The herald., 1893-01-29
ABOUT BOOKS AND BOOK MAKERS
Colonel Dodge's Valuable Work
on Caesar and His Wars.
A Study Of the Great Captain, His
Talents and Methods.
Playthings and Parodies by Barry Pain.
a Biography of the Mother of
Washington Notes
About Authors.
BY L. BEHYMER

hougnt0n, Mlf1in & 20. nave Deen
publishing volumes which are amplifi-
cations of the lectures on Alexander,
Hannibal and Caesar, by Theodore
Ayrault Dodge. brevet lieutenant
colonel, United States army, now on the
retired list. He is also the well known
arthor of The Campaign of Chancellors.
vile, A Birds-eye View of Our Civil
War, etc.. etc. Their last volume by
this noted author is in the Great Cap
tains series, and entitled Caesar, con-
tanning history of the art of war among
the Romans down to the end of the
Roman empire, with detailed account
of the campaigns OF Caius Julius Caesar.
The work is replete with 258 charts,
maps, plans of battles and tactical man
Oeuvree, cuts of armor, weapons and en-
gines OF warfare. Over year ago tho
author made complete preparations for
the publication of this volume, but de-
layed it's publication go he could visit
the theater of Caesars campaigns and his
many battlefelds. This visit was al
most a prerequisite to writing intelli-
gently on the subject. Familiarity with
the topography gives quite different
understanding of the narrative OF the
ancient historians. Though C@sar's
Commentaries are among the most ex-
act and picturesque OF historical writ
ings, it is by patient study alone that
they can be understood otherwise than
specifically; without suitable maps
they cannot be understood at all. From
the days of ingenious but far fetched
Guischard and Turpin de Cr;sse topo-
graphical descriptions and charts have
habitually been copied by one author
from another, to che lot of neither of
whom it has fallen to personally inspect
the terrain, and manv errors have been
thus propsgated. This is not the stu
alton in this volume, as the au-
thor has personally passed over
all the ground covered by
Csesar's campaigns. He has also been
close student as well as great ad-
mirer of Colonel Stoffel's works on
Cesar and the works OF Napoleon III
10 Napoleon Ill we owe great debt for
patronizing and defraying the expense
OF the systematic excavations and
typographical and military studies
which have eliminated in his own and
Colonel Stofe's works on Caesar. To
, Colonel Stoffel we are particularly in
debted for one of the most splendid
military histories which exists. The
plan of this history of Caesar, however,
is not one on which any other history
ia based, although they agree in almost
every matter of detail with the authors
just mentioned. The charts lack some
OF the extreme accuracy of the plates of
Napoleon and atoffel, but will be found
to answer every requirement, and their
insertion in the text will aid the average
m
outline of his history follows the
narrative OF the commentaries and
when acticable-extensive quotations
are used, retaining the qusintness of
their flavor, as classical names must at
times be used, the author has not cluug
exclusively to the modern equivalents,
but has used both INTERCHANGEABLE. 1t
is simply military history of Caesar,
and does not pretend to give the history
of his era, or description of his per-
sonal career or statesmanship. AS most
all histories OF Rome are iull of errors;
even the great Mommsen is not free
from them; the author has aimed to fill
the gap and give an exclusive military
work-omitting complicated political
and absorbing social conditions of ihe
country. No noteworthy fact has been
omitted, and with the sole exception of
Colonel Stoffel, the author is the only
writer on the subject that has fol-
lowed Cesar entirely around the
Mediterranean basin. The legions
sre admirably compared with
the Greek phalanx and the gradual
building OF the Roman legions; their
rise from the simple burgess soldier of
the republic to the veterans of the sec
ond Punic war is an excellent descrip-
tion of the various processes in which
the Roman soldier gained the supremacy
which they held for year after year. The
author pays great tribute to Sulla,
CHASING him as one of the ablest gem
erals OF his era, and close follower in
the principles of warfare as taught him
by Marius. Pompey was captain upon
whom greatness happened to be thrust
by series OF instances, although
be should not be moderated; still he
earned his great repute on more than
usually slender grounds, C@sar's early
life was devoted to study and his early
reputation was made more as an orator
and statesman, and it was not until he
was AZ years Of age that he entered upon
that part of his career which has
made him so great a part OF the
worlds history. The author de-
votes but two chapters to this portion
OF Coesar'E life, but in it he crowds many
facts-new to the reading public-which
throws much light upon the future sue.
cess of this wonderful man. In the
chapters devoted to C@sar's campaigns
against the Helvetii, and against Ario-
vistus, he shows that Caesar had used
much caution, bred probably of inexpe-
rience, and also much boldness and
skill, although the numbers against him
much exceeded his own, still he had not
been called upon to show the decision
OF Alexander in Thrace or Hannibal in
Iberia. In his dealings with the Bel
gian tribes C@ ar had a successful and
glorious campaign, but the author shows
many serious but natural mistakes which
he made, of which happily the Gauls
were not able enough to take advantage.
Then follows the awful massacre of the
Germans. the building of the great
bridge across the Rhine, and the con-
ceiving of the travellers instinct over
coming that of the soldier, and Cesar's
resolve to invade Britain and the sue
cessful attempt where, after accomplish
ing nothing except as a discoverer,
and running risk Of being cut off from
his base Of supplies, he returned to
Gaul The next few chapter treats OF
his six years in subduing the Gauls and
mentions at length the siege of Ger
govia and C@sar'a defeat, of his rally,
the siege of Alesia, and the battle Of
Alesia, which practically sealed the