De Bello Gallico Libri Septem

Gaius Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BCE)

In this book the famous Gaius Julius Caesar himself describes the seven years of his war in Gaul.

When Caesar got proconsul of Gallia and Illyria in 58 B.C, the conquest of land in Gaul was an urgent need, both to improve his political standing and to calm his creditors in Rome. So Caesar claims his interest for a very large area already in the first sentence.

His steps and measures always appear clear and logical, but this simplicity is the result of a strict discipline in style. Caesar really chooses his words, and the list of standard words that he never or rarely uses, is astonishing. E.g. for "river" he only uses flumen and never fluvius or amnis. He avoids porro (furthermore), which would be no decided beginning of a sentence, and in his writings never occurs the word clades (the defeat), although this would normally be demanded by the context.

It is remarkable, that still today in all the lands of his conquest the word for "peace" is derived from latin pax (even basque "bake"). This peace is no friendship between equals, which is the idea behind the German word "Friede". Pax Romana implies subordination, and this concept was promoted by Caesar, first abroad and then at home.
(Summary by Marilianus)

Genre(s): Classics (Greek & Latin Antiquity), War & Military, Antiquity

Language: Latin

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 01 - Book I ch.1-9 Marilianus
00:17:00
Play 02 02 - Book I ch.10-15 Marilianus
00:12:48
Play 03 03 - Book I ch.16-29 Lisa Caputo
00:19:50
Play 04 04 - Book I ch.30-41 Malone
00:31:12
Play 05 05 - Book I ch.42-54 Malone
00:26:44
Play 06 06 - Book II ch.1-15 Marilianus
00:27:13
Play 07 07 - Book II ch.16-34 Marilianus
00:34:18
Play 08 08 - Book III ch.1-16 Leni
00:24:49
Play 09 09 - Book III ch.17-28 Leni
00:18:56
Play 10 10 - Book IV ch.1-15 Leni
00:21:35
Play 11 11 - Book IV ch.16-19 Leni
00:08:06
Play 12 12 - Book IV ch.20-38 mcgovern1934
00:34:29
Play 13 13 - Book V ch.1-14 Memnon
00:27:33
Play 14 14 - Book V ch.15-23 Martin Geeson
00:14:57
Play 15 15 - Book V ch.24-37 MorganScorpion
00:21:50
Play 16 16 - Book V ch.38-57 MorganScorpion
00:32:53
Play 17 17 - Book VI ch.1-8 Nadine Eckert-Boulet
00:13:17
Play 18 18 - Book VI ch.9-28 MorganScorpion
00:27:58
Play 19 19 - Book VI ch.29-44 MorganScorpion
00:24:44
Play 20 20 - Book VII ch.1-13 MorganScorpion
00:19:24
Play 21 21 - Book VII ch.14-28 MorganScorpion
00:24:51
Play 22 22 - Book VII ch.29-41 MorganScorpion
00:21:17
Play 23 23 - Book VII ch.42-51 MorganScorpion
00:14:24
Play 24 24 - Book VII ch.52-71 Marilianus
00:37:56
Play 25 25 - Book VII ch.72-90 Malone
00:38:07