runt, nam austrina Britones occupaverant. Cumque uxores Picti non habentes peterent a Scotis, ea solum conditione dare consenserunt, ut ubi res veniret in dubium, magis de feminea regum prosapia quam de masculina regem sibi eligerent; quod usque hodie apud Pictos constat esse servatum. Procedente autem tempore, Britannia, post Britones et Pictos, tertiam Scotorum nationem in Pictorum parte recepit; qui, duce Reuda, de Hibernia progressi, vel amicitia vel ferro sibimet inter eos sedes, quas hactenus habent, vindicarunt; a quo videlicet duce usque hodie Dalreudini vocantur, nam lingua eorum daal' partem significat.

Hibernia autem et latitudine sui status, et salubritate ac serenitate aerum, multum Britanniæ præstat, ita ut raro ibi nix plus quam triduana remaneat; nemo propter hiemem aut fœna secet æstate, aut stabula fabricet jumentis; nullum ibi reptile videri soleat, nullus vivere serpens valeat; nam sæpe illo de Britannia allati serpentes, mox ut, proximante terris navigio, odore aeris illius attacti fuerint, intereunt; quin potius omnia pene, quæ de eadem insula sunt, contra venenum valent. Denique vidimus, quibusdam a serpente percussis, rasa folia codicum, qui de Hibernia fuerant, et ipsam rasuram aquæ immissam ac potui datam, talibus protinus totam vim veneni grassantis, totum inflati corporis absumsisse ac sedasse tumorem. Dives lactis ac mellis insula, nec vinearum expers, piscium volucrumque, sed et cervorum caprearumque venatu insignis. Hæc autem proprie patria Scotorum est; ab hac egressi, ut diximus, tertiam in Britannia Britonibus et Pictis gentem addiderunt. Est autem sinus maris permaximus, qui antiquitus gentem Britonum a Pictis secernebat, qui ab occidente in

to inhabit the northern parts thereof, for the Britons were possessed of the southern. Now the Picts had no wives, and asked them of the Scots; who would not consent to grant them upon any other terms, than that when any difficulty should arise, they should choose a king from the female royal race rather than from the male: which custom, as is well known, has been observed among the Picts to this day. In process of time, Britain, besides the Britons and the Picts, received a third nation, the Scots, who, migrating from Ireland under their leader Reuda, either by fair means, or by force of arms, secured to themselves those settlements among the Picts

which they still possess. From the name of their commander, they are to this day called Dalreudins; for in their language Dal signifies a part.

Ireland, in breadth, and for wholesomeness and serenity of Ireland. of climate, far surpasses Britain; for the snow scarcely ever lies there above three days: no man makes hay in the summer for winter's provision, or builds stables for his beasts of burden. No reptiles are found there, and no snake can live there; for though often carried thither out of Britain, as soon as the ship comes near the shore, and the scent of the air reaches them, they die. On the contrary, almost all things in the island are good against poison. In short, we have known that when some persons have been bitten by serpents, the scrapings of leaves of books that were brought out of Ireland, being put into water, and given them to drink, have immediately expelled the spreading poison, and assuaged the swelling. The island abounds in milk and honey, nor is there any want of vines, fish or fowl; and it is remarkable for deer and goats. It is properly the country of the Scots, who, migrating from thence, as has been said, added a third nation in Britain to the Britons and the Picts. There is a very large gulf of the sea, which formerly divided the nation of the Picts from the Britons; which gulf runs from the west very

terras longo spatio erumpit, ubi est civitas Britonum munitissima usque hodie, quæ vocatur Aleluith, ad cujus videlicet sinus partem septentrionalem Scoti, quos diximus, advenientes, sibi locum patriæ fecerunt.

CAP. II..-UT BRITANNIAM PRIMUS ROMANORUM CAIUS

JULIUS ADIERIT.

VERUM eadem Britannia Romanis usque ad Caium Julium Cæsarem inaccessa atque incognita fuit; qui, anno ab Urbe condita sexcentesimo nonagesimo tertio, ante vero incarnationis Dominicæ tempus anno sexagesimo functus gradu consulatus cum Lucio Bibulo, dum contra Germanorum Gallorumque gentes, qui Rheno tantum flumine dirimebantur, bellum gereret, venit ad Morinos unde in Britanniam proximus et brevissimus transitus est; et, navibus onerariis atque actuariis circiter octoginta præparatis, in Britanniam transvehitur, ubi acerba primum pugna fatigatus, deinde adversa tempestate correptus, plurimam classis partem et non parvum numerum militum, equitum vero pene omnem, disperdidit. Regressus in Galliam legiones in hiberna dimisit, ac sexcentas naves utriusque commodi fieri imperavit; quibus iterum in Britanniam primo vere transvectus, dum ipse in hostem cum exercitu pergit, naves in ancoris stantes tempestate correptæ vel collisæ inter se, vel arenis illisæ ac dissolutæ sunt; ex quibus quadraginta perierunt, ceteræ cum magna difficultate reparatæ sunt. Cæsaris equitatus primo congressu a Britannis victus, ibique Labienus tribunus occisus est; secundo prœlio cum magno suorum discrimine victos Britannos in fugam vertit. Inde ad flumen Tamesim profectus, in hujus ulteriore ripa, Cassibellauno duce, immensa hostium multitudo consederat, ripamque fluminis ac pene totum sub aqua vadum acutissimis sudibus

far into the land, where, to this day, stands the strong city of the Britons, called Alcluith. The Scots arriving on the north side of this bay, settled themselves there.

CHAP. II.- —CAIUS JULIUS CESAR, THE FIRST ROMAN THAT

CAME INTO BRITAIN.

BRITAIN had never been visited by the Romans, and Cæsar. was, indeed, entirely unknown to them before the time. of Caius Julius Cæsar, who, in the year 693 after the building of Rome, but the sixtieth year before the incarnation of our Lord, was consul with Lucius Bibulus, and afterwards, whilst he made war upon the Germans and the Gauls, which were divided only by the river Rhine, came into the province of the Morini, from B.C. 55. whence is the nearest and shortest passage into Britain. Here, having provided about eighty ships of burden and vessels with oars, he sailed over into Britain; where, being first roughly handled in a battle, and then meeting with a violent storm, he lost a considerable part of his fleet, no small number of soldiers, and almost all his horse. Returning into Gaul, he put his legions into winter-quarters, and gave orders for building six hundred sail of both sorts. With these he again passed over early in spring into Britain, but, whilst he was marching with a large army towards the enemy, the ships, riding at anchor, were by a tempest either dashed one against another, or driven upon the sands and wrecked. Forty of them perished, the rest were, with much difficulty, repaired. Cæsar's cavalry was at the first charge Cesar dedefeated by the Britons, and Labienus, the tribune, slain. In the second engagement, he, with great hazard to his men, put the Britons to flight. Thence he proceeded to the river Thames, where an immense multitude of the enemy had posted themselves on the farthest side of the river, under the command of Cassibellaun, and fenced the bank of the river and almost all the ford under

C

feated.

præstruxerat, quarum vestigia sudium ibidem usque hodie visuntur, et videtur inspectantibus quod singulæ earum ad modum humani femoris grossæ et circumfusæ plumbo immobiliter hæreant in profundum fluminis infixæ. Quod ubi a Romanis deprehensum ac vitatum est, Barbari, legionum impetum non ferentes, silvis sese obdidere, unde crebris irruptionibus Romanos graviter ac sæpe lacerabant. Interea Trinovantum firmissima civitas, cum Androgeo duce, datis quadraginta obsidibus, Cæsari sese dedit; quod exemplum secutæ urbes aliæ complures in fœdus Romanorum venerunt. Iisdem demonstrantibus, Cæsar oppidum Cassibellauni inter duas paludes situm, obtentu insuper silvarum munitum, omnibusque rebus confertissimum, tandem gravi pugna cepit. Exin Cæsar a Britannia reversus in Galliam, postquam legiones in hiberna misit, repentinis bellorum tumultibus undique circumventus et conflictatus est.

CAP. III.- -UT EANDEM SECUNDUS ROMANORUM

CLAU

DIUS ADIENS, ORCADAS ETIAM INSULAS ROMANO ADJECERIT IMPERIO; SED ET VESPASIANUS AB EO MISSUS VECTAM QUOQUE INSULAM ROMANIS SUBDIDERIT.

ANNO autem ab Urbe condita septingentesimo nonagesimo octavo Claudius imperator, ab Augusto quartus, cupiens se utilem reipublicæ ostentare principem, bellum ubique et victoriam undecunque quæsivit; itaque expeditionem in Britanniam movit, quæ excitata in tumultum propter non redhibitos transfugas videbatur. Transvectus in insulam est, quam neque ante Julium Cæsarem neque post eum quisquam adire ausus fuerat, ibique, sine ullo prœlio ac sanguine, intra paucissimos dies plurimam insulæ partem in deditionem recepit. Orcadas etiam insulas, ultra Britanniam in oceano positas,