Note 2940 — THE PLACE OF CAESAR’S LANDING IN BRITAIN

quae tamen ancoris iactis cum fluctibus complerentur, necessario adversa nocte in altum provectae continentem petierunt (B. G., iv, 28, §3). The meaning of adversa nocte has been much discussed. According to C. Schneider (Comm. de bellis C. I. Caesaris, i, 397), who refers to a passage in the Civil War, ii, 31, §7—Vnamque huius modi res aut pudore aut metu tenentur, quibus rebus nox maxime adversaria est—the word adversa is equivalent to obstante, that is to say, ‘being unfavourable to them’: but, assuming that this is the meaning, did Caesar intend to convey that the ships stood out to sea though night was unfavourable to the voyage, or because night was unfavourable to their remaining where they were? I unhesitatingly reject the former alternative, for all Caesar’s voyages between Gaul and Britain were made by night, and, moreover, on this particular night there was a full moon: on the other hand, it would not have been more dangerous to remain at anchor in the night than in the daytime. I agree with Kraner-Dittenberger (C. I. Caesaris comm. de b. G., 1890, p. 85), who hold that, just as adverso colle (B. G., ii, 19, §3) means ‘up the hill’, and adverso flumine (ib., vii, 60, § 3) ‘up the river’, so adversa nocte means ‘in the face of night’ (‘der Nacht entgegen’, ‘in die Nacht hinein’), a translation which reminds one of Browning’s famous line ‘And into the midnight we galloped abreast’.