or correction of any kind; and they do this, not at the command of the general, but in obedience to their gods, who, they pretend, are peculiarly prefent with their armies in- war.

The laws, as well as other branches of learning among the ancient Britons, were couched in verfe. Though this may appear extraordinary to us, it was far from being peculiar to the ancient Britons. The firft laws of all nations were compofed in verfe, and fung. We have certain proof that the firft laws of Greece were a kind of fongs. The laws of the ancient inhabitants of Spain were verfes, which they fung. This cuftom was long kept up by feveral nations. They could easier get them by heart, and retain them in memory.

That great law, the marriage of one man and one woman, which is fo clearly pointed out by nature, was fully established among our ancestors. Their kings and queens were fubject to it, as well as their meanest fubjects; and when they prefumed to violate it, they were hated and abandoned by all the world. This appears from the ftory of Cartifmandua, queen of the Brigantes. Corrupted by profperity," fays Tacitus, "the abandoned herself to luxury, and despifing her husband Venutius, admitted her armour-bearer Vel. locatius to his place in her throne and bed. This infamous action proved her ruin; for her fubjects, the Brigantes, espousing the cause of her injured hufband, fhe was reduced to the greateft diftrefs, and implored the protection of the Romans. These fent an army to her relief, which rescued her person, and fought feveral battles in her caufe, but fhe was at laft obliged to leave her kingdom in the poffeffion of Venutius.” Murderers, robbers, and thieves, were burnt to death. Those who betrayed or deferted the cause of their country were hanged on trees; and cowards, fluggards, habitual drunkards, and prostitutes were fuffocated in mires and bogs.

* Tacitus.

Their flocks and herds were the most valuable poffeffions of almost all nations, in the early period of their hiftory. Several of the British nations, when they were first invaded by the Romans, had no other property, or means of fubfiftence, but their cattle. A high price, therefore, was fet, not only upon the life, but upon each limb of every ufeful animal. By the ancient laws of Wales it was forbidden, under certain penalties, to throw a ftone at an ox in the plough, to tie the yoke too tight about his neck, or urge him to too great an effort in drawing.* Very high damages were allowed to the hufbandman, who was authorized to feize and retain one out of every three hogs, fheep, goats, geefe, and hens, which he found among his

corn.

It is probable there were no laws among the ancient Britons to prevent or punish verbal injuries, which are fo fenfibly felt, and fo fiercely refented in modern times. Among the nations of antiquity, in general, the coarseft language was given and returned without ceremony, and was not confidered as an object worthy of the attention of legiflators.

By their laws of fucceffion, a man's lands at his death did not defcend to his eldest fon, but were equally divided among all his fons; and when any dispute arose in the division of them, it was determined by the Druids. The youngest fon, it appears, was more favoured than the eldeft, or any of his brothers. "When the brothers have divided their father's estate, the youngest shall have the beft houfe, with all the office-houses, the implements of hufbandry, his father's kettle, his axe for cutting wood, and his knife. Thefe three laft things, the father cannot give away by gift, nor leave by his laft will to any but his youngeft fon; and if they are pledged, they thall be redeemed." To account for this extraordinary law is not very difficult. The elder brothers of a family were supposed to have left their father's house before his

5

* Leges Wallicæ.

death,

death, and to have obtained houfes and neceffaries of their own; but the youngeft, by reafon of his tender age, was confidered as more helpless, and not fo well provided.

With regard to the Roman government in this country, we shall only observe, that the Britons were made to groan under a load of taxes. The Romans impofed taxes on land, mines, houses, pillars, and feveral kinds of animals. Artifts of all kinds paid a certain tax for the liberty of exercifing their feveral arts. Thofe who adminiftered to luxury, and made the greatest profits, paid the greatest fums; nor did the mighty monarchs of Rome difdain to claim a fhare in the difhonourable gains of female proftitution. The Roman emperors fometimes impofed a capitation, or poll-tax, which, with another upon the bodies of the dead before they were allowed to be buried, occafioned great discontent in Britain. The famous Boadicea complained bitterly of these two taxes, in her harangue to the British army, before the battle with the Romans under Suetonius. "Have we not been deprived "of our most valuable poffeffions, and do we not pay many heavy taxes for what remains? Befides all the various impofitions on our lands and goods, are not our bodies taxed, and do we not pay for the very "heads on our fhoulders? But why do I dwell on "their impofitions upon the living, when even the dead are not exempted from their exactions? Do "not you all know how much we are obliged to pay " for the bodies of our departed friends? Those who "are fubject to other nations are fubject only for life, "but fuch is the exquifite tyranny and insatiable ava"rice of the Romans, that they extort taxes even from "the dead."

66

46

* This battle was fuppofed tohave been fought near St. Alban's, where feventy thoufand Romans and Britons, who adhered to their cause, were maffacred,

I CHAP..

LEARNING AND

CHAP. IV.

LEARNED MEN AMONG THE ANCIENT BRITONS.

THE philofophy of the Druids bore a much greater refemblance to that of Pythagoras, than to any fyftem of the other fages of antiquity; the tranfmigration of fouls being one of their doctrines. As this great philofopher travelled into many countries in purfuit of knowledge, he no doubt imparted his difcourfes to the Druids, and adopted fome of their opinions.

Aftronomy, Geography, Geometry, and Arithmetic were studied in this ifland, at a very early period. For though they were unacquainted with the Arabic characters of the last mentioned science, we have no reafon to fuppofe that they were deftitute of marks or characters of fome other kind, which, in fome measure, answered the fame purposes, both in making and recording their calculations. The letters of the Greek alphabet were probably used for both these purposes. This feems to be plainly intimated by Cæfar in the following expreffion concerning the Druids of Gaul: "In almost all their public tranfactions, and private accounts or computations, they make ufe of the Greek letters."

Monuments ftill remaining fufficiently evince, that the ancient Britons could apply the fcience of mechanics, fo as to produce very aftonishing effects. As thefe monuments appear to have been defigned for religious purposes, we may be certain that they were erected under the direction of the Druids. How many obelifks, or pillars, are ftill to be feen on the tops of mountains, in Britain and its ifles? We can hardly fuppofe that it was poffible to cut thefe prodigious maffes of ftone (fome of them above 40 tons in weight)

without

without wedges, or to raise them out of the quarries without levers. But it certainly required ftill greater knowledge of the mechanical powers, and of the methods of applying them, to tranfport thofe huge ftones from the quarry to their places of deftination.

The famous Julius Agricola, who was advanced to the government of Britain, was the fift A. D. 78. of the Roman governors of this ifland, who gave any confiderable attention to the concerns of learning. This illuftrious perfon (being not only one of the greatest generals, but alfo one of the best and most learned men of the age in which he lived,) took great pains to reconcile the provincial Britons to the Roman government, by introducing amongst them the Roman arts and sciences. With this view he perfuaded the noble youth of Britain to learn the Latin language, and to apply to the ftudy of the Roman eloquence. Thefe perfuafions were fuccessful, because they were feafonable; and the British youth being deprived of their former inftructors, by the deftruction and expulfion of the Druids (which happened about this time) willingly put themfelves under thofe teachers who were provided for them by the Romans.

Though the names of fome learned men, who flourifhed in Gaul in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries, are ftill preferved, it must be confeffed that we know very little of the literati of Britain in thofe times. This is chiefly owing to the dreadful havoc which was made, firft by the Scots and Picts, and afterwards by the Saxons, of the monuments of Roman arts and learning in this ifland.

Sylvius Bonus was a learned Briton, who flourished in the fourth century, and was contemporary with the poet Aufonius, whofe indignation he incurred by criticifing his works. Aufonius wrote no fewer than fix epigrams against Sylvius, in which he reproached him chiefly on account of his country; for the fting of all thefe epigrams is this, "If Sylvius be good, he