concerning Gaul. His contemporary, Theophrastes, tells us that the
olive tree did not succeed in Greece more than five hundred furlongs
from the sea. We can assure ourselves that both the ass and the olive
thrive in these countries at the present day.

Three centuries later, Cæsar speaks frequently and emphatically of the
rigor of winters and early setting in of cold in France, the abundance
of snow and rain, and the number of lakes and marshes which became
every moment serious obstacles to the army. He says he is careful not
to undertake any expedition except in summer. Cicero, Varro,
Possidonius, and Strabo insist equally on the rigor of the climate of
Gaul, which allows neither the culture of the vine nor the olive.
Diodorus of Sicily confirms this information: "The cold of the winters
in Gaul is such that almost all the rivers freeze up and form natural
bridges, over which numerous armies pass quite safely with teams and
baggages; in order to hinder the passengers to slip out upon the ice
and to render the marching more secure, they spread straw thereon."

Virgil and Ovid insist on the severity of cold in the regions of the
Danube. The first describes the inhabitants of these miserable
countries withdrawing themselves into caves dressed with the skins of
wild beasts. Ovid, who had passed several years of his life in that
region, is more precise in his description. He says the wine has
changed itself here (Black Sea) into a solid frozen mass; one gives it
to drink by pieces. Fearing of being accused of poetic exaggeration he
appeals to the testimony of two ancient governors of Moesia, who could
establish the facts like himself. The author who would give such
accounts of the Black Sea in our days would risk his reputation for
veracity.