Ammianus Marcellinus, Rerum Gestarum
John C. Rolfe, Ph.D., Litt.D., Ed.

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[2] From there he ordered the booty, with all the captives, to be taken to Metz and kept there until his return; he was himself planning to go to Mayence with the purpose of building a bridge, crossing the Rhine, and searching out the [p. 305] savages on their own ground, since he had left none of them in our territory; but he was opposed by the protests of the army. However, by his eloquence and the charm of his language he won them over and converted them to his will. For their affection, warmer after their experiences with him, prompted them to follow willingly one who was a fellow-soldier in every task, a leader brilliant in his prestige, and accustomed to prescribe more drudgery for himself than for a common soldier, as was clearly evident. And as soon as they came to the place above mentioned, crossing the river on the bridges which they made, they possessed themselves of the enemy's country.