Y.R. B.C. 471 turn to, fell boldly upon the consul Domitius, and being 283 defeated by him killed themselves in despair. Such punishment was meted out to the Senones for their crime against the ambassadors.1 633 641 XII. FROM THE SAME The chiefs of the Salyi, a nation vanquished by the Romans, 121 took refuge with the Allobroges. When the Romans asked for their surrender and it was refused, they made war on the Allobroges, under the leadership of Cnæus Domitius. When he was passing through the territory of the Salyi, an ambassador of Bituitus, king of the Allobroges, met him, arrayed magnificently and followed by attendants likewise arrayed, and also by dogs for the barbarians of this region use dogs also as body-guards. A musician was in the train who sang in barbarous fashion the praises of King Bituitus, and then of the Allobroges, and then of the ambassador himself, celebrating his birth, his bravery, and his wealth; for which reason chiefly their illustrious ambassadors usually take such persons along with them. But this one, although he begged pardon for the chiefs of the Salyi, accomplished nothing. XIII. FROM THE SAME A numerous band of the Teutones bent on plunder in- 113 vaded the territory of Noricum. The Roman consul, Papirius Carbo, fearing lest they should make an incursion into Italy, occupied the Alps at a place where the pass is narrowest. As they made no attempt in this direction he attacked them, complaining that they had invaded the people of Noricum, who were foreign friends of the Romans. It was the practice of the Romans to make foreign friends of any people for whom they wanted to intervene on the score of friendship, without being obliged to defend them as allies. As Carbo was approaching, the Teutones sent word to him that they had not known anything about this relationship between Rome and Noricum, and that for the future they would keep hands off. He praised the ambassadors, and gave them guides for their homeward journey, but privately charged the guides to 1 Cf. Excerpt VI., Samnite History, supra. Y.R. B.C. 641 take them by a longer route. He himself then marched by 113 a shorter one and fell unexpectedly upon the Teutones, though they were still desisting from hostilities, but he suffered severely for his perfidy, and lost a large part of his army. He would probably have perished with his whole force had not darkness and a tremendous thunder-storm fallen upon them while the fight was in progress, separating the combatants and putting an end to the battle by sheer terror from heaven. Even as it was, the Romans fled in small bands through the woods and came together with difficulty three days later. The Teutones passed into Gaul.1 XIV. FROM SUIDAS He ordered them to leave the bodies of the Cimbri intact till daylight because he believed they were adorned with gold. XV. FROM "THE EMBASSIES" 696 Two nations, the Tigurini and the Helvetii, made an in- 58 cursion into the Roman province of Gaul. When Cæsar heard of this movement he built a wall along the river Rhone about a hundred and fifty stades in length to intercept them. When they sent ambassadors to him to endeavor to make a treaty, he ordered them to give him hostages and money. They replied that they were accustomed to receive these things, not to give them. As he wished to prevent them from forming a junction he sent Labienus against the Tigurini, who were the weaker, while he marched against the Helvetii, taking with him about 20,000 Gallic mountaineers. The work was easy to Labienus, who fell upon the Tigurini unawares on the river bank, defeated them, and scattered the greater part of them in disorderly flight.2 1 The Epitome of Livy (lxiii.) assigns this victory to the Cimbri. 2 Plutarch (Life of Cæsar, 18) agrees with Appian that the victory over the Tigurini was won by Labienus. Cæsar himself does not mention Labienus. He says that he himself marched about the third watch (midnight) and came upon the Tigurini on the bank of the river Arar, etc. (Gallic War, i. 12.) Y.R. XVI. FROM THE SAME B.C. 695 Ariovistus, the king of the Germans beyond the Rhine, 59 crossed to this side before Cæsar's arrival and made war against the Ædui, who were friends of the Romans. But when the Romans commanded him to desist, he obeyed and moved away from Ædui and desired to be accounted a friend of the Roman people also, and this was granted, Cæsar being consul and voting for it. 699 XVII. FROM THE SAME Ariovistus, the king of the Germans, who had been voted a friend of the Roman people, came to Cæsar to have a colloquy. After they had separated he wished to have another. Cæsar refused it, but sent some of the leading men of the Gauls to meet him. Ariovistus cast them in chains, wherefore Cæsar threatened him and made war on him, but fear fell upon the army on account of the military reputation of the Germans.1 XVIII. FROM THE SAME It is believed that the Usipetes and the Tenchteri, Ger- 55 man tribes, with 800 of their own horse, put to flight about 5000 of Cæsar's horse. When they sent ambassadors to Cæsar he held them as prisoners and made an attack on them, and took them so completely by surprise that 400,000 of them were cut to pieces. One writer says that Cato in the Roman Senate proposed that Cæsar should be surrendered to the barbarians for this deed of blood perpetrated while negotiations were pending. But Cæsar in his own diary says that when the Usipetes and Tenchteri were ordered to go back forthwith to their former homes, they replied that they had sent ambassadors to the Suevi, who had driven them away, and that they were waiting for their answer; that while these negotiations were pending, they set upon his men with 800 of their horse, and by the suddenness of the attack put to flight his 5000; and that when they sent another embassy to explain this violation of good faith 1 Cf. Cæsar's Gallic War, i. 42 seq. Y.R. 699 he suspected a similar deception, and made his attack before giving his answer.1 XIX. FROM SUIDAS Straightway they stirred up the Britons to violate the oath, complaining that while a treaty with them was in force the camp was still among them. XX. FROM THE SAME 700 Cæsar apprehending an attack on [Quintus] Cicero turned back.2 XXI. FROM THE VATICAN MSS. OF CARDINAL MAI Britores seduced the Ædui from their Roman allegiance. When Cæsar reproached them for this, they said that an ancient alliance had the precedence. [Here follow two fragments of only three words each.] 1 Cæsar's Gallic War, iv. 1-5; Plutarch, Life of Cæsar, 22. The latter repeats Cato's proposal that Cæsar should be surrendered to the barbarians for his breach of faith. 2 Cæsar's Gallic War, v. 38 seq. B.C. 55 54 Y.R. 502 BOOK V OF SICILY AND THE OTHER ISLANDS I. FROM "THE EMBASSIES" B.C. BOTH Romans and Carthaginians were destitute of money; 252 and the Romans could no longer build ships, being exhausted by taxes, yet they levied foot soldiers and sent them to Africa and Sicily from year to year, while the Carthaginians sent an embassy to Ptolemy, the son of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, king of Egypt, seeking to borrow 2000 talents. He was on terms of friendship with both Romans and Carthaginians, and he sought to bring about peace between them. As he was not able to accomplish this, he said: "It behooves one to assist friends against enemies, but not against friends." II. FROM THE SAME 512 1. When the Carthaginians had met with two disasters on 242 land at the same time, and two at sea where they had considered themselves much the superior, and were already short of money, ships, and men, they sought an armistice from Lutatius and having obtained it sent an embassy to Rome to negotiate a treaty on certain limited conditions. With their own embassy they sent Atilius Regulus, the consul, who was their prisoner, to urge his countrymen to agree to the terms. When he came into the senate-chamber, clad as a prisoner in Punic garments, and the Carthaginian ambassadors had retired, he exposed to the Senate the desperate state of Carthaginian affairs, and advised that either the war should be prosecuted vigorously, or that more satisfactory 1 No other mention of this embassy, says Schweighäuser, is found in any ancient writings that have come down to us. 43 |