lected for the sake of the general safety ; that
the villages and houses ought to be fired, over
such an extent of country in every direction
from Boia, as the Romans appeared capable
of scouring in their search for forage. That
an abundance of these necessaries could beCJESAirS COMMENTARIES. 237

supplied to them, because they would be as-
sisted by the resources of those in whose terri-
tories the war would be waged: that the
Romans either would not bear the privation,
or else would advance to any distance from
the camp with considerable danger; and that
it made no difference whether they slew them
or stripped them of their baggage, since, if it
was lost, they could not carry on the war.
Besides that, the towns ought to be burnt
which were not secured against every danger
by their fortifications or natural advantages;
that there should not be places of retreat for
their own countrymen for declining military
service, nor be exposed to the Romans as
inducements to carry off abundance of provis-
ions and plunder. If these sacrifices should
appear heavy or galling, that they ought to
consider it much more distressing that their
wives and children should be dragged off to
slavery, and themselves slain ; the evils which
must necessarily befall the conquered."

Chap. XV. — This opinion having been ap-
proved of by unanimous consent, more than
twenty towns of the Bituriges are burnt in one
day. Conflagrations are beheld in every quar-
ter ; and although all bore this with great re-
gret, yet they laid before themselves this con-
solation, that, as the victory was certain, they
could quickly recover their losses. There is a
debate concerning Avaricum in the general
council, whether they should decide, that it
should be burnt or defended. The Bituriges
threw themselves at the feet of all the Gauls,238 CJE SAB'S COMMENTARIES.

and entreat that they should not be compelled
to set fire with their own hands to the fairest
city of almost the whole of Gaul, which was
both a protection and ornament to the state ;
they say that " they could easily defend it
owing to the nature of the ground, for, being
enclosed almost on every side by a river and a
marsh, it had only one entrance, and that very
narrow." Permission being granted to them
at their earnest request, Vercingetorix at first
dissuades them from it, but afterwards con-
cedes the point, owing to their entreaties and
the compassion of the soldiers. A proper gar-
rison is selected for the town.

Chap XVI. — Vercingetorix follows closely
upon Caesar by shorter marches, and selects
for his camp a place defended by woods and
marshes, at the distance of fifteen miles from
Avaricum. There he received intelligence by
trusty scouts, every hour in the day, of what
was going on at Avaricum, and ordered what-
ever he wished to be done ; he closely watched
all our expeditions for corn and forage, and
whenever they were compelled to go to a
greater distance, he attacked them when dis-
persed, and inflicted severe loss upon them ;
although the evil was remedied by our men, as
far as precaution could be taken, by going
forth at irregular times, and by different ways.

Chap. XVII. — Caesar, pitching his camp
at that side of the town which was not defended
by the river and marsh, and had a very narrow
approach, as we have mentioned, began to raise
the vineae and erect two towers ; for the natureCJESAIV'S COMMENT ABIES. 239

of the place prevented him from drawing a line
of circumvallation. He never ceased to impor-
tune the Boii and JEdui for supplies of corn ;
of whom the one [the JEdui], because they
were acting with no zeal, did not aid him much ;
the others [the Boii], as their resources were
not great, quickly consumed what they had.
Although the army was distressed by the great-
est want of corn, through the poverty of the
Boii, the apathy of the JEdui, and the burning
of the houses, to such a degree, that for several
days the soldiers were without corn, and satis-
fied their extreme hunger with cattle driven
from the remote villages ; yet no language was
heard from them unworthy of the majesty of
the Roman people and their former victories.
Moreover when Caesar addressed the legions,
one by one, when at work, and said that he
would raise the siege, if they felt the scarcity
too severely, they unanimously begged him
u not to do so ; that they had served for several
years under his command in such a manner,
that they never submitted to insult, and never
abandoned an enterprise without accomplish-
ing it; that they should consider it a disgrace
if they abandoned the siege after commencing
it ; that it was better to endure every hard-
ship than not to avenge the manes of the
Roman citizens who perished at Genabum by
the perfidy of the Gauls." They intrusted the
same declarations to the centurions and mili-
tary tribunes, that through them they might
be communicated to Caesar.

Chap. XVIII. —When the towers had now240 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

approached the walls, Caesar ascertained from
the captives that Vercingetorix, after destroy-
ing the forage, had pitched his camp nearer
Avaricum, and that he himself with the cavalry
and light-armed infantry, who generally fought
among the horse, had gone to lay an ambus-
cade in that quarter, to which he thought that
our troops would come the next day to forage.
On learning these facts, he set out from the
camp secretly at midnight, and reached the
camp of the enemy early in the morning.
They, having quickly learned the arrival of
Caesar by scouts, hid their cars and baggage in
the thickest parts of the woods, iind drew up
all their forces in a lofty and open space : which
circumstance being announced, Caesar imme-
diately ordered the baggage to be piled, and
the arms to be got ready.

Chap. XIX.— There was a hill of a gentle
ascent from the bottom; a dangerous and im-
passable marsh, not more than fifty feet broad
begirt it on almost every side. The Gauls, hav-
ing broken down the bridges, posted themselves
on this hill, in confidence of their position, and
being drawn up in tribes according to their
respective states, held all the fords and passages
of that marsh with trusty guards * thus deter-
mined that if the Romans should attempt to
force the marsh, they would overpower them
from the higher ground while sticking in it, so
that whoever saw the nearness of the position
would imagine that the two armies were pre-
pared to fight on almost equal terms ; but who-
ever should view accurately the disadvantageCuESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 241

of position, would discover that they were
showing off an empty affectation of courage.
Caesar clearly points out to his soldiers, who
were indignant that the erneny could bear the
sight of them at the distance of so short a
space, and were earnestly demanding the sig-
nal for action, " with how great loss and the
death of how many gallant men the victory
would necessarily be purchased: and when he
saw them so determined to decline no danger
for his renown, that he ought to be considered
guilty of the utmost injustice if he did not hold
their life dearer than his personal safety."
Having thus consoled his soldiers, he leads
them back on the same day to the camp, and
determined to prepare the other things which
were necessary for the siege of the town.

Chap. XX.—Vercingetorix, when he had
returned to his mei, was accused of treason,
in that he had moved his camp nearer the
Romans, in th it he had gone away with all the
caval y, in that he had left so great forces
without a commander, in that, on his depart-
ure, the Romans had come at such a favor-
able season, and with such despatch ; that all
these circumstances could not have happened
accidentally or without design; that he pre-
ferred holding the sovereignty of Gaul by the
grant of Caesar, to acquiring it by their favor.
Being accused in such a manner, he made the
following reply to these charges: That his
moving .his camp had been caused by want of
forage, and had been done even by their
advice ; that his approaching near the Romans242 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

had been a measure dictated by the favorable
mature of the ground, which would defend him
by its natural strength; that the service of
the cavalry could not have been requisite in
marshy ground, and was useful in that place
to which they had gone ; that he, on his depart-
ure, had given the supreme command to no
one intentionally, lest he should be induced by
the eagerness of the multitude to hazard an
engagement, to which he perceived that all
were inclined, owing to their want of energy,
because they were unable to endure fatigue
any longer. That, if the Romans in the moan
time came up by chance, they [the Gauls]
should feel grateful to fortune ; if invited by
the Information of some one they should feel
grateful to him, because they were enabled to
see distinctly from the higher ground the
smallness of the number of their enemy, and
despise the courage of those who, not daring
to fight, retreated disgracefully into their
camp. That he desired no power from Caesar
by treachery, since he could have it by victor}',
which was now assured to himself and to all
the Gauls ; nay, that he would even give them
back the commar,d, if they thought that they
conferred honor on him, rather than received
safety from him. That you may be assured/'
said he, " that I speak these words with truth ;
— listen to these Romnn soldiers ! " He pro-
duces some camp-followers whom he had sur-
prised on a foraging expedition some days
before, and had tortured by famine and con-
finement. They, being previously instructedCuESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 243

what answers they should make when ex-
amined, say, u That they were legionary sol-
diers, that, urged by famine and want, they
had recently gone forth from the camp, [to
see] if they could find any corn or cattle in the
fields ; that the whole army was distressed by
a similar scarcity, nor had any one now suffi-
cient strength, nor could bear the labor of the
work ; and therefore that the general was de-
termined, if he made no progress in the siege,
to draw off his army in three days." u These
benefits," says Vercingetorix, "you receive
from me, whom you accuse of treason — me,
by whose exertions you see so powerful and
victorious an army almost destroyed by famine,
without shedding one drop of your blood ; and
I have taken precautions that no state shall
admit within its territories this army in its
ignominious flight from this place."

Chap. XXI. — The whole multitude raise
a shout and cl ,sh their arms, according to
their custom, as they usually do in the case
of him of wlipse speech they approve ; [they
exclaim] that Vercingetorix was a consum-
mate general, and that they had no doubt of
his honor; that the war could not be con-
ducted with greater prudence. They deter-
mine that ten thousand men should be picked
out of the entire army and sent into the town,,
and decide that the general safety should not
be intrusted to the Bituriges alone, because
they were aware that the glory of the v; ctory
must rest with the Bituriges, if they made
good the defence of tlie town,244 CuESAR'S COMMENTARIES:

Chap. XXII. — To the extraordinary valor
of our soldiers, devices of every sort were
opposed by the Gauls ; since they are a nation
of consummate ingenuity, and most skilful
in imitating and making those things which
are imparted by any one; for they turned
aside the hooks with nooses, and when they
had caught hold of them firmly, drew them
on by means of engines, and undermined the
mound the more skilfully on this account,
because there are in their territories extensive
iron mines, and consequently every description
of mining operations is known and practised
by them. They had furnished, moreover, the
whole wall on every side with turrets, and had
covered them with skins. Besides, in their fre-
quent sallies by day and night, they attempted
either to set fire to the mound, or attack our
soldiers when engaged in the works; and,
moreover, by splicing the upright timbers of
their own towers, they equalled the height of
ours, as fast as the mound had daily raised
them, and countermined our mines, and im-
peded the working of them by stakes bent and
sharpened at the ends, and boiling pitch, and
stones of very great weight, and prevented
them from approaching the walls.

Chap. XXIIL — I>ut this is usually the form
of all the Gallic walls. Straight beams, con-
nected lengthwise and two feet distant from
each other at equal intervals, are placed to-
gether on the ground; these are mortised on
the inside, and covered with plenty of earth.
But the intervals which we have mentionedJJE SAB'S COMMENTARIES

245

are closed up in front by large stones. These
being thus laid and cemented together, another
row is added above, in such a manner, that
the same interval may be observed, and that
the beams may not touch one another, but
equal spaces intervening, each row of beams
is kept firmly in its place by a row of stones.
In this manner the whole wall is consolidated,
until the regular height of the wall be com-
pleted. This work, with respect to appear-
ance and variety, is not unsightly, owing to
the alternate rows of beams and stones, which
preserve their order in right lines ; and, besides,
it possesses great advantages as regards utility
and the defence of cities; for the stone pro-
tects it from fire, and the wood from the bat*
tering ram, since it [the wood] being mortised
m the inside with rows of beams, generally
forty feet each in length, can neither be broken
through nor torn asunder.

Chap. XXIY. — The siege having been
impeded by so many disadvantages, the sol-
diers, although they were retarded during the
whole time, by the mud, cold, and constant
showers, yet by their incessant labor overcame
all these obstacles, and in twenty-five days
raised a mound three hundred and thirty feet
broad and eighty feet high. When it almost
touched the enemy's walls, and Caesar, accord*
ing to his usual custom, kept watch at the work,
and encouraged the soldiers not to discontinue
the work for a moment, a little before the third
watch they discovered that the mound was
sinking, since the enemy had set it on fire by,246 CAESARS COMMENTARIES.

a mine; and at tlie same time a shout was
raised along the entire wall, and a sally was
made from two gates on each side of the tur-
rets. Some at a distance were casting torches
and dry wood from the wall on the mound
others were pouring on it pitch, and other mate-
rials, by which the flame might be excited, so
that a plan could hardly be formed, as to where
they should first run to the defence, or to what
part aid should be brought. However, as two
legions always kept guard before the camp by
Cesar's orders, and several of them were at
stated times at the work, measures were
promptly taken, that some should oppose the
sallying party, others draw back the towers and
make a cut in the rampart; and, moreover, that
the whole army should hasten from th; camp
to extinguish the flames.

Chap. XXV. — When the battle was going
on in every direction, the rest of the night
being now spent, and fresh hopes of victory
always arose before the enemy : the more so on
this account because they saw the coverings of
our towers burnt away, and perceived, that we,
being exposed, could not easily go to give
assistance, and they themselves were always
relieving the weary with fresh men, and con-
s'd red that all the safety of Gaul rested on
this crisis ; there happened in my own view a
circumstance which, having appeared to be
worthy of record, we thought it ought not to
be omitted. A certain Gaul before the gate of
the town, who was casting into the fire oppo-
site the turret balls of tallow and fire whichCuESAH *$ COMMENTARIES. 247

were passed along to him, was pierced with a
dart on the right side and fell dead. One of
those next him stepped ov r him as he lay,
and discharged the same office : when the second
man was slain in the same manner by a wound
from a cross bow, a third succeeded him, and a
fourth succeeded the third: nor was this post
left vacant by the besieged, until, the fire of
the mound having been extinguished, and the
enemy repulsed in every direction, ah end was
put to the fighting.

Ciiap. XXVI.—The Gauls halving tried
every expedient, as nothing had succeeded,
adopted the design of fleeing from the town the
next day, by the advice and order of Vercinget-
orix. They hoped that, by attempting it at the
dead of night, they would effect it without any
great loss of men, because the camp of Vercin-
getorix was not far distant from the town, and
the extensive marsh which intervened was
likely to retard the Romans in the pursuit.
And they were now preparing to execute this
by night, when the matrons suddenly ran out
into the streets, and weeping cast themselves at
the feetof their husbands, and requested of them,
with every entreaty, that they should not aban-
don themselves and their common children to
the enemy for punishment, because the weak-
ness of their nature and physical powers pre*
vented them from taking to flight. When they
saw that they (as fear does not generally admit
of mercy in extreme danger) persisted in their
resolution, they began to shout aloud, and give
intelligence of their flight to the Bomans. Th§248 CJESAIt'S COMMENTARIES.

Gauls, being intimidated by fear of this, lest
the passes should be preoccupied by the Roman
cavalry, desisted from their design.

Chap. XXVII. — The next day Caesar, the
tower being advanced, and the works which he
had determined to raise being arranged, a vio-
lent storm arising, thought this no bad time
for executing his designs, because he observed
the guards arranged on the walls a little too
negligently, and therefore ordered his own men
to engage in their work more remissly, and
pointed out what he wished to be done. He
drew up his soldiers in a secret position within
the vineae, and exhorts them to reap, at lenst,
the harvest of victory proportionate to their
exertions. He proposed a reward for those
who should first scale the walls, and gave the
signal to the soldiers. They suddenly flew out
from all quarters and quickly filled the wall.

Chap. XXVIII. —The enemy being alarmed
by the suddenness of the attack, were dislodged
from the wall and towers, and drew up, in form
of a wedge, in the market-place and the open
streets, with this intention, that, if an attack
should be made on any side, they should fight
with their line drawn up to receive it. When
they saw no one descending 1 o the level ground,
and the enemy extending themselves along
the entire wall in every direction, fearing lest
every hope of flight should be cut off, they cast
away their arms, and sought, without stopping,
the most remote parts of the town. A part
was then slain by the infantry when they were
crowding upon one another in the narrow pas-CjESAB'S COMMENTARIES, 249

sage of the gates ; and a part having got with-
out the gates, were.cut to pieces by the cavalry :
nor was there one who was anxious for the
plunder. Thus, being excited by the massacre
at Genabum and the fatigue of the siege, they
spared neither those worn out with years,
women, nor children. Finally, out of all that
number, which amounted to about forty thou-
sand, scarcely eight hundred, who fled from the
town when they heard the first alarm, reached
Vercingetorix in safety : and he, the niglit
being now far spent, received them in silence
after their flight (fearing that any sedition
sh uld arise in the camp from their entrance in
a body and the compassion of the soldiers), so
that, having arranged his friends and the
chiefs of the states at a distance on the road,
he took precautions that tliey should be sepa-
rated and conducted to their fellow-country-
men, to whatever part of the camp had been
assigned to each state from the beginning.

Ciiap, XXIX. — Vercingetorix having con-
vened an assembly on the following day, con-
soled and encouraged his soldiers in the follow-
ing words: 4 k That they should not be too
much depressed in spirit, nor alarmed at their
loss ; that the Romans did not conquer by valor
nor in the field, but by a kind of art and skill
in assault, with which they themselves were
unacquainted; that whoever expected every
event in the war to be favorable erred ; that it
never was his opinion that Avaricum should be
defended, of the truth of which statement he
had themselves as witnesses, but that it was250 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES

owing to the imprudence of the Bituriges, anA
the too ready compliance of the rest, that this
loss was sustained; that, however, he would
soon compensate it by superior advantages ;
for that he would, by his exer lions, bring over
those states which severed themselves from the
rest of the Gauls, and would create a general
unanimity throughout the whole of Gaul, the
union of which not even the whole earth could
withstand, and that he had it already almost
effected ; that in the mean time it was reasonable
that he should prevail on them, for the sake of the
general safety, to begin to fortify their camp,
in order that they might the more easily sus-
tain the sudden attacks of the enemy."

Chap. XXX. — This speech was not disa-
greeable to the Gauls, principally because he
himself was not disheartened by receiving so
severe a loss, and had not concealed himself,
nor shunned the eyes of the people: and he
was believed to possess greater foresight and
sounder judgment than the rest, because, when
the affair was undecided, he had at first been
of opinion that Avaricum should be burnt,
and afterwards that it should be abandoned.
Accordingly, as ill success weakens the authority
of other generals, so, on the contrary, his dignitv
increased daily, although a loss was sustained :
at the same time they began to entertain hopes,
on his assertion, of uniting the rest of the
states to themselves, jftid 011 this occasion, for
the first time, the Gauls began to fortify their
camps, and were so alarmed that although they
were men unaccustomed to toil, yet they wereCJESAB %S COMMENTARIES. 251

of opinion that the}7 ought to endure and suf-
fer everything which should be imposed upon
them.

Chap. XXXI. — Nor did Vercingetorix use
less efforts than lie had promised, to gain over
the oilier states, and [in consequence] endeav-
ored to entice their leaders by gifts and prom-
ises. For this object he selected fitting emis-
saries, by whose subtle pleading or private
friendship each of the nobles could be most
easily influenced. He takes care that those
who fled to him on the storming of Avaricum
should be provided with arms and clothes.
At the same time, that his diminished forces
should be recruited, he levies a fixed quota, of
Soldiers from each state, and defines the num-
ber and clay before which he should wish them
brought to the camp, and orders all the archers^
of whom there was a very great number in Gaul,
to be collectod and sent to him. By these
means, the troops which were lost at Avaricum
are speedily replaced. In the meantime, Teu-
tomarus, the son of Ollovicon, the king of the
Nitiobriges, whose father had received the
appellation of friend from our senate, came to
him with a great number of his own horse and
those whom he had hired from Aquitania.

Ciiap. XXXII. — Ctesar, after delaying
several days at Avaricum, and, finding there
the gre itest plenty of corn and other provis-
ions, refreshed his army after their fatigue
and privation. The winter being almost
ended, when he was invited by the favorable
season of the year to prosecute the war and252 CJESAR'JS COMMENTARIES.

march against the enemy, [and try] whether
he could draw them from the marshes and
woods, or else press them by a blockade;
some noblemen of the iEdui came to him as
ambassadors to entreat u that in an extreme
emergency he should succor their state; that
their affairs were in the utmost danger, because,
whereas single magistrates had been usually
appointed in ancient times and held the power
of king for a single year, two persons now
exercised this office, and each asserted that
lie was appointed according to their laws.
That one of them was Convictolitanis, a pow-
erful and illustrious youth; the other Cotus,
sprung from a most ancient family, and per-
sonally a man of very great influence and
extensive connections. His brother Valetiacus
had borne the same office during the last year :
that the whole state was up in arms; the sen-
ate divided, the people divided; that each of
them had his own adherents ; and that, if the
animosity should be fomented any longer, the
result would be that one part of the state
would come to a collision with the other; that
it rested with his activity and influence to pre-
vent it."

Chap. XXXIII.—Although Caesar con-
sidered it ruinous to leave the war and the
enemy, yet, being well aware what great evils
generally arise from internal dissensions, lest
a state so powerful and so closely connected
with the Roman people, which he himself had
always fostered and honored in every respect,
should have recourse to violence and arms,CJESATI'S COMMENTARIES. 253

and that the party which had less confidence
in its own power should summon aid from
Vercingetorix, he determined to anticipate this
movement ; and because, bv the laws of the
iEdui, it was not permitted those who held the
supreme authority to leave the country, he
determined to go in person to the iEdui, lest
he should appear to infringe upon their gov-
ernment and laws, and summoned all the sen-
ate, and those between whom the dispute was,
to meet him at Decetia. When almost all the
state had assembled there, and he was in-
formed that one brother had been declared
magistrate by the other, when only a few per-
sons were privately summoned for the pur-
pose, at a different time and plnce from what
he ought, whereas the laws not only forbade
two belonging to one family to be elected
magistrates while each was alive, but even
deterred them from being in the senate, he
compelled Cotus to resign his office ; he ordered
Convictolitanis, who had been elected by the
priests, according to the usage of the state,
in the presence of the magistrates, to hold the
supreme authority.

Chap. XXXIV. — Having pronounced this
decree between [the contending parties], he
exhorted the iEdui to bury in oblivion their
disputes and dissensions, and, laying aside all
these things, devote themselves to the war,
and expect from him, on the conquest of Gaul,
those rewards which they should have earned,
and send speedily to him all their cavalry and
ten thousand infantry, which be might place254 CESAR'S COMMENTABIES.

in different garrisons to protect his convoys of
provisions, and then divided his army into
two parts: he gave Labienus four legions to
lead into the country of the Senones and Pa-
risii; and led in person six into the country of
the Arverni, in the direction of the town of
Gergovia, along the banks of the Allier. He
gave part of the cavalry to Labienus, and kept
part to himself. Vercingetorix, on learning
this circumstance, broke down all the bridges
over the river and began to march on the other
^ank of the Allier.

Chap. XXXV. —- When each army was in
sight of the other, and was pitching their camp
almost opposite that of the enemy, scouts
being distributed in every quaxter, lest the
ftomans should build a bridge and bring over
their troops ; it was to Caesar a matter attended
with great difficulties, lest he should be hin-
dered from passing the river during the great r
part of the summer, as the Allier cannot gen-
erally be forded before the autumn. There-
fore, that this might not happen, having
pitched his camp in a woody place opposite to
one of those bridges which V^rcingetorix had
takeii care sl.ould be broken down, the next
day he stopped behind with two legions in a
secret place : he sent on the rest of the forces
as usual, with all the baggage, aft t having
selected some cohorts, that the nun;ber of the
legions might appear to be complete. Having
ordered these to advance as far as they could,
when now, from the time of daj, he conjec-
tured they had come to m encampment, h$CuE SAB'S COMMENT ABIES. 155

began to rebuild the bridge on the same piles,
the lower part of which remained entire.
Having quickly finished the work and led his
legions across, he selected a fit place for a
camp and recalled the rest of his troops. Ver-
cingetorix, on ascertaining this fact, went
before him by forced marches, in order that he
might not be compelled to come to an action
against his will.

Chap. XXXVI. — Caesar, in five days'
march, went from that place to Gergovia, and
after engaging in a slight cavalry skirmish
that day, on viewing the situation of the city,
Which, being built on a very high mountain,
was very difficult of access, he despaired of
taking it by storm, and determined to take no
measures with regard to besieging it before he
should secure a supply of provisions. But
Vercingetorix, having pitched his camp on the
mountain near the town, placed the forces of
each state separately and at small intervals
around himself, and having occupied all the
hills of that range as far as they commanded
a view [of the-Roman encampment], he pre-
sented a formidable appearance ; he ordered
the rulers of the states, whom he had selected
as his council of war, to come to him daily at
the dawn, whether any measure seemed to
require deliberation or execution. Nor did lie
allow almost any day to pass without testing
in a cavalry action, the archers being inter-
mixed, what spirit and valor there was in each
of his own men. There was a hill opposite
tire town, at the very foot of that mountain,256 CuE SAB'S COMMENT ABIES.

strongly fortified and precipitous on every
side (which if our men could gain, they seemed
likely to e elude the enemy from a great share
of their supply of water, and from free for-
aging; but this place was occupied by them
with a weak garrison) : however, Caesar set
out from the camp in the silence of night, and
dislodging the garrison before succor could
come from the town, he got possession of the
place and posted two legions there, and drew
from the greater camp to the less a double
trench twelve feet broad, so that the soldiers
could even singly pnss secure from any sudden
attack of the enemy.

Chap. XXXVII. —Whilst these affairs were
going on at Gergovia, Convictolitanis, the
iEduan,to whom we have observed the magis-
tracy was adjudged by Caesar, being bribed
by the Arverni, holds a conference with cer-
tain }Toung men, the chief of whom were Lita-
vicus and his brothers, who were born of a
most noble family. He shares the bribe with
them, and exhorts them to "remember that
they were free and born for empire; that the
state of the iEdui w;*s the only one which
retarded the most certain victory of the Gauls ;
that the rest were held in check by its author-
ity and, if it was brought over, the Romans
would not have room to stand on in Gaul; that
he had received some kindness from Caesar,
only so far, however, as gaining a most just
cause by his decision; but that he assigned
more weight to the general freedom ; for, why
should theiEdui go to Caesar to decide con-CJESAB 'S COMMENTARIES.

257

cerning their rights and laws, rather than the
Romans come to the iEdui?" The young
men being easily won over by the speech of
the magistrate and the bribe, when they
declared that they would even be leaders in
the plot, a plan for accomplishing it was con
sidered, because they were confident their state
could not be induced to undertake the war on
slight grounds. It was resolved that Litavicus
should have the command of the ten thousand,
which were being sent to Caesar for the war,
and should have charge of th( m on their march,
and that his brothers should go befo e him to
Caesar. They arrange the other measures,
and the manner in which they should have
them done	-

Chap. XXXVIII. — Litavicus, having re-
ceived the command of the army, suddenly
convened the soldiers, when he was about
thirty miles distant from Gergovia, and, weep-
ing, said, k 4 Soldiers, whither are we going?
All our knights and all our nobles have per-
ished. Eporedirix and Viridomarus, the prin-
cipal men of the state, being accused of trea-
son, have been slain by the Romans without
even permission to plead their cause. Learn
this intelligence from those who have escaped
from the massacre; for I, since my brothers
and all my relations have been slain, am pre-
vented by grief from declaring what h s taken
place." Persons are brought forward whom
he had instructed what he would have them
say, and make the same statements to the sol-
diery as Litavicus had made: that all the258

CuESAfrS COMMENTARIES.

knights of the JEdui were slain because they
were said to have held conferences with the
Arverni; that they had concealed themselves
among the multitude of soldiers, and had
escaped from the midst of the slaughter. The
JEdui ishout aloud and conjure Litavicus to
provide for their safety. uAs if," said he, "it
were a matter of deliberation, and not of neces-
sity, for us to go to Gergovia and unite our-
selves to the Arverni. Or have we any Rea-
sons to doubt that the Romans, after perpe-
trating the atrocious crime, are now hastening
to slay us? Therefore, if there be any spirit
in us, let us avenge the death of those who
have perished in a most unworthy, manner,
and let us slay these robbers." He points to
the Roman citizens, who had accompanied
them, in reliance on his protection. He im-
mediately seizes a great quantity of corn and
provisions, cruelly tortures them, and then puts
them to death, sends messengers throughout
the entire state of the JEdui, and rouses them
completely by the same falsehood concerning
the slaughter of their knights and nobles; he
earnestly advises them to avenge, in the same
manner as he did, the wrongs which they had
received.

Chap. XXXIX.—Eporedirix, the JEduan,
a young man born in the highest rank and pos-
sessing very great influence at home, and, along
with Viridomarus, of equal age and influence,
but of inferior birth, whom Csesar had raised
from a humble position to the highest rank, on
being recommended to him by Divitiacus, hadCJESAR\S COMMENTARIES. 259

come in the number of horse, being summoned
by Caesar by name. These had a dispute with
each other for precedence, and in the struggle
between the magistrates they had contended
with their utmost efforts, the one for Convicto-
litanis, the other for Cotus. Of these Epore-
dirix, on learning the design of Litavicus, lays
the matter before Caesar almost at midnight;
he entreats that Caesar should not suffer their
state to swerve from the alliance with the
Koman people, owing to the depraved counsels
of a few young men, which he foresaw would
be the consequence if so many thousand men
should unite themselves to the enemy, as their
relations could not neglect their safety, nor the
state regard it as a matter of slight importance.

Chap. XL. — Caesar felt great anxiety 011
this intelligence, because he had alwa}vs espe-
cially indulged the state of the JEdui, and,
without any hesitation, draws out from the
camp four light-armed legions and all the cav-
alry : nor had he time, at such a crisis, to con-
tract the camp, because the affair seemed to
depend upon despatch. He leaves 'Caius Fa-
bius, his lieutenant, with two legions to guard
the camp. When he ordered the brothers of
Litavicus to be arrested, he discovers that they
had fled a short time before to the camp of the
enemy. He encouraged his soldiers "not to
be disheartened by the labor of the journey 011
such a necessary occasion," and, after advan-
cing twenty-five miles, all being most eager, he
came in sight of the army of the JEdui, and,
1>3t sending on his cavalry, retards and impedes260 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

their march ; he then issues strict orders to all
his soldiers to kill no one. He commands
Eporedirix and Viridomarus, who they thought
were killed, to move among the cavalry and
address their friends. When they were recog-
nized and the treachery of 'Litavicus dis-
covered, the JEdui began to extend their hands
to intimate submission, and, laying down their
arms, to deprecate death. Litavicus, with his
clansmen, who, after the custom of the Gauls
consider it a crime to desert their patrons, even
in extreme misfortune, flees forth to Gergovia.

Chap. XLI. — Caesar, after sending messen-
gers to the state of the iEdui, to inform them
that they whom he could have put to d ath by
the right of war were spared through his kind-
ness, and after giving three hours of the night
to bis army for repose, directed his march
to Gergovia. Almost in the middle of the
journey, a party of horse that were sent by
Fabius stated in how great danger matters
were; they inform him that the camp was
attacked by a very powerful army, while fresh
men were frequently relieving the wearied,
and exhausting our soldiers by the incessant
toil, since, on account of the size of the camp,
they had constantly to remain on the rampart;
that many had been wounded by the immense
number of arrows and all kinds of missiles;
that the engines were of great service in with-
standing them ; that Fabius, at their depart-
ure, leaving only two gates open, was blocking
up the rest, and was adding breastworks to
the ramparts, and was preparing himself for aCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 261

similar casualty on the following day. Caesar,
after receiving this information, reached the
camp before sunrise owing to the very great
zeal of his soldiers.

Chap. XLII.—Whilst these things are go-
ing on at Gergovia, the JEdui, on receiving
the first announcements from Litavicus, leave
themselves no time to ascertain the truth of
these statements. Some are stimulated by
avarice, others by revenge and credulity, which
is an innate propensity in that race of men
to such a degree that they consider a slight
rumor as an ascertained fact. They plunder
the property of the Roman citizens, and either
massacre them or drag them away to slavery.
Convictolitanis increases the evil state of affairs,
and goads on the people to fury, that by the
commission of some outrage th y may be
ashamed to return to propriety. They entice
from the town of Cabillonus, by a- promise of
safety, Marcus Aristius, a military tribune,
who was on his march to his legion-; they com-
pel those who had settled there for the purpose
of trading to do the same. By constantly
attacking them on their march they strip them
of all their baggage; they besiege day and
night those that resisted; when many were
slain on both sides, they excite a greater num-
ber to arms.

Chap. XLIIL — In the mean time, when
intelligence was brought that all their soldiers
were in Caes r's power, they run in a body to
Aristius; they assure him that nothing had
been done by public authority ; they order an262 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

inquiry to be made about the plundered prop
erty ; they confiscate the property of Litavicus
and his brothers; they send ambassadors to
Caesar for the purpose of clearing themselves.
They do all this with a view to recover their
soldiers ; but being contaminated by guilt, and
charmed by the gains arising from the plun-
dered property, as that act was shared in by
many, and being tempted by the fear of pun-
ishment, they began to form plans of war and
stir up the other states by embas3ies. Al-
though Caesar was aware of this proceeding,
yet he addresses the ambassadors with as much
mildness as he can : That he did not think
worse of the state on account of the ignorance
and fickleness of the mob, nor would diminish
his regard for the iEdui." He himself, fearing
a greater commotion in Gaul, in order to pre-
vent his being surrounded by all the states,
began to form plans as to the manner in which
he should return from Gergovia and again con-
centrate his forces, lest a departure arising
from the fear of a revolt should seem like a
flight.

Chap. XLIV.-—Whilst he was considering
these things an opportunity of acting success-
fully seemed to offer. For, when he had come
into the smaller camp for the purpose of secur-
ing the works, he noticed that the hill in the
possession of the enemy was stript of men,
although, on the former days, it could scarcely
be seen on account of the numbers on it.
Being astonished, he inquires the reason of it
from the deserters, a great number of whomCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 2(&

flocked to him daily. They all concurred in
asserting, what Caesar himself had already
ascertained by his scouts, that the back of that
hill was almost level; but likewise woody and
narrow, by which there was a pass to the other
side of the town ; that they had serious appre-
hensions for this place, and had no other idea,
on the occupation of one hill by the Romans,
than that, if they should lose the other, they
would be almost surrounded, and cut off from
all egress and foraging; that they were all
summoned by Vercingetorix to fortify this
place.

Chap. XLY. — Caesar, on being informed
of this circumstance, sends several troops of
horse to the place immediately after midnight;
he orders them to range in every quarter with
more tumult thau usual. At dawn he orders
a large quantity of baggage to be drawn out
of the camp, and the muleteers with helmets,
in the appearance and guise of horsemen, to
ride round the hills To these he adds a few
cavalry, with instructions to range more widely
to make a show. He orders them all to Seek
the same quarter by a long circuit; these pro-
ceedings were seen at a distance from the
town, as Gergovia commanded a view of the
camp, nor could the Gauls ascertain at so
great a distance, what certainty there was in
the manoeuvre. He sends one legion to the
same hill, and after it had marched a little,
stations it in the lower ground, and conceals
it in the woods. The suspicions of the Gauls
are increased, and all their forces are marched264 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

to that place to defend it. Caesar, having per-
ceived the camp of the enemy deserted, covers
the military insignia of his men, conceals the
standards, and transfers his soldiers in small
bodies fiom the greater to the less camp, and
points out to the lieutenants whom he had
placed in command over the respective legions,
what be should wish to be done ; he particu-
larly advises them to restrain their men from
advancing too far, through their desire of fight-
ing, or their hope of plunder; he sets before
them what disadvantages the unfavorable nature
of the ground carries with it; that they could
be assisted by despatch alone; that success
depended on a surprise, and not on a battle.
After stating these particulars, he gives the
signal for action, and detaches the iEdui at
the same time by another ascent on the right.

Chap. XLVI. — The town wall was 1200
paces distant from the plain and foot of the
ascent, in a straight line, if no gap intervened ;
whatever circuit was added to this ascent, to
make the hill easy, increased the length of the
route. But almost in the middle of the hill,
the Gauls had previously built a wall six feet
high, made of large stones, and extending in
length as far as the nature of the ground per-
mitted, as a barrier to retard the advance of
our men ; and, leaving all the lower space
empty, they had filled the upper part of the
hill, as far as the wall of the town, with their
camps very close to one another. The sol-
diers, on the signal being given, quickly
advance to this fortification, and, passing overCJESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 265

it, make themselves masters of the separate
camps. And so great was their activity in
taking the camps, that Teutomarus, the king
of the Nitiobriges, being suddenly surprised in
his tent, as he had gon) to rest at noon, with
difficulty escaped from the hands of the plun-
derers, with the upper part of his person naked,
and his horse wounded.

Chap. XLYII. — Caesar, having accom-
plished the object which he had in view, ordered
the signal to be sounded for a retreat; and the
soldiers of the tenth legion, bv which he was
then accompanied, halted. But the soldiers
of the other legions, not hearing the sound of
the trumpet, because there was a very large
valley between them, were, however, kept back
by the tribunes of the soldiers and the lieuten-
ants, according to Caesar's orders ; but, being
animated by the prospect of speedy victory,
and the flight of the enemy, and the favorable
battles of former periods, they thought nothing
so difficult that their bravery could not accom-
plish it; nor did they put an end to the pursuit,
until they drew nigh to the wall of the town and
the gates. But then, when a shout arose in
every quarter of the city, those who were at a
distance, being alarmed by the sudden tumult,
fled hastily from the town, since they thought
that the enemy were within the gates. The
matrons begin to cast their clothes and silver
over the wall, and bending over as far as the
lower part of the bosom, with outstretched
hands beseech the Romans to spare them, and
not to sacrifice to their resentment even women266 CJESAIi'S COMMENTARIES.

and children, as they had done at Avaricum.
Some of them let themselves down from the
walls by their hands, and surrendered to our
soldiers. Lucius Fabius, a centurion of the
eighth legion, who, it was ascertained, had said
that day among his fellow-soldiers that he was
excited by the plunder of Avaricum, and would
not allow any one to mount the wall before
him, finding three men of his own company,
and being raised up by them, scaled the wall.
He himself, in turn, taking hold of them one
by one, drew them up to the wall.

Chap. XLVIII —In the mean time those
who had gone to the other part of the town to
defend it, as we have mentioned above, at first,
aroused by hearing the shouts, and, afterwards,
by frequent accounts, that the town was in pos-
session of the Romans, sent forward their cav-
alry, and hastened in larger numbers to that
quarter. As each first came he stood beneath
the wall, and increased the number of his
countrymen engaged in action. When a great
multitude of them had assembled, the matrons,
who a little before were stretching their hands
from the walls to the Romans, began to beseech
their countrymen, and after the Gallic fashion
to show their dishevelled hair, and bring their
children into public view. Neither in position
nor in numbers was the contest an equal one
to the Romans; at the same time, being ex-
hausted by running and the long continuation
of the fight, they could not easily withstand
fresh and vigorous troops.

Chap. XLIX. — Caesar, when he perceivedC./ESAR >S COMMENT ABIES. 267

that his soldiers were fighting on unfavorable
ground, and that the enemy's forces were
increasing, being alarmed for the safety of his
troops, sent orders to Titus Sextius, one of his
lieutenants, whom he had left to guard the
smaller camp, to lead out his cohorts quickly
from the camp, and post them at the foot of
the hill, on the right wing of the enemy ; that if
he should see our men driven from the ground,
he should deter the enemy from following too
closely. He himself, advancing with the legion
a little from that place where he had taken his
post, awaited the issue of the battle.

Chap. L. — While the fight was going on
most vigorously hand to hand and the enemy
depended on their position and numbers, our
men on their bravery, the ,/Edui suddenly ap-
peared on our exposed flank, as Caesar had
sent them by another ascent on the right, for
the sake of creating a diversion. These, from
the similarity of their arms, greatly terrified
our men; and although they were discovered
to have their right shoulders bare, which was
usually the sign of those reduced to peace, yet
the soldiers suspected that this very thing was
done by the enemy to deceive them. At the
same time Lucius Fabius the centurion, and
those who had scaled the wall with him, being
surrounded and slain, were cast from the wall.
Marcus Petreius, a centurion of the same
legion, after attempting to hew down the
gates, was overpowered by numbers, and, de-
spairing of his safety, having already received
many wounds, said to the soldiers of his own268 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

company who followed him : " Since I canno*
save you as well as myself, I shall at least pro -
vide for-your'safety ; since I, allured by tho
love of glory, led you into this danger, do you
save yourselves when an opportunity is given."
At the same time he rushed into the midst of
the enemy, and slaying two of them, drove
back the rest a little from the gate. When his
men attempted to aid him, In vain," he says,
"you endeavor to procure my safety, since
blood and strength are now failing me, there**
fore li*ave this, while you have the opportunity,
and retreat to the legion." Thus he fell fight-
ing a few moments after, and saved his men
by his own death.

Chap. LI.—Our soldiers, being hard pressed
on every side, were dislodged from their posi-
tion, with the loss of forty-six centurions ; but
the tenth legion, which had been posted in re-
serve on ground a little more level, checked
the Gauls in their eager pursuit. It was sup-
ported by the cohorts of the thirteenth legion,
which, being led from the smaller camp, had,
under the command of Titus Sextius, occupied
the higher ground. The legions, as soon as
they reached the plain, halted and faced the
enemy. Vercingetorix led back his men from
the part of the hill within the fortifications.
On that day little less than seven hundred of
the soldiers were missing.

Chap. LIT. — On -the next day, Caesar,
having called a meeting, censured the rashness
and avarice of his soldiers, u In that they had
judged for themselves how far they ought toCJESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 269

proceed, or what they ought to do, and could
not be kept back by the tribunes of the sol-
diers and the lieutenants" ; and stated, "what
the disadvantage of the ground could effect,
what opinion he himself had entertained at
Avaricum, when having surprised the enemy
without either general or cavalry, he had given
up a certain victory, lest even a trifling loss
should occur in the contest owing to the disad-
vantage of position. That as much as he ad-
mired the greatness of their courage, since
neither the fortifications of the camp, nor the
height of the mountain, nor the wall of the town
could retard them ; in the same degree he cen-
sured their licentiousness and arrogance, be-
cause they thought that they knew more than
their general concerning victory, and the issue
of actions : and that he required in his soldiers
forbearance at.d self-command, not less than
valor and magnanimity."

Chap. LIII. — Having held this assembly,
and having encourag, d the soldiers at the con-
clusion of his speech, " That they should not
be dispirited on this account, n^r attribute to
the valor of the enemy, what the disadvantage
of position had caused " ; entertaining the same
views of his departure that he had previously
had, he led forth the legions from the camp,
and drew" up his army in order of battle in a
suitable place. When Vercingetorix, never-
theless, would not descend to the level ground,
a slight cavalry action, and that a successful
one, having taken place, he led back his army
into the camp. When he had done this, the270 CJESAll1S COMMENTARIES.

next day, thinking that he had done enough to
lower the pride of the Gauls, and to encourage
the minds of his soldiers, he moved his camp
in the direction of the JEdui. The enemy not
even then pursuing us, on the third day he re-
paired the bridge over the river Allier, and led
over his whole army.

Chap. LIY.—Having then held an inter-
view with Viridomarus and Eporedirix the
JEduans, he learns that Litavicus had set out
with all the cavalry to raise the JEdui; that it
was necessary that th^y too should go before
him to confirm the state in their allegiance.
Although he now saw distinctly the treachery
of the JEdui in many things, and was of opin-
ion that the revolt of the entire state would be
hastened by their departure; yet he thought
that they should not be detained, lest he should
appear either to offer an insult, or betray some
suspicion of fear. He briefly states to them
when departing his services towards the JEclui:
in what a state and how humbled he had found
them, driven into their towns, deprived of their
lands, Stripped of all their forces, a tribute
imposed on them, and hostages wrested from
them with the utmost insult; and to what con-
dition and to what greatness he had raised them,
[so much so] that they had not only recovered
their former position, but seemed to surpass
the dignity and influence of all the previous
eras of their history. After giving these
admonitions he dismissed them.

Chap. LY. — Noviodunum was a town of the
iEdui, advantageously situated on the banksCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 271

of the Loire. Caesar had conveyed hither all
the hostages of Gaul, the corn, public money,
a great part of his own baggage and that of
his army ; he had sent hither a great number
of horses, which he had purchased in Italy and
Spain on account of this war. When Epore-
dirix and Viridomarus came to this place, and
received information of the disposition of the
state, that Litavicus had been admitted by the
iEdui into Bibracte, which is a town of the
greatest importance among them, that Convic-
tolitanis, the chief magistrate, and a great part
of the senate had gone to meet him, that am-
bassadors had been publicly sent to Vercinget-
orix to negotiate a peace and alliance, thqy
thought that so great an opportunity ought
not to be neglected. Therefore, having put
to the sword the garrison of Noviodunum, and
those who had assembled there for the pur-
pose of trading or were on their march, they
divided the money and horses among them-
selves ; they took care that the hostages of the
[different] states should be brought to Bi-
bracte, to the chief magistrate ; they burnt the
town to prevent its being of any service to the
Romans, as they were of opinion that they
could not hold it; they carried away in their
vessels whatever corn they could in the hurry ;
they destroyed the remainder, by [throw-
ing it] into the river or setting it on fire;
they themselves began to collect forces from
the neighboring country, to place guards and
garrisons in different positions along the banks
of the Loire, and to display the cavalry on all272 CJEJAR'S COMMENTARIES.

sides to strike terror into the Romans, [to try]
if they could cut them off from a supply of
provisions. In which expectation they were
much aided, from the circumstance that the
Loire had swollen to such a degree from the
melting of the snows, that it did not seem
capable of being forded at all.

Chap. HLYI. — Caesar on being informed of
these movements was of opinion that he ought
to make haste, even if he should run some risk
in completing the bridges, in order that he
might engage before greater forces of the
enemy should be collected in that place. For
no one even then considered it an absolutely
necessary act, that changing his design he
should direct his march into the Province,
both because the infamy and disgrace of the
thing, and the intervening mount Cevennes,
and the difficulty of the roads prevented him ;
and especially because he had serious appre-
hensions for the safety of Labienus whom he
had detached, and those legions whom he had
sent with him. Therefore, having made very
long marches by day and night, he came to
the river Loire, contrary to the expectation
of all; and having, by means of the cavalry,
found out a ford, suitable enough considering
the emergency, of such depth that their arms
and shoulders would be above water for sup-
porting their accoutrements, he dispersed his
cavalry in such a manner as to break the force
of the current, and having confounded the
enemy at the first sight, led his army across
the river in safety; and finding corn and cattleCuESAIi'S C03I3IEXTARIES.

273

in the fields, after refreshing his army with
them, he determined to march into the country
of the Senones.

Chap. LVII. — Whilst th' se things are being
done by Caesar, *Labienus, leaving at / geitdi-
cum the recruits who had lately arrived from
Italy, to guard the baggage, marches with four
legions to Lutetia (which is a town of the
Parisii, situated on an island of the river Seine),
whose arrival being discovered by the enemy,
numerous forces arrived from the neighboring
states. The supreme command is intrusted
to Camalugenus one of the Aulerci, who,
although almost worn out with age, was called
to that honor, on account of his extraordinary
knowledge of military tactics. He, when he
observed that there was a large marsh which
communicated with the Seine, abd rendered
all that country impassable, encamped there,
and determined to prevent our troops from
passing it.

Chap. LVIII. — Labienus at first attempted
to raise vinese, fill up the marsh with hurdles
and clay, and secure a road. After he per-
ceived that this was too difficult to accomplish,
he issued in silence from his camp at the third
watch and reached Melodunum by the same
route by which he came. This is a town of
the Senones, situated on an island in the Seine,
as we have just before observed of Lutetia.
Having seized upon about fifty ships and
quickly joined them together, nncl having
placed soldiers in them, he intimidated by his
unexpected arrival the inhabitants, of whom a-274 CJESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

great number had been called out to the war,
and obtains possession of the town without a
contest. Having repaired the bridge, which
the enemy had broken down during the preced-
ing days, he led over his army, and began to
march along the banks of the river to Lutetia.
The enemy, on learning the circumstance from
those who had escaped from Melodunum, set
fire to Lutetia, and order the bridges of that
town to be broken down : they themselves set
out from the marsh, and take their position on
the banks of the Seine, over against Lutetia
and opposite the camp of Labicniis.

Chap. LIX. — Cresar was now reported to
have departed from Gergovia ; intelligence was
likewise brought to them concerning the revolt
of the JEdui, and a successful rising in Gaul;
and that Caesar, having been prevented from
prosecuting h:s journey and crossing the Loire,
and having been compelled by the want of
corn, had marched hastily to the province.
But the Bellovaci, who had been previously
disaffected of themselves, on lea ning the
revolt of, the JEdui, began to assemble forces
and openly to prepare for war. Then Labie-
nus, as the change in affairs was so great,
thought that he must adopt a very different
system from what he had previously intended,
and he did not now think of making any new
acquisitions, or of provoking the enemy to,an
action ; but that he might bring back his army
safe to Agendicum. For, on one side, the
Bellovaci, a state which held the highest repu-
tation for prowess in Gaul, were pressing onC^E SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 275

him ; and Camulogenus, with a disciplined and
well-equipped army, held the other side ; more-
over, a very great river separated and cut off
the legions from the garrison and baggage.
He saw that, in consequence of such great
difficulties being thrown in his way, he must
seek aid from his own energy of disposition.

Chap. LX. — Having, therefore, called a
council of war a little before evening, he ex-
horted his soldiers to execute with diligence
and energy such commands as he should give ;
he assigns the ships which he had brought from
Melodunum to Roman knights, one to each,
and orders them to fall down the river silently
for four miles, at the end of the fourth watch,
and there wait for him. He leaves the five
cohorts, which he considered to be the most
steady in action, to guard the camp ; he orders
the five remaining cohorts of the same legion
to proceed a little after midnight up the river
with all their baggage, in a great tumult. He
collects also some small boats ; and sends them
in the same 'direction, with orders to make a
loud noise in rowing. He himself, a little after,
marched out in silerce, and, at the head of
three legions, seeks that place to which he had
ordered the ships to be brought.

Chap. LXI. — When he had arrived there,
the enemy's scouts, as they were stationed
along every part of the river, not expecting an
attack, because a great storm had suddenly
arisen, were surprised by our soldiers: the
infantry and cavalry are quickly transported,
under the superintendence of the Roman276 GuE SAB'S COMMENTARIES.

knights, whom he had appointed to that office.
Almost at the same time, a little before day-
light, intelligence was given to the enemy that
there was an unusual tumult in the camp of
the Romans, and that a strong force was
marching up the river, and that the sound of
oars was distinctly heard in the Fame quarter,
and that soldiers were being conveyed across
in ships a little below. On hearing these
things, because they were of opinion that the
legions were passing in three different places,
and that the entire army, being terrified by
the revolt of the JEdui, were preparing for
flight, they divided their forces also info three
divisions. For leaving a guard opposite to
the camp and sending a small body in the
direction of Metiosedum, with orders to advance
as far as the ships would proceed, they led
the rest of their troops against Labienus.

Chap. LXII. — By daybreak all our sol-
diers were brought across and the army of the
enemy was in sight. Labienus, having en-
couraged his soldiers " to retain tlte memory of
their ancient valor, and so many most success-
ful actions, and imagine Caesar himself, under
whose command they had so often routed the en-
emy, to be present," gives the signal for action.
At the first onset the enemy are beaten and
put to flight in the right wing, where the sev-
enth legion stood: on the left wing, which po-
sition the twelfth legion held, although the first
ranks fell transfixed by the javelins of the
Romans, yet the rest resisted most bravely:
nor did any one of them show the slightestCAESAR *s. COMMENTARIES. 277

intention of flying. Camulogenus, the general
of the enemy, was present and encouraged his
troops. But when the issue of the victory
was still uncertain, and the circumsfcanees
which were taking place on the left wing were
announced to the tribunes of the seventh
legion, they faced about their legion to the en-
emy's rear and attacked it: not even then did
any one retreat, but all were surrounded and
slain. Camulogenus met the same fate. But
those who were left as a guard opposite the
camp of Labienus, when they heard that the
battle was commenced, marched to aid their
countrymen and take possession of a hill, but
were unable to withstand the attack of the vic-
torious soldiers. In this manner, mixed with
their own fugitives, such as the woods and
mountains did not shelter were cut to pieces by
our cavalry. When this battle was finished,
Labienus returns to Agendicum, where the
baggage of the whole army had been left:
from it he marched with all his forces to Caesar.

Chap. LXIII.—The revolt of the iEdui
being known, the war grows more dangerous.
Embassies are sent by them in all directions :
as far as they can prevail by influence, author-
ity, or money, they strive to excite the state
[to revolt]. Having got possession of tlie
hostages whom Caesar had deposited with
them, they terrify the hesitating by putting
them to death. The iEdui request Vercinget-
orix to come to them and communicate his
plans of conducting the war. On obtaining
this request they insist that the chief commandm CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

should be assigned to them ; and when the
affair became a disputed question, a council of
all Gaul is summoned to Bibracte. They come
together in great numbers and from every
quarter to the same place. The decision is
left to the votes of the mass: all to a man ap-
prove of Vercingetorix as their general. The
Remi, Lingones, and Treviri were absent from
this meeting ; the two former because they at-
tached themselves to the alliance of Rome;
the Treviri because they were very remote and
were hard pressed by the Germans ; which was
also the reason of their being absent during
the whole war, and their sending auxiliaiies
to neither party. The JEdui are highly indig-
nant at being deprived of the chief command;
they lament the change of fortune, and miss
Caesar's indulgence towards them ; however,
after engaging in the war, they do not dare to
pursue their own measures apart from the rest.
Eporedirix and Viridomarus, youths of the
greatest promise, submit reluctantly to Ver-
cingetorix

Chap. LXIY. —The latter demands host-
ages from the remaining states: nay, more,
appointed a day for this proceeding ; he orders
all the cavalry, fifteen thousand in number, to
quickly assemble here; he says that he will be
content with the infantry which he had before,
and would not tempt fortune nor come to a
regular engagement; but since he had abun-
dance of cavalry, it would be very easy for
him to prevent the Romans from obtaining
forage or corn, provided that they themselvesCAESAR'S COMMENTARIES. 279

should resolutely destroy their corn and set
fire to their houses; by which sacrifice of
private property they would evidently obtain
perpetual dominion and freedom. After ar-
ranging these matters he levies ten thousand
infantry on the iEdui and Segusiani, who
border on our province : to these he adds eight
hundred horse. He sets over them the brother
of Eporedirix, and orders him to wage war
against the Allobroges. On the other side he
sends the Gabali and the nearest cantons of tlio
Arverni against the Helvii; he likewise sends
the Ruteni and Cadurci to lay waste the territo-
ries of the Yolcse Arecomici. Besides, by secret
messages and embassies, he tampers with the
Allobroges, whose minds, he hopes, had not
yet settled down after the excitement of the
late war. To their nobles he promises money,
and to their state the dominion of the whole
province.

Chap. LXY.—The only guards provided
against all these contingencies were twenty-
two cohorts, which were collected from the
entire province by Lucius Caesar, the lieuten-
ant, and opposed to the enemy in every quar-
ter. The Helvii, voluntarily engaging in battle
with their neighbors, are defeated, and Caius
Valerius Donotaurus, the son of Caburus, the
principal man of the state, and several others,
being slain, they are forced to retire within
their towns and fortifications. The Allobroges,
placing guards along the course of the Rhine,
defend their frontiers with great vigilance and
energy, Ceesar, as he perceived that the280 CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

enemy were superior in cavalry, and he himself
could receive no aid from the Province or Italy,
while all communication was cut off, sends
across the Rhine int» Germany to those states
which he had subdued in the preceding cam-
paigns, and summons from them cavalry and
the light-armed infantry, who were accustomed
to engage among them. On their arrival, as
they were mounted on unserviceable horses, he
takes horses from the military tribunes and the
rest, nay, even from the Roman knights and
veterans, and distributes them among the
Germans.

Chap. LXYI. — In the mean time, whilst
these things are going on, the forces of the
enemy from the Arverni, and the cavalry
which had been demanded from all Gaul, meet
together. A great number of these having
been collected, when Caesar was marching into
the country of the Sequani, through the con-
fines of the Lingones, in order that he might
the more easily render aid to the province,
Vercingetorix encamped in throe camps, about
t n miles from the Romans : and having sum-
moned the commanders of the cavalry to a
council, he shows that the time of victory was
come; that the Romans were fleeing into the
province and leaving Gaul; that this was suf-
ficent for obtaining immediate free lom; but
was of little moment in acquiring peace and
tranquillity for the future; for the Romans
would return after assembling greater forces,
and would not put an end to the war. There-
fore they should attack them on their march,C^ESAB'S COMMENTARIES. 281

when encumbered IV the infantry should
[be obliged to] relieve their cavalry, and be
retarded by doing so, the march could not be
accomplished; if, abandoning their baggage
they should provide for their safety (a result,
which, he trust* d, was more likely to ensue),
they would lose both property and character.
For as to the enemy's horse, they .ought not to
entertain a doubt that none of them would dare
to advance beyond the main body. In order
that they [the Gauls] may do so with greater
spirit, he would marshal all their forces before
the camp, and intimidate the enemy. The cav-
alry unanimously shout out, " That they ought
to bind themselves by a most sacred oath, that
he should not be received under a roof, nor
have access to his children, parents, or wife,
who shall not twice have ridden through the
enemy's army."

Chap. LXYII.—This proposal receiving
general approbation, and all being forced to
take the oath, on the next day the cavalry
were divided into three parts, and two of these
divisions made a demonstration on our two
flanks; while one' in front began to obstruct
our march. On this circumstance being an-
nounced, Caesar orders his cavalry also to form
three divisions and charge the enemy. Then
the action commences simultaneously in every
part: the main body halts; the baggage is
received within the ranks of the legions. If
our men seemed to be distressed, or hard
pressed in any quarter, Caesar usually ordered
the troops to advance, and the army to wheel282 CESAR'S coMumTAnms.

round in that quarter ; which conduct retarded
the enemy in the pursuit, and encouraged our
men by the hope of support. At length the
Germans, on the right wing, having gained
the top of the hill, dislodge the enemy from
their position and pursue them even as far as
the river at which Vercingetorix with the infan-
try was stationed, and slay several of them.
The rest, on observing this action, fearing lest
they should be surrounded, betake themselves
to flight. A slaughter ensues in every direc-
tion, and three of the noblest of the JEdui are
taken and brought to Caesar : Cotus, the com-
mander of the cavalry, who had been engaged
in the contest with Convictolitanis the last
election, Cavarrillus, who had held the com-
mand of the infantry after the revolt of Lita-
vicus, and Eporedirix, under whose command
the JEdul had engaged in war against the
Sequani, before the arrival of Caesar.

Chap. LXVIII.—All his cavalry being
routed, Vercingetorix led back his troops in
the same order as he had arranged them before
the camp, and immediately began to march to
Alesia, which is a town of the Mandubii, and
ordered the baggage to be speedily brought
forth from the camp, and follow him closely.
Caesar, having conveyed his baggage to the
nearest hill, and having left two legions to
guard it, pursued as far as the time of day
would permit, and after slaying about three
thousand of the rear of the enemy, encamped
at Alesia on the next day. On reconnoitring
the situation of the city, finding that the enemyC'yESAIi'S COMMENTARIES. 283
*

were panic-stricken, because the cavalry in
which they placed their chief reliance were
beaten, he encouraged his men to endure the
toil, and began to draw a line of circumvalla-
tion round Alesia.

Chap. LXIX.—The town itself was situated
on the top of a hill, in a very lofty position, so
that it did not appear likely to be taken, except
by a regular siege. Two rivers, on two differ-
ent sides, washed the foot of the hill. Before
the town lay a plain of about three miles in
length ; on every other side hills at a moderate
distance, and of an equal degree of height,
surrounded the town. The army of the Gauls
had filled all the space under the wall, com-
prising the part of the hill which looked to the
rising sun, and had drawn in front a trench
and a stone wall six feet high. The circuit of
that fortification, which was commenced by the
Romans, comprised eleven miles. The camp
was pitched in a strong position, and twenty-
three redoubts were raised in it, in which sen-
tinels were placed by day, lest any sally should
be made suddenly ; and by night the same were
occupied by watches and strong guards.

Chap. LXX.—The work having been be-
gun, a cavalry action ensues in that plain,
which we have already described as broken
by hills, and extending three miles in length.
The contest is maintained on both sides with
the utmost vigor; Caesar sends the Germans
to aid our troops when distressed, and draws
up the legions in front of the camp, lest any
Bally should be suddenly made by the enemy's284	SAB'S CO MM EN TAlilES.

*

infantry. The courage of our men is increased
by the additional support of the legions; the
enemy being put to flight, hinder one another
by their numbers, and as onl}* the narrower
gates were left open, are crowded together in
them ; then the Germans pursue them with
vigor even to the fortifications. A great
slaughter ensues; some leave their horses,
and endeavor to cross the ditch and climb the
wall. Caesar orders the legions which he had
drawn up in front of the rampart to advance a
little. The Gauls, who were within the forti-
fications, were no less panic-stricken, thinking
that the enemy were coming that moment
against them, and unanimously shout "to
arms " ; some in their alarm rush into the town ;
Vercingetorix orders the gates to be shut, lest
the camp should be left undefended. The
Germans retreat, after slaying many and tak-
ing several horses.

Chap. LXXI — Vercingetorix adopts the
design of sending away all his cavalry by night,
before the fortifications should be completed
by the Romans. He charges them when de-
parting '• that each of them should go to his
respective state, and press for the war all who
were old enough to bear arms; he states his
own merits, and conjures them to consider his
safety, and not surrender him who had de-
served so well of the general freedom, to the
enemy for torture ; he points out to them that,
if they should be remiss, eighty thousand chosen
men would perish with him ; that upon making
a calculation, he had barely corn for thirtyC^E SAB'S COMMENT ABIES. 285

days, but couM hold out a little longer by
economy.99 After giving these instructions he.
silently dismisses the cavalry in the second
watch, [on that side] where our works were
not completed; he orders all the corn to be
brought to himself; he ordains capital punish-
ment to such as should not obeyhe distrib-
utes among them, man by man, the cattle,
great quantities of which had been driven
there by the Mandubii; he began to measure
out the corn sparingly, and by little and little ;
he receives into the town all the forces which
he had posted in front of it. In this manner
he prepares to await the succors from Gaul,
and carry on the war.

Chap. LXXII. — Caesar, on learning these
proceedings from the deserters and captives,
adopted the following system of fortification :
he dug a trench twenty feet deep, with per-
pendicular sides, in such a manner that the
base of this trench should extend so far as the
edges were apart at the top. He raised all
his other works at a distance of four hundred
feet from that ditch, [he did] that with this
intention, lest (since he necessarily embraced
so extensive an area, and the whole works
could not be easily surrounded by a line of
soldiers) a large number of the enemy should
suddenly, or by night, sally against the forti-
fications ; or lest they should by day cast
weapons against our men while occupied with
the works. Having left this interval, he drew
two trenches fifteen feet broad, and of the
same depth; the innermost of them, being286 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

in low and level ground, he filled with water
conveyed from the river. Behind these he
raised a rampart and wall twelve feet high;
to this he added a parapet and battlements,
with large stakes cat liks stags' horns, project-
ing from the junction of the parapet and bat-
tlements, to prevent the enemy from scaling
it, and surrounded the entire work with turrets,
which were eighty feet distant from one an-
other.	s

Chap. LXXIII. — It was necessary, at one
and the same time, to procure timber [for the
rampart], lay in supplies of corn, and raise
also extensive fortifications, and the available
troops were in consequence of this reduced in
number, since they used to advance to some
distance from the camp, and sometimes the
Gauls endeavored to attack our works, and to
make a sally from the town by several gates
and in great force. On which Caesar thought
that further additions should be made to these
works, in order that the fortifications might be
defensible by a small number of soldiers.
Having, therefore, cut down the trunks of
trees or very thick branches, and having
stripped their tops of the bark, and sharpened
them into a point, he drew a continued trench
everywhere five feet deep. These stakes be-
ing sunk into this trench, and fastened firmly
at the bottom, to prevent the possibility of
their being torn up, had their branches only
projecting from the ground. There were five
rows in connection with, and intersecting each
Other; aad whoever entered within them wen?CJE SAB'S COMMENTARIES. 287

likely to empale themselves on very sharp
stakes. The soldiers called these " cippi."
Before these, which were arranged in oblique
rows in the form of a quincunx, pits three feet
deep were dug, which gradually diminished
in width to the bottom. In these pits taper-
ing stakes, of the thickness of a man's .thigh,
sharpened at the top and hardened in the fire,
were sunk in such a manner as to project
from the ground not more than four inches ;
at the same time, for the purpose of giving
them strength and stability, they were each
filled with trampled clay to the height of one
foot from the bottom : the rest of the pit was
covered over with osiers and twigs, to conceal
the deceit. Eight rows of this kind were dug,
and were three feet distant from each other.
They called this a lily from its resemblance
to that flower. Stakes a foot long, with iron
hooks attached to them, were entirely sunk in
the ground before these, and were planted in
every place at small intervals ; these they called
spurs.

Chap. LXXIY. — After completing these
works, having selected as level ground as he
could, considering the nature of the country,
and having enclosed an area of fourteen miles,
he constructed, against an external enemy%
fortifications of the same kind in every re-
spect, and separate from these, so that tbs
guards of the fortifications could not be sur-
rounded even by immense numbers, if such a
circumstance should take place owing to the
departure of the enemy's cavalry ; and in order288 CJESAB'S COMMENT ABIES.

that the Roman soldiers might not be compelled
to go out of the camp with great risk, he or-
ders all to provide forage and corn for thirty
days.

Chap. LXXY. — Whilst those things are
carried on at Alesii, the Gauls, having con-
vened. a council of their chief nobility, deter-
mine that all who could bear arms should not
be called out, which was the opinion of Ver-
cingetorix, but that a fixed number should be
levied from each state; lest, wh n so great
a multitude assembled together, they could
neither govern nor distinguish their men, nor
have the means of supplying them with corn.
They demand thirty-five thousand men from
the -ZEdui and their dependants, the Segusi-
ani, Ambivareti, and Aulerci Brannovices ; an
equal number from the Arverni in conjunction
with the Eleuteti Cadurci, Gabali, and Ve-
launi, who were accustomed to be under the
command of the Arverni; twelve thousand
each from the Senones, Sequani, Bituriges,
Santones, Ruteni, and Carnutes ; ten thousand
from the Be'lovaci; the same number from the
Lemovici; eight thousand each from the Pk>
tones, and Turoni, and Parisii, and Helvii;
five thousand each from the Suessiones, Am-
biani, Mediomatrici, Petrocorii, Nervii, Morini,
and Nitiobriges; the same number from the
Aulerci Cenomani; four thousand from the
Atrebates; three thousand each from the
Bellocnssi, Lexovii, and Aulerci Eburovices;
thirty thousand from the Rauraci, and Boii; six
thousand from all the states together, whichCESAR'S COMMENTARIES. m

border on the Atlantic, and which in their dia-
lect are called Armoricse (in which number
are comprehended the Curisolites, Rhedones,
Ambibari, Caltes, Osismii, Lemovices, Veneti,
and Unelli). Of these the Bellovaci did not
contribute their number, as the}T said that they
would wage war against the Romans on their
own account, and at their own discretion, and
would not obey the order of anyone : however,
at the request of Commius, they sent two
thousand, in consideration of a tie of hospital-
ity which subsisted between him and them.

Chap. LXXVI. — Caesar had, as we have
previously narrated, availed himself of the
faithful and valuable services of this Commius,
in Britain, in former years: in consideration
of which merits he had exempted from taxes
his [Commius's] state, and had conferred on
Commius himself the country of the Morini.
Yet such was the unanimity of the Gauls in
asserting their freedom, and recovering their
ancient renown in war, that they were influ-
enced neither by favors, nor by the recollec-
tion of private friendship; and all earnestly
directed their energies and resources to that
war, and collected eight thousand cavalry,
and about two hundred and forty thousand
infantry. These were reviewed in the country
of the iEdui, and a calculation was made of
their numbers: commanders were appointed:
the supreme command is intrusted to Com-
mius the Atrebatian, Viridomarus and Epore-
dirix the iEduans, and Vergasillaunus the
Arvernian, the cousin-germanof Vercingetorix.290 CuESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

To them are assigned men selected from each
state, by whose advice the war should be con-
ducted. All march to Alesia, sanguine and
full of confidence: nor was there a single in-
dividual who imagined that the Romans could
withstand the sight of such an immense host:
especially in an action carried on both in front
and rear, when [on the inside] the besieged
would sally from the town and attack the
enemy, and on the outside so great forces of
cavalry and infantry would be seen.

Chap. LXXVII. — But those who were
blockaded at Alesia, the day being past, on
which they had expected auxiliaries from their
countrymen, and all their corn being consumed,
ignorant of what was going on among the
jfedui, convened an assembly and deliberated
on the exigency of their situation. After vari-
ous opinions had been expressed among them,
some of which proposed a surrender, others a
sally, whilst their strength would support it,
the speech of Critognatus ought not to be
omitted for its singular and detestable cruelty.
He sprung from the noblest family among the
Arverni, and possessing great influence, says,
'• I shall pay no attention to the opinion of
those who call a most disgraceful surrender by
the name of a capitulation; nor do I think
that they ought to be considered as citizens, or
summoned to the council. My business is
with those who approve of a sally: in whose
advice the memory of our ancient prowess
seems to dwell in the opinion of you all. To
be unable to bear privation for a short time isCESAR'S COMMENT ABIES. 291

disgraceful cowardice, not true valor. Those
who voluntarily offer themselves to death are
more easily found than those who would calmly
endure distress. And I would approve of this
opinion (for honor is a powerful motive with
me), could I foresee no other loss, save that of
life; but let us, in adopting our design, look
back on all Gaul, which we have stirred up to
our aid. What courage do you think would
our relatives and friends have, if eighty thou-
sand men were butchered in one spot, suppose
ing that they should be forced to come to an
action almost over our corpses? Do not ut-
terly deprive them of your aid, for they have
spurned all thoughts of personal danger on
account of your safety ; nor by your folly, rash-
ness, and cowardice, crush all Gaul and doom
it to an eternal slavery. Do you doubt their
fidelity and firmness because they have not
come at the appointed day ? What then ? Do
you suppose that the Romans are employed
every day in the outer fortifications for mere
amusement? If you cannot be assured by
their despatches, since every avenue is blocked
up, take the Romans as evidence that their
approach is drawing near; since they, intimi-
dated by alarm at this, labor night and day at
their works. What, therefore, is my design ?
To do as our ancestors did in the war against
the Cimbri and Teutones, which was by no
means equally momentous ; who, when driven
into their towns, and oppressed by similar pri-
vations, supported life by the corpses of those
who appeared useless for war on account of292 CJESAR 'S COMMENTARIES.

their age, and did not surrender to the enemy:
and even if we had not a precedent for such
cruel conduct, still I should consider it most
glorious that one should be established, and
delivered to posterity. For in what was that
war like this ? The Cimbri, after laying Gaul
waste, and inflicting great calamities, at length
departed from our country, and sought other
lands ; they left us our rights, laws, lands, and
liberty. But what other motive or wish have
the Romans, than, induced by envy, to settle
in the lands and states of those whom they
have learned by fame to be noble and powerful
in war, and impose on them perpetual slavery ?
For they never have carried on wars on any
other terms. But if you know not these things
which are going on in distant countries, look
to the neighboring Gaul, which, being reduced
to the form of a province, stripped of its rights
and laws, and subjected to Roman despotism,
is oppressed by perpetual slavery."

Chap. LXXVIII. — When different opin-
ions were expressed, they determined that
those who, owing to age or ill health, were
unserviceable for war, should depart from the
town, and that themselves should try every
expedient before they had recourse to the ad-
vice of Critognatus: however, that they would
rather adopt that design, if circumstances
should compel them and their allies should
delay, than accept any terms of a surrender or
peace. The Mandubii, who had admitted them
into the town, are compelled to go forth with
their wives and children. When these cameCJESAR' S COMMENTARIES. 293

to the Roman fortifications, weeping, they
begged of the soldiers by every entreaty to
veceive them as slaves and relieve them with
food. But Caesar, placing guards on the ram-
part, forbade them to be admitted.

Chap. LXXIX.—In the mean time, Com^
mius and the rest of the leaders, to whom the
supreme command had been intrusted, came
with all their forces to Alesia, and having oc-
cupied the entire hill, encamped not more than
a mile from our fortifications. The following
day, having led forth their cavalry from the
camp, they fill all that plain, which we have
related extended three miles in length, and
drew out their infantry a little from that place,
and post them on the higher ground. The
town Alesia commanded a view of the whole
plain. The besieged run together when these
auxiliaries were seen; mutual congratulations
ensue, and the minds of all are elated with
joy. Accordingly, drawing out their troops,
they encamp before the town, an.d cover the
nearest trench with hurdles and fill it up with
earth, and make ready for a sally and every
casualty.

Chap. LXXX.—Caesar, having stationed
his army on both sides of the fortifications, in
order that, if occasion should arise, each should
hold and know his own post, orders the cav-
alry to issue forth from the camp and com-
mence action. There was a commanding view
from the entire camp, which occupied a ridge
of hills; and the minds of all the soldiers
anxiously awaited the issue of the battle. Th§294 CESAR'S COMMENTARIES.

Gauls had scattered archers and light-armed
infantry here and there, among their cavalry^,
to give relief to their retreating troops, and
sustain the impetuosity of our cavalry. Sev-
eral of our soldiers were unexpectedly wounded
by these, and left the battle. When the Gauls
were confident that their countrymen were the
conquerors in the action, and beheld our men
hard pressed by numbers, both those who were
hemmed in by the line of circumvallation and
those who had come to aid them, supported
the spirits of their men by shouts and yells
from every quarter. As the action was car-
ried on in sight of all, neither a brave nor cow-
ardly act could be concealed ; both the desire
of praise and the fear of ignominy urged on
each party to valor. After fighting from
noon almost to sunset, without victory inclin-
ing in favor of either, the Germans, on one
side, made a charge against the, enemy in a
compact body, and drove them back; and,
when they were put to flight, the archers were
surrounded and cut to pieces. In other parts,
likewise, our men pursued to the camp the
retreating enemy, and did not give them an
opportunity of rallying. But those who had
come forth from Alesia returned into the town
dejected and almost despairing of success.

Chap. LXXXI. — The Gauls, after the
interval of a day, and after making, during
that time, an immense number of hurdles,
scaling ladders, and iron hooks, silently went
forth from the camp at midnight and
approached the fortifications in the plain.CESAR'S COMMENT ABIES. 295

Raising a shout suddenly, that by this intima-
tion those who were besieged in the town might
learn their arrival, they began to cast down
hurdles and dislodge our men from the ram-
parts by slings, arrows, and stones, and exe-
cuted the other movements which are requisite
in storming. At the same time, Vercingetorix,
having heard the shout, gives the signal to his
troops by a trumpet, and leads them forth
from the town. Our troops, as each man's
post had been assigned him some days before,
man the fortifications; they intimidate the
Gauls by slings, large stones, stakes which
they had placed along the works, and bullets.
All view being prevented by the darkness,
many wounds are received on both sides ; sev-
eral missiles are thrown from the engines.
But Marcus Antonius and Caius Trebonius,
the lieutenants, to whom the defence of these
parts had been allotted, drafted troops from
the redoubts which were more remote, and sent
them to aid our troops, in whatever direction
they understood that they were hard pressed.

Chap. LXXXII. — Whilst the Gauls were
at a distance from the fortification, they did
more execution, owing to the immense number
of their weapons : after they came nearer, they
either unawares empaled themselves on the
spurs, or were pierced by the mural darts from
the ramparts and towers, and thus perished.
After receiving many wounds on all sides, and
having forced no part of the works, when day
drew nigh, fearing lest they should be sur-
rounded by a sally made from the higher camp296 CjESAR >S COMMENT ABIES,

on tlie exposed flank, they retreated to their
countrymen. But those within, whilst they'
bring forward those things which had been
prepared by Vercingetorix for a sally, fill up
the nearest trenches ; haying delayed a long
time in executing these movements, they
learned the retreat of their countrymen before
they drew nigh to the fortifications. Thus they
returned to the town without accomplishing
their object.

Chap. LXXXIII. —The Gauls, having
been twice repulsed with great loss, consult
what they should do: they avail themselves
of the information of those who were well
acquainted with the country ; from them they
ascertain the position and fortification of the
upper camp. There was, on the no th side,
a hill, which our men could not include in their
works, on account of the extent of the circuit,
and had necessarily made their camp in ground
almost disadvantageous, and pretty steep.
Gaius Antistius Reginus and Caius Caninius
Rebilus, two of the lieutenants, with two
legions, were in possession of this camp. The
leaders of the enemy, having reconnoitred the
country by their scouts, select from the entire
army sixty thousand men, belonging to those
states which bear the highest character for
courage : they privately arrange among them-
selves what they wished to be done, and in
what manner; they decide that the attack
should take place when it should seem to be
noon. They appoint over their forces Verga-
sillaunus, the Arvernian, one of the four gen-CjESAB 'S COMMENTABIES. 297

erals, and a near relative of Vercingetorix.
lie, having issued from the camp at the first
watch, and having almost completed his march
a little before the dawn, hid himself behind
the mountain, and ordered his soldiers to
refresh themselves after their labor during the
night. When noon now seemed to draw nigh,
he marched hastily against that camp which
we have mentioned before; and, at the same
time, the cavalry began to approach the fortifi-
cations in the plain, and the rest of the forces
to make a demonstration in front of the
camp.

Chap. LXXXIV.—Vercingetorix, having
beheld his countrymen from the citadel of
Alesia, issues forth from the town ; he brings
forth from the camp long hooks, movable
pent-houses, mural hooks, and other things,
which he had prepared for the purpose of mak-
ing a sally. They engage on all sides at once,
and every expedient is adopted. They flocked
to whatever part of the works seemed weakest.
The army of the Romans is distributed along
their extensive lines, and with difficulty meets
the enemy in every quarter. The shouts
which were raised by the combatants in their
rear had a great tendency to intimidate our
men, because they perceived that their danger
rested on the valor of others : for generally all
evils which are distant most powerfully alarm
men's minds.

Chap. LXXXY.—Caesar, having selected
a commanding situation, sees distinctly what-
ever is going on in every quarter, and send#298 CJSBAR'S COMMENTARIES.

assistance to his troops when hard pressed.
The idea uppermost in the minds of both
parties is, that the present is the time in which
they would have the fairest opportunity of
making a struggle ; the Gauls despairing of all
safety, unless they should succeed in forcing
the lines : the Romans expecting an end to all
their labors if they should gain the day. The
principal struggle is at the upper lines, to
which, we have said, Vergasillaunus was sent.
The least elevation of ground, added to a
declivity, exercises a momentous influence.
Some are casting missiles, others, forming a
testudo, advance to the attack ; fresh men by
turns relieve the wearied. The earth, heaped
up by all against the fortifications, gives the
means of ascent to the Gauls, and covers those
works which the Romans had concealed in the
ground. Our men have no longer arms or
strength.

Chap. LXXXVI. — Caesar, on observing
these movements, sends Labienus with six
cohorts to relieve his distressed soldiers: he
orders him, if he should be unable to withstand
them, to draw off the cohorts and make a sally ;
but not to do this except through necessity.
He himself goes to the rest, and exhorts them
not to succumb to the toil; he shows them
that the fruits of all former engagements
depend on that day and hour. The Gauls
within, despairing of forcing the foitifications
in the plains on account of the greatness of the
works, attempt the places precipitous in ascent:
hither they bring the engines which they hadCJESAB 'S COMMENTARIES. 299

prepared; by the immense number of their
missiles they dislodge the defenders from the
turrets: they fill the ditches with clay and
hurdles, then clear the way; they tear down
the rampart and breastwork with hooks.

Chap. LXXXVII.— Caesar sends at first
young Brutus, with six cohorts, and after-
wards Caius Fabius, his lieutenant, with seven
others : finally, as they fought more obstinately,
he leads up fresh men to the assistance of his
soldiers. After renewing the action, and
repulsing the enemy, he marches in the direc-
tion in which he had sent Labienus, drafts
four cohorts from the nearest redcubt, and
orders part of the cavalry to follow him, and
part to make the circuit of the external forti-
fications and attack the enemy in the rear.
Labienus, when neither the ramparts nor ditches
could check the onset of the enemy, informs
Csesar by messengers of what he intended to
do. Csesar hastens to share in the action.

Chap. LXXXVIII. — His arrival being
known from the color of his robe, and the
troops of cavalry, and the cohorts which he
had ordered to follow him being seen, as these
low and sloping grounds were plainly visible
from the eminences, the enemy join battle.
A. shout being raised by both sides, it was suc-
ceeded by a general shout along the ram pans
and whole line of fortifications. Our troops,
laying aside their javelins, carry on the engage-
ment with their swords. The cavalry is sud-
denly seen in the rear of the Gauls : the other
cohorts advance rapidly; the enemy turn their300 QJESATL'8 COMMENT A TIIES.

backs; the cavalry intercept them in their
flight, and a great slaughter ensues. Sedulius,
the general and chief of the Lemovices, is
slain ; Vergasillaunus, the Arvernian, is taken
alive in the flight, seventy-four military stand-
ards are brought to Caesar, and few out of so
great a number return safe to their camp. The
besieged, beholding from the town the slaugh-
ter and flight of their countrymen, despairing
of safety, lead back their troops from the for*
tifications. A flight of the Gauls from their
camp immediately ensues on hearing of this
disaster, and hnd not the soldiers been wearied
by sending frequent re-enforcements, and the
labor of the entire day, all the enemy's forces
could have been destroyed. Immediately after
midnight, the cavalry are sent out and over-
take the rear, a great number are taken or cut
to pieces, the rest by flight escape in different
directions to their respective states.

Chap. LXXXIX.—Vercingetorix, having
convened a council the following day, de-
clares, that he had undertaken that war.
not on account of his own exigencies, but on
account of the general freedom ; and since he
must yield to fortune, he offered himse'f to
them for either purpose, whether they should
wish to atone to the Romans by his death, or
surrender him alive. Ambassadors are sent to
Caesar on this subject. He orders their arms
to be surrendered, and their chieftains delivered
up. He seated himself at the head of the
lines in front of the camp, the Gallic chieftains
are brought before him. They surrender Yer-CJESAIt'S COMMENTARIES. 301

cingetorix, and lay down their arms. Reserv-
ing the JEdui and Arverni, [to try] if he could
gain over, through their influence, their respec-
tive states, he distributes one of the remaining
captives to each soldier, throughout the entire
army, as plunder.

Chap. XC.-—After making these arrange-
ments, he marches into the [country of the]
iEdui, and recovers that state. To this place
ambassadors are sent by the Arverni, who
promise that they will execute his commands.
He demands a great number of hostages. He
sends the legions to winter quarters; he re-
stores about twenty thousand captives to the
iEdui and Arverni; he orders Titus Labienus
to march into the [country of the] Sequani
with two legions and the cavalry, and to him
he attaches Marcus Seinpronius Rutilus; he
places Caius Fabius and Lucius Minucius
Basil us, with two legions in the country of the
Remi, lest they should sustain any loss from
the Bellovaci in their neighborhood. He sends
Gaius Antistius Reginus into the [country of
the] Ambivareti, Titus Sextius into the terri-
tories of the Bituriges, and Caius Caninius
Rebilus into those of the Ruteni, with one
legion each. He stations Quintus Tullius
Cicero, and Publius Sulpicius among the iEdui
atCabillo and Matisco on the Saone, to procure
supplies of corn. He himself determines to
winter at Bibracte. A supplication of twenty
days is decreed by the senate at Rome, on
learning these successes from Caesar's de-
spatches.New

Translations — Literal:

If you do not find listed here the particular
translations wanted — write us.

-- Aeschines Against Ctesiphon..........	75

—— Aeschylus Agamemnon ..............................75

-Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound & Seven

Against Thebes .........................75

—— Amicis' The Heart of a Boy (Cuore)..	75

—1— Aristophanes' Birds and Frogs................75

-Aristophanes' Clouds ........................75

—	Balzac's Eugenie Grandet ........................9°

-Bazin's Children of Alsace (Les Oberle)	x 5°

	■-Caesar's Civil War ....................................75

-Caesar's Gallic War, the Seven Books..	75

——Catullus ................................75

-Cervantes' Don Quixote — 2 vols..each	9°

■	Cicero's Brutus ......................................75

-Cicero's Defense of Roscius ...............75

—	Cicero's Offices ............................................75

-Cicero On Old Age and Friendship....	75

-Cicero On Oratory and Orators..............75

—— Cicero On the Nature of the Gods....	75

——Cicero's Select Orations ..........................75

Cicero's Select Letters — 2 vols., each	75

-Cicero's Letters — Complete, 4 vols., ea.	2 00

——Cicero's Tusculan Disputations.........75

—	Corneille's Le Cid....................75

Cornelius Nepos — Complete ..........75

—— Daudet's Tartarin of Tarascon....... V	75

—■—Demosthenes' Olynthiacs and Philippics	75

-Demosthenes' On the Crown .........	75

—•—Dumas' The Black Tulip (La Tulipe

Noire) .....................................................90

--Euripides' Alcestis and Electra.•	75

-Bacchantes, Hercules, Furens ........	75

——Hecuba and Andromache ..........................75

-Iphigenia, in Aulis, in Tauris ........	75

Medea ....................................75

»—— Eutropius ................................75

——- Feuillet's Rom. of a Poor Young Man.	75

Freytag's The Journalists ...................75

—	Galdos' Dona Perfecta ..............................1 4°

	■-Galdos' Story of a Spanish Love (Ma•

rianela) ..............................................................x 5°

•-Gerstacker's Germelhausen ......................75New

Translations — Literal:

—— Goethe's JKgipont ............................75

-—- Goethe's ,Faust — Part I .............	75

-Goethe's JFaust— IJarts I and II............2 00

; ' Goethe's ,Goet? von Berlichingen, Tor-
quato TasSQ, Egmont, Iphigenia, Clavigo,

Wayward Lover, and Fellow Culprits.....	2 00

—«— Goethe's Hermann and Dorothea .. ..	75

—	Goethe's Iphigenia in Tauris ..........	75

-- Goethe's JPoems gnd Ballads ..............2 00

—	Halevy's cAbbe Constantin.................75

-»—r Hauff's kichtenstein .................	2 00

—■<—Hauff's Tales: The Caravan, Sheik of

Alexandria jand Inn in the. Spessart...... . .	? 00

-r-—Hauptmann's The Sunken Bell (Die	~ ~

versunkene Qlocke) ............. ,........75

-Heine's Poems ......................	? 00

——Heine's Travel Pictures including Tour

in the Harz .............3 00

• * „ . ■ Herodotus Books VI and VII.........	. 75

--Herodotu^ Book VIII.......................75,

■	Herodotus Books I to IX.............. \	? °°,

-Heyse's L'Arrabbiata ......... .......	?5

-Hillern's,Higher Than the Church ....	75

■	, Homer's Iliad -7- 6 Books ............	, 75

—	Homer's .Odyssey 12 Books ........	75

-Horace -— Complete ..................	75

-Hugo's Hernani, Ruy Bias, etc.......	2 00

-r-1— Hugo's Les Miserables Two vols, ea.	9°

-J uvenal'sv Satires ■—Complete .........,

--La Brete's My Uncle and My Cure

(Mon Oncle et Mon Cure)............................. 75

—	Le Sage's Gil Bias...................	1 25

rLessing's-Emilia Galotti .........................75

—— Lessing's a Lapkpon ........ .........	? 00

—?• Lessing's Minna yon Barnhelm...... ..	, 75.

t—Lessing's oNajthan the Wi^e ........ . . . . .	. 75 ,

■	Lessing's Miss Sara Simpson, Philotas, i ;
Emilia Galotti and Nathan the Wise......	a oo

■	a . > Livy — Books 1 and 2.............;....	75

—	Livy — Books 1 to 20.....................% so

Livy — Books 21 and 22 .............	75

~—• Livy — Books 21 to 30...............	1 00

—— Loti's An Iceland Fisherman {Pecheur
d'Islande) t^....25.New

Translations — Literal:

— Lucian's Select Dialogues — 2 vols., ea	75

——Lucretius On the Nature of Things..••	»

-Lysias' Orations .....................................75

—- Martial's Epigrams — Complete ............*75

—	Moliere's Dramatic Works — 3 vols. ea.	a 00

-Ovid's Metamorphoses — Books 1 to 7	75

——Ovid's Metamorphoses — Books 8 to 15	75
—'— Ovid's Fasti, Tristia, Pontic Epistles,

Ibis and Haliuticon ........................................a 00

—— Ovid's Heroides, Amours, Art of Love,

Remedy of Love and Minor Pieces.......3 00

—- Phaedrus Fables ........................................75

—	Pindar's Extant Odes ................................200

—	Plato's Apology, Crito and Phaedo..........75

■	■ Plato's Gorgias ..............75

—	Plato's Laches (paper cover) ..................75

■	Plato's Protagoras, Euthyphron........75

■	Plato's Republic ...........................75

—	Plato's Republic, Timeaus and Critias..	* 00

—	Plautus' Captivi and Mostellaria......	75

—	Plautus* Comedies, Vol. I — Trinum-
mus, Miles Gloriosus, Bacchides, Stichus,

Pseudolus, Menaechmii, Aulularia, Cap-
tivi, Asinaria and Curculio ................300

—— Plautus' Comedies, Vol. II — Amphi-
tryon, Rudens, Mercator, Cistellaria,

Trucullcntus, Persa, Casina, Poenulus,

Epidicus, Mostelleria and Fragments............2

——Plautus' Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus...	75

—	Plautus' Trimummus and Menaechmi...	75
■' Pliny's Select Letters— Books I to V	75

—— Pliny's Select Letters — Books VI to X	75

Pliny — Letters of Pliny the Younger	300

—	Quintilian, Books X and XII ................75

—>— Quintilian Inst, of Oratory, 2 vols, each	2 00

——- Racine's Athalie .....................75

Racine's Dramatic Works, Vol. I — The
Thebaid, Alexander the Great, Andro-
mache, The Litigants, Britannicus..............* 00

—— Racine's Dramatic Works, Vol. II — Ba-
jazet, Mithridates, Iphigenia, Phaedra,

Esther and Athalia ..................................9 00

--Roman Life in Latin Prose and Verse	75

—>— Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac.. . ... ..	75Translations — Literal:

-— Rostand's L'Aiglon ..................

—	Rostand's The Princess Far-away (La
Princess Lointaine) ....................

—— Sallust's Catiline and Jugurthine War..
-1 Sallust's Florus and Velleius Paterculus

—	Scheffel's Ekkehard..................

—	Schiller's Ballads ....................

--Schiller's Don Carlos, Mary Stuart,

Maid of Orleans and Bride of Messina...
11 Schiller's History of Thirty Years War

—	Schiller's Maid of Orleans ..........

—— Schiller's Maria Stuart ...............

—— Schiller's Nephew as Uncle ..........

—— Schiller's Poems .....................

•-Schiller's Song of the Bell (Das Lied

von der Glocke) ........................

—	Wallenstein's Death..................

—	Schiller's Wallenstein's Camp, Piccolo-
mini, and Death of Wallenstein..........

-Schiller's William Tell ...............

—-—Seneca on Benefits...................

—	Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, Electra
and Antigone ..........................

--Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus

Coloneus, Electra, Antigone, Trachiniae,
Ajax and Philoctetus ...................

■	Storm's Immensee ...................

•—— Sudermann's Dame Care (Frau Sorge)

—Suetonius* Lives of Twelve Caesars...
•-— Tacitus' Annals — First Six Books.....

-■ Tacitus' Germany and Agricola.......

^——Tacitus' On Oratory .................

Terence's Andria Adelphi and Phormio.

Terence Heautontimorumenos ........

+-Thucydides — Books I to IV..........

--Thucydides — Books V to VIII...... •

■	Thucydides* Peloponnesian War *.....

—— Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

(Vingt Mille Lieues sous les Mers)......

Virgil's Aeneid — First 6 Books......

—	Virgil's Eclogues and Georgics........

—	Virgil's Aeneid —: 12 Bks. with Eclogues
and Georgics ..........................

—	Viri Romae .........................New

Translations — Literal:

—-Xenophon's Anabasis ................................75

———Xenophon's Cyropaedia, 2 vols.....each	75

-Xenophon's Hellenica ................................75

-Xenophon's Memorabilia ..........................75

— Xenophon's Minor Works ........................2 00

—Zschokke The Broken Jar ........................7$

Translations — Interlinear:

If you do not find listed here the particular
translation wanted — write us.

—— Caesar's Gallic War .................

——Cicero On Old Age and Friendship...

--Cicero's Orations ........................................2 00

--Cornelius Nepos ..........................200

—	Demosthenes On the Crown......................2 00

-Homer's Iliad ................................2 00

-Horace ..........................................................2 00

	--Juvenal .....................................2 00

--Livy, Books 21-22, and Selections from

Books 1 to 6 ..........................

--New Test., Gk.-Eng., without notes...

--New Testament — Greek-English — with

notes (cloth) ..........................

-Old Testament — Hebrew-English —

Vol. I — with notes (cloth) ............

—	Ovid's Metamorphoses — Complete ....	2 00

—	Sallust's Catiline and Jugurthine War..	2 00

--Tacitus' Germany and Agricola..............2 00

-Virgil's Aeneid— First Six Books..........200

——Virgil's Aeneid — Twelve Books..............200

Virgil's Eclogues, Georgics and Last

Six Books of Aeneid............................2 00

-Xenophon's Anabasis......................2 00

-Xenophon's Memorabilia ..........................2 00

Translations — Parallel Text Translations.

These translations, rightfully entitled, the
Teachers' Parallel Translations, have been
prepared to include both the Latin text
and its English translation, so arranged
as to show the corresponding relation
which the one bears to the other. The
Latin, on the book's left page, is authentic
and complete. The combination, by estab-
lishing a definite interpretation for each
sentence as it is read in the Latin, make9
translating-clear and intelligent.

—■—Caesar'«s Gallic War — First 4 B««ks...	1 5®

— Cicero's Orations — Against Catiline,	,New

For Archias and the Manilian Law............1 5°

—	Virgil's Aeneid— First 6 Books............i 5®

Translations — Juxtalinear— paper cover.

—t— Caesar, War with the Germans........	6o

-Cicero, Conspiracy of Catiline — Bk. Ill	6o

—	Cicero, Conspiracy of Catiline — Bk. IV	6o

■	Cicero, In Defence of Aulus Licinius

Archias ..............................................................6o

■	Cicero, The Pardon of Marce!lu9..............6o

■	Cicero, The Manilian Law ............6o

-Virgil, Aeneid— Book III ............6o

■ Virgil, Aeneid — Book IV........................6o

The Fully Parsed Classics:

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translation, the parsing of every sentence,
the defining of every word and the analy-
sis of the structure of every idiomatic

phrase.

-Caesar's Gallic War, Book i....................« oo

—■— Cicero's Orations Against Catiline, Bk. x	a oo

-Cicero on Friendship..................................a oo

-Horace Odes, Books i and 2....................200

-Virgil's Aeneid, Book 1............................a 00

——— Xenop.hon's Anabasis, Book 1..............soo

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Caesar's Gallic War	Ovid's Metamorphoses Com-
Cicero on Old Age and plete

Friendship	Sallust's Catiline and Jugurth-
Cicero's Orations ine Wars

Cornelius Nepos	Tacitus' Germany & Agricola

Demosthenes On the	Virgil's Aeneid, First 6 Books

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31 West 15th Street	New York CitySample page of the New Students* Interlinear Translation
of Cicero.

THE FIRST ORATION

OF MARCUS TULLIUS CICERC
AGAINST LUCIUS CATILINE.

1. Quousque tandem abiitere, Catilina,

How far	at length will you abuse, O Catiline

nostra (abl.) patientia (abl.)? Quamdiu etiam

our	patience ?	How long also (will!

iste furor tuus eludet (fut.) nos? ad queiE
that fury of yours elude	us? to whal

finem	effrenata audacia jactabit (fut.) seser

end (will that) unbridled

Nihil

In no wise

flaunt

ne

(has)
nihil

in no wise (have)

timor
the fear

omni
ofalU

audacity

noeturnum praesidium
the nightly	guard

vigiliae urbis,

the watches of the city,

populi,	nihil

of the people,	in no wise (has)

omnium bonorum, nihil	hie

the good, in no wise (has) this

locus habendi senatus, nihil
place of holding the senate, in no wise (have)

vultus horum moverunt (perf.)

moved

tua consilia
perceive (that) your counsels [plans]

vides	tuam conjurationem

see (that) your conspiracy

constrictam conscientia
bound	by the consciousness

que
and

Non

(Do you) not

^ Non
(Do you) not

teneri
lobe lis] held

looks	of these

sentis

itselfi

Palatii,

of the Palatine

nihil,

in no wise (has),

concursus
the assemblage

munitissimus
most fortified

ora

the faces

te?
youi

pater e?
lie open i

jam
already

omnium
of al>The Teachers'
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CESAR'S GALLIC WAR—The First Four Books

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For Archias, and The Manilian Law

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31 west 15th street, new yorkTHE CLASSICS

FULLY PARSED

The purpose of this series is word by word to
resolve into its grammatical parts each sentence
of the textbooks generally read by classical stu-
dents so that their translation into English may be
understood in every detail. Each book includes
in addition to the original text and its literal trans-
lation, the parsing of every sentence, the defining
of every word, and the analysis of the structure of
every idiomatic phrase.

The Series comprises the following:	^

CjESAR'S GALLIC WAR, Book 1 . $2.00

CICERO'S ORATIONS AGAINST
CATILINE, Book 1 .... . 2.00

CICERO ON FRIENDSHIP . . .	2.00

VIRGIL'S iENEID, Book 1 . . .	2.00

HORACE ODES, Books 1 and 2 .	2.00

XENOPHON' S ANABASIS, Book 1	2.00

Translation Publishing Company, Inc.

31 West 15th Street, New York CityThis book is a preservation facsimile produced for
the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
It is made in compliance with copyright law
and produced on acid-free archival

60# book weight paper
which meets the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (permanence of paper).

Preservation facsimile printing and binding
by

Northern Micrographics
Brookhaven Bindery
La Crosse, Wisconsin
2014