Julius Caesar and the foundation of the Roman imperial system . in itand without. Surely never was the strength, good-will, and obedience of any army so severely taxed,as in the construction and defence of these extra-ordinary lines, which Caesar describes with his ownpeculiar sangfroid^ as though they were all in thedays work. Great indeed was the joy of the besieged whenthey saw this great host approaching. They werealready almost worn out by famine. Voices hadeven been heard proposing surrender ; others wishedfor a last sortie, while they yet had strength to Arvernian chieftain ur
Julius Caesar and the foundation of the Roman imperial system . in itand without. Surely never was the strength, good-will, and obedience of any army so severely taxed,as in the construction and defence of these extra-ordinary lines, which Caesar describes with his ownpeculiar sangfroid^ as though they were all in thedays work. Great indeed was the joy of the besieged whenthey saw this great host approaching. They werealready almost worn out by famine. Voices hadeven been heard proposing surrender ; others wishedfor a last sortie, while they yet had strength to Arvernian chieftain urged them to hold on tothe last, and to resort even to cannibalism ratherthan submit. Into the mouth of this man, Caesar,contrary to his custom, has put a speech of somelength, to rouse the feelings c^ his reader to the in-tense horror of the situation ;*and from this point tothe end of the siege he has abandoned his usual cooland quiet style, and told the story in vigorous and Rotrancheraent de la (onlrcvallalion Hail ranveM df jtrotto ^j^^^^^-^^—1 r>4/^. 1^Dtlrles t^x^ L2,3 Pourlrs Rgurn ^.3,,9 ROMAN WORKS AT ALESIA.{From Napoleons C^sarJ*^) 52 ] The Gallic Rebellions. 233 graphic sentences, rising in intensity till the last ter-rible crisis is reached, and showing how keenly herecognised that this struggle must decide his ownfate, as well as that of Gaul. I Two terrible combats followed the arrival of thenew Gallic army: the first by day, which lastedfrom noon till nightfall; the second by night, aftera day spent by the enemy in collecting material tofill up the ditches of Csesars outer line. Both at-tacks were repulsed, though the second one wasassisted by a furious sortie from the town. Then allthree armies gathered themselves together for onelast mighty struggle : every Gaul knew, says Csesar,that defeat meant destruction ; every Roman, thatvictory would put an end to all his toil. There was, as we saw, a weak point in Caesarslines, where, at the foot of Mont R
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