The Batavi were once a tribe of the Chatti,265 living on the further bank of the Rhine. But an outbreak of civil war had driven them across the river, where they settled in a still unoccupied district on the frontier of Gaul and also in the neighbouring island, enclosed on one side by the ocean and on the other three sides by the Rhine.266 There they fared better than most tribes who ally themselves to a stronger power. Their resources are still intact, and they have only to contribute men and arms for the imperial army.267 After 112a long training in the German wars, they still further increased their reputation in Britain, where their troops had been sent, commanded according to an ancient custom by some of the noblest chiefs. There still remained behind in their own country a picked troop of horsemen with a peculiar5 knack6 of swimming, which enabled them to make a practice268 of crossing the Rhine with unbroken ranks without losing control of their horses or their weapons.
13Of their chieftains two outshone the rest. These were Julius 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 motive7 for hating Rome, and our misfortunes fed his hopes. He was, indeed, far cleverer than most barbarians8, and professed9 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 Antonius113 Primus had written instructing him to divert the auxiliaries10 whom Vitellius had summoned, and to delay the legions on the pretence11 of a rising in Germany. Moreover, Hordeonius Flaccus272 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.
14Having thus made up his mind to rebel, Civilis concealed12 in the meantime his ulterior design, and while intending to guide his ultimate policy by future events, proceeded to initiate13 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 enrolling14 elderly men and invalids15 so as to get bribes16 for excusing them: or, as most of the Batavi are tall and good-looking in their youth, they would seize the handsomest boys for immoral17 purposes. This caused bad feeling; an agitation18 was organized, and they were persuaded to refuse service. Accordingly, on the pretext19 of giving a banquet, Civilis summoned the chief nobles and the most determined20 of the tribesmen to a sacred grove21. 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 enumerate22 the wrongs they had suffered, the injustice23 114and 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 Governor273—irksome though the insolence24 of his staff would be. We are given over to prefects and centurions26; and when these subordinates have had their fill of extortion and of bloodshed, they promptly27 find some one to replace them, and then there are new pockets to fill and new pretexts28 for plunder29. 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 depressed30. 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 infantry31 and cavalry32: the Germans are our kinsmen33: 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.'
15His speech was received with great approval, and he at once bound them all to union, using the barbarous ceremonies and strange oaths of his country. They 115then sent to the Canninefates to join their enterprise. This tribe inhabits part of the Island,276 and though inferior in numbers to the Batavi, they are of the same race and language and the same courageous34 spirit. Civilis next sent secret messages to win over the Batavian troops, which after serving as Roman auxiliaries in Britain had been sent, as we have already seen,277 to Germany and were now stationed at Mainz.278
One of the Canninefates, Brinno by name, was a man of distinguished35 family and stubborn courage. His father had often ventured acts of hostility36, and had with complete impunity37 shown his contempt for Caligula's farcical expedition.279 To belong to such a family of rebels was in itself a recommendation. He was accordingly placed on a shield, swung up on the shoulders of his friends, and thus elected leader after the fashion of the tribe. Summoning to his aid the Frisii280—a tribe from beyond the Rhine—he fell upon two cohorts of auxiliaries whose camp lay close to the neighbouring shore.281 The attack was unexpected, and the troops, even if they had foreseen it, were not strong enough to offer resistance: so the camp was taken and looted. They then fell on the Roman camp-116followers and traders, who had gone off in all directions as if peace were assured. Finding the forts now threatened with destruction, the Roman officers set fire to them, as they had no means of defence. All the troops with their standards and colours retired38 in a body to the upper end of the island, led by Aquilius, a senior centurion25. But they were an army in name only, not in strength, for Vitellius had withdrawn39 all the efficient soldiers and had replaced them by a useless mob, who had been drawn40 from the neighbouring Nervian and German villages and were only embarrassed by their armour41.282
16Civilis thought it best to proceed by guile42, and actually ventured to blame the Roman officers for abandoning the forts. He could, he told them, with the cohort under his command, suppress the outbreak of the Canninefates without their assistance: they could all go back to their winter-quarters. However, it was plain that some treachery underlay43 his advice—it would be easier to crush the cohorts if they were separated—and also that Civilis, not Brinno, was at the head of this war. Evidence of this gradually leaked out, as the Germans loved war too well to keep 117the secret for long. Finding his artifice44 unsuccessful, Civilis tried force instead, forming the Canninefates, Frisii and Batavi into three separate columns.283 The Roman line faced them in position near the Rhine bank.284 They had brought their ships there after the burning of the forts, and these were now turned with their prows45 towards the enemy. Soon after the engagement began a Tungrian cohort deserted46 to Civilis, and the Romans were so startled by this unexpected treachery that they were cut to pieces by their allies and their enemies combined. Similar treachery occurred in the fleet. Some of the rowers, who were Batavians, feigning47 clumsiness tried to impede48 the sailors and marines in the performance of their functions, and after a while openly resisted them and turned the ships' sterns towards the enemy's bank. Finally, they killed the pilots and centurions who refused to join them, and thus all the twenty-four ships of the flotilla either deserted to the enemy or were captured by them.
17This victory made Civilis immediately famous and proved subsequently very useful. Having now got the ships and the weapons which they needed, he and his 118followers were enthusiastically proclaimed as champions of liberty throughout Germany and Gaul. The German provinces immediately sent envoys49 with offers of help, while Civilis endeavoured by diplomacy50 and by bribery51 to secure an alliance with the Gauls. He sent back the auxiliary52 officers whom he had taken prisoner, each to his own tribe, and offered the cohorts the choice of either going home or remaining with him. Those who remained were given an honourable53 position in his army: and those who went home received presents out of the Roman spoil. At the same time Civilis talked to them confidentially54 and reminded them of the miseries55 they had endured for all these years, in which they had disguised their wretched slavery under the name of peace. 'The Batavi,' he would say, 'were excused from taxation56, and yet they have taken arms against the common tyrant57. In the first engagement the Romans were routed and beaten. What if Gaul throws off the yoke58? What forces are there left in Italy? It is with the blood of provincials59 that their provinces are won. Don't think of the defeat of . Why, it was the Batavian cavalry which trampled60 on the Aedui and Arverni,285 and there were Belgic auxiliaries in Verginius' force. The truth is that Gaul succumbed61 to her own armies. But now we are all united in one party, fortified62, moreover, by the military discipline which prevails in Roman camps:119 and we have on our side the veterans before whom Otho's legions lately bit the dust. Let Syria and Asia play the slave: the East is used to tyrants63: but there are many still living in Gaul who were born before the days of tribute.286 Indeed, it is only the other day287 that Quintilius Varus was killed, when slavery was driven out of Germany, and they brought into the field not the Emperor Vitellius but Caesar Augustus himself. Why, liberty is the natural prerogative64 even of dumb animals: courage is the peculiar attribute of man. Heaven helps the brave. Come, then, fall upon them while your hands are free and theirs are tied, while you are fresh and they are weary. Some of them are for Vespasian, others for Vitellius; now is your chance to crush both parties at once.'
18Civilis thus had his eye on Gaul and Germany and aspired65, had his project prospered66, to become king of two countries, one pre-eminent in wealth and the other in military strength.
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1
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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auxiliaries
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| n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 )；辅助工，辅助人员 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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12
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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13
initiate
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| vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入 | |
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14
enrolling
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| v.招收( enrol的现在分词 )；吸收；入学；加入；[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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invalids
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| 病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) | |
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bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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17
immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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18
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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21
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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enumerate
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| v.列举，计算，枚举，数 | |
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23
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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centurion
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| n.古罗马的百人队长 | |
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centurions
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| n.百人队长，百夫长（古罗马的军官，指挥百人）( centurion的名词复数 ) | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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pretexts
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| n.借口，托辞( pretext的名词复数 ) | |
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29
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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kinsmen
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| n.家属，亲属( kinsman的名词复数 ) | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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38
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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39
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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41
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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42
guile
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| n.诈术 | |
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43
underlay
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| v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的过去式 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起n.衬垫物 | |
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44
artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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45
prows
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| n.船首( prow的名词复数 ) | |
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46
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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47
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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48
impede
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止 | |
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49
envoys
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| 使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份 | |
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50
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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51
bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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52
auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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53
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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54
confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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55
miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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56
taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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57
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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provincials
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| n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 ) | |
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60
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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61
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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63
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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64
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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65
aspired
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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