Julius Caesar

Ancient Source in the Livarva Source Library.

Ancient Source

Gaius Julius Caesar was not only one of the principal actors in the fall of the Republic, but also one of its most important literary witnesses. His Commentarii present campaigns in Gaul and civil war with extraordinary clarity, control, and political calculation.

Biography

Gaius Julius Caesar was not only one of the principal actors in the fall of the Republic, but also one of its most important literary witnesses. His Commentarii present campaigns in Gaul and civil war with extraordinary clarity, control, and political calculation.

Major Works

Reliability and Caution

Caesar is indispensable, but never neutral. His prose is precise and apparently restrained, yet it is also a political instrument. He explains, justifies, omits, and arranges.

How Livarva Uses This Source

Livarva uses Caesar as both source and subject: a writer whose account reveals events and a statesman whose self-presentation must itself be interpreted.

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