Post
by Ben Wood » 25 Apr 2007, 16:20
I find it fascinating to come on this forum and hear a very different view from my own, on issues to do with the use of "Roman" words. As someone with Welsh ancestors and I suppose you could say, a fledgling Romano-Druid I'm some what caught in the middle on this one; I mean the question is, did those pesky Romans really destroyed it all? And although there were wounds inflicted by the Roman invasion, (not least the destruction of Mona and the defeat of Boudicca), does that make it automatically a negative thing to use Roman words? After all not all Britons were anti-Roman, especially in the south east of our land, many Britons were influenced by Roman culture, even before Julius Caesar arrived. In this sense, not all Roman interaction was brutal, and in many ways the contact with the Romans enriched and expanded Celtic culture rather than detracted from it. But of course we shouldn’t romanticize the pain and suffering the Romans caused and in no way do I dismiss your passionate feelings on this matter Sunbird. They are completely valid, but I just find it difficult as a Druid who works with Roman deities to see the legions and the eagle as purely forces of harm and division on this island. I think after all the battles, the Romans and their ways made their peace with this land and as Druids we should not be afraid to use what the Romans left behind them in times of peace. I realize this is a difficult discussion and I open in opening it up I haven’t upset anyone.
All worship should be considered as one. We look on the same stars, the sky is common, the same world surrounds us. What difference does it make by what pains each seeks the truth? We cannot attain to so great a secret by one road- Symmachus
