he Gallic chieftains,
whom Otho had sent to work against Vitellius,[387] had agreed, before
they parted, that if Rome sank under its internal troubles in an
unbroken sequence of civil wars, they would not fail the cause of the
Gallic freedom.

Previous to the murder of Hordeonius Flaccus[388] nothing had 55
leaked out to arouse suspicions of a conspiracy, but when he had been
assassinated, negotiations passed between Civilis and Classicus,[389]
who commanded the Treviran cavalry. Classicus was far above the rest
both in birth and in wealth. He came of royal line and his stock was
famous both in peace and war. It was his boast that his family had
given Rome more enemies than allies. These two were now joined by
Julius Tutor and Julius Sabinus, the one a Treviran, the other a
Lingonian. Tutor had been appointed by Vitellius to watch the bank of
the Rhine.[390] Sabinus' natural vanity was further inflamed by
spurious pretensions of high birth, for he alleged that his
great-grandmother's beauty had caught the fancy of Julius Caesar
during the campaign in Gaul, and that they had committed adultery.
These four tested the temper of the rest in private interviews, and
having bound to the conspiracy those who were considered fit, they
held a conference at Cologne in a private house, the general feeling
in the city being hostile to such plans as theirs. A few of the Ubii
and Tungri, indeed, attended, but the Treviri and Lingonians were the
backbone of the conspiracy. Nor would they tolerate deliberation or
delay. They vied with each other in protesting that Rome was
distracted by internal quarrels; legions had been cut to pieces, Italy
devastated, the city was on the point of being taken, while all her
armies were occupied with wars of their own in different quarters.
They need only garrison the Alps and then, when liberty had taken firm
root, they could discuss together what limit each tribe should set to
its exercise of power.

All this was no sooner spoken than applauded. About the remnant of 56
Vitellius' army they were in some doubt. Many held that they ought to
be killed as being treacherous and insubordinate and stained with the
blood of their generals. However, the idea of sparing them carried the
day. To destroy all hope of pardon would only steel their obstinacy:
it was much better to seduce them into alliance: only the generals
need be killed; a guilty conscience and the hope of pardon would soon
brin