The Fishermen, According To The
Custom Of The Country, In Going To And From The Rivers, Carry These
Boats On Their Shoulders; On Which Occasion That Famous Dealer In
Fables, Bleddercus, Who Lived A Little Before Our Time, Thus
Mysteriously Said:
"There is amongst us a people who, when they go
out in search of prey, carry their horses on
Their backs to the
place of plunder; in order to catch their prey, they leap upon
their horses, and when it is taken, carry their horses home again
upon their shoulders."
CHAPTER XVIII
Of the antiquity of their faith, their love of Christianity and
devotion
In ancient times, and about two hundred years before the overthrow
of Britain, the Welsh were instructed and confirmed in the faith by
Faganus and Damianus, sent into the island at the request of king
Lucius by pope Eleutherius, and from that period when Germanus of
Auxerre, and Lupus of Troyes, came over on account of the
corruption which had crept into the island by the invasion of the
Saxons, but particularly with a view of expelling the Pelagian
heresy, nothing heretical or contrary to the true faith was to be
found amongst the natives. But it is said that some parts of the
ardent doctrines are still retained. They give the first piece
broken off from every loaf of bread to the poor; they sit down to
dinner by three to a dish, in honour of the Trinity. With extended
arms and bowing head, they ask a blessing of every monk or priest,
or of every person wearing a religious habit. But they desire,
above all other nations, the episcopal ordination and unction, by
which the grace of the spirit is given. They give a tenth of all
their property, animals, cattle, and sheep, either when they marry,
or go on a pilgrimage, or, by the counsel of the church, are
persuaded to amend their lives. This partition of their effects
they call the great tithe, two parts of which they give to the
church where they were baptised, and the third to the bishop of the
diocese. But of all pilgrimages they prefer that to Rome, where
they pay the most fervent adoration to the apostolic see. We
observe that they show a greater respect than other nations to
churches and ecclesiastical persons, to the relics of saints,
bells, holy books, and the cross, which they devoutly revere; and
hence their churches enjoy more than common tranquillity. For
peace is not only preserved towards all animals feeding in
churchyards, but at a great distance beyond them, where certain
boundaries and ditches have been appointed by the bishops, in order
to maintain the security of the sanctuary. But the principal
churches to which antiquity has annexed the greater reverence
extend their protection to the herds as far as they can go to feed
in the morning and return at night. If, therefore, any person has
incurred the enmity of his prince, on applying to the church for
protection, he and his family will continue to live unmolested; but
many persons abuse this indemnity, far exceeding the indulgence of
the canon, which in such cases grants only personal safety; and
from the places of refuge even make hostile irruptions, and more
severely harass the country than the prince himself. Hermits and
anchorites more strictly abstinent and more spiritual can nowhere
be found; for this nation is earnest in all its pursuits, and
neither worse men than the bad, nor better than the good, can be
met with.
Happy and fortunate indeed would this nation be, nay, completely
blessed, if it had good prelates and pastors, and but one prince,
and that prince a good one.
BOOK II
PREFACE
Having in the former book clearly set forth the character, manners,
and customs of the British nation, and having collected and
explained everything which could redound to its credit or glory; an
attention to order now requires that, in this second part, we
should employ our pen in pointing out those particulars in which it
seems to transgress the line of virtue and commendation; having
first obtained leave to speak the truth, without which history not
only loses its authority, but becomes undeserving of its very name.
For the painter who professes to imitate nature, loses his
reputation, if, by indulging his fancy, he represents only those
parts of the subject which best suit him.
Since, therefore, no man is born without faults, and he is esteemed
the best whose errors are the least, let the wise man consider
everything human as connected with himself; for in worldly affairs
there is no perfect happiness under heaven. Evil borders upon
good, and vices are confounded with virtues; as the report of good
qualities is delightful to a well-disposed mind, so the relation of
the contrary should not be offensive. The natural disposition of
this nation might have been corrupted and perverted by long exile
and poverty; for as poverty extinguisheth many faults, so it often
generates failings that are contrary to virtue.
CHAPTER I
Of the inconstancy and instability of this nation, and their want
of reverence for good faith and oaths
These people are no less light in mind than in body, and are by no
means to be relied upon. They are easily urged to undertake any
action, and are as easily checked from prosecuting it - a people
quick in action, but more stubborn in a bad than in a good cause,
and constant only in acts of inconstancy. They pay no respect to
oaths, faith, or truth; and so lightly do they esteem the covenant
of faith, held so inviolable by other nations, that it is usual to
sacrifice their faith for nothing, by holding forth the right hand,
not only in serious and important concerns, but even on every
trifling occasion, and for the confirmation of almost every common
assertion. They never scruple at taking a false oath for the sake
of any temporary emolument or advantage; so that in civil and
ecclesiastical causes, each party, being ready to swear whatever
seems expedient to its purpose, endeavours both to prove and
defend, although the venerable laws, by which oaths are deemed
sacred, and truth is honoured and respected, by favouring the
accused and throwing an odium upon the accuser, impose the burden
of bringing proofs upon the latter.
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