|
|
Cœsar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War
Show Summary
Hide Summary
General SummaryThe Commentaries on the Gallic War by Julius Cæsar is a book of unique interest. The greatest Roman of his time describes in it the wonderfully successful campaigns by which he extended the dominion of Rome over western Europe to the North Sea and the Rhine. Cæsar was brought in contact with the inhabitants of this region during the years 58–51 B. C. When Cæsar had finished his work, all Gaul had been added to the Roman Empire and a beginning had been made toward its subsequent extension over part of Germany and Britain.
Historical SummaryIn 58 B. C. Cæsar proceeded to his province of Transalpine Gaul and there immediately found himself confronted with a serious situation. The Helvetii, inhabitants of northern Switzerland, were then attempting an armed immigration through the heart of the Roman territories. Cæsar met them with his legions and hurled back the tide of invasion at the cost of more than two hundred thousand barbarian lives. Later in the same year, he expelled from Gaul and drove across the Rhine a German people under their king Ariovistus. During his second year as governor (57 B. C.), Cæsar was engaged in subduing the inhabitants of northern Gaul (modern Belgium). The third year (56 B. C.) saw a campaign against the Veneti, a warlike people living in the peninsula of Brittany. Though the Veneti were expert sailors, Cæsar built a navy, met them on the sea, administered a sharp defeat, and reduced the entire nation to slavery. The Commentaries for the year 55 B. C. relate two events of commanding interest — the invasion of Germany and the expedition to Britain. The hurried inroad into Germany fixed the Rhine as the military frontier between the Roman Empire and the barbarian world.
Chapter XVIII
the Conquest of Gaul, Related by Cæsar1
90. The First Invasion of Germany2
Cæsar was determined to cross the Rhine, but he thought it hardly safe to pass over in boats, and considered that to do so would not be consistent with his own dignity or that of the Roman people. Although the construction of a bridge presented great difficulties, on account of the breadth, swiftness, and depth of the stream, he nevertheless thought best to make the attempt, or else not to cross at all. . . .
Within ten days after the collection of the timber began, the whole work was finished, and the army crossed over.1 Cæsar left a strong force at both ends of the bridge, and marched rapidly for the country of the Sugambri. Meanwhile, envoys came in from several tribes; and Cæsar replied graciously to their prayer for peace and friendship and directed them to bring him hostages. But the Sugambri, who from the moment when the construction of the bridge began . . . had prepared for flight, left their country with all their belongings, and hid themselves in the recesses of the forests.
Cæsar remained a few days in their country, burned all their villages and homesteads, cut down their corn, and returned to the territory of the Ubii. Promising to help them in case they were molested by the Suebi, he ascertained from them that the Suebi,
on learning from their scouts that the bridge was being made, had called a council according to their custom, and had sent messengers in all directions, bidding the people to abandon the strongholds, convey their wives and children and all their belongings into the forests, and assemble — all of them who could bear arms — at a fixed place. . . . Here they were waiting the arrival of the Romans, and here they had determined to fight a decisive battle. Cæsar had now achieved every object for which he had determined to lead his army across — he had overawed the Germans, punished the Sugambri, and relieved the Ubii from hostile pressure. He felt, therefore, that honor was satisfied and that he had served every useful purpose. Accordingly, when he heard the news about the Suebi, he returned to Gaul, having spent just eighteen days on the further side of the Rhine, and destroyed the bridge.
1 , translated by T. R. Holmes. London, 1908. Macmillan and Co.
2 Cæsar, Commentaries on the Gallic War, iv, 17–19.
1 Cæsar’s passage of the Rhine was probably between Andernach and Coblenz.
Chicago: T. R. Holmes, trans., Cœsar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War in Readings in Early European History, ed. Webster, Hutton (Boston: Ginn and Company, 1926), 205–206. Original Sources, accessed December 4, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4X4QRE8J93W787S.
MLA: . Cœsar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War, translted by T. R. Holmes, in Readings in Early European History, edited by Webster, Hutton, Boston, Ginn and Company, 1926, pp. 205–206. Original Sources. 4 Dec. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4X4QRE8J93W787S.
Harvard: (trans.), Cœsar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War. cited in 1926, Readings in Early European History, ed. , Ginn and Company, Boston, pp.205–206. Original Sources, retrieved 4 December 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4X4QRE8J93W787S.
|