OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORN THE STRENGTH OF ENGLAND I HOW THE GOLDEN FLEECE CAME TO ENGLAND THE ROMAN SETTLEMENT 55 B.C.-449 A.D. STUDENTS of Carlyle's writings are familiar with Dr. Dryasdust, the historian who took infinite pains to examine the records of the past. It is curiously characteristic of the middle of last century that such historians, whose work is of the utmost value, should have been considered fit objects for scorn and derision. It was, however, perhaps natural that England should have adopted this attitude towards patient seekers after truth when she was not ashamed to greet Darwin's discoveries with a torrent of ridicule, inspired by superstitious fear. The earliest historians were men after Carlyle's own heart. Unfettered by musty documents, they recited or sang to royal listeners the deeds of heroes who founded the line of kings. The tale they told had to be consistent with such facts as came within B the knowledge of their hearers; but this was the only restriction imposed upon the bards. Thus, when they told the Greeks the story of the voyage of the Argonauts to Colchis on the shores of the Black Sea, the listeners accepted the tale in spite of its miraculous incidents. It was the same tale they had heard in the nursery from their parents; and it explained the existence of the great trade route to the East by way of the Black Sea. So many thousand years have elapsed since the legend of the Quest of the Golden Fleece was originally told that it is impossible to say what the Golden Fleece at first meant to the Greeks. Some have conjectured that the Golden Fleece was actual gold found in the streams of Colchis; but since no Dryasdust is at hand to guide the seeker after truth, the guess may be hazarded that the Argonauts brought back an improved breed of sheep to be fed on the fields of Thessaly, or perhaps a wise Medea returned with the Argonauts to teach a better way of weaving cloth. For wool was golden before cotton became king. Long after the immediate results which had come from Jason's voyage were forgotten, the legend continued to fascinate the Greek mind, because it seemed to account for the Black Sea trade with the East, which for thousands of years enriched the whole Balkan peninsula. For much the same reason the Greeks were never tired of telling the story of the fall of Troy, the city which commanded the entrance to the Black Sea, as Byzantium, or Constantinople, for thousands of years after the fall of Troy, stood sentinel over the Bosphorus, The Arthurian legends, which tell the story of part of England's infancy, were written thousands of years later than the Greek legends. The voyage of the Argonauts and the siege of Troy are descriptions of the attacks made by a less civilised race upon richer and more firmly established Powers; the story of Arthur is the record of a gallant struggle made by a weak people to keep their treasure from strong invaders. The treasure which the Anglo-Saxon Argonauts sought in England was a Golden Fleece. They saw that England was a pleasant land with fields of corn, flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, rich mines, and well-built, even luxurious, houses. They found that this wealth was in the hands of men who were so barbarous that they had not learned to write their history. The explanation of this anomalous condition is the first portion of the history of England. About the middle of the century which preceded the birth of Christ, Caesar, having apparently conquered Gaul, determined to compel the kinsfolk of the Gauls who lived in Britain to submit to the rule of Rome. In 55 B.C. and again in 54 B.C. Caesar invaded Britain, only to find that there was no Golden Fleece or anything else worth taking. "Of all the natives, far the most civilised are those who inhabit the district of Kent, which is all situated on the coast; nor do these differ greatly in their manners from the inhabitants of Gaul. Those who live farther inland sow no corn, but live on milk and flesh, and are clothed in skins." This was Caesar's description, and Cicero wrote: "We already know that there is not an ounce of silver in that island nor any hope of booty except |