"De Bello Gallico" and Other Commentaries
with no zeal, did not aid him much; the others [the Boii], as their
resources were not great, quickly consumed what they had. Although the
army was distressed by the greatest want of corn, through the poverty of
the Boii, the apathy of the Aedui, and the burning of the houses, to
such a degree, that for several days the soldiers were without corn, and
satisfied their extreme hunger with cattle driven from the remote
villages; yet no language was heard from them unworthy of the majesty of
the Roman people and their former victories. Moreover, when Caesar
addressed the legions, one by one, when at work, and said that he would
raise the siege, if they felt the scarcity too severely, they
unanimously begged him "not to do so; that they had served for several
years under his command in such a manner, that they never submitted to
insult, and never abandoned an enterprise without accomplishing it; that
they should consider it a disgrace if they abandoned the siege after
commencing it; that it was better to endure every hardship than not to
avenge the manes of the Roman citizens who perished at Genabum by the
perfidy of the Gauls." They entrusted the same declarations to the
centurions and military tribunes, that through them they might be
communicated to Caesar.
XVIII.--When the towers had now approached the walls, Caesar ascertained
from the captives that Vercingetorix, after destroying the forage, had
pitched his camp nearer Avaricum, and that he himself with the cavalry
and light-armed infantry, who generally fought among the horse, had gone
to lay an ambuscade in that quarter to which he thought that our troops
would come the next day to forage. On learning these facts, he set out
from the camp secretly at midnight, and reached the camp of the enemy
early in the morning. They having quickly learned the arrival of Caesar
by scouts, hid their cars and baggage in the thickest parts of the
woods, and drew up all their forces in a lofty and open space: which
circumstance being announced, Caesar immediately ordered the baggage to
be piled, and the arms to be got ready.
XIX.--There was a hill of a gentle ascent from the bottom; a dangerous
and impassable marsh, not more than fifty feet broad, begirt it on
almost every side. The Gauls, having broken down the bridges, posted
themselves on this hill, in confidence of their position, and being
drawn up in tribes according to their respective states, held all the
fords and passages of that marsh with trusty guards, thus determined
that if the Romans should attempt to force the marsh, they would
overpower them from the higher ground while sticking in it, so that
whoever saw the nearness of the position, would imagine that the two
armies were prepared to fight on almost equal terms; but whoever should
view accurately the disadvantage of position, would discover that they
were showing off an empty affectation of courage. Caesar clearly points
out to his soldiers, who were indignant that the enemy could bear the
sight of them at the distance of so short a space, and were earnestly
demanding the signal for action, "with how great loss and the death of
how many gallant men the victory would necessarily be purchased: and
when he saw them so determined to decline no danger for his renown, that
he ought to be considered guilty of the utmost injustice if he did not
hold their life dearer than his own personal safety." Having thus
consoled his soldiers, he leads them back on the same day to the camp,
and determined to prepare the other things which were necessary for the
siege of the town.
XX.--Vercingetorix, when he had returned to his men, was accused of
treason, in that he had moved his camp nearer the Romans, in that he had
gone away with all the cavalry, in that he had left so great forces
without a commander, in that, on his departure, the Romans had come at
such a favourable season, and with such despatch; that all these
circumstances could not have happened accidentally or without design;
that he preferred holding the sovereignty of Gaul by the grant of
Caesar, to acquiring it by their favour. Being accused in such a manner,
he made the following reply to these charges:--"That his moving his camp
had been caused by want of forage, and had been done even by their
advice; that his approaching near the Romans had been a measure dictated
by the favourable nature of the ground, which would defend him by its
natural strength; that the service of the cavalry could not have been
requisite in marshy ground, and was useful in that place to which they
had gone; that he, on his departure, had given the supreme command to no
one intentionally, lest he should be induced by the eagerness of the
multitude to hazard an engagement, to which he perceived that all were
inclined, owing to their want of energy, because they were unable to
endure fatigue any longer. That, if the Romans in the meantime came up
by chance, they [the Gauls] should feel grateful to fortune; if invited
by the information of some one they should feel grateful to him, because
they were enabled to see distinctly from the higher ground the smallness
of the number of their enemy, and despise the courage of those who, not
daring to fight, retreated disgracefully into their camp. That he
desired no power from Caesar by treachery, since he could have it by
victory, which was now assured to himself and to all the Gauls; nay,
that he would even give them back the command, if they thought that they
conferred honour on him, rather then received safety from him. That you
may be assured," said he, "that I speak these words with truth;--listen
to these Roman soldiers!" He produces some camp-followers whom he had
surprised on a foraging expedition some days before, and had tortured by
famine and confinement. They being previously instructed in what answers
they should make when examined, say, "That they were legionary soldiers,
that, urged by famine and want, they had recently gone forth from the
camp, [to see] if they could find any corn or cattle in the fields; that
the whole army was distressed by a similar scarcity, nor had any one now
sufficient strength, nor could bear the labour of the work; and
therefore that the general was determined, if he made no progress in the
siege, to draw off his army in three days." "These benefits," says
Vercingetorix, "you receive from me, whom you accuse of treason--me, by
whose exertions you see so powerful and victorious an army almost
destroyed by famine, without shedding one drop of your blood; and I have
taken precautions that no state shall admit within its territories this
army in its ignominious flight from this place."
XXI.--The whole multitude raise a shout and clash their arms, according
to their custom, as they usually do in the case of him whose speech they
approve; [they exclaim] that Vercingetorix was a consummate general, and
that they had no doubt of his honour; that the war could not be
conducted with greater prudence. They determine that ten thousand men
should be picked out of the entire army and sent into the town, and
decide that the general safety should not be entrusted to the Bituriges
alone, because they were aware that the glory of the victory must rest
with the Bituriges, if they made good the defence of the town.
XXII.--To the extraordinary valour of our soldiers, devices of every
sort were opposed by the Gauls; since they are a nation of consummate
ingenuity, and most skilful in imitating and making those things which
are imparted by any one; for they turned aside the hooks with nooses,
and when they had caught hold of them firmly, drew them on by means of
engines, and undermined the mound the more skilfully on this account,
because there are in their territories extensive iron mines, and
consequently every description of mining operations is known and
practised by them. They had furnished, moreover, the whole wall on every
side with turrets, and had covered them with skins. Besides, in their
frequent sallies by day and night, they attempted either to set fire to
the mound, or attack our soldiers when engaged in the works; and,
moreover, by splicing the upright timbers of their own towers, they
equalled the height of ours, as fast as the mound had daily raised them,
and countermined our mines, and impeded the working of them by stakes
bent and sharpened at the ends, and boiling pitch, and stones of very
great weight, and prevented them from approaching the walls.
XXIII.--But this is usually the form of all the Gallic walls. Straight
beams, connected lengthwise and two feet distant from each other at
equal intervals, are placed together on the ground; these are mortised
on the inside, and covered with plenty of earth. But the intervals which
we have mentioned, are closed up in front by large stones. These being
thus laid and cemented together, another row is added above, in such a
manner that the same interval may be observed, and that the beams may
not touch one another, but equal spaces intervening, each row of beams
is kept firmly in its place by a row of stones. In this manner the whole
wall is consolidated, until the regular height of the wall be completed.
This work, with respect to appearance and variety, is not unsightly,
owing to the alternate rows of beams and stones, which preserve their
order in right lines; and, besides, it possesses great advantages as
regards utility and the defence of cities; for the stone protects it
from fire, and the wood from the battering ram, since it [the wood]
being mortised in the inside with rows of beams, generally forty feet
each in length, can neither be broken through nor torn asunder.
XXIV.--The siege having been impeded by so many disadvantages, the
soldiers, although they were retarded during the whole time, by the mud,
cold, and constant showers, yet by their incessant labour overcame all
these obstacles, and in twenty-five days raised a mound three hundred
and thirty feet broad and eighty feet high. When it almost touched the
enemy's walls, and Caesar, according to his usual custom, kept watch at
the work, and encouraged the soldiers not to discontinue the work for a
moment: a little before the third watch they discovered that the mound
was sinking, since the enemy had set it on fire by a mine; and at the
same time a shout was raised along the entire wall, and a sally was made
from two gates on each side of the turrets. Some at a distance were
casting torches and dry wood from the wall on the mound, others were
pouring on it pitch, and other materials, by which the flame might be
excited, so that a plan could hardly be formed, as to where they should
first run to the defence, or to what part aid should be brought.
However, as two legions always kept guard before the camp by Caesar's
orders, and several of them were at stated times at the work, measures
were promptly taken, that some should oppose the sallying party, others
draw back the towers and make a cut in the rampart; and moreover, that
the whole army should hasten from the camp to extinguish the flames.
XXV.--When the battle was going on in every direction, the rest of the
night being now spent, and fresh hopes of victory always arose before
the enemy: the more so on this account because they saw the coverings of
our towers burnt away, and perceived that we, being exposed, could not
easily go to give assistance, and they themselves were always relieving
the weary with fresh men, and considered that all the safety of Gaul
rested on this crisis; there happened in my own view a circumstance
which, having appeared to be worthy of record, we thought it ought not
to be omitted. A certain Gaul before the gate of the town, who was
casting into the fire opposite the turret balls of tallow and fire which