The barbarian chieftain, who defended his country against the Roman invasion, driven to the remotest extremity of Britain, and stimulating his followers to battle, by all that has power of persuasion upon the human heart, concludes his exhortation by an appeal to these irresistible feelings — "Think of your forefathers and of your posterity."

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The barbarian chieftain, who defended his country against the Roman invasion, driven to the remotest extremity of Britain, and stimulating his followers to battle, by all that has power of persuasion upon the human heart, concludes his exhortation by an appeal to these irresistible feelings — "Think of your forefathers and of your posterity."" in the context of "He here is translating a phrase of Calgacus in Vita Agricolae by Tacitus : Et majores et posteros cogitate." to mean that wisdom is timeless.