[Sidenote:  A.D. 208 (a.u. 961)] [Sidenote:—­11—­] Severus, seeing that his children were departing from their accustomed modes of life and that his legions were becoming enervated by idleness, set out on a campaign against Britain, though he knew that he should not return.  He knew this chiefly from the stars under which he had been born, for he had them painted upon the ceilings of the two halls in the palace where he was wont to hold court.  Thus they were visible to all, save the portion which “regarded-the-hour” when he first saw the light (i.e., his horo-scope).  This he had not engraved in the same way in both the rooms.—­He knew it also by the report of the seers.  And a thunderbolt struck a statue of his standing near the gates through which he intended to march out and looking off along the road leading to his destination, and it had erased three letters from his name.  For this reason, [Footnote:  The significance of this happening is explained as follows.  Taking the Greek form of Severus, namely [Greek:  SEBAEROS] and erasing the first three letters you have left [Greek:  AEROS]= [Greek:  AEROS]=heros, “hero.”  When a thunderbolt substitutes the word “hero” for the emperor’s name, the supposition naturally arises that the ruler will soon be numbered among the heroes, that is, that he will cease to exist as a mortal man.] as the seers indicated, he did not come back again but departed from life two years after this.  He took with him very great sums of money.

[Sidenote:—­12—­] There are two principal races of the Britons,—­the Caledonians and the Maeatians.  The titles of the rest have all been reduced to these two.  The Maeatians live near the cross wall which cuts the island in two, and the Caledonians are behind them.  Both inhabit wild and waterless mountains, desolate and swampy plains, holding no walls, nor cities, nor tilled fields, but living by pasturage and hunting and a few fruit trees.  The fish, which are inexhaustible and past computing for multitude, they do not taste.  They dwell coatless and shoeless in tents, possess their women in common, and rear all the offspring as a community.  Their form of government is mostly democratic and they are very fond of plundering.

Consequently they choose their boldest spirits as leaders.  They go into battle on chariots with small, swift horses.  There are also infantry, very quick at running and very firm in standing their ground.  Their weapons are shield and short spear, with a bronze apple attached to the end of the ground-spike, so that when the instrument is shaken it may clash and inspire the enemy with terror.  They also have daggers.  They can endure hunger and cold and any kind of wretchedness.  They plunge into the swamps and exist there for many days with only their heads above water, and in the forests they support themselves upon bark and roots and in all [Footnote:  The reading is a little doubtful.  Possibly “in such cases” ( [Greek:  para tauta]). (Boissevain).]