military power of the islanders, that after a stay of three weeks, he was compelled to return to Gaul.

Determined on accomplishing his purpose, Cæsar, next year, with a far greater army, at least 50,000 men, undertook a second expedition; and though he was opposed by many thousands of the Britons, united under Cassibelanus, their war chariots” and bravery were not sufficient to stand against the disciplined imperial legions, and the chiefs were compelled to submission. Still Cæsar was not able to establish himself in Britain; and having made peace, receiving several hostages, he gladly withdrew with all his troops to the continent.

Cæsar magnified his own exploits, and his friends celebrated his fame at Rome; but while some declared that he passed twice through the island, Dio says that "Cæsar gained nothing either to himself or to the state, by his expeditions into Britain." Strabo states that "he did nothing great in Britain, nor penetrated far into the island." Q. Cicero was with Cæsar in his second expedition, and in a letter to his brother, says, "The British affairs afford no foundation for much fear or much joy*."

Peace being established betwen the Romans and the Britons, new channels were opened for commerce, letters, and religion. Strabo, who flourished under Augustus and Tiberius, says, "Britain produces corn, cattle, silver, iron; besides which, skins, slaves, and dogs, naturally excellent hunters, are exported from that island +." This testimony is confirmed by Tacitus, who says, 'Britain produces gold, silver, and other metals to reward its conquerors t." Pearls also were found on our coasts; and Cæsar, on his return from Britain, consecrated a breastplate of great value to Venus, in her temple at Rome; which he signified, by an inscription, was composed of British Pearls.

Britain was divided among numerous nations, or clans, forty-five of which are mentioned by name§. Of course

* Dr. Henry's History of England, book i, chap. i.

+ Strabo, lib. iv, p. 199.

Tacit. Vita Agric. c. xii.

§ Turner's Anglo Saxons, vol. i.

some of them were far more advanced than others in civilization; though many were sunk in ignorance and barbarity, almost to a savage state.

Cunobelinus, contemporary with Augustus and Tiberius, was the most illustrious successor of Cassibelanus. We have no fewer than forty coins of this prince alone, in gold, silver, and copper, which are all of different dies and stamps. This prince, therefore, must have made forty coinages at least, not to mention what had been coined by other British princes. Besides these numerous coins of Cunobelinus, there are many others engraved and described by Speed, Camden, &c. which are supposed to have been coined by the authority of Cassibelanus, Comius, Prosutagus, Boadicea, Catismandua, Venutius, Caractacus, and other ancient British princes. Even the coins of Cunobelinus afford a convincing proof of that friendship and familiar intercourse which Strabo tells us subsisted between the Romans and Britons in the reign of Augustus, and that the Roman arts, manners, and religion had even then gained some footing in this island. For on these coins we see almost all the Roman letters, and many of the Roman deities; which is a demonstration that some of the Britons at least could read these letters, and that they had some knowledge of, with some veneration for, these deities. Nay, the legend of one of these coins, CVNOBELINVS REX, being Latin, seems to intimate that the Britons were not then ignorant of that language *.

Perhaps a further evidence of the progress of the Britons in the arts, may be derived from the existence of Temples, erected to the several popular divinities of Greece and Rome. They are mentioned as standing in different parts of the country. Mercury had a temple in Cornwall; Minerva, one at Bangor; Victoria, or Andate, one at Malden; Apollo, one at Bath, and another on the site of Westminister Abbey; Janus, one at Leicester; Bellona, one at York; Diana, one on the site of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. But of the character and architectural style of these consecrated edifices, we are not possessed of information. From the whole, however, if it

* Henry's History of England, book i, chap vi.

shall still appear to any that the ancient Britons were sunk so low in savage barbarism as some writers seem pleased to represent them, it must be granted, "that at that time they were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world *."

1

CHAPTER III.

RELIGION OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS.

Druids-Their Rank and Titles-Their Learning — Druids' Eggs—Their Religious Principles-Ceremonies - Horrid Customs.

THE Ecclesiastical History of Britain would be incomplete without some account of its ancient religion. Druidism is known to have been practised by our superstitious ancestors: we present a few notices of it to our youthful readers, that they may be led to contrast it with the sublimity and holiness of Christianity, and bless our God that he has mercifully "delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."

1. THE RANK AND TITLES OF THE DRUIDS. The Druida, or Druides, were the philosophers and priests of the ancient Gauls, Germans, and Britons. Their name is derived by some from the Hebrew word Drussim, which they translate contemplores, men devoted to meditation: while others say, they were so called from Drus, the Greek word for an oak, on account of their dwelling and offering sacrifices beneath that majestic tree but others suppose they were so called from the old British word Drus, signifying a magician.

These venerated priests, the most distinguished order among the Gauls and Britons, were chosen out of the principal families; and the honours of their birth, considered in connection with their mysterious office, procured them the highest reverence among the people. They were dressed in long garments containing six different colours; while those of the nobility, the king excepted, whose robes had seven, were allowed to have only four, and their habits reached only to the * Eph. ii, 12.

knees. They wore their hair short; but their beards were permitted to grow to an excessive length, the upper lip excepted. They carried in their hands a long white rod, called "the wand of divination :" an oval amulet, the "Druid's Egg,” encased in gold, was suspended by a golden chain about their neck; and a white surplice thrown over their shoulders, especially when they officiated in sacred rites. Their arms and hands were decorated with bracelets. The supreme pontiff, called the "Archdruid," was elected by a plurality of voices : his power and wealth were very great, and his station was the most honourable.

The Druids were divided into classes-Vacerri, Bardi, Eubages, Semnothii, and Saronidæ: they were, however, considered chiefly under three ranks, Bards, or Poets; Vates, or Priests, and Naturalists; and the Druids, properly so called, who embraced the study of both nature and morals with their religion. The Druids have been represented as the same among the ancient Gauls and Britons, as the Chaldeans among the Assyrians, the Magi among the Persians, the Philosophers among the Greeks, and the Bramins among the Indians.

2. LEARNING OF THE DRUIDS. Cæsar, who was well acquainted with the Druids, not only by his invasion of Britain, but by a nine years' residence in Gaul, remarks concerning them in this respect: "The Druids are exempted from the duties of war, and from the payment of taxes; and they enjoy many immunities. For this reason many choose their profession, and are placed under their tuition by their parents. They are reported to have learnt a great number of verses and thus some continue in the course of study during a period of twenty years. They do not commit them to writing, though they are not ignorant of letters, for in almost all other matters they use (Greek) letters. They appear to observe this method for two reasons-that they may not deliver their learning to the vulgar, and that they may exercise more fully the memory of their pupils t."

Writers have said much by way of speculation concerning the arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, mechanic arts, and me

* Some say 20,000.

+ Cæsar. de Bell. Gal. lib. vi.

dical skill of the Druids: and if the remains of supposed Druid temples, especially Stonehenge, near Salisbury, were their work, they must have been acquainted in a surprising degree with some branches of mechanics.

3. DRUIDS' EGGS. Extravagant things have been reported concerning the miraculous eggs of the Druids. They were accustomed to be worn mounted in gold, as a charm against disease. This extraordinary egg was formed, as the priests pretended, by a great number of serpents interwoven and twined together. When formed, it was raised up in the air by their hissing, and was caught in a clean white cloth before it fell to the ground. The person who caught it, was said to be obliged to ride a swift horse with full speed across a river, which stopped the serpent, that pursued him with fury. The method of trying the genuineness of this egg was extraordinary. It was to be enchased in gold and thrown into a river, and if genuine, it was pretended that it would swim against the stream. It was about the size of an apple, and was worn, Pliny testifies, as the " insignia, or badge of distinction of the Druids." Some suppose with reason, that this contrivance → of the serpent's egg was a mere fraud, invented by the Druids to impose on the ignorant and procure their admiration. Others imagine that it was only an emblematical representation of the creation of the world: the serpents denoting the Divine Wisdom forming the universe, and the egg representing the world formed by that Wisdom. The virtue ascribed to it, of giving those who possessed it superiority over others, and endearing them to great men, was intended to represent the natural effects of learning and philosophy.

4. RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES OF THE DRUIDS. Attempts have been made, but in vain, to collect the religious opinions of the Druids, and form them into a system. Some suppose that they acknowledged a Supreme Being as the Creator and Governor of the world, and that they worshipped the sun only as the emblem of the Deity. This, however, is denied by many, while all admit that they were polytheists, that is, worshipping many gods. Cæsar, who gives many particulars relating to them, says, that "their chief principle is, that souls do not die with the body, but that after death they pass