et out to their native abodes and retired among the Sugambri. He sent
after them and demanded their surrender, not because he expected that
they would give themselves up to him (the men beyond the Rhine were not
so afraid of the Romans as to listen to anything of that sort), but in
order that on this excuse he might cross the stream itself. He himself
was exceedingly anxious to do something that no one had previously
equaled, and he expected to keep the Celts at a distance from the Gauls
by invading the former's territory. When, therefore, the cavalry refused
to give themselves up, and the Ubii, whose land was coterminal with the
Sugambri and who were at variance with them, invoked his aid, he crossed
the river by bridging it. But on finding that the Sugambri had betaken
themselves into their strongholds and that the Suebi were gathering
apparently to come to their aid, he retired within twenty days.

[-49-] The Rhine issues from the Celtic Alps, a little outside of
Rhaetia, and proceeding westward, with Gaul and its inhabitants on the
left, it bounds the Celts on the right, and finally empties into the
ocean. This has always, even till now, been considered the boundary,
from which they came to the difference in names, since very anciently
both the peoples dwelling on each side of the river were called Celts.

[-50-] Caesar, then, first of Romans crossed the Rhine at this time, and
later in the consulship of Pompey and Crassus he traversed the channel
of Britain. This country is distant from the Belgic mainland, opposite
the Morini, three hundred and fifty stades at the shortest
computation,[58] and extends alongside the rest of Gaul and nearly all
of Spain, reaching out into the sea. To the very first of the Greeks and
Romans it was not even known; to their descendants it was a matter of
dispute whether it was a continent or an island. And its history was
written from both points of view by many who knew nothing about it,
because they had not seen with their own eyes nor heard from the natives
with their own ears, but indulged in guesses according as each had
leisure or fondness for talk. As time went on, first under Agricola as
propraetor and now under Severus as emperor, it has been clearly proven
to be an island.

[-51-] To this land then, Caesar, since he had won over the Morini and
the rest of Gaul was quiet, desired to cross. He made the voyage with
infantry by the most desirable course, but did not select the b