Chapter XXXVI: Appendix: D (5)

Cæsar, after the surrender of Noviodunum, marches towards Bourges. Vercingetorix follows him by short marches (_minoribus itineribus_). The Roman general, having Bourges before him, and a hostile army on his left, marches slowly and with precaution. Perhaps he took three or four days to perform the forty-five kilomètres which separate Sancerre from Bourges. At last, after having reconnoitred the site of Avaricum, he must have traversed the marshes of the Yèvre, at a distance of three or four kilomètres from that town, so as to take up a position to the south-east of the _oppidum_, in that part which was not surrounded by the river and the marshes, and which only offered a narrow passage. As to Vercingetorix, he follows, or rather hovers on, the Roman army, taking up his position on its left, and still keeping up his communication with Avaricum, hesitating whether he shall deliver it to the flames.

[469] _De Bello Gallico_, VII. 13.

[470] Archælogists have pretended they find traces still existing of the camp of Vercingetorix in the neighbourhood of Bourges, not considering that Cæsar declares that the Gaulish chief did not, for the first time, think of retrenching his camp in the Roman fashion till after the siege of this town. We believe that Vercingetorix, although he came from the east, encamped to the south of Bourges. It was, indeed, natural that he should place himself between the Roman army and the land of the Arverni, whence, probably, it drew its provisions. Besides, if he had placed his camp to the east of Bourges, he would have intercepted the provisions which Cæsar expected from the land of the Ædui, which the text does not say.

[471] The ravine which descends to the Auron is still recognised at the present day, between the Portes Saint-Michel and Saint-Paul, by the sudden incline of the ground. Old plans of Bourges designate it by the name of the _Vallée Saint-Paul_. The opposite ravine, which runs towards the Porte Bourbonnoux, has disappeared under the successive fillings up composing the soil of the garden of the archbishop’s palace. The ridge of land forming the avenue cannot have been in Cæsar’s time more than 100 mètres broad. It has lost its primitive physiognomy, especially by the formation of the Place Sérancourt, in 1700, on a site the level of which did not then exceed that of the field of the present fair. The depression of the ground which existed before the wall is more visible; it has been filled-up during the different sieges of Bourges.

[472] This is evident, since the Romans, in order to be able to give the assault, were obliged to construct a terrace eighty feet high. General de Gœler believed this measurement exaggerated. Nevertheless, as this terrace was constructed in a ravine, it was necessary that it should compensate a difference of level of eighty mètres, of which thirty, perhaps, represent the height of the wall.

[473] Vercingetorix, encamped first towards Dun-le-Roi, had approached nearer Bourges. He had established his new camp to the east of that of Cæsar, perhaps at La Chenevière, at the confluence of the Yèvre and the brook of Villabon, fourteen kilomètres from Bourges.

[474] See the quotation from Vegetius, p. 143, note (1).

[475] We read in Vitruvius, on occasion of the siege of Marseilles: “When the tortoise approached to batter the wall, they let down a cord furnished with a slip-knot, in which they caught the ram, and raised its head so high, by means of a wheel, that they prevented its striking the wall.” (Vitruvius, X. 16.)

[476] Titus Livius expresses himself thus in speaking of the beseiged in Ambracia, who dug a mine to meet that of the enemies: “Aperiunt viam rectam in cuniculum.” (XXXVII. 7.)

[477] Several authors have thought that these beams, instead of being placed perpendicularly to the direction of the wall, were placed parallel to that direction. This interpretation appears to us inadmissable. The beams so placed would have no solidity, and would easily have been torn down. We see on the Trajan Column walls constructed as we describe; moreover, the Latin expression _trabes directæ_ can leave no doubt, for the word _directus_ means always _perpendicular to a direction_. (See _De Bello Gallico_, IV. 17, _directa materia injecta_, and the dissertation in the _Philologus_, Jahrganges 19, Heft. 3.)

[478] The name of _pluteus_ was given generally to all kinds of covering with hurdles or with skins. (Festus, in voce _Pluteus_.--Vitruvius, X. 20.)--Vegetius (IV. 15) applies the name of _pluteus_ to a kind of penthouse, of wicker-work or skins, mounted on three wheels, and protecting the men placed behind it, so that they might shoot at the defenders.

[479] They gave this name to a small engine resembling the balistæ, which threw darts. These scorpions composed, as it were, the field-artillery of the ancients.

[480] _De Bello Gallico_, VII. 32.

[481] It is very probably that Cæsar proceeded first to Noviodunum (_Nevers_), since he informs us that he had established in that town a great magazine and provisions of every kind.

[482] At present the Allier is fordable almost everywhere in summer; but in the course of nineteen centuries the bed of the river must have been considerably raised.

[483] The commentators are not agreed on this passage. I have adopted the version which seemed to me the best, and which MM. Köchly and Rustow have followed in their German translation, Stuttgart, 1862.

[484] Dio Cassius, XL. 35.

[485] Cæsar, on leaving Decize, followed, no doubt the Gaulish road which led to the Allier, and the existence of which may be assumed from the later construction of the Roman road which goes from Decize to Bourbon-l’Archambault (_Aquæ Borvonis_), and which crossed the Allier a little below Moulins. Thence he followed the course of the river for some days, constantly in face of the enemy. In order to pass it by the help of a stratagem, he took advantage of the remains of a bridge; and, as this bridge indicates that there must have been a road, it becomes a question to find among the ancient roads which crossed the Allier that which Cæsar followed. Now we only know two Roman roads leading to the Allier below Moulins, one at Varennes, the other at Vichy. We adopt Varennes. That locality is seventy-seven kilomètres from Gergovia, reckoning them along the Allier, and Cæsar took five days to perform them; but, as the four legions sent forward to deceive the enemy returned during the night, in order to rejoin him, they must have suffered great fatigues; hence it is to be presumed that the next day the first march was very short. The fifth also was not long, for, according to the “Commentaries,” Cæsar had time on the day of his arrival to fortify his camp, to reconnoitre the place, and to engage in a cavalry combat. Besides, the country, interspersed with woods and marshes, was unknown to him; and we believe that we do not depart from the truth if we admit that the first and the last march were of no more than ten kilomètres, and the three others of nineteen, which gives a total of seventy-seven kilomètres, the distance from Varennes to Gergovia. When Cæsar left Gergovia, he crossed the Allier again, but at a point nearer to Gergovia, being in haste to place the river between him and the enemy. Indeed, on the second day after his check, he fought a successful cavalry engagement, broke up his camp, and the following day (_tertio die_) crossed the Allier again, according to our opinion, at Vichy, which is only fifty-five kilomètres from Gergovia.

[486] The Artières receives, on the north of Gergovia, the little brook of Clémensat, marked on _Plate 21_.

[487] It is by seeking the essential conditions required for the placing of troops that Commandant Baron Stoffel succeeded in finding the camps. Cæsar had to place from 30,000 to 40,000 men in the neighbourhood of water, at a convenient distance from Gergovia, and in such a manner as to preserve his line of operation upon Nevers, where his magazines were. These necessities indicated that the principal camp would be near the Auzon, and to the east. Moreover, it must be sufficiently near the _oppidum_, that from the top of the mountain of Gergovia could be seen what was going on in it; and yet sufficiently distant that the objects could not be clearly distinguished. The camp must be in the plain; Dio Cassius (XL. 36) formally says, “Cæsar remained in the plain, not having been able to take (for placing his camp) a place strong by its elevation;” and then the “Commentaries” inform us that the Romans only occupied one single hill, namely, the one they took by surprise (La Roche-Blanche). Lastly, it was indispensable that there should be in front of the camp a space sufficiently large to admit of cavalry engagements.

[488] Vercingetorix, placed in the centre of a kind of semicircle, might easily be considered by Cæsar as surrounded by his numerous troops (_collocaverat copias circum se_).

[489] The combats of cavalry took place in the plain which extends from the small eminence called _Le Puy-de-Marmant_ to the marsh of Sarlièves.

[490] The hill is certainly the Roche-Blanche, for it is situated opposite the _oppidum_ (_e regione oppidi_); it begins at the very foot of the slopes of the mountain of Gergovia (_sub ipsis radicibus montis_), is singularly fortified by nature, and, as it were, cut out from all sides (_egregie munitus atque ex omni parte circumcisus_). So long as the Gauls occupied it, they could go to the Auzon by the ravine of Merdogne, to obtain water and forage; but as soon as it was in the power of the Romans, the Gauls were compelled to draw their water from the springs on the mountain of Gergovia, and from the little brook of Artières.

The excavations made in 1862 brought the two camps to light. The fosses of the little camp are clearly defined in the calcareous soil. They form an irregular outline, represented on _Plate 22_. The Roche-Blanche, which presents in its southern part an escarpment almost as perpendicular as a wall, has lost on the sides its abrupt form by successive landslips, the last of which took place within memory of the inhabitants. The communication between the great and little camps was composed of a parapet, formed by the earth thrown out of two contiguous fosses, each four feet in depth and six in breadth, so that the breadth of the two together is only twelve feet. If we wonder that the Romans should have dug two little ditches, each six feet broad and four feet deep, instead of making one eight feet wide by six feet deep, which would have given the same amount of soil to take out, it may be answered that the two little ditches were much more quickly made than one large ditch.

[491]

HOURS.
Cæsar starts at four o’clock in the morning, and arrives at Randan
at one o’clock in the afternoon 9
Employs in negotiation from one o’clock to seven o’clock 6
Repose from seven o’clock to ten o’clock in the evening 3
Hurried return from Randan to Gergovia, from ten o’clock to
four o’clock in the morning 6
--
Duration of Cæsar’s absence 24

[492] _Plate 22_ shows the places which Cæsar’s eye could embrace from the summit of the Roche-Blanche. He could see neither the plateau, nor the country situated on the norther slopes of the mountains of Gergovia and Rissoles. It was for this reason that he had to learn from the deserters the form of the ground which lay on the other side. He thus learnt that the ridge of this latter mountain (_dorsum ejus jugi_) was not very uneven, and gave access to the western part of the town (_ad alteram partem oppidi_) by a narrow wooded passage (the defile of the Goules, which separates Rissoles from Gergovia). (_See Plate 21 in C._) This defile leads to the gate _P_ of the _oppidum_. The foundations, of masonry, and the approaches to this gate, were uncovered in the month of July, 1861. The wide road which led from this gate to the defile _C_ is distinctly seen. The alarm of Vercingetorix may be imagined; he feared lest the Romans might shut up from the Gauls this issue from the _oppidum_. These latter would have been almost blockaded (_pœne circumvallati_), without any way out, and in the impossibility of producing forage from the valley of the Artières, since the northern part of the town was difficult to access. Consequently, the words _si alterum collem amisissent_ can only apply to the mountain mass of Rissoles, and not, as several authors have pretended, to Montrognon or to Puy-Giroux; for the possession of those two peaks, detached and rather far from the mountain mass of Gergovia, offered no interest either for the attack or for the defence.

The spot which it was important for the Gauls to fortify was the part _D E_ of the heights of Rissoles which are opposite the village of Opme, because troops could only scale the mass by the western slope. How can any one suppose that, fearing for the defile of the Goules, the Gauls would have abandoned their camp before the place to go and entrench themselves on Montrognon, three kilomètres from Gergovia? How admit that Cæsar, to threaten the defile, would have sent troops to make the circuit of the mountain of Gergovia by the north? How could the legion, which supported this movement, without advancing far, and which concealed itself in the woods, have assisted in the stratagem, if the false attack had been made to the east and to the north of Gergovia, at two leagues from the camp? In passing by the south, that is, by the defile of Opme, the legion was always in communication with the camps, on which it could fall back, and the broken and wooded ground prevented the Gauls from knowing accurately the importance of the attack. Besides, two facts which result from the “Commentaries” prove that the Gauls were not very far from the _oppidum_. Cæsar sees the southern front abandoned, and he establishes his legions at a distance of 1,200 paces from the place. The soldiers scale the heights at a rapid pace; but scarcely have they reached the principal enclosure, when the Gauls, who hear the cries of the women and of the small number of defenders left in the place (_primo exaudito clamore_), have time to hurry to them, and drive back the Romans. Consequently, the Gauls were at a distance where the cries could be heard; and this distance may be measured by the time which the attacking columns must have taken to climb the space of 1,200 paces, since they arrived almost simultaneously. We believe, therefore, that they were at a distance of less than two kilomètres from the gate _O_ of the town, engaged in fortifying the plateau of the heights of Risolles.

[493] According to Polyænus (VIII. xxiii. 9), the soldiers marched with their heads bent down, in order not to be seen.

[494] It is, in fact, 1780 mètres from the foot of the mountain, where Cæsar must have assembled his troops, between the Roche-Blanche and the Puy-de-Marmant, to the gate _O_ of the _oppidum_. This is the line which passes by the ravine in which the village of Merdogne is situated; to the left and to the right the ground is too rugged for the troops to climb it.

[495] General Gœler believes, with apparent reason, that we ought to read _regressus_ instead of _progressus_. The 10th legion, which acted as reserve, must, in the presence of a combat, the issue of which was uncertain, have taken up a position behind rather than towards the front.

[496] The part of the southern slope of Gergovia which was the scene of the last battle is clearly indicated by the ground itself. This battle took place on the whole space which extends in front of the gate _O_ of the _oppidum_, the principal object of the attack. The ravine which, according to the “Commentaries,” prevented the legions from hearing the signal to retreat, is that which descends to the west of the Merdogne. Hence it may be concluded that, at this moment, Cæsar and the 10th legion were to the right of this ravine. Lastly, we understand on the spot the movement of the Ædui. To the east of Merdogne there is a spur, _H_, attached to the mountain of Gergovia, forty mètres below the table-land, and presenting several successive terraces. So long as the Ædui, who came from the east, had not arrived on the crest of this spur, they could not be perceived by the Romans, who were fighting towards Merdogne; but it may be imagined that, when they appeared all at once on this crest, and at a distance of 600 mètres from the right flank of the legions, the sight of them must have singularly surprised the troops, who were expecting no re-enforcement from that side.

General de Gœler, without having seen the locality, has indicated nearly the site of the Roman camp; but he does not place it sufficiently to the west. He makes the Gaulish troops encamp on the four slopes of the mountain of Gergovia. It is, no doubt, the expression _circum se_ (VII. 36) which led him into this error. It is, indeed, impossible to admit that the Gauls could have encamped on the abrupt slopes of the northern declivity. General de Gœler is also mistaken in directing the false attack upon Montrognon. Lastly, he places the scene of the battle too much towards the west.

[497] _De Bello Gallico_, VII. 52.

[498] “In the war of the Gauls, Caius Julius Cæsar was surprised by an enemy, who carried him off, armed as he was, on his horse, when another Gaul, who recognized Cæsar, called out, intending to insult him, “Cæcos, Cæsar!” which in the Gaulish language signifies, _let him go, set him loose_; and so he escaped. Cæsar says so himself, in his _Ephemerides_, in the passage where he speaks of his good fortune.” (Servius Maurus Honoratus, a grammarian of the fifth century, in his commentary on the 11th book of the _Æneid_, line 743, II. p. 48, edit. Albert Lion.)

The manuscripts of Servius do not all present the same reading. The following are some of the principal variations: _Cecos, Cæsar_; _Cæcos ac Cæsar_; and _Cæsar, Cesar_.

[499] Plutarch, _Cæsar_, 29.

[500] There has always been a ford at Bourbon-Lancy.

[501] _De Bello Gallico_, VII. 56.

[502] A sling-ball of lead has been found at Sens, on which are stamped in relief the words “T. Labienus.” This ball forms part of the collection of the Museum of Saint-Germain.

[503] MM. de Saulcy and J. Quicherat have already demonstrated in a conclusive manner that Labienus must have followed the left bank of the Yonne, after leaving Sens, and that he crossed over to the right bank of the Seine at Melun. In fact, Labienus, on the right bank, found himself, as Cæsar says, threatened on one side by the Bellovaci, on the other by the army of Camulogenus (VII. 59). On the opposite bank, on the contrary, Labienus would not have been placed between the two, since he would have had Camulogenus in front, and, at a greater distance, the Bellovaci coming from the north.

“A very large river kept the legions separated from their reserve and their baggage.” This very great river cannot be the Marne, which Cæsar does not even mention in the whole course of this campaign: it was evidently the Seine, which Labienus has crossed once only, at Melodunum (_Melun_); by crossing over to the right bank, he was separated from his base of operations, which was at Sens. On the contrary hypothesis, no river would have separated Labienus from his line of retreat; unless we admit, with Dulaure and several others, the identity of Agedincum with Provius, which is no longer possible.

The Captain of the Staff Rouby has made investigations on the spot, which prove that from Sens the most ancient ways leading to Paris passed on the left bank of the Yonne and of the Seine. Moreover, the discoveries of M. Carré have made us acquainted with the exact direction followed by the Roman road after quitting Sens towards Paris; it was entirely on the left bank of the Yonne. If Cæsar’s lieutenant had followed the right bank of the Yonne, he would, the day after his departure, have been arrested by the course of the Seine, and would have fallen in with the Gaulish town of Condate, built in the very angle of the two streams, in the midst of perhaps impassable marshes. If only a few thousand Gauls had occupied the heights which played so important a part in the campaign of 1814, Labienus, compelled to seek for a place to cross higher up the stream, would have been diverted considerably from his aim.

It has been supposed wrongly that the Bièvre was the marsh where Labienus, in his march on the left bank of the Seine, had been arrested by the Gaulish army. Leaving out of consideration the fact that the Bièvre, which flows through a calcareous soil, can at no epoch have formed a marsh capable of arresting an army, how can we suppose that Labienus, if he had arrived at this stream, that is, close to Lutetia, would have retraced his steps as far back as Melun, to march from thence towards the _oppidum_ of the Parisii by the right bank of the Seine, which would have obliged him to make a journey of twenty-four leagues? The manœuvre of Labienus can only be explained by his desire to turn the strong position of Camulogenus, and arrive at Paris before him. The text of the “Commentaries” says clearly that Labienus, stopped by the marsh which shelves towards the Seine, stole away by night, surprised the passage of the Seine at Melun, and marched upon Lutetia, where he arrived before Camulogenus. To allow of the success of this manœuvre, the marsh in question must necessarily not have been far from Melun. The Essonne alone fulfils that condition. The ground on the banks of this little river offers, even at present, by its nature, a very serious obstacle to an army. It is cut up by innumerable peat mosses; and it was behind this line of Essonne that, in 1814, the Emperor Napoleon I. established his army, whilst the enemy occupied Paris.

[504] We have not translated these words, _fugam parare_, because this passage has always appeared unintelligible to us. How, indeed, could the Gauls, seeing that the Romans were ready to pass the Seine by force, believe that this was a flight?

[505] Some manuscripts have Metiosedum, a version which, in our opinion, is utterly incorrect.

[506] _De Bello Gallico_, VII. 62.

[507] See _Appendix D_.

[508] _De Bello Gallico_, VII. 65.--_Evocati_ was the name given to the old soldiers who, after having served, returned voluntarily to the ranks of the army.

[509] Let us here recapitulate the numbers of the legions employed during the war in Gaul. Cæsar’s army, as we have seen, was composed in 696 of six legions, the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. In 697, two new legions were raised in Italy, the 13th and 14th. Probably, in the winter between 699 and 700, Cæsar brought several cohorts composed of soldiers and sailors who were to serve in the fleet; for, on his return from the second expedition into England, notwithstanding the losses he had sustained, he was at the head of eight legions and five cohorts (V. 24). He lost at Aduatuca one legion and a half, that is, the 14th legion, besides five cohorts; but in 701 three new legions replaced the cohorts lost, and even doubled their number. These legions were the 1st, lent by Pompey (_De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 54, and Lucan, _Pharsalia_, VII., 1. 218); the 14th, which took the number of the legion destroyed at Aduatuca (_De Bello Gallico_, VI. 32; VIII. 4); and the 15th; this last legion was afterwards, with the 1st, given to Pompey for the war of the Parthians; it figured in the Civil War, and took, in Pompey’s army, the number 3. (Cæsar, _De Bello Civili_, III. 88.)

The 6th legion, judging from its number, must have been one of the oldest, for Dio Cassius (XXXVIII. 47) informs us that the legions were designated according to their order of inscription on the rolls of the army; but, as it only appears for the first time in 702, it is probable that it had remained in garrison among the Allobroges or in Italy. A proof that this legion assisted in the siege of Alesia is found in the fact that, after the surrender of the place, it was sent to winter quarters on the Saône, where Cæsar found it a few months afterwards (_De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 4). The distribution of the troops in their winter quarters after the taking of Alesia confirms the number of legions given above. The re-distribution after the siege of Uxellodunum gives also the same result, for in book VII. c. 46 the “Commentaries” give the positions of ten legions, without reckoning the 15th, which, according to book VIII. c. 24, had been sent to Cisalpine Gaul. These facts are repeated again, book VIII. c. 54.

[510] It is evident that an army could not remain in the wars for eight years without receiving frequent re-enforcements in order to keep it up to its effective number. Thus, when, after the murder of Clodius, all the youth of Italy had been called to arms, Cæsar made new levies, which were used probably to swell the ranks of his legions, for no new numbers appear (_De Bello Gallico_, VII. 1).--In the same manner, when he arrived, in 702, in the south of Gaul, and crossed the Cévennes, he placed himself at the head of the troops which had been recruited in the Roman province and of the re-enforcements which he had brought from Italy (_partem copiarum ex provincia supplementumque quod ex Italia adduxerat in Helvois, qui fines Arvernorum contingunt, convenire jubet_). (_De Bello Gallico_, VII. 7.)--Labienus, on the other hand, during his expedition to Paris, left his recruits in dépôt at Sens (_Labienus eo supplemento quod nuper ex Italia venerat relicto_). (_De Bello Gallico_, VII. 57.)

[511] Plutarch, _Cato_, 53.

[512] Plutarch, _Cæsar_, 36.

[513] See above, page 87.

[514] See above, page 108, note (2).

[515] We learn from the text that he formed three camps. This disposition was necessitated by circumstances and the character of the locality. The heights of Sacquenay form, in fact, three promontories, _V_, _V_, _V_ (_see Plate 24_), advancing towards the north; the road to Dijon passes over the one to the left, the road to Pontallier over the one in the middle. By establishing three camps on these three promontories, Vercingetorix occupied each of these roads with one-third of his army, whilst he backed his right wing against the Vingeanne.

The Gaulish army had there a position of great natural strength, for, to attack it, the enemy would have to climb high hills which were easy to defend; it was, moreover, protected by two watercourses: one, the Vingeanne, which covered its right; the other, the Badin, a small tributary of the Vingeanne, which protected its front. In the space comprised between these two watercourses and the road from Dijon to Langres, a ground extends, measuring five kilomètres in every direction, slightly broken in some parts, but almost flat everywhere else, particularly between the Vingeanne and the hillock of Montsaugeon. Near the road, and to the west, arise hills which command it, as well as the whole country as far as Badin and the Vingeanne.

[516] The field of battle of the Vingeanne, which H.M. Defay, of Langres, first pointed out, answers perfectly to all the requirements of the Latin narrative, and, moreover, material proofs exist which are undeniable evidences of the struggle. We allude to the tumuli which are found, some at Prauthoy, others on the banks of the Vingeanne, at Dardenay, and Cusey, and those which, at Pressant, Rivières-les-Fosses, Chamberceau, and Vesvres, mark, as it were, the line of retreat of the Gaulish army, to a distance of twelve kilomètres.

Two of these tumuli are situated near each other, between Prauthoy and Montsaugeon (_see Plate 24_, where the tumuli are marked). There is one near Dardenay, three to the west of Cusey, one at Rivières-les-Fosses, another at Chamberceau. We will not mention those which have been destroyed by agriculture, but which are still remembered by the inhabitants.

Researches lately made in these tumuli have brought to light skeletons, many of which had bronze bracelets round the arms and legs, calcined bones of men and horses, thirty-six bracelets, several iron circles which were worn around the neck, iron rings, fibulæ, fragments of metal plates, pieces of Celtic pottery, an iron sword, &c.

It is a fact worthy of remark, that the objects found in the tumuli at Rivières-les-Fosses and Chamberceau bear so close a resemblance to those of the tumuli on the banks of the Vingeanne, that we might think they had come from the hand of the same workman. Hence there can be no doubt that all these tumuli refer to one and the same incident of war. (Several of these objects are deposited in the Museum of Saint-Germain.)

We must add that the agricultural labourers of Montsaugeon, Isomes, and Cusey have found during many years, when they make trenches for drainage, horse-shoes buried a foot or two deep under the soil. In 1860, at the dredging of the Vingeanne, hundreds of horse-shoes, the inhabitants say, of excellent metal, were extracted from the gravel of the river, at a depth of two or three feet. They are generally small, and bear a groove all round, in which the heads of the nails were lodged. A great number of these horse-shoes have preserved their nails, which are flat, have a head in the form of a T, and still have their rivet--that is, the point which is folded back over the hoof--which proves that they are not shoes that have been lost, but shoes of dead horses, the foot of which has rotted away in the soil or in the gravel. Thirty-two of these horse-shoes have been collected. One of them is stamped in the middle of the curve with a mark, sometimes found on Celtic objects, and which has a certain analogy with the stamp on a plate of copper found in one of the tumuli of Montsaugeon.

When we consider that the action between the Roman and Gaulish armies was merely a cavalry battle, in which were engaged from 20,000 to 25,000 horses, the facts just stated cannot but appear interesting, although they may possibly belong to a battle of a later date.

[517] We have adopted the reading, _aciemque constitui jubebat_, which alone gives a reasonable interpretation.

[518] He was not the same as the one mentioned in pp. 307, 321, 320. (_De Bello Gallico_, VII. 67.)

[519] The three Gaulish camps having been established on the heights of Sacquenay, four or five kilomètres behind the position occupied by the infantry during the battle, and the line of retreat towards Alesia lying to the left, in the direction of Pressant and Vesvres, if Vercingetorix had returned to ascend the hills with his 80,000 men, to remove the baggage, that operation would have taken two or three hours, during which Cæsar might have cut off his retreat, or have inflicted a still more serious defeat upon him. But, by immediately hastening his march on Pressant, in order to follow from thence the road which, by Rivières-les-Fosses and Vesvres, joined the great road from Langres to Alise, near Aujeur, he got in advance of the Roman army, which, in the disorder in which it was at that moment, was not able to pursue him at once. And this is what he did.

The text says, also, that Vercingetorix gave orders that the baggage should be taken out of the camps in all haste, to follow him. If the baggage of an army of 100,000 men had accompanied Vercingetorix, on the road followed by the infantry, we cannot understand how the Roman army, which pursued the Gauls as long as daylight lasted, should not have captured it all. But investigations made in the country situated between the field of battle and the Alise, behind the heights of Sacquenay, have brought to light vestiges of a Roman road which, starting from Thil-Châtel, thirteen kilomètres behind Sacquenay, proceeded, by Avelanges, towards the hamlet of Palus, where it branched from the road from Langres to Alise. We may suppose, therefore, that Vercingetorix caused his baggage to follow in his rear as far as Thil-Châtel, where it took the road to Palus.

The Roman road from Langres to Alise, which, without any doubt, marks the direction followed by the two armies, has been traced almost in its whole extent by Commandant Stoffel. Even at the present day, on the territories of Fraignot, Salives, Echalot, and Poiseul-la-Grange, the inhabitants call it the _Road of the Romans_, or _Cæsar’s way_.

[520] We read (_De Bello Gallico_, VII. 68) the words, _Altero die ad Alesiam castra fecit_. We have before sought to prove that the words _altero die_ must be translated by the _second day after_, and not by the _next day_. [See page 279, note (1).] It took Cæsar, therefore, two days’ march to move from the field of battle to Alesia.

A study of the country fully confirms the interpretation we give to the expression _altero die_. In fact, to the north and east of Alise-Sainte-Reine (_Alesia_), to less than two days’ march, the ground is so cut up and broken that no cavalry battle would be possible upon it. It retains this character as far as fifty-five or sixty kilomètres from Alise, to the east of the road from Pranthoy to Dijon, where it becomes more easy and open. The battle-field of the Vingeanne, which we consider as the true one, is at a distance of sixty-five kilomètres from Alise. Supposing that, on the day of the victory, the Roman army had pursued the Gauls over a space of fifteen kilomètres, it would have had to traverse in the two following days, before arriving at Alesia, a distance of fifty kilomètres, that is to say, twenty-five kilomètres a day.

[521] We call the reader’s attention particularly to the numerous Roman and Gaulish coins found in one of the fosses of the camp _D_, the list of which will be found in _Appendix C_, at the end of this volume.

[522] Near the western summit of the mountain two abundant springs arise; there is another on the eastern side. With these springs, as at Gergovia, it was easy to form large watering-places for cattle. Besides, manifest traces of a great number of wells are visible on the table-land, so that it is evident the besieged can never have wanted water, besides which, they could always descend to the two rivers.

[523] We believe that these _castella_ were palisaded redoubts having a recess attached, similar to the wooden blockhouses represented on the Trajan Column; often even these recesses alone composed the _castellum_.

[524] It was not, as will be remarked, the countervallation which was 11,000 feet in extent, but the line of investment.

[525] _Eadem altitudine_. See paragraph XIII., Details on the Excavations of Alesia, page 364.

[526] _Dolabratis_, diminished to a point, and not _delibratis_, peeled.

[527] In the excavations at Alesia, five _stimuli_ have been found, the form of which is represented in _Plate 27_. The new names which Cæsar’s soldiers gave to these accessory defenses prove that they were used for the first time.

[528] This appears from a passage in _De Bello Civili_, III. 47.

[529]

The Ædui and their clients, the Segusiavi, the Ambluareti, the MEN.
Aulerci-Brannovices, and the Blannovii 35,000

The Arverni, with the people in their dependence, as the
Cadurci-Eleutheri, the Gabali, the Vellavi 35,000

The Senones, the Sequani, the Bituriges, the Santones, the Ruteni,
the Carnutes (each 12,000) 72,000

The Bellovaci 10,000

The Lemovices 10,000

The Pictones, the Turones, the Parisii, the Helvii (each 8,000) 32,000

The Suessiones, the Ambiani, the Mediomatrice, the Petrocorii,
the Nervii, the Morini, the Nitiobriges (each 5,000) 35,000

The Aulerci-Cenomanni 5,000

The Atrebates 4,000

The Veliocasses, the Lexovii, the Aulerci-Eburovices (each 3,000) 9,000

The Rauraci and the Boii (each 3,000) 6,000

Lastly, the peoples who dwelt on the shores of the ocean, and
whom the Gauls called Armoricans, amongst whom were the
Curiosolites, the Redones, the Ambibari, the Caletes, the
Osismii, the Lemovices-Armoricani, the Veneti, and the Unelli,
had to furnish together 30,000
-------
Total 283,000

[530]: See note on page 143.

[531] This passage proves clearly that the army of succour attacked also the circumvallation of the plain. In fact, how can we admit that, of 240,000 men, only 60,000 should have been employed? It follows, from the accounts given in the “Commentaries,” that among this multitude of different peoples, the chiefs chose the most courageous men to form the corps of 60,000 which operated the movement of turning the hills; and that the others, unaccustomed to war, and less formidable, employed in the assault of the retrenchments in the plain, were easily repulsed.

[532] According to Polyænus (VIII. xxiii. 11), Cæsar, during the night, detached 3,000 legionaries and all his cavalry to take the enemy in the rear.

[533] “Cæsar (at Alexandria) was greatly perplexed, being burdened with his _purple_ vestments, which prevented him from swimming.” (Xiphilinus, _Julius Cæsar_, p. 26.)--“Crassus, instead of appearing before his troops in a purple-coloured _paludamentum_, as is the custom of the Roman generals....” (Plutarch, _Crassus_, 28.)

[534] “The inhabitants of Alesia despaired of their safety when they saw the Roman soldiers bringing from all sides into their camp an immense quantity of shields ornamented with gold and silver, cuirasses stained with blood, plate, and Gaulish flags.” (Plutarch, _Cæsar_, 30.)

[535] Florus, III. x. 26.--According to Plutarch (_Cæsar_, 30), Vercingetorix, after having laid down his arms, seated himself in silence at the foot of Cæsar’s tribunal.

[536] _De Bello Gallico_, VII. 90.--By comparing the data of the VIIth book with those of the VIIIth, we obtain the following results:

LEGIONS.

In Franche-Comté, Labienus with the 7th and 15th 2
In the country of the Remi, Fabius and Basilius with the 8th
and 9th 2
Between the Loire and the Allier, Reginus with the 11th 1
In Berrry, Sextius with the 13th 1
In Rouergue, Rebilus with the 1st 1
At Mâcon, Tullius Cicero with the 6th 1
At Chalon, Sulpicius with the 14th 1
At Bibracte, Mark Antony with the 10th and 12th 2
--
Total 11

[537] There have been found, on a length of 200 mètres, in the bottom of the upper fosse, ten Gaulish coins, twenty arrow-heads, fragments of shields, four balls of stone of different diameters, two millstones of granite, skulls and bones, earthenware, and fragments of amphoras in such quantity, that it would lead us to suppose that the Romans threw upon the assailants everything that came to hand. In the lower fosse, near which the struggle was hotter after the sally of Labienus, the result has surpassed all hopes. This fosse has been opened for a space of 500 mètres in length from _X_ to _X_ (_see Plate 25_): it contained, besides 600 coins (_see Appendix C_), fragments of pottery, and numerous bones, the following objects: ten Gaulish swords and nine scabbards of iron, thirty-nine pieces which belonged to arms of the description of the Roman _pilum_, thirty heads of javelins, which, on account of their lightness, are supposed to have been the points of the _hasta amentata_; seventeen more heavy heads may also have served for javelins thrown by the _amentum_, or simply by the hand, or even for lances; sixty-two blades, of various form, which present such finished workmanship that they may be ranged among the spears.

Among objects of defensive armour there have been found one iron helmet and seven cheek-pieces, the forms of which are analogous to those which we see represented on Roman sculptures; umbos of Roman and Gaulish shields; an iron belt of a legionary; and numerous collars, rings and fibulæ.

[538] In the fosses of the plain of Laumes have been found a fine sword, several nails, and some bones; on the left bank of the Oserain, two coins, three arrow-heads, and other fragments of arms; in the fosse which descends towards the Ose, on the northern slopes of Mont Penneville, a prodigious quantity of bones of animals. A spot planted with vines, close by, on the southern slope of Mont Penneville, is still at the present day called, on the register of lands, _Cæsar’s Kitchen_ (_la Cuisine de César_).

[539] In the fosses of the circumvallation in the plain of Laumes have been found stone balls, some fragments of arms, pottery, and a magnificent silver vase, of good Greek art. This last was found at _z_ (_see Plate 25_), near the imperial road from Paris to Dijon, at the very bottom of the fosse, at a depth of 1·40m. Bronze arms, consisting of ten spears, two axes, and two swords, have been found previously at _y_ near the Oserain.

[540] This book, as is known, was written by Hirtius.

[541] _De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 5.

[542] Viz., the Aulerci-Eburovices.

[543] It has been objected that Mont Saint-Pierre was not sufficiently large to contain seven legions; but, since Cæsar for a long while had only four legions with him, the camp was made for that number. Afterwards, instead of remaining on the defensive, he determined, as at Alesia, to invest the Gaulish camp, and it was then only that he sent for three more legions. The appearance of the different camps which have been found is, on the contrary, very rational, and in conformity with the number of troops mentioned in the “Commentaries.” Thus, the camp of Berry-au-Bac, which contained eight legions, had forty-one hectares of superfices; that of Gergovia, for six legions, had thirty-three hectares; and that of Mont Saint-Pierre, for four legions, twenty-four hectares.

[544] “Non solum vallo et sudibus, sed etiam turriculis instruunt.... quod opus loriculam vocant.” (Vegetius, IV. 28.)

[545] It may be seen, by the profiles of the fosses which have been brought to light, that they could not have had vertical sides; the expression used by Hirtius leads us to believe that, by _lateribus directis_, he meant fosses not triangular, but with a square bottom.

[546] _De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 17.

[547] _De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 23.

[548] Rebilus had at first only one legion; we believe, with Rustow, that the 10th, which was quartered at Bibracte, had come to join him. It is said (VII. 90) that Rebilus had been sent to the Ruteni; but it appears, from a passage of Orosius (VI. 11), “that he was stopped on his way by a multitude of enemies, and ran the greatest dangers.” He remained, therefore, in the country of the Pictones, where Fabius came to his succour.

[549] Some manuscripts read erroneously the 13th legion.

[550] _De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 25.

[551] _De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 31.

[552] See his biography in _Appendix D_.

[553] _De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 44.

[554] It is due to the persevering research of M. J. B. Cessac, assisted subsquently by the departmental commission of the Lot.

[555] List of the objects found at Puy-d’Issolu: one blade of a _dolabrum_, thirty-six arrow-heads, six heads of darts for throwing by catapults, fragments of bracelets, bear’s tooth (an amulet), necklace beads, rings, a blade of a knife, and nails.

[556] According to Frontinus (_Stratag._, II. 11), Commius sought an asylum in Great Britain.

[557] _De Bello Gallico_, VIII. 48.

[558] Plutarch, _Marius_, 19.

[559] _Mémoires de Napoléon I._, Revolt of Pavia, VII. 4.

[560] For the clearer intelligence of the recapitulation, we have adopted the modern names of the different people of Gaul, although these names are far from answering to their ancient boundaries.

[561] Cicero, when proconsul in Cilicia, obtained the sum of twelve millions of sesterii (2,280,000 francs) from the sale of prisoners made at the siege of Pindenissus. (Cicero, _Epistolæ ad Atticum_, V. 20.)

[562] Julian (_Cæsares_, p. 72, edit. Lasius) makes Cæsar say that he had treated the Helvetii _like a philanthropist_, and rebuilt their burnt towns.

[563] It was probably at this time that the chiefs of Auvergne, and perhaps Vercingetorix himself, as Dio Cassius tells us, came to render homage to the Roman proconsul. (See above, p. 80.)

[564] Mommsen, _Römische Geschichte_, III., p. 291. Berlin, 1861.

[565] Plutarch, _Pompey_, 51, 52.

[566] “He soon allowed himself to be enervated by his love for his young wife. Entirely occupied in pleasing her, he passed whole days with her in his country house or in his gardens, and ceased to think of public affairs. Thus even Clodius, then tribune of the people, regarding him no longer with anything but contempt, dared to embark in the rashest enterprises.” (Plutarch, _Pompey_, 50.)

[567] Dio Cassius, XXXVIII. 13.

[568] Plutarch, _Pompey_, 51, 52.

[569] Dio Cassius, XXXVIII. 30.

[570] Plutarch, _Pompey_, 48 and 50.

[571] “Pompey is going at last to labour on my recall: he only waited for a letter from Cæsar to cause the proposal to be made by one of his partisans.” (Cicero, _Epist. ad Atticum_, III. 18.)--“If Cæsar has abandoned me, if he has joined my enemies, he has been unfaithful to his friendship, and has done me an injury; I ought to have been his enemy, I deny it not; but if Cæsar has interested himself in my restoration, if it be true that you thought it important for me that Cæsar should not be opposed,” &c.... (_Orat. de Provinciis Consularibus_, 18.)

[572] “It was then that P. Sextius, the tribune nominate, repaired to Cæsar to interest him in my recall. I say only that if Cæsar were well intentioned towards me, and I believe he was, these proceedings added nothing to his good intentions. He (Sextius) thought that, if they wished to restore concord among the citizens and decide on my recall, they must secure the consent of Cæsar.” (Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 33)

[573] “Pompey took my brother as witness that all he had done for me he had done by the will of Cæsar.” (Cicero, _Epist. Familiar._, I. 9.)

[574] Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 31, _et seq._

[575] Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 31.

[576] Plutarch, _Pompey_, 51.--Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 32; _De Responsu Haruspic._, 23: _Pro Milone_, 7.--Asconius, _Comment. in Orat. pro Milone_, p. 47, edit. Orelli.

[577] Plutarch, _Pompey_, 51.--Cicero, _Pro Milone_, 7.--Asconius, _Comment. in Orat. pro Milone_, p. 47, edit. Orelli.

[578] Cicero, _Epist. ad Atticum_, III. 23.--Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 6.

[579] Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 33.

[580] Cicero, _Orat. pro Domo sua_, 27; _Pro Sextio_, 34.

[581] Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 34; _De Legibus_, III. 19.

[582] Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 34.

[583] Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 35.--Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 7.--Plutarch, _Pompey_, 51.

[584] Cicero, _Pro Sextio_, 35; _Orat. prima post Reditum_, 5, 6.

[585] Cicero, _De Officiis_, II. 17; _Orat. pro Sextio_, 39.--Dio Cassius XXXIX. 8.

[586] Cicero, _Orat. secunda post Reditum ad Senatum_, 10; _Orat. pro Domo sua_, 28; _Orat. in Pisonem_, 15.

[587] We thus see that the power of observing the sky continued to exist in spite of the law Clodia.

[588] Cicero, in the passages cited.

[589] Cicero, _Epist. ad Atticum_, IV, 1.

[590] Asconius, _Comment in Orat. Ciceronis pro Milone_, p. 48, edit. Orelli.

[591] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 9.--Plutarch, _Pompey_, 52.

[592] Cicero, _Epist. ad Atticum_, IV. 1.--Cicero’s proposal was further amplified by C. Messius, tribune of the people, who demanded for Pompey a fleet, an army, and the authority to dispose of the finances.

[593] Plutarch, _Pompey_, 52.--Cicero, _Orat. pro Domo sua_, 10.

[594] _Epist. ad Attic._, IV. 2.

[595] “I will add that, in the opinion of the public, Clodius is regarded as a victim reserved for Milo.” (Cicero, _De Respons. Harusp._, 3.)--This oration on the reply of the Aruspices is of May, June, or July, 698. See, also, what he says in his letter to Atticus, of November, 697. (_Epist. ad Attic._ IV. 3.)

[596] Plutarch, _Cæsar_, 23.--_De Bello Gallico_, II. 35.

[597] “But why, especially on that occasion, should any one be astonished at my conduct or blame it, when I myself have already several times supported propositions which were more honourable for Cæsar than necessary for the state? I voted in his favour fifteen days of prayers; it was enough for the Republic to have decreed to Cæsar the same number of days which Marius had obtained. The gods would have been satisfied, I think, with the same thanksgivings which had been rendered to them in the most important wars. So great a number of days had therefore for its only object to honour Cæsar personally. Ten days of thanksgivings were accorded, for the first time, to Pompey, when the war of Mithridates had been terminated by the death of that prince. I was consul, and, on my report, the number of days usually decreed to the consulars was doubled, after you had heard Pompey’s letter, and been convinced that all the wards were terminated on land and sea. You adopted the proposal I made to you of ordaining ten days of prayers. At present I have admired the virtue and greatness of soul of Cn. Pompey, who, loaded with distinctions such as no other before him had received the like, gave to another more honours than he had obtained himself. Thus, then, those prayers which I voted in favour of Cæsar were accorded to the immortal gods, to the customs of our ancestors, and to the needs of the state; but the flattering terms of the decree, this new distinction, and the extraordinary number of days, it is to the person itself of Cæsar that they were addressed, and they were a homage rendered to his glory.” (Cicero, _Orat. pro Provinc. Consular._, 10, 11.) (August, A.U.C. 698.)

[598] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quint._, II. 1.

[599] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quint._, II. 1.

[600] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quint._, II. 1.

[601] Cicero, _Epist. ad Attic._, IV. 3.

[602] Cicero, _Epist. ad Attic._, IV. 2 and 3; _Epist. ad Quint._, II. 1.

[603] Atia had wedded in first marriage Octavius, by whom she had a son, who was afterwards Augustus.

[604] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 14.

[605] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 12, 13.--Plutarch, _Pompey_, 52.

[606] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 14.--“I do not spare upon him even reproaches, to prevent him (Pompey) from meddling in this infamy.” Cicero, _Epist. Famil._, I. 1.

[607] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 15.

[608] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 2.

[609] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 16.

[610] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 2.--Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 18.

[611] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 18, 19.

[612] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 3.

[613] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 20.

[614] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 3.

[615] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 3.

[616] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 3.--We look upon this word as giving the explanation of the quarrel then existing between the two triumvirs. Egypt was so rich a prey, that it was calculated to cause division between them.

[617] “Clodius is cast down from the tribune, and I steal away, for fear of accident.” (Cicero, _Ep. ad Quint._, II. 3.)

[618] Cicero, _Ep. ad Quint._, II. 3.

[619] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 22.

[620] Plutarch, _Cato_, 45, tells us that Cato returned under the consulship of Marcius Philippus.

[621] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 23.

[622] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 7.

[623] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 1.

[624] Plutarch, _Cato_, 40; _Cicero_, 45.

[625] “There has reached me a mass of private talk of people here, whom you may guess, who have always been, and always are, in the same ranks with me. They openly rejoice at knowing that I am, at the same time, already on terms of coolness with Pompey, and on the point of quarrelling with Cæsar; but what was most cruel was to see their attitude towards my enemy (Clodius), to see them embrace him, flatter him, coax him, and cover him with caresses.” (Cicero, _Epist. Familiar._, I. 9.)

[626] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 3.

[627] These words are reported by Cicero (_Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 3), to whom they were addressed by Pompey. Dio Cassius, contrary to all probability, pretends that Pompey, from this moment, was irritated against Cæsar, and sought to deprive him of his province. There is no proof of such an allegation. The interview at Lucca, which took place this same year, offers a formal contradiction to it.

[628] See Nonius Marcellus (edit. Gerlach and Roth, p. 261), who quotes a passage from Book XXII. of the _Annals_ of Fenestella, who wrote under Augustus or Tiberius.

[629] Suetonius, _Cæsar_, 24.

[630] Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 5.

[631] Cicero, _Epist. Familiar_., I. 9.

[632] “The question of the lands of Campania, which ought to have been settled on the day of the Ides and the day following, is not yet decided. I have much difficulty in making up my mind on this question.” (Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 8.) (April, 698.)

[633] “Appius is not yet returned from his visit to Cæsar.” (Cicero, _Epist. ad Quintum_, II. 6.) (April, 698.)

[634] “Knowing well that small news as well as great news have reached Cæsar.” (_Epist. ad Quintum_, III. i. 3.)

[635] Dio Cassius, XXXIX. 25.

[636] Plutarch, _Cæsar_, 24.