Galic Antiquities

lo AHISTORYOF Chap. I.
fclvcs were fatisfied with fix. But people feldom grudge to bow the
knee before idols of their own eretfllng. And even in thefe matters,
of no more than imaginary confequence, the Druids were not
fo far fliort of the king, as they were beyond all others. Perfons
of the greateft quality were allowed but four colours in their robe ;
and others, in proportion to their rank, ftill fewer. In the reft of
their drefs,
as well as in this, the Druids aflumed fome diftinguifliing
peculiarity. They wore long habits which reached to the heel f,
"whilft that of others came only to the knee.
They wore their hair
Ihort, whilft that of others was long ; and their beard long, whilft
that of others, except their upper-lip, was generally fhort. They
wore in their hand a white wand, cailcd J' Uati druP eacbJ,
or magic
wand ; with an egg, or amulet of an oval fhape, incafed in
gold, about their neck, and a white furplice over their fhoulders,
efpecially when they officiated *.
Thus, no perfon could caft his
eye upon a Druid without being ftruck with fome badge of his office,
which put him in mind of his diftindlion, and challenged reverence
to it.
Considering the power and privileges of the Druids, we may
well fuppofe their revenue was confiderable, though we cannot afcertain
it. Their number and rank would require it to be large,
and their authority would enable them to make it fo. Indeed,
ftridlly fpeaking, every thing was in their own power ; and the
people may be faid to have received their allowance from their hand,
rather than they from the hand of die people. Of the moderation
f Vid. Himer. de Abar. ap. Photium. were of a pentagonal fliapc, the Druids^
• Vid. int. al. Caef. et Plin. 1. i6. c. 44. affeded a difference and diftindion from
Strabo, 1. 4.—Even in their very flioes, others. Aventin. Annal. Boi. 1. i. ap.
or fandals, which conCftcd of M-ood, and El. Sched.^