“If you consider the number of your enimies, it is not greater than yours:  if you regard their strength, they are no stronger than you:  and all this dooth easilie appeere by the bassinets, habergeons, & greiues wherewith you be armed; and also by the walls, ditches and trenches that you haue made for your own defense, to keepe off their excursions, who had rather fight with vs a farre off, than cope & deale with vs at hand strokes, as our custome of the warres and martiall discipline dooth require.  Wherefore we doo so farre exceed them in force, that in mine opinion, our armie is more strong than stone walls, and one of our targets woorth all the armour that they doo beare vpon them:  by meanes whereof, if the victorie be ours, we shall soone make them captiues:  or if we lose the field, we shall easilie escape the danger.

“Furthermore, if after the flight we shall indeuour to meet anie where, we haue the marishes heere beneath to hide vs in, and the hils round about to keepe them off, so that by no meanes they shall haue their purpose of vs, whereas they being ouercharged with heavie armour, shall neither be able to follow, if we flee; nor escape out of our danger, if they be put to flight:  if they happen to breake out at anie time as desirous to make a rode, they returne by and by to their appointed places, where we maie take them as birds alreadie in cage.  In all which things, as they are farre inferior to vs, so most of all in this, that they can not indure hunger, thirst, cold, heat, and sunneshine, as we can doo.

“In their houses also and tents, they make much account of their baked meates, wine, oile, and abroad of the shadow, that if anie of these doo faile them, they either die foorthwith, or else in time they languish and consume:  whereas to vs euerie hearbe and root is meat, euerie iuice an oile, all water pleasant wine, and euerie tree an house.  Beside this, there is no place of the land vnknowne to vs, neither yet vnfriendlie to succour vs at need; whereas to the Romans they are for the most part vnknowne and altogither dangerous, if they should stand in need:  we can with ease swim ouer euerie riuer both naked and clad, which they with their great ships are scarse able to performe.  Wherefore with hope and good lucke let vs set vpon them couragiouslie, and teach them to vnderstand, that since they are no better than hares and foxes, they attempt a wrong match, when they indeuour to subdue the grehounds and the woolues.”  With which words the queene let an hare go out of hir lap, as it were thereby to giue prognostication of hir successe, which comming well to passe, all the companie showted, and cried out vpon such as not long before had doone such violence to so noble a personage.  Presentlie vpon this action, Voadicia calling them togither againe, proceeded forward with hir praier, which she made before them all, holding vp hir hands after this manner: