Ch. vi. Inhabitants of the North of Europe. 97 



fall of the Roman empire. The shepherds of the 

 north of Europe were long held in check by the 

 vigour of the Roman arms, and the terror of the 

 Roman name. The formidable irruption of the 

 Cimbri in search of new settlements, though sig- 

 nalized by the destruction of five consular armies, 

 was at length arrested in its victorious career by 

 Marius; and the barbarians were taught to repent 

 their rashness by the almost complete extermina- 

 tion of this powerful colony.* The names of Ju- 

 lius Caesar, of Drusus, Tiberius, and Germanicus, 

 impressed on their minds by the slaughter of their 

 countrymen, continued to inspire them with a fear 

 of encroaching on the Roman territory. But they 

 were rather triumphed over than vanquished;! and 

 though the armies or colonies which they sent 

 forth were either cut off or forced back into their 

 original seats, the vigour of the great German na- 

 tion remained unimpaired, and ready to pour forth 

 her hardy sons in constant succession, wherever 

 they could force an opening for themselves by their 

 swords. The feeble reigns of Decius, Gallus, 

 iEmilianus, Valerian, and Gallienus, afforded such 

 an opening, and were in consequence marked by a 

 general irruption of barbarians. The Goths, who 

 were supposed to have migrated in the course of 

 some years from Scandinavia to the Euxine, were 

 bribed to withdraw their victorious troops by an 

 annual tribute. But no sooner was the dangerous 



* Tacitus de Moribus Germanorum, s. 37. 

 t Id. ib. 

 VOL. I. 11 



