1.
Caesar, expecting for many reasons a greater commotion
in Gaul, resolves to hold a levy by the means of M.
Silanus C. Antistius Reginus, and T.
Sextius, his lieutenants: at the same time he requested Cn.
Pompey, the proconsul, that since he was remaining near the city
invested with military command for the interests of the commonwealth, he would
command those men whom when consul [55 B.C.] he had
levied by the military oath in Cisalpine Gaul, to join
their respective corps, and to proceed to him; thinking it of great importance,
as far as regarded the opinion which the Gauls would
entertain for the future, that that the resources of Italy
should appear so great that if any loss should be sustained in war, not only
could it be repaired in a short time, but likewise be further supplied by still
larger forces. And when Pompey had granted this to the interests of
the commonwealth and the claims of friendship, Caesar
having quickly completed the levy by means of his lieutenants, after three
regiments had been both formed and brought to him before the winter [had]
expired, and the number of those cohorts which he had lost under Q. Titurius had been doubled, taught the Gauls, both by his dispatch and by his forces what the
discipline and the power of the Roman people could
accomplish. 2.
Indutiomarus having been slain, as we have stated, the government
was conferred upon his relatives by the Treviri . They cease not to importune the neighboring Germans and to promise them money: when they could not
obtain [their object] from those nearest them, they try those more remote.
Having found some states willing to accede to their wishes, they enter into a
compact with them by a mutual oath, and give hostages as a security for the
money: they attach Ambiorix to them by an alliance and confederacy.
Caesar, on being informed of their acts, since he
saw that war was being prepared on all sides, that the Nervii,
Aduatuci, and Menapii, with the addition of all
the Germans on this side of the Rhine
were under arms, that the Senones did not assemble according to his command, and were
concerting measures with the Carnutes and the neighboring states,
that the Germans were importuned by the Treviri in frequent embassies, thought that he ought to take
measures for the war earlier [than usual]. 3.
Accordingly, while the winter was not yet ended, having concentrated the four
nearest legions, he marched unexpectedly into the territories of the
Nervii, and before they could either assemble or retreat, after
capturing a large number of cattle and of men, and wasting their lands and
giving up that booty to the soldiers, compelled them to enter into a surrender
and give him hostages. That business having been speedily executed, he again led
his legions back into winter-quarters. Having proclaimed a council of Gaul in the beginning of the spring, as he had been accustomed [to
do], when the deputies from the rest, except the Senones , the Carnutes, and the Treviri , had come, judging this to be the commencement of war and
revolt, that he might appear to consider all things of less consequence [than
that war], he transfers the council to Lutetia of the Parisii . These were adjacent to the Senones , and had united their state to them during the memory of
their fathers, but were thought to have no part in the present plot. Having
proclaimed this from the tribunal, he advances the same day toward the Senones with his legions, and arrives among them by long marches.
4.
Acco, who had been the author of that enterprise, on being informed
of his arrival, orders the people to assemble in the towns; to them, while
attempting this, and before it could be accomplished, news is brought that the
Romans are close at hand: through necessity they
give over their design and send embassadors to Caesar
for the purpose of imploring pardon; they make advances to him through the
Aedui, whose state was from ancient times under the protection
of Rome . Caesar readily grants them pardon,
and receives their excuse, at the request of the Aedui, because he
thought that the summer season was one for an impending war, not for an
investigation. Having imposed one hundred hostages, he delivers these to the
Aedui to be held in charge by them. To the same place the
Carnutes send embassadors and hostages, employing as their
mediators the Remi, under whose protection they were:
they receive the same answers. Caesar concludes the
council and imposes a levy of cavalry on the states. 5.
This part of Gaul having been tranquilized,
he applies himself entirely both in mind and soul to the war with the Treviri and Ambiorix. He orders Cavarinus
to march with him with the cavalry of the Senones , lest any commotion should arise either out of his hot
temper, or out of the hatred of the state which he had incurred. After arranging
these things, as he considered it certain that Ambiorix would not
contend in battle, he watched his other plans attentively. The
Menapii bordered on the territories of the
Eburones, and were protected by one continued extent of
morasses and woods; and they alone out of Gaul had never sent embassadors
to Caesar on the subject of peace. Caesar knew that a tie of hospitality subsisted between them and
Ambiorix: he also discovered that the latter had entered into
an alliance with the Germans by means of the Treviri . Ho thought that these auxiliaries ought to be
detached from him before he provoked him to war; lest he, despairing of safety,
should either proceed to conceal himself in the territories of the
Menapii, or should be driven to coalesce with the Germans beyond the Rhine . Having entered upon
this resolution, he sends the baggage of the whole army to Labienus, in the territories of the Treviri and orders two legions to proceed to him: he himself
proceeds against the Menapii with five lightly-equipped legions.
They, having assembled no troops, as they relied on the defense of their
position, retreat into the woods and morasses, and convey thither all their
property. 6.
Caesar, having divided his forces with C. Fabius, his lieutenant, and M. Crassus
his questor, and having hastily constructed some bridges, enters their country
in three divisions, burns their houses and villages, and gets possession of a
large number of cattle and men. Constrained by these circumstances the
Menapii send embassadors to him for the purpose of suing for
peace. He, after receiving hostages, assures them that he will consider them in
the number of his enemies if they shall receive within their territories either
Ambiorix or his embassadors. Having determinately settled these
things, he left among the Menapii, Commius the
Atrebatian, with some cavalry as a guard; he himself proceeds
toward the Treviri . 7.
While these things are being performed by Caesar, the
Treviri , having drawn together large forces of infantry and
cavalry, were preparing to attack Labienus and the
legion which was wintering in their territories, and were already not further
distant from him than a journey of two days, when they learn that two legions
had arrived by the order of Caesar. Having pitched
their camp fifteen miles off, they resolve to await the support of the Germans. Labienus, having
learned the design of the enemy, hoping that through their rashness there would
be some opportunity of engaging, after leaving a guard of five cohorts for the
baggage, advances against the enemy with twenty-five cohorts and a large body of
cavalry, and, leaving the space of a mile between them, fortifies his camp.
There was between Labienus and the enemy a river
difficult to cross, and with steep banks: this neither did he himself design to
cross, nor did he suppose the enemy would cross it. Their hope of auxiliaries
was daily increasing. He [Labienus] openly says in a council that
"since the Germans are said to be approaching, he
would not bring into uncertainty his own and the army's fortunes, and the next
day would move his camp at early dawn." These words are quickly carried to the
enemy, since out of so large a number of cavalry composed of Gauls, nature compelled some to favor the Gallic
interests. Labienus, having assembled the tribunes of
the soldiers and principal centurions by night, states what his design is, and,
that he may the more easily give the enemy a belief of his fears, he orders the
camp to be moved with greater noise and confusion than was usual with the Roman people. By these means he makes his departure
[appear] like a retreat. These things, also, since the camps were so near, are
reported to the enemy by scouts before daylight. 8.
Scarcely had the rear advanced beyond the fortifications when the Gauls, encouraging one another "not to cast from their
hands the anticipated booty, that it was a tedious thing, while the Romans were panic-stricken, to be waiting for the aid
of the Germans, and that their dignity did not suffer
them to fear to attack with such great forces so small a band, particularly when
retreating and encumbered," do not hesitate to cross the river and give battle
in a disadvantageous position. Labienus suspecting that
these things would happen, was proceeding quietly, and using the same pretense
of a march, in order that he might entice them across the river. Then, having
sent forward the baggage some short distance and placed it on a certain
eminence, he says, "Soldiers, you have the opportunity you have sought: you hold
the enemy in an encumbered and disadvantageous position: display to us, your
leaders, the same valor you have ofttimes displayed to your general: imagine
that he is present and actually sees these exploits." At the same time he orders
the troops to face about toward the enemy and form in line of battle, and,
dispatching a few troops of cavalry as a guard for the baggage, he places the
rest of the horse on the wings. Our men, raising a shout, quickly throw their
javelins at the enemy. They, when, contrary to their expectation, they saw those
whom they believed to be retreating, advance toward them with threatening
banners, were not able to sustain even the charge, and, being put to flight at
the first onslaught, sought the nearest woods; Labienus
pursuing them with the cavalry, upon a large number being slain, and several
taken prisoners, got possession of the state a few days after; for the Germans, who were coming to the aid of the Treviri , having been informed of their flight, retreated to their
homes. The relations of Indutiomarus, who had been the promoters of
the revolt, accompanying them, quitted their own state with them. The supreme
power and government were delivered to Cingetorix, whom we have
stated to have remained firm in his allegiance from the commencement. 9.
Caesar, after he came from the territories of the
Menapii into those of the Treviri , resolved for two reasons to cross the Rhine
; one of which was, because they had sent assistance to the Treviri against him; the other, that Ambiorix might
not have a retreat among them. Having determined on these matters, he began to
build a bridge a little above that place where he had before conveyed over his
army. The plan having been known and laid down, the work is accomplished in a
few days by the great exertion of the soldiers. Having left a strong guard at
the bridge on the side of the Treviri , lest any commotion should suddenly arise among them, he
leads over the rest of the forces and the cavalry. The Ubii, who
before had sent hostages and come to a capitulation, send embassadors to him,
for the purpose of vindicating themselves, to assure him that "neither had
auxiliaries been sent to the Treviri from their state, nor had they violated their allegiance;"
they entreat and beseech him "to spare them, lest, in his common hatred of the
Germans, the innocent should suffer the penalty
of the guilty: they promise to give more hostages, if he desire them." Having
investigated the case, Caesar finds that the
auxiliaries had been sent by the Suevi; he accepts the apology of
the Ubii, and makes the minute inquiries concerning the approaches
and the routes to the territories of the Suevi. 10.
In the mean time he is informed by the Ubii, a few days after, that
the Suevi are drawing all their forces into one place, and are
giving orders to those nations which are under their government to send
auxiliaries of infantry and of cavalry. Having learned these things, he provides
a supply of corn, selects a proper place for his camp, and commands the
Ubii to drive off their cattle and carry away all their
possessions from the country parts into the towns, hoping that they, being a
barbarous and ignorant people, when harassed by the want of provisions, might be
brought to an engagement on disadvantageous terms: he orders them to send
numerous scouts among the Suevi, and learn what things are going on
among them. They execute the orders, and, a few days having intervened, report
that all the Suevi, after certain intelligence concerning the army
of the Romans had come, retreated with all their own
forces and those of their allies, which they had assembled, to the utmost
extremities of their territories: that there is a wood there of very great
extent, which is called Bacenis; that this stretches a great way
into the interior, and, being opposed as a natural barrier, defends from
injuries and incursions the Cherusci against the
Suevi, and the Suevi against the
Cherusci: that at the entrance of that forest the
Suevi had determined to await the coming up of the Romans. 11.
Since we have come to the place, it does not appear to be foreign to our subject
to lay before the reader an account of the manners of Gaul and Germany , and wherein
these nations differ from each other. In Gaul there are factions not only
in all the states, and in all the cantons and their divisions, but almost in
each family, and of these factions those are the leaders who are considered
according to their judgment to possess the greatest influence, upon whose will
and determination the management of all affairs and measures depends. And that
seems to have been instituted in ancient times with this view, that no one of
the common people should be in want of support against one more powerful; for,
none [of those leaders] suffers his party to be oppressed and defrauded, and if
he do otherwise, he has no influence among his party. This same policy exists
throughout the whole of Gaul; for all the states are
divided into two factions. 12.
When Caesar arrived in Gaul, the
Aedui were the leaders of one faction, the Sequani
of the other. Since the latter were less powerful by themselves, inasmuch as the
chief influence was from of old among the Aedui, and their
dependencies were great, they had united to themselves the Germans and Ariovistus, and had brought them over to
their party by great sacrifices and promises. And having fought several
successful battles and slain all the nobility of the Aedui, they
had so far surpassed them in power, that they brought over, from the
Aedui to themselves, a large portion of their dependents and
received from them the sons of their leading men as hostages, and compelled them
to swear in their public character that they would enter into no design against
them; and held a portion of the neighboring land, seized on by force, and
possessed the sovereignty of the whole of Gaul. Divitiacus
urged by this necessity, had proceeded to Rome to the senate, for the
purpose of entreating assistance, and had returned without accomplishing his
object. A change of affairs ensued on the arrival of Caesar, the hostages were returned to the Aedui, their
old dependencies restored, and new acquired through Caesar (because those who had attached themselves to their alliance
saw that they enjoyed a better state and a milder government), their other
interests, their influence, their reputation were likewise increased, and in
consequence, the Sequani lost the sovereignty. The Remi succeeded to their place, and, as it was perceived that they
equaled the Aedui in favor with Caesar,
those, who on account of their old animosities could by no means coalesce with
the Aedui, consigned themselves in clientship to the Remi. The latter carefully protected them. Thus they
possessed both a new and suddenly acquired influence. Affairs were then in that
position that the Aedui were considered by far the leading people,
and the Remi held the second post of honor.
13.
Throughout all Gaul there are two orders of
those men who are of any rank and dignity: for the commonality is held almost in
the condition of slaves, and dares to undertake nothing of itself, and is
admitted to no deliberation. The greater part, when they are pressed either by
debt, or the large amount of their tributes, or the oppression of the more
powerful, give themselves up in vassalage to the nobles, who possess over them
the same rights without exception as masters over their slaves. But of these two
orders, one is that of the Druids, the other that of the knights.
The former are engaged in things sacred, conduct the public and the private
sacrifices, and interpret all matters of religion. To these a large number of
the young men resort for the purpose of instruction, and they [the
Druids] are in great honor among them. For they determine
respecting almost all controversies, public and private; and if any crime has
been perpetrated, if murder has been committed, if there be any dispute about an
inheritance, if any about boundaries, these same persons decide it; they decree
rewards and punishments; if any one, either in a private or public capacity, has
not submitted to their decision, they interdict him from the sacrifices. This
among them is the most heavy punishment. Those who have been thus interdicted
are esteemed in the number of the impious and the criminal: all shun them, and
avoid their society and conversation, lest they receive some evil from their
contact; nor is justice administered to them when seeking it, nor is any dignity
bestowed on them. Over all these Druids one presides, who possesses
supreme authority among them. Upon his death, if any individual among the rest
is pre-eminent in dignity, he succeeds; but, if there are many equal, the
election is made by the suffrages of the Druids; sometimes they
even contend for the presidency with arms. These assemble at a fixed period of
the year in a consecrated place in the territories of the Carnutes,
which is reckoned the central region of the whole of Gaul. Hither all,
who have disputes, assemble from every part, and submit to their decrees and
determinations. This institution is supposed to have been devised in Britain, and to
have been brought over from it into Gaul; and now those who desire
to gain a more accurate knowledge of that system generally proceed thither for
the purpose of studying it. 14.
The Druids do not go to war, nor pay tribute together with the rest;
they have an exemption from military service and a dispensation in all matters.
Induced by such great advantages, many embrace this profession of their own
accord, and [many] are sent to it by their parents and relations. They are said
there to learn by heart a great number of verses; accordingly some remain in the
course of training twenty years. Nor do they regard it lawful to commit these to
writing, though in almost all other matters, in their public and private
transactions, they use Greek characters. That practice they seem to
me to have adopted for two reasons; because they neither desire their doctrines
to be divulged among the mass of the people, nor those who learn, to devote
themselves the less to the efforts of memory, relying on writing; since it
generally occurs to most men, that, in their dependence on writing, they relax
their diligence in learning thoroughly, and their employment of the memory. They
wish to inculcate this as one of their leading tenets, that souls do not become
extinct, but pass after death from one body to another, and they think that men
by this tenet are in a great degree excited to valor, the fear of death being
disregarded. They likewise discuss and impart to the youth many things
respecting the stars and their motion, respecting the extent of the world and of
our earth, respecting the nature of things, respecting the power and the majesty
of the immortal gods. 15.
The other order is that of the knights. These, when there is occasion and any war
occurs (which before Caesar's arrival was for the most
part wont to happen every year, as either they on their part were inflecting
injuries or repelling those which others inflected on them), are all engaged in
war. And those of them most distinguished by birth and resources, have the
greatest number of vassals and dependents about them. They acknowledge this sort
of influence and power only. 16.
The nation of all the Gauls is extremely devoted to
superstitious rites; and on that account they who are troubled with unusually
severe diseases, and they who are engaged in battles and dangers, either
sacrifice men as victims, or vow that they will sacrifice them, and employ the
Druids as the performers of those sacrifices; because they
think that unless the life of a man be offered for the life of a man, the mind
of the immortal gods can not be rendered propitious, and they have sacrifices of
that kind ordained for national purposes. Others have figures of vast size, the
limbs of which formed of osiers they fill with living men, which being set on
fire, the men perish enveloped in the flames. They consider that the oblation of
such as have been taken in theft, or in robbery, or any other offense, is more
acceptable to the immortal gods; but when a supply of that class is wanting,
they have recourse to the oblation of even the innocent. 17.
They worship as their divinity, Mercury in particular, and have many images of
him, and regard him as the inventor of all arts, they consider him the guide of
their journeys and marches, and believe him to have great influence over the
acquisition of gain and mercantile transactions. Next to him they worship Apollo, and Mars, and Jupiter , and Minerva; respecting these
deities they have for the most part the same belief as other nations: that Apollo averts diseases, that Minerva imparts the invention of manufactures, that Jupiter possesses the sovereignty of the heavenly powers; that
Mars presides over wars. To him, when they have
determined to engage in battle, they commonly vow those things which they shall
take in war. When they have conquered, they sacrifice whatever captured animals
may have survived the conflict, and collect the other things into one place. In
many states you may see piles of these things heaped up in their consecrated
spots; nor does it often happen that any one, disregarding the sanctity of the
case, dares either to secrete in his house things captured, or take away those
deposited; and the most severe punishment, with torture, has been established
for such a deed. 18.
All the Gauls assert that they are descended from the
god Dis, and say that this tradition has been handed down by the
Druids. For that reason they compute the divisions of every
season, not by the number of days, but of nights; they keep birthdays and the
beginnings of months and years in such an order that the day follows the night.
Among the other usages of their life, they differ in this from almost all other
nations, that they do not permit their children to approach them openly until
they are grown up so as to be able to bear the service of war; and they regard
it as indecorous for a son of boyish age to stand in public in the presence of
his father. 19.
Whatever sums of money the husbands have received in the name of dowry from their
wives, making an estimate of it, they add the same amount out of their own
estates. An account is kept of all this money conjointly, and the profits are
laid by: whichever of them shall have survived [the other], to that one the
portion of both reverts together with the profits of the previous time. Husbands
have power of life and death over their wives as well as over their children:
and when the father of a family, born in a more than commonly distinguished
rank, has died, his relations assemble, and, if the circumstances of his death
are suspicious, hold an investigation upon the wives in the manner adopted
toward slaves; and, if proof be obtained, put them to severe torture, and kill
them. Their funerals, considering the state of civilization among the Gauls, are magnificent and costly; and they cast into
the fire all things, including living creatures, which they suppose to have been
dear to them when alive; and, a little before this period, slaves and
dependents, who were ascertained to have been beloved by them, were, after the
regular funeral rites were completed, burnt together with them. 20.
Those states which are considered to conduct their commonwealth more judiciously,
have it ordained by their laws, that, if any person shall have heard by rumor
and report from his neighbors any thing concerning the commonwealth, he shall
convey it to the magistrate, and not impart it to any other; because it has been
discovered that inconsiderate and inexperienced men were often alarmed by false
reports, and driven to some rash act, or else took hasty measures in affairs of
the highest importance. The magistrates conceal those things which require to be
kept unknown; and they disclose to the people whatever they determine to be
expedient. It is not lawful to speak of the commonwealth, except in council.
21.
The Germans differ much from these usages, for they
have neither Druids to preside over sacred offices, nor do they pay
great regard to sacrifices. They rank in the number of the gods those alone whom
they behold, and by whose instrumentality they are obviously benefited, namely,
the sun, fire, and the moon; they have not heard of the other deities even by
report. Their whole life is occupied in hunting and in the pursuits of the
military art; from childhood they devote themselves to fatigue and hardships.
Those who have remained chaste for the longest time, receive the greatest
commendation among their people; they think that by this the growth is promoted,
by this the physical powers are increased and the sinews are strengthened. And
to have had knowledge of a woman before the twentieth year they reckon among the
most disgraceful acts; of which matter there is no concealment, because they
bathe promiscuously in the rivers and [only] use skins or small cloaks of deer's
hides, a large portion of the body being in consequence naked. 22.
They do not pay much attention to agriculture, and a large portion of their food
consists in milk, cheese, and flesh; nor has any one a fixed quantity of land or
his own individual limits; but the magistrates and the leading men each year
apportion to the tribes and families, who have united together, as much land as,
and in the place in which, they think proper, and the year after compel them to
remove elsewhere. For this enactment they advance many reasons-lest seduced by
long-continued custom, they may exchange their ardor in the waging of war for
agriculture; lest they may be anxious to acquire extensive estates, and the more
powerful drive the weaker from their possessions; lest they construct their
houses with too great a desire to avoid cold and heat; lest the desire of wealth
spring up, from which cause divisions and discords arise; and that they may keep
the common people in a contented state of mind, when each sees his own means
placed on an equality with [those of] the most powerful. 23.
It is the greatest glory to the several states to have as wide deserts as
possible around them, their frontiers having been laid waste. They consider this
the real evidence of their prowess, that their neighbors shall be driven out of
their lands and abandon them, and that no one dare settle near them; at the same
time they think that they shall be on that account the more secure, because they
have removed the apprehension of a sudden incursion. When a state either repels
war waged against it, or wages it against another, magistrates are chosen to
preside over that war with such authority, that they have power of life and
death. In peace there is no common magistrate, but the chiefs of provinces and
cantons administer justice and determine controversies among their own people.
Robberies which are committed beyond the boundaries of each state bear no
infamy, and they avow that these are committed for the purpose of disciplining
their youth and of preventing sloth. And when any of their chiefs has said in an
assembly "that he will be their leader, let those who are willing to follow,
give in their names;" they who approve of both the enterprise and the man arise
and promise their assistance and are applauded by the people; such of them as
have not followed him are accounted in the number of deserters and traitors, and
confidence in all matters is afterward refused them. To injure guests they
regard as impious; they defend from wrong those who have come to them for any
purpose whatever, and esteem them inviolable; to them the houses of all are open
and maintenance is freely supplied. 24.
And there was formerly a time when the Gauls excelled
the Germans in prowess, and waged war on them
offensively, and, on account of the great number of their people and the
insufficiency of their land, sent colonies over the Rhine .
Accordingly, the Volcae Tectosages, seized on those parts of Germany which are the
most fruitful [and lie] around the Hercynian forest, (which, I
perceive, was known by report to Eratosthenes and some other
Greeks, and which they call Orcynia), and settled
there. Which nation to this time retains its position in those settlements, and
has a very high character for justice and military merit; now also they continue
in the same scarcity, indigence, hardihood, as the Germans, and use the same food and dress; but their proximity to the
Province and knowledge of commodities from countries beyond the sea supplies to
the Gauls many things tending to luxury as well as
civilization. Accustomed by degrees to be overmatched and worsted in many
engagements, they do not even compare themselves to the Germans in prowess. 25.
The breadth of this Hercynian forest, which has been referred to
above, is to a quick traveler, a journey of nine days. For it can not be
otherwise computed, nor are they acquainted with the measures of roads. It
begins at the frontiers of the Helvetii,
Nemetes, and Rauraci, and extends in a right line
along the river Danube to the territories of the
Daci and the Anartes; it bends thence to the left
in a different direction from the river, and owing to its extent touches the
confines of many nations; nor is there any person belonging to this part of
Germany who says that
he either has gone to the extremity of that forest, though he had advanced a
journey of sixty days, or has heard in what place it begins. It is certain that
many kinds of wild beast are produced in it which have not been seen in other
parts; of which the following are such as differ principally from other animals,
and appear worthy of being committed to record. 26.
There is an ox of the shape of a stag, between whose ears a horn rises from the
middle of the forehead, higher and straighter than those horns which are known
to us. From the top of this, branches, like palms, stretch out a considerable
distance. The shape of the female and of the male is the, same; the appearance
and the size of the horns is the same. 27.
There are also [animals] which are called elks. The shape of these, and the
varied color of their skins, is much like roes, but in size they surpass them a
little and are destitute of horns, and have legs without joints and ligatures;
nor do they lie down for the purpose of rest, nor, if they have been thrown down
by any accident, can they raise or lift themselves up. Trees serve as beds to
them; they lean themselves against them, and thus reclining only slightly, they
take their rest; when the huntsmen have discovered from the footsteps of these
animals whither they are accustomed to betake themselves, they either undermine
all the trees at the roots, or cut into them so far that the upper part of the
trees may appear to be left standing. When they have leant upon them, according
to their habit, they knock down by their weight the unsupported trees, and fall
down themselves along with them. 28.
There is a third kind, consisting of those animals which are called uri. These
are a little below the elephant in size, and of the appearance, color, and shape
of a bull. Their strength and speed are extraordinary; they spare neither man
nor wild beast which they have espied. These the Germans take with much pains in pits and kill them. The young men
harden themselves with this exercise, and practice themselves in this kind of
hunting, and those who have slain the greatest number of them, having produced
the horns in public, to serve as evidence, receive great praise. But not even
when taken very young can they be rendered familiar to men and tamed. The size,
shape, and appearance of their horns differ much from the horns of our oxen.
These they anxiously seek after, and bind at the tips with silver, and use as
cups at their most sumptuous entertainments. 29.
Caesar, after he discovered through the
Ubian scouts that the Suevi had retired into their
woods, apprehending a scarcity of corn, because, as we have observed above, all
the Germans pay very little attention to agriculture,
resolved not to proceed any further; but, that he might not altogether relieve
the barbarians from the fear of his return, and that he might delay their
succors, having led back his army, he breaks down, to the length of 200 feet,
the further end of the bridge, which joined the banks of the Ubii,
and at the extremity of the bridge raises towers of four stories, and stations a
guard of twelve cohorts for the purpose of defending the bridge, and strengthens
the place with considerable fortifications. Over that fort and guard he
appointed C. Volcatius Tullus, a young man; he himself,
when the corn began to ripen, having set forth for the war with
Ambiorix (through the forest Arduenna, which is
the largest of all Gaul, and reaches from the banks
of the Rhine and the frontiers of
the Treviri to those of the Nervii, and extends over more
than 500 miles), he sends forward L. Minucius Basilus
with all the cavalry, to try if he might gain any advantage by rapid marches and
the advantage of time, he warns him to forbid fires being made in the camp, lest
any indication of his approach be given at a distance: he tells him that he will
follow immediately. 30.
Basilus does as he was commanded; having performed his
march rapidly, and even surpassed the expectations of all, he surprises in the
fields many not expecting him; through their information he advances toward
Ambiorix himself, to the place in which he was said to be with
a few horse. Fortune accomplishes much, not only in other matters, but also in
the art of war. For as it happened by a remarkable chance, that he fell upon
[Ambiorix] himself unguarded and unprepared, and that his
arrival was seen by the people before the report or information of his arrival
was carried thither; so it was an incident of extraordinary fortune that,
although every implement of war which he was accustomed to have about him was
seized, and his chariots and horses surprised, yet he himself escaped death. But
it was effected owing to this circumstance, that his house being surrounded by a
wood (as are generally the dwellings of the Gauls,
who, for the purpose of avoiding heat, mostly seek the neighborhood of woods and
rivers), his attendants and friends in a narrow spot sustained for a short time
the attack of our horse. While they were fighting, one of his followers mounted
him on a horse; the woods sheltered him as he fled. Thus fortune tended much
both toward his encountering and his escaping danger. 31.
Whether Ambiorix did not collect his forces from cool deliberation,
because he considered he ought not to engage in a battle, or [whether] he was
debarred by time and prevented by the sudden arrival of our horse, when he
supposed the rest of the army was closely following, is doubtful: but certainly,
dispatching messengers through the country, he ordered every one to provide for
himself; and a part of them fled into the forest Arduenna, a part
into the extensive morasses; those who were nearest the ocean concealed
themselves in the islands which the tides usually form; many, departing from
their territories, committed themselves and all their possessions to perfect
strangers. Cativolcus, king of one half of the
Eburones, who had entered into the design together with
Ambiorix, since, being now worn out by age, he was unable to
endure the fatigue either of war or flight, having cursed Ambiorix
with every imprecation, as the person who had been the contriver of that
measure, destroyed himself with the juice of the yew-tree, of which there is a
great abundance in Gaul and Germany .
32.
The Segui and Condrusi, of the nation and
number of the Germans, and who are between the
Eburones and the Treviri , sent embassadors to Caesar to
entreat that he would not regard them in the number of his enemies, nor consider
that the cause of all the Germans on this side the
Rhine was one and the same; that they had formed no plans of war,
and had sent no auxiliaries to Ambiorix. Caesar, having ascertained this fact by an examination of his
prisoners, commanded that if any of the Eburones in their flight
had repaired to them, they should be sent back to him; he assures them that if
they did that, he will not injure their territories. Then, having divided his
forces into three parts, he sent the baggage of all the legions to
Aduatuca. That is the name of a fort. This is nearly in the
middle of the Eburones, where Titurius and
Aurunculeius had been quartered for the purpose of
wintering. This place he selected as well on other accounts as because the
fortifications of the previous year remained, in order that he might relieve the
labor of the soldiers. He left the fourteenth legion as a guard for the baggage,
one of those three which he had lately raised in Italy and
brought over. Over that legion and camp he places Q. Tullius
Cicero and gives him 200 horse. 33.
Having divided the army, he orders T. Labienus to
proceed with three legions toward the ocean into those parts which border on the
Menapii; he sends C. Trebonius with a
like number of legions to lay waste that district which lies contiguous to the
Aduatuci; he himself determines to go with the remaining three
to the river Sambre , which flows into the Meuse , and to the most remote parts of Arduenna,
whither he heard that Ambiorix had gone with a few horse. When
departing, he promises that he will return before the end of the seventh day, on
which day he was aware corn was due to that legion which was being left in
garrison. He directs Labienus and Trebonius to return by the same day, if they can do so agreeably to
the interests of the republic; so that their measures having been mutually
imparted, and the plans of the enemy having been discovered, they might be able
to commence a different line of operations. 34.
There was, as we have above observed, no regular army, nor a town, nor a garrison
which could defend itself by arms; but the people were scattered in all
directions. Where either a hidden valley, or a woody spot, or a difficult morass
furnished any hope of protection or of security to any one, there he had fixed
himself. These places were known to those who dwelt in the neighborhood, and the
matter demanded great attention, not so much in protecting the main body of the
army (for no peril could occur to them altogether from those alarmed and
scattered troops), as in preserving individual soldiers; which in some measure
tended to the safety of the army. For both the desire of booty was leading many
too far, and the woods with their unknown and hidden routes would not allow them
to go in large bodies. If he desired the business to be completed and the race
of those infamous people to be cut off, more bodies of men must be sent in
several directions and the soldiers must be detached on all sides; if he were
disposed to keep the companies at their standards, as the established discipline
and practice of the Roman army required, the
situation itself was a safeguard to the barbarians, nor was there wanting to
individuals the daring to lay secret ambuscades and beset scattered soldiers.
But amid difficulties of this nature as far as precautions could be taken by
vigilance, such precautions were taken; so that some opportunities of injuring
the enemy were neglected, though the minds of all were burning to take revenge,
rather than that injury should be effected with any loss to our soldiers. Caesar dispatches messengers to the neighboring states;
by the hope of booty he invites all to him, for the purpose of plundering the
Eburones, in order that the life of the Gauls might be hazarded in the woods rather than the legionary
soldiers; at the same time, in order that a large force being drawn around them,
the race and name of that state may be annihilated for such a crime. A large
number from all quarters speedily assembles. 35.
These things were going on in all parts of the territories of the
Eburones, and the seventh day was drawing near, by which day
Caesar had purposed to return to the baggage and
the legion. Here it might be learned how much fortune achieves in war, and how
great casualties she produces. The enemy having been scattered and alarmed, as
we related above, there was no force which might produce even a slight occasion
of fear. The report extends beyond the Rhine to the Germans that the Eburones are being
pillaged, and that all were without distinction invited to the plunder. The
Sigambri, who are nearest to the Rhine , by whom,
we have mentioned above, the Tenchtheri and Usipetes
were received after their retreat, collect 2,000 horse; they cross the Rhine
in ships and barks thirty miles below that place where the bridge was
entire and the garrison left by Caesar; they arrive at
the frontiers of the Eburones, surprise many who were scattered in
flight, and get possession of a large amount of cattle, of which barbarians are
extremely covetous. Allured by booty, they advance further; neither
morass nor forest obstructs these men, born amid war and depredations; they
inquire of their prisoners in what part Caesar is; they
find that he has advanced further, and learn that all the army has removed.
Thereon one of the prisoners says, "Why do you pursue such wretched and trifling
spoil; you, to whom it is granted to become even now most richly endowed by
fortune? In three hours you can reach Aduatuca; there the Roman army has deposited all its fortunes; there is so
little of a garrison that not even the wall can be manned, nor dare any one go
beyond the fortifications." A hope having been presented them, the Germans leave in concealment the plunder they had
acquired; they themselves hasten to Aduatuca, employing as their
guide the same man by whose information they had become informed of these
things. 36.
Cicero, who during all the foregoing days had kept his
soldiers in camp with the greatest exactness, and agreeable to the injunctions
of Caesar, had not permitted even any of the
camp-followers to go beyond the fortification, distrusting on the seventh day
that Caesar would keep his promise as to the number of
days, because he heard that he had proceeded further, and no report as to his
return was brought to him, and being urged at the same time by the expressions
of those who called his tolerance almost a siege, if, forsooth, it was not
permitted them to go out of the camp, since he might expect no disaster, whereby
he could be injured, within three miles of the camp, while nine legions and all
the cavalry were under arms, and the enemy scattered and almost annihilated,
sent five cohorts into the neighboring corn-lands, between which and the camp
only one hill intervened, for the purpose of foraging. Many soldiers of the
legions had been left invalided in the camp, of whom those who had recovered in
this space of time, being about 300, are sent together under one standard; a
large number of soldiers' attendants besides, with a great number of beasts of
burden, which had remained in the camp, permission being granted, follow them.
37.
At this very time, the German horse by chance came up,
and immediately, with the same speed with which they had advanced, attempt to
force the camp at the Decuman gate, nor were they seen, in
consequence of woods lying in the way on that side, before they were just
reaching the camp: so much so, that the sutlers who had their booths under the
rampart had not an opportunity of retreating within the camp. Our men, not
anticipating it, are perplexed by the sudden affair, and the cohort on the
outpost scarcely sustains the first attack. The enemy spread themselves on the
other sides to ascertain if they could find any access. Our men with difficulty
defend the gates; the very position of itself and the fortification secures the
other accesses. There is a panic in the entire camp, and one inquires of another
the cause of the confusion, nor do they readily determine whither the standards
should be borne, nor into what quarter each should betake himself. One avows
that the camp is already taken, another maintains that, the enemy having
destroyed the army and commander-in-chief, are come hither as conquerors; most
form strange superstitious fancies from the spot, and place before their eyes
the catastrophe of Cotta and Titurius, who had fallen in the same fort. All being greatly
disconcerted by this alarm, the belief of the barbarians is strengthened that
there is no garrison within, as they had heard from their prisoner. They
endeavor to force an entrance and encourage one another not to cast from their
hands so valuable a prize. 38.
P. Sextius Baculus, who had led a principal century
under Caesar (of whom we have made mention in previous
engagements), had been left an invalid in the garrison, and had now been five
days without food. He, distrusting his own safety and that of all, goes forth
from his tent unarmed; he sees that the enemy are close at hand and that the
matter is in the utmost danger; he snatches arms from those nearest, and
stations himself at the gate. The centurions of that cohort which was on guard
follow him; for a short time they sustain the fight together. Sextius faints, after receiving many wounds; he is with difficulty
saved, drawn away by the hands of the soldiers. This space having intervened,
the others resume courage so far as to venture to take their place on the
fortifications and present the aspect of defenders. 39.
The foraging having in the mean time been completed, our soldiers distinctly hear
the shout; the horse hasten on before and discover in what danger the affair is.
But here there is no fortification to receive them, in their alarm: those last
enlisted, and unskilled in military discipline turn their faces to the military
tribune and the centurions; they wait to find what orders may be given by them.
No one is so courageous as not to be disconcerted by the suddenness of the
affair. The barbarians, espying our standard in the distance, desist from the
attack; at first they suppose that the legions, which they had learned from
their prisoners had removed further off, had returned; afterward, despising
their small number, they make an attack on them at all sides. 40.
The camp-followers run forward to the nearest rising ground; being speedily
driven from this they throw themselves among the standards and companies: they
thus so much the more alarm the soldiers already affrighted. Some propose that,
forming a wedge, they suddenly break through, since the camp was so near; and if
any part should be surrounded and slain, they fully trust that at least the rest
may be saved; others, that they take their stand on an eminence, and all undergo
the same destiny. The veteran soldiers whom we stated to have set out together
[with the others] under a standard, do not approve of this. Therefore
encouraging each other, under the conduct of Caius Trebonius, a
Roman knight, who had been appointed over them,
they break through the midst of the enemy, and arrive in the camp safe to a man.
The camp attendants and the horse following close upon them with the same
impetuosity, are saved by the courage of the soldiers. But those who had taken
their stand upon the eminence having even now acquired no experience of military
matters, neither could persevere in that resolution which they approved of,
namely, to defend themselves from their higher position, nor imitate that vigor
and speed which they had observed to have availed others; but, attempting to
reach the camp, had descended into an unfavorable situation. The centurions,
some of whom had been promoted for their valor from the lower ranks of other
legions to higher ranks in this legion, in order that they might not forfeit
their glory for military exploits previously acquired, fell together fighting
most valiantly. The enemy having been dislodged by their valor, a part of the
soldiers arrived safe in camp contrary to their expectations; a part perished,
surrounded by the barbarians. 41.
The Germans, despairing of taking the camp by storm,
because they saw that our men had taken up their position on the fortifications,
retreated beyond the Rhine with that plunder which
they had deposited in the woods. And so great was the alarm, even after the
departure of the enemy, that when C. Volusenus, who had
been sent with the cavalry, arrived that night, he could not gain credence that
Caesar was close at hand with his army safe. Fear
had so pre-occupied the minds of all, that their reason being almost estranged,
they said that all the other forces having been cut off, the cavalry alone had
arrived there by flight, and asserted that, if the army were safe, the Germans would not have attacked the camp; which fear
the arrival of Caesar removed. 42.
He, on his return, being well aware of the casualties of war, complained of one
thing [only], namely, that the cohorts had been sent away from the outposts and
garrison [duty], and pointed out that room ought not to have been left for even
the most trivial casualty; that fortune had exercised great influence in the
sudden arrival of their enemy; much greater, in that she had turned the
barbarians away from the very rampart and gates of the camp. Of all which
events, it seemed the most surprising, that the Germans, who had crossed the Rhine with this object, that
they might plunder the territories of Ambiorix, being led to the
camp of the Romans, rendered Ambiorix a
most acceptable service. 43.
Caesar, having again marched to harass the enemy, after
collecting a large number [of auxiliaries] from the neighboring states,
dispatches them in all directions. All the villages and all the buildings, which
each beheld, were on fire: spoil was being driven off from all parts; the corn
not only was being consumed by so great numbers of cattle and men, but also had
fallen to the earth, owing to the time of the year and the storms; so that if
any had concealed themselves for the present, still, it appeared likely that
they must perish through want of all things, when the army should be drawn off.
And frequently it came to that point, as so large a body of cavalry had been
sent abroad in all directions, that the prisoners declared Ambiorix
had just then been seen by them in flight, and had not even passed out of sight,
so that the hope of overtaking him being raised, and unbounded exertions having
been resorted to, those who thought they should acquire the highest favor with
Caesar, nearly overcame nature by their ardor, and
continually, a little only seemed wanting to complete success; but he rescued
himself by [means of] lurking-places and forests, and, concealed by the night
made for other districts and quarters, with no greater guard than that of four
horsemen, to whom along he ventured to confide his life. 44.
Having devastated the country in such a manner, Caesar
leads back his army with the loss of two cohorts to Durocortorum of the Remi, and, having
summoned a council of Gaul to assemble at that place,
he resolved to hold an investigation respecting the conspiracy of the Senones and Carnutes, and having pronounced a most
severe sentence upon Acco, who had been the contriver of that plot,
he punished him after the custom of our ancestors. Some fearing a trial, fled;
when he had forbidden these fire and water, he stationed in winter quarters two
legions at the frontiers of the Treviri , two among the Lingones , the remaining six at Agendicum,
in the territories of the Senones ; and, having provided corn for the army, he set out for
Italy, as he had
determined, to hold the assizes.
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