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

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[7] Then, guided by men who knew the roads, and carefully reconnoitering the approaches, they at once marched slowly onward, through a widely extended tract of country, while the soldiers, more and more eager for battle, ground their teeth in a threatening way, as if they had already come upon the savages. But since after the lapse of several days no one could be found to oppose them, all the cornfields and dwellings which they saw were laid waste by devouring flames kindled by a band of the cohorts, with the exception of such foodstuffs as doubt about the outcome of affairs forced them to gather and keep.