ON THE STATE OF

AGRICULTURE,

AND THE PROGRESS OF

ARTS AND MANUFACTURES

IN BRITAIN,

DURING THE PERIOD, AND UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF,

THE DRUIDICAL SYSTEM.

BY THE

REV. JOHN JONES, M.A.,

Llanllyfni.

AGRICULTURE, ARTS, &c.

A PASSIVE State of subserviency to a system of religious belief, formed on the contemplation of the works of Divine Providence, and the immutable laws of nature, in the absence of revealed truths, would supply the groundwork for a state of society most favourable to the growth and cultivation of industrious habits, and peaceful pursuits; and we accordingly find that those institutions which have exercised the most beneficial influence over the moral and social condition of man, in the early stages of civilization, were of a character which united the civil and religious offices in the administration of public affairs, and the maintenance of order.

The existence of two distinct orders, religious and military-as well European as Oriental-is observable in ancient and modern times; the former in the occupation of the soil, as industrious cultivators, and the latter in a state of constant excitement, and ever intent on oppression and subjugation.

The Teutonic and Belgic portion of the Celtic race, having no druidical system of discipline to control and direct their natural propensities, and to substitute the arts of peace for the excitements of war, paid no further

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attention to agricultural and commercial occupations beyond that of obtaining a bare subsistence, placing greater reliance on the sword in availing themselves of the labours of more industrious tribes, than on the ploughshare in cultivating their own resources. Without any bonds of union, or defensive expedients for the maintenance of either public or private rights, they are represented as abandoning themselves to indolence and apathy, without any better protection against foreign aggression than a broad frontier of marshes (solitudines quam latissima) to check and discourage the ardour of invasion.

Gaul, under the fostering care of Druidism, presents a more favourable aspect of human government. Under an order of priesthood entrusted with the administration of justice, the correction of abuses, and the maintenance of religious ordinances, the arts of peace are here found in a flourishing state, abundance crowning agricultural and pastoral occupations, and many of the most useful inventions in an early state of development, prior to the Roman invasion. Various mechanical arts are here found employed in the erection and defence of towns, and in the promotion of manufactures; and all classes of society arranged in the order of subordination and mutual dependence.

Gaul, however, was subject to too frequent interruptions from continental commotions, and the irruptions of warlike and hostile tribes, to become a permanent field for agricultural and commercial enterprise. The earliest annals or traditions represent the western European tribes as in a continued state of agitation and undulating

movement, each tribe pressed upon by, and receding before, another, and ultimately forced to settle itself in the extreme region of the west.

To the insular situation of Britain, under the discipline of Druidism, we may look for a more uninterrupted advancement in the arts of civilized life, and the cultivation of moral and religious truths. Protected from those disturbing causes which tended to check and retard the progressive improvements of social order-with a climate, soil and productions the most favourable to the exercise of industry and settled habits—and, at the same time, affording the strongest inducements for the adoption of mechanical agents in economising labour, and providing against the rigours of winter-here we may still trace, if not the origin, at least the early application of various arts, which became the foundation of her future fame. Here we find the druidical order, in its plenitude of power and usefulness, inculcating moral and political maxims for the guidance and advancement of the social system-encouraging inquiries into the laws of nature, and the harmony of the universe-training up the youthful aspirants for honour and places of trust in the paths of science and the study of natural philosophy, and promoting the interests of justice and humanity.

That Gaul and Britain were in a state of considerable advancement as regards the elements of science, and the progress of agriculture and commerce, at the time of the Roman invasion, may be inferred from facts of authentic history, notwithstanding the assertions of prejudiced writers, who represent the inhabitants as a rude and barbarous race. It is too much the fashion to decry, or