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that he received the glorious title of third founder of Rome.
Thus have we given in a few words, what historians relate of the expedition of the Cimbri; it drew upon them for a moment, the attention of all Europe. But as literature, and the fine arts, can alone give lasting fame to a nation, and as we easily lose the remembrance of those evils we no longer fear, this torrent was no sooner withdrawn within its ancient bounds, but the Romans themselves lost sight of it, so that we scarcely find any farther mention of the Cimbri in any of their writers. Strabo only informs us, that they afterwards sought the friendship of Augustus, and sent for a present a vase, which they made use of in their sacrifices; and Tacitus tells us, in one word[1], that the Cimbri had nothing left but a celebrated name, and a reputation as ancient as it was extensive.
Thus whatever figure this expedition made, we know but little the more of the nation which sent it forth. Nevertheless, what is related of their tall stature and ferocity deserves to be remarked, because if we may believe all the antient historians of the
- ↑ Parva nunc civitas, sed gloria ingens, veterisque famæ latè vestigia manent. Tacit. Germ. c. 37.
