As for
our town-walls, seeing that the Roman armies are massing at this
moment, it would be safer for us to heighten them than to pull them
down.
our town-walls, seeing that the Roman armies are massing at this
moment, it would be safer for us to heighten them than to pull them
down.
Tacitus
e.
the money and other rewards won by prosecuting
Crassus and Orfitus.
[354] Nero.
[355] He had recited some libellous verses on Nero and been
condemned for treason.
[356] Cp. ii. 67.
[357] i. e. those who had surrendered at Narnia and Bovillae,
as distinct from those who had been discharged after Galba's
death.
[358] Chap. 2.
[359] i. e. those who were either over fifty or had served in
the Guards sixteen or in a legion twenty years.
[360] See iii. 74.
[361] See chap. 38.
[362] Africa was peculiar in that the pro-consul, who governed
it for the senate, commanded an army. All the other provinces
demanding military protection were under imperial control.
Caligula, without withdrawing the province from the senate, in
some degree regularized the anomaly by transferring this
command to a 'legate' of his own, technically inferior to the
civil governor.
[363] Whereas the pro-consul's appointment was for one year
only, the emperor's legate retained his post at the emperor's
pleasure, and was usually given several years.
[364] Cp. ii. 98.
[365] See i. 70.
[366] See chap. 11.
[367] i. e. he hoped that Piso would accept the story with
alacrity and thus commit himself.
[368] Cp. i. 7.
[369] Under Domitian he became one of the most notorious and
dreaded of informers. His name doubtless recurred in the lost
books of the Histories. But the only other extant mention of
him by Tacitus is in the life of Agricola (chap. 45).
[370] On the coast between Carthage and Thapsus.
[371] Tripoli and Lebda.
[372] Further inland; probably the modern Fezzan.
[373] Vespasian was still at Alexandria.
[374] Cp. ii. 82, note 410.
[375] Cp. ii. 4 and Book V.
[376] It had been Vespasian's original plan to starve Rome out
by holding the granaries of Egypt and Africa. See iii. 48.
[377] Cp. iii. 71.
[378] Probably from Etruria, where certain families were
credited with the requisite knowledge and skill. Claudius had
established a College of Soothsayers in Rome. They ranked
lower than the Augurs.
[379] At Ostia.
[380] Their names would suggest prosperity and success, e. g.
Salvius, Victor, Valerius, and they would carry branches of
oak, laurel, myrtle, or beech.
[381] This too was 'lucky' and a common ritualistic
requirement.
[382] The 'holy water' must come from certain streams of
special sanctity, such as the Tiber or its tributary, the
Almo. The water would be sprinkled from the 'lucky' branches.
[383] To the god Mars.
THE LOSS OF GERMANY
Meanwhile,[384] the news of Vitellius' death had spread through 54
Gaul and Germany and redoubled the vigour of the war. Civilis now
dropped all pretence and hurled himself upon the Roman Empire. The
Vitellian legions felt that even foreign slavery was preferable to
owning Vespasian's sovereignty. The Gauls too had taken heart. A
rumour had been spread that our winter camps in Moesia and Pannonia
were being blockaded by Sarmatians and Dacians:[385] similar stories
were fabricated about Britain: the Gauls began to think that the
fortune of the Roman arms was the same all the world over. But above
all, the burning of the Capitol led them to believe that the empire
was coming to an end. 'Once in old days the Gauls had captured Rome,
but her empire had stood firm since Jupiter's high-place was left
unscathed. But now, so the Druids[386] with superstitious folly kept
dinning into their ears, this fatal fire was a sign of Heaven's anger,
and meant that the Transalpine tribes were destined now to rule the
world. ' It was also persistently rumoured that the Gallic chieftains,
whom Otho had sent to work against Vitellius,[387] had agreed, before
they parted, that if Rome sank under its internal troubles in an
unbroken sequence of civil wars, they would not fail the cause of the
Gallic freedom.
Previous to the murder of Hordeonius Flaccus[388] nothing had 55
leaked out to arouse suspicions of a conspiracy, but when he had been
assassinated, negotiations passed between Civilis and Classicus,[389]
who commanded the Treviran cavalry. Classicus was far above the rest
both in birth and in wealth. He came of royal line and his stock was
famous both in peace and war. It was his boast that his family had
given Rome more enemies than allies. These two were now joined by
Julius Tutor and Julius Sabinus, the one a Treviran, the other a
Lingonian. Tutor had been appointed by Vitellius to watch the bank of
the Rhine. [390] Sabinus' natural vanity was further inflamed by
spurious pretensions of high birth, for he alleged that his
great-grandmother's beauty had caught the fancy of Julius Caesar
during the campaign in Gaul, and that they had committed adultery.
These four tested the temper of the rest in private interviews, and
having bound to the conspiracy those who were considered fit, they
held a conference at Cologne in a private house, the general feeling
in the city being hostile to such plans as theirs. A few of the Ubii
and Tungri, indeed, attended, but the Treviri and Lingonians were the
backbone of the conspiracy. Nor would they tolerate deliberation or
delay. They vied with each other in protesting that Rome was
distracted by internal quarrels; legions had been cut to pieces, Italy
devastated, the city was on the point of being taken, while all her
armies were occupied with wars of their own in different quarters.
They need only garrison the Alps and then, when liberty had taken firm
root, they could discuss together what limit each tribe should set to
its exercise of power.
All this was no sooner spoken than applauded. About the remnant of 56
Vitellius' army they were in some doubt. Many held that they ought to
be killed as being treacherous and insubordinate and stained with the
blood of their generals. However, the idea of sparing them carried the
day. To destroy all hope of pardon would only steel their obstinacy:
it was much better to seduce them into alliance: only the generals
need be killed; a guilty conscience and the hope of pardon would soon
bring the rest flocking over to their flag. Such was the tenor of
their first meeting. Agitators were sent all over Gaul to stir up war.
The conspirators themselves feigned loyalty to Vocula, hoping to catch
him off his guard. [391] There were, indeed, traitors who reported all
this to Vocula, but he was not strong enough to crush the conspiracy,
his legions being short-handed and unreliable. Between suspected
troops on one side and secret enemies on the other, it seemed his best
course under the circumstances to dissemble, as they were doing, and
thus use their own weapons against them. So he marched down the river
to Cologne. There he found Claudius Labeo, who after being taken
prisoner, as described above,[392] and relegated to the Frisii, had
bribed his guards and escaped to Cologne. He promised that if Vocula
would provide him with troops, he would go to the Batavi and win back
the better part of their community to the Roman alliance. He was given
a small force of horse and foot. Without venturing any attempt upon
the Batavi, he attracted a few of the Nervii and Baetasii[393] to his
standard, and proceeded to harass the Canninefates and Marsaci[393]
more by stealth than open warfare.
Lured by the treachery of the Gauls, Vocula marched out against 57
his enemy. [394] Not far from Vetera, Classicus and Tutor rode
forward[395] on a pretext of scouting, and ratified their compact
with the German leaders. They were now for the first time separated
from the legions, and entrenched themselves in a camp of their own. At
this, Vocula loudly protested that Rome was not as yet so shattered by
civil war as to earn the contempt of tribes like the Treviri and
Lingones. She could still rely on loyal provinces and victorious
armies, on the good fortune of the empire and the avenging hand of
God. Thus it was that in former days Sacrovir and the Aedui,[396] more
lately Vindex and the Gallic provinces had each been crushed at a
single battle. Now, again, these treaty-breakers must expect to face
the same powers of Providence and Destiny. The sainted Julius and the
sainted Augustus had understood these people better: it was Galba's
reduction of the tribute[397] that had clothed them in enmity and
pride. 'They are our enemies to-day because their yoke is easy: when
they have been stripped and plundered they will be our friends. ' After
these spirited words, seeing that Classicus and Tutor still persisted
in their treachery, he turned back and retired to Novaesium, while the
Gauls encamped a couple of miles away. Thither the centurions and
soldiers flocked to sell their souls. This was, indeed, an unheard of
villainy that Roman soldiers should swear allegiance to a foreign
power, and offer as a pledge for this heinous crime either to kill or
imprison their generals. Though many urged Vocula to escape, he felt
that he must make a bold stand, so he summoned a meeting and spoke
somewhat as follows:--'Never before have I addressed you with such 58
feelings of anxiety for you, or with such indifference to my own fate.
That plans are being laid for my destruction I am glad enough to hear:
in such a parlous case as this I look for death as the end of all my
troubles. It is for you that I feel shame and pity. It is not that a
field of battle awaits you, for that would only accord with the laws
of warfare and the just rights of combatants, but because Classicus
hopes that with your hands he can make war upon the Roman people, and
flourishes before you an oath of allegiance to the Empire of All Gaul.
What though fortune and courage have deserted us for the moment, have
we not glorious examples in the past? How often have not Roman
soldiers chosen to die rather than be driven from their post? Often
have our allies endured the destruction of their cities and given
themselves and their wives and children to the flames, without any
other reward for such an end save the name of honourable men. At this
very moment Roman troops are enduring famine and siege at Vetera, and
neither threats nor promises can move them, while we, besides arms and
men and fine fortifications, have supplies enough to last through any
length of war. Money, too--the other day there was enough even for a
donative, and whether you choose to say that it was given you by
Vespasian or by Vitellius, at any rate you got it from a Roman
Emperor. After all the engagements you have won, after routing the
enemy at Gelduba, at Vetera, it would be shameful enough to shirk
battle, but you have your trenches and your walls, and there are ways
of gaining time until armies come flocking from the neighbouring
provinces to your rescue. Granted that you dislike me; well, there are
others to lead you, whether legate, tribune, centurion, and even
private soldier. But do not let this portent be trumpeted over the
whole world, that Civilis and Classicus are going to invade Italy with
you in their train. Suppose the Germans and Gauls lead the way to the
walls of Rome, will you turn your arms upon your fatherland? The mere
thought of such a crime is horrible. Will you stand sentry for the
Treviran Tutor? Shall a Batavian give you the signal for battle? Will
you swell the ranks of German hordes? And what will be the issue of
your crime, when the Roman legions take the field against you?
Desertion upon desertion, treachery upon treachery! You will be
drifting miserably between the old allegiance and the new, with the
curse of Heaven on your heads. Almighty Jupiter, whom we have
worshipped at triumph after triumph for eight hundred and twenty
years; and Quirinus, Father of our Rome, if it be not your pleasure
that under my command this camp be kept clean from the stain of
dishonour, grant at the least, I humbly beseech ye, that it never be
defiled with the pollution of a Tutor or a Classicus; and to these
soldiers of Rome give either innocence of heart or a speedy repentance
before the harm is done. '
The speech was variously received, with feelings fluctuating 59
between hope, fear, and shame. Vocula withdrew and began to prepare
for his end, but his freedmen and slaves prevented him from
forestalling by his own hand a dreadful death. As it was, Classicus
dispatched Aemilius Longinus, a deserter from the First legion, who
quickly murdered him. For Herennius and Numisius imprisonment was
thought sufficient. Classicus then assumed the uniform and insignia of
a Roman general, and thus entered the camp. Hardened though he was to
every kind of crime, words failed him,[398] and he could only read out
the oath. Those who were present swore allegiance to the Empire of All
Gaul. He then gave high promotion to Vocula's assassin, and rewarded
the others each according to the villainy of his service.
The command was now divided between Tutor and Classicus. Tutor at the
head of a strong force besieged Cologne and forced the inhabitants and
all the soldiers on the Upper Rhine to take the same oath of
allegiance. At Mainz he killed the officers and drove away the
camp-prefect, who had refused to swear. Classicus ordered all the
greatest scoundrels among the deserters to go to Vetera and offer
pardon to the besieged if they would yield to circumstances: otherwise
there was no hope for them: they should suffer famine and sword and
every extremity. The messengers further cited their own example.
Torn by a conflict of loyalty and hunger, the besieged vacillated 60
between honour and disgrace. While they hesitated, all their sources
of food, both usual and unusual, began to fail them. They had eaten
their mules and horses and all the other animals which, though foul
and unclean, their straits had forced into use. At last they took to
grubbing up the shrubs and roots and the grass that grew between the
stones, and became a very pattern of endurance in wretchedness, until
at last they soiled their glory by a shameful end. Envoys were sent to
Civilis begging him to save their lives. Even then he refused to
receive their petition until they had sworn allegiance to All Gaul. He
then negotiated for the plunder of the camp and sent guards, some to
secure the money, servants and baggage, and others to conduct the men
themselves out of the camp with empty hands. About five miles down the
road their line was surprised by an ambush of Germans. The bravest
fell on the spot; many were cut down in flight; the rest got back to
camp. Civilis, indeed, complained that the Germans had criminally
broken faith and rebuked them for it. There is no evidence to show
whether this was a pretence or whether he was really unable to
restrain his savage troops. The camp was plundered and burnt, and all
who had survived the battle were devoured by the flames.
When Civilis first took up arms against Rome he made a vow, such 61
as is common with barbarians, to let his ruddled hair[399] grow wild;
now that he had at last accomplished the destruction of the legions he
had it cut. It is said also that he put up some of the prisoners for
his little son to shoot in sport with javelins and arrows. However
that may be, he did not himself swear allegiance to All Gaul, nor did
he force any of the Batavi to do so. He felt that he could rely on the
strength of the Germans, and that if any quarrel arose with the Gauls
about the empire, his fame would give him an advantage. Munius
Lupercus, one of the Roman commanding-officers, was sent among other
presents to Veleda, a virgin of the Bructeran tribe who wielded a
wide-spread authority. [400] It is an ancient custom in Germany to
credit a number of women with prophetic powers, and with the growth of
superstition these develop into goddesses. At this moment Veleda's
influence was at its height, for she had prophesied the success of the
Germans and the destruction of the Roman army. [401] However, Lupercus
was killed on the journey. A few of the centurions and officers who
had been born in Gaul were detained as a security for good faith. The
winter camps of the legions and of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry
were all dismantled and burnt, with the sole exception of those at
Mainz and Vindonissa. [402]
The Sixteenth legion and the auxiliary troops who had surrendered 62
with it now received orders to migrate from their quarters at
Novaesium to Trier, and a date was fixed by which they had to leave
their camp. They spent the meantime brooding on various anxieties, the
cowards all shuddering at the precedent of the massacre at Vetera, the
better sort covered with shame at their disgrace. 'What sort of a
march would this be? Whom would they have to lead them? Everything
would be decided by the will of those into whose hands they had put
their lives. ' Others, again, were quite indifferent to the disgrace,
and simply stowed all their money and most cherished possessions about
their persons, while many got their armour ready and buckled on their
swords, as if for battle. While they were still busy with these
preparations the hour struck for their departure, and it proved more
bitter than they had expected. Inside the trenches their disgrace was
not so noticeable. The open country and the light of day revealed
their depth of shame. The emperors' medallions had been torn down[403]
and their standards desecrated, while Gallic ensigns glittered all
around them. They marched in silence, like a long funeral procession,
led by Claudius Sanctus,[404] a man whose sinister appearance--he had
lost one eye--was only surpassed by his weakness of intellect. Their
disgrace was doubled when they were joined by the First legion, who
had left their camp at Bonn. The famous news of their capture had
spread, and all the people who shortly before had trembled at the very
name of Rome, now came flocking out from fields and houses, and
scattered far and wide in transports of joy at this unwonted sight.
Their insulting glee was too much for 'The Picenum Horse'. [405]
Defying all Sanctus' threats and promises, they turned off to Mainz,
and coming by chance upon Longinus, the man who killed Vocula, they
slew him with a shower of javelins and thus made a beginning of future
amends. The legions, without changing their route, came and camped
before the walls of Trier.
Highly elated by their success, Civilis and Classicus debated 63
whether they should allow their troops to sack Cologne. Their natural
savagery and lust for plunder inclined them to destroy the town, but
policy forbade; and they felt that in inaugurating a new empire a
reputation for clemency would be an asset. Civilis was also moved by
the memory of a past service, for at the beginning of the outbreak his
son had been arrested in Cologne, and they had kept him in honourable
custody. However, the tribes across the Rhine were jealous of this
rich and rising community, and held that the war could only be ended
either by throwing the settlement open to all Germans without
distinction or by destroying it and thereby dispersing the Ubii 64
together with its other inhabitants. [406] Accordingly the
Tencteri,[407] their nearest neighbours across the Rhine, dispatched a
deputation to lay a message before a public meeting of the town. This
was delivered by the haughtiest of the delegates in some such terms as
these:--'We give thanks to the national gods of Germany and above all
others, to the god of war, that you are again incorporate in the
German nation and the German name, and we congratulate you that you
will now at last become free members of a free community. Until to-day
the Romans had closed to us the roads and rivers, and almost the very
air of heaven, to prevent all intercourse between us; or else they
offered a still fouler insult to born warriors, that we should meet
under supervision, unarmed and almost naked,[408] and should pay for
the privilege. Now, that our friendly alliance may be ratified for all
eternity, we demand of you that you pull down those bulwarks of
slavery, the walls of your town, for even wild beasts lose their
spirit if you keep them caged: that you put to the sword every Roman
on your soil, since tyrants are incompatible with freedom; that all
the property of those killed form a common stock and no one be
allowed to conceal anything or to secure any private advantage. It
must also be open both for us and for you to live on either
river-bank, as our forefathers could in earlier days. As daylight is
the natural heritage of all mankind, so the land of the world is free
to all brave men. Resume again the customs and manners of your own
country and throw off those luxurious habits which enslave Rome's
subjects far more effectively than Roman arms. Then, grown simple and
uncorrupt, you will forget your past slavery and either know none but
equals or hold empire over others. '
The townspeople took time to consider these proposals, and, 65
feeling that their apprehensions for the future forbade them to
assent, while their present circumstances forbade them to return a
plain negative, they answered as follows: 'We have seized our first
opportunity of freedom with more haste than prudence, because we
wanted to join hands with you and all our other German kinsmen.
As for
our town-walls, seeing that the Roman armies are massing at this
moment, it would be safer for us to heighten them than to pull them
down. All the foreigners from Italy or the provinces who lived on our
soil have either perished in the war or fled to their own homes. As
for the original settlers[409], who are united to us by ties of
marriage, they and their offspring regard this as their home, and we
do not think you are so unreasonable as to ask us to kill our parents
and brothers and children. All taxes and commercial restrictions we
remit. We grant you free entry without supervision, but you must come
in daylight and unarmed, while these ties which are still strange and
new are growing into a long-established custom. As arbitrators we will
appoint Civilis and Veleda, and we will ratify our compact in their
presence. '
Thus the Tencteri were pacified. A deputation was sent with presents
to Civilis and Veleda, and obtained all that the people of Cologne
desired. They were not, however, allowed to approach and speak to
Veleda or even to see her, but were kept at a distance to inspire in
them the greater awe. She herself lived at the top of a high tower,
and one of her relatives was appointed to carry all the questions and
answers like a mediator between God and man.
Now that he had gained the accession of Cologne, Civilis 66
determined to win over the neighbouring communities or to declare war
in case of opposition. He reduced the Sunuci[410] and formed their
fighting strength into cohorts, but then found his advance barred by
Claudius Labeo[411] at the head of a hastily-recruited band of
Baetasii, Tungri, and Nervii. [411] He had secured the bridge over the
Maas and relied on the strength of his position. A skirmish in the
narrow defile proved indecisive, until the Germans swam across and
took Labeo in the rear. At this point Civilis by a bold move--or
possibly by arrangement--rode into the lines of the Tungri and called
out in a loud voice, 'Our object in taking up arms is not to secure
empire for the Batavi and Treviri over other tribes. We are far from
any such arrogance. Take us as allies. I am come to join you; whether
as general or as private it is for you to choose. ' This had a great
effect on the common soldiers, who began to sheathe their swords. Then
two of their chieftains, Campanus and Juvenalis, surrendered the
entire tribe. Labeo escaped before he was surrounded. Civilis also
received the allegiance of the Baetasii and Nervii, and added their
forces to his own. His power was now immense, for all the Gallic
communities were either terrified or ready to offer willing support.
In the meantime, Julius Sabinus,[412] who had destroyed every 67
memorial of the Roman alliance,[413] assumed the title of Caesar and
proceeded to hurry a large unwieldy horde of his tribesmen against the
Sequani,[414] a neighbouring community, faithful to Rome. The Sequani
accepted battle: the good cause prospered: the Lingones were routed.
Sabinus fled the field with the same rash haste with which he had
plunged into battle. Wishing to spread a rumour of his death, he took
refuge in a house and set fire to it, and was thus supposed to have
perished by his own act. We shall, however, relate in due course the
devices by which he lay in hiding and prolonged his life for nine
more years, and allude also to the loyalty of his friends and the
memorable example set by his wife Epponina. [415]
FOOTNOTES:
[384] Tacitus here resumes the thread of his narrative of the
rebellion on the Rhine, interrupted at the end of chap. 37,
and goes back from July to January, A. D. 70.
[385] Cp. iii. 46.
[386] The danger of Druidism was always before the eyes of the
emperors. Augustus had forbidden Roman citizens to adopt it.
Claudius had tried to stamp it out in Gaul and in Britain, yet
they appear again here to preach a fanatic nationalism.
However, this seems to be their last appearance as leaders of
revolt.
[387] Probably they were in Rome, and were sent back to their
homes to intrigue against Vitellius' rising power.
[388] See chap. 36.
[389] Cp. ii. 14.
[390] i. e. he was to prevent any incursions from Germany along
the frontier of his canton, between Bingen and Coblenz.
[391] At Mainz.
[392] Chap. 18.
[393] These tribes lived between the Maas and the Scheldt, and
the Marsaci were round the mouth of the Scheldt.
[394] Civilis, again besieging Vetera (chap. 36).
[395] i. e. from the rest of Vocula's force, which they had not
yet deserted.
[396] The Aedui, one of the most powerful of the Gallic
tribes, living between the Saône and the Loire had revolted in
A. D. 21, and held out for a short time at their chief town
(Autun).
[397] This had only been granted to a few tribes who had
helped in crushing Vindex (see i. 8 and 51). The Treviri and
Lingones had been punished. But it is a good rhetorical point.
[398] His presumption took away his breath.
[399] i. e. artificially reddened according to a Gallic custom.
[400] Cp. chap. 69.
[401] Under Vespasian she inspired another rebellion and was
brought as a captive to Rome, where she aroused much polite
curiosity.
[402] Windisch.
[403] From the standards.
[404] Claudius the Holy; lucus a non lucendo.
[405] An auxiliary squadron of Italian horse, originally
raised, we may suppose, by a provincial governor who was a
native of Picenum.
[406] The Ubii were distrusted as having taken the name
Agrippinenses and become in some degree Romanized. The town
was strongly walled, and Germans from outside only admitted on
payment and under Roman supervision.
[407] See chap. 21.
[408] Not, of course, to be taken literally. 'The Germans do
no business public or private except in full armour,' says
Tacitus in the _Germania_. So to them 'unarmed' meant
'unclothed'.
[409] i. e. the veterans whom Agrippina had sent out to her
birthplace in A. D. 50.
[410] West of the Ubii, between the Roer and the Maas.
[411] See chap. 56.
[412] Cp. chap. 55.
[413] e. g. the inscriptions recording the terms of alliance
granted to the Lingones by Rome.
[414] Round Vesontio (Besançon).
[415] The story, which Tacitus presumably told in the lost
part of his _History_, dealing with the end of Vespasian's
reign, is mentioned both by Plutarch and Dio. Sabinus and his
wife lived for nine years in an underground cave, where two
sons were born to them. They were eventually discovered and
executed.
THE EBB-TIDE OF REVOLT
This success on the part of the Sequani checked the rising flood. The
Gallic communities gradually came to their senses and began to
remember their obligations as allies. In this movement the Remi[416]
took the lead. They circulated a notice throughout Gaul, summoning a
meeting of delegates to consider whether liberty or peace was the
preferable alternative. At Rome, however, all these disasters were 68
exaggerated, and Mucianus began to feel anxious. He had already
appointed Annius Gallus and Petilius Cerialis to the chief command,
and distinguished officers as they were, he was afraid the conduct of
such a war might be too much for them. Moreover, he could not leave
Rome without government, but he was afraid of Domitian's unbridled
passions, while, as we have already seen,[417] he suspected Antonius
Primus and Arrius Varus. Varus, as commanding the Guards, still had
the chief power and influence in his hands. Mucianus accordingly
displaced him, but, as a compensation, made him Director of the
Corn-supply. As he had also to placate Domitian, who was inclined to
support Varus, he appointed to the command of the Guards Arrecinus
Clemens, who was connected with Vespasian's family[418] and very
friendly with Domitian. He also impressed it upon Domitian that
Clemens' father had filled this command with great distinction under
Caligula: that his name and his character would both find favour with
the troops, and that, although he was a member of the senate,[419] he
was quite able to fill both positions. He then chose his staff, some
as being the most eminent men in the country, others as recommended by
private influence.
Thus both Domitian and Mucianus made ready to start, but with very
different feelings. Domitian was full of the sanguine haste of youth,
while Mucianus kept devising delays to check this enthusiasm. He was
afraid that if Domitian once seized control of an army, his youthful
self-assurance and his bad advisers would lead him into action
prejudicial both to peace and war. Three victorious legions, the
Eighth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth;[420] the Twenty-first--one of
Vitellius' legions--and the Second, which had been newly enrolled, all
started for the front, some by way of the Poenine and Cottian[421]
Alps, others over the Graian Alps. [422] The Fourteenth was also
summoned from Britain, and the Sixth and First from Spain.
The rumour that this force was on its way, combined with the present
temper of the Gauls, inclined them to adopt a sober policy. Their
delegates now met in the territory of the Remi, where they found the
representatives of the Treviri awaiting them. One of these, Julius
Valentinus, who was the keenest instigator of a hostile policy,
delivered a set speech, in which he heaped spiteful aspersions on the
Roman people, making all the charges which are usually brought against
great empires. He was a clever agitator, whose mad rhetoric made him
popular with the crowd. However, Julius Auspex, a chieftain of the 69
Remi, enlarged upon the power of Rome and the blessings of peace. 'Any
coward can begin a war,' he said, 'but it is the brave who run the
risks of its conduct: and here are the legions already upon us. ' Thus
he restrained them, awakening a sense of duty in all the sager
breasts, and appealing to the fears of the younger men. So, while
applauding Valentinus' courage, they followed the advice of Auspex.
The fact that in Vindex's rising the Treviri and Lingones sided with
Verginius is known to have told against them in Gaul. Many, too, were
held back by tribal jealousy. They wanted to know where the
head-quarters of the war would be, to whom were they to look for
auspices and orders, and, if all went well, which town would be chosen
as the seat of government. Thus dissension preceded victory. They
angrily magnified, some their great connexions, others their wealth
and strength, others their antiquity, until they grew tired of
discussing the future and voted for the existing state of things.
Letters were written to the Treviri in the name of All Gaul, bidding
them cease hostilities, suggesting, however, that pardon might be
obtained, and that many were ready to plead their cause if they showed
repentance. Valentinus opposed this mandate and made his tribesmen
offer a deaf ear to it. He was always less anxious to organize a
campaign than to make speeches on every possible occasion.
The result was that neither the Treviri nor the Lingones nor the 70
other rebel tribes behaved as if aware of the serious risks they were
undertaking. Even the leaders did not act in concert. Civilis wandered
over the wilds of the Belgic country, trying to catch or expel
Claudius Labeo. Classicus ordinarily took his ease, apparently
enjoying the fruits of empire. Even Tutor seemed in no hurry to
garrison the Upper Rhine and block the Alpine passes. In the meantime,
the Twenty-first legion made its way down from Vindonissa, while
Sextilius Felix[423] advanced through Raetia with some auxiliary
cohorts. These were joined by the 'Picked Horse',[424] a force that
had been raised by Vitellius and then deserted to Vespasian. This was
commanded by Civilis' nephew, Julius Briganticus,[425] for uncle and
nephew hated each other with all the aggravated bitterness of near
relatives. Tutor swelled his force of Treviri with fresh levies from
the Vangiones, Triboci, and Caeracates,[426] and a stiffening of Roman
veterans, both horse and foot, who had either been bribed or
intimidated. These first cut up an auxiliary cohort sent forward by
Sextilius Felix, but on the advance of the Roman army with its
generals they loyally deserted to their old flag, and were followed by
the Triboci, Vangiones, and Caeracates. Tutor, followed by his
Treviri, avoided Mainz and fell back on Bingium,[427] relying on his
position there, as he had broken down the bridge over the river Nava.
However, Sextilius' cohorts followed him up; some traitor showed them
a ford; Tutor was routed. This disaster was a crushing blow to the
Treviri. The rank and file dropped their weapons and took to the
fields, while some of their chieftains, hoping it might be thought
that they had been the first to lay down arms, took refuge among
tribes who had never repudiated the Roman alliance. The legions which
had been moved, as we saw above,[428] from Novaesium and Bonn to
Trier, now administered to themselves the oath of allegiance to
Vespasian. This happened in Valentinus' absence. When he arrived in
furious excitement, ready to spread universal ruin and confusion, the
legions withdrew into the friendly territory of the Mediomatrici. [429]
Valentinus and Tutor then led the Treviri forcibly back into the
field, but first they killed the two Roman officers, Herennius and
Numisius. [430] By diminishing the hope of pardon they tried to cement
their bond of crime.
Such was the position when Petilius Cerialis reached Mainz. His 71
arrival roused high hopes. He was himself thirsting for battle, and
being always better at despising his enemy than at taking precautions,
he fired his men by delivering a spirited harangue, promising that
directly there was a chance of getting into touch with the enemy he
would engage without delay. He dismissed the Gallic recruits to their
homes with a message that the legions were enough for his task: the
allies could resume their peaceful occupations, feeling assured that
the war was practically ended, now that Roman troops had taken it in
hand. This action rendered the Gauls all the more tractable. They made
less difficulty about the war-tax, now that they had got their men
back again, while his disdain only sharpened their sense of duty. On
the other side, when Civilis and Classicus heard of Tutor's defeat,
the destruction of the Treviri, and the universal success of the Roman
arms, they fell into a panic, hastily mobilized their own scattered
forces, and kept sending messages to Valentinus not to risk a decisive
battle. This only hastened Cerialis' movements. He sent guides to the
legions stationed in the country of the Mediomatrici to lead them by
the shortest route on the enemy's rear. Then, assembling all the
troops to be found in Mainz[431] together with his own force, he
marched in three days to Rigodulum. [432] Here, on a spot protected by
the mountains on one side and the Moselle on the other, Valentinus had
already taken his stand with a large force of Treviri. His camp had
been strengthened with trenches and stone barricades, but these
fortifications had no terrors for the Roman general. He ordered the
infantry to force the position in front, while the cavalry were to
ascend the hill. Valentinus' hurriedly assembled forces filled him
with contempt, for he knew that whatever advantage their position
might give them, the superior morale of his men would outweigh it. A
short delay was necessary while the cavalry climbed the hill, exposed
to the enemy's fire. But when the fight began, the Treviri tumbled
headlong down the hill like a house falling. Some of our cavalry, who
had ridden round by an easier gradient, captured several Belgic
chieftains, including their general, Valentinus.
On the next day Cerialis entered Trier. The troops clamoured 72
greedily for its destruction. 'It was the native town of Classicus and
of Tutor: these were the men who had wickedly entrapped and
slaughtered the legions. Its guilt was far worse than that of Cremona,
which had been wiped off the face of Italy for causing the victors a
single night's delay. Was the chief seat of the rebellion to be left
standing untouched on the German frontier, glorying in the spoil of
Roman armies and the blood of Roman generals? [433] The plunder could
go to the Imperial Treasury. It would be enough for them to see the
rebel town in smoking ruins; that would be some compensation for the
destruction of so many camps. ' Cerialis was afraid of soiling his
reputation if it was said that he gave his men a taste for cruelty and
riot, so he suppressed their indignation. They obeyed him, too, for
now that civil war was done with, there was less insubordination on
foreign service. Their thoughts were now distracted by the pitiful
plight of the legions who had been summoned from the country of the
Mediomatrici. [434] Miserably conscious of their guilt, they stood with
eyes rooted to the ground. When the armies met, they raised no cheer:
they had no answer for those who offered comfort and encouragement:
they skulked in their tents, shunning the light of day. It was not
fear of punishment so much as the shame of their disgrace which thus
overwhelmed them. Even the victorious army showed their bewilderment:
hardly venturing to make an audible petition, they craved pardon for
them with silent tears. At length Cerialis soothed their alarm. He
insisted that all disasters due to dissension between officers and
men, or to the enemy's guile, were to be regarded as 'acts of
destiny'. They were to count this as their first day of service and
sworn allegiance. [435] Neither he nor the emperor would remember past
misdeeds. He then gave them quarters in his own camp, and sent round
orders that no one in the heat of any quarrel should taunt a fellow
soldier with mutiny or defeat.
Cerialis next summoned the Treviri and Lingones, and addressed 73
them as follows: 'Unpractised as I am in public speaking, for it is
only on the field that I have asserted the superiority of Rome, yet
since words have so much weight with you, and since you distinguish
good and bad not by the light of facts but by what agitators tell you,
I have decided to make a few remarks, which, as the war is practically
over, are likely to be more profitable to the audience than to
ourselves. Roman generals and officers originally set foot in your
country and the rest of Gaul from no motives of ambition, but at the
call of your ancestors, who were worn almost to ruin by dissension.
The Germans whom one party summoned to their aid had forced the yoke
of slavery on allies and enemies alike. You know how often we fought
against the Cimbri and the Teutons, with what infinite pains and with
what striking success our armies have undertaken German wars. All that
is notorious. And to-day it is not to protect Italy that we have
occupied the Rhine, but to prevent some second Ariovistus making
himself master of All Gaul. [436] Do you imagine that Civilis and his
Batavi and the other tribes across the Rhine care any more about you
than their ancestors cared about your fathers and grandfathers? The
Germans have always had the same motives for trespassing into
Gaul--their greed for gain and their desire to change homes with you.
They wanted to leave their marshes and deserts, and to make themselves
masters of this magnificently fertile soil and of you who live on it.
Of course they use specious pretexts and talk about liberty. No one
has ever wanted to enslave others and play the tyrant without making
use of the very same phrases.
'Tyranny and warfare were always rife throughout the length and 74
breadth of Gaul, until you accepted Roman government.
Crassus and Orfitus.
[354] Nero.
[355] He had recited some libellous verses on Nero and been
condemned for treason.
[356] Cp. ii. 67.
[357] i. e. those who had surrendered at Narnia and Bovillae,
as distinct from those who had been discharged after Galba's
death.
[358] Chap. 2.
[359] i. e. those who were either over fifty or had served in
the Guards sixteen or in a legion twenty years.
[360] See iii. 74.
[361] See chap. 38.
[362] Africa was peculiar in that the pro-consul, who governed
it for the senate, commanded an army. All the other provinces
demanding military protection were under imperial control.
Caligula, without withdrawing the province from the senate, in
some degree regularized the anomaly by transferring this
command to a 'legate' of his own, technically inferior to the
civil governor.
[363] Whereas the pro-consul's appointment was for one year
only, the emperor's legate retained his post at the emperor's
pleasure, and was usually given several years.
[364] Cp. ii. 98.
[365] See i. 70.
[366] See chap. 11.
[367] i. e. he hoped that Piso would accept the story with
alacrity and thus commit himself.
[368] Cp. i. 7.
[369] Under Domitian he became one of the most notorious and
dreaded of informers. His name doubtless recurred in the lost
books of the Histories. But the only other extant mention of
him by Tacitus is in the life of Agricola (chap. 45).
[370] On the coast between Carthage and Thapsus.
[371] Tripoli and Lebda.
[372] Further inland; probably the modern Fezzan.
[373] Vespasian was still at Alexandria.
[374] Cp. ii. 82, note 410.
[375] Cp. ii. 4 and Book V.
[376] It had been Vespasian's original plan to starve Rome out
by holding the granaries of Egypt and Africa. See iii. 48.
[377] Cp. iii. 71.
[378] Probably from Etruria, where certain families were
credited with the requisite knowledge and skill. Claudius had
established a College of Soothsayers in Rome. They ranked
lower than the Augurs.
[379] At Ostia.
[380] Their names would suggest prosperity and success, e. g.
Salvius, Victor, Valerius, and they would carry branches of
oak, laurel, myrtle, or beech.
[381] This too was 'lucky' and a common ritualistic
requirement.
[382] The 'holy water' must come from certain streams of
special sanctity, such as the Tiber or its tributary, the
Almo. The water would be sprinkled from the 'lucky' branches.
[383] To the god Mars.
THE LOSS OF GERMANY
Meanwhile,[384] the news of Vitellius' death had spread through 54
Gaul and Germany and redoubled the vigour of the war. Civilis now
dropped all pretence and hurled himself upon the Roman Empire. The
Vitellian legions felt that even foreign slavery was preferable to
owning Vespasian's sovereignty. The Gauls too had taken heart. A
rumour had been spread that our winter camps in Moesia and Pannonia
were being blockaded by Sarmatians and Dacians:[385] similar stories
were fabricated about Britain: the Gauls began to think that the
fortune of the Roman arms was the same all the world over. But above
all, the burning of the Capitol led them to believe that the empire
was coming to an end. 'Once in old days the Gauls had captured Rome,
but her empire had stood firm since Jupiter's high-place was left
unscathed. But now, so the Druids[386] with superstitious folly kept
dinning into their ears, this fatal fire was a sign of Heaven's anger,
and meant that the Transalpine tribes were destined now to rule the
world. ' It was also persistently rumoured that the Gallic chieftains,
whom Otho had sent to work against Vitellius,[387] had agreed, before
they parted, that if Rome sank under its internal troubles in an
unbroken sequence of civil wars, they would not fail the cause of the
Gallic freedom.
Previous to the murder of Hordeonius Flaccus[388] nothing had 55
leaked out to arouse suspicions of a conspiracy, but when he had been
assassinated, negotiations passed between Civilis and Classicus,[389]
who commanded the Treviran cavalry. Classicus was far above the rest
both in birth and in wealth. He came of royal line and his stock was
famous both in peace and war. It was his boast that his family had
given Rome more enemies than allies. These two were now joined by
Julius Tutor and Julius Sabinus, the one a Treviran, the other a
Lingonian. Tutor had been appointed by Vitellius to watch the bank of
the Rhine. [390] Sabinus' natural vanity was further inflamed by
spurious pretensions of high birth, for he alleged that his
great-grandmother's beauty had caught the fancy of Julius Caesar
during the campaign in Gaul, and that they had committed adultery.
These four tested the temper of the rest in private interviews, and
having bound to the conspiracy those who were considered fit, they
held a conference at Cologne in a private house, the general feeling
in the city being hostile to such plans as theirs. A few of the Ubii
and Tungri, indeed, attended, but the Treviri and Lingonians were the
backbone of the conspiracy. Nor would they tolerate deliberation or
delay. They vied with each other in protesting that Rome was
distracted by internal quarrels; legions had been cut to pieces, Italy
devastated, the city was on the point of being taken, while all her
armies were occupied with wars of their own in different quarters.
They need only garrison the Alps and then, when liberty had taken firm
root, they could discuss together what limit each tribe should set to
its exercise of power.
All this was no sooner spoken than applauded. About the remnant of 56
Vitellius' army they were in some doubt. Many held that they ought to
be killed as being treacherous and insubordinate and stained with the
blood of their generals. However, the idea of sparing them carried the
day. To destroy all hope of pardon would only steel their obstinacy:
it was much better to seduce them into alliance: only the generals
need be killed; a guilty conscience and the hope of pardon would soon
bring the rest flocking over to their flag. Such was the tenor of
their first meeting. Agitators were sent all over Gaul to stir up war.
The conspirators themselves feigned loyalty to Vocula, hoping to catch
him off his guard. [391] There were, indeed, traitors who reported all
this to Vocula, but he was not strong enough to crush the conspiracy,
his legions being short-handed and unreliable. Between suspected
troops on one side and secret enemies on the other, it seemed his best
course under the circumstances to dissemble, as they were doing, and
thus use their own weapons against them. So he marched down the river
to Cologne. There he found Claudius Labeo, who after being taken
prisoner, as described above,[392] and relegated to the Frisii, had
bribed his guards and escaped to Cologne. He promised that if Vocula
would provide him with troops, he would go to the Batavi and win back
the better part of their community to the Roman alliance. He was given
a small force of horse and foot. Without venturing any attempt upon
the Batavi, he attracted a few of the Nervii and Baetasii[393] to his
standard, and proceeded to harass the Canninefates and Marsaci[393]
more by stealth than open warfare.
Lured by the treachery of the Gauls, Vocula marched out against 57
his enemy. [394] Not far from Vetera, Classicus and Tutor rode
forward[395] on a pretext of scouting, and ratified their compact
with the German leaders. They were now for the first time separated
from the legions, and entrenched themselves in a camp of their own. At
this, Vocula loudly protested that Rome was not as yet so shattered by
civil war as to earn the contempt of tribes like the Treviri and
Lingones. She could still rely on loyal provinces and victorious
armies, on the good fortune of the empire and the avenging hand of
God. Thus it was that in former days Sacrovir and the Aedui,[396] more
lately Vindex and the Gallic provinces had each been crushed at a
single battle. Now, again, these treaty-breakers must expect to face
the same powers of Providence and Destiny. The sainted Julius and the
sainted Augustus had understood these people better: it was Galba's
reduction of the tribute[397] that had clothed them in enmity and
pride. 'They are our enemies to-day because their yoke is easy: when
they have been stripped and plundered they will be our friends. ' After
these spirited words, seeing that Classicus and Tutor still persisted
in their treachery, he turned back and retired to Novaesium, while the
Gauls encamped a couple of miles away. Thither the centurions and
soldiers flocked to sell their souls. This was, indeed, an unheard of
villainy that Roman soldiers should swear allegiance to a foreign
power, and offer as a pledge for this heinous crime either to kill or
imprison their generals. Though many urged Vocula to escape, he felt
that he must make a bold stand, so he summoned a meeting and spoke
somewhat as follows:--'Never before have I addressed you with such 58
feelings of anxiety for you, or with such indifference to my own fate.
That plans are being laid for my destruction I am glad enough to hear:
in such a parlous case as this I look for death as the end of all my
troubles. It is for you that I feel shame and pity. It is not that a
field of battle awaits you, for that would only accord with the laws
of warfare and the just rights of combatants, but because Classicus
hopes that with your hands he can make war upon the Roman people, and
flourishes before you an oath of allegiance to the Empire of All Gaul.
What though fortune and courage have deserted us for the moment, have
we not glorious examples in the past? How often have not Roman
soldiers chosen to die rather than be driven from their post? Often
have our allies endured the destruction of their cities and given
themselves and their wives and children to the flames, without any
other reward for such an end save the name of honourable men. At this
very moment Roman troops are enduring famine and siege at Vetera, and
neither threats nor promises can move them, while we, besides arms and
men and fine fortifications, have supplies enough to last through any
length of war. Money, too--the other day there was enough even for a
donative, and whether you choose to say that it was given you by
Vespasian or by Vitellius, at any rate you got it from a Roman
Emperor. After all the engagements you have won, after routing the
enemy at Gelduba, at Vetera, it would be shameful enough to shirk
battle, but you have your trenches and your walls, and there are ways
of gaining time until armies come flocking from the neighbouring
provinces to your rescue. Granted that you dislike me; well, there are
others to lead you, whether legate, tribune, centurion, and even
private soldier. But do not let this portent be trumpeted over the
whole world, that Civilis and Classicus are going to invade Italy with
you in their train. Suppose the Germans and Gauls lead the way to the
walls of Rome, will you turn your arms upon your fatherland? The mere
thought of such a crime is horrible. Will you stand sentry for the
Treviran Tutor? Shall a Batavian give you the signal for battle? Will
you swell the ranks of German hordes? And what will be the issue of
your crime, when the Roman legions take the field against you?
Desertion upon desertion, treachery upon treachery! You will be
drifting miserably between the old allegiance and the new, with the
curse of Heaven on your heads. Almighty Jupiter, whom we have
worshipped at triumph after triumph for eight hundred and twenty
years; and Quirinus, Father of our Rome, if it be not your pleasure
that under my command this camp be kept clean from the stain of
dishonour, grant at the least, I humbly beseech ye, that it never be
defiled with the pollution of a Tutor or a Classicus; and to these
soldiers of Rome give either innocence of heart or a speedy repentance
before the harm is done. '
The speech was variously received, with feelings fluctuating 59
between hope, fear, and shame. Vocula withdrew and began to prepare
for his end, but his freedmen and slaves prevented him from
forestalling by his own hand a dreadful death. As it was, Classicus
dispatched Aemilius Longinus, a deserter from the First legion, who
quickly murdered him. For Herennius and Numisius imprisonment was
thought sufficient. Classicus then assumed the uniform and insignia of
a Roman general, and thus entered the camp. Hardened though he was to
every kind of crime, words failed him,[398] and he could only read out
the oath. Those who were present swore allegiance to the Empire of All
Gaul. He then gave high promotion to Vocula's assassin, and rewarded
the others each according to the villainy of his service.
The command was now divided between Tutor and Classicus. Tutor at the
head of a strong force besieged Cologne and forced the inhabitants and
all the soldiers on the Upper Rhine to take the same oath of
allegiance. At Mainz he killed the officers and drove away the
camp-prefect, who had refused to swear. Classicus ordered all the
greatest scoundrels among the deserters to go to Vetera and offer
pardon to the besieged if they would yield to circumstances: otherwise
there was no hope for them: they should suffer famine and sword and
every extremity. The messengers further cited their own example.
Torn by a conflict of loyalty and hunger, the besieged vacillated 60
between honour and disgrace. While they hesitated, all their sources
of food, both usual and unusual, began to fail them. They had eaten
their mules and horses and all the other animals which, though foul
and unclean, their straits had forced into use. At last they took to
grubbing up the shrubs and roots and the grass that grew between the
stones, and became a very pattern of endurance in wretchedness, until
at last they soiled their glory by a shameful end. Envoys were sent to
Civilis begging him to save their lives. Even then he refused to
receive their petition until they had sworn allegiance to All Gaul. He
then negotiated for the plunder of the camp and sent guards, some to
secure the money, servants and baggage, and others to conduct the men
themselves out of the camp with empty hands. About five miles down the
road their line was surprised by an ambush of Germans. The bravest
fell on the spot; many were cut down in flight; the rest got back to
camp. Civilis, indeed, complained that the Germans had criminally
broken faith and rebuked them for it. There is no evidence to show
whether this was a pretence or whether he was really unable to
restrain his savage troops. The camp was plundered and burnt, and all
who had survived the battle were devoured by the flames.
When Civilis first took up arms against Rome he made a vow, such 61
as is common with barbarians, to let his ruddled hair[399] grow wild;
now that he had at last accomplished the destruction of the legions he
had it cut. It is said also that he put up some of the prisoners for
his little son to shoot in sport with javelins and arrows. However
that may be, he did not himself swear allegiance to All Gaul, nor did
he force any of the Batavi to do so. He felt that he could rely on the
strength of the Germans, and that if any quarrel arose with the Gauls
about the empire, his fame would give him an advantage. Munius
Lupercus, one of the Roman commanding-officers, was sent among other
presents to Veleda, a virgin of the Bructeran tribe who wielded a
wide-spread authority. [400] It is an ancient custom in Germany to
credit a number of women with prophetic powers, and with the growth of
superstition these develop into goddesses. At this moment Veleda's
influence was at its height, for she had prophesied the success of the
Germans and the destruction of the Roman army. [401] However, Lupercus
was killed on the journey. A few of the centurions and officers who
had been born in Gaul were detained as a security for good faith. The
winter camps of the legions and of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry
were all dismantled and burnt, with the sole exception of those at
Mainz and Vindonissa. [402]
The Sixteenth legion and the auxiliary troops who had surrendered 62
with it now received orders to migrate from their quarters at
Novaesium to Trier, and a date was fixed by which they had to leave
their camp. They spent the meantime brooding on various anxieties, the
cowards all shuddering at the precedent of the massacre at Vetera, the
better sort covered with shame at their disgrace. 'What sort of a
march would this be? Whom would they have to lead them? Everything
would be decided by the will of those into whose hands they had put
their lives. ' Others, again, were quite indifferent to the disgrace,
and simply stowed all their money and most cherished possessions about
their persons, while many got their armour ready and buckled on their
swords, as if for battle. While they were still busy with these
preparations the hour struck for their departure, and it proved more
bitter than they had expected. Inside the trenches their disgrace was
not so noticeable. The open country and the light of day revealed
their depth of shame. The emperors' medallions had been torn down[403]
and their standards desecrated, while Gallic ensigns glittered all
around them. They marched in silence, like a long funeral procession,
led by Claudius Sanctus,[404] a man whose sinister appearance--he had
lost one eye--was only surpassed by his weakness of intellect. Their
disgrace was doubled when they were joined by the First legion, who
had left their camp at Bonn. The famous news of their capture had
spread, and all the people who shortly before had trembled at the very
name of Rome, now came flocking out from fields and houses, and
scattered far and wide in transports of joy at this unwonted sight.
Their insulting glee was too much for 'The Picenum Horse'. [405]
Defying all Sanctus' threats and promises, they turned off to Mainz,
and coming by chance upon Longinus, the man who killed Vocula, they
slew him with a shower of javelins and thus made a beginning of future
amends. The legions, without changing their route, came and camped
before the walls of Trier.
Highly elated by their success, Civilis and Classicus debated 63
whether they should allow their troops to sack Cologne. Their natural
savagery and lust for plunder inclined them to destroy the town, but
policy forbade; and they felt that in inaugurating a new empire a
reputation for clemency would be an asset. Civilis was also moved by
the memory of a past service, for at the beginning of the outbreak his
son had been arrested in Cologne, and they had kept him in honourable
custody. However, the tribes across the Rhine were jealous of this
rich and rising community, and held that the war could only be ended
either by throwing the settlement open to all Germans without
distinction or by destroying it and thereby dispersing the Ubii 64
together with its other inhabitants. [406] Accordingly the
Tencteri,[407] their nearest neighbours across the Rhine, dispatched a
deputation to lay a message before a public meeting of the town. This
was delivered by the haughtiest of the delegates in some such terms as
these:--'We give thanks to the national gods of Germany and above all
others, to the god of war, that you are again incorporate in the
German nation and the German name, and we congratulate you that you
will now at last become free members of a free community. Until to-day
the Romans had closed to us the roads and rivers, and almost the very
air of heaven, to prevent all intercourse between us; or else they
offered a still fouler insult to born warriors, that we should meet
under supervision, unarmed and almost naked,[408] and should pay for
the privilege. Now, that our friendly alliance may be ratified for all
eternity, we demand of you that you pull down those bulwarks of
slavery, the walls of your town, for even wild beasts lose their
spirit if you keep them caged: that you put to the sword every Roman
on your soil, since tyrants are incompatible with freedom; that all
the property of those killed form a common stock and no one be
allowed to conceal anything or to secure any private advantage. It
must also be open both for us and for you to live on either
river-bank, as our forefathers could in earlier days. As daylight is
the natural heritage of all mankind, so the land of the world is free
to all brave men. Resume again the customs and manners of your own
country and throw off those luxurious habits which enslave Rome's
subjects far more effectively than Roman arms. Then, grown simple and
uncorrupt, you will forget your past slavery and either know none but
equals or hold empire over others. '
The townspeople took time to consider these proposals, and, 65
feeling that their apprehensions for the future forbade them to
assent, while their present circumstances forbade them to return a
plain negative, they answered as follows: 'We have seized our first
opportunity of freedom with more haste than prudence, because we
wanted to join hands with you and all our other German kinsmen.
As for
our town-walls, seeing that the Roman armies are massing at this
moment, it would be safer for us to heighten them than to pull them
down. All the foreigners from Italy or the provinces who lived on our
soil have either perished in the war or fled to their own homes. As
for the original settlers[409], who are united to us by ties of
marriage, they and their offspring regard this as their home, and we
do not think you are so unreasonable as to ask us to kill our parents
and brothers and children. All taxes and commercial restrictions we
remit. We grant you free entry without supervision, but you must come
in daylight and unarmed, while these ties which are still strange and
new are growing into a long-established custom. As arbitrators we will
appoint Civilis and Veleda, and we will ratify our compact in their
presence. '
Thus the Tencteri were pacified. A deputation was sent with presents
to Civilis and Veleda, and obtained all that the people of Cologne
desired. They were not, however, allowed to approach and speak to
Veleda or even to see her, but were kept at a distance to inspire in
them the greater awe. She herself lived at the top of a high tower,
and one of her relatives was appointed to carry all the questions and
answers like a mediator between God and man.
Now that he had gained the accession of Cologne, Civilis 66
determined to win over the neighbouring communities or to declare war
in case of opposition. He reduced the Sunuci[410] and formed their
fighting strength into cohorts, but then found his advance barred by
Claudius Labeo[411] at the head of a hastily-recruited band of
Baetasii, Tungri, and Nervii. [411] He had secured the bridge over the
Maas and relied on the strength of his position. A skirmish in the
narrow defile proved indecisive, until the Germans swam across and
took Labeo in the rear. At this point Civilis by a bold move--or
possibly by arrangement--rode into the lines of the Tungri and called
out in a loud voice, 'Our object in taking up arms is not to secure
empire for the Batavi and Treviri over other tribes. We are far from
any such arrogance. Take us as allies. I am come to join you; whether
as general or as private it is for you to choose. ' This had a great
effect on the common soldiers, who began to sheathe their swords. Then
two of their chieftains, Campanus and Juvenalis, surrendered the
entire tribe. Labeo escaped before he was surrounded. Civilis also
received the allegiance of the Baetasii and Nervii, and added their
forces to his own. His power was now immense, for all the Gallic
communities were either terrified or ready to offer willing support.
In the meantime, Julius Sabinus,[412] who had destroyed every 67
memorial of the Roman alliance,[413] assumed the title of Caesar and
proceeded to hurry a large unwieldy horde of his tribesmen against the
Sequani,[414] a neighbouring community, faithful to Rome. The Sequani
accepted battle: the good cause prospered: the Lingones were routed.
Sabinus fled the field with the same rash haste with which he had
plunged into battle. Wishing to spread a rumour of his death, he took
refuge in a house and set fire to it, and was thus supposed to have
perished by his own act. We shall, however, relate in due course the
devices by which he lay in hiding and prolonged his life for nine
more years, and allude also to the loyalty of his friends and the
memorable example set by his wife Epponina. [415]
FOOTNOTES:
[384] Tacitus here resumes the thread of his narrative of the
rebellion on the Rhine, interrupted at the end of chap. 37,
and goes back from July to January, A. D. 70.
[385] Cp. iii. 46.
[386] The danger of Druidism was always before the eyes of the
emperors. Augustus had forbidden Roman citizens to adopt it.
Claudius had tried to stamp it out in Gaul and in Britain, yet
they appear again here to preach a fanatic nationalism.
However, this seems to be their last appearance as leaders of
revolt.
[387] Probably they were in Rome, and were sent back to their
homes to intrigue against Vitellius' rising power.
[388] See chap. 36.
[389] Cp. ii. 14.
[390] i. e. he was to prevent any incursions from Germany along
the frontier of his canton, between Bingen and Coblenz.
[391] At Mainz.
[392] Chap. 18.
[393] These tribes lived between the Maas and the Scheldt, and
the Marsaci were round the mouth of the Scheldt.
[394] Civilis, again besieging Vetera (chap. 36).
[395] i. e. from the rest of Vocula's force, which they had not
yet deserted.
[396] The Aedui, one of the most powerful of the Gallic
tribes, living between the Saône and the Loire had revolted in
A. D. 21, and held out for a short time at their chief town
(Autun).
[397] This had only been granted to a few tribes who had
helped in crushing Vindex (see i. 8 and 51). The Treviri and
Lingones had been punished. But it is a good rhetorical point.
[398] His presumption took away his breath.
[399] i. e. artificially reddened according to a Gallic custom.
[400] Cp. chap. 69.
[401] Under Vespasian she inspired another rebellion and was
brought as a captive to Rome, where she aroused much polite
curiosity.
[402] Windisch.
[403] From the standards.
[404] Claudius the Holy; lucus a non lucendo.
[405] An auxiliary squadron of Italian horse, originally
raised, we may suppose, by a provincial governor who was a
native of Picenum.
[406] The Ubii were distrusted as having taken the name
Agrippinenses and become in some degree Romanized. The town
was strongly walled, and Germans from outside only admitted on
payment and under Roman supervision.
[407] See chap. 21.
[408] Not, of course, to be taken literally. 'The Germans do
no business public or private except in full armour,' says
Tacitus in the _Germania_. So to them 'unarmed' meant
'unclothed'.
[409] i. e. the veterans whom Agrippina had sent out to her
birthplace in A. D. 50.
[410] West of the Ubii, between the Roer and the Maas.
[411] See chap. 56.
[412] Cp. chap. 55.
[413] e. g. the inscriptions recording the terms of alliance
granted to the Lingones by Rome.
[414] Round Vesontio (Besançon).
[415] The story, which Tacitus presumably told in the lost
part of his _History_, dealing with the end of Vespasian's
reign, is mentioned both by Plutarch and Dio. Sabinus and his
wife lived for nine years in an underground cave, where two
sons were born to them. They were eventually discovered and
executed.
THE EBB-TIDE OF REVOLT
This success on the part of the Sequani checked the rising flood. The
Gallic communities gradually came to their senses and began to
remember their obligations as allies. In this movement the Remi[416]
took the lead. They circulated a notice throughout Gaul, summoning a
meeting of delegates to consider whether liberty or peace was the
preferable alternative. At Rome, however, all these disasters were 68
exaggerated, and Mucianus began to feel anxious. He had already
appointed Annius Gallus and Petilius Cerialis to the chief command,
and distinguished officers as they were, he was afraid the conduct of
such a war might be too much for them. Moreover, he could not leave
Rome without government, but he was afraid of Domitian's unbridled
passions, while, as we have already seen,[417] he suspected Antonius
Primus and Arrius Varus. Varus, as commanding the Guards, still had
the chief power and influence in his hands. Mucianus accordingly
displaced him, but, as a compensation, made him Director of the
Corn-supply. As he had also to placate Domitian, who was inclined to
support Varus, he appointed to the command of the Guards Arrecinus
Clemens, who was connected with Vespasian's family[418] and very
friendly with Domitian. He also impressed it upon Domitian that
Clemens' father had filled this command with great distinction under
Caligula: that his name and his character would both find favour with
the troops, and that, although he was a member of the senate,[419] he
was quite able to fill both positions. He then chose his staff, some
as being the most eminent men in the country, others as recommended by
private influence.
Thus both Domitian and Mucianus made ready to start, but with very
different feelings. Domitian was full of the sanguine haste of youth,
while Mucianus kept devising delays to check this enthusiasm. He was
afraid that if Domitian once seized control of an army, his youthful
self-assurance and his bad advisers would lead him into action
prejudicial both to peace and war. Three victorious legions, the
Eighth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth;[420] the Twenty-first--one of
Vitellius' legions--and the Second, which had been newly enrolled, all
started for the front, some by way of the Poenine and Cottian[421]
Alps, others over the Graian Alps. [422] The Fourteenth was also
summoned from Britain, and the Sixth and First from Spain.
The rumour that this force was on its way, combined with the present
temper of the Gauls, inclined them to adopt a sober policy. Their
delegates now met in the territory of the Remi, where they found the
representatives of the Treviri awaiting them. One of these, Julius
Valentinus, who was the keenest instigator of a hostile policy,
delivered a set speech, in which he heaped spiteful aspersions on the
Roman people, making all the charges which are usually brought against
great empires. He was a clever agitator, whose mad rhetoric made him
popular with the crowd. However, Julius Auspex, a chieftain of the 69
Remi, enlarged upon the power of Rome and the blessings of peace. 'Any
coward can begin a war,' he said, 'but it is the brave who run the
risks of its conduct: and here are the legions already upon us. ' Thus
he restrained them, awakening a sense of duty in all the sager
breasts, and appealing to the fears of the younger men. So, while
applauding Valentinus' courage, they followed the advice of Auspex.
The fact that in Vindex's rising the Treviri and Lingones sided with
Verginius is known to have told against them in Gaul. Many, too, were
held back by tribal jealousy. They wanted to know where the
head-quarters of the war would be, to whom were they to look for
auspices and orders, and, if all went well, which town would be chosen
as the seat of government. Thus dissension preceded victory. They
angrily magnified, some their great connexions, others their wealth
and strength, others their antiquity, until they grew tired of
discussing the future and voted for the existing state of things.
Letters were written to the Treviri in the name of All Gaul, bidding
them cease hostilities, suggesting, however, that pardon might be
obtained, and that many were ready to plead their cause if they showed
repentance. Valentinus opposed this mandate and made his tribesmen
offer a deaf ear to it. He was always less anxious to organize a
campaign than to make speeches on every possible occasion.
The result was that neither the Treviri nor the Lingones nor the 70
other rebel tribes behaved as if aware of the serious risks they were
undertaking. Even the leaders did not act in concert. Civilis wandered
over the wilds of the Belgic country, trying to catch or expel
Claudius Labeo. Classicus ordinarily took his ease, apparently
enjoying the fruits of empire. Even Tutor seemed in no hurry to
garrison the Upper Rhine and block the Alpine passes. In the meantime,
the Twenty-first legion made its way down from Vindonissa, while
Sextilius Felix[423] advanced through Raetia with some auxiliary
cohorts. These were joined by the 'Picked Horse',[424] a force that
had been raised by Vitellius and then deserted to Vespasian. This was
commanded by Civilis' nephew, Julius Briganticus,[425] for uncle and
nephew hated each other with all the aggravated bitterness of near
relatives. Tutor swelled his force of Treviri with fresh levies from
the Vangiones, Triboci, and Caeracates,[426] and a stiffening of Roman
veterans, both horse and foot, who had either been bribed or
intimidated. These first cut up an auxiliary cohort sent forward by
Sextilius Felix, but on the advance of the Roman army with its
generals they loyally deserted to their old flag, and were followed by
the Triboci, Vangiones, and Caeracates. Tutor, followed by his
Treviri, avoided Mainz and fell back on Bingium,[427] relying on his
position there, as he had broken down the bridge over the river Nava.
However, Sextilius' cohorts followed him up; some traitor showed them
a ford; Tutor was routed. This disaster was a crushing blow to the
Treviri. The rank and file dropped their weapons and took to the
fields, while some of their chieftains, hoping it might be thought
that they had been the first to lay down arms, took refuge among
tribes who had never repudiated the Roman alliance. The legions which
had been moved, as we saw above,[428] from Novaesium and Bonn to
Trier, now administered to themselves the oath of allegiance to
Vespasian. This happened in Valentinus' absence. When he arrived in
furious excitement, ready to spread universal ruin and confusion, the
legions withdrew into the friendly territory of the Mediomatrici. [429]
Valentinus and Tutor then led the Treviri forcibly back into the
field, but first they killed the two Roman officers, Herennius and
Numisius. [430] By diminishing the hope of pardon they tried to cement
their bond of crime.
Such was the position when Petilius Cerialis reached Mainz. His 71
arrival roused high hopes. He was himself thirsting for battle, and
being always better at despising his enemy than at taking precautions,
he fired his men by delivering a spirited harangue, promising that
directly there was a chance of getting into touch with the enemy he
would engage without delay. He dismissed the Gallic recruits to their
homes with a message that the legions were enough for his task: the
allies could resume their peaceful occupations, feeling assured that
the war was practically ended, now that Roman troops had taken it in
hand. This action rendered the Gauls all the more tractable. They made
less difficulty about the war-tax, now that they had got their men
back again, while his disdain only sharpened their sense of duty. On
the other side, when Civilis and Classicus heard of Tutor's defeat,
the destruction of the Treviri, and the universal success of the Roman
arms, they fell into a panic, hastily mobilized their own scattered
forces, and kept sending messages to Valentinus not to risk a decisive
battle. This only hastened Cerialis' movements. He sent guides to the
legions stationed in the country of the Mediomatrici to lead them by
the shortest route on the enemy's rear. Then, assembling all the
troops to be found in Mainz[431] together with his own force, he
marched in three days to Rigodulum. [432] Here, on a spot protected by
the mountains on one side and the Moselle on the other, Valentinus had
already taken his stand with a large force of Treviri. His camp had
been strengthened with trenches and stone barricades, but these
fortifications had no terrors for the Roman general. He ordered the
infantry to force the position in front, while the cavalry were to
ascend the hill. Valentinus' hurriedly assembled forces filled him
with contempt, for he knew that whatever advantage their position
might give them, the superior morale of his men would outweigh it. A
short delay was necessary while the cavalry climbed the hill, exposed
to the enemy's fire. But when the fight began, the Treviri tumbled
headlong down the hill like a house falling. Some of our cavalry, who
had ridden round by an easier gradient, captured several Belgic
chieftains, including their general, Valentinus.
On the next day Cerialis entered Trier. The troops clamoured 72
greedily for its destruction. 'It was the native town of Classicus and
of Tutor: these were the men who had wickedly entrapped and
slaughtered the legions. Its guilt was far worse than that of Cremona,
which had been wiped off the face of Italy for causing the victors a
single night's delay. Was the chief seat of the rebellion to be left
standing untouched on the German frontier, glorying in the spoil of
Roman armies and the blood of Roman generals? [433] The plunder could
go to the Imperial Treasury. It would be enough for them to see the
rebel town in smoking ruins; that would be some compensation for the
destruction of so many camps. ' Cerialis was afraid of soiling his
reputation if it was said that he gave his men a taste for cruelty and
riot, so he suppressed their indignation. They obeyed him, too, for
now that civil war was done with, there was less insubordination on
foreign service. Their thoughts were now distracted by the pitiful
plight of the legions who had been summoned from the country of the
Mediomatrici. [434] Miserably conscious of their guilt, they stood with
eyes rooted to the ground. When the armies met, they raised no cheer:
they had no answer for those who offered comfort and encouragement:
they skulked in their tents, shunning the light of day. It was not
fear of punishment so much as the shame of their disgrace which thus
overwhelmed them. Even the victorious army showed their bewilderment:
hardly venturing to make an audible petition, they craved pardon for
them with silent tears. At length Cerialis soothed their alarm. He
insisted that all disasters due to dissension between officers and
men, or to the enemy's guile, were to be regarded as 'acts of
destiny'. They were to count this as their first day of service and
sworn allegiance. [435] Neither he nor the emperor would remember past
misdeeds. He then gave them quarters in his own camp, and sent round
orders that no one in the heat of any quarrel should taunt a fellow
soldier with mutiny or defeat.
Cerialis next summoned the Treviri and Lingones, and addressed 73
them as follows: 'Unpractised as I am in public speaking, for it is
only on the field that I have asserted the superiority of Rome, yet
since words have so much weight with you, and since you distinguish
good and bad not by the light of facts but by what agitators tell you,
I have decided to make a few remarks, which, as the war is practically
over, are likely to be more profitable to the audience than to
ourselves. Roman generals and officers originally set foot in your
country and the rest of Gaul from no motives of ambition, but at the
call of your ancestors, who were worn almost to ruin by dissension.
The Germans whom one party summoned to their aid had forced the yoke
of slavery on allies and enemies alike. You know how often we fought
against the Cimbri and the Teutons, with what infinite pains and with
what striking success our armies have undertaken German wars. All that
is notorious. And to-day it is not to protect Italy that we have
occupied the Rhine, but to prevent some second Ariovistus making
himself master of All Gaul. [436] Do you imagine that Civilis and his
Batavi and the other tribes across the Rhine care any more about you
than their ancestors cared about your fathers and grandfathers? The
Germans have always had the same motives for trespassing into
Gaul--their greed for gain and their desire to change homes with you.
They wanted to leave their marshes and deserts, and to make themselves
masters of this magnificently fertile soil and of you who live on it.
Of course they use specious pretexts and talk about liberty. No one
has ever wanted to enslave others and play the tyrant without making
use of the very same phrases.
'Tyranny and warfare were always rife throughout the length and 74
breadth of Gaul, until you accepted Roman government.
