1 8 Frederick Warren Sanford 



December 2 is the latest date that can be assigned to this incident. 

 Of the events of this period no other than Pompeius's commis- 

 sion from Marcellus to take over command of the two legions 

 furnished an adequate cause for Caesar's summoning of the eighth 

 and twelfth legions from Transalpine Gaul.'^^ Caesar on his way 

 to Brundisium in 49 left Auximum January 28 or 29.'^* The 

 twelfth legion overtook him at Auximum or very soon after he left 

 that place, certainly before he reached Firmum (February 2).'^ 

 This legion, it may safely be assumed, was one of the four that 

 had gone into quarters for the winter in the country of the 

 Aedui,'® and so was probably quartered not farther south than 

 , Matisco. The distance from that place to Auximum either by 

 the Graian or the Cottian Alps was approximately 650 m. p. It 

 is not likely, from what is known of the rate of march of Roman 

 armies and from a consideration of the distance to be covered, 

 that the actual marching time was less than thirty-five or thirty-six 

 days, with six additional days for rest. If the twelfth legion 

 came to Auximum the evening of January 29, it must have left 

 camp not later than December 18. It is highly probable, as 

 already assumed, that Caesar's friends in Rome sent a courier to 

 him as soon as they knew of Marcellus's bestowal of command 

 upon Pompeius; and since it was of great importance to Caesar 

 to keep in touch with his representatives in the city, it may be 

 further assumed that they would know by what route a courier 

 need go in order to find Caesar at the earliest moment.^^ There 



'* Caesar's account of this, B. C, I, 8, i {cf. 7, 7), as has been frequently 

 observed, is misleading in regard to the date. Appian {B. C., II, 34) and 

 Plutarch {Caes. 32) contain reminiscences of the truth. 



"L. Holzapfel, Beitrdge, III, p. 218 ff. ; Mary Bradford Peaks, " Caesar's 

 Movements, Jan. 21 to Feb. 14, 49 B. C," Classical Review, 'K.Ylll,^.ZA^^. 



"5. C, I. 15. 



'^B. G., VIII, 54, 4. 



" See B. G., VIII, 52, 3, ibi quamquam crebro audiebat, etc. Information 

 of this sort w^ould naturally come, in part at least, from Rome. There can 

 be no doubt that Caesar was in frequent communication v^^ith the Capital. 

 His close friends there surely knew of the review, of its place, and of the 

 route by which Caesar would return .to Italy. 



310 



