History of Julius Caesar Vol. 2 of 2. Napoleon III

History of Julius Caesar Vol. 2 of 2

have recourse to strange and incredible rites. They immolate a man by striking him with a sword above the diaphragm, and they draw presages from the manner in which he falls, in which he struggles, or in which the blood flows. They authority of the Druids and bards is not less powerful in peace than in war. Friends and enemies consult them, and submit to their decision; it has often been sufficient to arrest two armies on the point of engaging.” – Strabo (VI., p. 164, edit. Didot) relates nearly the same facts. He makes a distinction also between the bards, the priests, and the Druids.

128

Ammianus Marcellinus (XV. 9) speaks as follows of the ancient Druids: “The men of that country (Gaul), having become gradually polished, caused the useful studies to flourish which the bards, the euhages (prophets), and the Druids had begun to cultivate. The bards sang, in heroic verse, to the sound of their lyres, the lofty deeds of men; the euhages tried, by meditation, to explain the order and marvels of nature. In the midst of these were distinguished the Druids, who united in a society, occupied themselves with profound and sublime questions, raised themselves above human affairs, and sustained the immortality of the soul.” These details, which Ammianus Marcellinus borrows from the Greek historian Timagenes, a contemporary of Cæsar, and from other authors, show that the sacerdotal caste comprised three classes – 1, the bards; 2, the prophets; 3, the Druids, properly so called.

129

Amédée Thierry, II. 1.

130

See Paulus Diaconus, p. 4, edit. Müller.

131

Diodorus Siculus, V. 29.

132

De Bello Gallico; III. 22.

133

Cæsar mentions the names of ten kings: 1. Catamantalœdes, among the Sequani (I. 3); 2. Divitiacus and Galba, among the Suessiones (II. 4, 13): 3. Commius, among the Atrebates (IV. 21, 27, 35; V. 22; VI. 6; VII. 75, 76, 79; VIII. 6, 7, 10, 21, 23, 47, 48); 4. Catuvolcus, among the Eburones (V. 24, 26; VI. 31); 5. Tasgetius, among the Carnutes (V. 25, 29); 6. Cavarinus, among the Treviri (V. 54; VI. 5); 7. Ambiorix, among the Eburones (V. 24, 26, 27, 29, 38, 41; VI. 5, 6, 19, 29, 30, 31, 32, 42, 47; VIII. 24, 25); 8. Moritasgus, among the Senones (V. 54); 9. Teutomatus, among the Nitiobriges (VII. 31, 46).

134

De Bello Gallico, VII. 88; VIII. 12.

135

De Bello Gallico, I. 16.

136

Thus the Civitates Armoricæ (V. 53; VII. 75; VIII. 81); Belgium (V. 12, 24, 25; VIII. 46, 49, 54; the Aulerci Cenomanni and the Aulerci Eburovices (II. 34; III. 17; VII. 4, 75; VIII. 7). See the interesting memoir by Mr. Valentino Smith.

137

Ambarri, necessarii et consanguinei Æduorum (I. 11); Suessiones fratres consanguineosque Remorum, qui eodem jure et iisdem legibus utuntur (II. 3); Suessiones qui Remis erant adtributi (VIII. 6).

138

In fide; thus the Ædui with the Bellovaci (II. 14); with the Senones (VI. 4); with the Bituriges (VII. 5).

139

Eburonum et Condrusorum, qui sunt Trevirorum clientes (IV. 6); Carnutes … usi deprecatoribus Remis, quorum erant in clientela (VI. 4); imperant Æduis atque eorum clientibus Segusiavis, Ambluaretis, Aulercis Brannovicibus, Brannoviis (VII. 75)

140

The known federations of this kind are – 1, that of the Belgæ against the Romans, in the year 57 before Jesus Christ (De Bello Gallico, II. 4); 2, that of the Veneti with the neighbouring tribes, in the year 56 (De Bello Gallico, III. 9); 3, that of the Treviri, the Nervii, The Aduatuci, and the Menapii, in the year 53 (De Bello Gallico, VI. 2); 4, that of the peoples who invested Camulogenus with the supreme power, in 52 (De Bello Gallico, VII. 57); 5, the great federation which placed all the forces of Gaul under the command of Vercingetorix (De Bello Gallico, VII. 63).

141

De Bello Gallico, VI. 11.

142

De Bello Gallico, VI. 11.

143

De Bello Gallico, V. 3, 54; VI. 11; VII. 75; VIII. 22.

144

De Bello Gallico, I. 30.

145

De Bello Gallico, VII. 63.

146

De Bello Gallico, VI. 11.

147

De Bello Gallico, VI. 12.

148

De Bello Gallico, VII. 4.

149

Précis des Guerres de César, by the Emperor Napoleon I., p. 53, Paris, 1836.

150

The hostility which prevailed between the Sequani and the Ædui was further augmented, according to Strabo, by the following cause: “These two tribes, separated by the Arar (the Saône), both claimed the right of tolls.” (Strabo, p. 160, edit. Didot.)

151

“Divitiacus, introduced to the Senate, explained the subject of his mission. He was offered a seat, but refused that honour, and pronounced his discourse leaning on his buckler.” (Eumenius, Panegyric of Constantine, cap. 3.)

152

De Bello Gallico, VI. 12.

153

The limits of Illyria, in the time of Cæsar, are hardly known; yet it appears that this province comprised the modern Istria and part of Carniola. Aquileia was its capital, situated at the head of the gulf of the Adriatic Sea, not far from the Isonzo. In fact, Strabo (I., p. 178) says that Aquileia was situated without the frontiers of the Veneti, in whose territory this town was included under Augustus. On another side, Titus Livius (XXXIX. 55) informs us that the colony of Aquileia had been founded in Istria; and Herodotus (I. 196), as well as Appian, reckons the Istrians among the peoples of Illyria.

154

“Molita cibaria.” (De Bello Gallico, I. 5.)

155

Inhabitants of the country of Bâle. The Rauraci inhabited the diocese of Bâle, which was called Augusta Rauracorum.

156

Inhabitants of the south of the Grand Duchy of Baden. The town of Stulingen, near Schaffhausen, is believed to derive its name from the Tulingi.

157

De Bello Gallico, I. 3, 4, and 5. – Scholars have taken great pains to determine the concordance between the ante-Julian calendar and the Julian calendar; unfortunately, the results at which they have arrived are very imperfect. We have asked M. Le Verrier to solve this difficult problem, and we owe to his courtesy the tables placed at the end of this volume. (Appendix A.)

158

The bed of the Rhone has changed at several points since the time of Cæsar; at present, according to the report of those who live on its banks, there are no fords except between Russin, on the right bank, and the mill of Vert, on the left bank. (See Plate 3.)

159

De Bello Gallico, I. 6.

160

Plutarch, Cæsar, 18.

161

This part of the Jura on the left bank of the Rhone is called the Mont du Vuache.

162

De Bello Gallico, I. 8.

163

M. Queypo, in his learned work on the weights and measures of the ancients, assigns to the Roman foot, subdivided into twelve inches, a length of 0·29630m. The Roman pace was five feet, so that the mile was equivalent to a length of 1481·50m.

164

Dio Cassius says that “Cæsar fortified with retrenchments and walls the most important points.” (XXXVIII. 31.)

165

The retrenchments which Cæsar calls murus fossaque

Скачать книгу