Translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb
Book V
A.D. 70
Early in this year Titus Caesar, who had been selected by his
father to complete the subjugation of Judaea, and who had gained
distinction as a soldier while both were still subjects, began to
rise in power and reputation, as armies and provinces emulated
each other in their attachment to him. The young man himself,
anxious to be thought superior to his station, was ever
displaying his gracefulness and his energy in war. By his
courtesy and affability he called forth a willing obedience, and
he often mixed with the common soldiers, while working or
marching, without impairing his dignity as general. He found in
Judaea three legions, the 5th, the 10th, and the 15th, all old
troops of Vespasian's. To these he added the 12th from Syria, and
some men belonging to the 18th and 3rd, whom he had withdrawn
from Alexandria. This force was accompanied by twenty cohorts of
allied troops and eight squadrons of cavalry, by the two kings
Agrippa and Sohemus, by the auxiliary forces of king Antiochus,
by a strong contingent of Arabs, who hated the Jews with the
usual hatred of neighbours, and, lastly, by many persons brought
from the capital and from Italy by private hopes of securing the
yet unengaged affections of the Prince. With this force Titus
entered the enemy's territory, preserving strict order on his
march, reconnoitring every spot, and always ready to give battle.
At last he encamped near Jerusalem.
As I am about to relate the last days of a famous city, it seems
appropriate to throw some light on its origin.
Some say that the Jews were fugitives from the island of Crete,
who settled on the nearest coast of Africa about the time when
Saturn was driven from his throne by the power of Jupiter.
Evidence of this is sought in the name. There is a famous
mountain in Crete called Ida; the neighbouring tribe, the Idaei,
came to be called Judaei by a barbarous lengthening of the
national name. Others assert that in the reign of Isis the
overflowing population of Egypt, led by Hierosolymus and Judas,
discharged itself into the neighbouring countries. Many, again,
say that they were a race of Ethiopian origin, who in the time of
king Cepheus were driven by fear and hatred of their neighbours
to seek a new dwelling place. Others describe them as an Assyrian
horde who, not having sufficient territory, took possession of
part of Egypt, and founded cities of their own in what is called
the Hebrew country, lying on the borders of Syria. Others, again,
assign a very distinguished origin to the Jews, alleging that
they were the Solymi, a nation celebrated in the poems of Homer,
who called the city which they founded Hierosolyma after their
own name.
Most writers, however, agree in stating that once a disease,
which horribly disfigured the body, broke out over Egypt; that
king Bocchoris, seeking a remedy, consulted the oracle of Hammon,
and was bidden to cleanse his realm, and to convey into some
foreign land this race detested by the gods. The people, who had
been collected after diligent search, finding themselves left in
a desert, sat for the most part in a stupor of grief, till one of
the exiles, Moyses by name, warned them not to look for any
relief from God or man, forsaken as they were of both, but to
trust to themselves, taking for their heaven sent leader that man
who should first help them to be quit of their present misery.
They agreed, and in utter ignorance began to advance at random.
Nothing, however, distressed them so much as the scarcity of
water, and they had sunk ready to perish in all directions over
the plain, when a herd of wild asses was seen to retire from
their pasture to a rock shaded by trees. Moyses followed them,
and, guided by the appearance of a grassy spot, discovered an
abundant spring of water. This furnished relief. After a
continuous journey for six days, on the seventh they possessed
themselves of a country, from which they expelled the
inhabitants, and in which they founded a city and a temple.
Moyses, wishing to secure for the future his authority over the
nation, gave them a novel form of worship, opposed to all that is
practised by other men. Things sacred with us, with them have no
sanctity, while they allow what with us is forbidden. In their
holy place they have consecrated an image of the animal by whose
guidance they found deliverance from their long and thirsty
wanderings. They slay the ram, seemingly in derision of Hammon,
and they sacrifice the ox, because the Egyptians worship it as
Apis. They abstain from swine's flesh, in consideration of what
they suffered when they were infected by the leprosy to which
this animal is liable. By their frequent fasts they still bear
witness to the long hunger of former days, and the Jewish bread,
made without leaven, is retained as a memorial of their hurried
seizure of corn. We are told that the rest of the seventh day was
adopted, because this day brought with it a termination of their
toils; after a while the charm of indolence beguilded them into
giving up the seventh year also to inaction. But others say that
it is an observance in honour of Saturn, either from the
primitive elements of their faith having been transmitted from
the Idaei, who are said to have shared the flight of that God,
and to have founded the race, or from the circumstance that of
the seven stars which rule the destinies of men Saturn moves in
the highest orbit and with the mightiest power, and that many of
the heavenly bodies complete their revolutions and courses in
multiples of seven.
This worship, however introduced, is upheld by its antiquity; all
their other customs, which are at once perverse and disgusting,
owe their strength to their very badness. The most degraded out
of other races, scorning their national beliefs, brought to them
their contributions and presents. This augmented the wealth of
the Jews, as also did the fact, that among themselves they are
inflexibly honest and ever ready to shew compassion, though they
regard the rest of mankind with all the hatred of enemies. They
sit apart at meals, they sleep apart, and though, as a nation,
they are singularly prone to lust, they abstain from intercourse
with foreign women; among themselves nothing is unlawful.
Circumcision was adopted by them as a mark of difference from
other men. Those who come over to their religion adopt the
practice, and have this lesson first instilled into them, to
despise all gods, to disown their country, and set at nought
parents, children, and brethren. Still they provide for the
increase of their numbers. It is a crime among them to kill any
newly born infant. They hold that the souls of all who perish in
battle or by the hands of the executioner are immortal. Hence a
passion for propagating their race and a contempt for death. They
are wont to bury rather than to burn their dead, following in
this the Egyptian cus tom; they bestow the same care on the dead,
and they hold the same belief about the lower world. Quite
different is their faith about things divine. The Egyptians
worship many animals and images of monstrous form; the Jews have
purely mental conceptions of Deity, as one in essence. They call
those profane who make representations of God in human shape out
of perishable materials. They believe that Being to be supreme
and eternal, neither capable of representation, nor of decay.
They therefore do not allow any images to stand in their cities,
much less in their temples. This flattery is not paid to their
kings, nor this honour to our Emperors. From the fact, however,
that their priests used to chant to the music of flutes and
cymbals, and to wear garlands of ivy, and that a golden vine was
found in the temple, some have thought that they worshipped
father Liber, the conqueror of the East, though their
institutions do not by any means harmonize with the theory; for
Liber established a festive and cheerful worship, while the
Jewish religion is tasteless and mean.
Eastward the country is bounded by Arabia; to the south lies
Egypt; on the west are Phoenicia and the Mediterranean. Northward
it commands an extensive prospect over Syria. The inhabitants are
healthy and able to bear fatigue. Rain is uncommon, but the soil
is fertile. Its products resemble our own. They have, besides,
the balsam tree and the palm. The palm groves are tall and
graceful. The balsam is a shrub; each branch, as it fills with
sap, may be pierced with a fragment of stone or pottery. If steel
is employed, the veins shrink up. The sap is used by physicians.
Libanus is the principal mountain, and has, strange to say,
amidst these burning heats, a summit shaded with trees and never
deserted by its snows. The same range supplies and sends forth
the stream of the Jordan. This river does not discharge itself
into the sea, but flows entire through two lakes, and is lost in
the third. This is a lake of vast circumference; it resembles the
sea, but is more nauseous in taste; it breeds pestilence among
those who live near by its noisome odour; it cannot be moved by
the wind, and it affords no home either to fish or water birds.
These strange waters support what is thrown upon them, as on a
solid surface, and all persons, whether they can swim or no, are
equally buoyed up by the waves. At a certain season of the year
the lake throws up bitumen, and the method of collecting it has
been taught by that experience which teaches all other arts. It
is naturally a fluid of dark colour; when vinegar is sprinkled
upon it, it coagulates and floats upon the surface. Those whose
business it is take it with the hand, and draw it on to the deck
of the boat; it then continues of itself to flow in and lade the
vessel till the stream is cut off. Nor can this be done by any
instrument of brass or iron. It shrinks from blood or any cloth
stained by the menstrua of women. Such is the account of old
authors; but those who know the country say that the bitumen
moves in heaving masses on the water, that it is drawn by hand to
the shore, and that there, when dried by the evaporation of the
earth and the power of the sun, it is cut into pieces with axes
and wedges just as timber or stone would be.
Not far from this lake lies a plain, once fertile, they say, and
the site of great cities, but afterwards struck by lightning and
consumed. Of this event, they declare, traces still remain, for
the soil, which is scorched in appearance, has lost its
productive power. Everything that grows spontaneously, as well as
what is planted by hand, either when the leaf or flower have been
developed, or after maturing in the usual form, becomes black and
rotten, and crumbles into a kind of dust. I am ready to allow, on
the one hand, that cities, once famous, may have been consumed by
fire from heaven, while, on the other, I imagine that the earth
is infected by the exhalations of the lake, that the surrounding
air is tainted, and that thus the growth of harvest and the
fruits of autumn decay under the equally noxious influences of
soil and climate. The river Belus also flows into the Jewish sea.
About its mouth is a kind of sand which is collected, mixed with
nitre, and fused into glass. This shore is of limited extent, but
furnishes an inexhaustible supply to the exporter.
A great part of Judaea consists of scattered villages. They have
also towns. Jersualem is the capital. There stood a temple of
immense wealth. First came the city with its fortifications, then
the royal palace, then, within the innermost defences, the temple
itself. Only the Jew might approach the gates; all but priests
were forbidden to pass the threshold. While the East was under
the sway of the Assyrians, the Medes, and the Persians, Jews were
the most contemptible of the subject tribes. When the Macedonians
became supreme, King Antiochus strove to destroy the national
superstition, and to introduce Greek civilization, but was
prevented by his war with the Parthians from at all improving
this vilest of nations; for at this time the revolt of Arsaces
had taken place. The Macedonian power was now weak, while the
Parthian had not yet reached its full strength, and, as the
Romans were still far off, the Jews chose kings for themselves.
Expelled by the fickle populace, and regaining their throne by
force of arms, these princes, while they ventured on the
wholesale banishment of their subjects, on the destruction of
cities, on the murder of brothers, wives, and parents, and the
other usual atrocities of despots, fostered the national
superstition by appropriating the dignity of the priesthood as
the support of their political power.
Cneius Pompeius was the first of our countrymen to subdue the
Jews. Availing himself of the right of conquest, he entered the
temple. Thus it became commonly known that the place stood empty
with no similitude of gods within, and that the shrine had
nothing to reveal. The walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, the
temple was left standing. After these provinces had fallen, in
the course of our civil wars, into the hands of Marcus Antonius,
Pacorus, king of the Parthians, seized Judaea. He was slain by
Publius Ventidius, and the Parthians were driven back over the
Euphrates. Caius Sosius reduced the Jews to subjection. The royal
power, which had been bestowed by Antony on Herod, was augmented
by the victorious Augustus. On Herod's death, one Simon, without
waiting for the approbation of the Emperor, usurped the title of
king. He was punished by Quintilius Varus then governor of Syria,
and the nation, with its liberties curtailed, was divided into
three provinces under the sons of Herod. Under Tiberius all was
quiet. But when the Jews were ordered by Caligula to set up his
statue in the temple, they preferred the alternative of war. The
death of the Emperor put an end to the disturbance. The kings
were either dead, or reduced to insignificance, when Claudius
entrusted the province of Judaea to the Roman Knights or to his
own freedmen, one of whom, Antonius Felix, indulging in every
kind of barbarity and lust, exercised the power of a king in the
spirit of a slave. He had married Drusilla, the granddaughter of
Antony and Cleopatra, and so was the grandson in law, as Claudius
was the grandson, of Antony.
Yet the endurance of the Jews lasted till Gessius Florus was
procurator. In his time the war broke out. Cestius Gallus, legate
of Syria, who attempted to crush it, had to fight several
battles, generally with ill success. Cestius dying, either in the
course of nature, or from vexation, Vespasian was sent by Nero,
and by help of his good fortune, his high reputation, and his
excellent subordinates, succeeded within the space of two summers
in occupying with his victorious army the whole of the level
country and all the cities, except Jerusalem. The following year
had been wholly taken up with civil strife, and had passed, as
far as the Jews were concerned, in inaction. Peace having been
established in Italy, foreign affairs were once more remembered.
Our indignation was heightened by the circumstance that the Jews
alone had not submitted. At the same time it was held to be more
expedient, in reference to the possible results and contingencies
of the new reign, that Titus should remain with the army.
Accordingly he pitched his camp, as I have related, before the
walls of Jerusalem, and displayed his legions in order of battle.
The Jews formed their line close under their walls, whence, if
successful, they might venture to advance, and where, if
repulsed, they had a refuge at hand. The cavalry with some light
infantry was sent to attack them, and fought without any decisive
result. Shortly afterwards the enemy retreated. During the
following days they fought a series of engagements in front of
the gates, till they were driven within the walls by continual
defeats. The Romans then began to prepare for an assault. It
seemed beneath them to await the result of famine. The army
demanded the more perilous alternative, some prompted by courage,
many by sheer ferocity and greed of gain. Titus himself had Rome
with all its wealth and pleasures before his eyes. Jerusalem must
fall at once, or it would delay his enjoyment of them. But the
commanding situation of the city had been strengthened by
enormous works which would have been a thorough defence even for
level ground. Two hills of great height were fenced in by walls
which had been skilfully obliqued or bent inwards, in such a
manner that the flank of an assailant was exposed to missiles.
The rock terminated in a precipice; the towers were raised to a
height of sixty feet, where the hill lent its aid to the
fortifications, where the ground fell, to a height of one hundred
and twenty. They had a marvellous appearance, and to a distant
spectator seemed to be of uniform elevation. Within were other
walls surrounding the palace, and, rising to a conspicuous
height, the tower Antonia, so called by Herod, in honour of
Marcus Antonius.
The temple resembled a citadel, and had its own walls, which were
more laboriously constructed than the others. Even the colonnades
with which it was surrounded formed an admirable outwork. It
contained an inexhaustible spring; there were subterranean
excavations in the hill, and tanks and cisterns for holding rain
water. The founders of the state had foreseen that frequent wars
would result from the singularity of its customs, and so had made
every provision against the most protracted siege. After the
capture of their city by Pompey, experience and apprehension
taught them much. Availing themselves of the sordid policy of the
Claudian era to purchase the right of fortification, they raised
in time of peace such walls as were suited for war. Their numbers
were increased by a vast rabble collected from the overthrow of
the other cities. All the most obstinate rebels had escaped into
the place, and perpetual seditions were the consequence. There
were three generals, and as many armies. Simon held the outer and
larger circuit of walls. John, also called Bargioras, occupied
the middle city. Eleazar had fortified the temple. John and Simon
were strong in numbers and equipment, Eleazar in position. There
were continual skirmishes, surprises, and incendiary fires, and a
vast quantity of corn was burnt. Before long John sent some
emissaries, who, under pretence of sacrificing, slaughtered
Eleazar and his partisans, and gained possession of the temple.
The city was thus divided between two factions, till, as the
Romans approached, war with the foreigner brought about a
reconciliation.
Prodigies had occurred, which this nation, prone to superstition,
but hating all religious rites, did not deem it lawful to expiate
by offering and sacrifice. There had been seen hosts joining
battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the temple
illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds. The doors of
the inner shrine were suddenly thrown open, and a voice of more
than mortal tone was heard to cry that the Gods were departing.
At the same instant there was a mighty stir as of departure. Some
few put a fearful meaning on these events, but in most there was
a firm persuasion, that in the ancient records of their priests
was contained a prediction of how at this very time the East was
to grow powerful, and rulers, coming from Judaea, were to acquire
universal empire. These mysterious prophecies had pointed to
Vespasian and Titus, but the common people, with the usual
blindness of ambition, had interpreted these mighty destinies of
themselves, and could not be brought even by disasters to believe
the truth. I have heard that the total number of the besieged, of
every age and both sexes, amounted to six hundred thousand. All
who were able bore arms, and a number, more than proportionate to
the population, had the courage to do so. Men and women showed
equal resolution, and life seemed more terrible than death, if
they were to be forced to leave their country. Such was this city
and nation; and Titus Caesar, seeing that the position forbad an
assault or any of the more rapid operations of war, determined to
proceed by earthworks and covered approaches. The legions had
their respective duties assigned to them, and there was a
cessation from fighting, till all the inventions, used in ancient
warfare, or devised by modern ingenuity for the reduction of
cities, were constructed.
Meanwhile Civilis, having recruited his army from Germany after
his defeat among the Treveri, took up his position at the Old
Camp, where his situation would protect him, and where the
courage of his barbarian troops would be raised by the
recollection of successes gained on the spot. He was followed to
this place by Cerialis, whose forces had now been doubled by the
arrival of the 2nd, 6th, and 14th legions. The auxiliary infantry
and cavalry, summoned long before, had hastened to join him after
his victory. Neither of the generals loved delay. But a wide
extent of plain naturally saturated with water kept them apart.
Civilis had also thrown a dam obliquely across the Rhine, so that
the stream, diverted by the obstacle, might overflow the adjacent
country. Such was the character of the district, full of hidden
perils from the varying depth of the fords, and unfavourable to
our troops. The Roman soldier is heavily armed and afraid to
swim, while the German, who is accustomed to rivers, is favoured
by the lightness of his equipment and the height of his stature.
The Batavi provoking a conflict, the struggle was at once begun
by all the boldest spirits among our troops, but a panic arose,
when they saw arms and horses swallowed up in the vast depths of
the marshes. The Germans leapt lightly through the well known
shallows, and frequently, quitting the front, hung on the rear
and flanks of our army. It was neither the close nor the distant
fighting of a land battle; it was more like a naval contest.
Struggling among the waters, or exerting every limb where they
found any firm footing, the wounded and the unhurt, those who
could swim and those who could not, were involved in one common
destruction. The loss however was less than might have been
expected from the confusion, for the Germans, not venturing to
leave the morass, returned to their camp. The result of this
battle roused both generals, though from different motives, to
hasten on the final struggle. Civilis was anxious to follow up
his success; Cerialis to wipe out his disgrace. The Germans were
flushed with success; the Romans were thoroughly roused by shame.
The barbarians spent the night in singing and shouting; our men
in rage and threats of vengeance.
Next morning Cerialis formed his front with the cavalry and
auxiliary infantry; in the second line were posted the legions,
the general reserving a picked force for unforeseen
contingencies. Civilis confronted him with his troops ranged, not
in line, but in columns. On the right were the Batavi and the
Gugerni; the left, which was nearer the river, was occupied by
the Transrhenane tribes. The exhortations of the generals were
not addressed as formal harangues to the assembled armies, but to
the divisions separately, as they rode along the line. Cerialis
spoke of the old glory of the Roman name, of former and of recent
victories; he told them that in destroying for ever their
treacherous, cowardly, and beaten foe, they had to execute a
punishment, rather than to fight a battle. They had lately
contended with a superior force, and yet the Germans, the
strength of the hostile army, had been routed; a few were left,
who carried terror in their hearts and scars upon their backs. He
addressed to the several legions appropriate appeals. The 14th
were styled the "Conquerors of Britain"; the powerful influence
of the 6th had made Galba Emperor; the men of the 2nd were in
that battle first to consecrate their new standards and new
eagle. Then riding up to the army of Germany, he stretched forth
his hand, and implored them to recover their river bank and their
camp by the slaughter of the foe. A joyful shout arose from the
whole army, some of whom after long peace lusted for battle,
while others, weary of war, desired peace; all were looking for
rewards and for future repose.
Nor did Civilis marshal his army in silence. He called the field
of battle to bear witness to their valour. He told the Germans
and Batavians that they were standing on the monuments of their
glory, that they were treading under foot the ashes and bones of
legions. "Wherever," he said, "the Roman turns his eyes,
captivity, disaster, and everything that is terrible, confront
him. Do not be alarmed by the adverse result of the battle among
the Treveri. There, their own success proved hurtful to the
Germans, for, throwing away their arms, they hampered their hands
with plunder. Since then everything has been favourable to us,
and against the foe. All precautions, which the skill of a
general should take, have been taken. Here are these flooded
plains which we know so well, here the marshes so fatal to the
enemy. The Rhine and the Gods of Germany are in your sight. Under
their auspices give battle, remembering your wives, your parents,
and your father land. This day will either be the most glorious
among the deeds of the past, or will be infamous in the eyes of
posterity." These words were hailed, according to their custom,
with the clash of arms and with wild antics, and then the battle
was commenced by a discharge of stones, leaden balls, and other
missiles, our soldiers not entering the morass, while the Germans
sought to provoke, and so draw them on.
When their store of missiles was spent, and the battle grew
hotter, a fiercer onslaught was made by the enemy. Their tall
stature and very long spears enabled them, without closing, to
wound our men, who were wavering and unsteady. At the same time a
column of the Bructeri swam across from the dam, which I have
described as carried out into the river. Here there was some
confusion. The line of the allied infantry was being driven back,
when the legions took up the contest. The fury of the enemy was
checked, and the battle again became equal. At the same time a
Batavian deserter came up to Cerialis, offering an opportunity of
attacking the enemy's rear, if some cavalry were sent along the
edge of the morass. The ground there was firm, and the Gugerni,
to whom the post had been allotted, were careless. Two squadrons
were sent with the deserter, and outflanked the unsuspecting
enemy. At the shout that announced this success, the legions
charged in front. The Germans were routed, and fled towards the
Rhine. The war would have been finished that day, if the fleet
had hastened to come up. As it was, the cavalry did not pursue,
for a storm of rain suddenly fell, and night was at hand.
The next day the 14th legion was sent into the Upper Province to
join Gallus Annius. The 10th, which had arrived from Spain,
supplied its place in the army of Cerialis. Civilis was joined by
some auxiliaries from the Chauci. Nevertheless he did not venture
to fight for the defence of the Batavian capital, but carrying
off property that could be removed, and setting fire to the
remainder, he retreated into the island, aware that there were
not vessels enough for constructing a bridge, and that the Roman
army could not cross the river in any other way. He also
demolished the dyke, constructed by Drusus Germanicus, and, by
destroying this barrier, sent the river flowing down a steep
channel on the side of Gaul. The river having been thus, so to
speak, diverted, the narrowness of the channel between the island
and Germany created an appearance of an uninterrupted surface of
dry ground. Tutor, Classicus, and one hundred and thirteen
senators of the Treveri, also crossed the Rhine. Among them was
Alpinius Montanus, of whose mission into Gaul by Antonius I have
already spoken. He was accompanied by his brother Decimus
Alpinius. His other adherents were now endeavouring to collect
auxiliaries among these danger loving tribes by appeals to their
pity and their greed.
The war was so far from being at an end, that Civilis in one day
attacked on four points the positions of the auxiliary infantry
and cavalry and of the legions, assailing the tenth legion at
Arenacum, the second at Batavodurum, and the camp of the
auxiliary infantry and cavalry at Grinnes and Vada, and so
dividing his forces, that he himself, his sister's son Verax,
Classicus, and Tutor, led each his own division. They were not
confident of accomplishing all these objects, but they hoped
that, if they made many ventures, fortune would favour them on
some one point. Besides, Cerialis was not cautious, and might
easily be intercepted, as the multiplicity of tidings hurried him
from place to place. The force, which had to attack the tenth
legion, thinking it a hard matter to storm a legionary
encampment, surprised some troops, who had gone out, and were
busy felling timber, killed the prefect of the camp, five
centurions of the first rank, and a few soldiers; the rest found
shelter behind the fortifications. At Batavodurum the German
troops tried to break down the bridge partly built. Night
terminated an indecisive conflict.
There was greater danger at Grinnes and Vada. Civilis attacked
Vada, Classicus Grinnes, and they could not be checked, for our
bravest men had fallen, among them Briganticus, who commanded a
squadron of cavalry, and of whose loyalty to the Roman cause and
enmity to his uncle Civilis I have already spoken. But when
Cerialis came up with a picked body of cavalry, the fortune of
the day changed, and the Germans were driven headlong into the
river. Civilis, who was recognised while seeking to stop his
flying troops, became the mark of many missiles, left his horse,
and swam across the river. Verax escaped in the same way. Some
light vessels were brought up, and carried off Tutor and
Classicus. Even on this occasion the Roman fleet was not present
at the engagement, though orders had been given to that effect.
Fear kept them away, and their crews were dispersed about other
military duties. Cerialis in fact allowed too little time for
executing his commands; he was hasty in his plans, though
eminently successful in their results. Fortune helped him even
where skill had failed, and so both the general and his army
became less careful about discipline. A few days after this he
escaped the peril of actual capture, but not without great
disgrace.
He had gone to Novesium and Bonna, to inspect the camps which
were then in course of erection for the winter abode of the
legions, and was making his way back with the fleet, his escort
being in disorder, and his sentries negligent. This was observed
by the Germans, and they planned a surprise. They chose a dark
and cloudy night, and moving rapidly down the stream, entered the
entrenchments without opposition. The carnage was at first helped
on by a cunning device. They cut the ropes of the tents, and
slaughtered the soldiers as they lay buried beneath their own
dwellings. Another force put the fleet into confusion, threw
their grapling irons on the vessels, and dragged them away by the
sterns. They sought at first to elude notice by silence, but when
the slaughter was begun, by way of increasing the panic they
raised on all sides a deafening shout. The Romans, awakened by
sounds, looked for their arms and rushed through the passages of
the camp, some few with their proper accoutrements, but most with
their garments wrapped round their shoulders, and with drawn
swords in their hands. The general, who was half asleep, and all
but naked, was saved by the enemy's mistake. They carried off the
praetorian vessel, which was distinguished by a flag, believing
that the general was on board. Cerialis indeed had passed the
night elsewhere, in the company, as many believed, of an Ubian
woman, Claudia Sacrata. The sentinels sought to excuse their own
scandalous neglect by the disgraceful conduct of the general,
alleging that they had been ordered to be silent, that they might
not disturb his rest, and that, from omitting the watchwords and
the usual challenges, they had themselves fallen asleep. The
enemy rowed back in broad daylight with the captured vessels. The
praetorian trireme they towed up the river Lupia as a present to
Veleda.
Civilis was seized by a desire to make a naval demonstration. He
manned all the triremes that he had, and such vessels as were
propelled by a single bank of oars. To these he added a vast
number of boats. He put in each three or four hundred men, the
usual complement of a Liburnian galley. With these were the
captured vessels, in which, picturesquely enough, plaids of
various colours were used for sails. The place selected was an
expanse of water, not unlike the sea, where the mouth of the Mosa
serves to discharge the Rhine into the ocean. The motive for
equipping this fleet was, to say nothing of the natural vanity of
this people, a desire to intercept, by this alarming
demonstration, the supplies that were approaching from Gaul.
Cerialis, more in astonishment than alarm, drew up his fleet in
line, and, though inferior in numbers, it had the advantage in
the experience of the crews, the skill of the pilots, and the
size of the vessels. The Romans had the stream with them, the
enemy's vessels were propelled by the wind. Thus passing each
other, they separated after a brief discharge of light missiles.
Civilis attempted nothing more, and retired to the other side of
the Rhine. Cerialis mercilessly ravaged the Island of the Batavi,
but, with a policy familiar to commanders, left untouched the
estates and houses of Civilis. Meanwhile, however, the autumn was
far advanced, and the river, swollen by the continual rains of
the season, overflowed the island, marshy and low lying as it is,
till it resembled a lake. There were no ships, no provisions at
hand, and the camp, which was situated on low ground, was in
process of being carried away by the force of the stream.
That the legions might then have been crushed, and that the
Germans wished to crush them, but were turned from their purpose
by his own craft, was claimed as a merit by Civilis; nor is it
unlike the truth, since a capitulation followed in a few days.
Cerialis, sending secret emissaries, had held out the prospect of
peace to the Batavi, and of pardon to Civilis, while he advised
Veleda and her relatives to change by a well timed service to the
Roman people the fortune of war, which so many disasters had
shewn to be adverse. He reminded them that the Treveri had been
beaten, that the Ubii had submitted, that the Batavi had had
their country taken from them, and that from the friendship of
Civilis nothing else had been gained but wounds, defeat, and
mourning; an exile and a fugitive he could only be a burden to
those who entertained him, and they had already trespassed enough
in crossing the Rhine so often. If they attempted anything more,
on their side would be the wrong and the guilt, with the Romans
the vengeance of heaven.
Thus promises were mingled with threats. When the fidelity of the
Transrhenane tribes had been thus shaken, among the Batavi also
there arose debates. "We can no longer," they said, "postpone our
ruin. The servitude of the whole world cannot be averted by a
single nation. What has been accomplished by destroying legions
with fire and sword, but that more legions and stronger have been
brought up? If it was for Vespasian that we fought this war, then
Vespasian rules the world; if we meant to challenge to battle the
Roman people, then what a mere fraction of the human race are the
Batavi! Look at the Rhaetians and Noricans, at the burdens borne
by the other allies. No tribute, but valour and manhood are
demanded of us. This is the next thing to liberty, and if we must
choose between masters, then we may more honourably bear with the
Emperors of Rome, than with the women of the Germans." Such were
the murmurs of the lower class; the nobles spoke in fiercer
language. "We have been driven into war," they said, "by the fury
of Civilis. He sought to counterbalance his private wrongs by the
destruction of his nation. Then were the Gods angry with the
Batavi when the legions were besieged, when the legates were
slain, when the war, so necessary to that one man, so fatal to
us, was begun. We are at the last extremity, unless we think of
repenting, and avow our repentance by punishing the guilty."
These dispositions did not escape the notice of Civilis. He
determined to anticipate them, moved not only by weariness of his
sufferings, but also by that clinging to life which often breaks
the noblest spirits. He asked for a conference. The bridge over
the river Nabalia was cut down, and the two generals advanced to
the broken extremities. Civilis thus opened the conference: "If
it were before a legate of Vitellius that I were defending
myself, my acts would deserve no pardon, my words no credit. All
the relations between us were those of hatred and hostility,
first made so by him, and afterwards embittered by me. My respect
for Vespasian is of long standing. While he was still a subject,
we were called friends. This was known to Primus Antonius, whose
letters urged me to take up arms, for he feared lest the legions
of Germany and the youth of Gaul should cross the Alps. What
Antonius advised by his letters, Hordeonius suggested by word of
mouth. I fought the same battle in Germany, as did Mucianus in
Syria, Aponius in Moesia, Flavianus in Pannonia."
[At this point the Histories break off. We do not know what
happened to Civilis. The Batavians seem to have received
favorable treatment.]
