La funzione letteraria della reticenza nell’artful narrative del De bello Gallico di Cesare

The role of reticence within the narrative of Caesar’s De bello Gallico is examined by pointing out how the author’s silences support his needs for self-justification and self-praise. Among the rhetoric instruments Caesar employed in his artful narrative, reticence carries out a primary role, being one of the most important proofs of the author’s tendency. Caesar’s reticence consists not only in omitting facts that are pivotal for the comprehension of the events, but also in modifying them, according to the author’s needs for self-justification and self-praise. Three passages from the De bello Gallico books 1, 2 and 5 are investigated by providing intra- and inter-textual comparisons from a ‘small’ omission, in book 1, to a significant narrative absence in book 5. Then, the reason beneath Caesar’s silences is commented by focusing on the relation between the author’s reticence and the contemporary political situation.