httpwww.gutenberg.orgfiles1972519725-h19725-h.htm#e37 .docx

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19725/19725-h/19725-
h.htm#e37
THE
HISTORY OF ROME.
BY
TITUS LIVIUS.
THE FIRST EIGHT BOOKS.
LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES AND
ILLUSTRATIONS,
BY
D. SPILLAN, A.M. M.D.
LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
MDCCCLIII.
JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BUNGAY

h.htm#e37
37
Though danger of such magnitude was impending (so
completely does Fortune blind the minds
of men when she wishes not her threatening stroke to be foiled)
a state, which against the
Fidenatian and Veientian enemies, and other neighbouring
states, had recourse to aid even from
the most extreme quarters, and had appointed a dictator on
many trying occasions, that same
state now, when an enemy, never before seen or heard of, from
the ocean and remotest
regions[Pg 369] of the earth, was advancing in arms against
them, looked not for any
extraordinary command or aid. Tribunes, by whose temerity the
war had been brought on them,
were appointed to the chief direction of affairs, and even
making less of the war than fame had
represented it, held the levy with no greater diligence than used

to be exercised for ordinary
wars. In the mean while the Gauls, on hearing that honour was
even conferred on the violators of
human law, and that their embassy was slighted, inflamed with
resentment, over which that
nation has no control, immediately snatched up their standards,
and enter on their march with the
utmost expedition. When the cities, alarmed at the tumult
occasioned by them as they passed
precipitately along, began to run to arms, and the peasants took
to flight, they indicated by a loud
shout that they were proceeding to Rome, taking up an immense
space of ground, wherever they
passed, with their horses and men, their troops spreading widely
in every direction. But fame and
the messengers of the Clusians, and then of the other states one
after another, preceding them,
the rapid advance of the enemy brought the greatest
consternation to Rome; for, with their
tumultuary troops hastily led on, they met them within the
distance of the eleventh mile-stone,
where the river Allia, descending from the Crustuminian
mountains in a very deep channel, joins
the river Tiber not far below the road. Already all places in

front and on each side were crowded
with the enemy, and this nation, which has a natural turn for
causeless confusion, by their harsh
music and discordant clamours, filled all places with a horrible
din.
38
There the military tribunes, without having previously selected
a place for their camp, without
having previously raised a rampart to which they might have a
retreat, unmindful of their duty to
the gods, to say nothing of that to man, without taking auspices
or offering sacrifices, draw up
their line, which was extended towards the flanks, lest they
should be surrounded by the great
numbers of the enemy. Still their front could not be made equal
to that of the enemy, though by
thinning their line they rendered their centre weak and scarcely
connected. There was on the
right a small eminence, which it was determined to fill with
bodies of reserve; and that
circumstance, as it was the first cause of their dismay and
flight, so it proved their only means of
safety in[Pg 370] their flight. For Brennus, the chieftain of the
Gauls, being chiefly apprehensive

of some design[169] being intended in the small number of the
enemy, thinking that the high
ground had been seized for this purpose, that, when the Gauls
had been engaged in front with the
line of the legions, the reserve was to make an attack on their
rear and flank, directed his troops
against the reserve; certain, that if he had dislodged them from
their ground, the victory would be
easy in the plain for a force which had so much the advantage in
point of numbers: thus not only
fortune, but judgment also stood on the side of the barbarians.
In the opposite army there
appeared nothing like Romans, either in the commanders, or in
the soldiers. Terror and dismay
had taken possession of their minds, and such a forgetfulness of
every thing, that a far greater
number of them fled to Veii, a city of their enemy, though the
Tiber stood in their way, than by
h.htm#Footnote_169_169
h.htm#e37

the direct road to Rome, to their wives and children. Their
situation defended the reserve for
some time; throughout the remainder of the line as soon as the
shout was heard, by those who
stood nearest on their flank, and by those at a distance on their
rear, almost before they could
look at the enemy as yet untried, not only without attempting to
fight, but without even returning
the shout, fresh and unhurt they took to flight. Nor was there
any slaughter of them in the act of
fighting; but their rear was cut to pieces, whilst they obstructed
their flight by their struggling
one with another. Great slaughter was made on the bank of the
Tiber, whither the entire left
wing, having thrown down their arms, directed their flight; and
many who did not know how to
swim, or were exhausted, being weighed down by their coats of
mail and other defensive armour,
were swallowed up in the current. The greatest part however
escaped safe to Veii; whence not
only no reinforcement, but not even an account of their defeat,
was forwarded to Rome. Those
on the right wing which had been posted at a distance from the
river, and rather near the foot of

the mountain, all made for Rome, and, without even shutting the
gates, fled into the citadel.
[Pg 371]
39
The miraculous attainment of so sudden a victory held even the
Gauls in a state of stupefaction.
And at first they stood motionless with panic, as if not knowing
what had happened; then they
apprehended a stratagem; at length they began to collect the
spoils of the slain, and to pile up the
arms in heaps, as is their custom. Then, at length, when no
appearance of any thing hostile was
any where observed, having proceeded on their journey, they
reach the city of Rome not long
before sun-set: where when some horsemen, who had advanced
before, brought back word that
the gates were not shut, that no guard was posted before the
gates, no armed troops on the walls,
another cause of amazement similar to the former made them
halt; and dreading the night and
ignorance of the situation of the city, they posted themselves
between Rome and the Anio, after
sending scouts about the walls and the several gates to ascertain
what plans the enemy would

adopt in their desperate circumstances. With respect to the
Romans, as the greater part had gone
to Veii from the field of battle, and no one supposed that any
survived except those who had fled
back to Rome, being all lamented as lost, both those living and
those dead, they caused the entire
city to be filled with wailings. The alarm for the public interest
stifled private sorrow, as soon as
it was announced that the enemy were at hand. Presently the
barbarians patrolling around the
walls in troops, they heard their yells and the dissonant
clangour of their arms. All the interval up
to the next day kept their minds in such a state of suspense, that
an assault seemed every moment
about to be made on the city: on their first approach, when they
arrived at the city, [it was
expected;] for if this were not their design, that they would have
remained at the Allia; then
towards sunset, because there was not much of the day
remaining, they imagined that they would
attack them before night; then that the design was deferred until
night, in order to strike the
greater terror. At length the approach of light struck them with
dismay; and the calamity itself

followed closely upon their continued apprehension of it, when
the troops entered the gates in
hostile array. During that night, however, and the following
day, the state by no means bore any
resemblance to that which which had fled in so dastardly a
manner at the Allia. For as there was
not a hope that the city could be defended, so small a
number[Pg 372] of troops now remaining,
it was determined that the youth fit for military service, and the
abler part of the senate with their
wives and children, should retire into the citadel and Capitol;
and having collected stores of arms
h.htm#e37
and corn, and thence from a fortified post, that they should
defend the deities, and the
inhabitants, and the Roman name: that the flamen [Quirinalis]
and the vestal priestesses should
carry away far from slaughter and conflagration the objects
appertaining to the religion of the
state: and that their worship should not be intermitted, until
there remained no one who should

continue it. If the citadel and Capitol, the mansion of the gods,
if the senate, the source of public
counsel, if the youth of military age, should survive the
impending ruin of the city, the loss
would be light of the aged, the crowd left behind in the city,
and who were sure to perish[170]
under any circumstances. And in order that the plebeian portion
of the multitude might bear the
thing with greater resignation, the aged men, who had enjoyed
triumphs and consulships, openly
declared that they would die along with them, and that they
would not burden the scanty stores of
the armed men with those bodies, with which they were now
unable to bear arms, or to defend
their country. Such was the consolation addressed to each other
by the aged now destined to
death.
40
Their exhortations were then turned to the band of young men,
whom they escorted to the
Capitol and citadel, commending to their valour and youth
whatever might be the remaining
fortune of a city, which for three hundred and sixty years had

been victorious in all its wars.
When those who carried with them all their hope and resources,
parted with the others, who had
determined not to survive the ruin of their captured city; both
the circumstance itself and the
appearance [it exhibited] was really distressing, and also the
weeping of the women, and their
undecided running together, following now these, now those,
and asking their husbands and
children what was to become of them, [all together] left nothing
that could be added to human
misery. A great many of them, however, escorted their friends
into the citadel, no one either
preventing or inviting them; because the measure[Pg 373] which
was advantageous to the
besieged, that of reducing the number of useless persons, was
but little in accordance with
humanity. The rest of the crowd, chiefly plebeians, whom so
small a hill could not contain, nor
could they be supported amid such a scarcity of corn, pouring
out of the city as if in one
continued train, repaired to the Janiculum. From thence some
were dispersed through the
country, some made for the neighbouring cities, without any

leader or concert, following each
his own hopes, his own plans, those of the public being given
up as lost. In the mean time the
Flamen Quirinalis and the vestal virgins, laying aside all
concern for their own affairs, consulting
which of the sacred deposits should be carried with them, which
should be left behind, for they
had not strength to carry them all, or what place would best
preserve them in safe custody,
consider it best to put them into casks and to bury them in the
chapel adjoining to the residence
of the Flamen Quirinalis, where now it is profane to spit out.
The rest they carry away with them,
after dividing the burden among themselves, by the road which
leads by the Sublician bridge to
the Janiculum. When Lucius Albinius, a Roman plebeian, who
was conveying his wife and
children in a waggon, beheld them on that ascent among the rest
of the crowd which was leaving
the city as unfit to carry arms; even then the distinction of
things divine and human being
preserved, considering it an outrage on religion, that the public
priests and sacred utensils of the
Roman people should go on foot and be carried, that he and his

family should be seen in a
carriage, he commanded his wife and children to alight, placed
the virgins and sacred utensils in
the vehicle, and carried them on to Cære, whither the priests
had intended to go.
h.htm#Footnote_170_170
h.htm#e37
41
Meanwhile at Rome all arrangements being now made, as far as
was possible in such an
emergency, for the defence of the citadel, the crowd of aged
persons having returned to their
houses, awaited the enemy's coming with minds firmly prepared
for death. Such of them as had
borne curule offices, in order that they may die in the insignia
of their former station, honours,
and merit, arraying themselves in the most magnificent
garments worn by those drawing the
chariots of the gods in procession, or by persons riding in
triumph, seated themselves in their

ivory chairs, in the middle of their halls. Some say that they
devoted themselves for their
coun[Pg 374]try and the citizens of Rome, Marcus Fabius, the
chief pontiff, dictating the form of
words. The Gauls, both because by the intervention of the night
they had abated all angry
feelings arising from the irritation of battle, and because they
had on no occasion fought a well-
disputed fight, and were then not taking the city by storm or
violence, entering the city the next
day, free from resentment or heat of passion, through the
Colline gate which lay open, advance
into the forum, casting their eyes around on the temples of the
gods, and on the citadel, which
alone exhibited any appearance of war. From thence, after
leaving a small guard, lest any attack
should be made on them whilst scattered, from the citadel or
Capitol, they dispersed in quest of
plunder; the streets being entirely desolate, rush some of them
in a body into the houses that were
nearest; some repair to those which were most distant,
considering these to be untouched and
abounding with spoil. Afterwards being terrified by the very
solitude, lest any stratagem of the

enemy should surprise them whilst being dispersed, they
returned in bodies into the forum and
the parts adjoining to the forum, where the houses of the
commons being shut, and the halls of
the leading men lying open, almost greater backwardness was
felt to attack the open than the
shut houses; so completely did they behold with a sort of
veneration men sitting in the porches of
the palaces, who besides their ornaments and apparel more
august than human, bore a striking
resemblance to gods, in the majesty which their looks and the
gravity of their countenance
displayed. Whilst they stood gazing on these as on statues, it is
said that Marcus Papirius, one of
them, roused the anger of a Gaul by striking him on the head
with his ivory, while he was
stroking his beard, which was then universally worn long; and
that the commencement of the
bloodshed began with him, that the rest were slain in their seats.
After the slaughter of the
nobles, no person whatever was spared; the houses were
plundered, and when emptied were set
on fire.
42

But whether it was that all were not possessed with a desire of
destroying the city, or it had been
so determined by the leading men of the Gauls, both that some
fires should be presented to their
view, [to see] if the besieged could be forced into a surrender
through affection for their
dwellings, and that all the houses should not be burned down, so
that what[Pg 375]ever portion
should remain of the city, they might hold as a pledge to work
upon the minds of the enemy; the
fire by no means spread either indiscriminately or extensively
on the first day, as is usual in a
captured city. The Romans beholding from the citadel the city
filled with the enemy, and their
running to and fro through all the streets, some new calamity
presenting itself in every different
quarter, were neither able to preserve their presence of mind,
nor even to have perfect command
of their ears and eyes. To whatever direction the shouts of the
enemy, the cries of women and
children, the crackling of the flames, and the crash of falling
houses, had called their attention,

h.htm#e37
thither, terrified at every incident, they turned their thoughts,
faces, and eyes, as if placed by
fortune to be spectators of their falling country, and as if left as
protectors of no other of their
effects, except their own persons: so much more to be
commiserated than any others who were
ever besieged, because, shut out from their country, they were
besieged, beholding all their
effects in the power of the enemy. Nor was the night, which
succeeded so shockingly spent a
day, more tranquil; daylight then followed a restless night; nor
was there any time which failed
to produce the sight of some new disaster. Loaded and
overwhelmed by so many evils, they did
not at all abate their determination, [resolved,] though they
should see every thing in flames and
levelled to the dust, to defend by their bravery the hill which
they occupied, small and ill
provided as it was, being left [as a refuge] for liberty. And now,
as the same events recurred
every day, as if habituated to misfortunes, they abstracted their
thoughts from all feeling of their

circumstances, regarding their arms only, and the swords in
their right hands, as the sole
remnants of their hopes.
43
The Gauls also, after having for several days waged an
ineffectual war against the buildings of
the city, when they saw that among the fires and ruins of the
captured city nothing now remained
except armed enemies, neither terrified by so many disasters,
nor likely to turn their thoughts to a
surrender, unless force were employed, determine to have
recourse to extremities, and to make
an attack on the citadel. A signal being given at break of day,
their entire multitude is marshalled
in the forum; thence, after raising the shout and forming a
testudo, they advance to the attack.
Against[Pg 376] whom the Romans, acting neither rashly nor
precipitately, having strengthened
the guards at every approach, and opposing the main strength of
their men in that quarter where
they saw the battalions advancing, suffer the enemy to ascend,
judging that the higher they
ascended, the more easily would they be driven back down the

steep. About the middle of the
ascent they met them: and making a charge thence from the
higher ground, which of itself bore
them against the enemy, they routed the Gauls with slaughter
and destruction, so that never after,
either in parties or with their whole force, did they try that kind
of fighting. Laying aside all hope
of succeeding by force of arms, they prepare for a blockade; of
which having had no idea up to
that time, they had, whilst burning the city, destroyed whatever
corn had been therein, and during
those very days all the provisions had been carried off from the
land to Veii. Accordingly,
dividing their army, they resolved that one part should plunder
through the neighbouring states,
that the other part should carry on the siege of the citadel, so
that the ravagers of the country
might supply the besiegers with corn.
44
The Gauls, who marched from the city, were led by fortune
herself, to make trial of Roman
valour, to Ardea, where Camillus was in exile: who, more
distressed by the fortune of the public

than his own, whilst he now pined away arraigning gods and
men, fired with indignation, and
wondering where were now those men who with him had taken
Veii and Falerii, who had
conducted other wars rather by their own valour than by the
favour of fortune, hears on a sudden
that the army of the Gauls was approaching, and that the people
of Ardea in consternation were
met in council on the subject. And as if moved by divine
inspiration, after he advanced into the
midst of the assembly, having hitherto been accustomed to
absent himself from such meetings,
h.htm#e37
he says, "People of Ardea, my friends of old, of late my fellow-
citizens also, since your kindness
so ordered it, and my good fortune achieved it, let no one of you
suppose that I have come
forward here forgetful of my condition; but the [present] case
and the common danger obliges
every one to contribute to the common good whatever service he
can in our present alarming

situation. And when shall I repay you for your so very
important services to me, if I now be
remiss? or where will[Pg 377] you derive benefit from me, if
not in war? By this
accomplishment I maintained my rank in my native country:
and, unconquered in war, I was
banished during peace by my ungrateful fellow-citizens. To you,
men of Ardea, a favourable
opportunity has been presented of making a return for all the
former favours conferred by the
Roman people, such as you yourselves remember, (for which
reason, as being mindful of them,
you are not to be upbraided with them,) and of obtaining great
military renown for this your city
over the common enemy. The nation, which now approaches in
disorderly march, is one to
which nature has given great spirits and bodies rather huge than
firm. Let the disaster of Rome
serve as a proof. They captured the city when lying open to
them; a small handful of men from
the citadel and Capitol withstand them. Already tired out by the
slow process of a siege, they
retire and spread themselves through the country. Gorged with
food and wine hastily swallowed,

when night comes on they stretch themselves indiscriminately,
like brutes, near streams of water,
without entrenchment, without guards or advanced posts; more
incautious even now than usual
in consequence of success. If you then are disposed to defend
your own walls, and not to suffer
all these places to become Gaul, take up arms in a full body at
the first watch: follow me to
slaughter, not to battle. If I do not deliver them up to you
fettered by sleep, to be butchered like
cattle, I decline not the same issue of my affairs at Ardea as I
had at Rome."
45
Both friends and enemies were satisfied that there existed no
where at that time a man of equal
military talent. The assembly being dismissed, they refresh
themselves, carefully watching the
moment the signal should be given; which being given, during
the silence of the beginning of the
night they attended Camillus at the gates. Having gone forth to
no great distance from the city,
they found the camp of the Gauls, as had been foretold,
unprotected and neglected on every side,
and attack it with a shout. No fight any where, but slaughter

every where; their bodies, naked and
relaxed with sleep, are cut to pieces. Those most remote,
however, being roused from their beds,
not knowing what the tumult was, or whence it came, were
directed to flight, and some of them,
without perceiving it, into the midst of the enemy. A great
number flying into the territory of
Antium, an attack[Pg 378] being made on them in their
straggling march by the townspeople,
were surrounded and cut off. A like carnage was made of the
Tuscans in the Veientian territory;
who were so far from compassionating the city which had now
been its neighbour for nearly four
hundred years, overpowered as it now was by a strange and
unheard-of enemy, that at that very
time they made incursions on the Roman territory; and laden
with plunder, had it in
contemplation to lay siege to Veii, the bulwark and last hope of
the Roman race. The Roman
soldiers had seen them straggling over the country, and
collected in a body, driving the spoil
before them, and they perceived their camp pitched at no great
distance from Veii. Upon this,
first self-commiseration, then indignation, and after that

resentment, took possession of their
minds: "Were their calamities to be a subject of mockery to the
Etrurians, from whom they had
turned off the Gallic war on themselves?" Scarce could they
curb their passions, so as to refrain
from attacking them at the moment; and being restrained by
Quintus Cædicius, the centurion,
h.htm#e37
whom they had appointed their commander, they deferred the
matter until night. A leader equal
to Camillus was all that was wanted; in other respects matters
were conducted in the same order
and with the same fortunate result. And further, under the
guidance of some prisoners, who had
survived the nightly slaughter, they set out to Salinæ against
another body of Tuscans, they
suddenly made on the following night still greater havoc, and
returned to Veii exulting in their
double victory.
46

Meanwhile, at Rome, the siege, in general, was slow, and there
was quiet on both sides, the
Gauls being intent only on this, that none of the enemy should
escape from between their posts;
when, on a sudden, a Roman youth drew on himself the
admiration both of his countrymen and
the enemy. There was a sacrifice solemnized at stated times by
the Fabian family on the Quirinal
hill. To perform this Caius Fabius Dorso having descended from
the Capitol, in the Gabine
cincture, carrying in his hands the sacred utensils, passed out
through the midst of the enemy's
post, without being at all moved by the calls or threats of any of
them, and reached the Quirinal
hill; and after duly performing there the solemn rites, coming
back by the same way with the
same firm countenance and gait, confident that the gods[Pg 379]
were propitious, whose worship
he had not even neglected when prohibited by the fear of death,
he returned to the Capitol to his
friends, the Gauls being either astounded at such an
extraordinary manifestation of boldness, or
moved even by religious considerations, of which the nation is
by no means regardless. In the

mean time, not only the courage, but the strength of those at
Veii increased daily, not only those
Romans repairing thither from the country who had strayed
away after the unsuccessful battle, or
the disaster of the city being taken, but volunteers also flowing
in from Latium, to come in for
share of the spoil. It now seemed high time that their country
should be recovered and rescued
from the hands of the enemy. But a head was wanting to this
strong body. The very spot put
them in mind of Camillus, and a considerable part consisted of
soldiers who had fought
successfully under his guidance and auspices: and Cædicius
declared that he would not give
occasion that any one, whether god or man, should terminate his
command rather than that,
mindful of his own rank, he would himself call (for the
appointment of) a general. With universal
consent it was resolved that Camillus should be sent for from
Ardea, but not until the senate at
Rome were first consulted: so far did a sense of propriety
regulate every proceeding, and so
carefully did they observe the distinctions of things in their
almost desperate circumstances.

They had to pass at great risk through the enemy's guards. For
this purpose a spirited youth,
Pontius Cominius, offered his services, and supporting himself
on cork was carried down the
Tiber to the city. From thence, where the distance from the bank
was shortest, he makes his way
into the Capitol over a portion of the rock that was craggy, and
therefore neglected by the
enemy's guard: and being conducted to the magistrates, he
delivers the instructions received from
the army. Then having received a decree of the senate, both that
Camillus should be recalled
from exile at the comitia curiata, and be forthwith appointed
dictator by order of the people, and
that the soldiers should have the general whom they wished, he
passed out the same way and
proceeded with his despatches to Veii; and deputies being sent
to Camillus to Ardea, conducted
him to Veii: or else the law was passed by the curiæ, and he was
nominated dictator in his
absence; for I am more inclined to believe that he did not set
out[Pg 380] from Ardea until he
found that the law was passed; because he could neither change
his residence without an order of

the people, nor hold the privilege of the auspices in the army
until he was nominated dictator.
h.htm#e37
47
Whilst these things were going on at Veii, in the mean while the
citadel and Capitol of Rome
were in great danger. For the Gauls either having perceived the
track of a human foot where the
messenger from Veii had passed, or having of themselves
remarked the easy ascent by the rock
at the temple of Carmentis, on a moonlight night, after they had
at first sent forward an unarmed
person, to make trial of the way, delivering their arms,
whenever any difficulty occurred,
alternately supported and supporting each other, and drawing
each other up, according as the
ground required, they reached the summit in such silence, that
they not only escaped the notice
of the sentinels, but of the dogs also, an animal extremely
wakeful with respect to noises by
night. The notice of the geese they did not escape, which, as

being sacred to Juno, were spared
though they were in the greatest scarcity of food. Which
circumstance was the cause of their
preservation. For Marcus Manlius, who three years before had
been consul, a man distinguished
in war, being aroused from sleep by their cackling and the
clapping of their wings, snatched up
his arms, and at the same time calling the others to do the same,
proceeds to the spot; and whilst
the others are thrown into confusion, he struck with the boss of
his shield and tumbles down a
Gaul, who had already got footing on the summit; and when the
fall of this man as he tumbled
threw down those who were next him, he slew others, who in
their consternation had thrown
away their arms, and caught hold of the rocks to which they
clung. And now the others also
having assembled beat down the enemy by javelins and stones,
and the entire band, having lost
their footing, were hurled down the precipice in promiscuous
ruin. The alarm then subsiding, the
remainder of the night was given up to repose, (as far as could
be done considering the disturbed
state of their minds,) when the danger, even though past, still

kept them in a state of anxiety. Day
having appeared, the soldiers were summoned by sound of
trumpet to attend the tribunes in
assembly, when recompence was to be made both to merit and
to demerit; Manlius was first of
all commended for his bravery and presented with[Pg 381] gifts,
not only by the military
tribunes, but with the consent of the soldiers, for they all
carried to his house, which was in the
citadel, a contribution of half a pound of corn and half a pint of
wine: a matter trifling in the
relation, but the [prevailing] scarcity had rendered it a strong
proof of esteem, when each man,
depriving himself of his own food, contributed in honour of one
man a portion subtracted from
his body and from his necessary requirements. Then the guards
of that place where the enemy
had climbed up unobserved, were summoned; and when Quintus
Sulpicius declared openly that
he would punish all according to the usage of military
discipline, being deterred by the
consentient shout of the soldiers who threw the blame on one
sentinel, he spared the rest. The
man, who was manifestly guilty of the crime, he threw down

from the rock, with the approbation
of all. From this time forth the guards on both sides became
more vigilant; on the part of the
Gauls, because a rumour spread that messengers passed between
Veii and Rome, and on that of
the Romans, from the recollection of the danger which occurred
during the night.
48
But beyond all the evils of siege and war, famine distressed
both armies; pestilence, moreover,
[oppressed] the Gauls, both as being encamped in a place lying
between hills, as well as heated
by the burning of the houses, and full of exhalations, and
sending up not only ashes but embers
also, whenever the wind rose to any degree; and as the nation,
accustomed to moisture and cold,
is most intolerant of these annoyances, and, suffering severely
from the heat and suffocation,
h.htm#e37
they were dying, the diseases spreading as among cattle, now
becoming weary of burying

separately, they heaped up the bodies promiscuously and burned
them; and rendered the place
remarkable by the name of Gallic piles. A truce was now made
with the Romans, and
conferences were held with the permission of the commanders;
in which when the Gauls
frequently alluded to the famine, and referred to the urgency of
that as a further motive for their
surrendering, for the purpose of removing that opinion, bread is
said to have been thrown in
many places from the Capitol, into the advanced posts of the
enemy. But the famine could
neither be dissembled nor endured any longer. Accordingly,
whilst the dictator is engaged in
person in holding a levy, in ordering his[Pg 382] master of the
horse, Lucius Valerius, to bring
up the troops from Veii, in making preparations and
arrangements, so that he may attack the
enemy on equal terms, in the mean time the army of the Capitol,
wearied out with keeping guard
and with watches, having surmounted all human sufferings,
whilst nature would not suffer
famine alone to be overcome, looking forward from day to day,
to see whether any succour

would come from the dictator, at length not only food but hope
also failing, and their arms
weighing down their debilitated bodies, whilst the guards were
being relieved, insisted that there
should be either a surrender, or that they should be bought off,
on whatever terms were possible,
the Gauls intimating in rather plain terms, that they could be
induced for no very great
compensation to relinquish the siege. Then the senate was held
and instructions were given to the
military tribunes to capitulate. Upon this the matter was settled
between Quintus Sulpicius, a
military tribune, and Brennus, the chieftain of the Gauls, and
one thousand pounds' weight of
gold was agreed on as the ransom of a people, who were soon
after to be the rulers of the world.
To a transaction very humiliating in itself, insult was added.
False weights were brought by the
Gauls, and on the tribune objecting, his sword was thrown in in
addition to the weight by the
insolent Gaul, and an expression was heard intolerable to the
Romans, "Woe to the vanquished!"
49

But both gods and men interfered to prevent the Romans from
living on the condition of being
ransomed; for by some chance, before the execrable price was
completed, all the gold being not
yet weighed in consequence of the altercation, the dictator
comes up, and orders the gold to be
removed, and the Gauls to clear away. When they, holding out
against him, affirmed that they
had concluded a bargain, he denied that the agreement was a
valid one, which had been entered
into with a magistrate of inferior authority without his orders,
after he had been nominated
dictator; and he gives notice to the Gauls to get ready for battle.
He orders his men to throw their
baggage in a heap, and to get ready their arms, and to recover
their country with steel, not with
gold, having before their eyes the temples of the gods, and their
wives and children, and the soil
of their country disfigured by the calamities of war, and all
those objects which they were
solemnly bound[Pg 383] to defend, to recover, and to revenge.
He then draws up his army, as the
nature of the place admitted, on the site of the half-demolished
city, and which was uneven by

nature, and he secured all those advantages for his own men,
which could be prepared or selected
by military skill. The Gauls, thrown into confusion by the
unexpected event, take up arms, and
with rage, rather than good judgment, rushed upon the Romans.
Fortune had now changed; now
the aid of the gods and human prudence assisted the Roman
cause. At the first encounter,
therefore, the Gauls were routed with no greater difficulty than
they had found in gaining the
victory at Allia. They were afterwards beaten under the conduct
and auspices of the same
Camillus, in a more regular engagement, at the eighth stone on
the Gabine road, whither they had
h.htm#e37
betaken themselves after their defeat. There the slaughter was
universal: their camp was taken,
and not even one person was left to carry news of the defeat.
The dictator, after having recovered
his country from the enemy, returns into the city in triumph;
and among the rough military jests

which they throw out [on such occasions] he is styled, with
praises by no means undeserved,
Romulus, and parent of his country, and a second founder of the
city. His country, thus preserved
by arms, he unquestionably saved a second time in peace, when
he hindered the people from
removing to Veii, both the tribunes pressing the matter with
greater earnestness after the burning
of the city, and the commons of themselves being more inclined
to that measure; and that was the
cause of his not resigning his dictatorship after the triumph, the
senate entreating him not to
leave the commonwealth in so unsettled a state.
http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/gallic.1.1.html

The Gallic Wars
By Julius Caesar
Translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn
Chapter 1
All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae
inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in
their own language are called Celts, in our Gauls, the third. All
these differ from each other in language,
customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gauls from
the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine
separate them from the Belgae. Of all these, the Belgae are the
bravest, because they are furthest from
the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants
least frequently resort to them, and
import those things which tend to effeminate the mind; and they
are the nearest to the Germans, 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
Germans in almost daily battles, when
they either repel them from their own territories, or themselves
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
Belgae; it borders, too, on the side of the
Sequani and the Helvetii, upon the river Rhine, and stretches
toward the north. The Belgae rises from
the extreme frontier of Gaul, extend to the lower part of the
river Rhine; and look toward the north and
the rising sun. Aquitania extends from the river Garonne to the
Pyrenaean mountains and to that part of
the ocean which is near Spain: it looks between the setting of
the sun, and the north star.
Chapter 2
Among the Helvetii, Orgetorix was by far the most
distinguished and wealthy. He, when Marcus Messala
and Marcus Piso 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 confined on every side by the nature
of their situation; 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 Helvetii; 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.
Chapter 3
Induced by these considerations, and influenced by the authority

of Orgetorix, 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 establish peace and friendship
with the neighboring states. They
reckoned that a term of two years would be sufficient for them
to execute 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 embassador to the states: on this
journey he persuades Casticus, the son of
Catamantaledes (one of the Sequani, whose father had possessed
the sovereignty among the people for
many years, and had been styled "friend" by the senate of the
Roman people), to seize upon the
sovereignty in his own state, which his father had held before
him, and he likewise persuades Dumnorix,
an Aeduan, the brother of Divitiacus, 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 them that to accomplish their attempts was a thing
very easy to be done, because he
himself would obtain the government 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.
Chapter 4
When this scheme was disclosed to the Helvetii by informers,
they, 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, Orgetorix 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 dependents and debtor-
bondsmen, of whom he had a great number;
by means of those he rescued 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 a
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.
Chapter 5
After his death, the Helvetii nevertheless attempt to do that
which they had resolved on, namely, to go
forth from their territories. 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. They persuade the Rauraci, and the Tulingi, 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 themselves 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.
Chapter 6
There were in all two routes, by which they could go forth from
their country 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 between the boundaries of the Helvetii and those
of the Allobroges, who had lately been
subdued, and is in some places crossed by a ford. The furthest
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
toward the Roman people, or compel them by force to allow
them to pass through their territories.
Having provided every thing 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 [i.e. the 28th of March], in the
consulship of Lucius Piso and Aulus Gabinius [B.C. 58.]
Chapter 7
When it was reported to Caesar 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 possible, 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 apprized of his arrival they send to him,
as embassadors, the most illustrious men
of their state (in which embassy Numeius and Verudoctius held
the chief place), to say "that it was their
intention to march through the Province without doing any
harm, because they had" [according to their
own representations,] "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 furnished] should assemble, he
replied to the ambassadors, that he would take time to
deliberate; if they wanted any thing, they might
return on the day before the ides of April [on April 12th].
Chapter 8

Meanwhile, with the legion which he had with him and the
soldiers which had assembled from the
Province, he carries along for nineteen [Roman, not quite
eighteen English] miles a wall, to the height of
sixteen feet, and a trench, from the Lake of Geneva, 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 embassadors came, and they returned to him; he says, that
he can not, 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,
disappointed 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 of the
river was least, sometimes by day, but more frequently by

night), but being kept at bay by the strength
of our works, and by the concourse of the soldiers, and by the
missiles, they desisted from this attempt.
Chapter 9
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 send embassadors to Dumnorix the Aeduan, that through
his intercession, they might obtain their
request from the Sequani. Dumnorix, 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 toward 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.
Chapter 10
It is again told Caesar, that the Helvetii intended to march
through the country of the Sequani and the
Aedui into the territories of the Santones, which are not far
distant 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 reasons he appointed Titus Labienus,
his lieutenant, to the command of the fortification which he had
made. He himself proceeds to Italy by
forced marches, and there levies two legions, and leads out from
winter-quarters three which were
wintering around Aquileia, and with these five legions marches
rapidly by the nearest 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 Vocontii 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.
Chapter 11
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 Aedui, and
were ravaging their lands. The Aedui, as
they could not defend themselves and their possessions against
them, send embassadors to Caesar 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 slavery - their towns stormed,
almost within sight of our army. At the same time the Ambarri,

the friends and kinsmen of the Aedui,
apprize Caesar, that it was not easy for them, now that their
fields had been devastated, to ward off the
violence of the enemy from their towns: the Allobroges
likewise, who had villages and possessions on
the other side of the Rhone, betake themselves in flight to
Caesar, and assure him that they had nothing
remaining, except the soil of their land. Caesar, induced 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.
Chapter 12
There is a river [called] the Saone, which flows through the
territories of the Aedui and Sequani into the
Rhone with such incredible slowness, that it can not be
determined by the eye in which direction it
flows. This the Helvetii were crossing by rafts and boats joined

together. When Caesar was informed 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. Attacking 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 recollection of our fathers,
had slain Lucius Cassius the consul, and
had made his army pass under the yoke. 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 people, was
the first to pay the penalty. In this Caesar avenged not only the
public but also his own personal wrongs,
because the Tigurini had slain Lucius Piso the lieutenant [of
Cassius], the grandfather of Lucius
Calpurnius Piso, his [Caesar's] father-in-law, in the same battle

as Cassius himself.
Chapter 13
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 effected in one
day, what they, themselves had with
the utmost difficulty accomplished in twenty namely, the
crossing of the river, send embassadors 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, "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
disgrace 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 crossed 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 and
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
destruction of their army or transmit
the remembrance [of such an event to posterity]."
Chapter 14
To these words Caesar thus replied: - that "on that very account
he felt less hesitation, because he kept
in remembrance those circumstances which the Helvetian
embassadors 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 done any wrong, 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
offense 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
Aedui, the Ambarri, and the Allobroges?
That as to their so insolently boasting of their victory, and as to
their being astonished that they had so
long committed their outrages with impunity, [both these
things] tended to the same point; for the
immortal gods are wont to allow those persons whom they wish
to punish for their guilt sometimes a
greater prosperity and longer impunity, in order that they may
suffer the more severely from a reverse
of circumstances. Although these things are so, yet, if hostages
were to be given him by them in order
that he may be assured these will do what they promise, and
provided they will give satisfaction to the
Aedui for the outrages which they had committed against them
and their allies, and likewise to the
Allobroges, he [Caesar] will make peace with them." Divico

replied, that "the Helvetii had been so
trained by their ancestors, that they were accustomed to receive,
not to give hostages; of that fact the
Roman people were witness." Having given this reply, he
withdrew.
Chapter 15
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 the Aedui and their allies), to observe toward
what parts the enemy are directing
their march. These, having too eagerly pursued the enemy's
rear, come to a battle with the cavalry 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 too from their rear to provoke our men by an
attack. Caesar [however] restrained his
men from battle, deeming it sufficient for the present 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.
Chapter 16
Meanwhile, Caesar kept daily importuning the Aedui for the
corn which they had promised in the name
of their state; for, in consequence of the coldness (Gaul, being
as before said, situated toward 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 Aedui 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 Aedui style the Vergobretus, and who is elected

annually and has power of life or death over
his countrymen), he severely reprimands them, because he is not
assisted by them on so urgent an
occasion, when the enemy were so close at 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, therefore does he complain of his being
forsaken.
Chapter 17
Then at length Liscus, moved by Caesar's speech, discloses
what he had hitherto kept secret: - that there
are some whose influences with the people is very great, who,
though private men, have more power
than the magistrates themselves: that these by seditions and
violent language are deterring the
populace from contributing the corn which they ought to supply;
[by telling them] that, if they can not
any longer retain the supremacy of Gaul, it were better to

submit to the government of Gauls than of
Romans, nor ought they to doubt that, if the Romans should
overpower the Helvetii, they would wrest
their freedom from the Aedui 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."
Chapter 18
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 discussed
while so many were present, he speedily
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 discovered 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 contracting for the customs and all
the other taxes of the Aedui 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 constantly at his own expense and
keeps about his own person a great
number of cavalry, and that not only 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
Bituriges to a man the most noble and most influential there;
that he has himself taken a wife from
among the Helvetii, 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 account of this connection; and that
he hates Caesar and the Romans, on his own account, because
by their arrival his power was weakened,
and his brother, Divitiacus, restored to his former position of
influence and dignity: that, if any thing

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 has." Caesar discovered
too, on inquiring into the unsuccessful
cavalry engagement which had taken place a few days before,
that the commencement of that flight
had been made by Dumnorix and his cavalry (for Dumnorix was
in command of the cavalry which the
Aedui had sent for aid to Caesar); that by their flight the rest of
the cavalry were dismayed.
Chapter 19
After learning these circumstances, since to these suspicions the
most unequivocal facts were added,
viz., that he had led the Helvetii through the territories of the
Sequani; that he had provided that
hostages should be mutually given; that he 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
Aedui] knowing any thing of it themselves;
that he [Dumnorix] was reprimanded: by the [chief] magistrate
of the Aedui; he [Caesar] 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 had
learned by experience his brother Divitiacus's
very high regard for the Roman people, his great affection
toward him, his distinguished faithfulness,
justice, and moderation; for he was afraid lest by the
punishment of this man, he should hurt the
feelings of Divitiacus. Therefore, before he attempted any thing,
he orders Divitiacus to be summoned
to him, and, when the ordinary interpreters had been withdrawn,
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 every thing; 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 offense to his feelings, he may

either himself pass judgment on him [Dumnorix] after trying the
case, or else order the [Aeduan] state
to do so.
Chapter 20
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 [Divitiacus] popularity, but almost to his
ruin; that he, however, was influenced
both by fraternal affection and by public opinion. But if any
thing very severe from Caesar should befall
him [Dumnorix], no one would think that it had been done
without his consent, since he himself held
such a place in Caesar's friendship: from which circumstance 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
forgives 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, Divitiacus. He sets spies over
Dumnorix that he may be able to know
what he does, and with whom he communicates.
Running head: PRIMARY SOURCES
1
PRIMARY SOURCES
5
Military Invasion
I have chosen the topic because civil military invasion ( talk
about the impact of military invasion on non-combatants) are a
major challenge to states today. States fight each other because
of authority not to talk of citizens fighting amongst themselves
because of resources. Military invasion had stirred by greed for
the wealth of struggle for leadership. The effect of military

invasion is significant for they paralyze fully the activities of
the country. For instance, children are unable to attend schools,
the property is destroyed, and many people lose their lives.The
primary sources that will clearly give light to the topic of civil
war will be the book on Gallic wars by Julius Caesar and the
History of Rome ( what are these sources ? when ? for what
purpose they written?) by Titus Livius.
The topic is significant because it provides expository
information to readers who are unfamiliar with effects of
military invasion such as genocide or large-scale violation of
human rights. The topic relates to the primary sources in the
sense that the primary sources state how a leader by the name of
Dumnorix because he had broken the cord and married a wife
from Orgetorix; he assumes that he has the power to rule over
the territory (Julius Caesar, the Gallic wars 3). Dumnorix
collaborates with other leaders such as Helvettii in taking
control over the town and takes some individuals as hostages.
Helvettii engaged in battles to conquer the Carturiges and the
Graioceli and the Caturiges in a fierce battle. The main aim of
the battle is to ravage the fertile land from the weak territories.
In the second primary source, it indicates that the Romans had
power as compared to the Barbarians and thus they were able to
attack the barbarians and cause terror in the country (Titus
Livius, The History of Rome, 37). It relates to military
intervention because of the fact that it is sometimes stirred by
the struggle for power. Struggle for power is characterized by
the conquering of weak territories. The Gaul’s were angry about
the hostility of the Romans against human law. Thus, they
gathered their arms and prepared for a fight. The Gauls were not
as tough as the Romans and thus they lost the fight. (after you
make the comment above try to write the introduction in just
one page, so summarize it)
Compare and Contrast
Both the two sources are giving information on the rise of
military invasion in Rome. They are both elaborative about the

communities that were involved in the wars. It is also certain
that both sources state common reasons as of the factors that
triggered war. In both of the sources, the war was triggered by
the struggle to have power over the territories and the need to
occupy fertile lands for farming. Julius Caesar indicates that the
Helvetii were moving from their territories to other territories
and Caesar dared them to pass through his province forcefully.
In this case, the grabbing of land led to war (Julius Caesar, the
Gallic wars 7).. On the other hand, Livius writes that the Gauls
were instigated to fight back after they realized that they were
being deprived of their human rights. They then took arms and
run in villages as an indication of the agitation (Titus Livius,
The History of Rome, 36).
The contrasting points are on the specific leaders that led the
fights between the states. Caesar is a major influence in the
Gallic wars as written by Julius. For example, Caesar had an
advantage over Gaul communities who quarreled among
themselves him for arbitration. Caesar
( write all the reference below in a good way as footnote
reference Chicago style )
plays them off against each other expertly, granting favors,
issuing reprimands and warnings. Caesar’s power is eminent
and his territories are highly protected. The wars are taking
place in the same territory because the subjects are the same.
The Gauls are associated in both of the primary sources as those
that are oppressed in the wars. Livius states that the war was
induced by the Romans. The writer does not specify on the
specific leader.
Impact of the Similarities and differences in the Primary
sources to Readers ( doesn’t connect to the previous part, it
should be each part relate to each other, so like talk about the
cases that in the similarity and differences
The similarities depict that military invasion are characterized
with the same effects to the affected individuals. In the primary
sources, military invasion lead to killings, forced labor,

migrations and dictatorial leadership. The readers are able to
understand that the outcome of military invasion in deadly and
it can last for a very long period if a solution is not synthesized.
The similarities also make the primary sources to be viewed as
valid by the readers.
The differences that arise make it difficult for the reader to
identify which amongst the authors is saying the truth. Primary
sources that have extreme differences lose the confidence of the
readers and the readers and the readers thus need to research
more in order to elaborate on the controversial points. In
addition, the differences make the civil war topic to indicate
that there were differences in the war information was written
and that the information may be subject to biases or lack of
sufficient data.
Historical Question ( you can use this question, how did wars in
the ancient eorld affect non-comatants) ( make sure to answer it
from the sources and try to find another good question from the
resource related to the topic of the paper)
An important question is whether the Germanic peoples beyond
Roman suzerainty would have cooperated with each other to put
up the resistance necessary to thwart Roman armies. The
primary sources give light to the implications of military
invasion through their vivid description of the Gallic wars and
the history of Rome. The outcome of the Rome wars is
explained by massive deaths like those that occurred on river
Tiber. The military invasion that were experienced in Rome led
to a fall back in the rate of development in that when people
were made to evade their home, it was made clear that they
could not continue with their day-to-day activities. Individuals
had to go to other safe zones to start a living there.
The other problem that was associated with military invasion
was the issue of loss of life. The property was also lost due to

the frequent fires that were set by the armies on targeted
communities (Boyce, 2013). During the wars, many individuals
were killed the majority of them being the soldiers that were in
tea army. Women and children were left without any means to
feed their families. Emotional torture and poverty struck a
majority of the affected families.
Conversely, there was no stable leadership in the affected areas
because if the issue of wars. Leaders were always faced with the
challenge of settling the wars. Leaders were unable to stabilize
their governance and thus they were no changes in terms of
political and economic diversity. Leaders that were stable were
only the dictators that had acquired power and the influence to
rule over the territories.
Brutality and oppression were experienced by women and
children that were victims. After military invasion, the
energetic men and women were taken as hostages and they were
made to work for their hosts (Boyce, 2013). Hostages are
subject to forced labor that had poor pay. Military invasion
made people be poorer and victims of discrimination. Innocent
individuals were killed in the battles. It is certain that the
population of the countries were at stake when people were
killed every now. In addition, individuals migrated to safer
areas and thus their native lands were sparsely populated.
References
Caesar, J. The Gallic wars
Boyce, J. K. (2013). Investing in peace: Aid and conditionality
after civil wars (No. 351).
Routledge.
Livius, T.The history of Rome. London: John Childs and Sons

Julius Caesar, The Gallic wars, Chapter 11-13
Titus Livius, The history of Rome, pg 38-44
Boyce, J. K. (2013). ). Investing in peace: Aid and
conditionality after civil wars (No. 351).
Routledge.

httpwww.gutenberg.orgfiles1972519725-h19725-h.htm#e37 .docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to httpwww.gutenberg.orgfiles1972519725-h19725-h.htm#e37 .docx

Similar to httpwww.gutenberg.orgfiles1972519725-h19725-h.htm#e37 .docx (20)

More from wellesleyterresa

More from wellesleyterresa (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

httpwww.gutenberg.orgfiles1972519725-h19725-h.htm#e37 .docx