REMARKS ON FOUR EXTRACTS, ETC. 143 
Cesar was not content. His writings are a more 
imperishable monument of his fame. The effects 
of his victories are too remote to be perceived, 
but the value of his writings will never diminish. 
_ They are a gift for ever to the human race.* 
Ages after the demolition of the Roman empire 
itself, they remain an invaluable acquisition, 
which no political revolutions or change of dyn- 
asties can affect. Of the countries of Gaul and 
Britain he is the first writer from whom authen- 
tic information can be derived on topics con- 
nected with their history, geography, institu- 
tions, opinions and modes of living. And if 
from the ambiguity of expression, the brevity of 
detail, or the necessary obscurity of antiquity, 
difference of opinion concerning the sense of 
any passages have arisen, it is the legitimate 
province of criticism to discover the true inter- 
pretation. 
I will now cite the extracts, on which any 
remarks are offered, and annex the English 
translation of Duncan. 
First Extract: Lib. 1. 9. 
In castris Helvetiorum tabule reperte sunt 
* xryILe Bg ee). 
