370 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

C H a P. a controversy, which, by the terms of it, must:iv. necessarily degenerate into a dispute of words.iosr. It suffices to fay, that the duke of Normandy’sfirst invasion of the island was hostile; that hissubsequent administration was entirely supportedby arms; that in the very frame of his laws hemade a distinction between the Normans and'English, to the advantage of the former"; thathe acted in every thing as absolute master overthe natives , whose interest and affections he to-tally disregarded ; and that if there was aninterval when he assumed the appearance of alegal sovereign , the period was very short, andwas nothing but a temporary sacrifice, whichlie, as has been the cafe with most conquerors,was obliged to make, of his inclination to hispresent policy. Scarce any of those revolutions,which , both in history and in common language ,have always been denominated conquests , appearequally violent, or were attended with so suddenan alteration both of power and property. TheRoman state , which spread its dominion overEurope, left the rights of individuals, in a greatmeasure, untouched; and those civilized con-querors , while they made their own countrythe feat of empire , found , that they could drawmost advantage from the subjected provinces, bysecuring to the natives the free enjoyment oftheir own laws and of their private posseslions.The barbarians , who subdued the Roman

Hoveden , p. 6cC>.