Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/127

 Holmes : Caesar's Conquest of Gaul 1 1 7 and Tulingi, the Helvetii returning to the charge in front (^B. G., I. 26), and the corresponding " narrative " of Mr. Hohiies. Caesar says : " Ita ancipiti proelio diu atque acriter pugnatum est. Diutius cum sustinere nostrorum impetus non possent, alteri se, ut coeperant, in montem re- ceperunt ; alteri ad impedimenta et carros suos se contulerunt. Nam hoc toto proelio, cum ab bora septima ad vesperum pugnatum sit, aversum hostem videre nemo potuit. Ad multam noctem etiam ad impedimenta pugnatum est, propterea quod pro vallo carros obiecerant et e loco supe- riore in nostros venientes tela coniciebant, et nonnulli inter carros ro- tasque mataras ac tragulas subiciebant nostrosque vulnerabant. Diu cum esset pugnatum, impedimentis castrisque nostri potiti sunt. Ibi Orge- torigis filia atque unus e filiis captus est. Ex eo proelio circiter hominum miliaCXXX superfuerunt eaque tota nocte continenter ierunt." Corresponding to these terse words Mr. Holmes has (p. 35): " Long and fiercely the battle was fought out. In due time the cohorts of the second line relieved those of the first, advancing between the files as the latter withdrew ; and again the first line relieved, in its turn, the second. Gradually the Helvetii were forced further up the hill ; while the Boii and Tulingi retreated to their baggage. Standing behind the wall of waggons, they hurled down stones and darts upon the advancing Romans, and thrust at them with long pikes when they attempted to storm the laager. The struggle was prolonged far into the night. At fength the legionaries burst through the barrier. Women and children who could not escape were slaughtered ; and the flying remnant of the invading host disappeared in the darkness of the night. . . . What despair fell upon the baffled emigrants ; how the jaded cattle were headed round again to- wards the north, and goaded through that night ; how those who escaped the slaughter tramped after, and told the tale of the calamity; the din, the confusion, the long weariness of the retreat, — these things it is easy to imagine, but those only who have shared the rout and ruin of a beaten army can adequately realize." The Second Part is intended more for scholars. Section I. (pp. 165-244) deals with the MSS., text, and editions of the Commentaries on the Gallic JVar, with the questions "When did Caesar write the Commentaries on the Gallic War, and when were they published," and with the various attacks which have been made upon the credibility of Caesar's narrative. Section II. deals with the ethnology and population of Gaul (pp. 245-327). Section III. (pp. 328-514) is "purely geo- graphical," and consists for the most part of an elaborate geographical index. Section IV. (pp. 515-547) is entitled "Social, Political and Religious," and discusses such topics as monarchy, democracy, private property in Gaul and the Druids. Sections V. and VI. (pp. 548-562, and 563-606) contain such historical summaries and technical details of the Roman art of war as are necessary or helpful in introducing or sup- plementing the narrative of Caesar. Section VII., finally, is the running commentary on the narrative of Caesar (pp. 607-811), and closes with a chapter on Celtic names, and various addenda (pp. Sii-825).