ears, till the descent of the Saxons, was ruled by the authority of the
clergy, the nobles, and the municipal towns. I. Zosimus, who alone
has preserved the memory of this singular transaction, very accurately
observes, that the letters of Honorius were addressed to the _cities_
of Britain. Under the protection of the Romans, ninety-two considerable
towns had arisen in the several parts of that great province; and, among
these, thirty-three cities were distinguished above the rest by their
superior privileges and importance. Each of these cities, as in all
the other provinces of the empire, formed a legal corporation, for the
purpose of regulating their domestic policy; and the powers of municipal
government were distributed among annual magistrates, a select senate,
and the assembly of the people, according to the original model of the
Roman constitution. The management of a common revenue, the exercise of
civil and criminal jurisdiction, and the habits of public counsel and
command, were inherent to these petty republics; and when they
asserted their independence, the youth of the city, and of the adjacent
districts, would naturally range themselves under the standard of the
magistrate. But the desire of obtaining the advantages, and of escaping
the burdens, of political society, is a perpetual and inexhaustible
source of discord; nor can it reasonably be presumed, that the
restoration of British freedom was exempt from tumult and faction. The
preeminence of birth and fortune must have been frequently violated by
bold and popular citizens; and the haughty nobles, who complained that
they were become the subjects of their own servants, would sometimes
regret the reign of an arbitrary monarch. II. The jurisdiction of
each city over the adjacent country, was supported by the patrimonial
influence of the principal senators; and the smaller towns, the
villages, and the proprietors of land, consulted their own safety by
adhering to the shelter of these rising republics. The sphere of their
attraction was proportioned to the respective degrees of their wealth
and populousness; but the hereditary lords of ample possessions, who
were not oppressed by the neighborhood of any powerful city, aspired
to the rank of independent princes, and boldly exercised the rights
of peace and war. The gardens and villas, which exhibited some faint
imitation of Italian elegance, would soon be converted into strong
castles, the refuge, in time of