1At last, terrified by the enemy's incursion and by grim news from every side, he orders Caecina and Valens to make ready for war. 1Caecina was sent ahead; Valens, then rising for the first time after a severe bodily illness, was held back by weakness. 1Far different was the look of the German army as it set out from Rome: no vigour in their bodies, no ardour in their minds; 1a slow and straggling column, slack weapons, sluggish horses; 1the soldiers could not bear sun, dust or storms, and the duller they were at enduring toil, the readier they were for discord. 1Added to this was Caecina's old ambition and new torpor, for, through the excessive indulgence of fortune, he had grown slack in luxury; or else, as he was planning treachery, breaking the army's courage was among his devices.
1Most believed that Caecina's resolve had been shaken by the counsels of Flavius Sabinus, with Rubrius Gallus as the go-between in their conversations: the terms of his desertion, they said, would be ratified by Vespasian. 1At the same time he was reminded of his hatred and jealousy towards Fabius Valens, so that, being his inferior in favour with Vitellius, he might win influence and strength with the new emperor.