Cæsar did not pursue far, on account of the woods and marshes; he would not have been able, indeed, to inflict further loss; he marched with his troops, without having suffered any loss, towards the camp of Cicero, where he arrived the same day.[441] The towers, the covered galleries, and the retrenchments of the barbarians, excited his astonishment. Having assembled the soldiers of Cicero’s legion, nine-tenths of whom were wounded, he could judge how much danger they had run and how much courage they had displayed. He loaded with praise the general and soldiers, addressing individually the centurions and the tribunes who had distinguished themselves. The prisoners gave him more ample details on the deaths of Sabinus and Cotta, whose disaster had produced a deep impression in the army. The next day he reminds the troops convoked for that purpose of the past event, consoles and encourages them, throws the fault of this check on the imprudence of the lieutenant, and exhorts them to resignation the more, because, thanks to the valour of the soldiers and the protection of the gods, the expiation had been prompt, and left no further reason for the enemies to rejoice, or for the Romans to be afflicted.[442]
We see, from what precedes, how small a number of troops, disseminated over a vast territory, surmounted, by discipline and courage, a formidable insurrection. Quintus Cicero, by following the principle invoked by Cotta, not to enter into negotiations with an enemy in arms, saved both his army and his honour. As to Cæsar, he gave proof, in this circumstance, of an energy and strength of mind which Quintus Cicero did not fail to point out to his brother when he wrote to him.[443] If we believe Suetonius and Polyænus, Cæsar felt so great a grief for the check experienced by Sabinus, that, in sign of mourning, he let his beard and hair grow until he had avenged his lieutenants,[444] which only happened in the year following, by the destruction of the Eburones and the Nervii.
Cæsar places his Troops in Winter Quarters. Labienus defeats Indutiomarus.
XV. Meanwhile the news of Cæsar’s victory reached Labienus, across the country of the Remi, with incredible speed: his winter quarters were at a distance of about sixty miles from Cicero’s camp, where Cæsar had only arrived after the ninth hour of the day (three o’clock in the afternoon), and yet before midnight shouts of joy were raised at the gates of the camp, the acclamations of the Remi who came to congratulate Labienus. The noise spread in the army of the Treviri, and Indutiomarus, who had resolved to attack the camp of Labienus next day, withdrew during the night, and took all his troops with him.
These events having been accomplished, Cæsar distributed the seven legions he had left in the following manner: he sent Fabius with his legion to his winter quarters among the Morini, and established himself in the neighbourhood of Amiens with three legions, which he separated in three quarters: they were the legion of Crassus, which had remained stationary, that of Cicero, and that of Trebonius. There are still seen, along the Somme, in the neighbourhood of Amiens, three camps at a short distance from each other, which appear to have been those of that period.[445] Labienus, Plancus, and Roscius continued to occupy the same positions. The gravity of the circumstances determined Cæsar to remain all the winter with the army. In fact, on the news of the disaster of Sabinus, nearly all the people of Gaul showed a disposition to take arms, sent deputations and messages to each other, communicated their projects, and deliberated upon the point from which the signal for war should be given. They held nocturnal assemblies in bye-places, and during the whole winter not a day passed in which there was not some meeting or some movement of the Gauls to cause uneasiness to Cæsar. Thus he learnt from L. Roscius, lieutenant placed at the head of the 13th legion, that considerable troops of Armorica had assembled to attack him; they were not more than eight miles from his winter quarters, when the news of Cæsar’s victory had compelled them to retreat precipitately and in disorder.
The Roman general called to his presence the principes of each state, terrified some by letting them know that he was informed of their plots, exhorted the others to perform their duty, and by these means maintained the tranquillity of a great part of Gaul. Meanwhile a vexatious event took place in the country of the Senones, a powerful and influential nation among the Gauls. They had resolved, in an assembly, to put to death Cavarinus, whom Cæsar had given them for king. Cavarinus had fled; upon which they pronounced his deposition, banished him, and pursued him to the limits of their territory. They had sought to justify themselves to Cæsar, who ordered them to send him all their senators. They refused. This boldness on the part of the Senones, by showing to the barbarians some individuals capable of resisting the Romans, produced so great a change in their minds, that, with the exception of the Ædui and the Remi, there was not a people which did not fall under suspicion of revolt, each desiring to free itself from foreign domination.
During the whole winter, the Treviri and Indutiomarus never ceased urging the people on the other side of the Rhine to take up arms, assuring them that the greater part of the Roman army had been destroyed. But not one of the German nations could be persuaded to pass the Rhine. The remembrance of the double defeat of Ariovistus and the Tencteri made them cautious of trying their fortune again. Deceived in his expectations, Indutiomarus did not discontinue collecting troops, exercising them, buying horses from the neighbouring countries, and drawing to him from all parts of Gaul outlaws and condemned criminals. His ascendency was soon so great, that from all parts people eagerly sought his friendship and protection.
When he saw some rallying to him spontaneously, others, such as the Senones and the Carnutes, engaging in his cause through a consciousness of their fault; the Nervii and the Aduatuci preparing for war, and a crowd of volunteers disposed to join him as soon as he should have quitted his country, Indutiomarus, according to the custom of the Gauls at the beginning of a campaign, called together an assembly in arms. He pronounced Cingetorix, his son-in-law, who remained faithful to Cæsar, an enemy of his country; and announced that, in reply to the appeal of the Senones and Carnutes, he would go to them through the country of the Remi, whose lands he would ravage; but, above all, he would attack the camp of Labienus.
The latter, established on the Ourthe, master of a position naturally formidable, which he had further fortified, was in fear of no attack, but dreamt, on the contrary, of seizing the first opportunity of combating with advantage. Informed by Cingetorix of the designs of Indutiomarus, he demanded cavalry of the neighbouring states, pretended fear, and, letting the enemy’s cavalry approach with impunity, remained shut up in his camp.
While, deceived by these appearances, Indutiomarus became daily more presumptuous, Labienus introduced secretly into his camp during the night the auxiliary cavalry, and, by keeping a close watch, prevented the Treviri from being informed of it. The enemy, ignorant of the arrival of this re-enforcement, advanced nearer and nearer to the retrenchments, and redoubled his provocations. They were unnoticed, and towards evening he withdrew in disorder. Suddenly Labienus causes his cavalry, seconded by his cohorts, to issue by the two gates. Foreseeing the rout of the enemy, he urges his troops to follow Indutiomarus alone, and promises great rewards to those who shall bring his head. Fortune seconded his designs; Indutiomarus was overtaken just at the ford of the river (the Ourthe), and put to death, and his head was brought into the camp. The cavalry, in their return, slew all the enemies they found in their way. The Eburones and the Nervii dispersed. The result of these events was to give to Gaul a little more tranquillity.[446]