Caesar As Author Bust of Julius Caesar Caesar

Caesar As Author Bust of Julius Caesar

Caesar as Author - Surviving Works n Commentarii de Bello Gallico – 7 books (+ an 8 th book composed after his death by his legatus, Aulus Hirtius). Many scholars believe all 7 books were written in the winter of 52 -51. Others prefer a year-by-year composition during the winters. n Commentarii de Bello Civili - 3 books n a verse epigram on Terence, the comic

Caesar as Author – Lost Works: n n n Many speeches, including the funeral elogium over his aunt Julia in which he asserted the divine descent of the gens Iulia from Ascanius. Aeneas-Venus De Analogia, a treatise on language and style many verses, incl. an extended poem, Laudes Herculis a tragedy, Oedipus Iter, a poem about his expedition to Spain in 45

Caesar as Author – Spurious works Spurious Works (= works attributed to Caesar but written by others): n The 8 th book of Commentarii de Bello Gallico composed by his legatus, Aulus Hirtius, to link up the narrative of DBG to the narrative of DBC (years 51 and 50) n Corpus Caesarianum – 3 Books, called the Bellum Alexandrinum, the Bellum Africum, and the Bellum Hispaniae.

Caesar as Author - Genre n The term commentarius (cf. Greek hypomnema) a narrative, more polished than personal notes and reports, but a narrative short of polished historiography (historia). n Commentarii would often be presented to other professional historians to be reworked into a more literary history (with more stylistic and rhetorical embellishments. Caesar’s Commentarii were never rewritten; tho Hirtius in the preface to the 8 th book (& Cicero, Brutus 262) suggested that no one would dare rewrite what Caesar wrote with incomparable simplicity.

Caesar as Author - Genre n Caesar’s Commentarii close to historia: Caesar uses certain elements of historia, including direct speech, and dramatization of certain scenes (but his are never over dramatized) n No ego here!. . . By referring to himself in the 3 rd person, Caesar placed himself in the narrative as an independent character. (and detached himself from any

Caesar as Author – DBG Summary… 7 Books cover action from 58 -52 n Book I: deals with the campaign against (1) the Helvetii, whose migratory movements gave Caesar the pretext for going to war (as both a defensive and preventive operation), and also (2) against the German leader Ariovistus. n Book II: discusses the revolt of the Gallic tribes n Book III: discusses the campaign against

Caesar as Author – DBG Summary… 7 Books cover action from 58 -52 n Book IV: deals with campaigns and operations against invading Germanic tribes, who had crossed the Rhine; the massacre of the Usipeti and the Tencteri; and operations against the rebellious Gallic leaders, Indutiomarus and Ambiorix. Expedition into Britain. (55 BC) n Book V: 2 nd expedition into Britain (54 BC); more resistance by the Belgae, whom

Caesar as Author – DBG Summary… 7 Books cover action from 58 -52 n Book VI: Devastation and extermination of the Gallic Belgica rebels. More insurrections led by Vercingetorix, king of the Arverni. n Book VII: Romans put down the general revolt led by Vercingetorix, which culminates in the storming of Alesia, where Vercingetorix is captured

Sources of Caesar’s Life n The authentic and spurious works of Caesar n The Life of Caesar by Suetonius n The Life of Caesar by Plutarch in his Parallel Lives n Speeches and letters of Cicero and Sallust n Appian’s Bella Civilia

Caesar’s Nachleben (afterlife) Livy supplanted Caesar as historical source of his period q circa 1300, Maximus Planudes translated DBG into Greek q Renaissance rediscovered Caesar as author/politician; Petrarch wrote a biography of JC q 15 th c. , Andrea Brenzio forged a speech of Caesar’s to his soldiers q 16 th c. , the German Nicodemus Frischlin based a school drama, Helvetiogermani, on Book I of the DBG q

Pretext of the DBG n Alleged provocations and border violations committed in the Gallic area under Caesar’s jurisdiction by tribes engaged in mass migrations n Caesar presented his conquest of Gaul, which took 7 years, as a defensive and preventive operation