It was not enough to have driven the Germans out of Gaul. Caesar respected
their character. He admired their abstinence from wine, their courage,
their frugal habits, and their pure morality. But their virtues made them
only more dangerous; and he desired to show them that the Roman arm was
long and could reach them even in their own homes. Parties of the late
invaders had returned over the Rhine, and were protected by the Sigambri
in Westphalia. Caesar had demanded their surrender, and the Sigambri had
answered that Roman authority did not reach across the river; if Caesar
forbade Germans to cross into Gaul, the Germans would not allow the Romans
to dictate to them in their own country. The Ubii were growing anxious.
They were threatened by the Sueves for deserting the national cause. They
begged Caesar to show himself among them, though his stay might be but
short, as a proof that he had power and will to protect them; and they
offered him boats and barges to carry his army over. Caesar decided to go,
but to go with more ostentation. The object was to impress the German
imagination; and boats and barges which might not always be obtainable
would, if they seemed essential, diminish the effect. The legions were
skilled workmen, able to turn their hand to anything. He determined to
make a bridge, and he chose Bonn for the site of it.
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