The Civil War (Penguin Classics)
by Julius Caesar
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Book Summary Information
Author: Julius CaesarIntroduction: Jane F. Gardner
Translator: Jane F. Gardner
Edition: Paperback
Audio: Latin (Original Language); French (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1976-11-18
ISBN: 0140441875
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of The Civil War (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: Prestige has always been of prime importance to me
Summary: 5 Stars
As Jane F. Garner states in her excellent introduction, Caesar understood that one could not break the Roman Senate's de facto power in the Roman republic by using the sovereign power of the people. `One needed to secure military command, and with it, wealth, patronage and, not least important, armed power.'
This book is in fact the story of the battles for the consolidation of one sole armed power in the Roman republic under one general, which would, indeed, yield sole power (dictator for life) for him.
Of course, it reflects only the author's point of view. Julius Caesar's hagiographic autoportrait is one of a magnanimous, not vindictive or rancourous, but integer, just and generous general and politician.
But his chronicle gives also an in depth picture of the war scene in Caesar's time, not only of long and short term tactics, but also of the (in)human side of it.
The battles were in the first place a fight for water, corn and fodder, before a frontal confrontation could be engaged. The preparations therefore were more a matter of civil engineering than anything else: walls of up to 17 miles, ramparts, dams, river crossings, roadblocks, ditches and fences, towers and ballistic missiles. Animals like elephants, and even scorpions were used.
The wars resulted in `farm-houses being burned down, fields devastated, flocks plundered and killed, towns and forts razed and abandoned, and the leading citizens slain or kept in chains while their children were carried off and enslaved.'
Vae victis: `Soldiers won over by personal prestige of the general, persuaded by money and promises of gain, captured but, as their lives had been spared, they had been anxious to demonstrate their gratitude. These were the men whose bodies, remarkable for size and comeliness, now lay hacked and limp all over the plain.'
The book shows also Caesar's psychological insight: `for we believe what we wish were so, and hope that others feel as we do', `rumour goes beyond the facts' or `friends become enemies in adversity'.
Truly stunning is the end of the story: After securing sole military command, Caesar returned to Rome and was murdered six months later.
With its tens of thousands of deaths, this book doesn't sketch a very positive picture of mankind.
A must read for all historians and lovers of classical texts.
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