All without the pale of Roman civilization were considered "barbarians," and the epithet was freely applied.

Indeed, it is well known that, when Cicero had a special object in view, he could describe the Celtae of Gaul as the vilest monsters, and the hereditary enemies of the gods, for whose wickedness extermination was the only remedy.

As to the "gods" there is no doubt that the Druidic worship was opposed to the more sensual paganism of Greece and Rome, and, therefore, would be considered eminently irreligious by the votaries of the latter.
The most serious social charge against the Irish Celts, is that of being anthropophagi; and the statement of St.Jerome, that he had seen two Scoti in Gaul feeding on a human carcass, has been claimed as strong corroboration of the assertions of pagan writers.

As the good father was often vehement in his statements and impulsive in his opinions, he may possibly have been mistaken, or, perhaps, purposely misled by those who wished to give him an unfavourable impression of the Irish.

It is scarcely possible that they could have been cannibal as a nation, since St.Patrick never even alludes to such a custom in his _Confessio_,[56] where it would, undoubtedly, have been mentioned and reproved, had it existence.
[Illustration: CROSS AT GLENDALOUGH, CO.