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There is exactly one contemporary document professing to tell us anything at all of what happened within this considerable period, exactly one document set down by a witness; and that document is almost valueless for our purpose. It bears the title, De Excidio Brittaniæ Liber Querulus. St. Gildas, a monk, was its author.
Of this Constantine that seemeth to be ment, which Gyldas writeth in his booke intituled "De excidio Britanniæ," where inueieng against the rulers of the Britains in his time, he writeth thus: "Britaine hath kings, but the same be tyrants; iudges it hath, but they be wicked, oftentimes péeling and harming the innocent people, reuenging and defending, but whom? such as be guiltie persons and robbers; hauing manie wiues, but yet breaking wedlocke; oftentimes swearing, and yet forswearing themselues; vowing, and for the more part lieng; warring, but mainteining ciuill & vniust warres; pursuing indéed théeues that are abroad in the countrie, and yet not onelie cherishing those that sit euen at table with them, but also highlie rewarding them: giuing almesse largelie, but on the other part heaping vp a mightie mount of sinnes; sitting in the seat of sentence, but seldome séeking the rule of righteous iudgement; despising the innocent and humble persons, and exalting so farre as in them lieth, euen vp to the heauens, most bloudie and proud murtherers, théeues and adulterers, yea the verie professed enimies of God; if he would so permit: kéeping manie in prison, whome they oppresse, in loding them with irons, through craft rather to serue their owne purpose, than for anie gilt of the persons so imprisoned: taking solemne oths before the altars, and shortlie after, despising the same altars as vile and filthie stones.
Aen. 1, 22 venire excidio; Plin. N.H. 28, 106 odio; Caes. B.G. 5, 27 subsidio. QUORUM ... MULTORUM: the first genitive is dependent on the second, so that quorum = e quibus. Notice the separation of quorum from multorum and of multorum from senectutem. SINE QUERELLA: attribute of senectutem.
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