With this view he labored to conquer,
convert, and govern. He tried to be, at one and the same time, Caesar,
Augustus, and Constantine. And for a moment he appeared to have
succeeded; but the appearance passed away with himself. The unity of the
empire and the absolute power of the emperor were buried in his grave.
The Christian religion and human liberty set to work to prepare for
Europe other governments and other destinies.
EGBERT BECOMES KING OF THE ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY
A.D. 827
DAVID HUME
From the time that the Britons called upon the Saxons to assist
them against the Picts and Scots, about A.D. 410, the domination of
the hardy Teutonic people in England was a foregone conclusion. The
Britons had become exhausted through their long exposure to Roman
influences, and in their state of enfeeblement were unable to
resist the attacks of the rude highland tribes.
The Saxons rescued the Britons from their plight, but themselves
became masters of the country which they had delivered. They were
joined by the Angles and Jutes, and divided the territory into the
kingdoms known in history as the Saxon Heptarchy,[73] which had an
existence of about two hundred and fifty years.
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