6 THE DECLINE AND FALL

chap; the Roman yoke. h The various tribes of Bri-

_tons possessed valour without conduct, and the

love of freedom without the spirit of union.They took up arms with savage fierceness; theylaid them down, or turned them against eachother, with wild inconstancy; and while theyfought singly, they were successively subdued.Neither the fortitude of Caractacus , nor the de-spair of Boadicea , nor the fanaticism of the dru ids,could avert the slavery of their country, or resistthe steady progress of the imperial generals, whomaintained the national glory, when the thronewas disgraced by the weakest, or the most vici-ous of mankind. At the very time when Domi-tian, confined to his palace, felt the terrorswhich he inspired; his legions, under the com-mand of the virtuous Agricola, defeated the col-lected force of the Caledonians at the foot of theGrampian hills; and his fleets, venturing to ex-plore an unknown and dangerous navigation,displayed the Roman arms round every part ofthe island. The conquest of Britain was consi-dered as already achieved; and it was the designof’Agricola to complete and ensure his successby the easy reduction of Ireland , for which, in hisopinion, one legion and a few auxiliaries weresufficient . 1 The western isle might be improvedinto a valuable possession, and the Britons would

h See the admirable abridgment given by Tacitus , in the life of Agri-cola, and copiously, though perhaps not completely, illustrated by ourown antiquarians, Camden and Horseley.

' ‘ The Irish writers, jealous of their national honour, are extremelyprovoked on this occasion, both with Tacitus and with Agricola.