ght, for when the wooden nail
broke, the iron head would bend, and the spear, owing to the twist in
the metal part, would still hold to the shield, and so drag along the
ground. Now Boeorix, the king of the Cimbri, with a very few men about
him, riding up to the camp, challenged Marius to fix a day and place,
and to come out and settle the claim to the country by a battle.
Marius replied, that the Romans never took advice of their enemies as
to fighting; however, he would gratify the Cimbri in this matter, and
accordingly they agreed on the third day from the present, and the
battle-field was to be the plain of Vercellae[96], which was suited for
the Roman cavalry, and would give the Cimbri full room for their
numbers. When the appointed day came, the Romans prepared for battle
with the enemy. Catulus[97] had twenty-two thousand three hundred men,
and Marius thirty-two thousand, which were distributed on each flank
of Catulus, who occupied the centre, as Sulla[98] has recorded, who
was in the battle. Sulla also says, that Marius expected that the
line would be engaged chiefly at the extremities and on the wings, and
with the view of appropriating the victory to his own soldiers, and
that Catulus might have no part in the contest, and not come to close
quarters with the enemy, he took advantage of the hollow front of the
centre, which usually results when the line is extended, and
accordingly divided and placed his forces as already stated. Some
writers say that Catulus himself also made a statement to the like
effect, in his apology about the battle, and accused Marius of want of
good faith to him. The infantry of the Cimbri marched slowly from
their fortified posts in a square, each side of which was thirty
stadia: the cavalry, fifteen thousand in number, advanced in splendid
style, wearing helmets which resembled in form the open mouths of
frightful beasts and strange-shaped heads, surmounted by lofty crests
of feathers, which made them appear taller; they had also breastplates
of iron and white glittering shields. Their practice was to discharge
two darts,[99] and then closing with the enemy, to use their large
heavy swords.

XXVI. On this occasion the enemy's cavalry did not advance straight
against the Romans, but deviating to the right they attempted to draw
the Romans little by little in that direction, with the view of
attacking them when they had got them between themselves and their
infantry, which was on the