The Britons themselves bear cheerfully the conscrip-
AGRICULTURE, ORGANIZATION |
tion, the taxes, and
the other burdens imposed on them by the Empire, if there be no oppression.
Of this they are impatient; they are reduced to subjection, not as yet to
slavery The deified
Julius, the very first Roman who entered
Britain with an army, though by a successful engagement
he struck terror into the inhabitants and gained possession of the coast,
must be regarded as having indicated rather than transmitted the acquisition
to future generations. Then came the civil wars, and the arms of our leaders
were turned against their country, and even when there was peace, there was
a long neglect of
Britain. This Augustus spoke of as
policy,
Tiberius as an inherited maxim. That Caius Cæsar meditated an
invasion of
Britain is perfectly clear, but his
purposes, rapidly formed, were easily changed, and his vast attempts on
Germany had failed. Claudius was the first to renew the
attempt, and conveyed over into the island some legions and auxiliaries,
choosing Vespasian to share with him the campaign, whose approaching
elevation had this beginning. Several tribes were subdued and kings made
prisoners, and destiny learnt to know its favourite.
