P.9.

Time of

to fettle the Æras, as well as the Places of each Event, and to ascertain the Success of the whole.

For an instance in the Chronological way: To fettle the time of Cafar's first Descent, he adopts fome Confiderations of Dr. Halley; lays down Expedi- the Confulate of Pompey and Craffus, the Time

Cæfar's

tions.

p.10.

p.11. Place

far landed.

of Auguftus's Death, and an Eclipfe of the Moon, by whch Drufus quieted the Pannonian Army mutinying on the occafion, as fo many Data, from which he finds, that Cæfar's landing must have been on the fifty fifth Year current before Chrift. This point being fettled, he proceeds, from Cafar's Relation, to fix the very Day and Hour of the fame, which he, with Dr. Halley, finds to fall on the twenty-fixth of August, about fix in the Evening; with more Accuracy as well as Certainty, than many modern Events have been decided. Cæfar's Continuance in Britain, he shews, was at most not a Month, and that he probably departed about the twentieth of September.

The time of the fecond Defcent, Mr. Horfley fhews, was in the fifty-fourth Year before Chrift, fome time before the tenth of August, and he departed again before the middle of September.

་་

The like diligence he fhews in Geographical Matters. Thus to fettle the Place where Cæfar where Cx-landed, he makes ufe of the Circumstances in Cafar's own Narration; as, the Tides, the Wind, the Conditions of the Shore; also the Port where the Romans usually landed afterwards, and the Roman Station near it: from all which he gathers, that it was northward of Dover Cliffs where Cæfar first showed himself; and Richborough the Place where he landed. After the fame manner he fixes other Points of the GeoP.12. graphy of Cafar's Motions. The Portus Itius where

3

where he embark'd, he fhows to have been Calais: the Port where the Horfe were put on board, Gravelines: the River behind which the Britons were pofted, the Stour; the ftrong-hold near it, whither they fled, Canterbury: The p.15. Place where Cæfar croffed the Thames, Kingston, and Caffivellaun's Town, St. Albans, or the antient Verulamium; which at that time he fhows to have been a more confiderable Place than London itfelf. Cæfar's Rout from Canterbury to Kingston, he fhews to have probably been, according to the Courfe of the Stations, from Richborough to London; and his Rout thence to Caffivellain's Town,near the Roman Way, which fince paffed from London to St. Albans. From p.16. hence he marched back the way he came, and embark'd at the fame Port where he landed. To fettle the Succefs of Cæfar's Defcent, is a p. 17. point of great delicacy. Taking the Facts as Success of he himself relates them, 'tis plain he made no Expedition great progress in Britain, and that he thought proper to quit it, without leaving any Garrifon, or making any fettlement in it. He might have a Promife of Subjection and Tribute from the Princes, but it does not appear it was ever paid': he might also have the advantage in his Rencounters with the Britons, but his Victories were of no great confequence, and he owns he here fell fhort of his usual good Fortune *.- If we liften to the Accounts of others, we find the matter exceffively magnify'd by fome, and as much ridicul'd by others. Suetonius fpeaks as if he had fubdued the Britons †, and Diodor. Siculus and Eutropius reprefent as if he had made an abfolute Conqueft; while Tacitus fays, he seems rather to have discovered Britain than to have conquer'd

L. 4. c. 24. + Superatis Britannis

it

Cæfar's

it: And some of the Poets leffen Cæfar ftill more, to pass by Pompey's Words in Lucan, which fignify that Cæfar ran away from the Britons. Horace fpeaks of the Britons as yet untouch❜d", and Tibullus, that they were unconquer'd. Tacitus elsewhere introduces Boadicea intimating that the Britons had expell'd the Romans; and Caractacus in his Speech fays more expreffly, that they had driven Cæfar the Dictator out of the Island". The Truth feems to lie between the two, with Dion Caffius, who fays of Cafar's Expedition, that he gain'd nothing to himself or the State by it: or Strabo, who fays, that Cafar did nothing great, nor did he advance far into the Ifland. In effect, Quintus Cicero appears very juftly to exprefs the iffue of the Britannic Expedition: If the Pleasure ballanc'd the Trouble, and the Gain countervail'd the Lofs, it is the moft that can be pretended.

From Cafar, Britain remain'd neglected by the Romans, till the Reign of Claudius, near the fpace of a hundred Years. Auguftus is faid to have once refolv'd on an Expedition against it; and Horace made him fome fine Compliments on the occafion'. But there appears to have been no great matter in it, fince the best Historians

Vit. Agric. c. 13. L. 2. V. 572. Territa quæfitis oftendit terga Britannis. • L. Epod. 7. Intactus aut Britannus. Epod. Od. 7. * L. 4. Panegyr. ad Messal. Vit. Agric. c. 15. Annal. L. 12. c.34. L. 39. p. 115.

L.4. p. 100.

* De Britannicis Rebus- Nihil effe nec quod Metuamus aec quod Gaudeamus Cic. Lib. 3. Epift. i.

1 Præfens Divus habebitur

Auguftus adjectis Britannis

Imperio L. 3. Od. 5.

Te Belluofus qui remotis

Obftrepit Oceanus Britannis — L. 4. Od. 14.

Serves Iturum Cæfarem in Ultimos

Orbis Britannos. L. 1. Od. 35.

rians of that time make no mention of it. This Neglect of Auguftus had with his Succeffor Tiberius the Force of a Command *. Caligula, who fucceeded Tiberius, form'd the Design of a Descent on the Britons; and advanc'd as far as the Ocean for that purpose: but hearing they had put themselves in a pofture to receive him, he turn'd the whole into a mock Encounter ; gave the word to his Soldiers, order'd the Trumpets to found to the Charge, then bid the Men wheel round, and gather Shells to adorn his Triumph +.

.

p.38.

P-49.

p.66.

Thus ends the first Period of Hiftory. Mr. Horsley continues the Relation in the four enfuing Chapters: The first of which gives an account of p.21. Claudius's Attempt and Conqueft of Britain, and what paffed under the Government of Veranius, with the Marches of the Romans, and the Limits of their Conquefts. The next carries on the Relation from the Reign of Vefpafian to that of Hadrian. The fourth, from thence to the death of Severus. And the fifth, from the beginning of Caracalla's Reign, to that of Valentinian III. when the Romans withdrawing, left the Island a Prey to the Saxons-We will not enter into the detail of thefe; of which the Reader may frame fome Idea from what has already been given; the Author proceeding in the fame method, and fhewing the fame Precifion, and the fame Attention, both to the Hiftorical Facts, and the Circumstances of Geography and Chronology, in these, as in the former Chapter. But it would be pity, to pafs over, without fome particular Remarks, the Roman Infcription in the second Chapter, which confirms Suetonius's

Ac

Tacit. Vit. Agric. c.13. + Dion. L. 59. p. 659.

P.76.

Account of Claudius's Conquefts, contrary to that of Dion Caffius: The plaufible account of the Bounds of the Roman Conquefts in each Year; the accurate and well-fupported Determination of the Chronology of Julius Agricola's Adminiftration, from Paffages in the Roman Hiftorians, which had not hitherto been produc'd for that purpose, the neglect whereof has occafion'd great mistakes in the Conjectures of learned Men: His Account of the Time, and Place of building the Roman Walls, in the fourth Chapter, which he seems to have examin'd thoroughly, furnish fome curious Obfervations for the better understanding of the Roman Hiftorians on that Affair. During the Period of the fifth Chapter the History is broken, and the Accounts of the Romans very imperfect; but it must be owned, Mr. Horfley has not failed to do justice to his Subject even here.

We now advance to the fixth Chapter, which The Legions gives an account of the Roman Forces in Britain. Britain. Cæfar at his first Descent brought two Legions,

viz. The feventh and tenth, which latter was his favourite Legion, and both together made an Army of about twelve thousand Foot. The Horfe belonging to thefe Legions never reach'd this Inland; and the Foot, the fame Year, were transported back again to Gaul. At his fecond Defcent he brought five Legions, and two thousand Horfe; tho' which these Legions were, there is nothing in the Hiftory whereby to difcover, except the feventh, which is expreffly mention'd. Thefe likewife return'd to Gaul the fame Year that they came over in. During the three fucceeding Reigns,no new Forces were fent: but under Claudius, who applied himself in good earnest to reduce the Britons, a confiderable