History Literature / CommentariesOnTheGallicWar

* BeigeProse: Caesar's writing style is considerably more straightforward and less poetic than other ancient works.

* BurningTheShips: When the Helvetii migrate from their homeland with the plan to conquer better and greater lands for themselves, they set fire to their old homes (according to Caesar: twelve towns, four hundred villages, and separate dwellings besides), and burn all the corn they do not carry with them. This is done so that "after destroying the hope of a return home, they might be the more ready for undergoing all dangers." They also persuade three minor neighbouring tribes to join them, and they too burn their own settlements. Later in the same year, the Helvetii and their allies are defeated by the Romans at Bibracte, and the survivors are forced to return to their old territory and rebuild their homes. Archaelogy has never found evidence for the mass-burning of Helvetian settlements, meaning Caesar probably made this story up.

* VirginShaming: Averted. Caesar claims that the Germans give the most respect to those men who have remained chaste the longest, since it is considered to be strenghtening for both body and soul. Also, sleeping with a woman under 21 years of age is considered to be one of the most digraceful act imaginable to them. For background: Roman sexual morality was somewhat different from today's as well, regarding a man who was too passionate or showed love openly weird and unmanly. "Chastity" (not necessarily meaning the same it means to modern ears) was indeed a frequently extolled virtue in first century BCE Rome.

* BeigeProse: Caesar's writing style is considerably more straightforward and less poetic than other ancient works. It is kinda given with war diaries written by soldiers, since they have little time to sit down and write.

* BeigeProse: Caesar's writing style is considerably more straightforward and less poetic than other ancient works.

''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (variously translated into English as ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'', ''The Conquest of Gaul'', or simply ''The Gallic War'') is the firsthand account of UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar's campaigns in Gaul (modern-day France), Germany, and Britain between 59 and 51 BC. During the eight years he served as governor of the Roman Gallic provinces, Caesar fought numerous campaigns against the Celtic and Germanic inhabitants of the area to keep the Roman colonies there secure and gain riches and glory for himself and his soldiers. To understand the text, you have to know that not all the things Caesar did were strictly legal under Roman law at the time (for instance provincial governors had no authority to wage offensive war by themselves), so the text was in large part written to justify his actions to the Roman/Italian audience and has to be read as such to make sense of it.

* UnreliableNarrator: Caesar wrote this to defend his actions to the Senate, which ultimately called him back to stand trial, which started the events that led to the Roman Civil War beginning anew and Caesar's nephew becoming emperor - so not all things Caesar describes happened the way he says. Historians have long since debated just how much Caesar embellished or made up to look better and how much is the honest factual truth.

* BurningTheShips: When the Helvetii migrate from their homeland with the plan to conquer better and greater lands for themselves, they set fire to their old homes (according to Caesar: twelve towns, four hundred villages, and private dwellings besides), and burn all the corn they do not carry with them. This is done so that "after destroying the hope of a return home, they might be the more ready for undergoing all dangers." They also persuade three minor neighbouring tribes to join them, and they too burn their own settlements. Later in the same year, the Helvetii and their allies are defeated by the Romans at Bibracte, and the survivors forced to return to their old territory and rebuild their homes. Archaelogy has never found evidence for the mass-burning of Helvetian settlements, meaning Caesar probably made this story up.

* BurningTheShips: When the Helvetii migrate from their homeland with the plan to conquer better and greater lands for themselves, they set fire to their old homes (according to Caesar: twelve towns, four hundred villages, and private dwellings besides), and burn all the corn they do not carry with them. This is done so that "after destroying the hope of a return home, they might be the more ready for undergoing all dangers." They also persuade three minor neighbouring tribes to join them, and they too burn their own settlements. Later in the same year, the Helvetii and their allies are defeated by the Romans at Bibracte, and are forced to return to their old territory and rebuild their homes. Archaelogy has never found evidence for the mass-burning of Helvetian settlements, meaning Caesar probably made this story up.

->''Gallia est omnes divisa in partes tres... ("All of Gaul is divided into three parts...")''

->''"All of Gaul is divided into three parts..."''

''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (variously translated into English as ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'', ''The Conquest of Gaul'', or simply ''The Gallic War'') is the firsthand account of Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar's campaigns in Gaul (modern-day France), Germany, and Britain between 59 and 51 BC. During the eight years he served as governor of the Roman Gallic provinces, Caesar fought numerous campaigns against the Celtic and Germanic inhabitants of the area to keep the Roman colonies there secure and gain riches and glory for himself and his soldiers. To understand the text, you have to know that not all the things Caesar did were strictly legal under Roman law at the time (for instance provincial governors had no authority to wage offensive war by themselves), so the text was in large part written to justify his actions to the Roman/Italian audience and has to be read as such to make sense of it.

* BarbarianTribe: Caesar paints a rather unflattering picture of the Celts as a group of savages that are constantly feuding and scheming against one another, faithless in their alliances, and savage in combat (you know, totally different from the Romans). He's much less kind about the Germans, who he describes as considerably more primitive than the Celts to the point where they only live for hunting and war and don't even have towns or agriculture.