71 This was the state of war when Petilius Cerialis reached Mainz. His arrival aroused great hopes; Cerialis was himself eager for battle and better fitted by nature to despise a foe than to guard against him; he fired his soldiers by his fierce words, declaring that he would not delay a moment when he had a chance to engage the enemy. The troops that had been levied throughout Gaul he sent back to their several states, and told them to report that the legions were sufficient to sustain the empire: the allies were to return to their peaceful duties without any anxiety, since, when the Roman arms once undertook a war, that war was virtually ended. This act increased the ready submission of the Gauls; for now that they had recovered their young men they bore the burdens of the tribute more easily, and they were more ready to be obedient when they saw that they were despised. But when Civilis and Classicus heard that Tutor had been defeated, the Treviri cut to pieces, and that their foes were everywhere successful, they became alarmed and hastened to collect their scattered forces; in the meantime they sent many messages to warn Valentinus not to risk a decisive engagement. These circumstances moved Cerialis to prompter action: he despatched some officers to the Mediomatrici to direct the legions against the enemy by a more direct route, while he united the troops at Mainz with all the forces that he had brought with him; after a three days’ march he came to Rigodulum, which Valentinus had occupied with a large force of Treviri. The town was naturally protected by hills or by the Moselle; in addition Valentinus had constructed ditches and stone ramparts. But these fortifications did not deter the Roman general from ordering his infantry to assault or from sending his cavalry up the hill, since he despised his foe, believing that his own men would have more advantage from their courage than the enemy’s hastily collected forces could gain from their position. The Roman troops were delayed a little in their ascent while they were exposed to the enemy’s missiles: when they came to close quarters, the Treviri were hurled down headlong like a falling building. Moreover, some of the cavalry rode round along the lower hills and captured the noblest of the Belgians, among them their leader Valentinus.
[72] Cerialis postero die coloniam Trevirorum ingressus est, avido milite eruendae civitatis. hanc esse Classici, hanc Tutoris patriam; horum scelere clausas caesasque legiones. quid tantum Cremonam meruisse? quam e gremio Italiae raptam quia unius noctis moram victoribus attulerit. stare in confinio Germaniae integram sedem spoliis exercituum et ducum caedibus ovantem. redigeretur praeda in fiscum: ipsis sufficere ignis et rebellis coloniae ruinas, quibus tot castrorum excidia pensarentur. Cerialis metu infamiae, si licentia saevitiaque imbuere militem crederetur, pressit iras: et paruere, posito civium bello ad externa modestiores. convertit inde animos accitarum e Mediomatricis legionum miserabilis aspectus. stabant conscientia flagitii maestae, fixis in terram oculis: nulla inter coeuntis exercitus consalutatio; neque solantibus hortantibusve responsa dabant, abditi per tentoria et lucem ipsam vitantes. nec proinde periculum aut metus quam pudor ac dedecus obstupefecerat, attonitis etiam victoribus, qui vocem precesque adhibere non ausi lacrimis ac silentio veniam poscebant, donec Cerialis mulceret animos, fato acta dictitans quae militum ducumque discordia vel fraude hostium evenissent. primum illum stipendiorum et sacramenti diem haberent: priorum facinorum neque imperatorem neque se meminisse. tunc recepti in eadem castra, et edictum per manipulos ne quis in certamine iurgiove seditionem aut cladem commilitoni obiectaret.
72 On the next day Cerialis entered the colony of the Treviri. His soldiers were eager to plunder the town and said “This is Classicus’s native city, and Tutor’s as well; they are the men whose treason has caused our legions to be besieged and massacred. What monstrous crime had Cremona committed? Yet Cremona was torn from the very bosom of Italy because she delayed the victors one single night. This colony stands on the boundaries of Germany, unharmed, and rejoices in the spoils taken from our armies and in the murder of our commanders. The booty may go to the imperial treasury: it is enough for us to set fire to this rebellious colony and to destroy it, for in that way we can compensate for the destruction of so many of our camps.” Cerialis feared the disgrace that he would suffer if men were to believe that he imbued his troops with a spirit of licence and cruelty, and he therefore checked their passionate anger: and they obeyed him, for now that they had given up civil war, they were more moderate with reference to foreign foes. Their attention was then attracted by the sad aspect which the legions summoned from among the Mediomatrici presented. These troops stood there, downcast by the consciousness of their own guilt, their eyes fixed on the ground: when the armies met, there was no exchange of greetings; the soldiers made no answer to those who tried to console or to encourage them; they remained hidden in their tents and avoided the very light of day. It was not so much danger and fear as a sense of their shame and disgrace that paralyzed them, while even the victors were struck dumb. The latter did not dare to speak or make entreaty, but by their tears and silence they continued to ask forgiveness for their fellows, until Cerialis at last quieted them by saying that fate was responsible for all that had resulted from the differences between the soldiers and their commanders or from the treachery of their enemies. He urged them to consider this as the first day of their service and of their allegiance, and he declared that neither the emperor nor he remembered their former misdeeds. Then they were taken into the same camp with the rest, and a proclamation was read in each company forbidding any soldier in quarrel or dispute to taunt a comrade with treason or murder.
[73] Mox Treviros ac Lingonas ad contionem vocatos ita adloquitur: ‘neque ego umquam facundiam exercui, et populi Romani virtutem armis adfirmavi: sed quoniam apud vos verba plurimum valent bonaque ac mala non sua natura, sed vocibus seditiosorum aestimantur, statui pauca disserere quae profligato bello utilius sit vobis audisse quam nobis dixisse. terram vestram ceterorumque Gallorum ingressi sunt duces imperatoresque Romani nulla cupidine, sed maioribus vestris invocantibus, quos discordiae usque ad exitium fatigabant, et acciti auxilio Germani sociis pariter atque hostibus servitutem imposuerant. quot proeliis adversus Cimbros Teutonosque, quantis exercituum nostrorum laboribus quove eventu Germanica bella tractaverimus, satis clarum. nec ideo Rhenum insedimus ut Italiam tueremur, sed ne quis alius Ariovistus regno Galliarum potiretur. an vos cariores Civili Batavisque et transrhenanis gentibus creditis quam maioribus eorum patres avique vestri fuerunt? eadem semper causa Germanis transcendendi in Gallias, libido atque avaritia et mutandae sedis amor, ut relictis paludibus et solitudinibus suis fecundissimum hoc solum vosque ipsos possiderent: ceterum libertas et speciosa nomina praetexuntur; nec quisquam alienum servitium et dominationem sibi concupivit ut non eadem ista vocabula usurparet.’
73 Presently Cerialis called an assembly of the Treviri and Lingones and addressed them thus: “I have never practised oratory and the Roman people has ever asserted its merits by arms: but since words have the greatest weight with you and you do not reckon good and evil according to their own nature, but estimate them by the talk of seditious men, I have decided to say a few things which now that the war is over are more useful for you to hear than for me to say. Roman commanders and generals entered your land and the lands of the other Gauls from no desire for gain but because they were invited by your forefathers, who were wearied to death by internal quarrels, while the Germans whom they had invited to help them had enslaved them all, allies and enemies alike. How many battles we have fought against the Cimbri and Teutoni, with what hardships on the part of our armies and with what result we have conducted our wars against the Germans, is perfectly well known. We have occupied the banks of the Rhine not to protect Italy but to prevent a second Ariovistus from gaining the throne of Gaul. Do you believe that you are dearer to Civilis and his Batavians or to the peoples across the Rhine than your grandfathers and fathers were to their ancestors? The Germans always have the same reasons for crossing into the Gallic provinces — lust, avarice, and their longing to change their homes, that they may leave behind their swamps and deserts, and becom
e masters of this most fertile soil and of you yourselves: freedom, however, and specious names are their pretexts; but no man has ever been ambitious to enslave another or to win dominion for himself without using those very same words.
[74] ‘Regna bellaque per Gallias semper fuere donec in nostrum ius concederetis. nos, quamquam totiens lacessiti, iure victoriae id solum vobis addidimus, quo pacem tueremur; nam neque quies gentium sine armis neque arma sine stipendiis neque stipendia sine tributis haberi queunt: cetera in communi sita sunt. ipsi plerumque legionibus nostris praesidetis, ipsi has aliasque provincias regitis; nihil separatum clausumve. et laudatorum principum usus ex aequo quamvis procul agentibus: saevi proximis ingruunt. quo modo sterilitatem aut nimios imbris et cetera naturae mala, ita luxum vel avaritiam dominantium tolerate. vitia erunt, donec homines, sed neque haec continua et meliorum interventu pensantur: nisi forte Tutore et Classico regnantibus moderatius imperium speratis, aut minoribus quam nunc tributis parabuntur exercitus quibus Germani Britannique arceantur. nam pulsis, quod di prohibeant, Romanis quid aliud quam bella omnium inter se gentium existent? octingentorum annorum fortuna disciplinaque compages haec coaluit, quae convelli sine exitio convellentium non potest: sed vobis maximum discrimen, penes quos aurum et opes, praecipuae bellorum causae. proinde pacem et urbem, quam victi victoresque eodem iure obtinemus, amate colite: moneant vos utriusque fortunae documenta ne contumaciam cum pernicie quam obsequium cum securitate malitis.’ tali oratione graviora metuentis composuit erexitque.
74 “There were always kings and wars throughout Gaul until you submitted to our laws. Although often provoked by you, the only use we have made of our rights as victors has been to impose on you the necessary costs of maintaining peace; for you cannot secure tranquillity among nations without armies, nor maintain armies without pay, nor provide pay without taxes: everything else we have in common. You often command our legions; you rule these and other provinces; we claim no privileges, you suffer no exclusion. You enjoy the advantage of the good emperors equally with us, although you dwell far from the capital: the cruel emperors assail those nearest them. You endure barren years, excessive rains, and all other natural evils; in like manner endure the extravagance or greed of your rulers. There will be vices so long as there are men, but these vices are not perpetual and they are compensated for by the coming of better times: unless perchance you hope that you will enjoy a milder rule if Tutor and Classicus reign over you, or that the taxes required to provide armies to keep out the Germans and Britons will be less than now. For, if the Romans are driven out — which Heaven forbid — what will follow except universal war among all peoples? The good fortune and order of eight hundred years have built up this mighty fabric which cannot be destroyed without overwhelming its destroyers: moreover, you are in the greatest danger, for you possess gold and wealth, which are the chief causes of war. Therefore love and cherish peace and the city wherein we, conquerors and conquered alike, enjoy an equal right: be warned by the lessons of fortune both good and bad not to prefer defiance and ruin to obedience and security.” With such words Cerialis quieted and encouraged his hearers, who feared severer measures.
[75] Tenebantur victore exercitu Treviri, cum Civilis et Classicus misere ad Cerialem epistulas, quarum haec sententia fuit: Vespasianum, quamquam nuntios occultarent, excessisse vita, urbem atque Italiam interno bello consumptam, Muciani ac Domitiani vana et sine viribus nomina: si Cerialis imperium Galliarum velit, ipsos finibus civitatium suarum contentos; si proelium mallet, ne id quidem abnuere. ad ea Cerialis Civili et Classico nihil: eum qui attulerat
75 The Treviri were now being held in submission by the victorious army when Civilis and Classicus wrote to Cerialis to this effect: “Vespasian is dead, although the news of his death is held back; Rome and Italy have been exhausted by internal wars; the names of Mucianus and Domitian are empty and carry no weight: if you wish the empire of the Gauls, we are satisfied with the boundaries of our own states; if you prefer to fight, we do not refuse you that alternative either.” Cerialis made no reply to Civilis and Classicus; but he sent the messenger who brought the letter and the letter itself to Domitian. The enemy, whose forces were divided, now approached from every quarter. Many blamed Cerialis for having allowed this concentration of troops when he might have cut them off in detail. The Roman army constructed a ditch and palisade around their camp, which they had rashly occupied up to this time in spite of its unprotected condition.
[76] Apud Germanos diversis sententiis certabatur. Civilis opperiendas Transrhenanorum gentis, quarum terrore fractae populi Romani vires obtererentur: Gallos quid aliud quam praedam victoribus? et tamen, quod roboris sit, Belgas secum palam aut voto stare. Tutor cunctatione crescere rem Romanam adfirmabat, coeuntibus undique exercitibus: transvectam e Britannia legionem, accitas ex Hispania, adventare ex Italia; nec subitum militem, sed veterem expertumque belli. nam Germanos, qui ab ipsis sperentur, non iuberi, non regi, sed cuncta ex libidine agere; pecuniamque ac dona, quis solis corrumpantur, maiora apud Romanos, et neminem adeo in arma pronum ut non idem pretium quietis quam periculi malit. quod si statim congrediantur, nullas esse Ceriali nisi e reliquiis Germanici exercitus legiones, foederibus Galliarum obstrictas. idque ipsum quod inconditam nuper Valentini manum contra spem suam fuderint, alimentum illis ducique temeritatis: ausuros rursus venturosque in manus non imperiti adulescentuli, verba et contiones quam ferrum et arma meditantis, sed Civilis et Classici; quos ubi aspexerint, redituram in animos formidinem, fugam famemque ac totiens captis precariam vitam. neque Treviros aut Lingonas benevolentia contineri: resumpturos arma, ubi metus abscesserit. diremit consiliorum diversitatem adprobata Tutoris sententia Classicus, statimque exequuntur.
76 Among the Germans there was a clash of diverse opinions. Civilis urged that they should wait for the peoples from beyond the Rhine, who would so terrify the Romans that their strength would break and collapse. “As for the Gauls,” said he, “what are they but booty for the victors? And yet the Belgians, their only real strength, are openly on our side or wish our success.” Tutor maintained that delay improved the condition of the Romans, for their armies were coming from every quarter. “One legion,” he said, “has been brought from Britain; others have been summoned from Spain, or are coming from Italy; these are no hastily levied troops, but a veteran and seasoned army. The Germans, on whom we place our hopes, are never obedient to orders and directions, but always act according to their own caprice; as for money and gifts, the only things by which they can be won, the Romans have more than we, and no man is so bent on war as not to prefer quiet to danger, if he get the same reward. Whereas if we engage at once, Cerialis has no legions except those made up of the remnants of the army in Germany, and these have been bound by treaties to the Gallic states. As for the mere fact that, contrary their own expectations, they lately routed the undisciplined force of Valentinus, that only feeds the rash spirit of troops and general alike: they will dare a second time and will fall into the hands not of an inexperienced youth, more concerned with words and speeches than with steel and arms, but into the power of a Civilis and a Classicus. When our enemies see these leaders, their souls will be once more possessed with terror and with the memories of their flight, hunger, and the many times that they have been captured when their lives were at our mercy. Nor are the Treviri or Lingones restrained by any affection: they will resume their arms as soon as their fright has left them.” Classicus ended these differences of opinion by approving Tutor’s views, on which they at once acted.
[77] Media acies Vbiis Lingonibusque data; dextro cornu cohortes Batavorum, sinistro Bructeri Tencterique. pars montibus, alii viam inter Mosellamque flumen tam improvisi adsiluere ut in cubiculo ac lectulo Cerialis (neque enim noctem in castris egerat) pugnari simul vincique suos audierit, inc
repans pavorem nuntiantium, donec universa clades in oculis fuit: perrupta legionum castra, fusi equites, medius Mosellae pons, qui ulteriora coloniae adnectit, ab hostibus insessus. Cerialis turbidis rebus intrepidus et fugientis manu retrahens, intecto corpore promptus inter tela, felici temeritate et fortissimi cuiusque adcursu reciperatum pontem electa manu firmavit. mox in castra reversus palantis captarum apud Novaesium Bonnamque legionum manipulos et rarum apud signa militem ac prope circumventas aquilas videt. incensus ira ‘non Flaccum’ inquit, ‘non Voculam deseritis: nulla hic proditio; neque aliud excusandum habeo quam quod vos Gallici foederis oblitos redisse in memoriam Romani sacramenti temere credidi. adnumerabor Numisiis et Herenniis, ut omnes legati vestri aut militum manibus aut hostium ceciderint. ite, nuntiate Vespasiano vel, quod propius est, Civili et Classico, relictum a vobis in acie ducem: venient legiones quae neque me inultum neque vos impunitos patiantur.’
Complete Works of Tacitus (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 24) Page 219