07-13-2012, 08:03 PM
In that context, I think definitely the latter (note that 'effeminacy' and 'feminine' are not the same thing, and Caesar is unlikely to have worried unduly about feminine women in Gaul).
It's a common trope among Roman writers that contemporary Roman society was too luxurious and peaceful for its own good, and that an ideal state of being was a (materially) primitive one, of self-reliance and independence. So although it could be referring to the brooches and perfumes that are associated with women but which may have been worn by the 'wrong sort' of male, it may also simply be referring to the trade (rather than production) of commodities such as wine, exotic foods, textiles etc, and the implication that closer tribes focused more on agriculture and trade as a source of wealth than raiding and warring.
Still it's definitely an indication that Caesar himself saw the trade routes as an important factor in terms of identifying military strength, even if ultimately it just meant the more obscure tribes were those most feared.
It's a common trope among Roman writers that contemporary Roman society was too luxurious and peaceful for its own good, and that an ideal state of being was a (materially) primitive one, of self-reliance and independence. So although it could be referring to the brooches and perfumes that are associated with women but which may have been worn by the 'wrong sort' of male, it may also simply be referring to the trade (rather than production) of commodities such as wine, exotic foods, textiles etc, and the implication that closer tribes focused more on agriculture and trade as a source of wealth than raiding and warring.
Still it's definitely an indication that Caesar himself saw the trade routes as an important factor in terms of identifying military strength, even if ultimately it just meant the more obscure tribes were those most feared.
