arts so learned, we have been capable of that religion which we
have long since received; wherefore it seems to me that we ought
not to detract from the memory of the Romans, by whose means we
are, as it were, of beasts become men, and by whose means we
might yet of obscure and ignorant men (if we thought not too well
of ourselves) become a wise and a great people.

The Romans having governed Oceana provincially, the Teutons
were the first that introduced the form of the late monarchy. To
these succeeded the Scandians, of whom (because their reign was
short, as also because they made little alteration in the
government as to the form) I shall take no notice. But the
Teutons going to work upon the Gothic balance, divided the whole
nation into three sorts of feuds, that of ealdorman, that of
king's thane, and that of middle thane.

When the kingdom was first divided into precincts will be as
hard to show as when it began first to be governed. It being
impossible that there should be any government without some
division. The division that was in use with the Teutons was by
counties, and every county had either its ealdorman or high
reeve. The title of ealdorman came in time to eorl, or erl, and
that of high reeve to high sheriff.

Earl of the shire or county denoted the king's thane, or
tenant by grand sergeantry or knight's service, in chief or in
capite; his possessions were sometimes the whole territory from
whence he had his denomination, that is, the whole county;
sometimes more than one county, and sometimes less, the remaining
part being in the crown. He had also sometimes a third, or some