Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar

by T. Rice Holmes

[1130] See J. G. Frazer, Early Hist. of the Kingship, p. 154.

[1131] Corpus Inscr. Lat., vii, 507; J. Rhys, Celtic Heathendom, p. 104.

[1132] See Rev. celt., ii, 1873-5, p. 1; iv, 1879-80, pp. 57-8; xviii, 1897, p. 259; E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, ii, 1903, pp. 221, 228.

[1133] Cf. J. Rhys, Celtic Heathendom, p. 106, with G. Dottin, La rel. des Celtes, 1904, p. 60.

[1134] M. Jullian (Rev. des études anc., iv, 1902, p. 101) points out that the texts fall into two groups, one of which, all posterior to 100 B.C., deals with the Transalpine Celts, and the other, mostly earlier, with all the others, except the Britons.

[1135] Rev. celt., xii, 1891, p. 316; Rev. num., 3^e sér., ii, 1884, pp. 179-202; Rev. des études anc., iv, 1902, p. 279, n. 2.

[1136] ‘On se tromperait beaucoup,’ says M. Dottin (La rel. des Celtes, pp. 7-8), ‘si l’on croyait que tous les anciens Mercuriacus de France, devenus aujourd’hui Mercuray, Mercurey, Mercoirey, Mercury, sont dérivés du nom de dieu Mercurius. Ils proviennent plus vraisemblablement du gentilice romain Mercurius, assez fréquent dans les inscriptions, et dénomment simplement le fundus, la propriété d’un Gallo-Romain du nom de Mercurius.’

[1137] J. Rhys, Celtic Heathendom, p. 235. See also Rev. celt., iv, 1879-80, p. 45; x, 1889, pp. 485, 487, 489; H. Gaidoz, Esquisse de la rel. des Gaulois, 1879, p. 11, Études de mythologie gaul.,—Le dieu gaul. du soleil, 1886, pp. 90-1, 93; Rev. num., 3^e sér., ii, 1884, p. 201, n. 1; Archaeol. Review, ii, 1889, p. 124; Journ. Brit. Archaeol. Association, 1, 1894, pp. 105-9; and G. Dottin, La rel. des Celtes, pp. 5-16, 56-7, 60.

[1138] Caesar does not say that Mercury was actually the supreme deity of the Gauls, but only the most fervently worshipped: he expressly says that they regarded their Jupiter as the lord of the celestials. ‘It must not be supposed,’ says Sir Alfred Lyall (Asiatic Studies, i, 1899, p. 121), ‘that even the uppermost gods of Hinduism have retired behind mere ceremonial altars, like constitutional monarchs.... But there seem to be many grades of accessibility among them, from Brahma—who, since he created the world, has taken no further trouble about it, and is naturally rewarded by possessing only one or two of the million temples to Hindu gods,’ &c.

[1139] B. G., vi, 17.