Editing Helvetii (section)

==== Questions of motive ====
As Caesar's account is heavily influenced by his political agenda, it is difficult to determine the actual motive of the Helvetii movement of 58 BC. One might see the movement in the light of a Celtic retreat from areas which were later to become Germanic; it can be debated whether they ever had plans to settle in the [[Saintonge (region)|Saintonge]], as Caesar claims (Bell. Gall. 1,10.). It was certainly in the latter's personal interest to emphasise any kind of parallel between the traumatic experience of the [[Cimbri]]an and [[Teutones|Teutonic]] incursions and the alleged threat that the Helvetii were to the Roman world. The [[Tigurini]]'s part in the destruction of [[Lucius Cassius Longinus (consul 107 BC)|L. Cassius Longinus]] and his army was a welcome pretext to engage in an offensive war in Gaul whose proceeds permitted Caesar not only to fulfil his obligations to the numerous creditors he owed money to, but also to further strengthen his position within the late Republic.<ref>Cf. Birkhan, 243f.</ref> In this sense, even the character of [[Divico]], who makes his appearance in the ''Commentarii'' half a century after his victory over L. Cassius Longinus, seems more like another hackneyed argument stressing Caesar's justification to attack,{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} than like an actual historical figure. That the victor of [[Agen]] was still alive in 58 BC or, if yes, that he was physically still capable of undertaking such a journey at all, seems more than doubtful.