13. Tacitus more vague because of its secluded situation, for it is considered to be the farthest away of all lands of which the names are known. Cornelius Tacitus, from whom the following extract is taken, as well as the description of Britain already given and some passages to follow later, was much interested in Britain from the fact that he had married the daughter of Agricola, the greatest of the Roman governors of that country. He wrote his Life of Agricola about A.D. 100. As is so often the case among barbarians, it is difficult to say on the origin whether the men who first dwelt in Britain are indigenous or and charac ter of the Britons whether they came thither. We may deduce arguments from the fact that their physical characteristics differ. For the reddish-yellow hair of the inhabitants of Caledonia, as well as their sturdy limbs, point to a German origin; the swarthy complexion and curly hair of the Silures, together with their position opposite Gaul, make us believe that the Iberians in ancient times crossed over and seized these territories. Those who are nearest to the Gauls resemble them, whether from the persistence of heredity, or whether, since the lands stretch out opposite each other, the climate has given the same character to the individuals. Forming a general judgment, however, it is credible that the Gauls seized the neighboring island. One sees here their sacred rites and their religious beliefs; even the speech does not differ much; there is the same boldness in seeking dangers, and the same shrinking from meeting them when they are present. The Britons show more savageness, as those not yet civilized by a long-continued peace. We have been given to understand that the Gauls, too, were formerly conspicuous for their fighting; sluggishness, however, entered with ease, and bravery was lost together with liberty. The same thing has happened to those of the Britons who were formerly conquered, while the rest remain as the Gauls were. Their strength is in their infantry; certain tribes fight also with chariots. The charioteer is the man of rank; his dependents fight for him. Formerly they were ruled by kings, now they are separated under the leadership of chieftains in factional quarrels. Nor is there anything more advantageous for us against these most powerful tribes than the fact that they do not consult for the common weal. Rarely do two or three tribes join for averting a common danger; and so while they fight as individuals, they are overcome as a whole. 14. The invasion under Plautius CHAPTER III ROMAN BRITAIN I. THE CONQUEST OF BRITAIN The conquest of Britain by the Romans in A.D. 44 and the immediately succeeding years is described in a number of contemporary accounts. The Greek historian Dio Cassius, though he lived more than a hundred years after the occurrences, had access to many records that are now lost, and he gives a specially full account of the early years of the conquest. About the same time Aulus Plautius, a very distinguished senator, marched against Britain. For one Bericus, being driven out of that island by an insurrection, persuaded the Emperor Claudius to send an army thither. And this Plautius, taking the command, had great difficulty in leading his forces out of Gaul. For the soldiers were highly enraged, as though they were about to make war beyond the habitable world; nor would they obey him until Narcissus, having been sent from Claudius, ascended the tribunal of Plautius and was desirous of addressing them. For then on this account, turning their rage against him they did not permit him to utter one word, but suddenly shouting out the well-known expression "Io Saturnalia" (for the slaves during the festival of Saturn, assuming the characters of their masters, give themselves up to revelry), they immediately followed Plautius with alacrity. In consequence of these proceedings they were delayed in commencing their expedition. 1 Narcissus was a Greek slave who had been freed by the Emperor, treated as a favorite, and raised to the position of his special representative, thus earning the ridicule and hatred of the soldiers, and turning their enthusiasm back to their own general. Being divided at length into three bodies, lest attempting to land all at one point they should be obstructed, and having during their passage been somewhat disheartened by one occurrence, namely by being driven backward, but encouraged by another, that is to say, a meteor springing from the east and darting across towards the west, whither they were navigating, they landed on the island without opposition. For the Britons, from what they had learned not expecting that they would come, had not assembled together; nor even when they had arrived did they attack them, but fled to the marshes and woods, hoping to wear them out by delay, and that, as had happened under Julius Cæsar, the Romans would go back without effecting their purpose. Plautius, therefore, had much difficulty in seeking them out; but when he did discover them, as they were not independent but subject to different kings, he overcame first Cataractacus, then Togodumnus, the son of Cunobelinus who was now dead. These taking to flight, he brought a part of the Boduni, who were under the dominion of the Catuvelanni, to terms of peace. Here, leaving a garrison, he proceeded farther. But when they arrived at a certain river, which the barbarians supposed the Romans could not pass without a bridge, and in consequence had taken up their position carelessly on the opposite bank, he sends forth the Gauls, who, even armed, were accustomed to swim with ease over the most rapid rivers; who, attacking them contrary to their expectation, wounded not the men indeed, but the horses which drew their chariots. These being thrown into confusion, they who rode therein were no longer secure. Next he sent across Flavius Vespasianus, who afterward enjoyed the supreme rule, and his brother Sabinus as next in command; these also, having passed the river at a certain place, killed many of the barbarians by surprise. The rest, however, did not fly, but the following day again maintained the conflict nearly on equal terms, until Caius Osidius Geta, though in imminent danger of being made prisoner, ultimately so completely defeated them that he received triumphal honors, although he had not yet served the office of consul. The Britons, 15. A sketch connection of the Britain thence retreating to the river Thames, where it discharges itself into the ocean and becomes an estuary at high tide, easily passed it, as they were well acquainted with those parts which were firm and fordable. The Romans pursued them, but at this point failed to overtake them, though the Gauls again swimming over, and others passing a little higher up by means of a bridge, attacked them on every side and cut off many of them; but rashly pressing on the remainder, they wandered into the pathless marshes and lost many of their own soldiers. Tacitus by way of introduction to his account of the campaigns of Agricola reviews briefly the manner in which the Romans brought Britain under their control. When the greatest of all Romans, the divine Julius, entered of the early Britain with an army, although he terrified the inhabitants by a favorable battle and gained possession of the coast, yet he Romans with seems merely to have shown the way to future generations, not to have handed the island down to them as a possession. Civil wars succeeded, the arms of our leaders were turned against their own country, and then came a long neglect of Britain, although we were at peace. The divine Augustus was in the habit of calling this public policy, while Tiberius called it established custom. It is clearly evident that Caius Cæsar Caligula had formed a plan for entering Britain, and would have done so, if his swiftness in changing his mind, owing to his fickle disposition and his mighty undertakings against Germany, had not thwarted him. The divine Claudius, who was in favor of pressing on with the work, transported legions as well as auxiliaries, and took Vespasian to share in the undertaking, which was the beginning of the fortune in store for him the tribes were conquered, the king captured, and Vespasian was pointed out to the fates. Aulus Plautius, the first governor of consular rank, and immediately after him Ostorius Scapula, were both renowned in war. The nearer parts of Britain were gradually reduced to the form of a province, and a colony of veterans was established there. Certain states were presented to the king Cogidumnus, |