Aryans, which is represented not only by those of the nations mentioned above, but also by Sanskrit and Latin and Greek, is very different in structure both from Basque, which is the modern representative of Ivernian, and also from Hebrew and Arabic, which belong to the Semitic family. For example, the first four numerals in Welsh are un, dau, tri, in Greek they are eis, duo, tris, and in Sanskrit eka, dir, tri, while in Basque they are bat, bi, hirù.

When the pioneers of the Celtic race invaded Britain they had almost brought to a close their contest with the Ivernians of the continent, Celtic Con- having compelled them to evacuate the north of Italy, quest. almost the whole of Gaul, and much of the Spanish l'eninsula. This contest, which occupied a very considerable period, took place at a time when the Celts were passing through a transition stage in civilisation; for whereas at the beginning of their invasions they were using practically the same stone weapons as their antagonists, at its close they had adopted weapons of bronze of an ancient Mediterranean type. The importance of this change is obvious; for not only did their better weapons give the bronze-using men an enormous superiority over those who had nothing more effective than stone, but also in the unending struggle with nature man acquired a most valuable reinforcement of aggressive power. Hitherto, though Neolithic man had possessed some acquaintance with the cultivation of wheat, and knew the valuable properties of some of the herbs and vegetables which we now use at table, agriculture on a large scale had been impracticable. But the introduction of metal tools revolutionised the farmer's life. Henceforward the axe became more efficient, the spade and the plough became possible; forests could be felled, fens could be drained, wastes could be cultivated, and the age when nature, which was formerly the tyrant, became the handmaid of man may fairly be said to have begun. Whether the invading Celts met with much resistance at the hands of the older inhabitants of the island, or whether the stone-using men at once recognised the hopelessness of the contest, has not been determined; but it is certain that the remains of both races are to be found in the same barrows, at any rate in France, and that skeletons combining the characteristics of both bear evidence of intermarriage.

After the lapse of some time a new swarm of Celts made their appearance in Britain and drove the older settlers before them, as they, at an earlier date, had displaced the Ivernians. The result of this was to cause a westerly movement of the whole population, in the course of which, if not before, the older race of Celts made their way into Ireland. The Ivernians were driven into the west of that country and into the

north of Scotland, and, probably being unable to maintain their independence, and impelled by the fear of a new danger, made common cause with their old antagonists against a common foe. It is not thought that there was any marked difference in the physical characteristics of the Celts, new and old; but they spoke different though kindred languages, and at a later date it is possible to tell by a study of their inscriptions and of their placenames which parts of the country were inhabited by each. Goidels. It is usual to speak of the older Celts as Goidels, Gaedels,

or Gaels, and of the newer as Brythons or Britons. The name Brython probably means clothed; the meaning of Goidel is unknown.

Brythons.

It is from the Brythons that the name of Britain is derived; but the oldest name of the island is Albion, the origin of which, however, is a matter of uncertainty.

Massilian

Meanwhile, the existence of the islands had become an object of interest to the civilised races which dwelt round the Mediterranean. The necessity of securing a constant supply of tin forced the bronze-using nations of antiquity to search in all direc- Discoveries. tions for that metal, and produced a keen rivalry for the possession of those districts where it could be found in the greatest abundance. Amongst these the Spanish Peninsula was famous, and it was early monopolised by the merchants of Tyre and, on the decline of that city, by its colony Carthage, which made the rigid exclusion of all rivals a matter of unvarying policy. Such jealous exclusiveness naturally provoked reprisals, and in the latter half of the fourth century before Christ, when Alexander was in the midst of his Asiatic conquests, the Romans sent an ambassador to the Greek colony of Massilia (Marseilles) to inquire whether the merchants there could tell them anything as to the possibility of opening up a trade with the tin-producing countries of the north-west. The Massilians could tell the Romans little or nothing; but, their own curiosity having been aroused, they fitted out two expeditions, one of which was to explore the coast of Africa southwards; the other, passing by Cadiz, the most westerly of the old Phoenician settlements, was to make its way to the northwards in hopes of finding new stores of tin, and also of discovering the situation of the coast whence from time immemorial large quantities of amber had been carried overland to the shores of the Adriatic. Pytheas, who took command of the latter fleet, was a man of science who gained a great reputation by accurately calculating the latitude of Massilia, and also by explaining the causes of the tides; and it is from his own pen that we learn what is known of the expedition in which he bore so distinguished a part. Unhappily, his original work has been lost; but so great was his reputation that

almost all the Greek and Roman geographies contain quotations from it, so that a considerable number of fragments have in this way been preserved.

After calling at Cadiz, Pytheas made his way to the mouth of the river Loire, and thence, without attempting to land in what is now called Voyage of Cornwall, of whose wealth in tin he appears to have been Pytheas. ignorant, continued his voyage to the coast of Kent, and, landing there, was probably the first civilised man who set foot on the shores of Britain. He seems to have reached the island in early spring, and remained there till the summer, when he set sail in search of the amber-coast, and is thought by some to have penetrated the Baltic as far east as the mouth of the Vistula; he also followed the coast of Norway till he found himself within the Arctic circle, where the sun ceases to set, but 'revolves from west to east and shines through the whole summer's night.' At this point he changed his course and returned to the coast of Britain, which he followed southwards as far as Kent. After a short rest he sailed for home, and, landing at the mouth of the Garonne, made his way to Marseilles by land. Unfortunately, Pytheas was not versed in ethnology, so he does not tell us much that we should like to know about the distribution of the races of Britain, and his chief inquiries were doubtless about the supply of tin. He tells us, however, of the abundance of grain which he observed in the fields; of the peculiar but pleasant drink which the islanders made by mixing wheat and honey, in much later ages known to their Welsh descendants under the name of metheglin; of their threshing-floors roofed in to provide against changes of weather; and of a species of beer.

Posidonius.

Though there is no written authority for the fact, it is believed that the explorations of Pytheas led to the opening up of a trade between Marseilles and the north, the staples of which were British tin and Baltic amber; and this theory is supported by the fact that the earliest Greek coins found in the island belong to the age of Alexander. About two hundred years after the time of Pytheas, Britain was visited by Posidonius of Rhodes, who in his old age was the tutor of Cicero and possibly of Julius Cæsar. He made his way as far west as Cornwall, and describes how the natives brought the tin in wagons as far as the island of Ictis, where it was carried on board the ships of the Gallic merchants, who transported it to Portus Itius.1 There it was placed upon the backs of pack-horses for conveyance to the Rhone, down which it was carried in boats to Marseilles. This 1 Ictis is generally thought to be Isle of Thanet, and Portus Itius is taken to be Boulogne.

long journey with its many changes points to a very considerable degree of civilisation along the route and of a widespread commercial spirit.

Belgæ.

Meanwhile, the steady pressure of the Germans from across the Rhine caused the Celts of Gaul to continue their westerly movement, and the Belgæ, a tribe who dwelt between the Seine and the Scheldt, began to send colonies across the Channel and to dispossess the Brythons of southern Britain. The main settlement of the Belgæ took place during the earlier half of the first century before Christ, but it is possible that some of them may have made their way over at an even earlier date.

It is not unlikely that the restlessness of the Belgae was connected with the conquests that the Romans were at this time making in the south of Gaul. The first serious attempt of the

Advance

Romans.

Romans to conquer Gaul was made in the year 118 B.C. of the By that date the Roman dominion had been established throughout Italy, Spain, the Balkan Peninsula, including Greece, the coasts of Asia Minor, and over all the islands of the Mediterranean. It was only necessary for them to conquer Gaul to make themselves masters of the whole of the northern shores of that great inland sea.

For fifty years, however, they confined their operations to the coast, for their first object was the completion of a great military road between Italy and Spain along the route formerly followed by Hannibal in his famous march; and they had also much ado to defend their new province from the attacks of wandering bodies of Teutons, who from time to time attempted to make settlements in the Roman territories. However, in the year 58 B.C., Julius Cæsar, the greatest of all the Romans, was sent to Gaul, and, after severe fighting, he carried the Roman arms triumphant over the whole of modern France. He found, however, that there would be little chance of permanent tranquillity while on the one hand the eastern frontier was in terror of a renewal of the German invasions, and on the other the Belgæ of northern Gaul could hope for assistance from their kinsmen across the British Channel. Accordingly, in the Cæsar's first year 55 B.C., he determined to demonstrate to both the Invasion. Germans and the Britons the invincibility of the Roman arms. He struck terror into the hearts of the Germans by suddenly throwing a bridge across the swift-rushing Rhine and appearing in force amidst the forests of Germany; and then, withdrawing his legions with equal rapidity, he appeared upon the shores of the Channel and embarked his troops for an invasion of Britain. With ten thousand foot soldiers he sailed from the Portus Itius and made his way to where the white cliffs of

Dover could be seen upon the horizon. Having with some difficulty effected a landing, the Romans found the Britons not unwilling to treat and even to give hostages. However, the sudden destruction of the Roman fleet by a storm encouraged the Britons to further resistance, and it was only after having been defeated in an attempt to storm the Roman camp that they offered terms. Cæsar, who had repaired his ships, and perhaps found the enterprise to be more serious than he had anticipated, decided to accept these, and forthwith returned to Gaul. The next year,

Cæsar's second Invasion.

having provided a larger fleet and more suitable vessels, he returned, and, landing without opposition, stormed an entrenched camp of the Britons situated about twelve miles from the place of his landing. Again time was lost in repairing the damages done by a storm, and this gave the Britons opportunity to organise an alliance under the leadership of Cassivellaunus, chief of the Catuvelauni, whose stronghold was an entrenched camp believed to have been situated not far from St. Albans. In the face of the enemy Cæsar crossed the Thames, and marched against the allies. On the road, however, the Romans, as was their custom, contrived to sow dissension among their opponents, and one tribe of the Trinobantes, who lived in what is now called Essex, deserted Cassivellaunus and ranged itself on the side of Cæsar. The Romans then stormed the camp, and the British leader, finding that a diversion which he had planned, by directing the four chiefs of Kent to attack the ships, had been repulsed by the Roman guard, determined to send in his submission. His proposals were well received, and Cæsar, whose object had been accomplished by the submission of the Britons, and who was not prepared to undertake the conquest of the country, returned home, and left the brave islanders in peace.

Cæsar's De

Britain.

In his celebrated narrative of the Gallic war, from which this account has been taken, Cæsar gives a description of Britain. In this scription of he speaks of its large population, its numerous houses, built almost in the Gaulish fashion, and of the large herds of cattle. Tin, he tells us, was common, but iron was scarce, and bronze had to be imported, from which it appears that the working of copper was as yet unknown. Of the trees common in Gaul the beech and the pine alone were wanting; and Cæsar noticed that the climate was more temperate than that of Gaul, the cold being less severe. The inhabitants of Kent he found to be the most civilised, for some of the tribes of the interior sowed no corn, but lived on milk and flesh, and clothed themselves in skins. All of them, however, painted themselves with woad to present a more horrible appearance in battle, all wore their hair long, and shaved their faces except the upper lip. In their warfare the most striking