ch he passed, and pressed rapidly on. Meanwhile being afraid that
Cicero in despair of assistance might suffer disaster or capitulate, he
sent forward a horseman. He did not trust the servant of the Nervian, in
spite of having received an actual proof of his good will: he was afraid
that he might pity his countrymen and work him some great evil. So he
sent a horseman of the allies who knew their dialect and had dressed
himself in their garb. And in order that even he might not voluntarily
or involuntarily reveal the secret he gave him no verbal message and
wrote to Cicero in Greek all the injunctions that he wished to give, in
order that even if the letter should be captured, it might still be
incomprehensible to the barbarians and afford them no information. He
had also the custom as a usual thing, when he was sending a secret order
to any one, to write constantly the fourth letter beyond, instead of the
proper one, so that the writing might be unintelligible to most persons.
The horseman reached the camp of the Romans, but not being able to come
close up to it he fastened the letter to a small javelin and hurled it
into the enemy's ranks, fixing it purposely in a tower.[-10-] Thus
Cicero, on learning of the advent of Caesar, took courage and held out
more stubbornly. The barbarians for a long time knew nothing of the
assistance he was bringing; he journeyed by night, lying by day in most
obscure places, so as to fall upon them as far as possible unawares. At
last from the unnatural cheerfulness of the besieged they suspected it
and sent out scouts. Learning from them that Caesar was at last drawing
near they set out against him, thinking to attack him while off his
guard. He received advance information of this movement and remained
where he was that night, but just before dawn took up a strong position.
There he encamped apparently with the utmost haste, for the purpose of
appearing to have only a few followers, to have suffered from the
journey, to fear their onset, and by this plan to draw them to the
higher ground. And so it proved. Their contempt for him led them to
charge up hill, and they met with such a severe defeat that they
committed not another warlike act.

[-11-] In this way both they and all the rest were at that time subdued;
they did not, however, feel kindly toward the Romans. The Treveri,
indeed, when Caesar sent for the principal men[60] of each tribe and
punished them, through fear that they, too,