Annals of a Fortress

by Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc

The Helvetians, and close upon their track the Romans, had already passed the Avar,[3] and the promised grain had not arrived. The fact was, that certain persons of influence among the Ædui were opposed to the Romans, and, fearing that if once they got a footing in Gaul they would aim at subjugating it, were using every effort to prevent the fulfilment of the promises made by the magistrates of the principal city of the Ædui.

Catognatus was one of the chiefs most actively opposed to the Romans, and had friends among Cæsar's auxiliaries who informed him of all that was going on in the Roman camp. On his side he communicated to the Helvetii whatever information he received respecting the movements or position of the Roman army.

Cæsar having become acquainted with these manœuvres through Liscus, took his measures accordingly; and after having in great part annihilated the emigrant horde of the Helvetii, when the scattered remnant sought refuge among the Lingones, he first sent couriers to prohibit the latter from aiding or sheltering the fugitives: then, after allowing his troops three days to recruit themselves, he pushed on again in pursuit of the Helvetii. These quickly submitted; but Cæsar had not forgotten the share which Catognatus had had in the matter of supplies promised by the Ædui, and while he was treating with the latter with a view to relieve part of Gaul from the tyranny of Ariovistus, he despatched a legion and some auxiliary troops to assure himself of the disposition of the Lingones, to seize Catognatus and the Helvetii whom he had harboured, and, if necessary, to chastise the inhabitants of the Val d'Avon—i.e., if they persisted in holding to their chief.

Catognatus, who had his informants in Cæsar's army, was soon warned of the danger that threatened him.

He had, in fact, given an asylum to some Helvetian fugitives, thereby raising the number of his men to nearly six thousand, supposing the warriors of the Val d'Avon willing to make a stand against the Roman troops. Assembling his Ambactes, therefore, and their principal retainers, he urged on their consideration the inconsiderable size of the Roman army; the fact that it was already distant from the frontiers of the province, and had been weakened by preceding conflicts; that though it had defeated the Helvetii in the open field, the issue would have been different if the enemy had been posted behind intrenchments; that they ought not to suffer the Romans to busy themselves with their affairs or differences, since they, the Gauls, did not interfere with the affairs of the provinces; that the Romans might justly prohibit the Helvetii from passing through Roman territory, but that they infringed the independence of their neighbours and allies when they presumed to keep order among them without being formally requested to do so; that he knew, moreover, that the Ædui, devoted though they seemed to the Romans, were only waiting for an opportunity to chastise their presumption; that Cæsar was going to divide his forces, and that if the men of the Val d'Avon resisted the troops sent against them, this would be the signal for a general rising which would be fatal to the Roman armies. He told them also that they ought to remember that their ancestors made the Romans tremble even in Rome, and that it was disgraceful to submit to the dictation of those whom they had formerly conquered.

Catognatus also adopted the stratagem of sending emissaries to the houses of the people under the guise of travellers. They professed to have seen Cæsar's troops, and to have found them half-starved and utterly destitute; they affirmed that the best of them had been obliged frequently to retreat before the Helvetii; that they were reduced by three-fourths, and that the remainder of their army was composed of raw recruits and of auxiliaries, who were only waiting for an opportunity to return home.

These reports, spread through the valley, were still more efficacious than Catognatus's discourse; for the Gauls have always been inclined to lend a willing ear to representations that flatter their desires, without inquiring whether they are true or false. If any of the older men shook their heads and said that it would be as well to know what was asked of them before assuming a hostile attitude, they were treated with contempt. Catognatus, seeing all the people inclined to resist, had trunks of trees mingled with earth and pebbles heaped up before the weaker points of the Oppidum.

They re-dug the ditch before the walls of the left bank and surrounded with palisades the part of the city that had remained unprotected on the right bank. In addition to this, Catognatus had a cutting dug at a hundred paces from the Oppidum between its northern salient and the plateau. These works, hastily undertaken, were still unfinished when the arrival of the Roman troops was announced. The infantry were advancing in good order in the valley on the left bank, while the cavalry followed the hills on the same side. Not a man quitted the ranks to go and pillage the houses, and neither songs nor shouts were heard. The helmets of polished bronze worn by the legionaries were shining in the sun, and, seen from a distance, the troop resembled a long fiery serpent uncoiling in the meadows.

From the elevated tower occupied by Catognatus the slightest movements of the Romans were visible. They soon deployed along the rivulet, their left being against the river and their right protected by the cavalry on the hills. The lieutenant, Titurius, then sent an envoy into the city. He was commissioned to announce to the magistrates that the Romans appeared as friends, but that since Catognatus had given an asylum to some of the Helvetii, and had notoriously exercised his power to prevent the Ædui from furnishing the supplies promised to the army commanded by Cæsar, and which had come into Gaul with the sole purpose of hindering the Helvetii from devastating,—that is, strictly in the character of allies,—they must deliver up the said Catognatus and the Helvetian refugees to the lieutenant Titurius without delay: that if this was done the Romans would only demand provisions for ten days,—a reasonable requirement, as between allies; after which they would return to the Ædui.

Catognatus, surrounded by his principal Ambactes, was present in the assembly of the magistrates when the envoy delivered his commission. Seeing them hesitating, he replied to the summons as follows: "Here is the object of your search. I am Catognatus; I have afforded an asylum to certain of the Helvetii, who are my friends, and whose hospitality I myself have shared; I am allied with the Helvetii as I am allied with the Romans. If the Romans had been beaten by the Helvetii, and any of them escaped from massacre had taken refuge here, would they consider it honourable for me to give them up to their enemies, had they come here in arms to demand them? If such was the usual conduct of the Romans, I should blush to be their ally. To the vague accusation respecting the influence I am alleged to have exercised over the policy of the Ædui, I have nothing to reply. The Ædui act according to their own good pleasure, and it is not for me to interfere with them. The Romans should demand satisfaction of the Ædui if they have not fulfilled their engagements. As to myself, the Romans have asked nothing of me, and I have promised them nothing: what business have they here? If they had a message to send me, was it necessary that the bearer should be escorted by a legion? Is this how allies should treat each other? Go and tell the legate that we are at home here; that if he comes as a friend we shall treat him as a friend; but that if he presumes to dictate to us and treat us as children, we shall answer him as men who know how to act for themselves." "He is right! he is right!" was the unanimous exclamation of the Ambactes; and overwhelming the envoy with insults, they thrust him out. Catognatus had to interpose to prevent the crowd from tearing him to pieces.