THE SCENE: When Julius Caesar demanded that Germanic tribes desist from raiding in Gaul, he found that the German leader was none too respectful – and all too willing to risk open conflict with Rome.
THE TEXT: “I am not impressed,” he concluded, “by Caesar’s threat to punish my ‘oppression’ of these people. No one has ever fought me without bringing destruction upon himself. Let him attack whenever he pleases. He will discover what German valour is capable of. We have never known defeat, we have had superb training in arms, and for fourteen years have never sheltered beneath a roof.
– The Conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar, 1st Century BC
