Kitap 27
2.8
When therefore the battle was now broken off by the coming of night, and the wearied soldiers had recovered their strength, their distinguished general towards daybreak led forward his army in square formationI.e., ready for battle; see note, p. 270. ; and finding that the savages had slipped away under cover of darkness, free from worry about ambuscades he followed them over the open and easy plains, trampling underfoot the dying, and the contracted bodies of those whom, since the severity of the cold had drawn their wounds together, the extreme pain had taken off.
2.9
Then, after advancing farther but returning on finding none of the enemy, he learned that the AscariiNamed, with the Eruli and the Batavi, among the court troops: (erant) inter auxilia Palatina sexaginta quinque (Not. Imper. Occid. v. 157, Seeck). (whom he himself had sent by another route to plunder the tents of the Alamanni) had captured a king of the hostile army with a few of his followers, and had gibbeted him. Angered at this, he decided to punish the tribune who had ventured to take this action without consulting higher authority; and he would have condemned him to death, if it had not been clear from convincing evidence that the cruel deed had been committed through passion to which soldiers are prone.That is, without the tribune’s knowledge and giving him no chance to intervene.
