No More Learning

There
still remained behind in their own country a picked troop of horsemen
with a peculiar knack of swimming, which enabled them to make a
practice[268] of crossing the Rhine with unbroken ranks without losing
control of their horses or their weapons.

Of their chieftains two outshone the rest. These were Julius 13
Paulus and Julius Civilis, both of royal stock. Paulus had been
executed by Fonteius Capito on a false charge of rebellion. [269] On
the same occasion Civilis was sent in chains to Nero. Galba, however,
set him free, and under Vitellius he again ran great risk of his life,
when the army clamoured for his execution. [270] This gave him a motive
for hating Rome, and our misfortunes fed his hopes. He was, indeed,
far cleverer than most barbarians, and professed to be a second
Sertorius or Hannibal, because they all three had the same physical
defect. [271] He was afraid that if he openly rebelled against the
Roman people they would treat him as an enemy, and march on him at
once, so he pretended to be a keen supporter of Vespasian's party.
This much was true, that Antonius Primus had written instructing him
to divert the auxiliaries whom Vitellius had summoned, and to delay
the legions on the pretence of a rising in Germany. Moreover,
Hordeonius Flaccus[272] had given him the same advice in person, for
Flaccus was inclined to support Vespasian and anxious for the safety
of Rome, which was threatened with utter disaster, if the war were to
break out afresh and all these thousands of troops come pouring into
Italy.

Having thus made up his mind to rebel, Civilis concealed in the 14
meantime his ulterior design, and while intending to guide his
ultimate policy by future events, proceeded to initiate the rising as
follows. The young Batavians were by Vitellius' orders being pressed
for service, and this burden was being rendered even more irksome than
it need have been by the greed and depravity of the recruiting
officers. They took to enrolling elderly men and invalids so as to get
bribes for excusing them: or, as most of the Batavi are tall and
good-looking in their youth, they would seize the handsomest boys for
immoral purposes. This caused bad feeling; an agitation was organized,
and they were persuaded to refuse service.
Accordingly, on the pretext
of giving a banquet, Civilis summoned the chief nobles and the most
determined of the tribesmen to a sacred grove. Then, when he saw them
excited by their revelry and the late hour of the night, he began to
speak of the glorious past of the Batavi and to enumerate the wrongs
they had suffered, the injustice and extortion and all the evils of
their slavery. 'We are no longer treated,' he said, 'as we used to be,
like allies, but like menials and slaves. Why, we are never even
visited by an imperial Governor[273]--irksome though the insolence of
his staff would be. We are given over to prefects and centurions; and
when these subordinates have had their fill of extortion and of
bloodshed, they promptly find some one to replace them, and then there
are new pockets to fill and new pretexts for plunder. Now conscription
is upon us: children are to be torn from parents, brother from
brother, never, probably, to meet again. And yet the fortunes of Rome
were never more depressed. Their cantonments contain nothing but loot
and a lot of old men. Lift up your eyes and look at them. There is
nothing to fear from legions that only exist on paper. [274] And we are
strong. We have infantry and cavalry: the Germans are our kinsmen: the
Gauls share our ambition. Even the Romans will be grateful if we go to
war. [275] If we fail, we can claim credit for supporting Vespasian: if
we succeed, there will be no one to call us to account. '

His speech was received with great approval, and he at once bound 15
them all to union, using the barbarous ceremonies and strange oaths of
his country. They then sent to the Canninefates to join their
enterprise.