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34Such was the first war that Caesar fought, and he did not remain quiet after this beginning; instead, he at the same time satisfied his own desire and did the allies a favour. For the Sequani and Aedui, who had marked his desire and had noticed that his deeds corresponded with his hopes, were willing at one stroke to bestow a benefit upon him and to take vengeance upon the Germans, who were their neighbours. 2The latter had at some time in the remote past crossed the Rhine, cut off portions of their territory, and rendered them tributaries, taking hostages from them. And because they happened to be asking what Caesar was anxious for, they easily persuaded him to assist them.
3Now Ariovistus was the ruler of those Germans; his authority had been confirmed by the Romans and he had been enrolled among their friends and allies by Caesar himself during his consulship. In comparison, however, with the glory to be derived from the war and the power which that glory would bring, the Roman general heeded none of these considerations, except in so far as he wished to get some excuse for the quarrel from the barbarian, so that he should not appear to be in any way the aggressor against Ariovistus. 4Therefore he sent for him, pretending that he wished to have a conference with him. Ariovistus, instead of obeying, replied: “If Caesar wishes to say anything to me, let him come to me himself. I am not inferior to him, anyway, and the man who has need of another should himself go to that person.” 5Thereupon Caesar became angry on the ground that he had thereby insulted all the Romans, and he immediately demanded of him the hostages of the allies and forbade him either to set foot on their land or to bring any reinforcements from home. 6This he did, not with the idea of scaring him, but because he hoped to enrage him and by that means to gain a good and plausible pretext for the war. And this was what happened. The barbarian, angered by these demands, made a long and harsh reply, so that Caesar no longer bandied words with him, but straightway, before any one was aware of his intentions, seized on Vesontio, the city of the Sequani.
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