THE SCENE: As a conqueror, Julius Caesar was famous for his tendency towards mercy. But when a Gaulish tribe, the Atuatuci, betrayed his trust, they found that he was not in the habit of being merciful twice.
THE TEXT: To this appeal Caesar replied that he would spare the tribe – not because they deserved it, but because it was his habit to be merciful – provided they surrendered before the battering-ram touched the wall, but that he could not consider any terms of surrender unless they handed over their arms. After making a report to their countrymen, the envoys came again to say that they were ready to obey. A large quantity of arms was thrown from the wall into the moat that lay in front of the fortress, the piles reaching nearly to the top of the want and of the siege terrace. They opened the gates and were at peace for that day.
In the evening Caesar ordered the Roman soldiers in the fortress to leave it and had the gates closed, to prevent the men from doing any injury to the inhabitants during the night. But the enemy clearly had a preconcerted plan. They equipped themselves with arms that they had hidden, or with shields made of bark or wickerwork, and soon after midnight their whole force suddenly made a sortie at the point where our fortifications appeared easiest to scale. The alarm was quickly given by fire signals. The Atuatuci struggled with the ferocity that was to be expected of brave men fighting a forlorn hope against an enemy who had the advantage of positions and could hurl down missiles from an earthwork and towers, and knowing that courage was the one thing which could save them. About four thousand were killed and the rest driven back into the fortress. Next day the gates, now undefended, were smashed open and the soldiers let in; and Caesar sold all the inhabitants of the place by auction in one lot.
– The Conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar, 1st Century BC
