13 The Britons themselves bear
cheerfully the conscription, the taxes, and the other burdens imposed on them
by the Empire, if there be no oppression. Of this they are impatient; they are
reduced to subjection, not as yet to slavery. The deified Julius, the very
first Roman who entered Britain
with an army, though by a successful engagement he struck terror into the
inhabitants and gained possession of the coast, must be regarded as having
indicated rather than transmitted the acquisition to future generations. Then
came the civil wars, and the arms of our leaders were turned against their
country, and even when there was peace, there was a long neglect of Britain. This
Augustus spoke of as policy, Tiberius as an inherited maxim. That Caius Caesar
meditated an invasion of Britain
is perfectly clear, but his purposes, rapidly formed, were easily changed, and
his vast attempts on Germany
had failed. Claudius was the first to renew the attempt, and conveyed over into
the island some legions and auxiliaries, choosing Vespasian to share with him
the campaign, whose approaching elevation had this beginning. Several tribes
were subdued and kings made prisoners, and destiny learnt to know its
favourite.
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