Der verlorene Schluss des Bellum Hispaniense

Abstract

Abstract The transmission of the final book of the Corpus Caesarianum, the pseudo-Caesarian Bellum Hispaniense, is problematic. After countless lacunae and desperately corrupt passages it breaks off abruptly with a speech by Caesar to disloyal provincials. The present article addresses the form and content of the lost ending with an approach that is unusual in present-day scholarship: inspired by the humanist supplements to ancient literature, such as were produced into the eighteenth century, it develops scholarly criteria for a supplement to the Bellum Hispaniense. Taking its orientation from the literary properties of the transmitted text and the parallel historical tradition, the paper argues that an act of clemency under harsh conditions is a plausible ending for Caesar’s speech. The content for a supplement to the narrative of events in the Bellum Hispaniense is argued to be, among other things, the conquest of the city of Urso and the reward and punishment of the provincials by Caesar. The result of the paper is presented in an exemplary application of the criteria developed, in the form of a Latin supplement.