What the Romans Did for Us

Above all, it was in the Roman time, and by means of Roman ships, that the Christian Religion was first brought into Britain, and its people first taught the great lesson that, to be good in the sight of God, they must love their neighbours as themselves, and do unto others as they would be done by.* The Druids declared that it was very wicked to believe in any such thing, and cursed all the people who did believe it, very heartily.* But, when the people found that they were none the better for the blessings of the Druids, and none the worse for the curses of the Druids, but, that the sun shone and the rain fell without consulting the Druids at all, they just began to think that the Druids were mere men, and that it signified very little whether they cursed or blessed. After which, the pupils of the Druids fell off greatly in numbers, and the Druids took to other trades.

* The second of two commandments given by Jesus Christ to his disciples, in which all the other commandments of the Jewish law were summed up. The first was that we should love God with all our heart: see Matthew 22:34-40. Both commandments were, of course, themselves taken out of the Jewish law; they were not intended to abolish the law but to perfect the spirit in which it was observed: see Matthew 5.

* The curses of the Druids were apparently shattering to listen to, though of no actual power: see The Battle of Ynys Mon. And see The Alleluia Victory for an altogether more effective strategy than invoking blood-chilling curses, or even than fighting at all.

Précis
The roads and the sea-borne trade did bring one benefit, unexpected by the Romans but a supreme blessing to this country, which was the spread of the Christian religion. The indigenous religion of the British, Druidism, preyed on the natives’ superstitions, whereas Christianity taught them the principles of a lasting civilisation.
Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

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