254 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

C H a ft the Normans in silence, and in prayer, and in•ill. the other functions of their religion ", On themorning , the duke called together the mostconsiderable of his commanders , and made thema speech suitable to the occasion. He representedto them, that the event, which they and hehad long wished for, was approaching ; the■whole fortune of the war now depended on theirswords, and would be decided in a single action:That never army had greater motives for exertinga vigorous courage, whether they considered theprize which would attend their victory, or theinevitable destruction which must ensue upontheir discomfiture : That if their martial andVeteran bands could once break those raw soldiers,who had rashly dared to approach them , theyconquered a kingdom at one blow , and werejustly entitled to all its possessions as the rewardof their prosperous valour: That, on the contrary,if they remitted in the least their wonted prowess,an enraged enemy hung upon their rear, the seamet them in their retreat, and an ignominiousdeath was the certain punishment of their impru-dent cowardice : That by collecting so numerousand brave a host, lie had ensured every humanmeans of conquest; and the commander of the'enemy , by his criminal conduct, had given himjust cause to hope for the favour of the Almighty,in whose hands alone lay the event of wars andbattles : And that a perjured usurper , anatberna-

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W. Malm. p. ior. De Gels. Angl. p. AZ2>