38 THE BRITISH MASTIFF. 



a safe distance. And Virgil Eel. i. line 7. " Etpenitus toto diviscs 

 orbe Brittanos. Gratius Faliscus, the contemporary with 

 lascivious Ovid, and author of a Cynegeticon, writing about 

 A.D. 8, says : Soon after Britain was discovered, the pug- 

 naces of Epirus (i.e. the true molossus) were pitted against the 

 pugnaces of Britain, and the latter completely beat them, 

 that a large variety of this class (pugnaces) was employed to 

 guard the sheep and cattle, also to watch at the door of the 

 house. Gratius further says': " Whosoever If you will go 

 " to market through the Morinian coast, and it pleases you 

 " to visit the British in a rickety or risky Gallic boat, with 

 " the tide, oh how good a bargain and worth all the costs, at 

 "the same time if not possessing the form and the beautiful 

 chins," (evidently an illusion to the heavy undershot and in 

 some peoples eyes ugly lower jaw of the mastiff) " this is the 

 " only defect in the British youngsters, for when it comes to 

 "real work and headlong martial valour required with extreme 

 "discrimination and lying in wait, not then are selected 

 " molossians to be admired so much." Grat Cyneget p. 26, 

 London 1699. The foregoing is a careful and literal transla- 

 tion I made. 



The Morini were a people of Belgic Gaul, on the shores of 

 the British Ocean. The shortest passage to Britain was 

 from o through their territory, they were called " extremi 

 hominum " by the Romans, because situated on the extremities 

 of Gaul. Their city called Morinorum Castellum, is now 

 Mount Cassel in Artois 



Although keeping as strictly literal as possible, I have 

 slightly idiomatized my translation in order to be better 

 understood by such of my readers as may be unable to 

 translate the original for themselves, 



