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On the Ruin of Britain
St Gildas, tr. Williams, 1899
7. Second Subjection and Servitude
The Romans therefore, having slain many of the faithless ones, reserving some for slavery, lest the land should be reduced to destitution—return to Italy leaving behind them a land stripped of wine and oil. They leave behind governors as scourges for the backs of the natives, as a yoke for their necks, so that they should cause the epithet of Roman slavery to cling to the soil, should vex the crafty race not so much with military force as with whips, and if necessary, apply the unsheathed sword, as the saying is, to their sides. In this way the island would be regarded not as Britannia but as Romania, and whatever it might have of copper, silver, or gold would be stamped with the image of Caesar.