Book I Reflection

I'm not getting the totally ruthless impression of the Roman army that I was given in the introduction; however, I can see that they are wonderful fighters and are incredibly loyal to their leader. Their advantage seems to be in battle strategy, but up until now they lack a real passion for the fight. This is most obvious when the Roman men hear rumors about the German troops and how intense they are, and many look for excuses to leave or ways to avoid the fight. Caesar's words, nevertheless, rally them, and they seem ready to fight once again. Another observation I've made about the army is that they are very good at taking orders. They listen to and do what they are told in every circumstance, and this seems to benefit them. They have two pretty big victories in this book, and a few small defeats, but nothing of extreme significance (like a turning point in the war) has occurred quite yet.
Caesar is a very inspiring character up to this point. I've noticed that he seems to look to resolve things by negotiation rather than war most of the time. This makes him look very wise, but it also makes me question whether this is completely truthful. He looks for the peaceful way out, and only when he cannot find it, does he start to strategically plan for war. Another observation I've made about Caesar is that none of the other leaders we have encountered have matched him in strategy, wisdom, or leadership skill itself. Some are weak, some are cruel, and some are presented as evil, although not necessarily bad leaders. This could be a subtle way of making him look better, as if no other leader rules quite as well, he looks much better than them. Another thing I've noticed about Caesar is that he has a very steady head and is not influenced by the enemy trying to provoke him. This, along with the fact that he is a wonderful supporter and rallyer (I know I just made that word up), is a very important leadership skill. He hasn't demonstrated any major flaws yet, and it makes him seem almost too good to be true.
I think the major speech in this book is the one that Caesar himself makes, so I'm going to focus on that one. (For my project, I think the best approach might be to chose a speech from each book and analyze each one individually and then together). It's a really inspiring speech, and demonstrates his leadership and orator abilities quite well. I'm sure he cannot remember the exact words he said to his troops, nor their exact reaction; however, this speech seems pretty reliable to me after all I've heard about his public speaking ability. Turning a crowd around like that is a pretty amazing ordeal, and making them ready for battle, when only moments ago, they were terrified, and it makes me want to analyze the speech more in depth.