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Hen. VII.) that it was death by the English laws
for any man to weare a Visard, with many like errors in
his History, of our Trials by XII. Shrives,
Coate of the Kingdome, Parliaments, and other
like; Bartol's delivering the custome in this Isle to
be, [star] quod Primogenitus succedit in omnibus
Bonis; The Greeke Chalcondylas his slanderous
description of our usuall forme of kinde entertainment to
begin with the Wives Courteous admission to that most
affected pleasure of Lascivious fancy (he was deceiv'd by
misunderstanding the Reports of Our Kissing
Salutations, given and accepted amongst us with more
freedom then in any part of the Southern world, erroneously
thinking, perhaps, that every Kisse must be thought seconded
with that addition to the Seven promist by Mercury in
name of Venus to him that should find Psyche;
or as wanton, as Aristophanes his [...Greek...]) as
many untruth's of like Nature in Others. Concerning the
Arcadian deductions of our British Monarchy; within
that time, from Brute, suppos'd about MMDCCCL. of the
world (Samuel then Judge of Israel) unto some
LIV. before Christ about when, Julius Caesar
visited the Island) no Relation was extant, which is now
left to our use. How then are they, which pretend
Chronologies of that Age without any Fragment of Authors
before Gildas, Taliesin and Nennius (the
eldest of which was since D. of Christ) to be
credited? For my part, I beleeve much in them as I do the
finding of Hiero's Shipmast in our [star] Mountaines,
which is collected upon a corrupted place in
Athenaeus, cited out of Moschion; or, that
Ptolemy Philapdelph sent to Reutha King of
Scots some MDCCCC. years since, for discovery of this
Country, which Claude Ptolomy afterwards put in his
Geography; or that Julius Caesar built Arthurs
Hoffen in Stirling Shirifdome; or, that
Britons were at the Rape of Hesione with
Hercules, as our excellent wit Joseph of
Excester (published falsly under name of Cornelius
Nepos) singeth: which are even equally warrantable, as
Ariosto's Narrations of Persons and Places in
Rowlands, Spensers Elfin Story, or Rablais his
strange discoveries. Yet the Capricious faction will (I
know) never quit their Beliefe of wrong; although some
Elias or Delian Diver should make open what is
so inquired after. Briefly, untill Polybius, who
wrote neere MDCCC. since (for Aristotle [...Greek...]
is cleerely counterfeited in title) no Greeke
mentions the Isle; untill Lucreti' (some C. years
later) no Roman hath exprest a thought of us; untill
Caesars Commentaries, no piece of its description was
known, that is now left to posterity. For time therfore
preceding Caesar, I dare trust none; but with Others
adhere to Conjecture. In Ancient matter since, I
relie on Tacitus and Dio especially,
Vopiscus, Capitolin, Spartian (for so much as they
have, and the rest of the Augustan Story) afterwards
Gildas, Nennius (but little is left of them, and that
of the last very imperfect) Bede, Asserio, Ethelwerd
(neere of bloud to King Alfred) William of
Malmesbury, Marian,
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[star2] Unum blandientis, as pulsu~ lingue longe
mellisum. Apuleius De Aur. Asin. 6. and you may
remember (as like enough he did) that in Plautus Curcul.
Qui vult Cubare pangit saltem suavium, & such more
in other wanton Poets, with the opinio~ of Baldus,
that a Kisse in those Southerne Nations, is sufficient
consent to imperfit espousels, nothing of that kind, but
Copulation, with us & our neighbouring
Dutch being so.
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