Nobody Loves a Centurion(15)
The Gauls reacted to the name of Marius as if they had been slapped. Two Gallic nations simply ceased to exist when they tangled with Marius, and several others were badly shredded. His was a name with which the Gauls frightened small children into obedience.
One of the Germans indicated that he wished to speak. Caesar nodded and the man stood. His wolfskin tunic was encircled by a belt six inches wide studded with bronze nails, and it creaked as he rose and hooked his thumbs into it.
“First Spear,” Caesar said, “summon your interpreter.”
Vinius clapped his hands, producing a sound like a large catapult hurling a missile. I smiled in anticipation, expecting to see the German slave girl. Great was my disappointment when instead the ugly, gnomish, fox-haired slave I had seen standing in the doorway of Vinius’s tent walked through the guarded opening in the praetorium wall. He stood by the envoy and the man looked down his long, German nose as at a toad or other lowly, unattractive creature, and said something in a language that sounded like wolves fighting for leadership of the pack.
The slave translated, grinning insolently, displaying a mouth in which teeth and gaps associated equally. “Is this proper? My people drown all such creatures at birth.”
Caesar laughed richly. “In a truly well ordered world, nothing so ugly would be suffered to live. However, we live in the real world, not in Plato’s. Sometimes uncomeliness must be overlooked in favor of utility. Molon was a slave east of the Rhine for many years, so he is fluent in your language. He fears the whip too much to tamper with the translation. He will render our words with precision. Pray continue.”
After this the Germans behaved as if the slave was not there. “I am Eintzius, nephew of King Ariovistus, and with me is my brother, Eramanzius.” Again, these are at best approximations of their names. “For some time now my king has been in contact with the councilors of the Helvetii and it has been agreed among us that our cousins, the Harudes and the Suebi, are to move onto the land vacated by the Helvetii. Those tribes are already on the move and preparing to cross the Rhine. If the Helvetii are not permitted to migrate, severe hardship will result. The Harudes and the Suebi will be greatly angered.”
I heard a hiss beside me and Lovernius muttered: “I thought so! Those Helvetii aren’t migrating because they have itchy feet. They are being pushed! These Germans have told them to clear out or be exterminated.”
Caesar leaned forward in his proconsul’s folding chair, his arms relaxed along its elaborately carved arms. “Honored envoy, I am not pleased by this news. Rome is not pleased. Rome has two policies which are not to be flouted and which I am here to enforce: the tribes of Gaul are to stay within the borders of their own ancestral territories; and the Germans are not to cross to the west bank of the Rhine.”
“Caesar, we are already west of the river, and have been for years, and intend to stay.” For all his barbaric aspect, Eintzius spoke with the effortless authority of an envoy of the Senate ordering some Oriental despot to cease and desist from whatever activity displeased Rome. Between him and Caesar I sensed a collision of two implacable forces. Suddenly, the Helvetii did not seem to be such a threat. I could almost pity them, caught between the millstones of Rome and Germania.
“That I will deal with when the matter of the Helvetii has been settled,” Caesar said.
The other German stood. “Go fetch more men. What you have here will not provide a morning’s amusement for us.” For a skin-clad savage, Eramanzius was unbelievably arrogant. Of course, it helped that he was close to seven feet tall. People that tall tend to assume far more importance than they actually possess.
Nonetheless, both of them were intimidating in the extreme, in a way that the colorful Gauls were not. Partly, it was their outlandish habit of wearing furs. Gauls, and Romans visiting cold climates, sometimes wear fur inside their clothing, for warmth. But Germans wear it on the outside, as if they were trying to imitate the appearance of their totem animals. Among civilized people this is done only for purposes of ritual, as with the leopard-skin capes of Egyptian priests and Greek Bacchantes, or the lion, bear, and wolfskin worn by legionary standard-bearers. It is unsettling in the extreme to see people wear animal skins as their everyday attire.
Caesar regarded the man coldly. “Do not provoke me. There is no power on earth like Rome. From the soil of Italy the legions rise up like grain after the spring rains. If you truly wish it, we will provide you with entertainment up to your highest expectations, although we must forego the pleasure of hearing your applause afterward.”