Heroes of history and legend ... Translated from the German (of the second part of Grube's 'Charakterbilder aus der Geschichte und Sage') by J. L. Shadwell

Preface

. The following pages are a translation of the second part of Grube's " Charakterbilder aus der Geschichte und Sage," a work which has had a large circulation in Germany. The translation has been undertaken at the request of Dr T. R. Armitage, the Chairman of the British and Foreign Blind Association, in order to provide in a popular form a brief outline of European History, to be embossed for the use of the blind. He has compared the translation with the original, and revised it throughout. It is hoped that the publication of the book in its present form may bring it within the reach of a wider circle of readers. The original text has been adhered to, except in a few instances, where names, dates, or facts were obviously in accurate ; but having regard to the class of readers for whom the book is intended, it has not been thought worth while to specify these alterations. John L. Shadwell. PAGE 1-14 15-42 43-68 CONTENTS.

Chapter I. German Gods And Heroes

Hertha — Woden or Odin — Hermann the Liberator of Germany, 9 A.D. — Civil is, the brave Batavian, A.D. 70,

Chapter II. The Roman Emperors And Christianity

Tiberius, A.D. 14-38 — Nero, A.D. 54-68 — Titus, A.D. 79-81 — Trajan, A.D. 98-117 — Marcus Aurelius, A.D. 161-180 — Origin of Monasteries : St Antony ; St Pachomius — Constantine, A.D. 325-337: Division of Authority in the Roman Empire ; The Banner of the Cross ; The Founding of Constantinople — Julian the Apostate, A.D. 360-363,

Chapter III. Migration Of Races

Attila, A.D. 451 — Alaric, a.d. 410 — Theodoric the Great, A.D. 5°° CONTENTS. PAGE 69-SS 89-124

Chapter IV. Ostrogoths, Visigoths, And Lombards

Belisarius and Narses : Belisarius overthrows the kingdom of the Vandals; Belisarius goes to Italy; Totila and Narses; Tejas, the last king of the Ostrogoths— Roderick and Tarik, A.D. 711 — Alboin, a.d. 568: Alboin is admitted to his father's table ; Alboin goes to Italy ; Death of Alboin and Rosamond— Autharis and Theudelinda— Theudelinda and Agilulf— Aistulf, 747— Legend of Iron Charles (Charlemagne) — Legend of the taking of Pavia,

Chapter V. Religious Movements

Mahomet and the Caliphs : — Mahomet, 622 — Islam — The Caliphs — Abu Bekr— Omar — Othman — Ali : Sentences of Ali — Extension of the Arab Empire — Haroun al Rashid — Splendour of the Caliphate — Christian Missionaries : Boniface, the Apostle of the Germans, A.D. 754 — Apostles of the North : St Anscharius, a.d. 831 ; Saint Adalbert, .

Chapter VI. Foundation Of States

The Franks : — Clovis, a.d. 481-511: Clovis's War with Syagrius ; The Church Vase of Soissons ; Clovis's Conversion to Christianity ; Clovis's Treachery towards Sigebert and his Son ; Clovis Conquers the Visigoths — Frankish Manners : Description of the Dress of a Frankish Noble on his Wedding-day (a.d. 600) ; The Treatment of Slaves ; Blood-feuds among the Franks ; Penal Laws and Ordeals ; The Church's Right of Sanctuary — Columban — The Frankish PAGE 125-161 162-181 l82 2l6 CONTENTS. Mayors of the Palace in the place of the Faineant Kings : Pepin of Heristal; Charles Martel; Pepin le Bref; Pepin's Strength — Charlemagne, a.d. 800: Charlemagne's Policy; The Irmensul ; Victory of the Saxons over Geilo and Adal gis ; Witikind defeated ; Legend of Witikind's Castle ; Witikind turns Christian ; Peace with the Saxons ; Charle magne subdues the Spanish March ; Charlemagne's War with Tassilo, Duke of Bavaria ; Charlemagne Emperor ; Charlemagne's Institution ; Charlemagne's Private Life ; Charlemagne's Death — Louis the Pious and his Sons : Louis's Piety ; War with his Sons ; The Brothers' War ; The Treaty of Verdun, .....

Chapter VII

foundation of states— (Continued). English and Normans: — Alfred the Great, A.D. 871-901: Alfred's Youth ; Danish Raids ; Hostility to Christianity ; Alfred becomes King ; Alfred Builds a Fleet ; Alfred in Distress ; Alfred Recovers his Kingdom ; Peaceful Institutions ; Othere of Norway ; Economy of the State ; Fresh Invasion of the Danes ; Alfred's Character — Edmund Ironside and Canute the Great — William the Conqueror, A.D. 1066, .......

Chapter VIII. German Emperors And Kings

Henry I., the Founder of Cities, A.D. 919-936— Otho I., a.d. 936-973— The Emperor Henry IV. and Pope Gregory VII. : —Henry IV. (1056-1106): Henry's Youth; Revolt of the Saxons ; Pope Gregory VII. ; Contest between Henry IV. and Gregory VII. ; Henry the Fourth at Canossa ; Henry's Contest with Rudolph of Suabia ; Gregory's End ; Henry's End, ....... X CONTENTS. PAGE 217-243 244-264 265-294 295-318

Chapter IX. The Hohenstaufen Dynasty

Conrad III.— Frederick I. (Barbarossa), 1152-1190— Frederick II., 1215-1250— Conradin (1268),

Chapter X. The Austrian Emperors

Rudolph of Hapsburg (1273) : The Pious Count; Rudolph is elected King ; How Rudolph establishes order ; Rudolph's Character — Albert I. and Free Switzerland (1308) — Frederick the Fair of Austria and Louis the Bavarian (1322) — Maximilian, the last Knight upon the Throne,

CHAPTER XL HEROES OF THE MIDDLE AGES.

Siegfried the Strong : The Expedition to Issland ; Siegfried's Death — Death of Roland the Bold — Scenes and Pictures from the Crusades : Pope Urban the Second and Peter the Hermit of Amiens (1095) ; Godfrey de Bouillon (1099) ; The Taking of Jerusalem (15th July 1099) ; Bernard of Clairvaux ; Philip Augustus and Richard Cceur de Lion — Orders of Knighthood, .....

Chapter XII. Heroes Of Chivalry

Bertrand du Guesclin (1330) — The Maid of Orleans (1429) Bayard, the Knight without Fear and without Reproach — Chivalry, ....... CONTENTS. PAGE

Chapter XIII

MEDIÆVAL SOCIETY. The Vehmgericht — The Hanseatic League — Towns at the Close of the Thirteenth Century — The Fugger Family — The Freemasons — Poetry in the Middle Ages : Walther von der Vogelweide (1207)— The Master-Minstrel — Hans Sachs, 319-348

Chapter I. German Gods And Heroes

HERTHA. There was a beautiful island in the Baltic. It was shaded by oaks as old as the ground from which they sprang, and by huge beech trees. It formed the northern extremity of the great Hercynian forest, which then extended from the northern slopes of the Alps to the Baltic Sea. Not far from the shore of the island there lay a circular lake girt by mossy hills. On its northern bank rose the castle of Hertha with its ramparts. It was the abode of the goddess Hertha, the giver of all blessings in field and forest. Around it primeval beech trees formed a sacred grove, within which no foot but that of the priest ever penetrated. Deep silence reigned in the dark shade of the trees, and no uninitiated person ever ventured to interrupt the low whispering of the sylvan deities. Even the bold aborigines of the Hercynian forest — the mighty Ure-ox, the gigantic elk, the howling wolf, and the fierce bear — seemed to keep timidly aloof from the sacred spot which man only approached with the deepest reverence.

But when, with the return of spring, the frozen earth revived under the warming rays of the sun, and the slumbering children of spring woke up from their winter sleep : when thousands of feathered songsters carolled forth their hymns of praise to Mother Hertha : behold a multitude of gigantic human figures come forth from the obscurity of the forest, approaching with silent expectancy the sacred grove. What men ! Their blue eyes flash defiantly beneath their bushy eyebrows, and their fair hair flows over their broad shoulders. They are seven feet in height, and their strong arms bear the broad shield and the heavy spear, which mark them out as freemen. You see by A «'< their looks that they are the lords of the forest, the mighty heroes who with swift feet overtake the Ure-ox in the thicket, and slay him with their spears.

Proud of these successful encounters they wear the trophies of their victories, clothing themselves with the skins of the wild beasts which they have killed. Who are these men ? They are the earliest inhabitants of Germany — the Suevi, and their noblest branch, the Semnones, who dwelt between the Elbe and the Oder, and their warlike neighbours the Longobardi or Lombards, from Altmark. They and other free German tribes have come to celebrate the spring festival of their goddess Hertha. Already, as the priests have seen and announced, she has come down to her car in the holy grove : already have the priests yoked the sacred oxen to the car and decked it with costly tapestry. The multitude wait in breathless expectation. On comes the procession of the priests with the car of the goddess, who, unobserved by the people, rejoices over her creation and the honour which men pay her.

Thus she goes round the island. Happy were the days and joyful the places which the goddess favoured with her presence : men neither entered into war, nor took up arms : the sword remained in its scabbard : all was joy and peace. When the car of the goddess had passed, people diverted themselves in various ways. Here naked youths executed a sword-dance : there people passed the time with a game at dice. Here, they sat and quaffed the intoxicating mead from Ure-ox horns, and listened to the songs of the bards, who told in their lays of the heroic deeds of the brave. But when the goddess was weary of intercourse with mortals, the priests took her car back within the sacred grove. She was then, with her curtained car, plunged in the sacred lake. The slaves who were used on such occasions never returned but were drowned in the lake.

This gave rise to a mysterious dread and a pious awe of that which only those who died could behold. This island of " the sacred grove " still exists : it is the most beautiful island in the Baltic. Its name is Rugen, and German is still spoken there. The natives still show to strangers the sacred grove where once joyful and free men assembled for the spring festival of Mother Earth, and the priests with the car went in joyous procession. Hertha's lake still rests with its deep waters encircled by mossy hills, overshadowed by dark beech trees ; and feelings of awe still hover about this secluded spot. At its northern end still stands the castle, with its ramparts and its entrance, where the image of the goddess was worshipped. It is now overgrown with rushes. Overturned altars and sacrificial slabs recal the early days when the gospel of Christ had not yet been proclaimed to the Germans.

WODEN OR ODIN. The chief national temple of the Suevi was in the country of the Semnones, between the Oder and the Elbe. This was a sacred grove with the image of the war-god Woden. As the mighty lord of battles, as the sovereign protector in every fight, this god had the highest rank among the German deities. Through him alone came victory and plunder, and without him was no entry into heaven. He opened not the gates of Walhalla to any who was not in his service, that is, who had not lost his life in battle. Whoever died a peaceful, natural death must descend a silent ghost into the lower regions — the kingdom of the pale Hela. There the ghosts stalked sadly past one another, and could only interchange their complaints in low murmurs. There was neither war, nor play, nor drink. It was a sad, joyless place.

How different was it with the heroes who had fallen in battle ! They, but they alone, soared up to the everlasting paradise of Woden. There lay Walhalla, a large, beautiful city with five hundred doors and fifty gates. Here was the abode of the brave ; here they lived a glorious life, for they could follow their most cherished customs and satisfy the dearest wishes of their hearts. Every day Woden rode out with them before the city gates. There they exercised their steeds and amused themselves with merry fights. They transfixed one another with their spears, broke one another's heads, and dealt such heavy blows that arms and legs flew off in all directions. But when the fight was over they all bestrode their steeds, fresh and sound as if nothing had happened, and returned cheerfully to the city.

There the feast awaited them. They sat down at long tables and feasted on their favourite dish — roast pork. Of this there was always plenty in Walhalla, for there was a great pig there, named Skrimmer, which always remained whole and unconsumed, although huge slices were cut from it every day. The hungry warriors enjoyed it beyond measure ; they relished the roast immensely, and drank deep of strong ale, which the immortal maidens, the Walkyrs, handed round in costly tankards. Milk, too, was ready in abundance, for the udder of the goat Heidrun was never dry. Such was the conception which the ancient Germans formed of the realm of their god Woden. No wonder, then, that the life of the free Suevi consisted of continual warfare with foreign tribes, or with the wild beasts of their native forests !

Courage and endurance in fight were regarded as the highest of human virtues ! The ancient Germans paid the highest honour to Woden, for he bestowed the greatest benefits on them. And truly nothing equalled the reverence with which the Semnones and other Suevian tribes approached the grove which was consecrated to their god Woden. They thought they could not express their deep reverence better than by sacrificing to him their most valuable property. But their most valuable pro perty was their freedom, and therefore no Suevian ventured to approach the sacred grove except bound in fetters, and in the most humble posture. No one ventured to look up when the priest made the sacrifice and announced the will of the god. When the sacrifice was over they retired with their heads still bent, and did not remove their fetters till they had got out of the sacred grove.

Then they proudly raised their heads and walked away free and bold as they had come. Woden's wife was Frea (or Frouwa), the gentle mistress of heaven ; his two sons were Donar (Thunar or Thor), the god of thunder and storms, who hurled the mighty hammer ; and Tiw (or Tuesco), like his father, a war-god and guider of the battle. From him Tuesday takes its name. HERMANN, THE LIBERATOR OF GERMANY, 9 A.D. In the reign of the Emperor Augustus the Romans tried to extend their empire over northern Germany. At first the enterprise met with success. The Germans were brave, war like, and independent; but being divided into many tribes, disunited, and ignorant of the art of war, they made no com pact or systematic resistance. The Romans pressed on from the Rhine to the Elbe, and already it seemed that all northern Germany would become subject to their sway. .

But all that they had won in a struggle of twenty-five years was wrested from them in a single battle by the wisdom and bravery of a German hero, whose name is still held in grateful and affec tionate remembrance by the German people. Arminius, or Hermann, as the German hero was named, was the son of Segimer (or Sigmar), a chief of the Cherusci, whose country stretched from the Hartz mountains to the Elbe. In early youth he and his brother came to Rome as mercenary soldiers ; for the Cherusci were then on good terms with the Romans, who gladly enrolled them in their service, that they might subdue Germans with Germans. Arminius remained some years in Rome. There his quick, active mind found ample occupation ; he learnt the Roman language, the Roman art of war, and Roman cunning, and soon made himself so popular that Augustus conferred on him Roman citizenship and equestrian rank.

But when his father, Se gimer, died, he returned home with the permission of the Romans. Perhaps they thought that the youth whom they had raised to rank and honour was firmly attached to Rome, and would win over his countrymen to like sentiments ; but they were mistaken. As Moses of old, though brought up at the court of the Egyptians, and learned in all their wisdom, yet glowed with warm affection for his poor oppressed country men ; so, too, had Hermann become a Roman only in education, not in feeling. His heart was and remained united to his fatherland by the bond of warm affection. When he returned home he perceived that the subjugation of his country was at hand. The Romans had extended their empire further and further by force or fraud ; their forts and garrisons on German soil had become more and more numerous ; and German manners were more and more thrust aside.

In order to impose the yoke of slavery gradually and im perceptibly on the necks of the Germans, the Romans carried off their youth to serve in the army, accustomed them to foreign tastes and Roman habits, and sent them Roman advocates who were to decide disputes according to Roman law. The Germans were much oppressed by Quintilius Varus, who was at this time governor on both sides of the Rhine. The Germans hated him, for he not only took from them their property, but tried to deprive them of their good old laws, and to suppress the language of their forefathers, in order that they might, whenever they spoke, be reminded that they were the servants of the Roman Emperor. Hermann chafed inwardly when he saw the indignity offered to his fatherland, and he resolved to restore the independence of Germany.

But the undertaking was difficult, and to an ordinary mind seemed impossible. The Romans were there with a powerful army inured to the severe climate of Germany. The Germans were divided, difficult to unite, and more difficult to hold together. In the open field they had no chance against the Roman veterans ; only in marshy, woody districts, with which they were thoroughly familiar, could they hope to gain any advantage. So Hermann thought, and laid his plans accordingly. A brother of Hermann's named Flavius had become thoroughly Romanized. Varus thought that Hermann was of the same way of thinking, for Hermann professed as much friend ship as Flavius towards the Roman general, and often dined at Varus's table. Hermann left him in this belief until the work of liberation, which he had secretly at heart, had come to maturity.

For he had privately assembled the best men of his nation and taken counsel with them in the solitude of the silent forest. All recognised that the only means of safety for the Germans was to slaughter all the Romans who were in their country, like wild beasts of prey, in a single grand battue. He invited the Bructeri, the Marsi, and the people of other districts to join, and they bound themselves by oath to stand by the Cherusci in life and death. But first they wished to lull the Romans to security by feigned submission, and they made not the least resistance when the Romans appeared amongst them. In the meantime, Hermann had seen a maiden named Thusnelda. In beauty of body and mind she was without a rival in the country of the Cherusci ; and she too witnessed with bitter grief the oppression of her country.

But her father Segestes sided with the Romans, and hoped by their assistance to be made ruler over his countrymen. Hermann fondly loved this maiden, and Thusnelda was deeply and heartily attached to him. Hermann went to Segestes and asked for his daughter's hand, and when this was refused, his ardent passion made him heedless of ancient customs, and of the danger of losing his own freedom if he fell into her father's hands. He carried off Thusnelda and brought her home as his wife. For this Segestes vowed eternal vengeance against him, and began by warning Varus that Hermann was a traitor. But Segestes preached to deaf ears; the Roman general thought that all these calumnies sprang out of the abduction of Thusnelda, and besides he thought himself more clever than the stupid German, and despised his advice.

So God struck him with blindness. Varus was in his summer camp on the Weser when he received the news that a German tribe on the Ems had re volted, and massacred all the Romans who were in their country. So it had been concerted by the confederates. For Hermann, the soul of the league, had foreseen that in such an event, Varus would, without delay, take the field with his whole force. And so it turned out. The Roman resolved to march without delay to take vengeance on the rebels. At the farewell banquet in Varus's camp, Hermann and Segestes were among the guests, and Segestes gave a final warning. But again Varus refused to believe him, and ordered Hermann to call out the German levies, and to lead them as auxiliaries to the Roman force. Then Varus started in high spirits with three well-tried legions, and marched into the forest near the Weser where the towns of Herfort and Salzufeln now stand.

Hermann quickly called out the levies, and the confederates gladly grasped their swords to strike for freedom. Hermann led them by well-known short-cuts behind the Roman army and fell suddenly upon the rear-guard. Even yet Varus did not suspect the full extent of the danger, and regarded as the insolence of individuals what was in truth a deep-laid plan. For Hermann wished first to weaken and dismember the Roman force, that he might be the better able to crush the remnants. The avengers came and went like shadows of the night. Now in one place, now in another, a Roman fell in a narrow defile. In the confusion Varus could not see the whole danger; he ordered his men to keep in a compact body; but in the wilderness this was impossible. At last the sun went down and Varus commanded the army to halt, to fortify their position as well as they could, and to burn all the baggage which they did not absolutely require, and which would only embarrass their march.

The next day the army moved on, ever surrounded by the Germans, but in good order, to the plain which stretches along the Werra, and reached the district of Detmold, in which was the high mountain of Teutoberg. There, on a sudden, every bush was alive, from every cleft of the mountain was heard a rustling as of hundreds of snakes, and the primeval trees showered down arrows on the terrified Romans as thick as raindrops after a storm. The heavens too were not idle, and helped the Germans with storm and rain. The German soil, undermined by the rain, sank under the feet of the Romans ; the German oaks, tottering in the loosened earth, and shattered by the storm, fell on the oppres sors and crushed them in their fall. Everywhere the Germans press on them ; the foe disputes every step of the ground on which he stands — every inch of the road, every tree and stone, and never pauses until night intervenes.

Then Varus lets them encamp again, and the Romans sink down exhausted ; but at every moment the German war-cry rouses them from their broken sleep. On the morning of the third day, they, for the first time, discover how greatly their ranks have been thinned. They march in close order and reach the open country called "Senna." There, they behold, with horror, the whole force of the confederates drawn out. Germans all around; no escape! The most desperate valour will purchase nothing but death. With a shout the league falls on the petrified ranks of the despairing Romans. The cry of "Freedom, freedom!" sounds like thunder from heaven to the ears of the Romans. Like corn before the hailstorm, the bravest sink under the blows of the Germans. Hermann himself is everywhere ; here, as general, he directs the battle and cries, "On, brothers, on!"

There he fights with the strength of ten men, hand to hand. There is no confederate who does not vie with him ! The enemy's hosts are shattered ; only a few disordered ranks still lift their heads above the sea of battle. Now the rout becomes general, but most of the soldiers run blindly on the spears of the Germans. Despair takes possession of Varus's soul, and he throws himself on his own sword that he may not survive his misfortune and disgrace. Only a few out of the large Roman army escaped ; the greater part lay on the battle-field. Whoever was taken prisoner was either sacrificed to the gods or sold into slavery. The people remembering their long period of oppression took the most cruel revenge on the advocates and scribes who had forced on them the subtleties of Roman law, in place of the good old law of Germany.

They tore out the tongue of one, and cried — " Now, viper, hiss if you can." Such was the battle of the Teutoberg Forest, fought in a.d. 9. When Augustus heard the news of this disaster he, in, despair, struck his head against the wall, and cried again and again, — " Varus, Varus, give me back my legions !" All Rome was in a state of consternation, and everyone expected that the terrible German army would march down upon Italy as the Cimbri and Teutones had done before. In the province of Gaul and on the Rhine preparations were made for defence. The panic was groundless. For the Germans did not wish to make conquests, but only to free themselves from a foreign yoke. They were satisfied when they had destroyed the forts which had been erected to coerce them, and when Romans were no longer to be seen on the Rhine.

Hermann alone thought of providing for the maintenance of German independence for all future time ; and he saw that this could only be secured by a league of the German tribes. He encountered a great obstacle in the jealousy of the petty chiefs, each of whom hoped to acquire the headship for himself. Segestes was his chief opponent. He cherished an implacable hatred towards Hermann, attacked him unawares, and imprisoned him. But the faithful people liberated the hero and took vengeance on the traitor. When the Romans heard of these dissensions their spirits revived, and they determined to avenge the defeat of Varus. A great army was equipped : and first of all Tiberius, step-son of Augustus, set out ; but the Germans retreated into their forests. Soon afterwards Germanicus, son of Drusus, pushed on to the Rhine, attacked the Marsi and Catti, defeated them, and laid waste their lands.

Then Segestes sent a trusty messenger with the news that he, who had always been faithful to the Romans, was besieged by his countrymen in his own castle ; and he implored Germanicus to come with an army to his relief. This was good news to the Romans, who marched to the place and released the traitor. In the castle of Segestes were several noble ladies, and among them Hermann's wife, Thusnelda. The faithless Segestes gave them all over as prisoners to the Romans. Not a tear did Thusnelda shed, but she stood, in dignified silence, with her hands folded on her bosom : she thought of Hermann. He, when he heard of Segestes's baseness, was overwhelmed with grief, and hurried from place to place, stirring up the people to ven geance. The patriots, full of indignation, rose once more against the Romans.

But Germanicus marched proudly and hopefully into the Teutoberg forest. He came to the battle field where the legions had fallen, and interred most of the bones of his slaughtered countrymen. The altars on which the chiefs of the Romans had been sacrificed to the gods were still standing. Germanicus, panting for revenge, pushed further into the country, but Hermann came down with his troops like a whirlwind and repulsed the Romans, who made a hasty retreat across the Rhine. Germanicus, however, equipped another force, and exerted all his cunning and military skill. He made his way in ships along the sea coast to the Ems ; from thence he pushed inland. The Cherusci retreated, crossed the Weser where Minden now stands, and awaited his attack. Before the battle began Hermann saw his brother Flavius in the enemy's ranks, and cried out to him, — " Oh, my brother, come over here to your free people !

Why are you fighting in the Roman ranks against your fatherland ! Have you forgotten the ancient oaks ? Do you not hear how they murmur forth the greetings of our boyhood ? Cast away the golden decorations with which the Romans gild your slavery ! How much more honourable it were to be loved by your free brethren, and to die in your native land." But Flavius had become a Roman, and was not to be moved by such words. Hermann, full of anger, gave orders for the attack : the battle lasted from the morning far into the night. Hermann had laid his plans skilfully ; but the fury of the combat spoilt what had been so well conceived. The Cherusci descended too soon from the wooded heights, where Hermann had posted them, into the valley, and thus caused some confusion. The Romans took advantage of this, pressed forward on all sides, and became masters of the field.

Hermann, on his steed, charged the archers, and at length forced his way through them. On a sudden he found himself again con fronted with a living wall — the allies of the Romans from Gaul, the Tyrol, and Lech. Although wounded so that the blood ran down his face and he could not be recognised, the valiant hero broke through the line and escaped. When the Romans retreated all the people of the country rose against them, and another battle was fought which lasted far into the night. The Romans called it a victory, but beat a hasty retreat. They went down the Ems to the sea, but their fleet was destroyed by a storm. Undismayed by this disaster, Germanicus attacked the Catti and Marsi, laid waste their country, and was more sanguine than ever of making himself master of Germany. But the Emperor Tiberius, who was jealous of the fame of Germanicus, recalled him ; and let fall the remark, which has, unhappily, been amply verified at every period of history, — " The power of the Germans will be more surely broken by their own dissensions than by foreign arms."