The Gallic War (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Carolyn Hammond (Translator), Aulus Hirtius (Contributor) "(I) The whole of Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, and the third a people who..." (more)
Key Phrases: movable shelters, unfavourable ground, large cavalry force, Quintus Cicero, Titus Labienus, Gaius Fabius (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

I read Caesar with rather more reverence and respect than one feels in reading human works...the only thing to be said against him is that he speaks too sparingly of himself. Montaigne

Product Description

The Gallic War, published on the eve of the civil war which led to the end of the Roman Republic, is an autobiographical account written by one of the most famous figures of European history. This new translation reflects the purity of Caesar's Latin while preserving the pace and flow of his momentous narrative of the conquest of Gaul and the first Roman invasions of Britain and Germany. Detailed notes, maps, a table of dates, and glossary make this the most useful edition available.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192835823
• ISBN-13: 978-0192835826
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #722,492 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Correcting the correction, February 23, 2005

By	A. Lowry (Madison, MS United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mark Snegg's correction about Baculus would seem incorrect-- to judge from the "Search Inside" feature. Type in "Baculus," go to the first link, and there at 2.25 is Caesar, not Baculus, charging into the fray.

But I picked up the book in Borders last night, and the copy I looked at had Baculus, not Caesar, as Mr. Snegg found.

Where is Amazon getting the texts it's scanning?

UPDATE: Contacted Oxford & got this reply:

The passage to which you refer did contain a significant error - the substitution of Baculus for Caesar - but it was corrected at least three years ago. The passage on Amazon reflects the current state of the text, and the copy you saw in Borders must have been an old impression; we have reprinted several times since the correction was made.

49 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A poor translation of a famous book, March 25, 2002

By	Mark Snegg (Boone, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an unexpectedly poor translation of Caesar's great work, especially for an Oxford Classics edition. I found several obvious mistranslations, including at least one major error. The English is often awkward and unnatural, and fails to convey the lucid elegance of Caesar's Latin. Strangely enough, the book doesn't have a map of the whole of Gaul. There are a few larger scale maps, but it's not particularly clear how they fit together or even which parts of Gaul are being shown. The notes are at the back of the book, rather than in footnotes, so that the reader has to constantly flip back and forth to read them.

The worst error I came across was in the translation of the well-known incident in 2.25 where Caesar grabs a shield and personally runs forward into the front line of battle, saving a critical situation. Hammond's translation has the chief centurion Baculus doing this, rather than Caesar. Since Baculus is described only two lines earlier as being so seriously wounded that he is unable to stand, this reading defies not only Latin grammar, but also common sense. No justification is offered for this weird interpretation.

Throughout the book there is a certain lack of insight in translating military words. For example, in 4.25 Hammond twice translates 'tormenta' as 'missiles', although in fact it means 'catapults' (that is, bolt-firing machines like large crossbows). In the next paragraph 'speculatoria navigia' is translated as 'spy vessels', when 'scout ships' would be both more accurate and more natural English.

These examples are just the very tip of the iceberg. In general this translation is feeble and riddled with inaccuracies. Most of it is is very stilted English. The publisher's blurb about how it reflects the purity of Caesar's Latin is completely untrue.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A First-Hand Account from a First-Rate General and Author", February 16, 2002

By	Johannes Platonicus (South Bend, Indiana) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

If there were anything Caesar was as skillful at other than the arts of war, it would have to be his ability as an author. Caesar's first-hand account of his campaigns is very sincere and to the point, yet strikingly authoritative and deep at the same time. Not a hint of arrogance or prejudice is found in his narrative as well. His prose is eloquent, and certainly rivals some of the greater Latin authors of his age. Of his ten commentaries extant, seven are contained here in his account of the Gallic Wars. An additional eighth book was written by Aulus Hirtius in order to bridge the gap between the pacification of Gaul, through the Civil Wars, until finally Caesar himself resumes his narrative with his last three commentaries on the Alexandian, African, and Spanish Wars. The work itself, of course, deals with Caesar's campaigns and relations with the Celtic and German tribes, the Celts in Gaul, and the German's east of the Rhine. Although war is not the only issue Caesar records. His interest in Celtic and Germanic culture is apparent since he provides much important evidence about the diverse tribes' way of life. This information is treasured since the Celts, though literate, were forbidden by the druids to write, and also the Germans provided no single indigenous historian until Jordanes in the middle of the sixth century. Overall, the commentaries of the Gallic Wars are a valuable source for the times and a definite work of profound literary merit.