Strabo is quoted
as saying "that the very youths (of the Cymri) were half a foot taller
than the tallest men," and Manlius for declaring "that the Cymri were a
race so exceedingly tall that other nations seemed nothing in their
eyes." The same authority narrates that "when one of the Cymri stood in
the ranks he seemed of the same proportion as the others, but when he
stepped out a few paces, and came near to the Romans, they all began to
be amazed at the sight." On that account the Roman soldiers, as Caesar
admits, were filled with consternation at the giants they were called
upon to encounter when he marched against their leader, Ariovistus. The
Cymri were also remarkable for their exceeding swiftness. Csesar
witnessed that they "could lay their hands on the manes of horses and
keep pace with them in the race." Tully testifies that it was "their
joy and delight to die on the battlefield, and that nothing so
tormented them as to die idly in their beds." "No wonder," says Sammes,
"that they conquered many nations; distressed the Romans themselves,
and were a constant thorn in the side of the Gauls" ("Antiquities of
Ancient Britain," cap. 2).
Dr. Smith, in his "History of France," narrates that the Cymri
"acquired permanent possession of an extensive territory north of the
Loire, including the peninsula of Armorica" (p.
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