Hist. 1.55.1Mīserat cīvitās Lingonum vetere īnstitūtō dōna legiōnibus dextrās, hospitiī īnsigne.The state of the Lingones had sent gifts to the legions, according to ancient custom, of clasped right hands, the emblem of hospitality. Hist. 1.55.1Lēgātī eōrum in squālōrem maestitiamque compositī per prīncipia per contubernia modo suās iniūriās, modo vīcīnārum cīvitātium praemia, et ubi prōnīs mīlitum auribus accipiēbantur, ipsīus exercitūs perīcula et contumēliās conquerentēs accendēbant animōs.Their envoys, got up in squalor and grief, going round the headquarters and the tents, complaining now of their own injuries, now of the rewards of neighbouring states, and, when they found the soldiers' ears receptive, of the dangers and insults suffered by the army itself, inflamed their minds. Hist. 1.55.1Nec procul sēditiōne aberant cum Hordeōnius Flaccus abīre lēgātōs, utque occultior dīgressus esset, nocte castrīs excēdere iubet.They were not far from mutiny when Hordeonius Flaccus orders the envoys to leave, and, so that their departure might be more secret, to quit the camp by night. Hist. 1.55.1Inde atrōx rūmor, adfirmantibus plērīsque interfectōs, ac nī sibi ipsī cōnsulerent, fore ut ācerrimī mīlitum et praesentia conquestī per tenebrās et īnscītiam cēterōrum occīderentur.Hence a dreadful rumour, most declaring that they had been killed, and that unless the soldiers looked after themselves, the fiercest of them, who had complained of the present state of things, would be killed under cover of darkness and without the knowledge of the rest.
Hist. 1.55.1Obstringuntur inter sē tacitō foedere legiōnēs, adscīscitur auxiliōrum mīles, prīmō suspectus tamquam circumdatīs cohortibus alīsque impetus in legiōnēs parārētur, mox eadem ācrius volvēns, faciliōre inter malōs cōnsēnsū ad bellum quam in pāce ad concordiam.The legions bind themselves together in a tacit compact; the auxiliary soldiers are brought in, at first distrusted, as though an attack on the legions were being prepared by surrounding them with the cohorts and cavalry squadrons, but soon turning over the same thoughts more fiercely, since bad men agree more easily for war than for concord in peace.