THE SCENE: When Julius Caesar threatened a powerful Gaulish noble, the man’s response quickly reminded Caesar that not all of his enemies could be found on the battlefield.
THE TEXT: I suspect that this talk of friendship is just so much presence, and that your object in keeping an army in Gaul is to crush me. Unless you take yourself off from this country, and your army with you, it won’t be as a “Friend” that I shall treat you. In fact, if I killed you, there are plenty of nobles and politicians in Rome who would thank me for it; I know this, because they themselves commissioned their agents to tell me so. I could make them all my grateful friends by putting an end to you. But if you will go away and leave me in undisturbed possession of Gaul I will reward you handsomely, and whenever you want a war fought, I will see the job through for you, without your lifting a finger or running any risk.”
– The Conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar, 1st Century BC
