But To A People So Cunning And
Crafty, This Yoke Is Pleasant, And This Burden Is Light.
CHAPTER II
Their living by plunder, and disregard of the bonds of peace and
friendship
This nation conceives it right to commit acts of plunder, theft,
and robbery, not only against foreigners and hostile nations, but
even against their own countrymen. When an opportunity of
attacking the enemy with advantage occurs, they respect not the
leagues of peace and friendship, preferring base lucre to the
solemn obligations of oaths and good faith; to which circumstance
Gildas alludes in his book concerning the overthrow of the Britons,
actuated by the love of truth, and according to the rules of
history, not suppressing the vices of his countrymen. "They are
neither brave in war, nor faithful in peace." But when Julius
Caesar, great as the world itself,
"Territa quaesitis ostendit terga Britannis,"
were they not brave under their leader Cassivellaunus? And when
Belinus and Brennus added the Roman empire to their conquests?
What were they in the time of Constantine, son of our Helen? What,
in the reign of Aurelius Ambrosius, whom even Eutropius commends?
What were they in the time of our famous prince Arthur? I will not
say fabulous. On the contrary, they, who were almost subdued by
the Scots and Picts, often harassed with success the auxiliary
Roman legions, and exclaimed, as we learn from Gildas, "The
barbarians drove us to the sea, the sea drove us again back to the
barbarians; on one side we were subdued, on the other drowned, and
here we were put to death. Were they not," says he, "at that time
brave and praiseworthy?" When attacked and conquered by the
Saxons, who originally had been called in as stipendiaries to their
assistance, were they not brave? But the strongest argument made
use of by those who accuse this nation of cowardice, is, that
Gildas, a holy man, and a Briton by birth, has handed down to
posterity nothing remarkable concerning them, in any of his
historical works. We promise, however, a solution of the contrary
in our British Topography, if God grants us a continuance of life.
As a further proof, it may be necessary to add, that from the time
when that illustrious prince of the Britons, mentioned at the
beginning of this book, totally exhausted the strength of the
country, by transporting the whole armed force beyond the seas;
that island, which had before been so highly illustrious for its
incomparable valour, remained for many subsequent years destitute
of men and arms, and exposed to the predatory attacks of pirates
and robbers. So distinguished, indeed, were the natives of this
island for their bravery, that, by their prowess, that king subdued
almost all Cisalpine Gaul, and dared even to make an attack on the
Roman empire.
In process of time, the Britons, recovering their long-lost
population and knowledge of the use of arms, re-acquired their high
and ancient character. Let the different aeras be therefore
marked, and the historical accounts will accord. With regard to
Gildas, who inveighs so bitterly against his own nation, the
Britons affirm that, highly irritated at the death of his brother,
the prince of Albania, whom king Arthur had slain, he wrote these
invectives, and upon the same occasion threw into the sea many
excellent books, in which he had described the actions of Arthur,
and the celebrated deeds of his countrymen; from which cause it
arises, that no authentic account of so great a prince is any where
to be found.
CHAPTER III
Of their deficiency in battle, and base and dishonourable flight
In war this nation is very severe in the first attack, terrible by
their clamour and looks, filling the air with horrid shouts and the
deep-toned clangour of very long trumpets; swift and rapid in their
advances and frequent throwing of darts. Bold in the first onset,
they cannot bear a repulse, being easily thrown into confusion as
soon as they turn their backs; and they trust to flight for safety,
without attempting to rally, which the poet thought reprehensible
in martial conflicts:
"Ignavum scelus est tantum fuga;"
and elsewhere -
"In vitium culpae ducit fuga, si caret arte."
The character given to the Teutones in the Roman History, may be
applied to this people. "In their first attack they are more than
men, in the second, less than women." Their courage manifests
itself chiefly in the retreat, when they frequently return, and,
like the Parthians, shoot their arrows behind them; and, as after
success and victory in battle, even cowards boast of their courage,
so, after a reverse of fortune, even the bravest men are not
allowed their due claims of merit. Their mode of fighting consists
in chasing the enemy or in retreating. This light-armed people,
relying more on their activity than on their strength, cannot
struggle for the field of battle, enter into close engagement, or
endure long and severe actions, such as the poet describes:
Though defeated and put to flight on one day, they are ready to
resume the combat on the next, neither dejected by their loss, nor
by their dishonour; and although, perhaps, they do not display
great fortitude in open engagements and regular conflicts, yet they
harass the enemy by ambuscades and nightly sallies. Hence, neither
oppressed by hunger or cold, nor fatigued by martial labours, nor
despondent in adversity, but ready, after a defeat, to return
immediately to action, and again endure the dangers of war; they
are as easy to overcome in a single battle, as difficult to subdue
in a protracted war. The poet Claudian thus speaks of a people
similar in disposition:-
"Dum percunt, meminere mali: si corda parumper
Respirare sinas, nullo tot funera censu
Praetercunt, tantique levis jactura cruoris."
CHAPTER IV
Their ambitious seizure of lands, and dissensions among brothers
This nation is, above all others, addicted to the digging up of
boundary ditches, removing the limits, transgressing landmarks, and
extending their territory by every possible means.
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