Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Hume and Smollett's Celebrated History of England, From Its First Settlement
All ancient writers agree in representing the first in habitants Of Britain as a tribe Of the Gauls or Celts, who peopled that island from the neighbouring continent. Their language was the same - their manners, their government, their superstition; varied only by those small differences, which time, or a communication with the bordering na tions, must necessarily introduce. The inhabitants Of Gaul, especially In those parts which lie contiguous to v Italy, had acquired, from a commerce with their southern neighbours, some refinement in the arts, which gradually diffused themselves northward, and spread only a veryr faint light over this island. The Greek and Roman navi gators Or merchants, gave the most shocking accounts of the ferocity Of the people, which they magnified, as usual, in order to excite the admiration Of their countrymen. However, the south-east parts of Britain had already, be fore the age Of Caesar, made the first and most requisite step tovvards a civil settlement and the Britons, by tillage and agriculture, had there increased to a great multitude. The other inhabitants Of the island still maintained them selves by pasture. They were clothed with the skins Of beasts. They dwelt in huts that they reared in the forests and marshes, with which the country was covered. They easily removed their habitation, when actuated either by the hopes Of plunder, or the fear Of an enemy. The conve nience Of feeding their cattle was even a sufficient motive for removing their dwellings and, as they were ignorant of all the refinements Of life, their wants and their post sessions were equally limited and scanty. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
