Page:Elizabeth Elstob - An English-Saxon homily on the birth-day of St. Gregory.djvu/34

 of it, of that Part especially, which has since enjoy'd the Name of England''. And those Saxons, or English, were all of them Pagans, and Worshippers of Idols; and we do not find that those Christians, who were yet remaining among the Britains, offer'd any thing towards acquainting them with the Christian Faith. And the Histories of those Times give so dismal an Account, of the corrupt Estate of the British Church, as does not much encourage us to be more fond of deriving our Pedigre from it, than from that of Rome, which then was Orthodox. We need no other Testimony than that of Gildas, their own Country Man, who uses very severe Exclamations against them. And when some of the Saxons, moved in all probability by the Example of that little Church which was in the Christian Queen Berhtas Family, discover'd an Inclination to receive the Faith, of which Gregory was made sensible. We find, by him, that the Complaint which was made of the great Obstacle to their Conversion, was, that the Bishops and Clergy in the Neighbourhood, were negligent in yielding their Assistance, to that pious Work. In which Accusation, the Britains may very reasonably be as much included, as their other Neighbours, the Gallican and German Bishops, and Clergy, who''