Sentence:  It appears that, about the middle of the fourth century of the Christian Era, the Germans in the Roman service started the new practice of retaining their native names; and this change of etiquette, which seems to have been abrupt, points to a sudden <WSD>access</WSD> of self-confidence and self-assurance in the souls of the barbarian "personnel" which had previously been content to 'go Roman' without reservations. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An outburst of an emotion; a paroxysm; a fit of passion