Geography

​Of these, they say the Belgae are the bravest, who are divided into fifteen tribes, dwelling along the ocean between the Rhine and the Liger, so that they alone held out against the invasion of the Germans, namely the Cimbri and Teutones. Of the Belgae themselves, they say the Bellovaci are the bravest, and after these the Suessiones. As a proof of their large population, they say that formerly three hundred thousand of the Belgae who were able to bear arms were mustered. The number of the Helvetii, of the Arverni, and of their allies has also been mentioned, from which their large population is apparent, and, as I said, the virtue of the women in bearing and rearing children. They wear sagums (cloaks), let their hair grow long, and use tight-fitting trousers; and instead of tunics they wear slit, sleeved garments reaching down to their private parts and buttocks. Their wool is coarse but thick-napped, from which they weave the thick sagums which they call lainae; however, the Romans, even in the most northerly parts, breed skin-clad flocks with quite fine wool. Their armor is in proportion to the size of their bodies: a long sword hung by their right side, a long shield, spears in proportion, and a madaris, which is a kind of javelin. Some also use bows and slings. There is also a wooden weapon similar to a grosphus, which is cast by hand and not by a thong, and travels farther than an arrow, which they use especially for hunting birds. Most of them even up to the present sleep on the ground, and they dine sitting on straw beds. Their food consists mostly of milk and all kinds of meat, especially pork, both fresh and salted. Their pigs are kept in the open air, excelling in size, strength, and speed; at any rate, it is dangerous for a stranger to approach them, and likewise for a wolf. They have large dome-shaped houses made of planks and wickerwork, throwing a great deal of thatch over them. Their flocks and herds of pigs are so abundant that an abundance of sagums and salt-meat is supplied not only to Rome but also to most parts of Italy. Most of their governments were aristocratic; and in ancient times they used to choose one leader annually, and likewise one general was appointed for war by the multitude; but now they attend for the most part to the commands of the Romans. There is a peculiar custom that occurs in their assemblies: for if anyone makes a disturbance for the speaker and interrupts him, the officer, approaching with drawn sword, commands him to be silent with a threat; and if he does not cease, he does the same a second and a third time, and finally cuts off so much of his sagum as to make the remainder useless. As for the fact concerning the men and the women, that their tasks are shifted in a manner contrary to ours, this is common also to many other barbarians.

​Among all of them, generally speaking, there are three classes that are held in exceptional honor: the Bards, the Vates, and the Druids. The Bards are singers of hymns and poets, the Vates are performing sacrifices and natural philosophers, and the Druids, in addition to natural philosophy, also practice moral philosophy. They are considered the most just, and for this reason they are entrusted with both private and public decisions, so that they even arbitrated wars in former times and stopped those who were about to draw up for battle, and murder cases especially were committed to them to decide. When there is an abundance of these men, they believe there is an abundance of the land as well. Both these and others say that souls and the universe are indestructible, but that at some time both fire and water will prevail.