ourse, Germans. But
the main object of the present chapter has been to shew the extremely
unsatisfactory nature of the evidence of any Germans having so called
themselves. Assuredly, if they stopped at the present point, the reasons
for believing the name to have been native would be eminently
unsatisfactory. The best fact would be in the language of Beda, who, as
we have seen, called the Westphalians _Old-Saxons_. But Beda often
allowed himself to use the language of his authorities, most of whom
wrote in Latin, and some of whom were Gauls or Britons.

But four fresh ones can be added--

1. There is the element -_sex_ in the names Es-_sex_, Wes-_sex_,
Sus-_sex_, and Middle-_sex_.

2. The name _Sax_-neot was that of a deity, whom the Old Saxons, on
their conversion to Christianity, were compelled to foreswear. This
gives us the likelihood of its being the name of an _eponymus_.

3. The story about _nime