an advantage to the Romans. Hence Beric felt none of the exultation
and excitement that most British lads of his age would have done
on attaining to rank and command in the tribe to which they belonged.

The Britons despised the Romans as much for their belief in many
gods as for their luxury, and what they considered their effeminacy.
The religion of the Britons was a pure one, though disfigured by
the offering of human sacrifices. They believed in one great Supreme
Spirit, whose power pervaded everything. They thought of him less
as an absolute being than as a pervading influence. They worshipped
him everywhere, in the forests and in the streams, in the sky
and heavenly bodies. Through the Druids they consulted him in all
their undertakings. If the answer was favourable, they followed
it; if unfavourable, they endeavoured to change it by sacrifices
and offerings to the priests. They believed firmly in a life after
death, when they held that the souls of all brave and good men
and women would be transported at once to an island far out in the
Atlantic, which they called the Happy Island. The highest places
would be theirs who had fought valiantly and died in battle; but
there was room for all, and all would be happy. Holding this idea
firmly, the Britons sought rather than avoided death. Their lives
in their separate tribes were quiet and simple, except when engaged
in the chase or war. They were averse to labour. They were domestic,
virtuous, frank, and straightforward. The personal property of
a stranger was sacred among them, and the most lavish hospitality
was exercised. It was not strange that a simple hardy people,
believing firmly in the one supreme god, should have regarded with
contempt alike the luxury of the Romans and their worship of many
gods in the likenesses of men and women, and that the more Beric had
seen of the learning and wisdom of the Romans in other directions,