"De Bello Gallico" and Other Commentaries

Caius Julius Caesar

Ago 2022 · Aegitas

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The Notes of the Gallic War (Lat. Commentarii de Bello Gallico) is a work by Gaius Julius Caesar in which in eight books he described his conquest of Gaul in 58-50 BC, as well as the two crossings of the Rhine and the landing in Britain in a precise, concise and energetic manner. The exact date of his writing is unknown. The last book after Caesar's death was completed by Aulus Hirtius, who prefaced it with his epistle to Balbo. Caesar narrates in the third person, mentioning in passing invaluable geographical and ethnographic details (e.g., the most detailed description of the Druids). The Latins called comments what we call notebooks today, that is, where notes are entered for memory. Only they were made in ancient Rome on waxed tablets, specially processed so that the wax hardened quickly and the tablet could be stored for a long time. According to the title, Caesar's book is a dry summary of the events of the war in Gaul (France, Belgium, England, which Caesar himself called inhospitable and of no value for conquest) in the middle of the first century BC and the actions of the author as a commander and ruler. This book also contains Notes on the Civil War (lat. Commentarii de Bello Civili) on the civil war in Rome 49-45 BC, which act as a continuation of the Notes on the Gallic War. It is assumed that the "Notes" were written in 47 BC. – between the wars in Alexandria and Spain – and were not completed.