r months of
Pompey's greatly superior forces near Dyrrachium on the Illyrian coast;
and when that failed, of the long march into Thessaly, where Pompey was
at last forced into battle, against his judgment, by his own officers,
on the fatal plains of Pharsalia; of the annihilation of the Senatorial
army; of Pompey's flight to Egypt; of his treacherous murder there; of
Caesar's pursuit. The books on the Alexandrian, the African, and the
Spanish wars, which continue the narrative down to Caesar's final victory
at Munda in southern Spain, are by other and inferior hands. The
question of their authorship has been the subject of much controversy
and conjecture.

Under this modest title of 'Commentaries,' in the guise of a simple
narrative of events, Caesar puts forth at once an inimitable history and
a masterly apology. The author speaks of himself in the third person,
tells of the circumstances of each situation in a quiet moderate way,
which carries with it the conviction on the reader's part of his entire
truthfulness, accuracy, and candor. We are persuaded that the Caesar
about whom he tells could not have acted otherwise than he did. In
short, he exercises the same spell over our minds that he cast over the
hearts of men twenty centuries ago.

There is nothing that so fascinates and enchains the imagination of men
as power in another man. This man could captivate a woman by his
sweetness or tame an angry mob of soldiers with a word; could mold the
passions of a corrupt democracy or exterminate a nation in a day; could
organize an empire or polish an epigram. His strength was terrible. But
all this immense power was marvelously balanced and under perfect
control. Nothing was too small for his delicate tact. Nothing that he
did was so difficult but we feel he could have done more. Usually his
means seemed inadequate to his ends. But it was Caesar who used them.

The Commentaries show us this man at his work. They show him as an
organizer of armies and alliances, a wily diplomatist, an intrepid
soldier, an efficient administrator, a strategist of inspired audacity,
a tactician of endless resources, an engineer of infinite inventiveness,
an unerring judge of men. But he never boasts, except in speeches to
hearten discouraged troops. He does not vilify or underrate his enemies.

His soldiers trusted him implicitly; there was no limit to their zeal.
They found in him a generous appreciation of their deeds. Many a soldier
a