Arctos, meridies, hic plenus vesper & ortus,
Transit & Oceanum, vel qua facit insula portum,
Quásq; Britannus habet terras atque vltima Thule, &c.
Iosephus. That one Iosephus preached here in England, in the time of the Apostles, his sepulchre yet in Aualon, now called Glessenburg or Glastenburie, an epitaph affixed therevnto is proofe sufficient. Howbeit, sith these things are not of competent force to persuade all men, I will ad in few, what I haue read elsewhere of his arriuall here. First of all therefore you shall note that he came ouer into Britaine, about the 64. after Christ, when the persecution began vnder Nero, at which time Philip and diuers of the godlie being in France (whether he came with other christians, after they had sowed the word of God in Scythia, by the space of 9. yeares) seuered themselues in sunder, to make the better shift for their owne safegard, and yet not otherwise than by their flight, the gospell might haue due furtherance. Hereby then it came to Philip. Freculphus. To. 2., lib. 2. cap. 4.
Nennius. Nicephorus lib. 2. cap. 40.
Isidorus lib. de vita & obit. dict. patrum.
W. Malmes. de antiq. Glasconici monast. passe, that the said Philip vpon good deliberation did send Iosephus ouer, and with him Simon Zelotes to preach vnto the Britons, and minister the sacraments there according to the rites of the churches of Asia and Greece, from whence they came not long before vnto the countrie of the Galles. Which was saith Malmesburie 103. before Faganus and Dinaw did set foorth the gospell amongst them. Of the cōming of Zelotes you may read more in the second booke of Niceph. Cal. where he writeth thereof in this maner: "Operæpretium etiam fuerit Simonem Cana Galileæ ortum, qui propter flagrantem in magistrum suum ardorem, summámq; euangelicæ rei per omnia curam Zelotes cognominatus est hîc referre, accepit enim is cœlitùs adueniente spiritu sancto, Aegyptium Cyrenem & Africam, deinde Mauritaniam & Lybiam omnem euangelium deprædicans percurrit, eandemque doctrinam etiam ad occidentalem Oceanum insulásque Britannicas perfert." And this is the effect in a little roome, of that which I haue read at large in sundrie writers, beside these two here alledged, although it may well be gathered that diuers Britains were conuerted to the faith, before this sixtie foure of Christ. Howbeit, whereas some write that they liued, and dwelled in Britaine, it cannot as yet take any absolute hold in my iudgement, but rather that they were baptised and remained, either in Rome, or else-where. And of this sort I suppose Claudia Rufina a British ladie. Claudia Rufina the wife of Pudens to be one, who was a British ladie indeed, and not onelie excellentlie séene in the Gréeke and Latine toongs, but also with hir husband highlie commended by S. Paule, as one 1. Tim. 4. hauing had conuersation and conference with them at Rome, from whence he did write his second epistle vnto Timothie, as I read. Of this ladie moreouer Martial speaketh, in reioising that his poesies were read also in Britaine, and onelie by hir meanes, who vsed to cull out the finest & honestest of his epigrams and send them to hir fréends for tokens, saieng after this maner, as himselfe dooth set it downe:
Dicitur & nostros cantare Britannia versus.
Furthermore making mention of hir and hir issue, he addeth these words:
Li. 11. Epig. 54.
Claudia cœruleis cùm sit Rufina Britannis
Edita, cur Latiæ pectora plebis habet?
Quale decus formæ? Romanam credere matres