est, propterea quod pro vallo carros obiecerant et e loco superiore in nostros venientes tela coiciebant et non nulli inter carros rotasque mataras ac tragulas subiciebant nostrosque vulnerabant. Diu cum esset 4 5 pugnatum, impedimentis castrisque nostri potiti sunt. Ibi Orgetorigis filia atque unus e filiis captus est. Ex eo proelio circiter hominum milia CXXX super- 5 fuerunt eaque tota nocte continenter ierunt [nullam partem noctis itinere intermisso]; in fines Lingonum 10 die quarto pervenerunt, cum et propter vulnera militum et propter sepulturam occisorum nostri [triduum morati] eos sequi non potuissent. Caesar 6 ad Lingonas litteras nuntiosque misit, ne eos frumento neve alia re iuvarent: qui si iuvissent, se eodem loco 15 quo Helvetios habiturum. Ipse triduo intermisso cum omnibus copiis eos sequi coepit.

of the Helvetii.

Helvetii omnium rerum inopia adducti legatos de 27 Surrender deditione ad eum miserunt. Qui cum eum in itinere convenissent seque ad pedes proiecissent supplici

§ 3. rotas seems at first sight superfluous; and some editors adopt Meiser's emendation, raedas (cf. 51, § 2). Perhaps, however, (inter carros) rotas(que) may be defended on the analogy of inter carros impedimentaque (iv, 14, § 4), if we may suppose that in the latter case the baggage was in the carts; and, moreover, the wheels may have played a part in the defence. See p. 436. $5. Ex eo proelio... pervenerunt. Meusel (J. B., 1910, p. 39) rightly brackets nullam partem. . . intermisso. The words are absolutely superfluous if noctis denotes the same night as ea tota nocte; and if Caesar had meant to describe a succession of night marches and to imply that the Helvetii rested by day, which is more than improbable, he would have written not noctis but noctium (C. G., pp. 632–3). Meusel (J. B., 1910, p. 55) also regards the words triduum morati as interpolated, because, being followed in the next sentence by triduo intermisso, they are unnecessary. Suspicious they certainly are; but I can conceive that, after writing them, Caesar wrote triduo intermisso, and forgot that he was repeating himself.

In translating die quarto we must remember that the Romans as a rule reckoned inclusively. Thus if the battle was fought on a Sunday, the Helvetii reached the country of the Lingones on Wednesday; but it is impossible to tell what point in that country they had reached when Caesar overtook them. They may have retreated to Dijon, the place which they would naturally have made for if, as is probable, they already intended to return to Switzerland. See the note on 30, § 5, and C. G., pp. 631-4.

Punish- 28
ment of
the Verbi-
geni: the
rest of the
Helvetii

sent back
to their
own coun-

try: the

Boi settle in the land of

the Aedui.

terque locuti flentes pacem petissent, atque eos in eo loco quo tum essent suum adventum expectare ius3 sisset, paruerunt. Eo postquam Caesar pervenit, obsides, arma, servos qui ad eos perfugissent, poposcit. 4 Dum ea conquiruntur et conferuntur, [nocte inter- 5 missa] circiter hominum milia VI eius pagi qui Verbigenus appellatur, sive timore perterriti, ne armis traditis supplicio adficerentur, sive spe salutis inducti, quod in tanta multitudine dediticiorum suam fugam aut occultari aut omnino ignorari posse existimarent, 10 prima nocte e castris Helvetiorum egressi ad Rhenum finesque Germanorum contenderunt.

Quod ubi Caesar resciit, quorum per fines ierant his uti conquirerent et reducerent, si sibi purgati esse vellent, imperavit ; reductos in hostium numero habuit; 15 2 reliquos omnes obsidibus, armis, perfugis traditis in 3 deditionem accepit. Helvetios, Tulingos, Latobrigos in fines suos, unde erant profecti, reverti iussit, et, quod omnibus frugibus amissis domi nihil erat quo famem tolerarent, Allobrogibus imperavit ut iis fru- 20 menti copiam facerent; ipsos oppida vicosque, quos 4 incenderant, restituere iussit. Id ea maxime ratione fecit, quod noluit eum locum unde Helvetii discesserant vacare, ne propter bonitatem agrorum Germani, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, (ex) suis finibus in 25 Helvetiorum fines transirent et finitimi Galliae provinciae Allobrogibusque essent. Boios petentibus Haeduis, quod egregia virtute erant cogniti, ut in 27, § 4. ea. See the note on 29, § 2.

conquiruntur refers to obsides and servos, conferuntur to arma. Schneider tries to reconcile nocte intermissa with prima nocte by explaining the former as meaning after night began to intervene'; but, as Meusel points out (J. B., 1910, pp. 56-7), it can only mean 'after a night had passed'.

in tanta multitudine is virtually equivalent to cum tanta multitudo esset.

28, § 1. in hostium numero habuit. Probably the 6,000 fugitives were put to death. Cf. Cicero, Verr., ii, 5, 25, § 64; 28, § 73; Cat., iii, 10, § 25.

$5. petentibus Haeduis is not dative, but ablative absolute. Cf. ii, 12, § 5.

finibus suis conlocarent, concessit; quibus illi agros dederunt quosque postea in parem iuris libertatisque condicionem atque ipsi erant receperunt.

of the Helvetii and their allies.

In castris Helvetiorum tabulae repertae sunt lit- 29 Numbers 5 teris Graecis confectae et ad Caesarem relatae, quibus in tabulis nominatim ratio confecta erat, qui numerus domo exisset eorum qui arma ferre possent, et item separatim, (quot) pueri, senes mulieresque. [Quarum 2 omnium rerum] summa erat capitum Helvetiorum 10 milium CCLXIII, Tulingorum milium XXXVI, Latobrigorum XIIII, Rauracorum XXIII, Boiorum XXXII; ex his qui arma ferre possent ad milia nonaginta duo. Summa omnium fuerunt ad milia CCCLXVIII. 3

29, § 1. litteris Graecis. Greek characters were also used by Druids (vi, 14, § 3). Some Gallic inscribed coins have a jumble of Greek and Roman characters (C. G., pp. 730-1).

§ 2. Meusel (J. B., 1910, p. 51) doubts whether Quarum omnium rerum is an interpolation or a corruption. The words seem superfluous. If they are genuine, they are used as the genitive of quae omnia, just as ea is used in 27, § 4.

milium... milium. The reading of X is milia; but Meusel (J. B., 1894, p. 275) asks whether Caesar would have been guilty of such a solecism as equitum numerus fuit V milia. He refers to iv, 15, § 3- cum hostium numerus capitum CCCCXXX milium fuisset--and many similar passages.

§ 3. Summa. CCCLXVIII. A German writer thinks it suspicious that the original number of the whole host, according to Caesar, was exactly four times the number of the fighting men; and he concludes that Caesar merely made a rough estimate, based upon the ascertained number of the men, whose individual names were recorded (§ 1). Even so, however, the whole number could hardly have been less than 300,000; and some critics have argued that Caesar was guilty of exaggeration. Napoleon III, who accepted his figures, gave reasons for believing that the Helvetii had 8,500 wagons; and if so, the length of the column would have been nearly 80 miles, if the wagons moved in single file. But after the defeat of the Tigurini (12, §§ 2-3) the length would have been reduced to 60 miles; and of course the wagons did not move in single file except when they were crossing a bridge or passing through a narrow defile (6, § 1). Wagons in South Africa have often moved four, or even five, abreast; and if the reader will think for a minute he will see that crossing a bridge would simply have caused delay: it would not have increased the length of the column by one yard more than the length of the bridge. Besides, it has been suggested by Captain G. Veith that the Helvetii, having eaten up the greater part of their three months' supply of corn (5, § 3) before the battle, and having, moreover, been disheartened by the defeat of the Tigurini, had abandoned many of their wagons.

Envoys from

Gallic

tribes con

gratulate

and, with

his sanction, con

vene a Gallic council.

30

Eorum qui domum redierunt censu habito, ut Caesar imperaverat, repertus est numerus milium C et X.

Bello Helvetiorum confecto totius fere Galliae legati, principes civitatum, ad Caesarem gratulatum 2 convenerunt: intellegere sese, tametsi pro veteribus 5 Caesar Helvetiorum iniuriis populi Romani ab his poenas bello repetisset, tamen eam rem non minus ex usu 3 [terrae] Galliae quam populi Romani accidisse, propterea quod eo consilio florentissimis rebus domos suas Helvetii reliquissent uti toti Galliae bellum inferrent 10 imperioque potirentur, locumque domicilio ex magna copia deligerent quem ex omni Gallia oportunissimum ac fructuosissimum iudicassent, reliquasque civitates 4 stipendiarias haberent. Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere idque Caesaris 15 facere voluntate liceret: sese habere quasdam res 5 quas ex communi consensu ab eo petere vellent. Ea re permissa diem concilio constituerunt et iure iurando DATH Anyhow, good judges are now almost all agreed that there is no reason for disbelieving Caesar when he says that, according to the Helvetian schedule, the original strength of the allied army was 92,000 (C. G., pp. 237-41). See, however, p. 436.

fuerunt. Both the number and the tense are noticeable. In § 2 Caesar wrote summa erat; the plural here is due to the influence of the predicate. In § 2 Caesar probably used the imperfect because he was emphasizing the process of computation, which was gradual; whereas in fuerunt we have the final result. ad. See the first note on 4, § 2.

30, § 1. totius fere Galliae does not mean the whole of Gaul in the wider sense, the sense in which the word is used in 1, §1; for the Belgae made war upon Caesar in the following year, and, moreover, it may be doubted whether the representatives of the more distant tribes would have had time to reach him : indeed for the same reason the words can hardly mean the whole of that part of Gaul which was inhabited by the Celtae. Probably, then, Mommsen is right in supposing that Caesar was loosely referring to Central Gaul. We must remember that he said fere (C. G., p. 634).

§ 2. populi Romani. The Aldine edition, which Meusel now follows, has populus Romanus; but I do not see any sufficient reason for rejecting the authority of the MSS. In B. C., i, 7, § 7 iniurias takes an objective genitive: the men of the 13th legion declared sese paratos esse imperatoris sui tribunorumque plebis iniurias defendere.

terrae is rightly bracketed by Meusel (J. B., 1910, p. 72).

$5. concilio. M. Jullian may be right in supposing that this

ne quis enuntiaret, nisi quibus communi consilio mandatum esset, inter se sanxerunt

tablish

acus, on behalf of the envoys, solicits Caesar's aid against Ario

vistus.

Eo concilio dimisso, idem principes civitatum qui 31 Diviciante fuerant ad Caesarem reverterunt petieruntque 5 uti sibi secreto in occulto de sua omniumque salute cum eo agere liceret. Ea re impetrata sese omnes 2 flentes Caesari ad pedes proiecerunt: non minus se id contendere et laborare ne ea quae dixissent enuntiarentur quam uti ea quae vellent impetrarent, pro10 pterea quod, si enuntiatum esset, summum in cruciatum se venturos viderent. Locutus est pro his Diviciacus 3 Haeduus: Galliae totius factiones esse duas; harum alterius principatum tenere Haeduos, alterius Arvernos. Hi cum tantopere de potentatu inter se multos 4 15 annos contenderent, factum esse uti ab Arvernis Sequanisque Germani mercede arcesserentur. Horum 5 primo circiter milia XV Rhenum transisse; postea quam agros et cultum et copias Gallorum homines feri ac barbari adamassent, traductos plures; nunc 20 esse in Gallia ad C et XX milium numerum.

Cum 6

council was held at Bibracte; for, although Caesar's narrative suggests that the place of meeting was in the country of the Lingones, he does not say so, and political reasons may have influenced him to go to the capital of his subservient allies, the Aedui, and to emphasize by his presence there at the head of his victorious army the fact that he was now the master of Gaul. Indeed, if the Helvetii retreated to Dijon (see the note on 26, § 5), we may be almost sure that the council was held at Bibracte; for the distance from Dijon to Besançon (Vesontio) is much too short to correspond with Caesar's account of his march (37, § 5; 38).

31, § 1. Meusel brackets in occulto, which is omitted in the first printed edition of the Commentaries. No doubt the words are open to suspicion; but Schneider's defence seems to me reasonable. He thinks that Caesar intended to show how anxious the chiefs were for secrecy, secreto implying that they wished inquisitive persons to be excluded from the proposed interview, in occulto that they wished it to be held in a hidden spot.

§3. Galliae totius... Arvernos. See p. lix, and cf. vi, 12, § 1, where Caesar says that, when he arrived in Gaul, one faction was headed by the Aedui, the other by the Sequani.' There is no inconsistency between the two passages. Probably the Sequani, after they were reinforced by Ariovistus, usurped the supremacy which had been exercised by the Arverni.

5. ad. See the first note on 4, § 2.