^.5.3 ■^. THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE EOYAL lEISH ACADEMY. VOL. XVIII. -)- DUBLIN: FEINTED BY R. GRAISBERRY, PRINTER TO THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY. SOLD BY HODGES & SMITH, DUBLIN AND BY T. & W. BOONE, LONDON. M.DCCCXXXIX. The Academy desire it to be understood, that they are not answerable for any opinion, representation of facts, or train of reasoning, that may appear in the following papers. The Authors of the several Essays are alone responsible for their contents. CONTENTS. SCIENCE. ART. PAGE I. Upon a new Method of investigating the Specific Heats of the Gases. By James Apjohn, M.D. M.R.I.A., Professor of Chemistry in the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. Read Marcli 16, 1837, 1 II. Analysis of a Meteoric Stone which fell near Adair, in the County of Limerick, on September 10, 1813. 5^/ James Apjohn, M.D. M.R.I. A., Professor of Chemistry in the Royal College of Sur- geons, Ireland. Read May 23, 1836, 17 III. On the Laws of Crystalline RefieMon and Refraction. By James Mac Cullagh, Esq., A.M. M.R.I. A., Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and Professor of Mathematics in the University. Read January 9, 1837, 31 IV. On a hitherto unobserved Structure discovered in certain Trap Rocks in the County of Galway. By Robert Mallet, Esq., M.R.I. A. Read April 10, 1837, 75 V. On a new Gaseous Compound of Carbon and Hydrogen. By Edmund Davy, Esq., F.R.S. M.R.I. A., &c.. Professor of Che- mistry to the Royal Dublin Society. Read June 26, 1837, . 80 VI. Remarks on the Species of Seals (Phocidce) inhabiting the Irish Seas. By Robert Ball, Esq., M.R.I. A., &e. Read Decem- ber 12, 1836 89 VII. On a Series of Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. By Robert Kane, M.D. M.R.I.A., Professor to the Royal Dublin Society, and to the Apothecaries' Hall of Ireland, Corresponding Member of the Society of Pharmacy, and of the Society of vi CONTENTS. ABT. PAGE Medical Chemistry of Paris, Honorary Member of the Society of Apothecaries of the North of Germany, ^c. Read March 16, and April 10, 1837, 99 VIII. On the Insulation of Fluorine. By George James Knox, Esq., A.M. M.R.I. A., and the Rev. Thomas Knox, M.R.I. A. Read April 10, 1837, . . . 127 IK. On the Composition of certain Essential Oils. By Robert Kane, M.D. M.R.I.A., Professor of Natural Philosophy to the Royal Dublin Society, and of Chemistry to the Apotheca- ries' Hall of Ireland, Corresponding Member of the Society of Pharmacy and of the Society of Medical Chemistry of Paris, Honorary Member of the Society of Apothecaries of the North of Germany, ^c. Read June 12, 1837, .... 135 X. On the Properties of Voltaic Circles, in which concentrated Sul- phuric Acid is the Liquid Conductor. By Thomas Andrews, M.D. M.R.I. A., Professor of Chemistry in the Royal Belfast Institution. Read April 9, 1838, 149 XL On a new Variety of Alum. By James Apjohn, M.D. M.R.I. A., Professor of Chemistry in the Royal College of Surgeons, Ire- land. Read April 10, 1837, 157 XII. On a new Compound, consisting of Iodide of Potassium, Iodine, and the Essential Oil of Cinnamon. By James Apjohn, M.D. M.R.I. A., Professor of Chemistry in the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. Read April 23, 1838, . . . .162 XIII. On the Argument of Abel, respecting the Impossibility of ex- pressing a Root of any General Equation above the Fourth Degree, by any finite Combination of Radicals and Rational Functions. 5_y ^Ae President. Read May 22, 1837, • 171 XIV. On the Irish Hare. {JLepus Hibernicus.) By William Thomp- son, Esq., Vice-President of the Natural History Society of Belfast. Read May 28, 1838, .260 x CONTENTS. vii POLITE LITERATURE. ART. PAGK I. The Punic Passage in Plautus, collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. By the Rev. James Hamilton, A.M. Read June 29, 1835, . . .• 3 II. An Essay on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the Sanscrit Writing . andLanguage.ByCuARi.Es'WiLhiAnWAhhfD.D.M.R.I.A., yc^ Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. Read November 13, 1837, 65 HI. On the Years and Cycles used by the Ancient Egyptians. By the Rev. Edward Hincks, D.D. (Communicated by the Presi- dent.) Read April 9, 1838, 153 ANTIQUITIES. I. Remarks on the Book of Mac Firbis, an Irish Manuscript lately transcribed for the Academy. By George Petrie, Esq., R.H.A. M.R.I.A. Read February 27, 1837, ... 3 II. An Account of an ancient Irish Reliquary, called the Domnach Airgid. By George Petrie, Esq., R.H.A. M.R.I.A. Read October 22, 1832, 14 III. On the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. By George Petrie, . Esq., R.H.A. M.R.I.A. Read April 24, May 8, and May 22, 1837, . 25 SCIENCE. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY I. Upon a new Method of investigating the Specific Heats of the Gases. By James Apjohn, M.D., M.R.I.A., Professor of Chemistry in the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. Read 16th March, 1837. There is scarcely a problem within the range of experimental physics, which, in modern times, has attracted so much attention as that which has for its object the determination of the specific heats of what are sometimes, though improperly, called the permanently elastic fluids. It is a problem, also, encompassed by so many difficulties, that the best results hitherto obtained are usually considered but as approximations ; and the simple law to which the more recent results would appear to point, that under equal volumes all gases have the same specific heat, is, it is scarcely necessary to remark, far from being universally admitted. The methods of investigation heretofore pursued have been of a direct nature, or have consisted in the estimation of the respective amounts of caloric evolved by equal weights, or equal volumes of the different gases in cool- ing through the same range of temperature — the results in the latter case being divided by the specific gravities, in order to pass to the relative capacities of equal *■ VOL. XVIII, ■ B 2 Professor Apjohn upon a new Method of masses. But a given weight of air, in cooling through any number of degrees, will evolve different quantities of caloric, according to the circumstances under which its refrigeration is effected. If it be permitted to shrink as it cools, so that its elasticity may continue constant, it will obviously extricate more heat than if its primitive volume be maintained by being enclosed in, for example, some un- yielding envelope ; inasmuch as experiment proves that after a gas has cooled down in the latter predicament, a considerable rise of temperature takes place, when upon admitting the atmosphere it is subjected to its original pressure. The specific heat of a gas, therefore, it should be borne in mind, admits of a double interpretation, or is different according as the gas is considered to be of a constant volume or of a constant elasticity. Now, of the many philosophers who have applied themselves to researches in reference to the specific heats of the agriform fluids, some (as Crawford, Clement, and Desormes, Marcet and De la Rive,) have experimented upon the gases maintained at a constant volume; while others, (as Lavoisier, Laplace, Gay Lussac, Leslie, De la Roche, and Berard, and finally Haycraft,) upon the same at a constant elasticity ; so that for this reason, even if there were no other, their experimental results, and the numerical conclusions thence deduced, do not all admit of immediate comparison. But though we collate those results alone which are deduced by the same method, a great discordancy will be found to exist between them. The method of Cawford, Clement, and Dcsormes, and of Marcet and De la Rive, were in principle the same, as all operated on the gases preserved of a constant volume; and, nevertheless, the conclusions at which they have arrived are widely different. Nor is there a closer agreement between the numbers arrived at by those who have essayed the solution of the problem, by determining the quantities of caloric, evolved by the different gases in cooling, under a constant pressure, through the same range of temperature. Some, as Leslie and Haycraft, have arrived at th^ law, since so ably advocated by Marcet and De la Rive, that all gases have, under equal volumes, the same capacity for caloric, or what amounts to the same thing, that the spex;ific heats of equal weights are reciprocally proportional to their specific gravities ; while others, as Lavoisier and Laplace, Gay Lussac, and, in particular, De la Roche and Berard, have obtained results quite irreconcilable with so simple a view of the subject. investigating the Specijic Heats of the Gases. 3 The most interesting, if not the most recent inquiries in refei'ence to the specific heats of the gases, have been conducted by M. Dulong of Paris. In his memoir upon the subject, published in the Annales De Chimie, (tom. xli. p. 1 13,) this distinguished philosopher commences with a critique upon the processes of Haycraft, and of Marcet and De la Rive, having for its object to show that the law of " equal specific heats under equal volumes,"* at which they had arrived, however strongly recommended by its simplicity, cannot be considered as un- equivocally established by their experiments. It is difficult, indeed, to urge any valid objection against the method of Haycraft. In prlru;iple it was the same with that previously practised by De la Roche and Berard, and he, in addition, took the very proper precaution of operating upon gases deprived of all hygrome- tric moisture. M. Dulong, however, observes, and with truth, that apparently unimportant variations in the manner of conducting the experiments would greatly influence the results, and that Mr. Haycraft has not furnished sufficient details to enable his readers to judge of the amount or direction of the errors by which they were likely to be affi^cted. The objections to the researches of Marcet and De la Rive are of a much graver natui-e. These philosophers included the different gases successively in the same globe of glass, and having determined experimentally the times that each thus enclosed took, when exposed to a constant heat, to acquire the same rise of temperature, these times were concluded to be proportional to their specific heats. To obtain, however, the times of heating of equal volumes of the different gases, it is obvious, that we must subtract from those given by experi- ment the times in which the glass balloon — supposed perfectly exhausted — would undergo the same change of temperature. But owing to the insignificant amount of the mass of the gas compared to that of its envelope, this difference will neces- sarily always be so small, as to be, in all probability, frequently exceeded by the inevitable errors of observation. Besides, as Dulong observes, and as was shown by him and Petit in their celebrated prize essay on the Laws of Cooling in diffe- rent Elastic Media, the times of heating of the different gases in the experiments of Marcet and De la Rive, depended not exclusively upon their respective specific heats, but also greatly upon their specific gravities. For these reasons M. Du- • They are, of course, all supposed to be submitted to the same pressure. B 2 4 Professor ApJOH^f upon a new Method of long does not hesitate to affirm, " that the results of De la Roche and Berard are still those which should inspire most confidence, and that though they cannot be considered as having attained perfect precision, they are amply sufficient for putting beyond all doubt that the various simple and compound gases have not, under the same volume, an equal capacity for heat." Having disposed of these preliminary animadversions upon the labours of some of his predecessors, M. Dulong proceeds to the explanation of the particu- lars of a very ingenious method practised by himself, for determining — not the specific heats — either at a constant volume, or under a constant pressure, but the ratio which subsists between these quantities in the case of the different gases. If a be the caloric necessary to be communicated to a given weight of any gas in order to produce in it, maintained of a constant volume, a given increase of tem- perature, and a-\-b the caloric necessary to produce the same change of tempera- ture, when the gas is permitted to expand so as to retain its primitive elasticity, = 1 -|-- expresses the ratio in question, and is the quantity at which Du- long, by his method of research, was enabled in the following manner to arrive. The Newtonian formula for the velocity of sound, viz. vii:y^^x(l. +003750, is long known to give results appreciably less than the truth, but Laplace was the first who pointed out the cause of the discrepancy, and showed that Newton's ex- pression should be multiplied by the square root of the relation between the specific heat of air under a constant volume and a constant pressure, a correction which is at present found to give results in almost perfect accordance with observation. If, therefore, the velocity of sound in atmospherical air be determined experimentally, and that this be divided by the Newtonian expression, the quotient will be / ""'" , or the square root of the relation between its specific heat under a constant vo- lume and a constant pressure ; and the same method may obviously be extended to all the gases,* provided we can determine the exact velocity of sound in each. • The Newtonian expression, i'=y^^(l +,00373 0, is applicable to any gas by substituting for d the s. g. of the gas in relation to mercury. investigating the Specijic Heats of the Gases. 5 This indispensable datum Dulong deduced from certain experiments with a flutc'like pipe or tube, blown through by the different gases, from which, by the application of the theory of wind instruments, he was enabled to calculate the length of a single vibration, and the number performed in a given time, for seve- ral of the elastic fluids. The velocities thus obtained were then divided by their values as given by Newton's formula, and the quotients squared necessarily represented, as has been already shown, 1-| — , or the relation for each gas between its specific heat under a constant volume and a constant pressure. The following are the results to which he was thus conducted :— ■+i Specific Heat under constant volume. Specific Heat under constant pressure. Specific Heat const, press. De la Roche and Berard. Atmospheric Air Oxvffen .............. 1.421 1.415 1.407 1.338 1.428 1.343 1.240 (1) 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.245 1.000 1.227 1.754 (2) 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.172 1.000 1.159 1.530 (3) 1.000 0.976 0.903 1.258 1.034 1.350 1.553 (4) Hydroffen ...« Carbonic Acid Carbonic Oxide Nitrous Oxide Olefiant Gas A glance at the first column of this table would appear sufficient to justify the conclusion, that the mixed number which represents the relation in question, is the same for all the simple gases, but that this law does not extend to those of a compound nature, with the exception of carbonic oxide. If b have the same value for all gases, simple or compound, or, as is indeed extremely probable, if all, in undergoing the same degree of compression, give out the same amount of heat, a, must vary reciprocally as -, that is the specific heats, under a constant volume, will vary reciprocally, as the fractions in column (1.) Upon this hypothesis, values of a, the specific heat under a constant vo- lume, have been calculated for each gas, that of air being represented by unity, and are set down in column (2). In column (3) we have values of a-\-b, the specific heat, under a constant pressure, which are obtained by multiplying the corresponding numbers, in columns (1) and (2), and dividing all the products by 6 Professor Apjohn upon a new Method of 1.421, in order that the representative of air should be unity. Column (4) ex- hibits the specific heats under a constant pressure, as deduced by De la Roche and Berard. The numbers in column (2) correspond so well with those in column (4), which were experimentally obtained, that Dulong conceives himself entitled to enunciate, as proved, the two following propositions, the first of which he has assumed in his calculations. 1st. That equal volumes of all gases, at the same temperature and pressure* evolve by a given condensation the same amount of caloric. 2nd. That the rise of temperature produced in each gas, by the heat so ex- tricated, is reciprocally proportional to its specific heat, under a constant volume. At the close of his paper, which was read before the Academy of Sciences, in May, 1828, M. Dulong states, that he was then engaged in researches, in refe- rence to the influence of variations of pressure and temperature, on the specific heats of gases, the results of which he hoped to be shortly able to give to the pub- lic in a second memoir, in which it was his intention also to investigate the laws which connect the specific heats of the compound gases with their actual compo- sition. Eight years, however, have now elapsed since this promise was made, and I am sorry to add, (indeed it will be considered matter of general regret,) that it has not as yet been redeemed. The method of Dulong, just explained, is partly experimental, and partly hypothetical. To the principle on which his experiments were conducted, no possible objection can be urged, and I apprehend that the numbers at which he arrived represent, with considerable precision, the ratios of the specific heats eJ" the gases on which he operated, in the two different predicaments to which allu- sion has so frequently been made. Doubts, however, may be entertained as to the truth of his hypothetical premiss, that all gases, in virtue of a given compres- sion, evolve the same amount of caloric ; and if this be incorrect, his conclu- sions in reference to the specific heats of the gases under a constant volume, or a constant pressure, must also be erroneous. These observations are thrown out, with the view of pointing attention to what may be considered as proved, and what assumed, in the paper of Dulong ; and of showing, that, even after his elaborate researches, the subject under consi- deration must still be considered as constituting an open question. At all investigating the Spectre Heats of the Gases. 7 events, assuming such to be the case, I shall, without further preface, proceed to explain the particulars of a new method which I have adopted for comparing the capacities for caloric, of the different aeriform fluids. In a paper which I had the honour of reading in November last, before the Royal Irish Academy, I showed that the formula 480^ p^ ^ —-^ e ^30 expresses the relation between the indications of the wet bulb hygrometer and dew-point ; e being the caloric of elasticity of vapour, at the temperature t' of the hygrometer; a, the specificheat of air; dzzt — t', the difference between the tem- perature of air and hygrometer; andy and/"", the elastic forces of the vapour of water, at the temperatures of the hygrometer and dew-point. If, therefore, the dew-point and temperature of hygrometer be taken in each of the gases, their specific heats become known, for in each case, as may be easily deduced from the expression given above, Sucha method, though theoretically exact, is beset with such difficulties, that it may, I think, be considered as practically impossible. The artificial gases, as usually collected, are saturated with moisture — a state in which they are quite unsuited for the necessary experiments ; and even though this difficulty were overcome, it would, I conceive, be nearly impossible to determine their dew- point by direct observation. By recurring, however, to the former equation, J —J e ^30' and modifying it, so as to suit a particular case, a much simpler method of investi- gation is suggested. If the air be supposed perfectly dry, y"=o, and _ ef 30 "-48^ ^7' an expression involving no unknown quantity but d, and which will therefore * a, is here assumed to represent the specific beat under a given volume of the gas, which is the subject of experiment. 8 Professor Apjohn upon a new Method of enable us to calculate the specific heat of a gas, when we have observed the sta- tionary temperature to which, when in a state of perfect desiccation, it brings the wet bulb thermometer. The experiments subservient to this method are easily made ; and the gases being dry, their specific heats are not affected by the pre- sence of vapours, the influence of which, by the way, we are probably not in a predicament to appreciate with the necessary degree of precision. The method, therefore, which I have, I believe, been the first to adopt, con- sists in determining, by experiment, in the case of the several gases deprived of all hygrometric measure, t and <', and consequently t—t' — d, and deducing in each instance from these data the value of a, the specific heat. In order to the determination of rf, the following apparatus, and method of experimenting was, after a trial of several others, finally adopted : — a 6 c c? e is a glass tube, 3-lOth of an inch in diameter, and whose vertical arms are each about twenty inches long. Into this inverted syphon oil of vitriol was poured, so as to rise to the height of about two inches in each leg ; and to the horizontal portion of each of these there were connected, through the medium of a three-armed copper tube, two bladders, A and G, furnished with stop-cocks, one of which was filled with air, and the other with the gas which was to be the subject of experiment ; while to the other extremity of the syphon there was at- tached, also by a caoutchouc collar, a glass tube, in which were placed the dry and moist thermometers, as represented at D and W. " Every thing being thus ar- ranged, an assistant pressed by means of a deal board on the air bladder, by which its contents were forced through the oil of vitriol, where they were deprived of vapour, and over the di-y and wet thermometers, producing in the latter a consi- derable fall of temperature ; and the moment that the air bladder was exhausted, investigating the Specific Heats of the Gases. 9 its stop-cock was rapidly closed, that of the other opened, and the experiment continued by means of pressure similarly applied to the gas. While matters were thus proceeding, I kept my eye, armed with a common lens, steadily fixed on the wet thermometer, and the moment that it acquired a stationary temperature, (which, generally speaking, in consequence of the previous current of dry air, occurred long before the entire of the gas was discharged,) its indication, and that of the dry thei'mometer, were registered, and the experiment suspended. The residual gas was now passed into a glass jar on the mercurial trough, with a view to subsequent analysis, and both bladders being refilled with atmospherical air, a second experiment was performed precisely as just described. The values of t and t', obtained in the first experiment, enabled us to calculate, by aid of the equation _er_ 30 the specific heat of the elastic fluid which was made to traverse the apparatus. But this result belonged not to the pure gas, but to a mixture of it with a certain quantity of atmospheric air, which enters the bladder upon the principle of endosmose, and to infer from it the specific heat of the pure gas, which we shall call a', it was necessary to know the amount of air present, and its specific heat. Now the former of these was given by the analysis of the residual gas, as already mentioned, and the latter by the results of the second experiment above recorded, in which both bladders were occupied by air alone. Jf a' be the specific heat* of the gas, n the percentage of air, c its specific heat, and a the specific heat of the mixture of air and gas, we will, on the principle that the specific heat of the mixture, multiplied by its volume, is equal to the sum of the products of the respective volumes of air and gas, multiplied by their re- spective specific heats, have a' x( 100— n) + wc = o X 100, an equation from which we deduce , , (a—c)n . « = « + -ioo=« This is the specific heat of the pure gas in reference to that of air, as determined * The specific heats spoken of throughout this paper are those under a given volume. VOL. XVIII. C 10 Professor Apjohn upon a new Method of by the second of the above experiments ; and as both air and gas are dry, and must have been, with at least a high degree of probability, proportionally affected by variations of pressure, the precise influence of these, about which, indeed, phi- losophers are not agreed, do not require to be taken into consideration, nor is there any thing farther necessary for rendering the result thus obtained strictly comparable with those of other experiments, than to reduce it by the Rule of Three to what it would be if the specific heat of air were .267» the number by which it is usually represented in books, at the mean altitude of the barometer. I shall now, before proceeding to the tabular view of my experiments, and their results, exemplify the method of calculation which has been just described. On the 4th of August, 1835, the following observations were made, first on hydrogen, and subsequently upon air. t t' d p Hydrogen . . . 68 48 20 30.114. Air 68 43 25 30.114. By applying to these results the equation a =r -~- x — > we get Specific heat of air r= .2767 '=■ c. Approximate specific heat of gas . zz .409 = «• But the gas, upon analysis, was found to contain 5 per cent, of air. Hence the specific heat of the hydrogen supposed pure, as deduced from the equation {a—c)n a—a-\-Y\ (lOO-w)' becomes, .4151. And as, .2767 : .4151 : : 2670 : .4005, the specific heat of hydrogen compared to that of air under a pressure of 30, when water Is repre- sented by unity, or what amounts to the same, when air is .267- The following tables include the particulars of the first series of experiments I performed on this interesting subject. In order that they may be perfectly un- derstood, the reader should recollect that t Is the temperature of the dry, and t' of the wet thermometer ; that dz=.t — ^ ; that j> is the existing pressure, as measured by the barometer ; a the specific heat of gas, as deduced from the formula _ p/ 30 investigating the Specific Heats of the Gases, a' the same corrected by the formula 11 a'zza-{- (a- ■cm 100-n' for the percentage of atmospheric air present ; and a'''' the specific heat reduced to what it would have been if the corresponding experiment on air had given as result, .267. Table (1) relates to atmospheric air alone, and table (2) to the other gases. In table (3) we have the results stated in table (2) referred to atmospheric air represented both by .267 and by unity. (1) t t' . d P a June 21. 68.8 38.4 20.4 30.014 .2912 27. 52.7 34.9 17.8 30.225 .*2935 July 31. 64.5 41.2 23.3 30.330 .2773 August 1. 67.3 42 25.3 30.140 .2624 4. 68 43 25 30.114 .2767 : 5. 67 42.4 24.6 30.000 .2768 7. 66 44.7 24.3 30.218 .2657 .2776 (2) t t' d P a Airper Cent. a' a" Means. Azote r June 27. •(July 31. 53.8 65 35.5 41.3 18.3 23.7 30.225 30.330 .2915 .2735 .2915 .2735 .2912 .2669 |.2660 Carbonic Acid " June 21. 27. July 31. 60 53.8 65.2 40 36.5 42.7 20 17.3 22.5 30.014 30.225 30.330 .3135 .3178 .3021 11.4 12 8.2 .3137 .3211 .3043 .2876 .2921 .2933 ..2910 Carbonic Oxide August 1. ■1 ^• 7. 67.3 67.5 66.2 43.5 43 42.4 23.8 24.5 23.8 30.140 30.000 30.218 .2952 .2874 .2774 .2952 .2874 .2774 .3003 .2772 .2825 .2863 Hydrogen . . . rJune 21. 27. ■] July 31. . August 4. 59 52.3 65 68 42.8 38.9 46 48 16.2 13.4 19 20 30.014 30.225 30.330 30.114 .4262 .4475 .4000 .4092 4 7 7,5 6 .4317 .4590 .4099 .4151 .3961 .4175 .3946 .4005 -.4022 Nitrous Oxide f August 4, I 7. 67.5 65 44.5 42.5 23 22.5 30.114 30.218 .3173 .3013 27.5 14 .3327 .3071 .3210 .3085 .3147 c 2 12 Professor Apjohn upon a new Method of (3) Atmospheric Air ...... Azote Oxygen, (by calculation) Hydrogen Carbonic Acid Carbonic Oxide. ....... Nitrous Oxide Specific Heats of equal Volumes. .2670 1.000 .2660 .996 .2710 1.015 .4022 1.506 .2910 1.090 .2863 1.072 .3147 4.179 Upon these results I never placed much reliance. The apparatus employed was very imperfect, particularly in not permitting more than a single experiment on the same quantity of gas ; and I also saw reason to doubt that I had in every instance by means of it accomplished perfect desiccation. Under these circum- stances I always contemplated returning to the subject, and towards the latter end of last July, I did actually commence a fresh series of experiments, which were conducted on the following plan. A pair of copper gasometers. A, B, with glass bells, C, D, such as are usually employed by chemical lecturers, were charged with a proper quantity of oil of investigating the Specific Heats of the Gases. 13 vitriol, instead of water, and placed upon a table at the distance of three feet from each other, the brass caps, E, F, attached to the bells, being suspended to the ex- tremities of a stout cord passing over a pair of runners, G, H, fixed in the ceiling of the laboratory, the length of the cord being such, that while one of the bells was almost entirely immersed in the oil of vitriol, the other dipped about an inch beneath its surface. Between the lower stop-cocks, m, n, attached to the gasometers, a couple of glass tubes were interposed, connected to the stop-cocks by caoutchouc collars, and fitting at their other extremities to each other by a tight ground joint. In the larger of these tubes the dry thermometer t was permanently placed, and into it also the wet one t! was introduced previous to the commencement of an ex- periment. Matters being, we shall suppose, thus prepared, and the unimraersed bell, c, occupied, ^r5< with atmospherical air, deprived by the oil of vitriol of its mois- ture, pressure was made upon it by an assistant, so as to force its contents in a rapid current into the second bell, D, through the tube containing the wet and dry thermometers. During this operation the observer kept his eye, armed with a lens, steadily fixed on the thermometers, and registered the indications of both as soon as the wet one became and continued stationary for a few seconds. The height of the barometer being now taken, the necessary data were obtained for calculating, from the formula J -J e ^30' the elastic force of the vapour still existing in the air of the gasometer. The atmospheric air being now replaced by one of the gases which were to be the subject of experiment, and left sufficiently long in contact with the oil of vitriol, the very manipulations and observations just detailed were repeated. This same experiment, with sufficient intervals to allow in each instance of maximum desic- cation, was again and again performed ; and it having been ascertained, after a considerable number of repetitions, that the results were uniform and consistent, and that they might therefore be relied upon, the mean of all the observations was taken, and from this the specific heat of the gas deduced by means of the formula <'=C/-/-)X4|3V' that value being assigned to/" which resulted from the preliminary experiments 14 Professor Apjohn upon a new Method of on atmospherical air. The analysis of the gas was next very carefully performed, and It having been ascertained that n volumes e. g. of atmospheric air per cent, were present, the proper correction was applied by the formula {a—c)n azza- 100-w' in which c =: .267 is the specific heat of air, d the true specific heat of the gas, and a the specific heat of mixture of gas and air as previously determined. Such was the course pursued in the case of each of the gases submitted to experiment. The particulars of the entire series are comprehended in Tables (1) and (2), the first of which relates to air alone, the second to the different other gases. Table (3) contains the final results, alongside of which are placed the numbers of De la Roche and Berard, and thof?e of Dulong, for the purpose of comparison. (1) 1836. , t V d P /" August 8 63.5 40.3 23.2 30.226 8 63.2 40.1 23.1 30.226 8 63.2 40 23.2 30.226 Mean 63.3 40.1 23.2 30.226 .0024 August 9 62.8 40.5 22.3 30.250 9 63 40.8 22.2 30.250 9 62.9 40.6 22.3 80.250 9 63.5 41.1 22.4 30.250 9 63.2 40.8 22.4 30.250 Mean 63.1 40.7 22.4 30.250 .0134 Aug. 10 63 40.7 22.3 30.208 10 64 41.5 22.5 30.208 10 63.4 41.2 22.2 30.208 10 63.6 10.9 22.7 30.208 Mean 63.5 41.1 22.4 30.208 .0114 Aug. 11 62.2 40.9 21.3 30.310 11 63 40.9 22.1 30.310 11 63 41.5 21.5 30.310 11 63.8 41.5 22.3 30.310 11 63.2 41.7 21.5 30.310 11 63.2 41.3 21.9 30.306 11 64 41.4 22.6 30.306 Mean 63.2 41.3 21.9 30.307 .0241 Aug. 12 66.5 41.8 24.7 80.270 .0063 15 65.8 41.9 23.9 30.070 15 66.5 41.4 25.1 80.070 15 66.6 41.9 24.7 30.070 Mean 66.3 41.7 24.6 30.070 .0027 investigating the Specific Heats of the Gases. 15 (2) 1836. P Air per Cent. Carbonic Acid Hydrogen . Hydrogen Nitrous Oxide . . • Equal volumes off Carbonic AcidJ and Carb. Oxide [ Equal volumes ofi Carbonic Acid J and Carb. Oxide Nitrogen , August 8 , 8. 8. 8. 8. 8, 8, Mean August 8 . August 9 . 9. 9. 9. 9, 9. 9. Mean August 10 . 10. 10. 10. 10. 10. Mean August 11 . 11. 11. Mean August 12. 12. 12. 12. Mean August 15 . Mean. 62.5 62.6 63 63 63.6 63.7 63.2 63.1 63.6 62.1 62.6 63 62.8 63 63.8 63 62.9 62.1 63 63.6 63 63.5 63.4 63.1 64.9 05.4 65.3 65.2 65.3 65.8 65.8 65.3 65.5 64.8 66.8 66 65.9 41.5 41.5 41.9 42.3 42.4 42.4 42.1 42 45.1 44.1 44.1 44.7 44.7 44.6 45.1 44.6 44.5 42.1 42.4 42.6 42 42.5 42.6 42.3 42.8 43.3 43.3 43.1 42.7 43.4 42.3 42.6 42.7 41.9 42.3 42 42.1 21 21.1 21.1 20.7 21.2 21.3 21.1 21.1 18.5 18 18.5 18.3 18.1 18.4 18.7 18.4 18.4 20 20.6 21 21 21 20.8 20.8 21.1 22.1 22 22.1 22.6 22.4 23.5 22.7 22.8 22.9 24.5 24 23.8 30.226 30.226 30.226 30.226 30.226 30.226 30.226 30.226 30.226 30.260 30.260 30.260 30.260 30.260 30.250 30.250 30.257 30.200 30.205 30.210 30.210 30.210 30.210 30.207 30.306 30.306 30.306 30.306 30.27 30.27 30.27 30.27 30.27 30.07 30.07 30.07 30.07 10.2 .3136 .3970 .3734 .3109 .2865 .2988 .2799 11.4 10.8 3.2 3.2 3.6 4 4.4 4.8 5.2 5.7 4.3 14 16 16 .3992 .4012 .3781 .3186 .2865 .2988 .2799 16 Professor Apjohn upon a new Method, ^c. (3) Specific Heats of equal Volumes • J. A. De la Roche and Bcrard. Dulong. .2670 .2799 .2154 .3896 .3192 .2660 .3186 1.000 1.048 .808 1.459 1.195 .996 1.193 1. 000 1.006 .976 .900 1.258 1.034 1.350 1.000 J.OOO 1.000 1.300 1.172 1.000 1.159 Nitroffen .......■.•••••■••••• Hydrogen ••••••• • Carbonic Acid. .........••■••• Carbonic Oxidet Nitrous Oxide. I shall conclude with the following propositions, which, if not established by, are, at least. In accordance with the results of my researches. 1st. The simple law so much insisted upon in modern times by Haycraft, Marcet, and De la Rive, and others, that equal volumes of the different gases have the same specific heat, is not the law of nature. 2nd. The more limited proposition enunciated by Dulong, that the simple gases have under a given volume the same specific heat, is probably not true in a single instance,^ and is altogether at variance with my result for hydrogen. 3rd. The numbers at which I have arrived correspond tolerably well with those of De la Roche and Berard, except in the case of hydrogen. 4th. There does not seem to be any simple relation between the specific heats of the gases, and their specific gravities or atomic weights; and philosophers, in searching for such, are probably pursuing a chimera. * My number for this gas is deduced from that for nitrogen by the formula a: -f 4 x .2799 = 5, in which x is the specific heat of oxj'gen, and .2799 that of nitrogen. f My number for this gas is inferred by calculation from that given by experiment for the mix- ture of it with an equal volume of carbonic acid. The formula is ;p := »n + m — .3192, x being the specific heat of carbonic oxide, .3192 of carbonic acid, and m of the mixture. X I would not wish to be understood as speaking with much confidence of the numbers attached to nitrogen and oxygen. But three experiments were made, in consequence of one of the gasometers having begun to leak ; and, moreover, as nitrogen was the gas operated with, in passing by calculation to the specific heat of oxygen, the errors of observation would be multiplied by four. Oxygen, in fact, not nitrogen, should have been the subject of experiment. 17 II. Analysis of a Meteoric Stone which fell near Adair, in the County of Limerick, on September 10, 1813. By James Apjohn, M.D., M.R.I.A., Professor of Chemistry in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Read 23rd May, 1836. IHERE is no natural phenomenon more calculated to excite astonishment, or which has actually caused more surprise, than the fall of heavy bodies through the atmosphere. For a length of time the fact was altogether denied by the highest authorities in science, and the strongest evidence resisted, when adduced in support of an event which was conceived repugnant to the laws of nature. Philosophic incredulity, though generally useful, was, in this instance, carried too far, and proved injurious to the progress of science; for while doubts were entertained concerning the reality of stony showers, the sources of the aeroliths and their nature were not, of course, likely to be made objects of investigation. The occasional occurrence, however, of such a phenomenon having been at length established by incontrovertible testimony, the questions just alluded to were eagerly discussed, but by no means with the same degree of ardour or success. A multitude of hypotheses were almost Immediately broached in reference to the origin of meteoric stones, but philosophers were more slow in applying themselves to the analysis of these singular bodies, though it might have been easily foreseen that a knowledge of their constitution and pi'opertles would, if not essential as a preliminary to the investigation, be at least very useful in all attempts to trace them to their origin. Mr. Howard, indeed, as is well known, was the first com- petent person who devoted himself to this latter research, and after an analysis of four distinct specimens of aeroliths, and as many of native iron, he was enabled to announce to chemists the following facts in reference to their composition : — 1st. That meteoric stones always contain an alloy of iron and nickel, the amount of which is subject to variation. VOL. XVIII. D 18 Professor Apjohn on a Meteoric Stone 2nd. That they contain a sulphuret of iron decomposable by muriatic acid. 3rd. That they contain an earthy matrix consisting of silex, magnesia, and oxide of iron. 4th. That the above-mentioned alloy of iron and nickel is identical with native iron. 5th. That the earthy matter sparingly attached to native iron is of the same nature with the matrix of meteoric stones. To these results of Howard, Laugler made an important addition by the dis- covery of chrome as a component part of some aeroliths which he submitted to chemical examination. From these sources alone, namely, the essay of Howard, and the paper just mentioned by Laugier, was any knowledge I possessed on the subject of the com- position of aeroliths derived up to the time of my entering upon, and in a great measure completing the analysis of the specimen, to which I shall now proceed to draw the attention of the Academy. The stone in question was given me by my friend, Daniel Reardon, Esq., of this city, and is one of a shower which fell near Adair, in the county of Limerick, in the year 1813. The shower is mentioned in Chladni's Catalogue, who states that one of the stones weighed eighteen pounds, and refers for further particulars to the Philosophical Magazine and Gentleman's Magazine of that period. I have looked carefully through the former journal for 1813, and the seven subsequent years, but have not been able to find the account referred to by Chladni. But in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1813, part 2, page 390, the following brief notice of the phenomenon occurs : — " At Adair, county of Limerick, six o'clock in the morning, a shower of stones is stated to have fallen from a thunder cloud, extending about a mile and a half, with a sound like the discharge of artillery, followed by a noise resembling the rolling of drums. The air heavy and hot — several loud explosions — no lightning. Several of the stones weighed from one to four pounds. They are black outside, extremely heavy, much burned, and when broken of a dingy grey." The mineralogical characters of the stone in my possession are so similar to those assigned by the Count De Bournon to the specimens examined by Howard, that a very cursory notice of them will be sufficient here. The weight is 1^ lb. which fell near Adair, in the County of Limerick. 19 avoirdupois, its shape that of an irregular parallelepiped, and it is covered exter- nally with a thin fused crust, of a dark colour, and sufficiently hard to strike fire with steel. When broken, the interior exhibits a pale yellow or greyish colour, and the surface of the fracture presents, particularly when examined with a lens, a number of metallic points, and two or three minute particles of what would appear to be iron pyrites. Its specific gravity is subject to variation, no doubt because of the metallic constituents being dispersed unequably throughout the mass. Thus, the portion first examined had a specific gravity of 4.230, while the density of another fragment of the stone reached but 3.621. When pre- sented by any of its faces to a horizontal needle, attraction always took place, showing that it is susceptible of magnetism, but destitute of any permanent polarity. By a number of preliminary experiments, the particulars of which it is not necessary to detail here, it was ascertained that the stone was composed of the following proximate constituents : — 1st. Native iron alloyed with nickel and cobalt. 2nd. Sulphuret of iron, soluble in muriatic acid. 3rd. Chrome iron ore. 4th. An earthy, or more probably two earthy minerals, composed of silex, magnesia, protoxide of iron, with traces of alumen, lime, and the oxide of manganese. It was not examined for an alkali. The quantative analysis was conducted as follows : — Two hundred grains were reduced to a fine powder, and then treated with nitro- muriatlc acid, which dissolved the iron with the copious evolution of nitric oxide, and at the same time developed sulphur and gelatinous silex ; the former pro- ceeding from pyrites, and the latter from the matrix of the stone. When, by the repeated additions of fresh portions of aqua regia, and a prolonged digestion, the sulphur was altogether acidified, the whole was evaporated to dryness, to render the silex insoluble, again acidulated with muriatic acid, and finally, distilled water being previously added, thrown upon a double filter. The matters detained by this were then repeatedly washed, by which the 200 grains of meteorite under experiment were resolved into a soluble portion (A), and an insoluble portion (B.) To the solution (A) chloride of barium was added, as long as there was any pre- - D 2 20 Professor Apjohn on a Meteoric Stone cipitate ; and the sulphate barytes collected on a double filter, well washed, and dried upon the edge of the sand bath, weighed 21.88 grains,* equivalent, as may be easily calculated, to three grains of sulphur, or 8.25 sulphuret of iron, provided the pyrites present be a binary compound. To the washings of the sulphate of barytes, sulphuric acid was added, so as to throw down any excess of barytes used, and the whole having been passed through a single filter, a mixture of muriate of ammonia and water of ammonia was poured in until the latter became predominant in the fluid. The peroxide of iron thus precipitated, being collected on a double filter, washed, and dried on the edge of the sand bath, weighed 127.01 grains. Of this, 123.07 grains were solved in muriatic acid, and then boiled with a considerable excess of potash, which again threw down the iron ; and the alkaline solution, upon examination in the usual manner, was found to contain a trace of alumen, which, however, was too insig- nificant to be weighed. The peroxide of iron collected on a double filter, washed and dried, was found to weigh 107.26 grains; and 106.16 of this, exposed to a red heat, were reduced to 78.73. Hence, 106.16 : 78.73 : : 107.26 : 79-54, and 123.07: 79.54:: 127.01: 82.08 = peroxide of iron, in the solution (A), corresponding to 57-95 metallic iron- To the solution deprived of the iron by ammonia, and which exhibited a greenish blue colour, hydro-sulphuret of ammonia was added, and the black pre- cipitate formed (sulphuret of nickel) was washed upon a single filter. It was then transferred to a porcelain capsule, decomposed by nitro-muriatic acid, fil- tered, to separate the sulphur, and then precipitated by caustic potash. When washed upon a double filter and dried, the oxide of nickel weighed 4.39 grs. Of this 4.05 grains were exposed to a red heat, and thus reduced to 2.67. Hence, 4.05 : 2.67 : : 4.39 : 2.89=the exact amount of the oxide of nickel, and which is equivalent to 2.28 metallic nickel. The washings of the sulphuret of nickel were now treated with oxalate of ammonia, which threw down oxalate of lime amounting after desiccation at 212° * The barytes was perfectly dry ; for by exposure to heat it suffered no further loss. which fell near Adair, in the County of Limerick. 21 to 1.58 grs. ; of this l.Oy? heated to low redness, gave .63 of carbonate of lime. Hence, 1.07 : .63 : : 1.58 : .93 carbonate of lime, equivalent to .52 of lime. The solution deprived of the lime was treated witli carbonate of potash, added in considerable excess, and then evaporated to dryness. Water was now poured on, and the carbonate of magnesia which remained was collected, and well washed upon a double filter. When dried on the sand bath, it weighed 42.79 grs. 42.58 were exposed to a red heat, and reduced to 18.60. Hence, 42.58 : 18.60 : : 42.79 : 18.69 the magnesia. The following therefore are the results of our analysis of solution (A.) Sulphuret of Iron ... J P ' > 8.75 ^ tiron . . . 5.75/ ' Iron =57.95 — 5.75= 52.20 Nickel 2.28 Magnesia 18.69 Lime 52 82.44 In this statement the whole of the iron is estimated in the metallic state. A part of it, however, is present as protoxide in the earthy matrix decomposed by the acids, and to determine the relative proportions of it in these two states, it is only necessary to know the total weight of the portion of the aerolith solved by the acids. Now this, as will presently appear, is 84.82 grs., hence, 84.82 — 82.44 =2.38 is the excess due to the oxidation of the iron. If then .r=:iron in the rtf* metallic state, 52.2 — a;=that in the form of oxide, and x-\-{5i'2.2—x) hh must be equal to 52.2-1-2.38=54.58, an equation from which we obtain x the metallic iron=:43.87; and (52.2 — .*") Hg' the protoxide, =10.71 grs. Substituting then these numbers for 52.2, we obtain, as follows, the true composition of the portion of the meteorite dissolved by the aqua regia. 22 Professor Apjohn on a Meteoric Stone Sulphuret of iron 8.75 Iron 43.87 Nickel 2.28 Protoxide of iron 10.71 Magnesia . 18.69 Lime ' . . 0.52 84.82 This part of the analysis having been completed, it appeared to me that it would be interesting, before proceeding further, to examine the oxide of nickel above obtained, for the purpose of ascertaining whether it included any cobalt, these two metals being so frequently found associated in nature. With this view 2.67 grs. of the oxide were dissolved in muriatic acid, and to the solution ammonia was added in excess, which threw down a very minute quan- tity of peroxide of iron. This latter being separated by filtration, caustic potash was added in considerable excess to the ammoniacal solution, and the oxide of nickel thus precipitated was separated by filtration. Through the filtered fluid sulphureted hydrogen was now passed. This, upon the application of heat, de- termined a small amount of dark precipitate, which, upon examination, proved to be sulphuret of cobalt. Thus it dissolved in nitric acid with the separation of sulphur ; and the solution, when heated by the blowpipe with alumina, gave to this earth a beautiful blue colour. The quantity of the cobalt present was not determined, but its amount was undoubtedly extremely small. We now return to the portion (B) of the aerolith, left unsolved by the nitro- muriatic acid. This portion of the stone, when dried upon the sand bath, was found to weigh 128.28 grs. Of this 114.12 were reduced by a red heat to 102.47. Hence, as 114.12 : 102.47 : : 128.28 : 115.18, the exact weight of the portion of the stone left undissolved by the acids. The 102.47 grs. which had been exposed to heat were mixed in a platinum crucible with three times their weight of carbonate of potash, and fluxed at a strong red heat for twenty minutes. The fused mass was then transferred, by repeatedly boiling it with water, from the crucible to a porcelain capsule, dissolved in a dilute nitro-muriatic acid, and then cautiously evaporated to dryness. The dry which fell near Adair, in the County of Limerick. 23 residue having been now steeped for some hours with as much muriatic acid as was sufficient to moisten it, was then treated with distilled water, and collected on a double filter, on which the silex was washed, until the solution which passed through ceased to precipitate nitrate of silver. When dried upon the sand bath it weighed 94.71 grs. ; 91.03 of this were reduced by a red heat to 66.87. Hence, 91.03 : 66.87 : : 94.71 : 69.57, the silex in the 102.47 of insoluble matter. And, 102.47 : 69-57 : : 1 15.18 : 78.19, the total quantity of silex in (B). To the washings of the silex, which were conceived to be sufficiently acid to admit of the omission of the sal-ammoniac without incurring the danger of pre- cipitating any magnesia, caustic ammonia was added in excess, which threw down peroxide of iron, oxide of chrome, and with them what proved afterwards to be magnesia. These were collected as usual, and washed on a double filter, and when dried by a sand heat they weighed 31.37 grs. The washings containing the magnesia with a trace of lime were boiled with carbonate of potash, and the whole being evaporated to dryness, and water again poured on, the precipitate was collected, and well washed on a pair of filters. When dried at 212° it weighed 38.17 grs. Of this 36.40 by a strong red heat were reduced to 17.40. Hence, 36.4: 17.4:: 38.17:18.24. And 102.47 : 18.24 :: 115.18 : 20.50, the mixed magnesia and lime in (B). Of the mixture of peroxide of iron and oxide of chrome with trace of mag- nesia, amounting to 31.37 grs., 31.07 were dissolved in muriatic acid, and mu- riate of ammonia being first added, the peroxide of iron and oxide of chrome were again thrown down by ammonia, which left the magnesia in solution. The oxides were collected, and washed on a single filter, and the washings, when boiled with carbonate of potash, gave a deposit of carbonate of magnesia, which, when washed, and dried at a sand heat, weighed 4.11 grs. 3.45 grs. of this were reduced by a red heat to 1.99. Hence, 3.45 : 1.99 :: 4.11 : 2.30, magnesia in the 31.07 grs. And 31.07 : 2.30 :: 31.37 : 2.32, magnesia precipitated with the oxides. And 114.12 : 2.32 :: 115.18 : 2.34, magnesia to be in this step obtained from B, the unsolved portion of meteorite. 24 Professor Apjohn on a Meteoric Stone The peroxide of iron and oxide of chrome were next washed off the single filter, and dissolved in muriatic acid. To the solution tartaric acid was then added in such quantity that upon subsequently adding ammonia in excess there was no precipitate. The iron was now thrown down as sesquisulphuret by the hydrosulphate of ammonia, and the precipitate, when collected on a single filter, was well washed with distilled water. It was then transferred to a porcelain capsule, in it decomposed by nitro-muriatic acid, and after filtering to separate sulphur, the solution was precipitated by the addition of ammonia in excess. The peroxide of iron, when dried on a sand bath, weighed 14.42 grs. ; 13.23 grs. of this exposed to a red heat were reduced to 6.29. Hence, 13.23 : 6.29 : : 14.42 : 6.85, true weight of peroxide of iron. 31.07: 6.85:: 31.37: 6.91 102.47 :6.91 :: 115.18 : 7.76, the peroxide of iron in the entire of the fluxed portion of the meteorite. And 41 : 36 : : 7.69 : 6.98, the corresponding weight of protoxide, which is the form in which it exists in the stone. The solution from which the iron was thrown down by the hydro-sulphate of ammonia, and which had a deep green colour, was concentrated on the sand bath, then filtered to separate sulphur, and finally evaporated to dryness, and ignited in a platinum crucible to destroy the tartaric acid. To the residue, which had a carbonaceous appearance, nitre was added, and heat being applied, the charcoal was burned off, and the oxide of chrome, at the same time, converted into chromate of potash, the whole was then acted upon by distilled water, and thrown upon a filter, which allowed the chromate of potash to pass through with carbo- nate of potash and excess of nitre, and detained a small quantity of insoluble mat- ter, of a rusty colour, (magnesia, with deutoxide of manganese,) which was es- timated, though in consequence of an accident not with any great precision, to amount to 1 .08 grs. The solution containing the chromate of potash was acidulated with muriatic acid, boiled, and treated first with alcohol, and next with an excess of ammonia, the former of which reduced the chromic acid to the state of chromic oxide ; while the latter threw down the oxide from its combination with the muriatic acid. After desiccation on the sand bath it weighed 9.87 grs. Of these 8.97 were reduced by a red heat to 3.70. Hence, which fell near Adair, in the County of Limerick. 26 8,97 : 3.70 : 9-87 : 4.07 the true weight of oxide of chrome in 31.07 out of 31.37 grains of the mixture chrome iron and magnesia ; and therefore 31.07: 4.07:: 31.37: 4.11 And 102.47 : 4.1 1 :: 1 15.18 : 4.61, the oxide of chrome in 200 grains of the meteorite. The results of the analysis of (B) are, therefore, as follows : — Silex 78.19 Magnesia, a little lime, and a| trace of oxide of manganese/ Protoxide of iron 6.98 Oxide of chrome 4.6 1 Alkalies and loss 1.48 115.18 If we collect from (A) and (B) the silex, the magnesia, the lime, the manga- nese, and the protoxide of iron, deducting from this latter 2.07 grains, the quan- tity associated in the stone with the 4.11 grains of oxide of chrome, we will have for the matrix the following constituents : — Silex 78.19 Magnesia, &c.* 43.13 Oxide of iron 15.62 136.94 Now if these numbers be divided by the respective atomic weights, we obtain the following results : — ^^•1^ = 5.04 15.5 43.13 20.7 15.62 36 = 2.08 = 0.43 * The lime and manganese being inconsiderable in amount, are incorporated with the magnesia. VOL. XVIII. E 26 Professor Apjohn on a Meteoric Stone But 5.04 Is to 2.08 4" -43 almost exactly as 2 : 1. So that we thus arrive at the very interesting conclusion that the matrix of the stone is a bisilicate of mag- nesia and oxide of iron; that is, a true augite, or pyroxene. This latter result, namely, the identification of the earthy base of the aerolith with a well known volcanic mineral, and the detection, for the first time, as far as I was aware, of cobalt, in association with the iron and nickel, appeared to me to be, per se, points of sufficient importance to j ustify me in laying them before the Academy. But even though nothing new had been disclosed by the chemical examination, I could not doubt but that an interest would be felt in the results of a carefully-made analysis of one of those mysterious bodies (one, too, which has fallen in our own country) whose existence was once denied, and in relation to whose source we have as yet little better than vague conjecture. The analysis just detailed was completed early in March, and would have been communicated to the Academy at its general meeting of that month, but for the following circumstance. Mr. Nathaniel Hone, of this city — a gentleman who has devoted himself, in my laboratory, with great zeal and considerable success, to the cultivation of analytical chemistry — while repeating, at my request, the chemical examination of this stone, drew my attention to the unusually light colour of the peroxide of iron which he had extracted, in the usual way, from the portion insoluble in acids, and which we have already designated by the letter (B). This, we found, was not due to alumine, for none of this earth could be extracted by potash, nor was the colour of the precipitate altered by digestion with the alkali. Neither did I suspect it, at the time, to be owing to magnesia, having been assured that the usual precautions were taken to prevent the precipitation of any of this earth upon the addition of the volatile alkali. With a view, therefore, to a further in- vestigation of the matter, the peroxide of iron was well washed with distilled wa- ter, to remove all trace of potash ; and, being then transferred to a porcelain capsule, it was heated, with a solution of oxalic acid gradually added, which dis- solved the iron, and left a small quantity of a white precipitate. This latter, being well washed, dried, and ignited in a platinum crucible, gave a brownish residue, which was easily shown to be magnesia, coloured by deutoxide of manga- nese. Such was the pursuit that prevented me from sooner submitting the re- sults of my analysis to the judgment of the Academy. which fell near Adair, in the County of Limerick. 27 While engaged in this latter investigation, which I, at one time, supposed likely to eventuate in something more important, I had a visit from my friend Doctor Smith, one of our members, who informed me that he was just after read- ing, in the number of the Journal De Pharmacie for February, an extract from a paper by Berzelius, on the subject of meteoric stones. This information could not fail to interest me much, and having received from him, on the evening of the same day, the number of the journal in question, I opened it with the appre- hension that I should find myself, as far as respected any novelty in the results of my analysis, anticipated by the great Scandinavian chemist. My suspicions proved to be well founded. Berzelius finds, in four distinct meteoric stones, the first of which fell at Blansko in Moravia, the second at Chantonnay in La Vendee, the third at Lontalax in Finland, and the fourth at Alais in France, as also in the meteoric iron of Elbogen, preserved in the museum at Vienna, and in the celebrated mass discovered by Pallas in Siberia, the following substances : — 1st. Cobalt, which I conceived I had been the first to notice. 2d. Tin. 3rd. Copper. 4th. Phosphorus, all in very small quantity, and in association with the alloy of iron and nickel. 5th. Potash and soda, also in very minute proportion. Thus far it will be seen there is no contradiction between my results and those of Berzelius. The former, in fact, are, as far as they go, in complete ac- cordance with the latter. There are, however, two important points, in refe- rence to which we are at variance. In the first place, he assumes the chrome to be present in the form of an alloy with iron ; whereas I consider it as existing in its usual state, or in the form of oxide of chrome combined with protoxide of iron. As the article in the Journal De Pharmacie is but an extract from a German periodical, (Annalen der Physikund Chemie,) and merely gives results, but none of the details of the analytic processes, I am quite ignorant of the grounds of this opinion. The reasons that have suggested the view which I have myself adopted are — 1st. That chrome often occurs in the form I have supposed. 2nd. That I am not aware of any such native alloy as that of chrome and iron. I have never seen it, and it is not described in books. 3rd. If such existed, the portion of the stone insoluble in acids would, while fluxing, in all probability in- jure or destroy the platinum crucible, an effect which I have never witnessed. E 2 28 Pi'ofessor Apjohn on a Meteoric Stone The other point of discrepancy between us, is one, at least in a theoretical point of view, of greater consequence. I have already stated, that according to my experiments, the matrix of the Limerick stone is augite, or a mixed bisilicate of magnesia and protoxide of iron. Berzelius finds the earthy base of the aeroliths he has analysed to be composed of bisilicates and silicates of the same bases, or, in fact, to be a mixture of augite and olivine, the former of which is insoluble, and the latter soluble in the diluted mineral acids. On this head it might be considered sufficient for me to observe, that the hypothesis I have made will alone represent my own results, and that as olivine alone occurs in some aeroliths, e. g. the meteoric mass of Pallas, so pyroxene, unmixed with olivine, may exist as the base of others. It would, however, be uncandid in me not to state my suspicion that the matrix of the stone I have examined, is in reality com- posed of two earthy minerals, differing, if not in composition, at all events in the circumstance of the one being soluble, and the other insoluble in acids. This circumstance I observed in my preliminary experiments upon the stone, and I have in more than one place alluded to it in the course of my analysis. Not- withstanding, therefore, the perfect correspondence of my theory with my quan- titative results, I would wish, finding myself in opposition to such high authority, to be understood as propounding the theory with some degree of diffidence. I am indeed at present engaged in further researches, which will, I trust, shortly enable me to speak with more confidence on the subject. The following analysis has since been made, and the results, it will be seen, are in accordance with the views of Berzelius. 72.76 grains of the meteorite, carefully deprived of all magnetic parts, were re- solved, by a prolonged digestion with nitro-muriatic acid, evaporation to dryness, solution in acidulous water, and filtration, into two portions, A and B, the former being dissolved by the acid, and the latter left behind. The soluble portion A, analysed in the ordinary way, gave Sulphuret of iron 4.34 Protoxide of iron 7-38 Oxides of nickel and cobalt . . . 0.24 Magnesia 13.38 25.34 which fell near Adair, in the County of Limerick. 29 And the insoluble portion, B, yielded, Silex 32.11 Protoxide of iron and oxide of chrome 5.91 Magnesia and a little lime . . . 9.43 47.45 If then we exclude the pyrites, the following will be the component parts of matrix of meteorite : — Silex 32.11 Oxides of iron, nickel, cobalt, and 1 \ 13..53 chrome j Magnesia, with a little lime . . . 22.81 68.45 But = 1.10 36 22.81 20.7 Hence, the number of atoms of silex in the matrix of the stone is to the sum of the numbers of atoms of protoxide of iron and of magnesia, as 2.07 to 0.37+1.10, or as 3 to 2.13. Now, as the atom of lime is greater than that of magnesia, and as the oxide of chrome and its associated iron do not exist in combination with silex, the latter number, 2.13, must be a little too high, so that the decimal part, at least, may be safely omitted. The number of atoms of silex will thus come out to be to the sum of the numbers of atoms of the bases with which it is combined, as 3 to 2 ; so that the stone is composed of an atom of a silicate, associated with an atom of a bisilicate, or, in other words, of an atom of olivine united to an atom of pyroxene. That such is the true composition of the portion of the meteorite under consideration, there can, I conceive, be no question, for the matrix is ob- viously composed of two distinct minerals, one of which, like olivine, is soluble, and the other, like augite. Insoluble in the acids. 30 Professor Apjohn on a Meteoric Stone, Sfc. Some other rough experiments have shown that the relative quantities of the two minerals is different in different parts of the stone, and that the proportion of the olivine is in particular sometimes very small. In this way alone can I account for the results of my first analysis, which make the earthy basis of the meteorite an amorphous pyroxene. 31 III. On the Laws of Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. By James Mac Cullagh, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. Read 9th January, 1837. W HEN a ray of light, which has been polarised in a given plane, suffers reflexion and refraction at the surface of a transparent medium, the rays Into which it Is di- vided are found to be polarised in certain other planes ; and it becomes a question to determine the positions of these planes, as well as the relative Intensities of the different rays ; or, in theoretical language, to find the direction and magnitude of the reflected and refracted vibrations, supposing those of the Incident vibration to be given. The transparent medium may be either a singly refracting sub- stance, such as glass, or a doubly refracting crystal like Iceland spar. "When the medium Is of the first kind, the problem is comparatively simple, being, in fact, nothing more than a particular case of the problem which we have to consider when the medium is supposed to be of the second kind. In the progress of knowledge it was natural that the simpler question should be first attended to ; and accord- ingly Fresnel, during his brief and brilliant career, found time to solve it. But the general problem, relative to doubly refracting media, had not been attempted by any one, when, in the year 1834, my thoughts were turned to the subject. I then recollected a conclusion to which I had been led some years before, and which, on this occasion, proved of essential service to me. Being fond of geometrical con- structions, I amused myself, when T first became acquainted with Fresnel's theo- ries, by throwing his algebraical expressions, whenever I could. Into a geometrical form ; and treating In this way the well-known formulae In which he has embodied his solution of the problem just alluded to, I obtained a remarkable result, which gave me the first view of the principle that I have since employed under the name of the principle of the equivalence of vibrations. In order to state this result 32 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of briefly, I will take leave to introduce a new term for expressing a right line drawn parallel to the plane of polarisation of a ray, and perpendicular to the direction of the ray itself. Calling such a right line the transversal of the pola- rised ray, I found, from the formulae of Fresnel, that when polarised light falls tipon a singly refi'acting medium, the transversals of the incident, of the reflected, and of the refracted rays are all parallel to the same plane, which is the plane of polarisation of the refracted ray; and that the magnitudes of the vibrations, or the greatest excursions of the ethereal molecules, in the incident and the reflected rays, are to each other inversely as the sines of the angles which the respective transversals of those rays make with the transversal of the refracted ray. I was struck by the strong analogy which these relations among the transversals bore to the composition of forces or of small vibrations in mechanics ; but it happened unfortunately, that, in the theory of Fresnel, the vibrations of light were supposed to take place, not in the direction of the transversals, but perpendicular to them, so that there was no physical circumstance to support the analogy, there being no motion in the direction of the transversals ; while, on the other hand, no such analogy existed among the vibrations themselves in the directions which Fresnel had assigned to them. It was therefore with some interest that I afterwards learned, upon the publication of the tenth volume of the Memoirs of the Institute, that M. Cauchy* had actually inferred, from mechanical principles, that the vibrations of polarised light are in the direction of the transversals ; but this inference was to be received with caution, as being contrary to the hypothesis of Fresnel ; and besides, I had in the mean time contrived a way of adapting my analogy, in some degree, to that hypothesis, by supposing areas to be com- pounded instead of vibrations ; so that I hesitated which of the two opinions to prefer. Taking, however, the opinion of M. Cauchy as that which fell in more naturally with the aforesaid analogy, I was led to the conclusion, that the vibra- tion in the refracted ray is probably the resultant of the incident and reflected vibrations ; and I saw that if this principle were true for singly refracting media, it should also, from its very nature, be true, when properly generalised, for doubly refracting crystals ; so that in such crystals the resultant of the two refracted vibrations would be the same, both in length and direction, as the resultant of the incident and reflected vibrations. * Memoires de I'Institut, tome x. p. 304. Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 33 This was the principle of equivalent vibrations. But I had no sooner begun to regard it as probable, than an objection started up against it. In the case of a ray ordinarily refracted out of a rarer into a denser medium, the magnitude of the refracted vibration, as deduced from this principle, was greater than that which came out from the theory of Fresnel, in the proportion of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction. Consequently, assuming with Fresnel, that the ether is more dense in the denser medium, the law of the preservation of vis viva was violated. There was another embarrassment which I felt In my early efforts to find out the laws of crystalline reflexion. Taking for granted the hypothesis of Fresnel, that the density of the ether in an ordinary medium is inversely as the square of its refractive index, I was at a loss what hypothesis to make, in this respect, for doubly refracting crystals, wherein the refractive index changes with the direction of the ray. For the density, being independent of direction, could not be conceived to vary with the refractive index. About two years ago, I got over this difficulty by supposing the density of the ether to be the same in all media.* At the same time I was compelled to employ the principle of equivalent vibra- tions, in order to have a sufficient number of conditions, though for a while I overlooked the perfect agreement which now subsisted between this principle and the law of vis viva ; it happened, in fact, that the new hypothesis of a constant density made the vis viva of the refracted ray exactly the same as in the theory of Fresnel.f But to see why it was necessary to assume the principle of equivalent vibra- tions, we must observe, that when a polarised ray is incident on a crystal, there are four things to be determined, namely, the direction and magnitude of the reflected vibration, and the magnitudes of the two refracted vibrations. Hence we must have four conditions, or we must have relations affording so many equations. But the hypotheses of Fresnel, by which he solved the problem of * This hypothesis is maintained by Mr. Challis ; and certainly it falls in extremely well with the astronomical phenomenon of the aberration of light. — See, on this subject, Professor Lloyd's Report on Physical Optics, Fourth Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, pp. 311, 313. "t See hereafter, p. 42, note. VOL. XVIII. F 34 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of reflexion for ordinary media, afford only three conditions. We will state his hypotheses at length : — 1st. The vibrations of polarised light are in the plane of the wave, and perpendicular to the plane of polarisation. 2nd. The density of the ether is inversely as the square of the refractive index of the medium. 3rd. The vis viva is preserved. 4th. The vibrations parallel to the separating surface of two media are equivalent ; that is, the refracted vibration parallel to the surface is the resultant of the incident and reflected vibrations parallel to the same. We see that the fourth hypothesis gives two conditions, and the law of vis viva gives a third. Let us now take the more general principle of equivalent vibrations, in place of the fourth hypothesis of Fresnel, altering the first hypothesis in the way that we have shown to be necessary in order to suit that principle, and making the ethereal density constant. Then, if we retain the law of vis viva, our new hypotheses will be these : — 1st. The vibrations of polarised light are in the plane of the wave, and parallel to the plane of polarisation ; which may be expressed in a word, by saying that the vibrations are transversal, according to the peculiar sense in which I use the term. 2nd. The density of the ether Is the same in all bodies as in vacuo. 3rd. The vis viva is preserved. 4th. The vibrations in two contiguous media are equivalent; that is, the resultant of the Incident and reflected vibrations is the same, both in length and direction, as the resultant of the refracted vibrations. It is evident that the last hypothesis affords three equations, by resolving the vibrations parallel to three axes of coordinates ; and the law of vis viva supplies a fourth equation. Thus we have the requisite number of conditions. The hypotheses that we have last enumerated are those which will be em- ployed in the present paper. They have been made to include the law of vis viva, because I lately found that this law must necessarily accompany the rest ; but at first I neglected it, and even made considerable progress without it ; for, by the help of another hypothesis, T obtained formulae which represented such expe- Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 35 riments as I was aware of at the time. This other hypothesis I took up from reading an article by M. Cauchy in the Bulletin des Sciences Mathema- tiques,* in which he arrives, by a peculiar process, at the formulae of Fresnel for the case of ordinary reflexion. The hypotheses which he chiefly employs are relations among certain quantities called pressures ; and it was such a relation that I adopted instead of the law of vis viva. I supposed that, at the confines of two media, the pressure on the separating surface, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of incidence, ought to be the same, whether it be considered as resulting from the vibrations in the first medium or in the second. This hypothesis I conceived to be true in general, because I found it to be true for ordinary media ; but I could never assign any better reason for it. Combining it, however, with the principle of equivalent vibrations, I deduced several expressions for ^nnaxaLcrystals, and among others a formula for the pola- rising angles iit^ different azimuths of the plane of reflexion. When this * Sur la Refraction et la Reflexion de la Lumiere, Bulletin des Sci. Math. Juillet, 1830. In this paper the vibrations of polarised light must be supposed perpendicular to the plane of polarisa- tion, though the paper was published immediately after the author had promulged the contrary opinion. The latter opinion, which I adopted from him because it harmonized with my analogy before mentioned, he has formally renounced of late, and has returned to the hypothesis of Fresnel. M. Cauchy supposed too, in the above paper, that the ethereal density is the same in different media ; but he has found cause to abandon this hypothesis also. See his notes addressed to M. Libri, in the Comptes rendus des Seances de 1' Academic des Sciences, Seance du 4 Avril, 1836, where he gives the reasons for his present opinions. He says, " Ainsi Fresnel a eu raison de dire, non-seulement que les vibrations des molecules etherees sont generalement comprises dans les plans des ondes, mais encore que les plans de polarisation sont perpendiculaires aux directions des vitesses ou des d^placements moleculaires. J'arrive au reste a cette derniere conclusion d'une autre maniere, en itablissant les lois de la reflexion et de la refraction a I'aide d'une nouvelle methode qui sera developpee dans mon memoire [cette methode] ne m'oblige plus a supposer, comme je I'avais fait dans un article du Bulletin des Sciences, que la densite de I'^ther est la meme dans tous les miUeux. Mes nouvelles recherches donnent heu de croire que cette densite varie en general, quand on passe d'un milieu a un autre." More lately, in his Nouveaux Exercices de Mathgmatiques, 7' Livraison, M. Cauchy states positively that his principles do not permit him to adopt the hypothesis that the density of the ether is the same in all media. He also gives the differential equations which, as he has found by his new method, ought to subsist at the separating surface of two media, and from which he has obtained the formulse of Fresnel for ordinary reflexion. But these equations do not include the laws of crystalUne reflexion. F 2 36 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of formula was compared with the experiments of Sir David Brewster* on the polarising angles of Iceland spar, the accordance was so satisfactory, as to leave no doubt upon my mind that I had arrived at the true formula for these angles ; and though the truth of the conclusion did not allow me to argue that the premises were true, yet the presumption in their favour was very strong, insomuch that, upon remarking, as I did soon after, that the law of vis viva harmonized with my other hypotheses, I did not think it worth whilef to try what would be the consequence, of using this law, instead of the relation which I had put in its place. In this state of my theory, I gave an account of it at the meeting of the British Association J in Dublin, in August, 1835; and the leading steps and results were afterwards published in a letter to Sir David Brewster.§ Now we are to observe, that when common light is polarised by reflexion at the surface of a doubly refracting crystal, the plane of polarisation does not, in general, coincide with the plane of reflexion, as in the case of ordinary media, but is inclined to it at a certain angle, which may be called the deviation ; and it was by equating two values of the deviation that I obtained the formula above mentioned for the polarising angle. This formula, as we have seen, was correct ; but it happened, singularly enough, that the expressions for the deviation, which * Phii. Trans. 1819, p. 150. t 1 had, besides, an objection to the law of vis viva, on the ground that it would give an equation of the second degree ; and I wished to have all my equations linear, lest, in the seemingly complicated question of crystalline reflexion, they should give two answers when the nature of the question required but one. This has actually happened, since the present paper was read, in applying my hypotheses to the case of internal reflexion at the second surface of a uniaxal crystal. Supposing an ordinary ray to emerge after double reflexion, and putting S for the angle which the emergent transversal makes with the plane of incidence, I found, for determining 9, an equation of the form A + Btan5 + Ctan'9=0, wherein A is very small, but does not vanish ; so that the equation gives two roots, one very small, the other about the proper value. It is clear, therefore, that there is a want of adjustment some- where ; but I am now inclined to think that the fault is not in the principle of vis viva. Possibly our laws of the propagation of light in doubly refracting media are not quite accurate. Whatever supplementary law shall be found to remedy this untoward result, will probably, at the same time, account for the extraordinary phenomena observed by Brewster, in reflexion at the Jirst surface, when the crystal is in contact with a medium of nearly equal refractive power. X London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine, vol. vii. p. 295. § Ibid. vol. viii. p. 103; February, 1836. Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 37 were used in obtaining the formula, were erroneous. It is to M. Seebeck that I am obliged for pointing out this curious circumstance. In Poggendorff's Annals,* he gave an abstract of my letter to Sir David Brewster, and compared my results with his own numerous and accurate experiments, both on the pola- rising angles of Iceland spar and on the angles of deviation. He found that my formula represented the former class of experiments as well as could be wished ; but the theoretical values of the deviations did not at all agree with his experimental measures. These measures of the deviation he published on this occasion ; and, with their assistance, I traced the error to its source, which was the relation among the pressures. The principle of vis viva was therefore introduced, instead of that relation, and the theory became much simpler by the change. I now obtained, for the deviation, a new expression, which agreed with the experiments of M. Seebeck ; but the formula for the polarising angle came out the very same as before. This correction was made on the 6th of December, and was published in the Philosophical Magazinef on the first of the present month. '\~ In the interval I have arrived at very elegant geometrical laws, which can be easily remembered, and which embrace the whole theory of crystalline reflexion. In enunciating these, it will be convenient to draw our transversals always through the same origin O, which we shall suppose to be the point of incidence, as this point is common to all the rays^ whether incident, reflected, or refracted ; and we may imagine wave planes to be drawn through the origin, parallel to the plane of each wave, so that every transversal will lie in its own wave plane. The Incident and reflected wave planes will be perpendicular to the incident and reflected rays, but the two refracted vvave planes will in general be oblique to their respective rays. In the latter case, a right line drawn through the origin perpendicular to the wave plane, is called the wave normal. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that all the four wave planes Intersect the surface of the crystal in the same right line which is perpendicular to the plane of incidence; and that the angles of refraction are the angles which the refracted wave normals I J^m make with a perpendicular to that surface. The index of refraction is the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction, just as * Annalen der Physik und Chemie, vol. xxxviii. p. 276. ■f London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine, vol. x. p. 43. 38 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of in ordinary media ; but here it is a variable ratio, and has different values for the same angle of incidence. I have elsewhere* shown how to find the refracted rays and waves when the incident ray is given. As we suppose the ethereal molecules to vibrate parallel to the transversals, we may take the lengths of the transversals proportional to the magnitudes or amplitudes of the vibrations ; these lengths being always measured from the common origin O. Then, in virtue of our fourth hypothesis, the transversals will be compounded and resolved exactly by the same rules as if they were forces acting at the point O. We must now conceive a wave surface of the crystal, with its centre at O, the point of incidence. As the velocities of rays which traverse the crystal in directions parallel to the radii of its wave surface are represented by those radii, so let a concentric sphere be described with a radius OS, which shall represent, on the same scale, the constant velocity of light in the medium external to the crystal. At any point T on the wave surface apply a tangent plane, on which let fall, from O, a perpendicular OG, meeting the plane in G. On this perpendicular take the length OP from O towards G, so that OP shall be a third proportional to OG and the constant line OS, Then while the point T describes the wave surface, the point P will describe another surface reciprocal! to the wave surface. This other surface may very properly be called the indea: surface,% because its radius OP is the refractive index of the ray whose velocity is OT, or rather of the wave TG, which belongs to that ray; for, if we conceive an incident wave, touching the sphere, to be refracted into the wave TG, touching the wave surface in T, the sine of the angle of incidence will be to the sine of the angle of refraction as OS to OG, or as OP to OS; so that, taking the constant OS for unity, the index of refraction will be represented by OP. The wave surface and the index surface will thus be reciprocal to each other, * Irish Acad. Trans, vol. xvii. p. 252. f For the general theory of reciprocal surfaces, see Irish Acad. Trans, vol. xvii. p. 241. X This is the surface which I formerly called (ibid. p. 252) the surface of refraction; a name not sufficiently descriptive. Sir W. Hamilton has called it the surface of wave slowness, and sometimes the surface of components. But the name index surface seems to recommend itself, as both short and expressive. Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 39 every point T on the one having a point P reciprocally corresponding to it on tlie other. It is remarkable that the transversal of the ray OT is perpendicular to the plane OPT ; for in the theory of Fresnel, as I formerly proved,* the direction of the vibrations is the right line TG ; and as I suppose the transversal to be perpen- dicular to the vibrations of that theory, and to be, at the same time, in the wave plane, which is perpendicular to OP, it follows that the transversal must be perpen- dicular to both the right lines TG and OP, and therefore perpendicular to their plane OPT. Therefore conceiving the transversal to be drawn through O at right angles to the plane OPT, the plane of polarisation of the ray OT must needs pass through it. But there is nothing else to fix the position of this last plane. We may make it pass through the ray itself OT, as in ordinary media, or we may draw it through the wave normal OP with Fresnel. Or, instead of drawing it through either of these two sides of the triangle OPT, we may make it parallel to the third side PT. The last is what I should prefer, because the plane so determined possesses important properties. I shall call it, however, the polar plane, because the liame, plane of polarisation, is a long one ; and the signification of the latter may, if any one chooses, be kept distinct, though in an ordinary medium both terms must mean the same thing. The polar plane then of the ray OT is a plane passing through its transversal and parallel to the right line PT ; so that if OK be drawn parallel to PT, the polar plane will pass through OK. In general, to find the transversal and the polar plane of any ray, we take the point where the ray meets its own nappe of the wave surface, and join it with the corresponding point on the index surface, drawing a plane through the origin and the joining line. Then a right line perpendicular to this plane at the origin will be the transversal, and a plane drawn through the transversal parallel to the joining line will be the polar plane. Now let a polarised ray be Incident at O upon the crystal. It will in general be divided into two rays. But each of these rays in turn may be made to disappear by polarising the incident ray in a certain plane. Let us suppose then that there is only one refracted ray OT. In what direction must the inci- dent ray be polarised, or, In other words, what must be the position of its transversal, In order that this may be the case ? and what will be the correspond- * Ibid. vol. xvi. p. 76. 40 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of ing transversal of the reflected ray ? The answer is simple — both transversals will lie in the polar plane of the refracted ray. Let us pursue this remark a little. The refracted ray OT being given, we can find its polar plane, and thence the intersections of this plane with the incident and reflected wave planes. These intersections will be the positions of the incident and reflected transversals when OT is the sole refracted ray. The refracted transversal lies also in the polar plane ; and this transversal Is, by our fourth hypothesis, the diagonal of a parallelogram, whose sides are the other two transversals ; which determines the relative lengths of the three transversals, or the relative amplitudes of the vibrations. The intensities of the reflected and incident rays are, of course, proportional to the squares of their transversals. When the ray OT disappears, we must take the polar plane of the other ray, and proceed as before. Thus there are, in the incident wave plane, two transversal directions which give only a single refracted ray. These, as wellvas the corresponding ones in the reflected wave plane, may be called uniradial transversals. They are the intersections of the two refracted polar planes with the incident and reflected wave planes. When the incident transversal does not coincide with either of the uniradial directions, it is to be resolved parallel to them, and then each component transversal will supply a refracted ray, according* to the foregoing rules. The reflected transversals, arising from the component incident ones, are to be found separately by the same rules, and then to be compounded. In ordinary reflexion, if the incident transversal be in the plane of incidence, or perpendicular to it, the reflected transversal will be so likewise. But this does not hold in crystalline reflexion. The general method just given will, however, enable us to determine the positions and magnitudes of the reflected transversals in these two remarkable cases ; and then, if we choose, we can reduce any other case to these two, by resolving the incident transversal in directions parallel and perpendicular to the plane of incidence. If we conceive a pair of incident transversals, at right angles to each other, to revolve about the origin, it is evident that thei-e will be a position in which the reflected transversals corresponding to them will also be at right angles to . each other. There is no difficulty in finding this position, and there will be an Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 41 advantage in using it when common unpolarised light is incident on the crystal. For, the incident transversals being rectangular, we may suppose the light to be equally divided between them, and then the intensities of the corresponding reflected portions can be found by the preceding rules. As the reflected transversals are also rectangular, the sum of these intensities will be the whole* intensity of the reflected light, and their difference will be the intensity of the', polarised part of it. This part will be polarised in a plane passing through the ' greater of the two reflected transversals. Common light will be completely polarised by reflexion when the two uniradial directions in the reflected wave plane coincide with each other ; that is, when this plane and the two refracted polar planes have a common intersection. For then, if the incident light be polarised, it is manifest that the reflected transversal will lie in that intersection, whatever be the position of the incident transversal; and therefore if common light be incident, with its transversals in every possible direction, the reflected transversals will have but one direction. Thus the reflected light will be completely polarised in a plane passing through the above intersection. Hence, as the reflected ray is perpendicular to its wave plane, it follows that, at the polarising angle of a crystal, the 'reflected ray is perpendicular to the intersection of the polar planes of the two refracted rays. The reflected transversal, as we have seen, is this very intersection. This transversal is inclined, in general, to the plane of incidence, and we have had occasion to speak of its inclination under the name of the deviation. If we now suppose the double refraction to diminish until it disappears, the intersection of the polar planes will at last coincide* with the refracted ray. There will then be no deviation, and the reflected and refracted rays will be at right angles to each other, agreeably to the law of Brewster, which prevails at the polarising angle of an ordinary medium. There is a case in which the construction that we have given for determining the polar plane of a ray becomes useless. It is when the ray OT is a normal to the wave surface ; for then OP coincides with OT, and we cannot fix the transversal by our construction. But it is precisely in such a case that the polar * For the polar planes will become two planes of polarisation at right angles to each other. VOL. XVIII. G 42 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of plane is most easily ascertained, for it is then nothing more than the plane of polarisation of the common theory. For example, if we take the ordinary ray of a uniaxal crystal, its polar plane will pass through the ray itself and the axis of the crystal. Of course in an ordinary medium the polar plane and the plane of polarisation are synonymous. It may not be amiss to apply our general rules to the case of ordinary reflexion and refraction. Suppose then a polarised ray to fall on the surface of an ordinary medium. Draw a plane through the incident transversal and the refracted ray ; this will be the plane of polarisation of the refracted ray, and it will intersect the reflected wave plane in the reflected transversal. The re- fracted transversal will be the diagonal of a parallelogram, whose sides are the other two transversals ; hence we have the relative lengths of the transversals, and thus every thing is determined.* * This construction was mentioned at the meeting of the British Association in Dublin. — See the Reports of the Association, or London and Edinburgh Phil. Mag. vol. vii. p. 295. The following is an extract from the paper which I read at that meeting : — " The formula; given by Fresnel for the same purpose will be found to agree exactly with this rule, in determining the positions of the planes of polarisation ; and his expression for the am- plitude of the reflected vibration is also in accordance with our construction. But the coincidence does not hold with regard to the amplitude of the refracted vibration, though the vis viva of the refracted ray is the same in both theories. " Now it is very remarkable that if we alter the hypotheses of Fresnel where they are at variance with the preceding principles, we shall, from his own equations of condition, deduce formulae agree- ing in every respect, even as to the amplitude of the refracted wave, with the construction which we have accounted for in a different way, (i. e. by using the relation among the pressures instead of the law of vis viva.) The requisite alterations are two in number. First, the vibrations are to be ' supposed parallel to the plane of polarisation, and not j)erpendicular to it, as Fresnel conceived ; and secondly, the density of the ether is to be considered the same in both media, from which it follows, that the corresponding ethereal masses, imagined by Fresnel, are to each other as the sine of twice the angle of incidence to the sine of twice the angle of refraction. Substituting in Fresnel's equa- tions of condition this Value of the ratio of the masses, we obtain the formulae which I am inclined to regard as correct." The equations spoken of in this extract, are those which arise from the principle of vis viva, and from the equivalence of vibrations parallel to the separating surface of the two media. "But it is worth while to observe, that when the vibrations are all in the same direction, that is, when the light is polarised perpendicular to the plane of incidence, the very same formulae will come out from Young's remarkable analogy of the two elastic balls, one of which impinges directly on the other Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 43 The reason of this construction will be evident, if we consider that, in an ordinary medium, the polar plane is the same as the plane of polarisation ; and supposed previously at rest, the masses of the balls being to each other in the ratio of the ethereal masses mentioned above. And, perhaps, this consideration affords the simplest possible explanation of Brewster's law relative to the polarising angle ; for, as there is no reflected motion when the balls are equal, the whole velocity of impact being communicated to the ball that was at first quiescent, so there is no reflected vibration when the ethereal masses are equal ; that is, when the sine of twice the angle of incidence is equal to the sine of twice the angle of refraction, or when the angles of incidence and refraction are together equal to a right angle. The whole of the incident vibratioti then passes into the refracted ray. In general, if » , (^ denote the angles of incidence and refraction, the masses of the imaginary balls will be as sin2( to sin2i^ ; and, if the velocity of the original impact be taken for unity, the common theory of the collision of elastic bodies will give sin2t| — sin2(2 tan(t| — ij) sin2ij4-S'n2ij ■ tan(i,-|-t2)' for the velocity retained by the impinging ball after the impact ; and 2sin2i sin2t, (i-) (ii.) sin2tj-f-sin2ij sin(ij+(^)cos(i, — i^)' for the velocity communicated to the other ball. These expressions, (i.) and (ii.), are the same as the values of t^ and r^, which we should deduce from equations (1) and (2), on the next page, by supposing r^ to be unity, and the angles 6^, 9^, 9^ to be right angles. The general construction given in the text will lead to the same results, if we find from it the limiting ratios of the transversals, on the supposition that their directions approach each other indefinitely, and ultimately coincide in a right line perpendicular to the plane of incidence. When the transversals are all in the plane of incidence, or when the light is polarised in that plane, the incident, the reflected, and the refracted transversals are to each other as sin(( -(- '2)5 sin(i —I,), and sin2(j respectively ; because each transversal is proportional to the sine of the angle between the other two, and, in the present case, the angle between any two transversals is equal to the angle between the corresponding rays. Hence, taking the incident transversal for unity, the reflected transversal is sin(t,— ij) sin(<,4-g and the refracted transversal is sin2i. (iii.) (ir;) 8in(«,4-ij) ■ It has been already observed, that our theory differs from that of Fresnel with regard to the magnitude of the refracted transversals. The expressions (ii.) and (iv.) must, in fact, be multiplied G 2 44 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of that, when there is only one refracted ray, the three transversals lie in the polar plane of that ray, according to the general remark with ivhich we set out. We now proceed to show that the theorem asserted in this remark is a consequence of our hypotheses, and we shall afterwards deduce a few results which may be readily compared with experiments. Let us suppose then that the direction of the incident transversal is such that there is only one refracted ray. It is evident that, in this case, the three transversals must lie in the same plane, since, by the fourth hypothesis, the refracted vibration is the resultant of the other two vibrations ; and, therefore, we have only to prove that the plane of the transversals is the same as the polar plane of the refracted ray. Let r,, r^, r^ be the respective lengths of the incident, refracted, and reflected transversals ; let 6^, 9^, 0^ be the angles which they make with the plane of incidence, the angle 0^ being known from .the -theory of Fresnel ; put j,, i^, i, for the angles made by the respective wave planes with the surface of the crystal, and m^, m^, tn, for the relative quantities of ethpv set in motion by each wave. Then our hypotheses will give us the four following equations : — m T ^=m T '^-{-m t ^ (I) , 1122'33 V/ .T^sin0_+T^sin6i,=;T^sin0^, (2) T,COS0jCOS ij-j-TjCOSOjCOS tj=Tj,COS0^COS i^, (3) T.cos^sln t,+T COS0 sin t =tcos0 sin t . (4) The first equatidft is manifestly the translation of the law of the preservation V of vis viva ; the other three are obtained from the principle of equivalent vibra- each by — — > inorder to produce the corresponding expressions which result from Fresnel's hypotheses. 1 But the two theories also differ as to the relative directions of the incident and reflected transversals. For, supposing the light to fall upon the denser medium, or t^ to be greater than t^, our construction indicates that these transversals, when the angle of incidence is small, point in the same direction ; whereas Fresnel concludes the contrary to be the case. However, the disagreement in this respect Iceases as we approach the limiting incidence of 90° ; for then, according to both theories, the inci- 'dent and reflected transversals point in opposite directions. This last conclusion is conformable to the inference which Professor Lloyd has drawn from his experiments on the interference of direct light with light reflected at a very obUque incidence. — See Irish Acafl. Trans, vol. xvii. p. 176. Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 45 tions, by resolving the vibrations, or transversals, in three rectangular directions. In the second equation, the transversals are resolved perpendicular to the plane of incidence ; in the fourth, perpendicular to the surface of the crystal ; and in the third equation they are resolved parallel to the intersection of these two planes. When the angles 6^, 9^, 6^ begin, the transversals are in the plane of incidence in such a relative position, that if they were turned round together in that plane through a right angle, they would point each in the direction of its own wave's progress. , These angles increase on the same side of the plane of incidence, and range through the whole circumference. The angles i^, i^, i^ are those of Incidence, refraction, and reflexion ; but, for the sake of symmetry, ; they are taken to be the angles which the wave normals, drawn from the origin in the direction of each wave's motion, make with the perpendicular to the surface, this perpendicular being directed towards the interior of the crystal. Thus it happens that i^ is the supplement of t^. Attending to this circum- stance, equations (3) and (4) give us COS(, r cos^j ■ -r.cos^.=r cos^. cos I, T^COsd^-\-TfOsO=:TCOSd, and by adding and subtracting these, we find » sinti (5) COS0, sin(«,+(^) '^i~''cos6>, sin2j, ' cosO, sin((,-0. _ . '// - / T,-=T. T.=:T (6) which values if we substitute in equations (1) and (2), observing that mz=m^, as is evident, we shall get (7) (8) cos'^0, COS'^03 7n^ COS^0^ ' •'' sin( + . , , ., ' V 1 2' 2 ' sin((,+( ) (10) (10 (12) tane. / . \ ., /«tan0 -cos(i,+(Jtanft 4- -^- -. (13) These equations give the positions of the incident and reflected transversals when h is known. Now let the directions in which the transversals have been resolved in equations (2), (3), (4), be taken for the axes of z, x, y respectively ; so that, the origin being at O, the plane of xy may be the plane of incidence, and the axis of x may lie in the surface of the crystal. And, the reflected ray being conceived to lie within the angle made by the positive directions of x and^y, let the initial condition that we have assumed for the angles 6^, 6^, 6^ be satisfied by supposing that, when these angles begin, the transversals t,, t^ lie between the negative directions of x and y, and the tranversal r^ between the directions of -\- X and —y. Then if 6*,, 6^, 6^ be reckoned towards the positive axis of z, so that each angle may be 90° when the corresponding transversal points in the direction of z positive, the equations of the transversal t^ will be (14) tanfl, cost, suit, ^ J ^ rf. yi/a. O^tiH //^^^»*^ p y /y '0 Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. and those of tj will be 47 tan0, cost, sint, (15) Let Z-\-A.X-\--B.y:=0, (16) be the equation of a plane passing through the directions of t^, t^ and t^. To determine a and b, let the variables be eliminated from this equation by means of (14) and (15) successively, and vie shall get the two equations of condition, , tan^j — Acosi, — Bsinfj^O, tan^^-J-Acos t, — B sint, =0 ; which, by addition and subtraction, give tan0,+tan0. (17) 2sin«, tan 0, — tan ^3 2cost, (18) substituting, in these values, the expressions (13) for iaxiO^, tan^^, we have //COS( B=tan6'Xsm«^+ -^, ^- , A=tane^(cos<^— ^-5 L^); whence, by making we find tan K : B tant+tank- - =tan(t^+K). A 1 — Ian (jtan k But if ;2:=0 in (16), we have for the equation of the right line in which the plane of the transversals in- , tersects the plane of incidence. This right line, lying, like the refracted wave (19; (20) (21) (22) #"/ rv 48 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of L normal, between the directions of -^-x and — y, makes with the direction of —y B an angle w which obviously has - for its tangent; and therefore, by (21), v=i,-\-^: (23) which shows that the intersection of the two planes is inclined to the refracted wave normal at an angle equal to k. We must now find the value of /i, which depends on the relative ethereal masses put in motion by the incident and refracted waves. Conceiving the incident and refracted rays to be cylindrical pencils, having of course a common section in the plane of xz, which is the surface of the crystal, let each pencil be cut by a pair of planes parallel to its wave plane, and distant a wave's length from each other ; then the cylindrical volumes so cut out will represent the corresponding masses, since, by our second hypothesis, the densities are equal. These volumes are to each other in the compound ratio of their altitudes, which are the wave lengths, and of the areas of their bases. The altitudes are evidently as sini, to sin(^. The first base is a perpendicular section of the incident pencil ; the second baSe an oblique section of the refracted one, the obliquity being equal to the angle t at which the wave normal is inclined to the ray. The perpendicular sections are to each other as the cosines of the angles which they make with the common section of the cylinders, or as cos i^ to cos i^^. ; putting i for the angle which the refracted ray makes with the negative direction of^. The second base is greater than the perpendicular section of the refracted pencil in the proportion of unity to cose. Therefore compounding all these ratios, we find (24) w, sin£jCOSt,cosE The same result may be otherwise obtained by observing that, in a system of waves, the corresponding masses are proportional to the ordinates y of the points where the rays meet their wave surfaces. By a system of waves, I mean an incident wave with all that are derived from it by reflexion or refraction at the ■^ \ \y same surface of the crystal, or at parallel surfaces. If at the point where the incident" ray intersects its spherical wave surface, we apply a tangent plane inter- secting the plane of xz in a right line parallel to z, through which right line r other planes are drawn touching the wave surface of the crystal in four points, Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 49 these tangent planes will be the waves derived from the incident wave which touches the sphere ; and the points of contact, including that on the sphere, will be the points where the rays meet the wave surfaces. Then the corresponding masses will be represented by prisms having a common rectangular base in the "plane of xz, one side of this rectangle being the distance, on the axis of x, between the origin and the common intersection of the tangent planes ; and the triangular face of each prism having the same distance for one side, and a point of contact for the opposite angle. These prisms, as they have a common base, will be proportional to their altitudes, which are the ordinates y of the points of contact. The expression (24) may be easily deduced from this relation. Let OT, OP, and the negative direction of y meet the surface of the wave sphere (described with the radius OS) in the ^, A points T,, P, Y, ; and let the right line, in which the plane of the transversals intersects the plane of incidence, meet the sphere ^ in L,. Then the points Y,, P,, L,, being all in the plane of incidence, will be on the same great circle "Y,P,L,; and drawing the great circles T P YT we shall have Y, P,=i,, Y, T.^t^^)' T, P,=e, Y, L^=i;=,^4-k, by (23); whence P,L=.. As the transversal t^ is perpendicular to the plane OTP, or to the plane of the great circle T,P,, the cosine of the spherical angle T P Y is the sine of ^2 ; and therefore, from the triangle T,P,Y,, we have costj2j= cos<2COS£4-sint2sin£sin6'2, (25) which being substituted in ('24), gives »?2 sin2(2+2sin\sin0jtan£ w, ~ sin2t, and comparing this result with (10), we find sin^ijtan £ (26) (27) sin ^2 whence, and from (20), it follows that ~ -. sin^tgtane VOL. XVIII. ^ /) /14J J ^'? / 50 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of V. Draw the great circle L,K, at right angles to T,P,, and meeting it in K, ; then the plane of L,K, will be the plane of the transversals, since the latter plane passes through L^, and is perpendicular to T,P,. But the tangent of P,K, is equal to the tangent of P,L, multiplied by the cosine of the angle P, or by the sine of 6^; therefore, denoting P,K^ by e,, and recollecting that P,L,=k, we find, by (28), (29) lane, sin'^t^ tan£ -sin% Now we have seen that the ratio of OP to OS, or of OS to OG, is the index of refraction; so that sin^, is to sin^t^ as OP to OG. Therefore, by (29), tanE,_ OG _OG GP' (30) tane OP-OG but OG is to GP as the tangent of the angle GPT is to the tangent of the angle GOT j and since e is the angle GOT, it follows that e, is equal to the angle GPT or KOP. Consequently, OK will meet the surface of the sphere in the point K,. Thus we have proved our assertion, that, when there is only one refracted ray, the plane of the transversals is the polar plane of that ray. The sign of the quantity h is always the same as that of the cosine of the spherical angle T,P,Y,. But to remove all ambiguity respecting signs, we must make a few additional conventions. Supposing, as we have hitherto done, that the refracted light moves from O to T, and conceiving a right line to be drawn from the origin parallel to GT, and directed from G towards T, let the angle S^, which this right line makes with the plane of incidence, be reckoned, like 0,, 6^, from an initial position comprised between the negative directions of x and y ; and let ^^, like the angles 6^, 0^, 0^, increase on the side of z positive, and range from 0° to 360°. Then S^ will always be equal either to the angle P, of the spherical triangle T,P,Y,, or to the reentrant angle, which is the difference between P, and 360". In either case, the cosine of 3-^ will be the same, both in magnitude and ^gn, as the cosine of the angle T,P,Y,. Consequently, if, instead of (25), we use the direct trigonometrical formula cos t™ =cos tgCos £ -j- sin i^ sin t cos ^^ we shall find (8) (31) siiV^igtan e cosS^j sin^tfg X / Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 51 showing that the sign of A is always the same as the sign of cos S^. Now as B^ differs from ^^ by a right angle, we will suppose 0, = &,+ 9O», (33) and then we shall have sin 0^ = eos^g, algebraically as well as numerically. Thus we see that, by adopting these conventions, the value of h in (27) will have the proper sign. Therefore, substituting this value of A in formulae (13), we obtain sinVtane imO.— cos U — 1^ tan BA 2r^- — r-^ 1 sin\tan£ tan e^-=. —cos (<,+t2)tan02+ costfgSinCt,— g (34) These formulae give the uniradial directions, or the positions of the incident and reflected transversals, when the sole refracted ray is that with which we have been occupied. The like directions, when the other ray exists alone, will be given by the formulte sin^/, tan e' tan0'=cos(«— 4)tan0'2-l- cos0'2sin(£,+t'j)' „; / I / \. „, . sinV„tane' tan£''3=— cos(t,+('Jtan£i'^+ ^ (35) cos0',sin(t,-i',)' where all the quantities, except i^, which remains the same, are marked with accents, to show that they belong to the second refracted ray. The uniradial directions having been found by these equations, the relative magnitudes of the uniradial transversals are determined by equations (6). When the incident transversal is not uniradial, it is evident, as we said before, that it may be resolved* in the two uniradial directions ; that each component transversal, as if the other component did not exist, will furnish a refracted ray and a partial * That, if an incident transversal be resolved in any tvfo directions, the reflected and refracted transversals arising from it will be the resultants of those which would arise from each of its compo- nents separately, is a principle which appears very evident, insomuch that we can hardly suppose it to be untrue, without doing violence to our physical conceptions. Nevertheless, it is necessary to prove that this principle is not contrary to the law of vis viva ; for though the vis viva may be pre- served by each set of components, (as it is when these are uniradial,) yet we cannot therefore con- H 2 52 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of reflected transversal uniradial in its direction ; and that the total (or actual) reflected transversal will be the resultant of the two partial ones. elude that it will be preserved by their resultants. Here then is a test of the consistency of our theory ; for we are bound to show that the law of vis viva is not infringed by the adoption of the principle in question. Now it is easy to see that, whatever be the two directions in which the inci- dent transversal is resolved, the final results will always be the same ; because, taking the component in each of these directions separately, the reflected and refracted transversals belonging to it must be obtained, in the first place, by the help of a resolution performed in the uniradial directions. We need not, therefore, consider any case but that in which the resolution is uniradial throughout. The incident transversal being denoted by T , let T^ be the reflected transversal determined by the rules given in the text ; and let the uniradial components of the former be r,, ■/,, while those of the latter are r,, t*,. Then will T,''= riH^,' + 2r,T',cos(9 — 9',), where the signification of 9 , 6\, fl,, fl'j is the same as in the text. The vis viva of one refracted ray is ^i(f,' — T-j*)) and that of the other is m^(r'^' — r'^') ; therefore the vis viva of both refracted rays is a quantity which ought to be equal to and consequently the equation n^ r^r\cos{9-9\)=r,r\co,[6-6\) (v.) ought to be true. This equation, by help of the expressions (6) for r,, -i",, and the like expressions for T'j, t'j, becomes sin(.,+gsin(.,+g(l+tan9,tan9',) = sin(,,-,^)sin(,_,'^)(l-|-tanfl3tan9'3); (vi.) which again, by substituting the values (13) and the other similar values, is changed into ^.'l/''^' /U'^rti,^ sin (;^ + ig{cos(jj— ('j) + cotane2COtan9'J+A + A'=0, (vii.) where h' denotes for one refracted ray what h denotes for the other, the value of h being given by formula (27), and that of A' by the same formula with accented letters. The angle of incidence, we may observe, has disappeared from the equation. If, therefore, the laws of reflexion, which we have endeavoured to establish, are consistent with each other, this last equation must be satisfied by means of the relations which the laws of propagation afford ; or rather, the equation must express a property of the wave surface of the crystal, however strange it may be thought that such a property should be derived from the laws of reflexion, laws which would seem, at first sight, to have no connexion at all with the form of the wave surface. Now I have found that the equation (vii.) really does express a^gm-ous property of the biaxal wave surface Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 53 When 6^-=.e\, the partial reflected transversals will coincide, and their resul- tant will have a fixed direction, independent of the direction of the incident transversal. The angle of incidence at which this takes place is the polarising angle, and the common value of 6^ and 6'^ is the deviation. If, at the polarising angle, the partial reflected transversals be equal in magnitude, and opposite in direction, their resultant will vanish, and tlie reflected ray will disappear. This will happen when the incident transversal is in the plane of the two refracted transversals, and therefore in the intersection of this plane with the incident wave plane ; for, when there is no reflected ray, the incident transversal alone must be equivalent to the two refracted transversals. Since the reflected transversal can be made to vanish at the polarising angle, this angle might be found directly by putting the vis viva of the incident ray equal to the sum of the vires vivce of the two refracted rays, and by making the incident transversal the resultant of the two refracted transversals. Resolving the transversals parallel to the axes of coordinates, these conditions would give four equations, from which we could eliminate the two ratios of the three trans- versals, together with the angle at which the incident transversal 1^ inclined to the plane of incidence. In the equation produced by this elimination, the angle of incidence would be the polarising angle, and the other quantities would be known functions of that angle; whence the angle Itself would be known. It deserves to be remarked, that, at any angle of incidence, if the incident and reflected wave planes be intersected by a plane drawn through the two refracted transversals, the Intersections will be corresponding transversal direc- tions ; that is to say, if the incident transversal coincide with one intersection, the reflected transversal will coincide with the other. For it is evident, from our fourth hypothesis, that if three of the transversals be in one plane, the fourth transversal must be in the same plane. of Fresnel ; a very curious fact, which not only shows that the laws of reflexion and the laws of pro- pagation are perfectly adapted to each other, but also indicates that both sets of laws have a common source in other and more intimate laws not yet discovered. Indeed the laws of reflexion are not independent even among themselves ; for the expressions (iii.) and (iv.) in the note on ordinary reflexion (page 43) have been deduced solely from the principle of equivalent vibrations, and^^yet they satisfy the law oi vis viva. Perhaps the next step in physical optics will lead us to those higher and more elementary principles by which the laws of reflexion and the laws of propagation are linked together as parts of the same system. 54 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of We come now to apply our theory to the case of uniaxal crystals ; and, in doing so, we shall take the crystal to be of the negative kind, like Iceland spar, so that the ordinary refraction will be more powerful than the extraordinary. On the sphere described with the centre O and radius OS, let XY be a great circle in the plane of incidence, the radii OX, OY being the positive directions of the coordinate axes of ^ and_y. 'Suppose the right lines iO and Oi', inter- secting the sphere in i and i', to be the incident and reflected rays; let the ordi- nary refracted ray and the extraordinary wave normal be produced backwards from O to meet the sphere, at the side of the incident light, in the points o and e respectively; let the right line OA, cutting the sphere in A, be the direction of the axis of the crystal ; and draw the great circles Ao, Ae, AY. The points i, e, 0, i' are all on the circle XY. The point E, where the extraordinary ray OE produced backwards meets the sphere, wlUbe on the circle Ae; and if, as in the figure, the arc Ae be less than a quadrant, the point e will lie between A and E. The polar plane of the ordinary ray is obviously the plane of the circle Ao ; but the polar plane of the other ray must be found by a construction. On the arc AeE take the portion ef, so that the point e may lie between the points E and/, and so that the tangent of e/" may be to the tangent of Ee as the square of the sine of the arc eY is to the difference between the squares of the sines of iY and e Y. Through f draw the great circle /if perpendicular to the circle AeE ; and it is manifest from (29) that the plane of/ is the polar plane of the extraordinary ray. On each circumference Ao and/, the points which are distant 90° from i and i', the distances being measured by arcs of great circles, are the points where the uniradial transversals, prolonged from the centre, intersect the sphere. Let Ao and/ intersect each other in t, and let ti' be an arc of a great circle connect- ing the point t with the point ^'. When the connecting arc ti' is a quadrant, the two uniradial transversals, belonging to the reflected ray, coincide with each other and with the right line O^ ; the angle of incidence is then the polarising angle ; the plane oi ti' is the plane of polarisation of the reflected ray ; and the angle ti'Y is the deviation. To find the equations appropriate to uniaxal crystals, we may suppose formulae (34) to belong to the ordinary, and formulas (35) to the extraordinary ray. 4m flA^U H 'Kin t ^^f/ Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 55 Then will e = 0, and £'= the arc Ee. Putting 0 and & for the spherical angles Aoi and Aei, we shall easily see that 6^-=^ e-j-T'BQ.'', and e'^=i6'-\- 90°, if weconceive the point A and the positive axis of z to be both on the upper side of the plane XOY. And if w' denote the arc Ae, while b and a respectively express the reciprocals of the principal indices, ordinary and extraordinary, the law of Huyghens, for the double refraction of uniaxal crystals, will give us where tan E = — 2 — sm w cos w , s^= ^ = b'-\- (a'-b') sin^. -X- Observing these relations, we have, from (34), tan03= — cos(tj-4-0*^^^' for the ordinary ray; and from (35) we get (36) (37) (38) tane', = — cos(t, - 1' J cotan 6'— (a^— 5') tan e\ =cos(<, + I'J cotan 6' — (a* — S') sinw cosw sin't sin0'sin(t,+ t'„)' sino) cosw sm I, (39) 4 ' » ^-.' sins' sin(t, — t'j,) ' for the extraordinary ray. The four preceding equations determine the uniradial directions ; and the / following equation, '^T^ cos(<,+ Otan0+cos(t,+ t'^)cotane'— (a'— i') rf =0, (40) I sin0'sin(tj — ('2) obtained by putting tan 0, = tan 0',, is that which determines the polarising angle. In making use of this last equation to deduce the law of the polarising angles in various positions of the axis of the crystal, we shall confine ourselves to the case in which the reflexion from the crystal takes place in air, because the angle *i — 's ^'1^ ^^^^ ^6 considerable, and the quantities cos(-sin'.,), (60) X. Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 57 where (a«_i2)(l+i2)_ (51) ^ this value of K being found by assuming tan tj=:cotan 4^=6, which is accurate enough for the purpose. Thus we have obtained i^-\- 1,^, or the sura of the polarising angle and the angle of ordinary refraction. The former angle itself may be inferred from formula (50) by help of the relation sin/j=:isintj. In this way, if we use w, instead of <, to distinguish the polarising angle from other angles of incidence, and if we put we shall find ■isr^:=:-sy—kcos-q{s\n''p — sin^f^^), (53) in which -ar is the angle whose cotangent is equal to b ; in other words, w is the polarising angle of an ordinary medium whose refractive index is equal to the ordinary index of the crystal. This result accounts for a remarkable fact observed by Sir David Brewster, who, in the year 1819, led the way in the experimental investigation of the laws of crystalline reflexion. He found that the polarising angle remains the same when the crystal is turned round through 180°, though one of the angles of refraction is changed, and though the situation of the refracted rays, with respect to the axis of the crystal, becomes quite different from what it was. This circumstance, which surprised me when I first met with it, is an immediate con- sequence of formula (53) ; for the effect of a semi-revolution of the crystal is to change the signs of^ and q ; but the nature of the formula is such that these changes of sign do not alter the value of ra-,. Neither is that value altered by turning the crystal until the azimuth, as the spherical angle AY« is usually called, is changed into its supplement ; for then the sign of j9 alone is affected. Another remark, made by the same distinguished observer, is also a conse- quence of formula (53). From his experiments it appears that, on a given surface of the crystal, the polarising angle differs from a constant angle by a quantity proportional to the square of the sine of the azimuth AYi. Now VOL. xvni. / / ^ 58 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of calling this azimuth a, and putting X for the acute angle at which the axis of the crystal is inclined to its surface, so that X may be the complement of the arc AY, we have sin 5^ = cos X sin a, tanja^cotanXcosa; (54) and by making these substitutions in formula (53), after having changed sin t^ into cosw, that formula becomes •nrj=7ir— A;(sinV — sin^X)-l-^sin*wcos*XsinV (55) which agrees with the remark of Brewster. The deviation 6.^ or 0^ is found from the second of equations (38), by putting ■ f _ -. for tane, and by substituting for cos(«i-|-t2) the value (49) or (50) which sin \jp t^j it has at the polarising angle. The result is e3=0'3=-^sm2qsm(p-\-,^), (56) since the small arc 63 may be taken for its tangent. This result is easily trans- formed into e3=0'3= — Ksinycos^, (57) where denotes the arc Ai, or the angle which the incident ray makes with the axis of the crystal ; and this last expression is equivalent to the following, e3=:0'3= — KCOs\sina(sin\coST!r-f-cosA.sin7ij- cosa), (58) which gives the deviation in terms of \ and a. As an example of the application of our formulae, we shall make some com- putations relative to Iceland spar. According to M. Rudberg, the ordinary index of that crystal, for a ray situated in the brightest part of the spectrum, at the boundary of the orange and yellow, is 1.66; and the least extraordinary index for the same ray is 1.487. Dividing unity by each of these numbers, we geta = .6725, ft=.6024; whence w= 58° 56'; ;f=. 1164=6° 40'; k=.1587= 9° 5'. Having thus determined the constants, we can readily calculate the pola- rising angle and the deviation, for any given values of \ and a. First, let us see how the polarising angle varies on different faces of the crystal. 1 . When \ = 90°, the face of the crystal is perpendicular to its axis, and Wj is independent of o. In this case, the formula (55) gives Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 59 w, = w + ^cosV = 60° 42', which is the maximum value of the polarising angle. 2. When \=0, the axis lies in the face of the crystal, and formula (55) becomes w,=xir — ArsinVcos^a, showing that w,=w, when a is either 90° or 270°. But when a is 0 or 180°, we have Tsr, = w — A;sinV=54°2', which is the minimum value of the polarising angle. 3. For the natural fracture-faces of the crystal the value of \ is 45° 23'. Hence, when a= 0 or 180°, ^,= ^—k (sinV— sin^) = 57° 26' ; and when a = 90° or 270°, ,^,=zir+^cosVsin^ = 59° 50'. These values of the polarising angles agree very well with the experiments of Sir David Brewster, and still better with those of M. Seebeck. If we wish to know in what azimuths w, is equal to ■nr, on a given surface of the crystal, it is obvious from (55) that we must make sinV— sin^\ = sinVcos^AsinV whence we have, simply, tanX ,,„. COS a = ± ^ , (59) tans- ^ ■' which shows that the thing is impossible when \ is greater than ot ; and that, when \ is less than m, there are four such azimuths ; as indeed there are, gene- rally speaking, four values of a corresponding to any other particular value of the polarising angle. If a' be the least of these azimuths, the others will be 180° — o', l80°-f-«', and 360° — a. On a natural face of the crystal, the value of a', answer- ing to the supposition Tir,z=w, is found to be 52° 22'. Next, let us trace the changes which the deviation undergoes In some remarkable cases. 1 . When the face of the crystal is perpendicular to its axis, there Is evidently no deviation. Ljl^i) 60 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of / //yj 2. When the axis lies in the face of the crystal, the deviation vanishes in the azimuths 0, 90°, 180°, 270°. In the intermediate azimuths, differing 45° from each of these, the deviation is a maximum; for if vpe put \=:0 in formula (55) the result will be 03= — - sinwsin2a; f^yt' and this quantity (neglecting its sign) is a maximum vi^hen sin 2a= ± 1. The coefficient of sin 2a is equal to 3° 54', which is consequently the greatest value of the deviation. According to the experiments of M. Seebeck, the value is 3° 57'. 3. On the fracture-faces of the crystal, the deviation vanishes in the azimuths 0 and 1 80°, as also in two other azimuths for which tan A COS a = — r- — , tannr and in which therefore *, is equal to -a,. In the azimuth 45° the deviation is — 3° 35'; in the azimuth 90° it is —2° 32'; and in the azimuth 127° 38' it vanishes ; after which it attains a small maximum with a positive sign, and vanishes again in azimuth 180°. The calculated values of the deviation agree pretty well with the values observed by M. Seebeck. The sign of the deviation shows at what side of the plane of incidence the plane of polarisation lies. But the position of the latter plane is best indicated by that of the transversal of the reflected ray. If this transversal and the axis of the crystal be produced from the origin, towards the same side of the plane of xz, until they intersect the sphere in the points t and A respectively, these points will be on the same side of the great circle XY when the deviation and the sine of the azimuth have unlike algebraic signs ; and they will be on opposite sides of that circle when those quantities have like signs. Therefore if the crystal be supposed to revolve in its own plane, beginning at the azimuth 0, the points t and A will lie on the same side of XY until A reaches the position A', where the angle A'Yi is equal to 127° 38' ; the point t will then pass over to the side oppo- site A, at which side it will remain until A arrives at the azimuth 232° 22'. Thenceforward, to the end of the revolution, both points will be found on the same side of the circle XY. Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 61 ^ thl /dt/ /if f y is / We have seen that the deviation always vanishes when the axis of the crystal lies in the plane of incidence. The reason is, because the crystal is then symme- trical on opposite sides of that plane. In this case the problem of reflexion offers peculiar facilities for solution, since the uniradial dii'ections are obviously parallel and perpendicular to the plane of incidence. Let us therefore consider the case at length. 1. In the first place, when the only refracted ray is the ordinary one, three transversals are in the plane of incidence, and the transversal of each ray proportional to the sine of the angle between the other two rays. Hence the proportions are the same as in ordinary media. 2. In the second place, when the sole refracted ray is the extraordinary one, / yT^ the three transversals are perpendicular to the plane of incidence ; and, if we use / accents to mark the quantities connected with this ray, we have the equations /^. which give the proportions T\ /, Ts wherein -V- TOi+Tw'j )lmi nil — in': ni^ _ sin 2i^ ± 2 sin^t'^tan e' m, ~ sin2(, ' (61) (62) (63) ' ^ 4ci^ £, by (26); the upper or lower sign being taken, in the numerator of (63), accord- ing as the refracted ray or its wave normal makes the smaller angle with a perpendicular to the face of the crystal. To find the polarising angle, we have only to make m{=m\, for then t'j will vanish by (62) ; and therefore, if common light be incident, the whole reflected pencil will be polarised in the plane of incidence. Supposing the crystal to be a negative one, let us conceive the refracted ray to lie within the acute angle made by the axis of the crystal with a perpendicular to its surface. We shall then have to take the positive sign in the numerator of (63), and the polarising angle will be given by the condition x? />v f // ^ PrA. 62 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of sin2T-(,)cotan5'= — cotan0; (72) and from (38) it is evident that^,= 0. Therefore all that relates to the case under our consideration may be summed up in the following statement : When N = B, and the incident light is polarised in a plane passing through the axis, the course of the light is unaltered, and there is neither reflexion nor refraction. When it is polarised in the perpendicular plane, all the light which ' enters the crystal undergoes extraordinary refraction. Whatever light is reflected, is always polarised in a plane at right angles to that which passes through the reflected ray and the axis of the crystal ; and this is true, whether the incident light is polarised or not. Here, for the present, we must terminate our deductions from the general theory propounded in this paper. Several other questions remain to be discussed, such as the reflexion of common light* at the first surface, and the internalf * The mode of treating the case in which common hght is incident, has been pointed out at the bottom of p. 40, "f I have since found that the problem of reflexion at the second surface may be reduced to that ' of reflexion at the first surface, by means of a very simple rule. Let us suppose the two surfaces of the crystal to be parallel; and let a ray r,, uniradially polarised, and incident on the first surface, give the ray R^ by reflexion, and the single ray R, by refraction. Let B, be the ray which suffers internal reflexion at the second surface, thereby giving the two reflected rays E,,, r',;, and the single /u 7^ 4^ /A. /} VOL. XVIII. J J i ) / ' / '^ -9 66 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of reflexion at the second surface of a crystal ; but these must be reserved for a future communication. It would be easy, Indeed, to write down the algebraical refracted ray K;,, emerging from the crystal in a direction parallel to b,. Put r,, r^, Tj, and f ^tJ , r/,) for the transversals of the rays in the order in which they have been named. As the transversal r is supposed to be given in magnitude, the lengths as well as the directions of r, and r, can be found by the construction in page 40. Now, the direction of r^ being changed, and its magnitude retained, let the ray R, be turned , directly back, so as to be incident again on the crystal, and to suffer reflexion and refraction at the first surface. Then the two refracted rays which it gives will be parallel to B,,, b',,, and their trans- versals will be equal and parallel to r„, t'„. The reflected ray which it gives will coincide with R, ; and the reflected transversal, when compounded with rj, will furnish a resultant equal and parallel to the emergent transversal r(,). Thus the Tsonstructions, which have been given for the first surface, may be made available for the second surface, and every question relative to crystalline reflexion may be solved geometrically by means of the polar planes. The foregoing rule was not, properly speaking, deduced from theory. I first formed a clear con- ception of what the rule ought to be, and then verified it for the simple case of singly refracting media, and finally proved it for doubly refracting crystals. The truth of the rule, in crystals, .depends upon the truth of the three following equations : sin(j„+i'„) |cos(i,— i'„)4-cotane„cotan3'„| ^h„ + h'„ = 0, siH(ij — (,,) |cos(i, -|-(,,) — cotanfl, cotanS,, j -\- h, — A,,:=0, • (viii.) sin((s — (',,) Jcos(;i-4-i',,) — cotanSjCotanC',, | 4- /», — A'„=:0, in which the notation is intelligible without any explanation. The first equation is the same as equation (vii.) already noticed; and the other two differ from it only in appearance, the change in the signs being occasioned by a change in the relative position of the rays. When the reflexion is total, I suppose we may follow the example which Fresnel has set us in the ; case of ordinary media. The general algebraic expression for each reflected transversal will then I become imaginary ; and by putting it under the form I T (cos ! , tan A3 = —^ — f , tan A^ =-7 — — ■ 2. When the incident transversal is perpendicular to the plane of incidence, , , 1+mV— 2m^cosx 1 ^ 1-|-m'/i'4-2m/'cosx' ' l-j-M*/i^-|-2Mjncosx ., 2Musinx ., silly tan A'3 = r^^ \ tan A' ^ = — r^^. (XV.) (xvi.) When %:=0, there is no change of phase, and the formulae become identical with those given in the note, p. 43. When ;n;rr:90°, there is total reflexion at all incidences. The case of pure silver approximates to this. For good speculum metal, ;^ is about 70°. The value of m ranges from 2i to 5 in different metals. ' When the incident transversal is inclined to the plane of incidence, its components, parallel and perpendicular to that plane, will give two reflected transversals with a difference of phase equal to A'3 — A3. The reflected vibration will then be performed in an ellipse ; and the position and magni- tude of the axes of the ellipse may be deduced from the preceding formulae. The consequences of these formula! arc very simple and elegant, but I cannot dwell upon them here. Suffice it to observe, that every angle of incidence has another angle corresponding to it, which I call its conjugate » angle of incidence ; and that the value of A'3 — A3 at one of these angles is the supplement of its value at the other, while the ratio — is the same at both angles ; whence it follows that, ceteris ''3 paribus, the elliptic vibrations, reflected at conjugate angles, are similar to each other, and have their , homologous axes equally inclined to the plane of incidence, but on opposite sides of it. When 72 Mr. Mac Cullagh on the Laws of same cause, whatever it is, which produces a change of phase in metallic reflexion. It will be proper to conclude this Essay with a brief sketch of the researches of Sir David Brewster and M. Seebeck, the only other writers who have treated of the subject of crystalline reflexion. So early as the year 1819, Sir David Brewster published, in the Philoso- phical Transactions, a paper " On the Action of Crystallized Surfaces upon Light."* In this paper the author details a great variety of experiments on the polarising effects of Iceland spar. He gives the measures of the polarising angles in different azimuths, when the reflexion takes place in air ; but he does not notice the accompanying deviations, which were probably too small to attract his attention. In another instance, however, he obtained very large deviations. He conceived the idea of pushing his experiments into an extreme case, by masking, as it were, the ordinary reflecting action of the crystal, and leaving the extraordinary energy at full liberty to display itself. This was done by dropping on the reflecting surface a little oil of cassia, a fluid whose refractive index is nearly equal to the ordinary index of Iceland spar. When common light, incident at 45°, was reflected at the separating surface of the oil and the spar, the reflected pencil was found to be partially, and sometimes com- pletely, polarised in planes variously inclined to the plane of incidence, the inclination going through all magnitudes from 0 to 180°, as the crystal was turned round in azimuth. This general result is no more than what theory would lead us to expect, when the angle of incidence is nearly equal to one of the angles of refraction ; but, to institute a minute comparison of theory with experiment, wovdd require troublesome calculations, which I have not had time to make. With the view, however, of showing clearly, from theory, that the range of the deviation is unlimited, I have considered the simple case in which n = b, or in A'j — ^3^:90°, the conjugate incidences are equal, the ratio -2- is a minimum, and the axes of the ''3 elliptic vibration are parallel and perpendicular to the plane of incidence. When A'3 = 90°, or M//.:=l, the value of t', is a minimum, and equal to tan |;^. The foregoing formulae differ slightly from those which I have given in No. I. of the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. The small quantity y^, which occurs in the latter, has been purposely neglected, as its presence interferes with the simphcity of the expressions. * Phil. Trans. 1819, p. 145. Crystalline Reflexion and Refraction. 73 which the refractive index of the fluid is exactly equal to the ordinary index of the crystal. This case, moreover, is remarkable on its own account ; and it might be worth while to try whether it could not be verified by direct experiment. If a fluid could be procured, whose refractive index, for some definite ray of the spectrum, should be equal to the ordinary index of the crystal for the same ray, and if common light, incident at any angle and in any azimuth, were reflected at the confines of the fluid and the crystal, then, supposing the theory to be exact, the definite ray aforesaid would, as we have seen, be completely polarised by reflexion, and the plane of polarisation would always be perpendicular to a plane drawn through the direction of the reflected ray and the axis of the crystal. This experiment would be an elegant test of the theory in its application to these extreme and trying cases ; and if it were successful, no doubt could be enter- tained* as to the rigorous accuracy of the geometrical laws of reflexion. • I was at this time in doubt whether the phenomena observed with oil of cassia could be recon- ciled to theory, and when the note in page 36 was written, I was almost certain that they could not. But I have since, I think, found out the cause of this perplexity. Some of Brewster's experiments were made with natural surfaces of Iceland spar ; others with surfaces arti/iciaUif polished. I believe (though I have made very few calculations relative to the point) that the former class of experi- ments will be perfectly explained by the theory; the latter I am certain cannot be so explained, nor ought we to expect that they should. For the process of artificial polishing must necessarily occa- sion small inequalities, by exposing little elementary rhombs with their faces inclined to the general surface ; and the action of these faces may produce the iinsymmetrical effects which Brewster notices as so extraordinary (Sixth Report of the British Association, Transactions of the Sections, p. 16). If this will not account for such effects, I do not know what will. From an old observation of Brewster (Phil. Trans. 1819) it would appear, that imperfect polish does actually produce a want of symmetry in the phenomena; for when common light was reflected between oil of cassia and a badly polished suda.ce perpendicular to the axis, he found that the reflected ray was polarised neither in the plane of incidence, nor perpendicular to it, but 75° out of it. The same surface, when the light was reflected in air, gave the polarising angle more than two degrees below its proper value. To show that, in other respects, the general character of the phenomena is in accordance with theory, we may observe that, when Nr=B, and X:=0 or 90°, if common light be incident at 45° in the plane of the principal section of the crystal, the whole of the reflected light will be polarised perpendicularly to that plane ; and therefore if n be nearly equal to b, while every thing else remains the same, the reflected pencil will contain some unpolarised light, and will be only partially pola- rised in a plane perpendicular to the plane of incidence; so that (as Brewster has found by experiment) the crystal will then produce by reflexion the same effect which is produced by ordinary refraction. This (as he also found) will not happen when x and the angle of incidence are each equal to 45° ; because the light is then incident at the polarising angle. VOL. XVIII. t 74 Mr. Mac Cullagh on Crystalline Reflexion. The experiments with oil of cassia must be very difficult, on account of the great feebleness of the reflected light. Sir David Brewster, however, resumed them at different times ; and he laid an extensive series of his results before the Physical Section of the British Association at its late meeting in Bristol. It was not until the latter end of November, 1836, that I became acquainted with the investigations of M. Seebeck, who has contributed greatly to the advancement of the subject. He made very accurate experiments on the light reflected in air from Iceland spar. He detected the deviation, notwithstanding its smallness, and measured it with great care. He also made the first step in the theory of crystalline reflexion; and the remarkable formula (68), which gives the polarising angle when the axis lies in the plane of incidence, is due to him. The hypotheses which he employed were similar to those of Fresnel, and they enabled him to solve the problem of reflexion in the case just mentioned, but not to attempt it generally. The date of his first papers* is the year 1831 ; but he did not publish his experiments on the deviation until a recent occasion, when he was led to compare themt with the theory which I had originally given in my letter to Sir David Brewster. I have already stated the correction^ which the theory underwent in consequence of those experiments, and by which it was brought to its present simple form. * PoggendorfF's Annals, vol. xxi. p. 290 ; vol. xxii. p. 126. f Ibid. vol. xxxviii. p. 280. % Two or three months after this correction had been published in the Philosophical Magazine, a notice of it was inserted in PoggendorflPs Annals, vol. xl. p. 462. Up to that time, I believe, nothing had been published in Germany on the general theory of crystalline reflexion ; at least the writer of the notice (whom I take to be M. Seebeck) does not seem to have heard of any other theory, or any other principles, than mine. But in the next number of PoggendorfF, vol. xl. p. 497, there appeared a letter from M. Neumann, in which the writer speaks of a theory of his own, founded on principles exactly the same as those which I had already announced, and refers to a paper which he had communicated on the subject to the Academy of Berhn. The paper has been printed in the Transactions of that Academy for the year 1833; and through the kindness of the author I have received a copy of it, just in time to acknowledge it here. On casting my eye over it, I recognise several equations which are familiar to me ; in particular, the equations (vii.), (viii.), (ix.), (x.), which I discovered independently in November last. M. Neumann's paper is very elaborate, and supersedes, in a great measure, the design which I had formed of treating the subject more fully at my leisure ; nor can I do better than recommend it to those who wish to pursue the investigations through all their details. Trinity College, Dublin, March, 1838. 75 IV. On a hitherto unobserved Structure discovered in certain Trap Rocks in the County of Galway. By Robert Mallet, Esq., M.R.I. A. Read 10th April, 1837. The town of Galway is built upon part of a vast mass of trap rock, lying in, and forming the embouchure of Lough Corrib, and which, running in a direction nearly N. N. E., is lost beneath the sea in Galway bay at one end, and towards the other may be traced to a considerable distance along the western shores of the lake. This immense deposit appears to be a trap-dyke of the largest class ; it separates the mountain-limestone of Galway and the neighbouring counties, on the east, from the sienite of Cunnemara on the west. The limestone, at its junction with the trap, when not covered and obscured by the sea or alluvial matter, is tilted up ; the otherwise nearly level strata making angles of about eighteen degrees with the horizon. At one of these places, namely, in the demesne of Renville, near Oranmore, about four miles from Galway, a vein of cubical galena has been discovered, which offers a favourable prospect to the miner, much "gossan" forming the " crop" of the vein. The direction of the vein is nearly perpendicular to that of the trap-dyke. The trap appears on the other side chiefly to overlie the sienite ; but In some places it mingles with it, as though by fusion in almost insensible degrees. Both on the limestone and sienite sides, masses of each of these rocks are found enve- loped in the trap ; — the limestone being much altered in hai'dness and colour, its specific gravity and size of crystalline grain increased, and the rock occa- sionally converted into something allied to basanite or Lydian stone. The existence of these imbedded masses of each of the neighbouring rocks, with their alteration of character, and the tilting up of the limestone strata, would seem to confirm the opinion that this deposition is a true trap-dyke. The l2 76 Mr. Mallet on a hitherto unobserved Structure occurrence of limestone imbedded in trap is unusual. Kirwan, however, mentions that the " variolites" of Drac contain rounded masses of limestone and steatite. Considerable excavations for a new dock, covering eight acres, are now in progress at Galway, and afford ample opportunity of examining the intimate structure of the trap rock. Its general surface, where laid bare, is about twelve feet above low water mark ; it is rough, vesicular, and apparently water-worn, and rises every where into irregular " hummocks." The mass of the rock consists of greenstone of a dark leek-green colour, passing into purplish gray ; rather fine- grained, and softer than usual, yielding, with difficulty, a whitish streak with steel. It absorbs water slightly, and becomes very dark-coloured when wet ; is sonorous when in thin pieces; and has an average specific gravity of 2.87; its fracture is uneven, and sometimes imperfectly conchoidal. Its texture and colour are however extremely various, veins of several different constituents continually occurring in it, mixed and contorted in the most capricious manner — a single hand specimen often containing red granite and greenstone, passing into and varied in every possible way by hornblende, augite, schorl, albite, felspar, olivine, &c. Nearly in the centre of the surface of the rock exposed by excava- tion, there occurs a great vein of white hornstone rising with its laminae vertical, and in something of a pyramidal form, in the midst of the trap. Its structure is lamellar, or pseudo-crystalline, with some perpendicular rifts ; its substance is perfectly uniform, containing no imbedded minerals ; its texture very hard and porcellaneous, with a high specific gravity ; the longitudinal fracture slaty, and cross fracture splintery. At the surfaces of contact it is accurately moulded to the trap, but no where adherent to it. It appears to have been ejected after, and through the dyke itself, and is probably formed from simpler rocks, possibly slate, at a much greater depth.* The minerals found imbedded in this trap-dyke are many and various. The following have been already collected, and others probably remain for future explorers : — Mica, — brown and white, rarely. Felspar, — in brown, red, and white crystals. Albite, — large crystals in sienite, and druses in the hornstone. * This hornstone lias since been found to afford an excellent substitute for the costly " Turkey whetstones." in certain Trap Rocks. 77 Olivine, — massive, and in small crystals. Augite, Amphibole, Epidote, — in fine crystals; the latter also found on Mutton Island. , . Apatite, — in microscopic crystals. Chlorite, — indurated. Adularia, Chalcedony, — met with only in small specimens. Sulphate of Lime, — probably "anhydrite." Baryto-calcite, — crystallized in large masses. Arragonite. Calcareous Spar. Fluor Spar, — in purple cubic crystals, along with Galena, — in cubes. Iron Pyrites, — sometimes magnetic. Specular Iron Ore, — in minute octahedral crystals. A i^vi of these minerals are rare in any habitat, others rare as occurring in trap rock. Of these fluor has hitherto been found in trap only in two instances, — at Gourock, in the Frith of Clyde, and at Papa Stour, one of the Shetlands. Anhydrous sulphate of lime has been found in a trap-dyke at Cave Hill, near Belfast. Epidote is found in unusually fine crystals, imbedded in a red ochrey clay (apparently of decomposed trap) on Mutton Island, in Galway Bay, the site of the light-house. The island is low, and consists of sienite and trap, with a shingle beach of those rocks and limestone pebbles intermixed ; epidote being also found in rolled pieces. The iron pyrites is massive, and in crystals more or less perfect. The crystals appear to be hexagonal prisms, always imbedded, and sometimes magnetic. By far the most singular circumstance, however, connected with this dyke, is the fact, that it possesses very generally a hidden nodular structure, of a descrip- tion different from that hitherto found in any rock. When a mass of this rock is separated by the hammer, it always breaks with the kind of fracture before described, and no trace of any thing unusual can be found. But in the process of blasting, the lines of least resistance in the mass seem to be discovered by the expansive force with a beautiful precision, and the fragments are found consisting of single or cohering nodules of trap, of various 78 Mr. Mallet on a hitherto unobserved Structure sizes, imbedded in a matrix of a material similar to their own ; — the texture, cohesion, colour, and frangibility, &c. of the nodule and matrix being so precisely alike, that when two or more nodules are found cohering, on being struck with a hammer they will as readily break through as separate. So entirely identical is the structure of the nodules and matrix, that the existence of the former could never have been ascertained or suspected without the aid of blasting ; bringing to mind the ancient Grecian fable of the statue hidden in the yet unhewn block, revealed by the sculptor's chisel. This nodular structure is confined to the more uniform portions of the dyke; or, if it ever existed in the more complex and variegated parts, it appears to have been obliterated by more perfect fusion, — many of the veined and compound specimens presenting the appearance of having flowed in a state of perfect fluidity. The nodules are from eighteen inches in diameter to the size of a hazel nut ; and the nodule and its seat, or nidus, may frequently be found and fitted together. They are usually pretty close together, and sometimes appear to have been pressed into actual contact, — their sides being flattened one against the other, and their surfaces of separation irregularly multilateral, like those of coherent bubbles of a mucilaginous fluid. Many of the nodules present distinct indications of magnetic polarity. When an imbedded crystal (as of pyrites) occurs in a nodule, at its surface, it is always limited by the latter, or moulded to, and rendered imperfect by the matrix, and vice versa; no instance occurring of a crystal running from one into the other. Foreign matter is in general much rarer in the nodule than in the matrix, and rarer in those parts of the dyke which possess the nodular structure, than in those which do not, — ^namely, the veined and variegated portions. In some cases the nodular structure passes insensibly into the solid homogeneous rock. This nodular formation is essentially different from any other as yet de- scribed. The nodular, or orbicular granite of Corsica, and the south of France, consists of alternating layers of different crystallized minerals, — the crystals all converging to the centre of each spheroid, and imbedded in a matrix different in substance and arrangement from the nodule : it would appear to owe its formation to chemical rather than mechanical forces, and its origin is probably analogous to that of the quartz nodules found at Bonmahon, County Waterford, or to the formation of agates, hollow spar, onyx, and other minerals of accretion. m certain Trap Rocks. 79 The onion stone of the Giant's Causeway, and some of the traps of Ayrshire, in Scotland, and of the south of Ireland, (together with the spherical trap of Shiant Island, mentioned by Dr. Maculloch,) consist of nodules, imbedded in a cement of a texture and composition totally different from their own ; while each nodule, on being fractured, breaks into successive spherical shells, or coats, varying in hardness, and often in composition. If speculation may be ventured upon the foregoing observations, it would seem to account for the phenomena to suppose, that the trap-dyke had been evolved beneath the sea at a temperature of fluidity ; that in the violent agitation produced by the formation and ascent of steam, &c. portions of the fluid mass were projected upwards, became cooled in the water, and, falling again into the still imperfectly molten bed, were by its motions gradually re-enveloped, and again heated by contact nearly to its temperature. By these means (their texture being similar) an imperfect union would take place between the nodule and its matrix. When several of these nodules congregated, without intervening matter, they would cohere with flat surfaces, as before described ; and when much more highly heated, (having fallen from a greater height, and so sinking deeper in the mass,) they would be again completely fused into the substance of the trap-rock, and thus present the case above alluded to of the gradual obliteration of nodular structure in some places. It is even not an improbable conjecture, that the most capriciously variegated parts of this, and other similar traps and serpentines, may have been formed by the soldering together of nodules of diverse matter, either projected from diffe- rent depths, or broken from the adjacent rocks forming the walls of the dyke ; and it is possible that even the singular contortions in the stratification of mica- slate, &c. may have been produced by analogous means. It is worthy of note, that these developments are entirely due to the dissection of the trap rock by the explosive force of gunpowder, but for which the discovery had never been made. This seems, then, to place in the hand of the geologist a new instrument for the prosecution of inquiries as to the intimate structure of unstratified rocks ; — inquiries, which, should they reveal this nodular structure as more general than it is now known to be, will be likely to add much to our knowledge of the forces engaged in the production of rocks of igneous origin. 80 V. On a new Gaseous Compound of Carbon and Hydrogen. By Edmund Davy, F.R.S. M.R.I.A., &c., Professor of Chemistry to the Royal Duhlin Society. Read 26th June, 1837. 1 communicated to a Scientific Meeting of the Royal Dublin Society, and also to the last Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Bristol in August, 1836, a brief notice of a new gaseous com- pound of carbon and hydrogen, I had previously obtained ; in order to secure my claim to priority of discovery, and with the intention of subsequently sub- mitting to the Royal Irish Academy a fuller and more detailed account of it. Circumstances, which it is unnecessary to mention, have hitherto prevented me from executing this design, which I shall now do myself the honor of carrying into effect. In attempting to make potassium, on a large scale, in an iron bottle, by what has been called Brunner's method, i. e. by strongly heating a mixture of pre- viously calcined cream of tartar, and about ^ of dry charcoal powder, I failed ; and instead of potassium, I obtained only a very limited quantity of a black substance, which choked up a part of the iron tube connected with the iron bottle. This black substance was hastily transferred to a dry bottle, which was then well corked. A small part of it was in, powder, but the greater part in little lumps, which though apparently similar to the. eye, yet produced different effects in water ; for whilst some of those lumps slowly decomposed water, evolving only vei'y minute globules of gas ; others decomposed that fluid very rapidly, pro- ducing all the gas they would furnish, with nearly the same facility as potassium would have done, under similar circumstances. The gas, thus slowly produced, was on examination found to be hydrogen ; whilst the gas rapidly evolved, pos- sessed pi'operties so different from any other known gas, as to entitle it to be Mr. Davy on a new Gaseous Compound of Carbon and Hydrogen. 8 1 regarded as a new combination. I purpose, at my earliest leisure, to make the black substance to which I have referred, the subject of a separate communication to the Academy, and to confine myself at present chiefly to the properties and composition of the new gas. ; '-v ' ' MODE OF OBTAINING THE NEW GAS. The new gas was obtained by the action of pure water, (previously boiled for some time,) on the black substance. It was collected in a tube over water, by nearly filling the tube with dry mercury, putting into it a few lumps of the black substance, pressing the thumb closely to the top of the tube, so as to exclude any air, and inverting the tube in water ; then by a slight relaxation of the thumb, the mercury was allowed gradually to descend, and the water coming in contact with the black substance, the gas was readily generated. In cases where the gas was collected over mercury, a few lumps of the black substance were placed at the bottom of a tube, which was held in an oblique position, and cautiously filled with mercury, so as to retain the black substance at or near the bottom of the tube, which, being then inverted in mercury, a little pure water was let up into the tube, when the gas was of course readily produced. In every instance in which the new gas was collected, whether over water or mercury, some carbonaceous matter (apparently liberated during the generation of the gas) adhered to the sides of the tubes, and surface of the water or mercury ; so that previous transfer to another receiver was necessary, before the gas could be used. Sometimes I operated on the new gas over water, at other times over mercury. In the subsequent experiments on its analysis, it was first collected over water in one tube, then transferred to another, which being filled with it, was removed to a mercurial apparatus, and dried first by means of bibulous paper, then let up into a dry receiver, and exposed for some days to the action of chloride of calcium, which had been previously heated to redness. Six grains of the black substance, I found, in one instance, yielded about two cubic inches of the new gas. VOL. XVIII. M 82 Mr. Davy ow a new Gaseous Compound of Carbon and Hydrogen. PROPERTIES OF THE NEW GAS. This gas is colourless, invisible, and possesses the mechanical properties of common air. It is highly inflammable, and when kindled in contact with air, it burns with a bright white flame, apparently denser, and of greater splendoui-, than that of olefiant gas, under similar circumstances. This may be strikingly shown by making a comparative experiment, and burning equal bulks of olefiant gas, and of the new gas, separately, in a tube ; — the former will burn with a bluish flame, the latter with a bright white flame. If the supply of air is limited during the combustion of the new gas, there is a copious deposition of carbon in the form of light flakes. When the new gas was mixed with about six times Its volume of air, it exploded, when kindled, producing a white flame and a whistling sound. One measure of the new gas being mixed with about ten measures of air in a tube, and kindled, produced a loud explosion, accompanied by a blue flame, which pervaded nearly the whole length of the tube. One measure of the new gas, and nineteen of air, burned rapidly with a blue flame. The new gas forms with oxygen, a powerful explosive mixture, especially when the volume of the latter Is about three or four times that of the former. In exploding a mixture of this kind In a detonating tube about half an Inch in diameter, and nearly one-third of an Inch thick, the tube was shattered in pieces by the violence of the shock, though the volume of new gas did not exceed -^ of a cubic inch. When chlorine Is brought In contact with the new gas, instant explosion takes place, accompanied by a large red flame, the deposition of much carbon, and con- densation (to a certain extent) of the two gases ; and these effects occur In the dark, and are of course quite independent of the action of the sun's rays, or of light. The new gas Is permanent over mercury, and may apparently be kept over this fluid for an indefinite length of time, without undergoing any change. It Is slowly absorbed by water, and agitation promotes the effect. I made the follow- ing experiment, to determine the quantity of the new gas which water would absorb : — Mr. Davy on a new Gaseous Compound of Carbon and Hydrogen. 83 Experiment. Thermometer 55° Fah. Barom. 30°. ^ of a cubic inch of pure water (just deprived of air by air-pump) being added to ^ of a cubic inch of the new gas, over mercury : after agitation for some time, the gas diminished to ^, which, on examination, burned with a bright flame, and spontaneously exploded in chlorine. The aqueous solution of the gas, appeared to have no peculiar smell or taste, and did not affect litmus paper. On heating it over mercury, the gas was again expelled apparently unaltered. — Hence, I think I may venture to conclude, that pure water, recently deprived of air by the air-pump, will, at the above temperature and pressure, absorb about its own bulk of the gas, and that the gas may be again expelled, unaltered by heat. The new gas is slowly absorbed by strong sulphuric acid, which, gradually acquires a yellowish or brownish colour, like that of a mixture of alcohol and sulphuric acid. I have not ascertained the density of the new gas by experiment, never having had a quantity sufficient for that purpose at any one time; but from cal- culations founded on experiments made on its composition, which are given in the sequel ; I estimate its density, (the barometer being at 30°, and thermometer at 60°,) as 0.917; atmospheric air being 1. 000; and 100 cubic inches should weigh 28.4378 grains. The new gas is gradually decomposed, when a series of electrical sparks, or discharges from a Leyden phial are passed through it ; and there is a copious deposition of carbon, but no expansion, and scarcely any alteration of volume. COMPOSITION OF THE NEW GAS. Satisfactory evidences that the new gas is a compound of carbon and hydro- gen, were gained, by firing a mixture of it with three or four times its volume of pure oxygen gas, over dry mercury; when the only products were carbonic acid gas and water. Also, by passing a series of electrical sparks, or discharges from a Leyden phial, through the new gas; when there was a copious deposition of M 2 84 Mr. Davy on a new Gaseous Compound of Carbon and Hydrogen. carbon, and inflammable air* remained. I made many experiments to determine tbe exact composition of the new gas, using different methods ; as firing it with oxygen or nitrous gas, or employing electricity alone ; but the most satisfactory results I have obtained, were, by detonating a mixture of it with rather more than four, and five times its volume of pure oxygen, over dry mercury. This expe- riment, requires to be made with very limited quantities of the new gas, from the violence of the explosion. The necessity of operating on small portions of the gas, was a fortunate circumstance ; as I have rarely had at my disposal, at any one time, more than a single cubic inch of it ; and in general, a quantity scarcely exceeding the one-fifth of that volume. In one experiment, in which I fired a mixture of five measuresf of the new gas, with twelve of oxygen, the residual gas burned with a pale blue flame, showing that the oxygen was not in sufficient quantity for the consumption of that gas. In a number of other experiments, I used the oxygen in larger proportion, but I did not obtain uniform results ; owing, I conceive, to the impurity of the new gas, arising chiefly from admixture with a little hydrogen, occasionally liberated from minute portions of potassium, diffused through the black substance. In a few cases, the results agreed so exactly, that I shall venture to deduce the composition of the new gas, chiefly, from two experiments. First Experiment. 4 measures of new gas, mixed with 17 „ of oxygen, diminished by electricity to 15 „ and by agitation in a solution of potash, to 7 j> which were oxygen. Second Experiment. 3 measures of new gas, mixed with 16 „ of oxygen, diminished by electricity to 14^ „ and by agitation in limewater, to 8^ 5, which were oxygen. * Since this paper was read, I have ascertained, that the " inflammable air," here spoken of, is in fact, another new compound of carbon and hydrogen. A brief account of it was read at the last meeting of the " British Association for the Advancement of Science," held at Liverpool in 1837. ■f The measures, here and subsequently noticed, were, each of thein, equivalent to about seventy- three grains of mercury. Mr. Davy on a new Gaseous Compound of Carbon and Hydrogen. 85 Now, as in each of the preceding experiments, all the new gas disappeared, together with one-half of its volume of oxygen ; and there was produced, a volume of carbonic acid gas, exactly double the bulk of the new gas employed ; it seems obvious, that the diminution arose from the union of the hydrogen of the new gas, with half its volume of oxygen ; and that its carbon required for con- sumption twice its volume of oxygen. I therefore conclude, that one volume of the new gas, requires for its complete combustion, two and a half volumes of oxygen ; of which, half a volume unites with its hydrogen, to form water, and the remaining two volumes, with its carbon, forming carbonic acid gas. Hence, the new gas appears to consist of one volume of hydrogen, and two volumes of the vapour of carbon, condensed into one volume ; and 100 cubic inches of it should weigh, 28.4378 grains, and contain, — 100 cubic inches of hydrogen, (ther. 60°, bar. 30°,) 2.1318 grains. 200 cubic inches of vapour of carbon, . , 26.3060 Weight of 100 cubic inches of new gas, . '. 28.4378 The density of the new gas, should be 0.917 (estimating the weight of 100 cubic inches of atmospheric air, at 31.0117,) for 31.0117 : 28.4378 : : 1.000 : 0.917. The above weights of hydrogen and carbon, are nearly in the ratio of 1 equivalent of hydrogen, .... 1 and 2 equivalents of carbon, . . , , 12,24 13.24 So that the equivalent of the new gas is 13.24; the formula by which it is ex- pressed is 2 c -j- H, or c^-J~ H ; and the name I shall venture to propose for it is Bicarhuret of Hydrogen, which simply expresses its chemical constitution. Additional evidence, that the carbon in one volume of bicarhuret of hydro- gen, requires two volumes of oxygen to convert it into carbonic acid gas, was obtained, by firing a mixture of four measures of It, with twenty-two measures of nitrous gas ; when eight measures of carbonic acid gas were produced. The effects of chlorine and also of electricity on the bicarhuret of hydrogen, tend to confirm the fact, that it contains only its own volume of hydrogen. In the spontaneous mutual action of chlorine and bicarhuret of hydrogen, these gases appear merely to condense each other in about equal volumes ; forming 86 Mr. Davy on a new Gaseous Compound of Carbon and Hydrogen. muriatic acid gas, whilst the carbon of the bicarburet is liberated. Effects, which, as is well known, are analogous to the action of hydrogen and chlorine on each other, by electricity, or the solar rays. To notice a single experiment, — Experiment. ^ cubic inch of chlorine, containing ^ impurity, being let up into a gra- duated tube containing ^ cubic inches of bicarburet of hydrogen, instant inflammation, and a copious deposition of carbon, took place; and ^ cubic inches were condensed. Now ^^ of the gas + 7^ of chlorine = ^ muriatic acid gas ; and it was found by experiment, that upwards of -^ of chlorine must have been absorbed, in being let up through the column of water in the tube. These results agree as nearly as can be expected, in experiments of this sort. Electricity occasions no expansion in the bicarburet of hydrogen ; for after several hundred discharges of a Leyden phial were passed through it, and it was resolved into carbon and Inflammable air, there was not the slightest increase of volume; on the contrary, there was a diminution of bulk, amounting to about one-tenth of the original gas, which I am inclined to refer to the admixture of a little common air. From comparative experiments I made on the different hydrocarbonates, I am satisfied that the bicarburet of hydrogen, is more readily decomposed by electricity than olefiant gas, and this gas more easily than carburetted hydrogen.* Thus, after passing a thousand discharges from a moderate sized Leyden phial, through about one-tenth of a cubic inch of olefiant gas in a detonating tube, the gas was only partially decomposed ; for there was merely a faint partial blush of black carbonaceous matter on the surface of the tube, nearest to the wires, and an expansion not exceeding one-half of the original volume. The same number of discharges being passed through an equal bulk of carburetted hydrogen, pro- duced on the tube, only a small quantity of a dark brownish carbonaceous substance ; and an expansion not exceeding one-third of the original bulk. — . * In the able work of the late Dr. Turner, " Elements of Chemistry," fifth edition, it is said, " light carburetted hydrogen is not decomposed by electricity ;" but this statement is opposed to the experience of the late Sir H. Davy, and also to my own. Mr. Davy on a new Gaseous Compound 0/ Carbon and Hydrogen. 87 — Whereas, after about one-fourth of the preceding number of discharges, were passed through an equal quantity of fticariwre^ of hydrogen ; the tube was quite obscured by a blackish crust of carbon deposited on it, but there was only a very slight contraction of the original volume of the gas. In another experiment, made in a tube, in which the wires were placed three times farther from each other, than in the tube used in the preceding experiments ; and a very large Leyden phial was employed; the first strong discharge through the bicarburet of hydrogen, occasioned a considerable deposition of carbon, on the platina wires and tubes; and a half dozen similar discharges, greatly increased such deposition, but there was no change of volume in the gas. On similar dis- charges being passed, separately, through olefiant and carburetted hydrogen gases, no apparent effect, in either case, took place. I made some experiments, with a view to ascertain whether I could make the bicarburet of hydrogen combine with an additional quantity of hydrogen. — Thus, I mixed those two gases in nearly equal volumes over dry mercury, there was no immediate effect, nor any change after they had been in contact about fifteen minutes. On letting up a globule of the mixed gases into a small glass of chlorine, a loud explosion took place, and carbon was deposited. Through a part of the above mixture, I passed about a dozen discharges from a small Leyden phial, but there was no apparent change ; on letting up a globule of chlorine, inflammation instantly took place, and a second globule of chlorine produced a similar effect, with deposition of carbon in both instances. The mixture of the bicarburet of hydrogen and hydrogen, burned with a dense bright flame. The bicarburet of hydrogen, appears to offer an exception to the principle established by the able researches of the late Dr. Henry, on the then known aeriform compounds of charcoal and hydrogen ; namely, " that the fitness of those gases for artificial illumination is greater, as they require for combustion a greater proportional volume of oxygen ;"* for that gas, requires less oxygen for its combustion than olefiant gas, yet it illuminates much more powerfully than this gas. The superior illuminating power of the bicarburet of hydrogen is in strict conformity with the principle, that the degree of light emitted by the carburets of hydrogen, is dependent on the quantity of carbon they contain; the * Phil. Trans. Royal Society, 1808 and 182], 88 Mr. Davy on a new Gaseous Compound 0/ Carbon and Hydrogen. bicarhuret of hydrogen, therefore, ought to afford more light than olefiant gas, for it contains a greater relative proportion of carbon than this gas. The bicar- huret of hydrogen contains 20 + h; olefiant gas 2c + 2h; hence, the effect of the additional proportion of hydrogen in olefiant gas, seems to be to diminish its illuminating power. 89 VI. Remarks on the Species of Seals (Phocidce) inhabiting the Irish Seas. By Robert Ball, Esq., M.R.I.A., &c. Read 12th December, 1836. It has been often said, that the history of the seal family is more obscure than that of almost any other group of the mammalia ; and though much has been done by Fabricius, Nilsson, Thieneman, F. Cuvier, and others, still a great deal remains to be accomplished, before we can obtain a correct knowledge even of the species inhabiting our own shores. Some years since I formed an opinion that I could distinguish four species of seals on the southern coasts of Ireland, but finding only two acknowledged as British, by zoologists, I became desirous of ascertaining which was the fact, and accordingly collected specimens from various parts of the coast. After having accumulated a number for this purpose, I endeavoured, in the first place, to ascertain of what species the seal of most frequent occurrence was ; and with the kind assistance of Doctor Scouler, searched, but in vain, all the authorities to which access could be had in Dublin, while, at the same time, research was made by a distinguished naturalist, in London, with no better success. However, before deciding that the animal was altogether unknown to authors, I deemed it prudent to lay the matter before the British Association at Bristol, where Professor Nilsson was present. On inspection of crania he pronounced it to be his Halichoerus Griseus, (Phoca Gryphus of Fabricius,) and stated that it was described by him in his Scan- dinavian Fauna as the type of a new genus distinct from Phoca, and that it inhabited the North Sea and the Baltic. The characters on which his generic distinction is founded I could not ascertain from him, nor have I been able to get access to his work either here or in London. However the structure of the teeth in Hali- choerus is alone quite sufficient to constitute a generic difference, the Molares* • In some specimens the posterior molar has two or more roots, but this seems an accidental variety of form. VOL. XVIII. N 90 Mr. Ball on the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. being simple, approaching closely in form to those of some of the genus Del- phinus, while in Phoca they have always more than one root. From conversation with Professor Nilsson, I learned that the Halichcerus of the Baltic is of solitary habits ; in this it diflPers from ours, which is often seen in small herds. He attached great importance to colour as a character, so much that I am inclined to think it probable the species will ultimately be proved to be distinct, for the changes of colour from age, season, sex, &c. of our Halichoerus seem so various as to offer no guide to a determination of species. In the many specimens I have seen, I do not recollect that any two were precisely similar. The very young females are generally of a dull yellowish white, with rather long hair, which falls ofiF in about six weeks after birth, and gives place to a shorter and more shining coat of a warm, dingy yellow, variously blotched with blackish gray ; the whole gradually growing more dull, the blotching more indistinct, and a general dark shade spreading on the back as the animals advance in age. A young male in my possession has long yellowish hair slightly tinged with brownish black on the back ; is black on the nose, chin, and cheeks, and on the palms of the fore-feet. The hair of the adult female Halichcerus, when dry, is considerably recurved, and is flattened on its upper surface, as if scraped with a knife. The optical effect of this structure is curious, for when the animal is turned with its head towards the spectator, it appears of a uniform silvery grey, and, when turned the other way, it seems of a sooty brown colour, while the spots or blotches are only distinctly visible from a side view. The hairs of the whiskers of all seals are remarkable in form ; those of the Halichoerus are flattened in one direction, and contracted at regular intervals in the other, so that being viewed in front they appear linear, while, seen from the side they seem moniliform : they vary in colour in different individuals. The Halichoerus is easily distinguished from other seals by its straight profile, fierce aspect, and more lengthened proportions. The develop- ment of its skull is very much smaller than in the genus Phoca, the brain of one of the latter being as large as that of a Halichoerus of twice its length, and the intellectual powers seem to hold the same ratio. I recognized on sight, in the remains of Donovan's Phoca Barbata now in the British Museum, the skin of a Halichcerus much deformed by the mounter, and I find my observation has since been confirmed by Professor Nilsson. This seems to be the individual described by Parsons as the long-bodied seal, and it appears to have been on the authority Mr. Ball on the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. 91 of this specimen, that Phoea Barbata has occupied a place in the British Fauna. Sir Everard Home, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1822, gives a figure of a cranium, from a drawing of Mr. Hunter's, of a " skull of the great seal so many years deposited in the Museum, from the South Seas." Here, I suspect, some mistake has been made, and that the skull may have belonged to Donovan's seal, for I have a similar skull of one killed by myself, the skin of vphich was precisely like that just referred to. If Sir Everard Home's account be cor- rect, the geographical distribution of the Halichoerus is indeed most strangely anomalous. I find the Palatal Foramina furnish an excellent character to distin- guish the crania of the Halichoerus, (in the absence of teeth,) for they open in or on the palatal bones, while in all the skulls I have seen of Phoca they open in the maxillaries at more or less distance from their junction with these bones. Mr. Bell has just restored the original and appropriate specific name, and described our seal under the name of Halichoerus Gryphus accordingly.* * W. Thompson, Esq., Vice-President of the Belfast Natural History Society, communicated to me in a letter the following interesting particulars, partly extracted from his journal, relative to the capture of a female Halichoerus with its young : « January 2\st, 1837. " George Matthews, Esq., of Springvale, in the County of Down, informed me to-day that about three weeks ago, when setting out to shoot wildfowl near Ballywalter, accompanied by an attendant, they observed an old and young seal upon the rocks at such a distance from the sea as induced them to commence pursuit, in the hope of intercepting them on their return to it. In this they were so far successful as to capture the young one, which they fastened to the rock, hoping that its cries, which they compared to those of a calf, might attract the parent within gun-shot. They then con- cealed themselves to the windward of the old one, and for about an hour and a half saw it emerge at the distance of from four to five hundred yards, at least once every ten or fifteen minutes, but occa- sionally much more frequently. Seeing that it came no closer to the land, they changed their position to leeward, which they had no sooner done, than its nearer approach was apparent ; and when from one hundred and fifty to two hundred yards from the shore, my friend fired at it with a musket charged with a single ball, which after passing through its head, was remarked to strike, the water forcibly about forty yards further on. Life was not quite extinct when it was rowed up to. When brought ashore milk was extracted from its mamm%. This animal was of a uniform whitish grey colour, with darker spots ; it weighed 3 cwt. and 18 lbs., but when in good condition would probably have been 4 cwt. On skinning it, two pellets were taken from near the hinder extremity, and a grain of large shot from the head ; it had frequently been fired at before, and from superiority of size, had for many years been a well known character on the coast, and was distinguished by the name of Old Skull, in consequence of its favorite resort being a rock called Skull-Martin. The N 2 92 Mr, Ball on the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. Learning some time since that seals were frequent on the Sligo coast, I requested Mr. T. Yeates of DrumclifF, in that county, to procure me specimens, and that gen- tleman soon after apprised me that a youthful brother of his had surprised a seal on shore, boldly seized it by the hinder extremities, and ultimately secured it. This individual unfortunately died before an opportunity occurred of transmitting it to me, and I received only the skull, which accords exactly with that of Phoca Vitulina, as described by F. Cuvier. Professor Nilsson, on its being produced to him, pronounced it to be identical with his Phoca Variegata. It agrees with the figure by Sir E. Home in the Philsophical Transactions for 1822, of the skull of a seal killed in the Orkneys, save that a few of the teeth in the upper jaw of the figure seem to belong to a different species from the others, and were pro- bably supplied to make up for loss of the original. Mr. Bell, however, (possibly in consequence of these teeth,) has referred the plate to the species he calls Phoca Groenlandica, but I rather apprehend that he is mistaken, for with the young one was at least three feet in length, and was estimated to weigh about 60 lbs. It was of a canary colour on the back ; the remainder paler, without spot or mark, except the muzzle, which was black ; its hair was long and silky. " Major Matthews states, that many years since he has seen from two to three hundred seals together on the rocks near Springvale, where they are now scarce, not from havhig been destroyed, but from the neighbourhood having become so much more populous, that the rocks they frequented are daily traversed by persons collecting the edible seaweeds, (Rhodomenia Palmata, Porphyra Vul- garis,) and limpets, (Patella Vulgaris.) They are still very numerous in the rocks a little farther southward, where, in the perhaps somewhat exaggerated language of the country, they are said to be seen ' in droves like sheep.' Major Matthews remarks, that when he has fired at seals looking towards him, they always dived from the flash of the gun, and that he was only successful in shoot- ing them when their eyes were turned from him. " From the description both of the young and adult animals above noticed, I had httle doubt that they were your Halichcerus Griseus or Gryphus, and as their carcases still lay on the beach where they were skinned at Springvale, about twenty miles distant, I had them brought to Belfast, when by the aid of your lithographed drawings my supposition respecting their species was con- firmed by actual inspection. I presented them to our Natural History Society, in whose Museum the skeletons of both are now in part preserved. Here is also a specimen of the Phoca Vituhna, which was shot December 28th, 1831, in the river Lagan, at some distance above the Long Bridge at Belfast ; the tide, however, flows beyond the place where it was killed. Some years before a seal was obtained in the same locality, and in a deep pool beneath one of the arches of the bridge just mentioned. Our friend, Mr. G. C. Hyndman, on one occasion saw two young seals, most probably of the common species." Mr. Ball on the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. 93 exception alluded to, the figure would serve as a good portrait of the skull in my possession, and there is no sudden increase in the breadth of the intermaxillary bones where they join the nasal so conspicuous in the seal of the Severn here- after noticed, to which he also applies the specific name of Grcenlandica, considering it identical with the Orkney seal. On the 30th of September last, I received from my friend Mr. Yates a living specimen, taken two days before at Lissadill, County Sligo. It appeared in perfect health, was about three feet eight inches in length, and its short muzzle, high forehead, and large eyes, strongly distinguish it from Halichcerus. When wet, it is almost black, variegated with whitish slate colour, and is somewhat lighter on the breast than on the other parts : when dry, it is of a light, pearly grey colour. It had, when I received it, a portion of long fawn-coloured hair on its flanks, evidently the remains of a more general coat, but this fell off in a few days. On turning this seal out on the grass at the Zoological Gardens, it advanced fearlessly on the person nearest to it, and was not to be turned aside, though pretty smartly struck with a heavy cloth. Its mode of battle is, when within a proper distance, to turn on its side, and scratch with its uppermost fore-paw, which it is able to extend considerably, and use with great power and rapidity. It seldom attempts to bite ; and I have not observed it snarl in the unpleasant manner uniformly practised by all the Halichoeri I have seen in captivity. It has a singular and effective mode of progression, accomplished by convulsive starting jumps as it lies on its side, with its fore-paws on its breast, and its hind ones closely pressed together. Its ordinary motion, a sort of gallop, is tolerably rapid, and the power of continuing it is considerable, as was evidenced by its having passed over rough ground to a distance of at least a mile and a half, on escaping one night from the place in which it was confined. This animal refused food for twenty-two days after its original capture, but has since fed freely on whiting,* (Gadus Mer- langus,) which is swallowed whole, the head merely being first a little bruised. It knows the keeper, and can distinguish at a distance whether he has fish with him or not. Its attention seems always alive to passing objects, and when a bird alights in its cage, the attempt to capture it is quite laughable : the seal com- mences by fixing its eyes on it with all the apparent earnestness of a pointer dog, * It is allowed 6 lbs. of fish per diem, but would eat much more. X 94 Mr. Ball on the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. then makes a plunge headforemost, and on the bird escaping, exhibits very evidently its disappointment.* A specimen similar to that just described was killed with small shot in the river Liffey, not far from the Custom-house, by one of the Coast Guard Service, on the 23rd of October last. In its stomach were some half-digested fish, which appeared to be the sand launce, (Ammodytcs Lancea.) I have been informed that seals are not unfrequent in this river, whither they are supposed to follow herrings. I perceive Mr. Bell quotes Professor Nilsson as authority for a " character of unerring certainty" in this species, (Phoca Vitulina,) which consists in the obliquet direction of the molar teeth. I must however observe, that the obli- quity of the teeth is consequent on the insufficient development of the jaws in early life ; it is even observable in the very young Halichoerus, and disappears in Phoca Vitulina long before the skull attains its maximum size ; it cannot there- fore be held as a specific character. Mr. Bell has very properly retained the name of Vitulina, which was changed by Nilsson to Variegata, on the grounds that three species had been confounded under it, but that now described is cer- tainly the one for which the appellation was originally designed. Doctor Riley of Bristol exhibited at the Meeting of the British Association, the skeleton of a seal which was killed in the Severn, and had passed under the name of Phoca Vitulina. I perceived that it differed from any I had before seen, and Professor Nilsson being appealed to, pronounced it to be his Phoca Annel- lata. This species has been referred by Mr. Bell to the Phoca GrcEulandica, and Professor Nilsson, on further examination, concurred in this opinion. I am how- ever compelled to express dissent, on the grounds that the teeth in the skull of the seal killed in the Severn are broader, and their tubercles more deeply divided from each other ; that the lambdoid suture is less rudelycrested, and the ridges running from the nasal, and almost bisecting the parietal bones, are less conspi- cuous than in the true Phoca Groenlandica ; and further, that the seal just alluded to is a tolerably large species, while that of the Severn is evidently a * This animal died in March suddenly, after six months confinement ; it was apparently thriving, and became daily more familiar. ■)" Since writing this I have seen the skeletons of several species of seal at the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, and the obliquity of the teeth was less conspicuous in Vitulina, than in many others. Mr. Ball on the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. 95 small one; that I never saw a seal in this country which I could suppose to be represented by the figure of Groenlandica in Griffith's Cuvier, or Mr. Bell's British Quadrupeds ; and that a seal which I saw distinctly through a telescope on the Welch coast, which I think it likely was of the Severn species, differed very much from that figure, being of a slight form, uniform colour, and rounded head. These observations show, I think, sufficiently that the seal in question is not the Groenlandica, but the data are so scanty, that I am unable to offer an opinion as to what is the real species, which I believe is yet to be determined. Since writing the foregoing, I have seen at Paris, through the kindness of M. De Blainville, the original skull of the Phoca Groenlandica, sent by the French ambassador from Copenhagen; and M. Frederick Cuvier having favored me with an inspection of his unpublished plates, &c. on the Phocidas, I feel now quite confirmed in the opinion before formed, that the seal of the Severn is not satis- factorily determined. The following notices may serve to call attention to the Investigation of species occurring on the southern and western coasts, which at present are not sufficiently known. I believe that a fourth species of seal exists on the southern coast, with a larger head and blunter muzzle than any of the three alluded to : — I have seen such a creature occasionally in storms, but never had opportunity of observing It closely. This may prove to be the Phoca Barbata, of which species there are some skulls in the Museum of the College of Surgeons here, but no account of where or when procured. A seal-hunter, who has been borne out In several other wonder-creating stories, has told me, that he killed, a few years ago, on the coast of Waterford, a male seal, measuring nineteen feet In length ; that it was, when he first saw It, in combat with one of an ordinary size. He was not able to give any other distin- guishing character, save that It had much less hair than any other seal he had seen.* * R. W. M'llwray, Esq., of the County Mayo, kindly favored me with the following account, in reply to an inquiry of mine as to a seal said to have been seen by him : " Inniscarrow Reef, about eight miles from Westport, was a favorite haunt of seals ; and on the day I saw the extraordinary species you allude to, there could not be less than 130 seals basking on it. I got my hooker to windward of the Reef, which was the opposite side to where they lay, and dropped down gently with the punt without using an oar, lest I should alarm them, and landed, accompanied by one of my boatmen 5 in a few minutes we crept to within fifty yards of them, when 96 Mr. Ball on the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. It may assist the investigation of the history of the seals of our coasts to remark, that to observe them properly requires great patience and practice ; they are exceedingly cautious, and retreat on the approach of man. The use of a telescope greatly facilitates operations, for by sweeping from a distance the rocky shores frequented by these animals, they may often be discovered where they would not otherwise be seen, and may be cautiously advanced upon. Seals dive out under boats entering their caves, and are probably thus seldom noticed except by persons acquainted with their habits ; that they may be struck with a harpoon in so passing, I satisfactorily proved in August, 1829,* when, assisted by some friends, I succeeded in killing a very large Halichoerus at Howth. It was one of several that passed under us with great velocity, about eight feet deep in the water, each appearing like an enormous elongated globule of mercury as it shot under the boat. The animal killed possessed great strength, it was a female, and appeared to be suckling young at the time ; though judging from its much I singled out and shot the largest I could see, (which weighed afterwards twenty-six stone, and was nearly six feet long,) as he was quite dead when I got up to him, I ran on, after loading my rifle again, to the edge of the water, where the whole herd had plunged in, when I fired, knowing I was sure of a shot on their rising, which many of them invariably do within a few yards of where they dive. As there was a considerable descent to the water's edge I had nothing to rest my rifle on, which from its great weight and length, upwards of five feet, I am generally obliged to do ; I made my boatman stoop, and rested it on his back, and almost immediately the extraordinary seal came to the surface, and I had ample time to observe him. The head was greatly larger than any I had ever seen, with immense bladder-like protuberances over the eyes, incHning to the sides of the head. The forehead appeared also uncommonly enlarged, and as I thought, deeply furrowed and wrinkled, lessening gradually to the protuberances at either side ; it had external ears like a hound, but much smaller in proportion to the size of the head. The colour was light brown, but it did not appear to me to have spots like our common seal. I am quite certain it was much more than twice as large as any of our common kind. From the uncouth, and 1 might say very unnatural appearance of the animal, my poor boatman's superstitious fears so completely got the better of him, that he made a sudden start, and fell forward among the rocks on which we were, and in the fall my rifle went off, of course without effect, and I saw no more of the seal. I had my boatmen on the look out for several tides, both there and at several other of their haunts on the coast, but never hoard of him since. I recollect seeing one of the same kind, or at least having the protuberances, near the Island of Anticosti, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; and last year, on my return to Oban from Staffa, a gen- tleman told me he saw one a few days before in the Sound of Ulva that had external ears, and an unusually large head." * For a more detailed account see Bell's British Quadrupeds, p. 282. Mr. Ball on the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. 97 worn teeth it must have been very aged. Its skeleton measures seven feet two inches in length. Believing, with Cuvier, that the history of the seals can only be elucidated by a new series of observations, I have made few allusions to former writers on the subject, and conclude with a hope, that others who have more time and oppor- tunity than I have had will continue the investigation here commenced, into the history of the Phocidae of Ireland. EXPLANATION OF PLATES. HALICHCERUS GRYPHUS. Plate 1. — Fig. 1. Female shot by Captain Sommerville Digby, July, 1836, at Lambay, near Dublin ; supposed to be two years old ; six feet in length. Fig. 2. Young male, taken at Youghal, County Cork, October, 1832. Fig. 3. Young female, killed with its mother near Youghal. Plate Il.—Fig. 4, 5, 6. Skull of No. 1. Fig. 4, a. a. Palatal Foramina, alluded to at page 91? line 9, to compare with a. a. fig. 14. Plate III. — Fig. 7. Lower jaw of No. 3, natural size. Fig. 8. Do. No. 1, do. Fig. 9. Do. mother of No. 3, do. Fig.lO. Teeth of Do. PHOCA VITULINA. Plate TV.— Fig. 11, 12. Seal taken at Lissadill, County Sligo, Sept. 1836. Fig. 13. Seal shot in River LifFey, October, 1836. VOL. XVIII. O 98 Mr. Ball ow the Species of Seals inhabiting the Irish Seas. Plate N.—Fig. 14, 15, 16. . Skull of seal taken in Sligo, 1835. Fig, 17. Teeth of ditto, natural size. Plate VI. — Fig'. '2l0i,2\. Caecum and great sinus of the hepatic veins of No. 13, to compare with 18 and 19j the caecum and great sinus of the hepatic veins of No. 2. The animals were very nearly of the same size. ■'^ 'Jr\ ■■■%-, r su-Tt m S^r^aa Seti^* •.V t' TT 1+ PI,ATf. V 17 ■-' .cSt- i ^-' I 99 VII. On a Series of Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. By Robert Kane, M.D., M.R.I.A., Professor to the Royal Dublin Society and to the Apothecaries Hall of Ireland, Corresponding Member of the Society of Pharmacy and of the Society of Medical Chemistry of Paris, Honorary Member of the Society of Apothecaries of the North of Ger- many, Sfc. Read 16th March, and 10th April, 1837. A great deal of labour has been bestowed upon pyroacetic spirit by successive chemists, with but imperfect results towards the development of its real nature. Notwithstanding the researches of Chenevix, Macaire, Mateucchi, and many others, the determination of its composition lately by Liebig and by Dumas, is the only numerical fact belonging to it of which chemists are in possession. Pyroacetic spirit is known to be generated by heating to redness an acetate of a powerful base, the acetic acid being resolved into carbonic acid and this inflammable liquid ; or likewise by passing the vapour of dilute acetic acid through a tube filled with coarse fragments of charcoal, and heated to dull redness. Its composition is found to be per cent. Carbon = 62.5 Hydrogen = 10.2 Oxygen = 27.3 And its formulae C3 1I3 o. The vapour of pyroacetic spirit is found to have a density of 2.022, and the results of the following experiments prove that the atom of pyroacetic spirit cor- responds to four volumes of vapour. To represent the combining proportion of this body we must therefore take double the ordinary formula as given above, and consider Cg Hg O2 as the constituents of its atom. It may serve to give a clearer insight into the connexion of the following o 2 100 Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. substances, and to prevent reiteration in the description of them, if a general view of the results be now presented, and the names by which it is proposed to designate these bodies be detailed. By the loss of successive portions of its oxygen and hydrogen in the form of water, there are obtained from pyroacetic spirit substances having the composition Cg H5 o and Cg h^. By reactions, to be described hereafter, there are produced other bodies having the formulae Cg Hj cl and Cg h^ i. The body Cg H5 o unites with acids, as the sulphuric and phosphoric, and forms compounds possessing acid properties and forming well characterized salts, the exact composition of which will be hereafter given : in all these reactions it is evident that the pyroacetic spirit follows the same general law as the pyroxylic and the ordinary alcohol ; and as there are two theoretical views of the nature of the ordinary ethers, so can two views of the nature of these new bodies be assumed. But whilst I admit the possibility of explaining, perhaps all known phenomena, by each hypothesis, yet as I consider that of common ether, being oxide of ethyl, as most consonant with the general bearing of science, I shall adopt in this paper the corresponding view for the combinations I am about to describe. The names Acetone and Pyroacetic Spirit, having reference not to the nature, but to one only of the many sources from whence this body can be obtained, it is necessary to substitute for these a name which can be made the foundation of a series, and not indicate any connexion with another substance, which, if real, is at least but accidental. The name Mesit was applied by Reichenbach to a liquid which he met among the products of destructive distillation, and which he took to be pyroacetic spirit; and without at all judging whether that fluid was or was not such, I shall adopt that denomination, and propose for the pyroacetic spirit the name Mesltic Alcohol. We thus obtain Cg H4 mesitylene. Cg Hj o = CgH^ -\- HO mesitic ether ; first hydrate of mesitylene. Cg H5 cl = Cg H4 -|- Hc^ hydrochlorate of mesitylene. Cg H5 1 = Cg H4 4" HI hydriodate of mesitylene. Cg Hg 0^= Cg H4 -{- Hj O2 mesitic alcohol ; second hydrate of mesitylene. Cg H5 o -|- SO3 sulphate of mesitic ether. Cg H5 o -j- 2SO3 bi-sulphate of mesitic ether. Cg H5 o -J- Pj O5 phosphate of mesitic ether. Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 101 Or assuming a radical analogous to ethyl, we have, calling it Mesityl, Cg H5 o oxide of mesityl. Cg H5 c/ chloride of mesityl. Cg H5 o -{- SO3 sulphate of mesityl. CgHjO + HO hydrated oxide of mesityl; mesitic alcohol. I. OF MESITYLENE. When strong sulphuric acid is mixed with mesitic alcohol, there is imme- diately very great heat evolved, and the mixture becomes deep brown ; if the quantity of acid be considerable, much sulphurous acid gas is evolved. The products of this reaction are complicated, and vary with the proportions of the materials ; amongst them are, mesitylene, mesitic ether, and a peculiar solid waxy substance. To prepare mesitylene, two volumes of pure mesitic alcohol are to be mixed with one of oil of vitriol, and the mixture distilled in a glass retort ; by carefully managing the heat there is but very little frothing of the mass until the operation is nearly finished ; there comes over a watery liquor, excessively impregnated with sulphurous acid gas, and a yellowish oil, which floats on the surface of it. This amounts in quantity to about one-fourth of the volume of the mesitic alcohol employed. It is to be decanted, and washed very well, to free it from sulphurous acid; then distilled, first in a water-bath, which frees it from a small quantity of the alcohol which had adhered to it, then, the water-bath being removed, the mesitylene distils over pure. The distillation must not be carried too far, as there remains in the retort a quantity of a substance, which, though less volatile, yet contaminates the last distilled portion of the mesitylene. The product is to be digested on well dried chloride of calcium for twenty-four hours, and then poured off, and again distilled. It may thus be obtained pure. Mesitylene, when pure, is colourless, very light; it boils at about 27t)° Fahrenheit, and possesses a soft garlic odour, by which it is eminently characterized. It burns with a bright white flame, throwing off^ much smoke. It is not acted on by alkalies. With sulphuric and nitric acids, and with chlorine, it gives products which will be examined in another part of this memoir. 102 Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. To determine the composition of mesitylene, the following analyses were made : I. 0.220 gramme material gave 0.206 water. 0.717 carbonic acid. II. 0.329 material gave 0.315 water. 1.054 carbonic acid. III. 0.248 material gave 0.236 water. 0.788 carbonic acid. These analyses give I. Carbon =90.14 Hydrogen = 10.39 II. HI. 88.59 90.08 10.29 10.55 100.53 98.88 100.63 The results of these analyses leave no doubt as to the real composition of the substance. C6 = 36.78 gives 90.19 H,= 4.00 9.81 40.78 100.00 This body therefore is formed by the abstraction of two atoms of water from the mesitic alcohol, CgHgOj — 13.^o^-=Cq^^. It occupies in the mesitic series the same position as the olefiant gas in the series of ordinary alcohol. II. OF MESITIC ETHER. OXIDE OF MESITYL. In the reaction of sulphuric acid on the mesitic alcohol this substance is in the first instance produced, but on the heat being raised, the prevailing influence Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 103 of the sulphuric acid destroys it, taking all the oxygen as water, and reducing the remaining elements to the state of mesitylene. If equal volumes of sulphuric acid and mesitic alcohol be mixed, and the vessel containing them plunged into cold water, to prevent as much as possible the consequent rise of temperature and evolution of sulphurous acid ; and, when the deep-brown mixture has become quite cold, it be mixed with twice its volume of water, and allowed to stand for some time ; there gradually separates to the surface a thickish fluid, which can be removed by the pipette, and purified by distillation with some lime. This mass can be separated by rectification into a number of portions of different degrees of volatility. It is mostly mesitylene ; it contains likewise a quantity of the solid matter before alluded to, and a quantity of a fluid more volatile than mesitylene, which is mesitic ether. It can be separated by this process only in small quantity, and with difficulty obtained pure ; the best way of procuring it is that now to be described. ( -) ? ; In the next section will be detailed a process for obtaining an impure chloride of mesityl easily in moderate quantities. This is to be dissolved in alcohol, and to the solution an alcoholic solution of potash added, until the whole becomes strongly alkaline, the liquor being warmed during the operation. There is now to be added six or eight volumes of water ; there immediately separates a large quantity of an oily matter coloured yellow, and the liquor contains chloride of potassium. This oil is to be poured on chloride of calcium to dry it ; then rectified, to free it from mesitic alcohol which comes over first, and a trace of mesitylene, which is the least volatile of all. This reaction is easily understood : the chlorine passes from the mesityl to the potassium, and the oxygen of the potash takes its place. Mesitic ether thus obtained, and rendered pure, is limpid, very fluid, and colourless, of an aromatic odour, which may be compared to that of oil of pepper- mint; it bums with a very luminous, but somewhat smoky flame; it boils at about 248° F. Its combinations with acids will be hereafter described. Its compo- sition was determined by the following analyses : I. 0.610 gramme material gave 0.582 water. 1.628 carbonic acid. 104 Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. II. 0.433 material gave 0.410 water. 1.139 carbonic acid. Giving I. II. Carbon = 73.60 72.72 Hydrogen = 10.59 10.52 Oxygen =15.81 16.76 100.00 100.00 But CgH^o gives Cg = 36.78 73.88 H4= 5.00 10.05 0 = 8.00 16.07 49.78 100.00 which is evidently its composition. III. CHLORIDE OF MESITYL. The preparation of this body in a state of purity proper for analysis is extremely difficult. If liquid muriatic acid and mesitic alcohol be mixed, the mixture assumes a dark colour; but on distillation, the mesitic alcohol is separated almost completely unchanged. If a stream of muriatic acid gas be passed into mesitic alcohol, it is absorbed rapidly and in large quantity, the solution becomes dark-brown, intensely acid and dense. The stream of gas must be continued for several days uninterruptedly, in order to produce the decomposition of two ounces volume of mesitic alcohol. When the dark heavy liquor thus obtained is washed with water, in which it sinks to the bottom, a large quantity of free muriatic acid is given off, and the fluid thus obtained, having been digested on some litharge, and then on fused chloride of calcium, is an impure chloride of mesityl. It sinks rapidly in water; is always dark-coloured; if freshly made it does not affect litmus paper, but being preserved for a night is sufficient to render it so Dr. Kane on Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 105 acid as to emit copious muriatic fumes ; at the same time it gradually becomes very dark-brown and opaque, and when heated effervesces, owing to the escape of muriatic acid gas. If distilled, a large quantity of muriatic acid gas is set free, and the distilled liquor always floats on water, owing to the quantity of raesitylene and some mesitic ether which it contains. It is consequently impossible to purify this body by rectification. The substance thus obtained was very often submitted to analysis, but in no case was a satisfactory result obtained. The per cent, composition of a few of the specimens examined is subjoined, in order that the nature of the reaction by which it is generated may be more easily perceived. The determination of the quantity of the chlorine was made in the usual way by passing the vapour of the body over red hot lime. I. II. III. Carbon = 55.9 64.5 59.9 Hydrogen = 8.5 9.3 8.6 Oxygen = 10.2 12.1 10.5 Chlorine =25.4 14.1 21,0 100. On calculating these results, it will at once be seen that the liquids analyzed were mixtures of chloride of mesityl with oxide of mesityl and mesitic alcohol ; it is on this account that I made use of this impure substance to prepare the mesitic ether by the action of potash. By the reaction of perchloride of phosphorus on mesitic alcohol a pure chloride of mesityl can be produced ; for this purpose, perchloride of phosphorus is to be added to mesitic alcohol, with which, if not absolutely anhydrous, a lively reaction ensues ; water is to be added in successive drops, and the effervescence moderated by placing the vessel in cold water ; when a quantity of chloride of phosphorus, about double the weight of the alcohol employed, has been used, three or four volumes of water are to be added; there separates a heavy, slightly- coloured fluid, which is to be washed with the least possible quantity of water, and then poured on some recently fused fragments of chloride of calcium. As it does not dissolve any chloride of calcium, it can be analyzed without distillation, by which process it is in fact in great part destroyed, being resolved VOL. xviii. p 106 Dr. Kane on Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. into muriatic acid gas and mesltylene. Notwithstanding the care that may be taken in this process, it is difficult to get a product free from mesitic alcohol or ether. In only one analysis did I obtain a result conformable to theory, and consequently that one only need be subjoined. A. 0.483 gramme material gave 0.294 water. 0.826 carbonic acid. From whence results Carbon = 47-27 Hydrogen = 6.67 B. 0.673 material gave 1.252 gramme chloride of silver, corresponding to 45.88 chlorine per cent. The formula Cg H5 cl gives Ce = 36.78 47.66 H5 = 5.0 6.49 cl = 35.42 45.85 77.20 100.00 It is thus evident that the body analyzed in this instance was chloride of mesityl almost absolutely pure. IV. IODIDE OF MESITYL. When iodine, phosphorus, and mesitic alcohol are treated precisely as in the manner for making hydriodic ether by common alcohol, the reaction takes place in the retort without any separation of carbon. Immense quantities of hydriodic acid gas are disengaged, and the liquid which distils over is very heavy, deeply coloured by iodine, and possesses an odour almost exactly similar to that of hydriodic ether. What remains in the retort is slightly tinged yellow, owing to its being mixed with a small quantity of a yellow substance, which is deposited in spangles, like iodide of lead. The liquid remaining in' the retort solidifies, on cooling, into a mass of fibrous silky crystals. The distilled liquor, washed with water to remove adhering hydriodic acid, is still coloured by iodine, from which Dr. Kane on Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. I07 it may be freed by a little water of potash. It very soon again becomes coloured, iodine at first, and then carbon separating, and hydriodic acid gas being given off. This change takes place equally quick, whether the iodide of mesityl be in con- tact with water or not. In all cases the product is exceedingly impure. I have analyzed very many specimens prepared at different times, and never twice got the same result ; there are always present quantities of mesitic alcohol, mesitic ether, and sometimes mesitylene ; and as the iodide of mesityl cannot be distilled without undergoing a partial decomposition into mesitylene and hydriodic acid, it has been impossible to effect the purification of the distilled product. By following a different method of preparation, I have from time to time obtained specimens of this substance, which gave me results approaching closer to the theoretic numbers, than those given by the fluid obtained by distillation. A small quantity of iodine is to be placed in a tube, and about twice its volume of mesitic alcohol to be poured on it ; a piece of phosphorus is to be then dropped in ; the reaction is to be supported for some time by the application of heat, and then water is to be poured into the tube, and the whole shaken together ; a quantity of iodide of mesityl immediately separates, which is purer than any prepared by the process in which the materials are distilled. The composition given by theory for the iodide of mesityl is, C6= 36.8 21.9 H5= 5.0 2.9 I = 126.3 75.2 168.1 100.0 When chloride of mesityl is distilled with a solution of sulph-hydrate of potassium in alcohol, there is obtained a yellowish fluid, lighter than water, and containing still a large quantity of unaltered chloride, with some mesitic ether ; but as it possesses a strong disagreeable smell, and gradually deposits sulphur when kept, I think it very likely that a sulphuret of mesityl can be thus formed. The small quantity I had obtained did not allow me to set about the necessary means of purification. p 2 108 Dr. Kane on Combitiations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. V. COMBINATIONS OF MESITIC ETHER WITH THE OXYGEN ACIDS. When mesitic alcohol is mixed with twice its weight of strong oil of vitriol, the mass becomes very hot, dark-brown, and much sulphurous acid gas is formed. When the whole has cooled, it must be diluted with two or three volumes of water, and neutralized by a base ; and when the carbonates of baryta, lime, or lead are thus employed, there are formed soluble salts, which have been examined. If the quantity of sulphuric acid employed had been smaller, similar salts are produced ; but the substance found combined with the inorganic base is not the bi-sulphate, but the neutral sulphate of mesityl. It appears even that the salts of the proto-sulphate are those most easily formed, as I have sometimes obtained them when I had employed a large quantity of oil of vitriol in order to form bi- sulphate. The sulphate I shall call Sulpho-mesityllc Acid; and the bi-sulphate, Persulpho-raesitylic Acid. VI. PERSULPHO-MESITYLATE OF LIME. This salt forms, when evaporated, a deliquescent granular mass, amongst which small prisms are interspersed. It can be completely dried without blackening, and thus loses one atom of water of crystallization. When heated strongly it takes fire, blackens, and leaves after ignition a white residue reacting very feebly alkaline. There is no acid whatsoever set free during the decomposition. A. 0.529 of salt was heated with some nitric acid in a platinum crucible ; the decomposition went on very quietly, and there remained a perfectly white residue of sulphate of lime, weighing 0.373, or 70.50 per cent. B. 0.972 material gave 0.292 water, 0.651 carbonic acid; or, per cent. Hydrogen = 3.33 Carbon =18.52 The formula 2 so3-f-C6H50-l-2cao-{-HO gives Dr. Kane on Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 109 70.02 sulphate of lime. 2SO3 =80.32 40.95 2cao= 57.04 29.07 Ce = 36.80 I8.76 He = 6.00 3.06 02 = 16.02 8.16 2SO3 = 80.3 27.5 2Bao =153.4 52.5 f Oxide of mesltyl= 49.8 16.7 Water = 9.0 3.3 . 196.18 100.00 This is evidently the true formula. Persulpho-mesitylate of baryta crystallizes in small pearly plates ; when heated it becomes brown, chars, and sulphate of baryta remains ; quite neutral. 0.430 salt gave 0.337 of sulphate of baryta, or 78.4 per cent. The formula 2SO3-I- CgH50-|-2Bao-|-Ho gives P. ^ 80.0 20.0 292.5 100.0 It was not further analyzed. The sulpho-mesitylate of lead appeared to be very deliquescent and un- crystallizable ; it was not analyzed. VII. SULPHO-MESITYLATE OF LIME. This salt is generally formed when the quantity of oil of vitriol, added to the mesitic alcohol, is smaller than to produce the former class of salts ; as, when two volumes of the alcohol are mixed with one of vitriol. The solution, when very much concentrated, forms, by cooling, a mass of small crystals not differing much in appearance from the persulpho-mesitylate, — from which, however, the result of analysis at once separates it. A. 0.625 of this salt in crystals was heated cautiously in a platinum crucible, until all emission of watery vapour had ceased ; the salt remained quite white. The residual mass weighed 0.580, or had given 7-2 per cent, of water. These 0.580 were dissolved in water, and decomposed by oxalate of ammonia. The ..'^- 110 Dr. Kane on Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. oxalate of lime, collected and burned with the filter, gave 0,244 of carbonate of lime, containing 0.1374 of lime, or 23.7 per cent. When this salt is warmed with nitric acid, the decomposition is always accom- panied with a slight puffing explosion, owing to a very rapid sort of combustion pervading the whole mass. Consequently a quantity of the light residual sul- phate of lime is always thrown out of the crucible. The residue is, however, quite neutral, and no free sulphuric acid is given off. In two experiments of this kind the quantities of residual sulphate of lime, although a portion had been lost, were 47 and 53 per cent. B. 0.765 of the dried salt gave 0.304 water, and 0.848 carbonic acid, corresponding to Hydrogen = 4.40 Carbon = 30.29 per cent. The formula SO3-I- CgHjO + cao gives so3 = 40.16 33.8 cao= 28.52 24.1 Co = 36.80 31.0 Hj = 5.00 4,2 o = 8.00 6.9 118.48 100.0 The 7.2 of water of crystallization, obtained above, corresponds to one atom ; the formula of the crystals therefore is SOj-j-CgHsO-l-CaO-l-HO. A circumstance in which the salts above described differ from the analogies of the sulpho-vinates, sulpho-mesitylates, and sulpho-napthalates, is that the quantity of the inorganic base is sufficient to neutralize the whole of the sulphuric acid. It is on this account that I have given to the acid first described the name of Persulpho-mesitylic ; as the word Bisulpho-mesitylic might imply that the quantity of acid was double that necessary to neutralize the inorganic base present in the salt. On decomposing the baryta salts of the sulphate or of the bi-sulphate of Dr. Kane on Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. Ill mesityl, by means of sulphuric acid, some liquors were obtained, which, wheii heated, began to smell strongly of mesitic ether, and contained free sulphuric acid ; evaporated still more, the solutions became black, and sulphurous acid was exhaled. It thus appears that both sulphates are soluble in water, but I was not able to effect their perfect isolation. It will be at once seen that the salts of the persulpho-mesitylic acid may be represented as double salts, consisting of the sulpho-mesitylate united to sulphate of the same base. Thus 2 SO3 -|- Cg Hj o -|- 2 coo -j- HO is evidently equal to (so3-{-C6H5 0-|-cao + Ho)-|-cao. SO3. I will not at present enter into any details connected with this view, which will be at once seen to bear upon the cause of the sulphuric acid retaining its full power of neutralization. via. OF THE HYPO-PHOSPHO-MESITYLOUS ACID. Of this acid, the existence of which is at present quite without analogy in organic chemistry, only the baryta salt has been examined ; the properties and composition of it are, however, so characteristic, as to leave no doubt of its real nature. When iodide of mesityl is prepared by distilling a mixture of iodine, phosphorus, and mesitic alcohol, there remains in the retort (provided there be some phos- phorus in excess) a thick fluid, which, on cooling, solidifies into a mass of crystals resembling amianthus. The decomposition goes on without any separation of carbon ; the only products are the iodide of mesityl (impure), the white fibrous crystals, and a very small quantity of a yellow matter, which will be noticed hereafter. These crystals are soluble in water, forming a colourless liquor, with a taste at once strongly acid and intensely bitter. The liquor, neutralized by carbonate of baryta, gives a white insoluble salt, and likewise a soluble one. The solution is to be evaporated nearly to dryness, and then allowed to cool, when it forms a crystalline mass. This mass is then to be boiled in strong alcohol, which dis- solves out a quantity of iodide of barium, arising from hydriodic acid with which 112 Dr. Kane on Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. the crystals had been contaminated in the retort. The boiling in alcohol must be repeated until the residual salt no longer gives any trace of iodine when moistened with nitric acid. It may then be considered pure; as, though prepared at different periods, it has always given the same analytical results. The salt appears as a mass of small white crystalline grains, of an amylaceous appearance, neutral to test paper. When heated it takes fire, burning with a pure phosphorous flame, and throwing off copious fumes of phosphoric acid ; when the phosphorus ceases to be emitted the residue is black, but further heated it gives a pure white residue of phosphate of baryta. When moistened with nitric acid, and heated, a very violent reaction ensues, and unless great caution be employed, some of the materials are projected out of the vessel : in any case some phosphorus is lost, being disengaged in the gaseous form. When this salt has been once obtained solid, there is great difficulty in dissolving it completely in water again, although no marked difference of composition can be observed between the portion which dissolves and that which remains unacted on. 0.700 of the salt was moistened with nitric acid, and very cautiously decom- posed by heat in a platinum crucible. The action was violent, but without any projection of the solid materials. The residue \ s treated with nitric acid until it remained white; it weighed 0.520, giving 74. J per cent. It was dissolved in dilute nitric acid, and the solution precipitated by sulphate of soda. There was obtained 0.467 of sulphate of baryta, corresponding to 43.8 of baryta, from 100 of the salt employed. 0.368 of salt similarly treated gave 0.277 residue; which, dissolved and treated as above, gave 0.247 sulphate of baryta, or 67.1 per cent., containing 44.0 of baryta. I. 0.469 material gave 0.169 water, 0.346 carbonic acid; corresponding to Hydrogen ^ 4.00 Carbon =: 20.40 per cent. II. 0.566 material gave 0.186 water, 0.399 carbonic acid ; Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 113 corresponding to Hydrogen = 3.65 Carbon =19.49 There are two formula by which the properties of this salt can be explained, and with which the analytical results harmonize. One of these assumes the phosphorus to exist half as phosphoric acid and half as phosphuretted hydrogen, the salt containing no water. In the other the phosphorus is represented as being all as hypo-phosphorous acid, while the salt contains an atom of water chemically united, and which cannot be expelled by any temperature not producing complete decomposition. Thus, Pj05+2Bao-|-2(c6H5o) + PjH3 gives 2p, = 63.0 17.6 2Bao= 153.4 42.7 C,2 = 73.6 20.5 H,3 = 13.0 3.6 07 = 56.0 15.6 359.0 100.0 and PjO + Bao -|- Cg H5 0 -f ho gives P2 = 31.5 18.0 BOO = 76.7 43.8 Ce = 36.8 21.0 He = 6.0 3.5 . O3 = 24.0 13.7 175.0 100.0 Of these two formulae, I consider the latter to be much the more probable. We have,''even in the inorganic kingdom, but very few examples of phosphuretted hydrogen replacing water, either when the latter is basic or as water of crystalli- zation ; and the relation which the oxygen of the two oxides bears to that of the phosphoric acid is not any of those usually met with in the phosphates. On the contrary, the latter formula gives the composition of a basic iiypophosphite, which the addition of four atoms of oxygen would change into an ordinary phosphate ; VOL, XVIII. Q 114 Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. the ratio of the oxygen in the united bases being to that of the acid as three to five. IX. OF THE PHOSPHO-MESITYLIC ACID. When glacial phosphoric acid is mixed with its own weight of mesitic alcohol, considerable heat is evolved, and the mixture becomes dark-brown. On neu- tralizing this liquor with a base, a soluble phospho-mesitylate is obtained, but iii" very small quantity. The phospho-mesitylate of soda crystallizes in fine rhomboidal plates ; exposed to the air the crystals become opaque, owing to the loss of a certain quantity of water by efflorescence. When heated, they melt in their water of crystallization, leaving a white mass ; and this, when heated more strongly, froths up, blackens, and finally bums, leaving a white residue of phos- phate of soda. The small quantity of this salt which I had obtained prevented me from analyzing it further than by determining the quantity of water and of phosphate of soda which it contained. 0.379 of the crystallized salt, when warmed cautiously until it ceased to give off watery vapour, but remained quite white, weighed 0.295; and having been then ignited, gave 0.185 phosphate of soda, corresponding to Water =22.2 Phosphate of soda = 48.8 ■ 100.00. Organic matter = 29.0 . The formula p^ Oj -\- Cg Hg o^ -\- nog -j- 5 ho gives Phosphate of soda = 49.7 Mesitic alcohol = 28.4 • 100.00. Water =21.9 As an atom of water remained behind with the mesitic ether, it may be con- sidered that the phosphoric acid has three atoms of base and five of water of crystallization. The formula is 1*205+ jNaO + CeHsO + HOj -f- 5hO. A more detailed examination of these different classes of salts would be a very useful subject for the attention of other chemists. Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 115 On the discovery of the compounds which are now about to be described, I was for a time under the impression that I should find, as a product of some of their reactions, the ulmic acid, and consequently I proposed to distinguish the carbo-hydrogen, of which they may be considered to be composed, by the name Pteleyl, from TrreAe?;, ulmus ; this radical being also contained in ulmic acid, the formula of which is 5 (CgHjO^). Now although this acid is not actually formed as a member of the series under examination, yet I am induced to retain the word Pteleyl, as indicating a degree of alliance withit which there is good reason to admit. Provided the name be well understood, the sound does not much sig- nify ; and I could not well find a better. It will be seen that most of the following bodies relate to mesitylene, which indeed bears in this series the place of olefiant gas in that of vinic alcohol ; and as the latter may, and indeed should be looked upon as a combination of hydrogen with the radical of acetic acid, — that is, as a hydruret of acetyl, — so may we con- sider, for the illustration of the following results, the mesitylene as a hydruret of pteleyl, — that is, we make the formula Cg h^ = Cg H3 -|- h. X. OF THE CHLORIDE OF PTELEYL. When a current of dry chlorine gas is conducted into pure mesitylene, it is abundantly absorbed with the evolution of much heat and a strong effervescence, owing to the escape of a large quantity of muriatic acid gas. Continuing the supply of chlorine, small needles begin to form at the edge of the fluid, and finally, the whole quantity solidifies into a mass of acicular crystals. These must be dissolved in boiling ether, from which they are deposited in brilliant white four-sided prisms by cooling, whilst the excess of mesitylene remains dissolved ; they require to be many times redissolved and recrystallized before they can be considered pure, and must be dried finally by pressure between folds of blotting paper,— not by exposure to the air. These crystals resemble very much those of the commercial di-sulphate of quinine. They are insoluble in water ; are not acted on by a solution of potash in alcohol or in water ; are volatile without decompo- sition, but require a high temperature, and can be sublimed in an atmosphere of Q 2 116 Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived Jrom Pyroacetic Spirit. dry ammonia without alteration. Their composition was determined by the following analyses : A. 0.352 of the crystals gave 0.145 water, 0.645 carbonic acid ; corresponding to Carbon = 50.66 Hydrogen = 4.00 per cent. The difference is necessarily chlorine. These crystals, added to a new quantity, were recrystallized from ether, and then again analyzed. B. 0.549 material gave 0.215 water, 0.976 carbonic acid ; corresponding to Carbon =49.15 , 100. Hydrogen =: 4.34 The body consisting of Cg H3 cl gives Carbon =48.87 1 Hydrogen = 3.99 [ 100, Chlorine =47.14 J. with which the analyses agree. The solid substance is thus formed from mesitylene, an atom of hydrogen being replaced by one of chlorine ; the hypothetic radical Cg H3 remaining constant. XI. OF IODIDE OF PTELEYL. I have given this name to a substance, of which I have never been able to obtain a quantity sufficient for analysis ; but from the circumstances under which it is formed, and the properties I have found it to possess, I believe such to be its nature. Mesitylene dissolves iodine in large quantity, forming a deep-red solution ; Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 117 but although exposed to the solar light for several weeks, there is no appearance of alteration. This solution may even be distilled without any change being produced. This mode of reaction, therefore, affords no results. It has been already mentioned that when iodine, phosphorus, and mesitic alcohol are distilled together, in order to form iodide of mesityl, there is evolved a large quantity of hydriodic acid gas, and much free iodine distils over with the impure iodide of mesityl. In the retort there remains a liquor, which, on cooling, deposits the fibrous crystals of hypophospho-mesitylous acid, with which are mingled small gold-coloured scales, resembling in appearance crystallized iodide of lead. On dissolving the hypophospho-mesitylous acid in water these remain undissolved, and can be separated by the filter ; when dried, they lose their brilliant appearance, and form a golden-yellow powder. This powder is insoluble in water, but dissolves in ether, from which it is deposited in brilliant spangles, which again become dull on exposure to the air. It is volatile, but requires a temperature nearly approaching to redness for its volatilization. When cautiously heated, it sublimes without alteration, and forms a brilliant gold-coloured sublimate ; but if the vapour be passed through a portion of the tube, previously made very hot, carbon is deposited there, and a large quantity of iodine set free. I attempted to generate this substance by heating together chloride of pteleyl and iodide of lead, but the great part of the chloride sublimed unaltered ; and though there were very evident indications of its being produced in minute quantity, the process cannot be employed with advantage. This substance evidently possesses considerable analogy with iodoforme, (ter-iodide of formyl), which it resembles closely it its appearance, colour, and relation to alcohol, water, and ether. It is, however, completely distinguished from it by its permanence in regard to heat. Dumas states, and I have verified the observation, " A une temperature peu elevee, insuffisante pour charbonner le papier, il se decompose en iode, I'acide hydriodique, et charbon." It is interesting to recollect too, that the formyl is a radical polymeric with pteleyl ; the former being c^ n, the latter c^ Hj. The circumstance of its being formed by the action of iodine on nascent mesitylene, and the great analogy between its properties and those of the chloride of pteleyl, induce me to consider it as the iodide of that radical, and its formula Cg H3 1, giving for its composition 118 Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit Carbon =22.17 1 Hydrogen =1.75 i 100.00. Iodine = 76.08 I XII. OF HYPO-NITRITE OF OXIDE OF PTELEYL. When mesitic alcohol is treated with sulphuric acid and peroxide of manga- nese, it distils over perfectly unaltered if the acid be employed dilute ; — and if strong acid be employed, the products are merely mesitylene and traces of mesitic ether ; — the manganese being left out of the reaction, and the acid and alcohol acting, as described in the former part of these researches. If pure mesitic alcohol be mixed with one-half its own volume of strong nitric acid, and the mixture warmed, a very violent effervescence takes place, and a great quantity of red fumes is given off; if the application of the heat be conti- nued for the purpose of distilling the mixture, the decomposition becomes explo- sively violent, so that on two occasions where it was attempted, the retort was burst. When with the idea of moderating the action a dilute acid is employed, but little change takes place, and the product in the receiver consists of mesitic alcohol quite undecomposed. If, however, on mixing the strong nitric acid and mesitic alcohol, and warming the mixture until the effervescence shall have com- menced, the vessel be plunged into cold water, and the action thus retarded, — then again a little warmed, and again cooled, this treatment being repeated several times, — and finally, the whole mixed with five or six volumes of water, there sub- sides a heavy, pale yellow, fluid, which may be washed with water, until all adhering acid be removed, and then dried by digestion on some fragments of pure chloride of calcium. Thus obtained, this fluid is a mixture of two, and its consistence varies according as the one or the other preponderates, the one being thin, the other ^bout semifluid. The quantity of the latter is greater, according as more red fumes have been driven off; the former predominates when the dilution with water was effected before the decomposition had proceeded far. Neither can be thus obtained absolutely pure, but their nature may be deter- mined with sufficient certainty. The lighter and thin fluid substance is heavier than water, by which it is gra- dually decomposed. It is immediately dissolved by an alkali, the liquor becoming Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 119 dark-brown ; and paper dipped in it burning, when dried, with the characters of touch-paper. Its odour and taste are penetrating, but sweetish. When heated in a water-bath, it shows no appearance of vaporization ; and if exposed to the flame of a lamp, it is decomposed with an explosion so violent, if a moderately large quantity be employed, as to shatter the apparatus. The products are red fumes of hyponitrous acid, mixed with a very heavy white smoke, and the bottom of the retort is lined with a copious deposit of carbon. These properties completely prevent the purification of the substance by distillation, and render its analysis at once difficult and uncertain in its results. Several experiments were, however, made to determine its composition, which, from the coexistence of the thicker fluid, never gave twice the same absolute result ; yet the relation between the quantities of carbon and hydrogen remained in all cases almost constant. Thus the specimen which contained most carbon gave A. Carbon = 50.43 Hydrogen = 4.35 per cent. And that which contained least gave B. Carbon = 44.5? Hydrogen = 4.02 The number of atoms of carbon is to that of hydrogen in A as 6 to 3.17 ; and in B as 6 to 3.32. It is therefore evident that in both the thin and the thicker fluid the carbon and hydrogen are in very nearly the same ratio as that of Cg H3. It is also certain that the thin fluid contains nitrogen either as nitric or hypo- nitrous acid, and we may construct from these principles the formula c^ h, o^ n, which gives Carbon = 42.8 Hydrogen = 3.5 Nitrogen = 16.5 Oxygen = 37.2 The formula Cg H3 NO4 = Cg H3 o -^ NO3 ; and represents acombination of oxide of pteleyl with hypo-nitrous acid, analogous to the nitrogen compounds existing in the napthaline and other series. The origin of this body may be very simply explained. It is probable that nitric acid unites directly with oxide of mesityl, but 100. 120 Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pj/roacetic Spirit. produces a compound, which is decomposed by the appHcation of moderate warmth. Then, water being formed, there is , = N03 + C6H30; — Oj — Hj the hypo-nitrite of pteleyl being produced. I did not make any determination of the quantity of nitrogen in this body, as from tlie explosive way in which the decomposition went on, I did not conceive the result could be one deserving of much confidence. XIII. OF THE MESITIC ALDEHYD. I have mentioned that the thinner of the fluids generated by the action of nitric acid on mesitic alcohol, was rendered impure by the presence of a thicker substance, the quantity of which increased according as more red fumes were generated by the boiling of the mixture. This heavy thick fluid is the mesitic aldehyd ; which, however, cannot be obtained pure in this way, as a considerable quantity of the hypo-nitrite of pteleyl remains unaltered. By means of the action of nitric acid on mesitylene, it may be obtained quite pure. When nitric acid is boiled with mesitylene, the latter is completely converted into a reddish yellow, thick, and heavy fluid, of a sweetish, but penetrating odour. When it appears no longer altered by fresh quantities of acid, it may be well washed with water, and dried by chloride of calcium. The composition of this body was determined by the following analyses : A. 0.38.5 fluid gave 0.243 water. 0.91 8 carbonic acid. B. 0.410 of another quantity gave 0.266 water. 0.943 carbonic acid. Whence the composition per cent. 100.00. A. B. Carbon = 65.95 63.70 Hydrogen = 7.00 7.22 Oxygen = 27.05 29.08 Dr. Kane on the Combitiations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 121 The formula Cg h^ o^ gives Cg — 36.8 64.8 H,= 4.0 7.0 Oj = 16.0 28.2 56.8 100.0 The production of this substance, by the action of nitric acid, as well on mesitic alcohol as on mesitylene, is easily understood. Thus CgHeOj+NO^l ^ = Cg H4 ©2 and NO3, which is expelled ; — Hj — O2 J and CgH^ + NOj — NO3 Cg H4 Oj = Cg H3 o -|- HO ; hydrated oxide of pteleyl, or the aldehyd of the mesitic series. This substance is but sparingly soluble in water ; in an alkaline solution it instantly dissolves, giving a yellowish brown liquor. It absorbs dry ammonia with great rapidity, forming a brown, resinous-looking mass, which dissolves in water ; and the solution, by cautious evaporation, yields crystals of the mesitic aldehyd ammonia. If a solution of this aldehyd ammonia be added to a neutral solution of nitrate of silver, there is immediately produced a yellow precipitate, which, when heated in the liquor, gradually grows black ; the reduction is, how- ever, in this way, imperfect. On the contrary, if the oxide of silver be separated, by a drop of water of potash, it is immediately reduced, the metal being deposited mostly as a black powder, and only partly and occasionally lining the interior of the tube. In no case is the mirror surface generated, which is produced in the reduction of silver by the aldehyd from ordinary alcohol. There is no doubt but that an acid having the radical pteleyl Cg H3 as its basis is here produced, by a reaction similar to that which forms acetic acid, in the reduction of silver by vinic aldehyd. I have not, however, attempted to isolate it, or to determine its identity with that resulting from other processes now to be described. VOL. XVIII. B 122 ■ Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. XV. OF THE MESITIC CHLORAL. The action of chlorine on mesitic alcohol has been examined by Matteuchi and by Liebig ; the latter celebrated chemist has described with great accuracy the properties of the heavy oily matter thus formed, and to which I give the name of the Mesitic Chloral. He likewise published an analysis of it, which differs very little from the truth, although he states expressly that he does not bring it forward as correct, but merely as proving that the fluid in question contains chlorine, which Matteuchi had strenuously denied. The action of chlorine on pyroacetic spirit is accompanied by the disengagement of a large quantity of muriatic acid gas ; when the action has entirely ceased, the liquor must be boiled to drive off the excess of muriatic acid which remains dissolved, and then dried by digestion on chloride of calcium. It can scarcely be distilled without under- going alteration, becoming dark-coloured and opaque, while muriatic acid gas is disengaged. It boils at about 260°. Its odour is excessively irritating to the nose and eyes, producing profuse weeping, which lasts for several days ; and some of it having accidentally spilled on the hand, produced reddening and vesication as complete as that by cantharides, but much more tedious in healing. On analysis: A. 0.930 material gave B. 0.880 gave 0.251 water. 0.958 carbonic acid. 2.028 chloride of silver. Hence results the composition Carbon Liebig's analysis gave = 28.48 Hydrogen = 3.00 Chlorine = 56.83 Oxygen = 11-69 Carbon = 28.0 Hydrogen = 2.8 Chlorine = 52.6 Oxygen = 16.6 100.0. 100.0. Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. 125 In order to ascertain whether there was formed, by the action of small quan- tities of a base on this chloral, a body analogous to chloroform, I added to a cer- tain quantity as much potash liquor as dissolved about one-half. The residual heavy fluid, which differed but very little in odour and appearance from its state before the action of the potash, was analyzed. A. 0.500 material gave 0.164 water. 0.547 carbonic acid. B. 0.774 material gave Whence follows 0.841 carbonic acid. 0.241 water. A. B. Carbon = 30.25 30.04 Hydrogen = 3.64 3.44 As the quantity of carbon, remaining almost absolutely unaltered, proved the fluid analyzed to be unchanged chloral, it was thought unnecessary to determine the chlorine by itself. The results just obtained may be considered as agreeing tolerably well with each of the following formulae : CsHgOjC/j gives Ce = 36.84 29.07 H3 = 3.00 2.37 02 = 16.00 12.65 c4 = 70.84 55.91 126.68 100.00 Cg H4 O2 c4 gives Co = 36.84 28.86 H4 = 4.00 3.13 0, = 16.00 12.53 cl^ = 70.84 55.48 127.68 100.00 124 Dr. Kane on the Combinations derived from Pyroacetic Spirit. The only remarkable difference, between these formula, consists in the pro- portion of hydrogen. It is very unusual, in an analysis of an organic substance, and particularly in that of one containing chlorine, to obtain too small a value for the hydrogen, as in general the error of experiment throws the quantity of hydrogen above the truth. Now here, Liebig, in an analysis, (on which, how- ever, he warns us not to rely,) obtained 2.8 ; and I obtained in one case 3.0, whilst the theory of the latter formula is 3.13. But it must be recollected that, the first formula assigning 2.37 for the hydrogen, Liebig must have gotten 0.43, and I must have obtained 0.63, 1.27, and 1.07 of hydrogen too much, which is a sup- position more improbable than the former. From the reaction of the chlorine, we may explain the origin of the mesitylic chloral, on either formula ; but the decomposition in the case of Cg H3 0, c4 is much more complex. Thus, we must consider the pyroacetic spirit, as really an alcohol, and that but one atom of its hydrogen pre-exists as water ; and then, applying the principle of Dumas's theory of substitution, that atom is removed without being replaced, but the further elimination of the hydrogen is accom- panied by the substitution of an equivalent quantity of chlorine. Thus CsHjO + HO 1 _ Taking the formula c^u^o^cl^ the reaction becomes much more simple, and consists merely in the elimination of two equivalents of hydrogen, and their replacement by two of chlorine. This formula I am the more strongly disposed to admit, from the action of bases on the mesitic chloral. When this mesitic chloral is put in contact with a base, there is produced a deep reddish-brown solution, the chloral disappearing completely, if the base be in excess ; there is produced a large quantity of a metallic chloride, and a salt of the base employed with a new acid, the nature of which may be deduced from the circumstances of the reaction by which it is formed. The chlorine abandon- ing the other constituents of the mesitic chloral in order to unite with the metal whose oxide has been employed, it must be replaced by an equivalent quantity of oxygen, and the body Cg h^ O4 = Cg H3 O3 -|- ho must be produced. Such may be expected to be the composition of the acid in the new salt produced; and until its nature and composition are more accurately examined by other chemists, it may Dr. Kane on the CoynUnations derived from Fyroacetic Spirit. 125 receive the provisional name of Pteleic Acid. Tlie salts which it forms are almost all soluble ; those with the alkalies and alkaline earths are in solution coloured brown, but do not possess any of the reducing properties of the similar compounds of mesitic aldehyd. In presenting this memoir to the Royal Irish Academy, I noticed the exis- tence of two acids formed by the action of acetone on permanganate of potash. A salt is at first obtained quite neutral, which after a little time breaks up into a carbonate, and a salt of another acid. The investigation of the properties and composition of these, as well as the more minute examination of the compounds of the pteleic acid, will form the subject of another paper.* * The principal Memoirs on Pyroacetic Spirit by previous authors are the following: — Derosne ; Annales tie Chimie, vol. Ixiii, p. 267. — Chenevix ; Annales tie Chimie, vol. Ixix. p. .5. — Macaire antl Marcet ; Bibliotheque Universcllo, vol. xxiv. p. 126. — Matteuchi; Annales tie Chimie et tie Physique, vol. xlvi. p. 429. — Liebig; Annalen der Pharmacie, vol. i. p. 225. — Dumas; An- uales tie Chimie et tie Physique, vol. xlix. p. 208, VOL. XVIII. SCIENCE. 127 VIII. On the Insulation of Fluorine. By George James Knox, Esq., A.M., M.R.I.A., and the Rev. Thomas Knox, M.R.I.A. Read lOtli April, 1837. 1 HE composition of hydro-fluoric acid had been a subject of discussion among chemists until the year 1810, when M. Ampere, from considering the analogy which subsisted between this acid and muriatic, was led to draw similar conclu- sions with respect to the composition of each. Sir Humphry Davy was at first opposed to these views, but on further consideration, being led to change his opinion, he brought forward experimental proofs of their correctness, which may be found In the Philosophical Transactions.* Having by these experiments demonstrated the probable existence of fluorine, he proceeded to other experiments with the view of obtaining it in an insulated state ; for which purpose he heated fluoride of mercury and fluoride of silver in glass vessels, filled with chlorine ; he obtained chloride of silver from the one, and corrosive sublimate from the other ; and the vessels were found to be filled with fluosilicic acid and oxygen arising from the decomposition of the silica by the nascent fluorine. He obtained similar results when fluoride of potassium and fluoride of sodium were heated with chlorine. When the same experiments were repeated in vessels of platinum and silver, the vessels were powerfully acted upon. In glass vessels, coated with cuprane and horn-silver, the chlorides were fused at the temperature required for the expe- riments, and the glass was acted on as before. In a platinum vessel coated with fluoride of potassium, a gas was obtained having an odour more disagreeable than that of chlorine ; but the platinum was found to have been acted upon. Sir H. Davy made many other experiments with the view of decomposing hydro- fluoric acid by means of chlorine and oxygen, by passing these gases with the * Phil. Trans. 1813, p. 263. VOL. XVIII. T 128 Messrs. Knox on the Insulation of Fluorine. vapour of hydro-fluoric acid through a platinum tube heated red hot ; and by distilling it from salts containing abundance of oxygen or of chlorine. He dis- tilled also the fluorides of lead and mercury with phosphorus and sulphur in glass tubes, with the formation of a phosphuret and sulphuret, and action on the glass ; when the glass tubes were lined with sulphur, a limpid liquid condensed in a part of the tube cooled to zero. From these experiments he concludes, that there exists in the fluoric com- pounds a peculiar element, possessed of strong attraction for metallic bodies and hydrogen, which from the low refractive power of hydro-fluoric acid, he supposed would have less refractive power than any substance known, possessing at the same time higher acidifying and saturating powers than either oxygen or chlo- rine, and which, when obtained in an insulated state, would prove to be a gas. We understand that Sir H. Davy got vessels of fluor-spar made for the pur- pose of repeating these experiments, but since he has not published any which he may have tried with them, we conclude that he either did not employ them, or that they did not conduct him to any new results. Such was the state of the subject till the year ]836, in the spring of which year we commenced the following investigation. Sir H. Davy's experiments having shown that chlorine would decompose fluoride of mercury in glass vessels, it became a question to determine whether the same result would take place in vessels upon which the nascent fluorine could exert no action. This we tried by heating dry chlorine with fluoride of mercury in two small perforated crystals of fluor spar. A chloride of mercury was formed. Then, in small vessels of fluor- spar containing chlorine, we heated fluorides of mercury, lead, and hydrofluate of ammonia ; in the first were formed crystals of corrosive sublimate ; in the second the fluoride of lead was not acted upon ; and the last vessel was filled with vapour of hydro-fluoric acid. We then procured fluor-spar vessels of a larger size, lapped with wire, for the purpose of equalizing the temperature, and so preventing the vessels from splitting on a sudden application of heat. Instead of a flat cover for the vessels we had fluor-spar receivers made, the cavities of which were filled witli ground-stoppers of fluor. On moving the receivers over the mouth of the vessel the stoppers fall in, and their places in the receivers are occupied by whatever the contents of the vessel may be. On the top of these vessels were three or four small depressions, in which were placed any substances that we wished to submit to the action of the gas, and over which the re- Messrs. Knox on the hisulation of Fluorine. 129 ceivers, when filled with the gas, could be slid. The results we came to with these vessels were the following : — Litmus paper was reddened, glass strongly acted upon, gold on one occasion slightly acted upon, owing, as we believe, to the formation of a fluoride of gold, as we were led to suppose by the action of the product on glass, when heated with sulphuric acid. From having ascertained the perfect dryness of the materials, and from the absence of moisture when the cover had been cooled down by the evaporation of sulphuret of carbon, we proved the absence of hydro-fluoric acid ; and from having obtained bi-chloride of mercury, we inferred the disengagement of fluorine. These reasons alone, we conceived, would have been sufficient to justify us in supposing the insulation of fluorine. It may be mentioned here, that after we had entered on our investigations, we met with a notice of some experiments made by M. Baudrimont, with the intention of insulating fluorine in glass vessels. He heated a mixture of fluor-spar and peroxide of manganese with sulphuric acid in a glass retort, and collected in a dry glass vessel a gas of a yellowish brown colour, which bleached litmus paper, and acted upon gold in the cold, differing from the gas that we have obtained in these qualities. In the month of December last we had other fluor vessels constructed at Mavve's establishment, of a similar form to those already employed, but much larger size ; they were lapped with fine iron wire, were of a very consider- able thickness, and could contain about four fluid ounces ; the upper part of these vessels was turned round, and reduced in thickness, so as to fit into a flat slab of fluor-spar, and the upper edge of the vessels was then polished off", so as to be on the same level with the flat slab, which acted as a table upon which the covers of the vessels and the receivers for the gas could be slid, without letting the contents mix with the atmospheric air. The receivers for the gases were square, about two inches and a half high, and one and a quarter wide, and the interior, which was circular, and about five-eighths of an inch in diameter, was fitted with a stopper of fluor. On opposite sides of these receivers {see Plate) holes were drilled quite through, intersecting the former cavity at right angles, and into these holes were fitted, air-tight, clear crystals of fluor, so that the colour of any gas in the receiver could be distinctly observed on looking through them. There were some small depressions in the flat slab, which we have above called the table, in which might be placed any piece of metal or other substance T 2 130 Messrs. Knox on the Insulation 0/ Fluorine. on which it might be wished to try the effect of the gas ; one edge of the table was straight, so that a receiver full of gas could be removed on a slab of fluor without loss of the contents. The mode of using these vessels is as follows : — after the vessel with its contents has been heated gradually, so as to raise the temperature, and expel the water from the fluoride to be acted on, it is filled with dry chlorine, and a receiver is fastened down upon it with a weight or clamp ; then the apparatus being heated to any temperature required, when we wish to examine the gas in the receiver, a second receiver, with a stopper in its cavity, is placed beside the first, and is slid on the table, till it occupies the place of the first ; its stopper then falls into the vessel, and its cavity is filled with gas. This receiver, in like manner, is replaced by another, and so on till the vessel has been choked up with stoppers. The contents of the receivers can then be examined by being slid over various tests in the places made for that purpose on the surface of the table. The entire apparatus is supported on a stand over a lamp. In recommencing the experiments in these new vessels, adapted for showing the colour of the gas in the manner above described, we found that when per- fectly pure fluoride of mercury was used, the gas obtained was colourless ; and to the upper part of the vessel inside, were suspended feathery crystals of corrosive sublimate. The gas obtained in the receivers has a heavy smell, not pungent or irritating, and thereby easily distinguishable from chlorine or hydro-fluoric acid. When exposed to the air it does not fume, which would be the case were the latter of these present. With regard to its power of supporting combustion, red-hot wire appeared to become slightly brighter, but did not scintillate ; we tried it also with burning char- coal and phosphorus, which latter was not extinguished ; but these effects were very slight, and cannot be relied on as certain, as the atmospheric air must be admitted in plunging in the heated wire. We attempted its detonation with hydrogen, thinking thereby to obtain hydro-fluoric acid. For this purpose we inserted two platinum wires through the opposite sides of a fluor-spar receiver, upon which, when filled with dry hydrogen, we placed a receiver of the gas obtained in the vessels. On passing a spark from a Leyden jar, detonation took place ; there was an absorption, and on separating the vessels slight fumes appeared, frpm which we inferred that hydro-fluoric acid Messrs. Knox on the Insulation oj^ Fluorine. 131 had been formed ; but in moving the vessels over each other some air may have got in, which would account for the detonation. This was repeated frequently ; but, from the nature of the manipulation, the result could not be depended on. On collecting and examining the gas that remained on one occasion, after deto- nation, there was no hydrogen found. On placing many receivers filled with the gas in succession over water, whether hot or cold, the solution, if such, had all the properties of hydro-fluoric acid in acting on glass, reddening litmus, and giving precipitates with lime and barytes. We passed some through hot water into a graduated glass tube. There was a considerable absorption, and a deposit of flakes of silica. The remaining gas, on examination, proved to be atmospheric air, with some oxygen. The admission of some atmospheric air in the transference is, from the nature of the vessels, almost unavoidable, for which reason the results must be received with caution. When a receiver of the gas is placed over dry litmus and Brazil wood-papers, the former is reddened, the latter turned yellow, and in no instance were they ever bleached* When a receiver was placed over wet glass it was strongly acted upon. When the glass was carefully dried there was less action than before. From which circumstance, supposing that if the glass were perfectly dry, there would be no action upon it, we placed a small piece in a perforation in the inte- rior of the receiver, and found it was still acted on, but not more so than when fluoride of mercury alone was in the vessel. In trying the action on the metals we found it necessaiy to try the separate action of hydro-fluoric acid and sublimed fluoride of mercury, in order to distin- guish the action that might be due to fluorine alone, from that which might be caused by their presence. Corrosive sublimate also, when in vapour, acts power- fully in many cases, and these two last substances must necessarily be always present. The hydro-fluoric acid was formed in the vessels themselves. The results given in the following table, in the column headed Fluorine, are those which were produced on the various metals, over which a receiver, full of the gas, obtained in the usual way, had been placed. 132 Messrs. Knox on the Insulation of Fluorine. The Action on the variotis Metals by Fluorine, Hydro-fluoric Acid, and Fapour of Fluoride of Mercury. Fluorine. Hydro-fluoric Acid. Vapour of FI. of Mercury. OBSERVATIONS. Gold Action. None. None. The action on gold was only ob- Platinum None. None. None. tained once, and that in the small Palladium Action. None. None. vessels when greater heat was ap- Rhodium None. None. None. plied. The action was not obtained Silver Action. Action. Action, on the palladium without allowing Mercury . Action. Action. Action. the gas to act for some hours on it. Lead . . Action. Action. Action. Corrosive sublimate, at the heat Cadmium Action. Action. Action. applied, acts on antimony, though Copper Action. Action. Action. not on bismuth; so that bismuth, pal- Bismuth . Action. None. None. ladium, and, at high temperature, Antimon)' Action. None. None. gold, seem to be the only metallic Iron . . Action. Action. Action. tests of the existence of the gas in Zinc . . Action. Action. Action. the receivers. Tin . . Action. Action. Action. It is right to state here, that the action on the palladium and bismuth was not proved to be from the formation of fluorides of those metals, . in consequence of the minuteness of the pieces used. That on the gold vfe have since confirmed by the action upon it by the battery. In order to determine the relative attraction of fluorine for those metals upon which it does not seem to act except in the nascent state, we made platinum, palladium, gold, and rhodium successively constitute the positive pole of a battery of sixty pair of plates, electrolizing moistened fluoride of lead. The platinum was covered with a chocolate-coloured substance, which disappeared on heating. The action on the palladium gave rise to a reddish-brown colour, the same as that obtained before by the direct action of the gas. The gold was only occa- sionally acted upon, — the colour, brownish-red. The rhodium was never acted upon in the trials we gave it ; so that if this should be confirmed, fluorine might probably be obtained in an insulated state by electrolizing a fluoride, using rhodium as the positive pole. We repeated M. Baudrimont's experiments in glass, and in the vessels of fluor spar, but were unable to obtain a coloured gas having the properties which he describes. From the nature of his experiments, we conceive it to be impos- sible that the gas obtained by M. Baudrimont could be fluorine, on account of Messrs. Knox on the Insulation 0/ Fluorine. 133 the water present, and consider it probable that it was a fluoride of oxygen formed by the union of the nascent oxygen and fluorine. To determine this, we heated in a dry glass tube a mixture of iodic acid and fluoride of mercury, supposing that when the iodine decomposed the fluoride of mercury, fluorine and oxygen being set free from their combinations with oppositely electrical bodies (mercury and iodine) would be in the most favourable condition for combining. On applying a moderate heat a yellow gas arose, which did not act on the glass, and bleached litmus paper slightly; on increasing the temperature, the yellow iodide of mercury sublimed, then iodine, and finally fluoride of mercury. We have to remark, with regard to our present mode of manipulating, that about 100 grains of the fluoride of mercury la a sufficient quantity ; but that its absolute dryness must be ascertained, which may be known by its subliming plen- tifully out of the mouth of the vessel. It requires about two hours to effect this, and to raise the temperature of the fluor vessel sufficiently high previous to passing in the chlorine. When filled with the chlorine, which must be also well dried, we apply the heat of Rose's spirit lamp, with circular wick, for about twenty minutes, which we find to be always sufficient for the decomposition of the fluoride. When we have examined the contents of the vessel, after a quarter of an hour, we have found chlorine in it, but never when it has been heated the above length of time. If, instead of drying the material perfectly. It happened that a trace of moisture was allowed to remain, then, Instead of the usual result, we obtained copious fumes of hydro-fluoric acid. In conclusion, we beg to state, that we are far from wishing it to be sup- posed that we consider the doubts on the nature of fluorine set at rest by the foregoing researches. But we think ourselves justified, from the experiments we have detailed, to conclude, that some advances have been made, and that a mode of operating on that element has been pointed out, which may be suc- cessfully employed hereafter, and which, in other hands, may lead to more complete results. 134 Messrs. Knox on the Insidation of Fluorine. EXPLANATION OF PLATE. FIRST SET OF VESSELS, ONE-HALF OF THE ACTUAL SIZE. Fig. 1. — The vessel. Fig. 2. — Receiver and its stopper. Fig. 3. — The whole, together with lamp, as when in use. SECOND SET OF VESSELS, ONE-THIRD OF ACTUAL SIZE. Fig. 4. — The vessel. A. — The shoulder on which the table rests. Fig. 5.— The table. B. — The flat edge. c. — The small depressions. D. — Aperture in centre, through which the top of vessel is inserted. Fig. 6. — The receiver. E. — The clear piece inserted in the side. H. — The aperture in which the stopper fits. Fig. 7. — The stopper. Pig, 8. — The whole apparatus, when put together on a tripod, with the receiver fastened down by a clamp. /n„.'nj./iLMiEM7yi^)i.xm..f>a* . '. Sn„myV\ .Klr.VW Ft/sf Sft {//' ir^Sfis.i/w fw/^tJif nc/t/it/ size , V J .*»■ -«'» # Sef'0///i sff tff yfssflv,o/t/' ////rt/ n/' f/ff/u// sixe , Rq.S fi^.6 ■« * ^■ ^ * * % « ■ft 135 IX. On the Composition of certain Essential Oils. By Robert Kane, M.D., M.R.I. A., Professor of Natural Philosophy to the Royal Dublin Society and of Chemistry to the Apothecaries' Hall of Ireland, Corresponding Member of the Society of Pharmacy and of the Society of Medical Che- mistry of Paris, Honorary Member of the Society of Apothecaries of the North of Germany, ^c. Read 12th June, 1837. 1 HE analyses, which constitute the material of this paper, were undertaken as the first step in a train of research, which had for its object the solution of two problems in organic chemistry, the importance of which will be at once recog- nized ; namely, first, whether there exists a law connecting the composition of the oils derived from the same natural family of plants ? and secondly, what is the chemical nature of the essential oils as a class ? is the oil of bitter almonds a type for all ? Towards a decision of these questions some materials have been collected ; but the investigation embraces a field so wide, that considerable time must elapse, before even such general results, as have been already obtained, can be worked into a form fit for publication. In the meantime I am induced to lay before chemists those conclusions with respect to the composition of some of the oils, which may serve as data in a solution of the first question, and as initiatory to the more abstract considerations on their composition as a class. I. COMPOSITION OF OIL OF ROSEMARY. The oil of rosemary, obtained in its purest commercial form, is colourless, and possesses strongly the odour of the fresh plant. Its specific gravity is given by Brande 0.9118. I found the oil of commerce to be 0.897; but like all these oils it differs according to seasons, from the variable quantity of stearopten it may hold dissolved. When submitted to rectification it distils over, the boiling point rising, but not rapidly ; and the last portion in the retort becomes brown, VOL. xviii. u 136 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. and of a thick consistence. By repeated distillations it can be rendered com- pletely pure. Its specific gravity is then from 0.8854 to 0.8875. Berzelius states the specific gravity of the pure oil to be 0.889. It boils at a temperature from 332° to 334° Fahr. Its boiling point is almost absolutely constant, — indeed much more constant than that of any other oil I have examined. It was analyzed in the ordinary way by combustion with oxide of copper, and the carbonic acid collected, by potash, in Liebig's apparatus. A. Material = 0.300 gramme, gave Water = 0.315 Carbonic acid = 0.907 B. Material = 0.247 gramme gave Water = 0.261 Carbonic acid = 0.744 Hence follows A. B. Carbon = 83.49 83.31 Hydrogen = 11.66 11.66 Oxygen =^ 4.85 5.03 These analyses, having been made with quantities of oil distilled at different times, and coinciding so completely, rendered it unnecessary to increase the number. The above result is fully expressed by the formula c^j n^g o^, which gives c,5 = 276.3 83.63 H38 = 38.0 11.54 o, = 16.0 4.83 330.3 100.00 Evidently c^^u^o^ ^= 9{c^u^)-\-2uo; that is, we may consider oil of rosemary as a hydrate of one of those numerous oils, agreeing in per-cent compo- sition with oil of turpentine. This relation induced me to make some experi- ttifents on the action of various bodies on it, the results of which belong properly to a future memoir, but of which I shall transcribe one here. When mixed with sulphuric acid, oil of rosemary becomes black, and neutralized Dr. Kane on the Composition 0/ certain Essential Oils. 137 by lime gives a soluble salt, which contains an acid belonging to the class composed of oxygen, sulphur, and an organic element. If the mixture of oil of rosemary and sulphuric acid be distilled, there is obtained a fluid possessing an aromatic, yet alliaceous odour, resembling that of mesitylene. When quite pure this fluid has a specific gravity 0.8678, and boils at about 344° Fahrenheit. It gives, on analysis, the same composition as oil of turpentine ; but I shall defer the details to the memoir on the Chemical Habitudes of the Oils as a Class. To this fluid I have given the name of Rosmarine; but I have not determined its atomic weight, so as to be able to say whether oil of rosemary be a bi-hydrate of rose- marine, and its formula c^^n^^-\-'2'a.o. I use the word bi-hydrate here, merely in order to represent the abstraction of 2 ho by the sulphuric acid, and not wish- ing to involve any consideration of theory, which will be discussed in its proper place in the memoir already alluded to. II. OIL OF MARJORAM. (ORIGANUM VULGARe) This oil is found in commerce nearly pure. Its specific gravity is variable ; Mr. Brande found it 0.909 ; while I obtained 0.8901. This arises from the quantity of stearopten which it contains not being constant, though generally large. By rectification several times, so as to deprive it of the solid matter, it is obtained finally of the specific gravity 0.8673, the boiling point being almost completely constant at 322° F. In this state it was analyzed. A. Material = 0.368 gramme gave Water = 0.368 Carbonic acid = 1.154 B. Material = 0.2907 gramme gave Water = 0.300 Carbonic acid ^ 0.905 C. Material = 0.2854 gramme gave Water = 0.295 Carbonic acid = 0.891 D. Material = 0.2881 gramme gave Water = 0.302 Carbonic acid = 0.898 u2 138 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. Hence there is per cent. A. B. C. D. Carbon = 86.71 86.08 86.33 86.18 Hydrogen = 11.11 11.44 11.44 11.64 Oxygen = 2.18 2.48 2.23 2.18 These results are expressible by a very simple formula, c^ h^q o, or 10 {C5H4} -|- o, which gives c^= 307 86.48 H«= 40 11.27 0=8 2.2.5 The first analysis deviates a little from this result, in the direction opposite to that generally taken by errors of experiment in organic analysis, but so trivially, that I am not inclined to attribute to it any importance. From the remarkable relation of the formula to that of oil of turpentine, it may, perhaps, be thought that possibly the oil of origanum had the same composition, and that the two per cent, attributed to oxygen, arose from the loss consequent on an im- perfect combustion ; but that idea is disproved by — first, the uniformity of the analyses which were made at different times and on different quantities of oil ; and secondly, by the fact that in only the fourth analysis does the hydrogen amount to what oil of turpentine should yield, that is 11.55 per cent., the general error in analysis being to give too high a value for the hydrogen. The stearopten of this oil would appear to contain much more oxygen than the oil itself; as a quantity of oil which contained some, and had consequently a boiling point of 344°, gave the following results : Material = 0.360 gramme gave Water = 0.350 Carbonic acid = 1.100 Hence per cent. Carbon = 84.48 Hydrogen = 10.80 Oxygen = 4.72 being a mixture, it admits of no formula. 100 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. 139 III. OIL OF PEPPERMINT. This oil had been submitted to analysis by Blanchet and Sell,* but their results having been communicated without any detail, and the analyses being exceedingly discordant, I was obliged to reexamine its constitution before I could satisfy my mind. The result has been, that I have obtained a formula differing from that of the chemists before named. The oil of peppermint of commerce, particularly that sold as American, is often adulterated by a large quantity of oil of turpentine, from which, if once mixed, no number of rectifications can completely purify it. The rough oil, when pure, has, according toBrande, a specific gravity 0.907; I found it 0.9083. It contains a certain quantity of stearopten, though not so much as the gene- rality of oils ; when freed from this by repeated distillations it has a specific gravity of 0.8998, and bolls between 370° and 380° Fahr. The following are the analytical results : A. Material =: 0.2905 gramme gave Water = 0.318 Carbonic acid = 0.812 B. Material = 0.3667 gramme gave Water = 0.407 Carbonic acid = 1.035 C. Material = 0.3443 gramme gave Water = 0.375 Carbonic acid ■=z 0.969 Hence there is per cent. A. B. C. Carbon = 77.29 78.06 77.81 Hydrogen = 12.11 12.32 12.01 Oxygen = 10.60 9-62 10.18 The analyses A and B were made with the same specimen of oil ; the correct value for carbon is therefore that of B. The analysis C was made subsequently with a different specimen. • Journal de Phartnacie, vol. xx. 1834. 140 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. The formula Cj, n^ o^ gives c„ = 128.9 78.14 H^ = 20.0 12.12 o, = 16.0 9.74 100 I cannot explain the diflPerence between this result and that of Blanchet and Sell, as they give no account of the circumstances under which their analyses were made. They make no mention of having submitted their oil to rectification. Their result is c,2 Hm o, and per cent. Experiments. Theory. Carbon = 79-63 79-53 80.35 Hydrogen = 11.25 10.77 10.90 ■ 100 Oxygen = 9-12 9-70 8.75 . Blanchet's result for the stearopten of oil of peppermint, though discordant with itself, yet approaches closer to mine for the oil. Thus he obtained for the solid crystalline stearopten Cm Hk, o, and per cent. Experiments. Mean. Theory. Carbon = 79.63 77.27 78.45 77-28 " Hydrogen = 11.25 12.96 12.11 12.59 ■ 100 Oxygen = 9-12 9-77 9-44 10.12 . On analyzing the first portion obtained in rectifying oil of peppermint, which had a boiling point about ten degrees lower than the general mass subsequently condensed, I obtained the following result : Material = 0.337 gramme gave Water = 0.360 Carbonic acid = 0.969 Hence per cent. Carbon = 79-53 Hydrogen = 11.86 Oxygen = 8.61 This result might be considered as approximating to that of Blanchet ; but this portion could not be considered as being pure oil, as it constituted not a tenth of the quantity submitted to distillation. I attributed its different compo- sition to an adulteration by oil of turpentine, which from its greater volatility came over in the commencement. If the oil of turpentine were in large quan- tity, a complete rectification could not be obtained. Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. 141 Upon the whole it is evident, that we cannot consider the nature of the oil and stearopten of peppermint as being absolutely determined ; at the same time, I conceive myself justified in placing some confidence in my results, from their agreement, and the care with which the substance had been purified. IV. OIL OF PENNYROYAL. — (MENTHA PULEGHIUm) The oil of pennyroyal is stated by Mr. Brande to have a specific gravity of 0.939- I could not obtain it in commerce with a specific gravity higher than 0.9271. I consider, however, the specimens having that specific gravity as being pure, and that a higher density arises from dissolved stearopten. The oil of 0.9271 having been rectified, left but little solid matter ; and the pure oil, after distillation, had a specific gravity of 0.9255. Its boiling point could not be obtained quite constant, fluctuating between 360° and 370° Fahr. At the end of this paper a few remarks on the boiling points of these oils will be found. It was analyzed as follows : A. Material =: 0.3607 gramme gave Water = 0.353 Carbonic acid = 1.020 B. Material = 0.3014 gramme gave Water = 0.297 Carbonic acid = 0.861 Hence per cent. 100.0 A. B. Carbon = 78.2 79.0 Hydrogen = 10.8 10.9 Oxygen = 11.0 10.1 These analyses give the formula c,o Hg 0, or Carbon = 61.4 79.30 Hydrogen = 8.0 10.35 Oxygen = 8.0 10.35 77.4 100.00 This result is exceedingly remarkable, as from it follows that oil of penny- 142 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. royal has the same composition as camphor, and as the new substance described by me in the memoir on Acetone, and which I have termed Dumasine* A very interesting problem, which I hope soon to be able to solve, will be, to determine the relative changes which dumasine and oil of pennyroyal undergo, in the circumstances under which common camphor yields camphoric acid. Oil of pennyroyal is more frequently adulterated with oil of turpentine, and to a greater extent, than any other oil that I know of. I have found specimens^ which delivered four-fifths of their volume of pure oil of turpentine on rectification. Thus, in the commencement of these experiments, I isolated and analyzed quantities of the product of rectification of commercial oil of penny-royal, and stated verbally at a meeting of the Academy, that I could not find any difference between rectified oil of pennyroyal and oil of turpentine. I shall detail a couple of the analyses, made under those circumstances, because the result may be used as a test for the closeness of the other experimental results, and for the legitimacy of the formula deduced from them. Fluid obtained by rectifying impure oil of pennyroyal, specific gravity = 0.8673 ; boils constant at 315°. A. Material = 0.2183 gramme gave Water = 0.232 Carbonic acid ^ 0.697 B. Material =: 0.2433 gramme gave Water = 0.260 Carbonic acid = 0.779 Hence A. B. Theory. Carbon = 88.29 88.56 88.45 Hydrogen = 11.78 11.87 11.55 Its formula c^ H4. It was oil of turpentine. * It had been my intention to insert the account of the composition and properties of Dumasine as an appendix to the memoir on Pyroacetic Spirit, but it has been withheld in order, when further studied, to form the subject of an independent paper. A notice of its discovery and composition was pubhshed in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, No. IV. page 61, and copied from thence into the Philosophical Magazine for 1837, Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. 143 V, OIL OF SPEARMINT. — (MENTHA VIRIDIS.) The oil of spearmint is stated by Brande to have a specific gravity 0.939. That which I found in commerce had, in the rough state, a specific gravity 0.9142, and when freed by distillation of a considerable quantity of stearopten, 0.876. It boiled pretty constantly at 320° F. It gave by analysis as follows : A. Material = 0.3087 gramme gave Water = 0.311 Carbonic acid = 0.954 B. Material = 0.350 gramme gave Water = 0.350 Carbonic acid = 1.075 C. Material = 0.4284 gramme gave Water = 0.439 Carbonic acid = 1.327 Hence the per cent, composition : A. B. C. Carbon = 85.44 84.94 85.66 Hydrogen = 11.19 11.11 11.38 Oxygen = 3.36 3.95 2.96 These results give the formula C35 Hjg o ; that is, C3J = 214.9 85.67 Hjg = 28.0 11.15 o = 8.0 3.18 100.0 100.0 250.9 100.0 This formula, like that of oil of origanum, may be represented by a multiple of oil of turpentine + oxygen z=*J \c^n^\ -\-o. It is however impossible to make any deduction from these facts with respect to its nature. VI. OIL OF LAVENDER. (LAVANDULA SPICA.) The oil of lavender is remarkable for containing, probably, more stearopten than any other essential oil, the quantity itself being variable with the season and VOL. XVIII. X 144 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. with the climate. Thus, in the oil from the south of Europe (Murcia), it is said to amount to more than one-half its weight, and I have often found a fourth of the English oil to remain behind on distillation, so loaded with stearopten as to be- come quite solid on cooling. These circumstances, — the quantity of solid matter, and its not differing very much in volatility from the oil, — present great obstacles to the obtaining oil of lavender In an absolutely pure condition. The oil examined by Mr. Brande, and which probably contained much stearopten, was found by him of a specific gravity 0.9206. In the specimen which I tried the specific gravity was 0.9174. By repeated rectifications, by which as much of the solid matter as possible was separated, it was obtained 0.8865, and then boiled at 370° F. Another portion equally rectified had a specific gravity 0.8745, and boiled at 365° F. Saussure, who likewise examined this oil, states its specific gravity, when pure, to be 0.877. A specimen of the commercial oil, the specific gravity of which was 0.9172, was rectified, and the product received in four different vessels, stopping when the residue in the retort appeared to become thick. No. 1 had sp. gr. = 0.8864 1 2 =0.8879 AU boiled between 360° and 370°. 3 = 0.8884 J 4 = 0.9050 boiled at 390°. The residue solidified by cooling. The difficulty of pronouncing on the absolute purity of any one portion of oil of lavender is thus evident. The analysis of this oil was conducted in the usual way. Different portions of oil were selected, in consequence of their boiling points and specific gravities not being in accordance. A. Specimen sp. gr. = 0.8865 ; boiling point = 370° F. Material = 0.4333 gramme gave Water = 0.441 Carbonic acid = 1.245 B. Specimen sp. gr, = 0.8745 ; boiling point 365°. Material = 0.2835 gramme gave Water = 0.299 Carbonic acid = 0.819 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. 145 C. Specimen sp. gr. = 0.8864 ; boils at from 365° to 370°. Material = 0.3788 gramme gave Water = 0.394 Carbonic acid = 1.079 Hence the composition A. B. C. Carbon = 79.45 75.77 78.81 Hydrogen = 11.30 11.73 11.55 Oxygen = 9-25 12.50 9.64 100.0 As it is quite evident that, the heavier this oil is, the more stearopten it contains, and consequently, the less pure it is ; and as, by Dumas's analysis, stearopten, if not completely identical, has at least the same composition with common camphor, I am inclined to consider the high values for carbon in the oils used in analyses A and C as owing in great part to its presence, and to assign the analysis B as a closer approximation to the composition of the pure oil. With this idea agrees Saussure's old result, who from an oil of the sp. gr. 0.877 obtained the composition Carbon = 75.50 -i Hydrogen = 11.07 Oxygen = 13.07 Nitrogen = 0.36 The nitrogen being now acknowledged to result from imperfections in the method employed, the tendency of which was also generally to give an undei*- estimate for the amount of hydrogen, his result is found to agree with that of analysis B ; but whether from both oils being pure, or from both being equally impure, I cannot undertake to say. Under such circumstances it is scarcely useful to attempt the construction of a formula, as representing the result obtained. c,j ^^^ o.^ = 3 C5 H4 + 2 ho, may, however, be employed : Thus, c,5 = 92.1 75.5 H„ = 14.0 11.5 o, = 16.0 13.0 122.1 100.0 X 2 146 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. I must not be understood as stating positively this formula to represent the truth. ADDITIONAL REMARKS. There is a peculiarity in the method of ebullition of these oils which renders it very difficult to fix upon a certain fixed temperature as the boiling point, but rather compels vis to consider the oil as boiling within a limit of temperature, some- times extending to ten degrees of Fahrenheit. Thus, in taking the boiling point of an oil in a tube, a thermometer being immersed therein to some distance above the bulb, the oil will enter into full ebullition apparently at 355°, and the tem- perature of the thermometer, on continuing the boiling for five or ten minutes, will gradually rise to 360° or 365°, and will not then stop so completely, but that an ebullition continued for five or six minutes more, may produce a further rise of a couple of degrees. If the oil be allowed to cool, and be then again heated, the same phenomenon will be repeated, and so, as often as may be wished ; but the most colourless oil, when thus frequently heated, gradually becomes brown, and then there is a permanent elevation of the boiling point, arising from decom- position. I attribute this phenomenon to an unequal distribution of heat through the mass, and to the heat being supplied by the spirit lamp too rapidly to be carried off from the oil by the vapour formed at the limited surface of contact of the oil with the air in the tube. This is supported by the fact, that by moderating the heat the boiling point may be kept constant ; but, by a suitable heat, it may be kept constant at any degree, between the limits already alluded to. This is the reason why the boiling points of the oils analyzed are generally given within a limit of a few degrees. Some cases where the boiling points were almost really constant, I attribute to a closer approach to absolute purity in the oil. A great deficiency exists in analytical results obtained under circum- stances such as those described in the present paper, from the total want of a control over their exactitude ; and one or two words on the nature of these con- trolling results, with reference to obtaining such in our experiments, may be here of use. There are four modes of control — 1st, by synthesis, which is the most complete, but which in organic chemistry is attainable only in some very few Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. 147 cases. Of these few, the synthesis of urea, and that of acetic acid, may be taken as illustrations. 2nd, The method next in completeness is the breaking up of the body into other compounds whose composition is already known ; as, formal into formic acid and methylic alcohol ; acetal into acetic acid and vinic alcohol ; acetic acid into carbonic acid and acetone. 3rd, The determination of the atomic weight of the body, by the compounds into which it enters with other well known sub- stances. Thus the composition of oxalic ether controls the analysis of sulphuric ether, and the salts of the vegetable alcaloids give the only means of verifying the composition of the base itself. The fourth method of control is limited to such bodies as pass into vapour without being decomposed, and then the density of the vapour should stand in some simple relation to the sum of the densities of the constituents, taken in the atomic proportions given by analysis. Thus the discussion as to whether napthaline was represented by the formula c^ h.^ or Cg Hj was decided by the vapour possessing a density immediately following from the former, but inconsistent with the latter. That, however, we must not insist on very simple relations, is shown by the complex numbers found for some of the inorganic compounds by Mltscherlich and Dumas. Now in examining the composition of the oils, we are debarred from efficiently exerting any of these methods of control: — 1st, we cannot generate them by synthesis ; 2nd, we do not as yet know their chemical nature sufficiently to break them up into other bodies with which we can get more definite results ; and 3rd, their combinations with other bodies have not been as yet developed. Towards the application of these methods I have made some progress in the cases of oils of rosemary, lavender, and oil of turpentine, which all give with sulphuric acid and a base, soluble salts, of which that from turpentine alone has been completely analyzed. The atomic weight of turpentine from the salt of lime is found to be c^o 11,6 ; the same as from artificial camphor ; and the salt has the composition SO3 . cao . ■\- c^ H,g, belonging to a series distinct from the sulpho-vinates on the one hand, and the sulpho-napthalates upon the other, and being probably an analogue to the sulpho-mesitylic acid described in my memoir upon Acetone. I mention these results, although they properly belong to a dif- ferent paper, in order to point out the probable means of applying the methods of control to the essential oils in future investigations. I attempted very often to determine the densities of the vapours of the essential oils with a bath of 148 Dr. Kane on the Composition of certain Essential Oils. chloride of zinc, but I never obtained a result on which I could with satisfaction rely. The residual oil was evidently altered in its nature and appearance, and there always remained in the globe a certain quantity of permanent gas. I attribute the imperfect success of these attempts, to the mutual action of the oil and air of the globe at the high temperature necessary for the experiment ; but by a modification of the apparatus I may possibly at a future period succeed. A circumstance connected with the purification of the oils employed in the analyses detailed in this paper requires some notice here, as it has not been ad- verted to under the special heads ; namely, the means used to secure the perfect freedom of the oils from water. This is the more important, as particularly In the results obtained with the oils of marjoram and spearmint, the small quantity of oxygen might be conceived as being derivable from this source, unless proper precaution had been taken. The oils, previous to rectification, were in all cases digested for several days on recently fused chloride of calcium ; then poured off, and distilled ; and the portions selected for analysis allowed to remain In contact for about twelve hours with a few pure fragments of chloride of calcium, before being used. In no case did the oil appear to act on, or dissolve any of the fused salt ; and hence it was only necessary to pour the oil off from the chloride, and not to again distil it, in order to obtain it pure. 149 X. On the Properties of Voltaic Circles, in which concentrated Sulphuric Acid is the Liquid Conductor. By Thomas Andrews, M.D., Professor of Chemistry in the Royal Belfast Institution. Read 9th April, 1838. The remarkable discovery of Professor Schoenbein of Bale respecting the modification which the chemical action of nitric acid upon iron undergoes when they are brought into contact under certain voltaic conditions, has led me to examine the general phenomena which are exhibited by voltaic circles whose liquid conductor consists of a concentrated acid. In a paper read at the last meeting of the British Association, I showed that the solution of the oxidable metals in strong nitric acid is greatly retarded when they are voltaically asso- ciated with such metals as platina, upon which that acid has no action ; a result which is evidently the reverse of the ordinary effect of the passage of an elec- trical current. The object of the present communication is to extend the same principle to the action of concentrated sulphuric acid under similar conditions, and to investigate some of the circumstances which influence the development of electrical currents in this way. When a piece of zinc is introduced into strong sulphuric acid (sp. gr. 1.847) at common temperatures, its surface becomes covered with a mass of gaseous bubbles, so fine that they might be almost mistaken for a white precipitate, which very slowly separate from the zinc, but by agitation, or the application of a gentle heat, may be easily removed. The gas thus disengaged is hydrogen in a state of perfect purity. On applying heat to the acid there is scarcely any further extrication of gas, till the temperature has reached nearly 100° cent., when a very fine stream of gas begins to arise from the surface of the zinc. As the heat is raised, the quantity of gas becomes more considerable ; from 120° to 150° cent, there is a rapid effervescence, and at still higher temperatures vast quantities of 150 Dr. Andrews on the Properties of Voltaic Circles. gas, mixed with the vapours of sulphur, are disengaged. On examination, this gas was found to consist of a mixture of sulphurous acid and hydrogen gas. When an excess of zinc was employed the hydrogen in the beginning of the pro- cess amounted to 20 per cent, of the whole, but towards the end it increased to nearly 40 per cent. A similar portion of zinc being connected with a platina wire, and the free extremities of each being introduced into the same acid, so as to form a voltaic circle, the fine bubbles before described now appeared chiefly on the surface of the platina. When removed they did not form again, unless a fresh surface of zinc was exposed. The gas thus obtained was found to be pure hydrogen. The acid was then heated, but there was no extrication of gas from the sur- face of either metal till the temperature reached 150° cent., and then only a few minute streams arose from the platina wire. At 190° the evolution of gas from the platina wire did not exceed that from the unconnected zinc at 140° or 150°. From 210° to 240° there was rapid effervescence. During the course of the experiment no gas appeared at the surface of the zinc, unless the temperature was very high, so that torrents of gas were disengaged from the platina, when by a close inspection some very fine streams might be perceived forcing a passage from certain points of the zinc surface. The gas extricated from the surface of the platina differed from that obtained when the zinc alone was dissolved, — in the small quantity of hydrogen which it contained, and in that quantity diminish- ing instead of increasing as the solution proceeded. In fact the hydrogen was found to amount to 9 per cent, in the commencement of the experiment, and towards the end it diminished to only 1 per cent., the rest of the gas being sul- phurous acid. A quantity of sulphur was also separated, both when the zinc was alone and connected with the platina, which sometimes appeared in crystals in the acid, at other times became diffused through the mass of the liquid, so as to render it nearly opake, while at high temperatures it was disengaged in the state of vapour. Gold and palladium act in the same manner as platina. There was no apparent difference in these results, whether pure zinc, or the sheet zinc of commerce was used, and from the uniform surface which it exposes, the latter was employed in all the following experiments. To ascertain with precision the retarding influence of the platina upon the Dr. Andrews on the Properties of Voltaic Circles. 151 solution of zinc, similar portions of connected and unconnected zinc were exposed to the action of sulphuric acid of sp. gr. 1.845 at the same time and in the same vessel. The platina was placed opposite to both surfaces of the zinc, and at the distance of one-fourth of an inch ; it exposed to the liquid a surface which was about one-third of that of the zinc. The connexion was made above the liquid. The following table contains the results of a series of experiments made at diffe- rent temperatures, in which the second column gives the ratio of the quantities of zinc dissolved from equal weights of that metal, when alone and when united to platina, assuming as unit the quantity dissolved in the latter case. ''vJe^r ^^t^-f^ nc dissolved. Connected. Alone. 1 1 2.065 2 1 2.255 3 1 2.347 4 1 3.000 5 ] 3.208 6 1 1.478 7 1 1.335 Temperature. 168° to 170° cent. 203° to 206° „ 221° to 233° „ 238° to 240° „ 242° „ 250° to 270° „ 265° „ Although the zinc was removed from the acid, and its loss ascertained, before its surface had undergone much alteration, yet as the connected zinc diminished less during the process of solution than the other, the surfaces became no longer precisely similar ; andhence the differences exhibited by the table are less than they ought to be. From an inspection of the table, it appears that the greatest diffe- rence in the quantity of zinc dissolved occurs at the temperature of 242°, where the action of the acid is reduced to less than one-third by the contact of the platina ; while at higher and lower temperatures the difference is less consider- able. This circumstance may, perhaps, be explained by the following conside- rations. The rapidity of the solution of zinc, whether alone or connected, increases at a much faster ratio than the temperature, till it reaches a maximum point, when it can scarcely be augmented by farther increments of temperature. Now the effect of the contact of platina being to reduce the rate of solution of the zinc in the acid at a given temperature, (to what it is at 40° or 50° cent, lower than when unconnected,) it is evident that the difference will increase till they TOL. XVIII. Y 152 Dr. Andrews on the Properties of Voltaic Circles. both attain such a temperature that they dissolve with the greatest possible rapi- dity when the difference will undergo a diminution. The effect of the distance of the platina and zinc plates from each other in the acid was next investigated. Two couples of platina and zinc, similar in every respect, except that in the one, the zinc plate and platina were in contact, and in the other, at the distance of .1 inch, were introduced into sulphuric acid, at the temperature of 225° cent. The quantity of zinc dissolved in the first couple was to that dissolved in the second as 1.587 : 1. When the distances between the platina and zinc were .1 and .5 inch respectively, the quantities of zinc dissolved were as 1.441 : 1. The temperature in this case was 230°. The galvanometer needle was also more strongly deflected when the metals were near each other. The action of the acid on the zinc therefore increases with the proximity of the platina, as in common voltaic circles. This is further shown by the parts of the surface of the zinc which are nearest the platina dissolving most rapidly. Next the distance between the platina and zinc plates being the same, the extent of the platina surface in each couple was varied. The results obtained are exhibited in the following table, in which the second column shows the dis- tance between the platina and zinc in the acid; the third, the extent of the platina surface in each couple referred to that of the zinc as unit ; the fourth, the ratio of the platina surfaces to each other ; the fifth, the ratio of the quan- tities of zinc dissolved with the respective platina surfaces ; and the sixth, the temperature. No. of Expe- riment. Distance be- tween Plat, and Zinc. Plat, surface, Zinc=:]. Ratio of Plat. 3ur, Ratio of Zinc dissolved. Temperature. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^ inch, i » ^ inch. ! " TTT » 2.3 : 3.4 4 : 12 .1 : .4 .1 : .7 .13 : 2 1 : 9 1.5 3 4 7 15 9 .878 .890 .872 .920 .822 .857 225° c. 230° 225° 220O 205" 180° Although the variations in the extent of the platina surfaces, both when compared to each other and to the surface of the zinc, are very considerable, yet the quantities of zinc dissolved present only slight differences, and do not appear Dr. Andrews on the Properties of Voltaic Circles. 153 to be influenced by those changes in the platina surfaces. It must, however, be particularly observed, that there is invariably less zinc dissolved with the larger platina plate, — a result altogether at variance with the established laws of voltaic action. To ascertain whether this apparent anomaly depended upon some peculiarity in the mode of generation of these currents, or on the ordinary action of the acid on the zinc being more completely checked by the broader platina surface, it appeared to be necessary to determine the quantity of electricity actually developed under these conditions. For this purpose a galvanometer, composed of a pair of astatic needles, with a single silver wire between them, was inter- posed in the course of the circuit. As the needle of such an instrument can scarcely be maintained in a stationary position, but oscillates through an arc of two or three degrees round a fixed point, the most accurate method of ascertain- ing its deflection is to make five or more observations of the extremities of the arcs through which it vibrates, and to take a mean of the whole ; and this was the method followed in obtaining the deflections contained in the next table. As each degree of the scale occupied only one-fortieth of an inch, and was not sub- divided into smaller parts, it was difficult to avoid an error of a quarter of a degree in making the observations. The second column of the annexed table gives the extent of the surface of the platina exposed to the liquid, that of the zinc being represented by 1 ; and the third column, the deflection of the needle of the galvanometer. The temperature was 156° c. during the whole course of the experiment, and the distance between the zinc and platina surfaces was one inch and a half. No. of Expe- riment. Platina Surface, Zinc being = 1. Deflection. 1 .8 30°.! 2 .2 290.8 3 .08 30°.l 4 .02 290.9 5 .01 270.4 6 .008 26° 7 .0008 140.2 The trifling differences in the deflections of the needle, in the first four expe- riments, certainly depended upon the unavoidable errors of observation and minute variations in the temperature of the acid. The current was therefore y2 154 Dr. Andrews on the Properties of Voltaic Circles. not perceptibly affected by altering the extent of the platina surface exposed to the liquid, unless that surface was reduced to less than -^ of the surface of the zinc ; and even when it amounted to ■— of the latter, the deflection of the needle was only one-half less than with equal surfaces. This is very different from the well-known effect of similar changes in the extent of the surface exposed by the electro -negative metal in voltaic circles formed with the dilute acids. As a term of comparison, the platina surfaces used in experiments 1 and 4, being connected with similar zinc plates as before, and introduced into a mixture of dilute nitric and sulphuric acids, the deflections were 25°. 5 and 7° respectively. Although there was no visible disengagement of sulphurous acid gas from the zinc in the preceding experiments, except in No. 7, yet by comparing these results with those before obtained, it will appear that increasing the platina sur- face tends to arrest more completely the ordinary or local action of the acid on the zinc. When a slip of zinc in heated sulphuric acid was made the positive pole of a galvanic battery of twenty pairs of plates in moderate action, sulphurous acid ceased to be evolved from its surface, and the solution of the metal was greatly retarded. As a contrast with the preceding results, the influence of mercury, in con- nexion with zinc, upon the solution of the latter metal, may be mentioned. If these metals are heated separately in concentrated sulphuric acid, till a gentle effervescence occurs at the surface of both, and then brought into contact, a very violent chemical reaction instantly occurs, an amalgam appears at first to be formed, and afterwards the zinc dissolves with the utmost degree of violence. It is the most remarkable example of increased chemical action from the forma- tion of a voltaic combination with which I am acquainted! These facts are the more singular, as it thus appears that the influence both of amalgamation and of contact with platina on the solution of zinc is reversed in dilute and concentrated sulphuric acid. The general phenomena presented by the other metals capable of decom- posing sulphuric acid were similar to these already described in the case of zinc, but in the details there were some important points of difference. I J IP Dr. Andrews on the Properties of Voltaic Circles. 155 Two similar iron wires, I and I', were placed in a glass tube containing concentrated sulphuric acid, I being alone, and I' con- nected with a platina wire finer than itself. When first immersed in the acid the fine bubbles before described appeared at P and I, none at I'. On heating the liquid vast volumes of gas were extri- cated from I, but there was no gas visible at P or I' till the liquid- was raised nearly to the point of ebullition, when there was some effervescence at P, and slight local disengagement of gas at I'. When pencils of tin, T and T', (T being unconnected, and T' connected with the platina P, and similar designations are used for the following metals, ) were substituted for the iron wire ; the same phenomena occurred in the cold acid as with zinc and Iron. Heat being applied to the acid, gas appeared at the same time at T and P ; but on raising the temperature a little higher, the action suddenly became so violent on T that it was impossible to observe the surfaces of T' and P. By heating T' and P in a separate tube, the quantity of gas at P became very considerable, but far less than that before given off from T. There was also an obvious extrication of gas from T'. With bismuth no gas appeared in the cold. On applying heat the surface of B became covered with a dark fill.., - • • • «»)> • • • «'«' =/n' (oi, ..•««); again, let a/', . . . a"„" be n" new radicals, such that « "1 i" =/i'(«i'> • • • «'«', o„ . . . a„ ), «"»"" =/'«"«, . . . a'„', a„ . . . a„) ; and so on, till we arrive at a system of equations of the form (m) (m— l)/'(m— 1) (m— 1) (m_2) (»i_2) v (m) V =-^„W V«. '•••V-D'"' '•••«„(>«-2)"-«.'-««A the exponents a. being all integral and prime numbers greater than unity, and (*— 1) the functions f. being rational, but all being otherwise arbitrary. Then, if C™) (m) (*) we represent by b any rational function/ of all the foregoing quantities a. , (m) (m)r (m) (m) (m— 1) (ni— 1) \ o =/ V", ,...a„(„), a, ,. ..a^(„_i), ....a„ . ..aj, 1 72 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, (™) . we may consider this quantity b as being also an irrational function of the n original quantities, a„ •••«„; in which latter view it may be said, according to a phraseology proposed by Abel, to be an irrational Junction of the to'* order : and may be regarded as the general type of every conceivable function of any finite number of independent variables, which can be formed by any finite num- ber of additions, subtractions, multiplications, divisions, elevations to powers, and extractions of roots of functions ; since it is obvious that any extraction of a radical with a composite exponent, such as ^ f, may be reduced to a system of successive extractions of radicals with prime exponents, such as Insomuch that the question, " Whether it be possible to express a root a; of the general equation of the n"" degree, ^ + a, j; + • • • + a„-i *• + a„ = 0, in terms of the coefficients of that equation, by any finite combination of radicals and rational functions ?" is, as Abel has remarked, equivalent to the question, " Whether it be possible to equate a root of the general equation of any given degree to an irrational function of the coefficients of that equation, which func- tion shall be of any finite order m ?" or to this other question : " Is it possible to (") satisfy, by any function of the form b , the equation (m)n (m)n—l (m) b J^a,b + • • • + «„_i i> + «„ = 0. in which the exponent n is given, but the coefficients a,, a^, ... a are arbi- trary ?" [2.] For the cases w = 2, « = 3, w = 4, this question has long since been determined in the affirmative, by the discovery of the known solutions of the general quadratic, cubic, and biquadratic equations. Thus, for w =: 2, it has long been known that a root x of the general qua- dratic equation, x'^-\-a^a;-\-a^z=0. respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 173 can be expressed as a finite irrational function of the two arbitrary coefficients a„ a^, namely, as the following function, which is of the first order : x = b' —f «, a^, Oj) = -g-^ + «i'> the radical a,' being such that < =/i («n ««) = X "~ *2 ; insomuch that, with this form of the irrational function 5', the equation h'^ _|_ a^y + a, = 0 is satisfied, independently of the quantities a, and a^, which remain altogether arbitrary. Again, it is well known that for w = 3, that is, in the case of the general cubic equation :r' -J- a,.r* -\- a^x -\- a^-=.% a root jc may be expressed as an irrational function of the three arbitrary co- efficients, a,, Oj, Oj, namely as the following function, which is of the second order : or = 6" =/' «', <, a„ a„ a^ the radical of highest order, o/', being defined by the equation = c, + a,', and the subordinate radical a,' being defined by this other equation while c, and c.^ denote for abridgment the two following rational functions : c. = - 7¥ (2 V - 9o. o, + 2703), Ca = i (a,* — 302) ; so that, with this form of the irrational function 6", the equation 174 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of AbeU b"^J^a,h"''^a.,V'^a.,= Q is satisfied, without any restriction being imposed on the three coefficients a^, For n = 4, that is, for the case of the general biquadratic equation x^ -|- a, x^ -\- a^ x"^ -\- a^ X -{- a^ =L 0, it is known in like manner, that a root can be expressed as a finite irrational function of the coefficients, namely as the following function, which is of the third order : X = V" =/" («/", <", a,", a/, a„ a„ a,, a,) wherein — — 4- (2 '" 4- a '" -4- —^ <"'=/■"«' <' «1' «2. «3. «4) =e3+< + ^. <"=/2"«'» «/' «i' «2' «3' a,) = e,-^ p,a," -\- ^^„ a/'^ =//(«,', a„ Oj, Og, a^)■=e,-\-a^', <" =/i («i» «2' «3» «4) = «!* — 62' 5 ^4> ^3> ^2' ^1 denoting for abridgment the following rational functions: ^4 = fV (— «i' + 4«i 02 — 8 03)* «3 = i;ff(3«i'-8a2). «2 = tI:¥ (— 3a, 03 + «2' + 1204). e, = ^(3e,e3 — e/ + 0 = F^ (27«>4 - 9a. o, 03 + 202' - 72a, a, + 27a/), and /J3 being a root of the numerical equation /'3'+P3+l=0- It is known also, that a root x of the same general biquadratic equation may be expressed in another way, as an irrational function of the fourth order of the same arbitrary coefficients a^, a^, a^, a^, namely the following : respecting Equations of the Fifth T^egree. 175 x = h"'=f^{al^, <", a,", <, a,, a^, a^, aj the radical a/'' being defined by the equation «/''"=//"«"' «l"' «l'» «1' «2. 03, 04) = — a, + 3^3 4" ^/ » while o,'", a,", a,', and e^, e^, e.^, e,, retain their recent meanings. Insomuch that either the function of third order h'", or the function of fourth order 6'*', may be substituted for x in the general biquadratic equation ; or, to express the same thing otherwise, the two equations following : h"" + a, b"" + a, b"" + a, b'" + a, = 0, and b"'* + a, b"' + a, b"'' + a, 6"'+ a, = 0, are both identically true, in virtue merely of the forms of the irrational func- tions b'" and b"', and independently of the values of the four arbitrary coeffi- cients a,, a^, a J, O4. But for higher values of n the question becomes more difficult ; and even for the case w = 5, that is, for the general equation of the fifth degree, a;* -|- flj or* -f- a^ at^ -\- a^ x"- -\- a^ a; -\- a^ =1 0, the opinions of mathematicians appear to be not yet entirely agreed respecting the possibility or impossibility of expressing a root as a function of the coef- ficients by any finite combination of radicals and rational functions : or, in other words, respecting the possibility or impossibility of satisfying, by any (m) irrational function b of any finite order, the equation (m)* (m)* {my (ot)« (m) the five coefficients a„ a^j O3J 0S4, a^, remaining altogether arbitrary. To assist in deciding opinions upon this important question, by developing and illustrating (with alterations) the admirable argument of Abel against the possibility of any such expression for a root of the general equation of the fifth, or any higher VOL. XVIH. - 2 b 176 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, degree ; and by applying the principles of the same argument, to show that no expression of the same kind exists for any root of any general but lower equa- tion, (quadratic, cubic, or biquadratic,) essentially distinct from those which have long been known ; is the chief object of the present paper. [3.] In general, if we call an Irrational function irreducible, when it is im- possible to express that function, or any one of its component radicals, by any smaller number of extractions of prime roots of variables, than the number which the actual expression of that function or radical Involves ; even by Introducing roots of constant quantities, or of numerical equations, which roots are in this whole discussion considered as being themselves constant quantities, so that they neither Influence the order of an irrational function, nor are included among the radicals denoted by the symbols a,', &c. ; then it is not difficult to prove that such irreducible irrational functions possess several properties in common, which are adapted to assist in deciding the question just now stated. In the first place it may be observed, that, by an easy preparation, the («) general Irrational function b of any order m may be put under the form (m— 1) . „ . „ , in which the coefficient i („) („) is a function of the order tn — 1, or of a 1 nV™) (>») . ... lower order ; the exponent /3 is zero, or any positive integer less than the prime number a which enters as exponent into the equation of definition of the (m) radical a , namely, a W (m) a. Am—\) • *^ r t •^ t (m) (m) (m) and the sign of summation extends to all the a . a^ ... a terms which have n (m) exponents ^ ^ subject to the condition just now mentioned. respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 177 For, inasmuch as h is, by supposition, a rational function f of all the radicals a , it is, with respect to any radical of highest order, such as a , a t i function of the form / (m)\ b = M (a ) M and N being here used as signs of some whole functions, or finite integral polynomes. Now, if we denote by p any root of the numerical equation a a— I a— 2 a—Z 2 P +/" +/> +--. + P +P +1=0, a a a a a 80 that p is at the same time a root of unity, because the last equation gives a a P =1; a and if we suppose the number a to be prime, so that 2 3 o— 1 p , p , p , . . . p a a a a are, in some arrangement or other, the a — 1 roots of the equation above as- signed : then, the product of all the a — 1 whole functions following. M (paj.ufp a) . . . u (p aj =h (a), is not only itself a whole function of a, but it is one which, when multiplied by M (a), gives a product of the form a L (a) . M (a) = K (a ), K being here (as well as l) a sign of some whole function. K then we form the product Jim)_ J .,f W^ f 2 {m)\ ( "• {m)\ ( (m)"\ Mlp al.Mlp a. )...Mlp,, a''l = L(a I, i i ■ ' i 2b2 178 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, and multiply, by it, both numerator and denominator of the recently assigned (™) . . expression for b , we obtam this new expression for that general irrational function. («r)-(«r) ^^"^ ( W\ / W\ the characteristic i denoting here some function, which, relatively to the radical (ot) a , is whole, so that it may be thus developed, i (m) / (m}\ (m) (m)' (ffl)r 0 =i(a ) = io-|-ija -\-ha -\- . . .-\-i a , ^ i ' i i r i r being a finite positive integer, and the coefficients !„, i,, . . . i being, in r general, functions of the m order, but not involving the radical a . And i because the definition of that radical gives a = a if it is unnecessary to retain in evidence any of its powers of which the exponents are not L the form (m) (m) are not less than a ; we may therefore put the development of b under (m) , W , , / (<»).»^"^-l i the coefficients h^, h„ . . . being still, in general, functions of the w'* order, not involving the radical a^. . It is clear that by a repetition of this process of respecting Equations of the Fijlh Degree, 179 transformation, the radicals a, , . . . . o . -, may all be removed from the deno- (m) minator of the rational function f ; and that their exponents in the transformed numerator may all be depressed below the exponents which define those radicals : by which means, the development above announced for the general irrational (m) _ . , (m — 1) function h may be obtained ; wherein the coefficient 6 , , r™-) admits of being analogously developed. For example, the function of the second order, ^"=-i + <+a. which was above assigned as an expression for a root of the general cubic equa- tion, may be developed thus : 5" = S . (v . af' ) = b; + h; a," + 6,' a/' ^ /3,"<3 V A" / in which »/ ^l_ J I 1 7/ ^2 £2 ^2 Oo — — 3 . 0, — A. O2 — Oj"3 -f^' — c^^a,' And this last coefficient b^, which is itself a function of the first order, may be developed thus : *^' = e^ = B'= E . (b . a/') = B„+ B.a/ ; in which __ C2C1 __ CjjCi C2C1 Ci Bo - e.-.-a,'^ - ^2_j-^ — -^— ^2, -1 Again, the function of the third order, aC'ai"' 180 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, which expresses a root of the general biquadratic equation, may be developed as follows : b"'= S . (5" . a/" . <" ) /3,"'<2 V pr.pr ^ j8,"'<2 in which T // 1 1 // __ 1 1 // 1 "o »o — 4 > "i >o — ^J "o , 1 — ^» and 64 64 64 J,". . = And this last coefficient h", „ which is itself a function of the second order, may , be developed thus : 6/',. = b" = S . Tb' . o/' )=B;+B,'a,"+B,'a,"^ i3," "2 — 72 > may in like manner be expressed so as to involve no radicals in denominators, namely thus : a,"- = .3 + <' + («.-<)(^y, «2 «\2 1112. It would be easy to give other instances of the same sort of transformation, but it seems unnecessary to do so. [4.] It is important in the next place to observe, that any term of the fore- going general development of the general irrational function b , may be isolated from the rest, and expressed separately, as follows. Let b (^) (m) denote a new irrational function, which is formed from b by changing every radical (m) such as a. to a corresponding product such as /) ' a. , in which p („) is, as before, a root of unity ; so that ^ (m) W (m) (m) /^^^ (m) (m) (m) and let any isolated term of the corresponding development of 6 or 6 be denoted by the symbol (m) • _ (m-1) W/3; W/3(„) ^^(•"), . . . /3« ~ /^C""), . . . /3W ■ ^l • ■ • "Z™) " ' 182 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, we shall then have, as the announced expression for this isolated term, the following : the sign of summation here extending to all those terms in which every index such as 7 IS equal to zero or to some positive integer less than a . i 1 Thus, in the case of the function of second order b", which represents, as we have seen, a root of the general cubic equation, if we wish to obtain an isolated expression for any term f of its development already found, namely the de- velopment b" = S .(b' . a/") = b: + 6/ o," + b.l ar = tj' + 1," + 1,", I3,"< 3 \ /3." y we have only to introduce the function b"= E Jb' .p, .<' ) and to employ the formula t" =b' .o;^'"=i.s .fb" .pr^'""") ft" ft" r,"< 3 V r." / ■ft", „ . -2^.", In particular, in which K'=b:^-b;p,al'^b^P,'ar, b.."=b,'+b^p,^a^'+b^P*ar, and in which it is to be remembered that p3^-\- P3-\- 1 =■ 0, and therefore ^3^= 1 , respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 183 Again, if we wish to isolate any term f of the development above assigned for the function of third order h'", which represents a root of the general biquadratic equation, we may employ the formula t — 0 .a. . a„ — -^^-^ . Zj .10 . p„ , p, 1 ~*U.o+(-l) 6..o + (-l) 6o.i+(-l) ^.,/' in which we have introduced the function (/3i"'ri"' /3;"y,"' /3,"' /8,"'v 0 .p2 -p-i .Cfi .Oa 1 // y,'" /^ /// y/" » /// 7i"'+ys " " '" '" SO that, in particular, we have the four expressions ^0,0 = Oo.o = t (Oo,o+ Oi,o+ Oo.i + 0i.i)» //I // (// /// /(/ /// ;// ' ^1.0 = ^.0 «i = i (*o.o — *.,o +*o.. - ^1,0' (// /( /// III III III III *o.i=0(,,ia2 = i(Oo,o+*,,o — Oo,,— *i,i), /// // /// (/; (// ;// III III in which ,// (// , ;/ III ^11 III III Ill II II III II III II III III «'l.0= *0,0 — *1.0 «1 + *0.1 «2 — Ol.l «1 «2 . //; // // III II III II III III Oo,\— Oo,o+0i,o«i — Oo,i«2 — Ol,l«l «2 > '" // /; /// /; /(/ /; /// iii - In these examples, the truth of the results is obvious; and the general demonstration follows easily from the properties of the roots of unity. [5.] We have hitherto made no use of the assumed irreducibility of the irrational function b^"'\ But taking now this property into account, we soon VOL. XVIII. 2 c 184 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, W . . - perceive tliat the component radicals a. , which enter into the composition of this irreducible function, must not be subject to, nor even compatible with, any equations or equation of condition whatever, except only the equations of defi- . W nition, which determine those radicals a. , by determining their prime powers (*) a . a- . For the existence or possibility of any such equation of condition in conjunction with those equations of definition, would enable us to express at least one of the above mentioned radicals as a rational function of others of the same system, and of orders not higher than its own, or even, perhaps, as a rational function of the original variables a,, . . . a , though multiplied in general by a root of a numerical equation ; and therefore would enable us to diminish the number of extractions of prime roots of functions, which would be inconsistent with the irreducibility supposed. In fact, if any such equation of condition, involving any radical or radicals of the order k, but none of any higher order, were compatible with the equations of definition ; then, by some obvious preparations, such as bringing the equation of condition to the form of zero equated to some finite polynomial function of (*) some radical a of the k"' order ; and rejecting, by the methods of equal roots and of the greatest common measure, all factors of this polynome, except those which are unequal among themselves, and are included among the factors of that other polynome which is equated to zero in the corresponding form of . (*) the equation of definition of the radical a. ; we should find that this last equa- tion of definition (i) o. ^ (A— 1) must be divisible, either identically, or at least for some suitable system of values of the remaining radicals, by an equation of condition of the form wg , m (k)g-i (k) (k) (k) a. + G, a. -[-... 4- Q , a. -+- g = 0 : » ' « ' ' g—l ' s W . (*) (*) g being less than o. , and the coefficients Gi , . . o being functions of or- respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 185 ders not higher than k, and not involving the radical a . . Now if we were to suppose that, for any system of values of the remaining radicals, the coefficients G, , . . . should all be = 0, or indeed if even the last of those coefficients should thus vanish, we should then have a new equation of condition, namely the fol- lowing : (*— 1) A =0' which would be obliged to be compatible with the equations of definition of the remaining radicals, and would therefore either conduct at last, by a repetition of the same analysis, to a radical essentially vanishing, and consequently superfluous, among those which have been supposed to enter into the composition of the (m) function h ; or else would bring us back to the divisibility of an equation of definition by an equation of condition, of the form just now assigned, and with coefficients g^ , . . . g which would not all be = 0. But for this purpose it would be necessary that a relation, or system of relations, should exist, (or at least should be compatible with the remaining equations of definition,) of the form (*) (A) e %-e = -^e «.• ' (A) e being less than a. , and v^ being diffijrent from zero, and being a root of a numerical equation ; and because a. is prime, we could find integer numbers \ and IX, which would satisfy the condition A a^ — /i e =: 1 ; (A) SO that, finally, we should have an expression for the radical a. , as a rational function of others of the same system, and of orders not higher than its own, though multiplied in general (as was above announced) by a root of a numerical equation ; namely the following expression : (*) M (k)—y. (k-i)\ a. z=zi/ G f I e g—e -^i And if we should suppose this last equation to be not identically true, but only 2 c 2 186 Sir William R, Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, to hold good for some systems of values of the remaining radicals, of orders not higher than k, we should still obtain, at least, an equation of condition between those remaining radicals, by raising the expression just found for a. to the power (*) a. ; namely, the following equation of condition, (*) f. — U G /. ) • = 0, which might then be treated like the former, till at last an expression should be obtained, of the kind above announced, for at least one of the remaining radicals. In every case, therefore, we should be conducted to a diminution of the number of prime roots of variables in the expression of the function h , which conse- quently would not be irreducible. For example, if an irrational function of the w'* order contain any radical a^ of the cubic form, its exponent a,- being z: 3, and its equation of definition being of the form if also the other equations of definition permit us to suppose that this radical may be equal to some rational function of the rest, so that an equation of the form (m) (m) a (in which the function g, does not contain the radical a^ ,) \s compatible with the equation of definition ()b)3 (»>— 1) o, -f. =0; then, from the forms of these two last mentioned equations, the latter must be divisible by the former, at least for some suitable system of values of the remain- ing radicals : and therefore the following relation, which does not involve the radical Cj , namely, respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. • 187 (m— 1) (m) 3 f, +G, =0, must be either identically true, in which case we may substitute for the radical a . , in the proposed function of the m'* order, the expression (m) 3y (m) a. =z — V 1 . Gj ; or at least it must be true as an equation of condition between the remaining radicals, and liable as such to a similar treatment, conducting to an analogous result. A more simple and specific example is supplied by the following function of the second order, or = — 3^ + t/(c, + /Ci' — c/) + t/ (Ci— /c,'— c/), which is not uncommonly proposed as an expression for a root x of the general cubic equation x^ -\- a^ x^ -\-a^x-\-a^z=.0, c, and Cj being certain rational functions of a,, a^, a^, which were assigned in a former article, and which are such that the cubic equation may be thus written : {x-\- -J— 3 c, {x-\- 1-) — 2 c, = 0. Putting this function of the second order under the form in which the radicals are defined as follows, <" = c,4-<, a^'^z=c, — a(, al^ = c^—c.^, we easily perceive that it is permitted by these definitions to suppose that the radicals a,", a^' are connected so as to satisfy the following equation of con- dition, diy ci.2 ^^ Cg ; and even that this supposition must be made, in order to render the proposed 188 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, function of the second order a root of the cubic equation. But the mere know- ledge of the compatibility of the equation of condition with the equation of definition is sufficient to enable us to infer, from the forms of these two equations, that the latter is divisible by the former, at least for some suitable system of values of the remaining radicals a," and a,', consistent with their equations of definition ; and therefore that the following relation and the expression 3.- c. .'' = ^i ^ are at least consistent with those equations. In the present example, the relation thus arrived at is found to be identically true, and consequently the radicals a^' and a/' remain independent of each other ; but for the same reason, the radical a^" may be changed to the expression just now given ; so that the proposed function of the second order, may, by the mere definitions of its radicals, and even without attending to the cubic equation which it was designed to satisfy, be put under the form the number of prime roots of variables being depressed from three to two ; and consequently that proposed function was not irreducible in the sense which has been already explained. [6.] From the foregoing properties of irrational and irreducible functions, it follows easily that if any one value of any such function b^ , corresponding to respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 189 any one system of values of the radicals on which it depends, be equal to any one root of any equation of the form s t 1 in which the coefficients a,, . , . a^ are any rational functions of the n original quantities a,, . . . a„ ; in such a manner that for some one system of values of the radicals a,', &c., the equation 1 (m) s (m) s — 1 h +A,6 +... + A, = 0 is satisfied : then the same equation must be satisfied, also, for all systems of values of those radicals, consistent with their equations of definition. It is an immediate consequence of this result, that all the values of the function which has already been denoted by the symbol h („) („) must represent roots of the same equation of the s'* degree ; and the same principles show that all these W values of h ^^^ must be unequal among themselves, and therefore must represent s so many different roots x^, x^, . ■ . of the same equation x -f- &c. rr 0, if every index or exponent 7 be restricted, as before, to denote either zero or some 2 positive Integer number less than the corresponding exponent a : for if, with i this restriction, any two of the values of b could be supposed equal, an equation of condition between the radicals c, , &c. would arise, which would be inconsistent with the supposed irreducibility of the function b . For example, having found that the cubic equation .r^ -|- a, a;^ + a2 a: 4" «3 == 0 is satisfied by the irrational and irreducible function b" above assigned,' we can infer that the same equation is satisfied by all the three values &„", 6/', b.^' of the function 6" ; and that these three values must be all unequal among themselves, r." , 190 Sir William K. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, so that they must represent some three unequal roots x^, x^, x^, and consequently all the three roots of the cubic equation proposed. [7.] Combining the result of the last article with that which was befoi-e ob- tained respecting the isolating of a term of a development, we see that if any root X of any proposed equation, of any degree s, in which the s coefficients A,, . . . A^ are still supposed to be rational functions of the n original quantities (m) flp . . . a^, can be expressed as an irrational and irreducible function h of those . («) original quantities ; and if that function h be developed under the form above assigned; then every term ^ .. of this development may be expressed as a rational (and indeed linear) function of some or all the s roots a;,, a'^, • ■ • x^ of the same proposed equation. For example, when we have found that a root x of the cubic equation x^\a^x'^-\-a^x-\-a^-=-Q can be represented by the irrational and irreducible function already mentioned, a; = 6" = 6; + hi a," + &>/' ^ = C'+ K' + K'. (in which 6/ = 1,) we can express the separate terms of this last development as follows, - ■ C = V = ^(^i + ^'2 + -2^3)» —1 —2 ^," = 6,' < = ^ (oTj-f p3 OT^+ft 0:3), —2 —4 C = ^2' <" = ^ (^1+ ft X^-\-Pz OC^; namely, by changing &„", 5,", h^' to .r,, x^^ x^ in the expressions found before for / " f" i" In like manner, when a root x of the biquadratic equation x^\- a^x^ -\- a^x^ ■\- a^x -\- a^ = 0 is represented by the irrational function X = b'" = 6;'., + b:\, a/"+ b,"„ <"+&,",, a/" <" — /'" 4-/'" _1_/"' 4-/"' — '■0 ,oT^n .on^t'o an^*'! ,i' respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree.- 191 in which 6/', 0 = ij" , = 1, we easily derive, from results obtained before, (by merely changing b^'\„, V'.p *i"',oj *i"',i to •*"i> •*"2> -^3' •^4>) the following ex- pressions for the four separate terms of this development : 'o ,0 =^ "o ,0 = 5 (•*"! ~r "^2 "T •^'3 "1" •^4)> '1 ,0 = "1 ,0 ^1" = ¥ (•*"! "i" "*"> -^3 ■^4)' ^0 ,1 — = "0 ,1 ^2 -—4 (-^l -^2 "T" -^3 "^'4 j» .r,, jTj, o-'j, x^ being some four unequal roots, and therefore all the four roots of the proposed biquadratic equation. And when that equation has a root represented in this other way, which also has been already indicated, and in which i/" = 1, X = ¥''= ^+ <"+ 0/"= v"+ &/" ar= tr^ tr, then each of the two terms of this last development may be separately expressed as follows, tr=h:"=^{x,-\-x,), t,'''=brar=i(:v,-x,), Xy and x^ being some two unequal roots of the same biquadratic equation. A still more simple example is supplied by the quadratic equation, x^ -\- ttiX -\- a^-= 0 ] for when we represent a root x of this equation as follows, a; = 6' = -g-^ + < = C+ C we have the following well-known expressions for the two terms t^', t/, as rational and linear functions of the roots x^, x^, t(= a; = |(a;, — »,). In these examples, the radicals of highest order, namely, 0/ in h\ a" in b", VOL. xviii. 2 D 192 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, o,'" and Oj'" in 6'", and a'^ in h'^, have all had the coefficients of their first powers equal to unity; and consequently have been themselves expressed as rational (though unsjrmmetric) functions of the roots of that equation in x, which (m) the function h satisfies ; namely, O2 ^^ i (•^1 ^i 'T •"'3 *4/> the first expression being connected with the general quadratic, the second with the general cubic, and the three last with the general biquadratic equation. We shall soon see that all these results are included in one more general. [8.] To illustrate, by a preliminary example, the reasonings to which we are (m) next to proceed, let it be supposed that any two of the terms t /„) are of the Pi , ■ . . forms 8,1, 3, « 8, 1,3,4 I 2 3 4» and f =10 a a a a , 1,1,J, 3 1,1, 2,3 1 J 3 "^4 ' in which the radicals are defined by equations such as the following their exponents a^', a^', a^', a^' being respectively equal to the numbers 3, 3, 5, 5. We shall then have, by raising the two terms t" to suitable powers, and attending to the equations of definition, the following expressions : // 10 / 10 /6 13 ;6 /8 1/2 II '2. 1. 3, 4 ^= "2, 1, 3, 4 y 1 J 2 y 3 y 4 *^1 '^a 5 ;/ 10 / 10 13 13 /4 (6 // // ^1, 1, 2, 3 ^^^ ^1, 1, 2, 3 J I J 2 J 3 / 4 ^1 % 5 // 6 /6 U 12 13 /4 113 II A ^2, 1, 3, 4 = ^2, 1. 3, 4 y I y 2 7 3 fi ^3 ^4* respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 193 which give 116 /6 12 /2 /2 /3 Hi 113 ^i, 1, 2, 3 = *i. 1. 2. 3 /i /2 /a /4 03 a^; T, — C, O, , Tj — C2 a^ , T3 — C3 03,14 — C4 O4 , if we put, for abridgment, « //» /,-10 , ,10 ,'"'" /.'' .'* '^ '^1 ^ ^2, 1, 3, 4 ^1, 1, 2, 3 5 *-'l —^ ^2, 1, 3, 4 "l,\,% 3 J I J 3 J i't It «— 10 «20 / /— 10 y20 /3 ,2 ,4 '^2 ■— • *2, 1,3, 4 *1,1,2,3 5 ^2 —- "2,1,3,4 "l,l,2,3 ^2 J 3 J i ^ „ „18 ,,—24 , ,18 ,—24 /4 ,—2 , '^3-^^2,1,3,4 *l. 1,2,3 5 *^3 -~ "2,1,3,4 "l,I,2,3 J\ J 2 J 3 '1 „ ,,—12 „18 , ,-12 ,18 ,—2 ,2 , "^4 -— ^2,1,3,4 ^1,1,2,3 5 '-'4 -^ "2,1,3,4 "1,1,2,3 J I Ji J i' And, with a little attention, it becomes clear that the same sort of process may be applied to the terms t of the development of any irreducible function (m) b ; so that we have, in general, a system of relations, such as the following : (m) (m — 1) (m) ' (m) (m — 1) (m) ' ' ' ' (m) (m) (m) , n B » . (m) . in which t. is the product of certain powers (with exponents positive, or nega- (m) _ (m — 1) tive, or null) of the various terms t , ^ ; and the coefficient c is difFe- (8,W,... rent from zero, but is of an order lower than m. For if any radical of the order m were supposed to be so inextricably connected, in every term, with one or more of the remaining radicals of the same highest order, that it could not be dis- entangled from them by a process of the foregoing kind ; and that thus the W foregoing analysis of the function h should be unable to conduct to separate expressions for those radicals ; it would then, reciprocally, have been unnecessary to calculate them separately, in effecting the synthesis of that function ; which function, consequently, would not be irreducible. If, for example, the exponents a/*"^ and ttj^, which enter into the equations of definition of the radicals. a/"^ and O2 , should both be = 3, so that those radicals should both be cube-roots of 2d2 194 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, functions of lower orders ; and if these two cube-roots should enter only by their product, so that no analysis of the foregoing kind could obtain them other- (m — 1) (m) (m) wise than in connexion, and under the form c Ui a^ \ it would then have been sufficient, in effecting the sjmthesis of 6 , to have calculated only the cube- Cm) 3 (m)3 C"— 1) (™— 1) ^(m— 1) root of the product a, a^ =^ Jl :=/ , instead of calcu- (m)3 (m— 1) (7b)3 lating separately the cube-roots of its two factors, a, =^ , and a^ (m— 1) „ . . = /^ : the number of extractions of prime roots of variables might, there- .... . . W . fore, have been diminished m the calculation of the function b , which would be inconsistent with the irreducibility of that function. In the cases of the irreducible functions b', b", b'", b"', which have been above assigned, as representing roots of the general quadratic, cubic, and biquadratic equations, the theorem of the present article is seen at once to hold good ; because in these the radicals of highest order are themselves terms of the developments in question, the coefficients of their first powers being already equal to unity. Thus in the development of b', we have a/ = ^/ ; in b", we have a," = t." ; in b'", we have a'" = t'" , and a'" = t'" ; and in 6 ^ we havea/''=i{/''. [9.] By raising to the proper powers the general expressions of the form (m) (OT-1) (m) T = c a , i i i we obtain a system of 'nr'"^ equations of this other form (m)a/'"'' (m-l)af'"'' (m-1) „' (m-\) T. = C. • / =/ • t t ( ^ (m— 1) / being some new irrational function, of an order lower than m ; and by combining the same expressions with those which define the various terms (m) (m) t (^-^ , the number of which terms we shall denote by the symbol t , we ob- P\ I • • • (m) tain another system of ^ equations, of which the following is a type, respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 195 (m — 1) \(m — I) U (m) a rational function of a,', ... a' and of a,, ... a , while t" is a rational function n" n j of X, , . . . x ; we have therefore the expression i '^. and we see that every radical of the second order also is equal to a rational function of Xj, . . . x and of o,, . . . o : so that we may write ( n a" = v" (x, .. . X, a, . . .a). i i I s I n And re-ascending thus, through orders higher and higher, we find, finally, by similar reasonings, that every one of the n' -{-n"-\-...-\-n -j- ...-{- w radi- cals which enter into the composition of the irrational and irreducible function (m) . (*) . (k) b , such as the radical a , must be expressible as a rational function f of « i the roots a;,, . . . x, and of the original quantities a^, . . . a : so that we have a > n complete system of expressions, for all these radicals, which are included in the general formula (*) (A), ^ a = F (Xj, . . . X , o,, . . . o ). > < s n Thus, in the case of the cubic equation and the function b", when we have arrived at the relation h — /i > , in which ^i" = :J- (^1 + P3 ^2 + p3 'I'a). and// = c, -f o/, we find that the rational function respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 199 A" ' = ^ (^1 + P3 ^2 + P3 ^3)' ' admits only of two different values, in whatever way the arrangement of the three roots x^, x.^, x^ may be changed ; it must therefore be itself a root of a quadratic equation, in which the coefficients are symmetric functions of those three roots, and consequently rational functions of a,, a^, a^ ; namely, the equation o = {trr-ih {(^i + p' ^^ + p. ^.r + (^i + p' ^. + ?. ^^'\ {^n + TT? (^1 + Pa' -^2 + p^ ^3)' (a?i + P^ 3^3 + />3 ar^)' = (try + sV (2«.^-9a, a, +27^3) (^/") + (^^^) '• The same quadratic equation must therefore be satisfied when we substitute for F.- +D,F, +... + D^iF. +Dp = 0, in which the coefficients d„ . . . d^ are rational functions of Oj, . . . a„ ; and (*) therefore at least one value of the radical a. must satisfy the equation (*)p ^ (k)p-i (*) «■ + i>i tti 4- • • • + »p_i «■ +»p = 0- But in order to this, it is necessary, for reasons already explained, that all the (A) values of the same radical a, , obtained by multiplying itself and all its subordi- nate radicals of the same functional system by any powers of the corresponding roots of unity, should satisfy the same equation ; and therefore that the number q of these values of the radical a. should not exceed the degree^ of that equation, or the number of the values of the rational function f^ . Again, since we have denoted by q the number of values of the radical, we must suppose that it satisfies identically an equation of the form «• +E,a +... + E^_ia, +E^ = 0, the coefficients e„ . . . e^ being rational functions of a„ . . . o„ ; and therefore W that at least one value of the function f. satisfies the equation • W ? , (A) ?-l , . (*) , F,. + E, . P.. + . . . + E^_, • Fj +E, = 0. Suppose now that the s roots x^, . . . x^ of the original equation in x, > »— 1 a; + A,x -1- . . , -|- As_i x -j- As = 0, are really unconnected by any relation among themselves, a supposition which requires that s should not be greater than n, since a,, . • . a^ are rational func- tions of a,, ... a„; suppose also that a^, . . . aJ^ can be expressed, reciprocally, respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 201 as rational functions of Aj, . . . a^, a supposition which requires, reciprocally, that n should not be greater than s, because the original quantities a^, . . . a„ are, in this whole discussion, considered as independent of each other. With these suppositions, which involve the equality s =^n, we may consider the n quantities a,, . . . a„, and therefore also the q coefficients e„ . . . e , as being symmetric functions of the n roots x^, . . . x^ of the equation / + A,/ +... + A„_i a; + A„ = 0; we may also consider f. as being a rational but unsymmetric function of the same n arbitrary roots, so that we may write a. =F. {Xi,.. .xj; and since the truth of the equation F. + E, F. + . . . -f E^ = 0 must depend only on the forms of the functions, and not on the values of the quantities which it involves, (those values being altogether arbitrary,) we may alter in any manner the arrangement of these n arbitrary quantities x,, . . . x^, and the equation must still hold good. But by such changes of arrangement, the symmetric coefficients Ej, . . . e remain unchanged, while the rational but un- symmetric function f . takes, in succession, all those p values of which it was before supposed to be capable ; these p unequal values therefore must all be roots of the same equation of the q"' degree, and consequently q must not be less than p. And since it has been shown that the former of these two last mentioned numbers must not exceed the latter, it follows that they must be equal to each other, so that we have the relation q=p: that is, the radical a. and the rational function f. must be exactly coexten- sive in multiplicity of value. 2e 2 202 Sir "William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, For example, when, in considering the irreducible irrational expression b" for a root of the general cubic, we are conducted to the relation assigned in the last article, «■' = F.' (^.' ^2' ^3) = Vff {p\-p^) (^ -^2) (^ -^3) (^2-^3) ; we can then at pleasure infer, either that the radical 0/ must admit (as a radical) of two and only two values, if we have previously perceived that the rational function f/ admits (as a rational function) of two values, and only two, corresponding to changes of arrangement of the three roots x^, x^, x^, namely, the two following values, which differ by their signs, ± ^5 (p'-Ps) (^ -^2) (^ -^3) (^2-^3) ; or else we may infer that the function f/ admits thus of two values and two only, for all changes of arrangement of x^, x.^, x^, if we have perceived that the radical a/ (as being given by its square, which square is rational,) admits, itself, of the two values ± a/ which differ in their signs. [12.] The conditions assumed in the last article are all fulfilled, when we suppose the coefficients a^ &c. to coincide with the 71 original quantities a^ &c., that is, when we return to the equation originally proposed ; a:" + a, a;""' + . . . + o„_i a; + a„ = 0, which is the general equation of the n'^ degree : so that we have, for any radical a , which enters into the composition of any irrational and irreducible function representing any root of any such equation, an expression of the form (*) (*) / \ the radical and the rational function being coextensive in multiplicity of value. We are, therefore, conducted thus to the following important theorem, to which Abel first was led, by reasonings somewhat different from the foregoing : respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 203 namely, that " if a root x of the general equation of any particular degree n can be expressed as an irreducible irrational function 6 "* of the n arbitrary coeffi- cients of that equation, then every radical a. , which enters into the composition of that function b *" , must admit of being expressed as a rational, though unsym- metric function f. of the n arbitrary roots of the same general equation ; and this rational but unsymmetric funtion F. must admit of receiving exactly the same variety of values, through changes of arrangement of the n roots on which it depends, as that which the radical a. can receive, through multiplications of itself and of all its subordinate functional radicals by any powers of the corres- ponding roots of unity." Examples of the truth of this theorem have already been given, by anticipa- tion, in the seventh and tenth articles of this Essay ; to which we may add, that the radicals a/' and a/, in the expressions given above for a root of the general biquadratic, admit of being thus expressed : «."= fs {(^. + ^2- ^3-^4)' + P^ (^ - ^2+ ^3-^4)* + Pz (^ - ^- ^3 + ^4)*} = h. {^.^2+^3^4 + /'3' (^, ^3 + ^2 ^4) + ft (^. ^4 + ^2 ^3)] ; < = =li5 {^.^2 + ^3 ^4 + P3' (^, ^3 + ^2 ^4) + ft (^. ^4 + ^2 ^3)}' — 3-S {^. ^2 + ^3 ^4 + ft' (^. ^4 + ^2 ^3) + ft (^. ^3 + ^2 ^4)}' = nij (ft'-ft) (^.-^2) {^r^z) (•^-•^4) (^2-^3) (^2-^4) (^3-^4)- But before we proceed to apply this theorem to prove, in a manner similar to that of Abel, the impossibility of obtaining any finite expression, irrational and irreducible, for a root of the general equation of the fifth degree, it will be instructive to apply it, in a new way, (according to the announcement made in the second article,) to equations of lower degrees ; so as to draw, from those lower equations, a class of illustrations quite different from those which have been heretofore adduced : namely, by showing, a priori, with the help of the same general theorem, that no new finite function, irrational and irreducible, can be found, essentially distinct in its radicals from those which have long since been 204 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, discovered, for expressing any root of any such lower but general equation, quadratic, cubic, or biquadratic, in terms of the coefficients of that equation. [13.] Beginning then with the general quadratic, 0^ + a, X + Oj = 0, let us endeavour to investigate, a priori, with the help of the foregoing theorem, all possible forms of irrational and irreducible functions b , which can express a root X of this quadratic, in terms of the two arbitrary coefficients a^, a^, so as to satisfy identically, or independently of the values of those two coefficients, the equation jW 4- a. 6^"^ + a, = 0. The two roots of the proposed quadratic being denoted by the symbols x^ and x^, we know that the two coefficients o^ and a^ are equal to the following symmetric functions, «. = - (^. + ^J' <^. = ^x ^. ; we cannot therefore suppose either root to be a rational function b of these co- efficients, because an unsymmetric function of two arbitrary quantities cannot be equal to a symmetric function of the same ; and consequently we must suppose that the exponent m of the order of the sought function b is greater than 0. The expression 6 "" for a; must therefore involve at least one radical a/, which must itself admit of being expressed as a rational but unsymmetric function of the two roots x^, x^, < = f/ (^1, a:^), and of which some prime power can be expressed as a rational function of the two coefficients a,, a^, the exponent a^ being equal to the number of the values F, (x,, x^), Fi (Xj, X,), respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 205 of the unsymmetrlc function f/, and consequently being = 2; so that the radical a/ must be a square root, and must have two values differing In sign, which may be thus expressed : + o/ = f/ (a;,, Xj), — a/ = F/(a;„a?,). But, In general, whatever rational function may be denoted by f, the quotients 2 ^^ 2{xi-Xi) are some sjmimetrlc functions, a and h ; so that we may put generally F (^u x^) = a-\-b (Xi — x^), therefore, since we have, at present, F,'(^2» ^.) = — F.' (^.. a;,), the function f/ must be of the form the multiplier b being symmetric. At the same time, < = ^ (^. - ^2)r and therefore the function^ is of the form / (a„ a,) = a/^ = ¥ {x^ - x.f = ¥ (a.;- - 4 o,), so that the radical a/ may be thus expressed. in which, b Is some rational function of the coefficients a,,a2. No other radi- cal a^' of the first order can enter into the sought irreducible expression for x ; because the same reasoning would show that any such new radical ought to be reducible to the form < = c (x^ - x^) = ^ o/, c being some new symmetric function of the roots, and consequently some new rational function of the coefficients ; so that, after calculating the radical a/, it 206 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, would be unnecessary to effect any new extraction of prime roots for the pur- pose of calculating a^, which latter radical would therefore be superfluous. Nor can any radical a," of higher order enter, because such radical would have 2 a^" values, a/' being greater than 1, while any rational function f/', of two arbitrary quantities x,, x^, can receive only two values, through any changes of their arrangement. The exponent m, of the order of the sought irreducible function b^'"-', must therefore be = 1, and this function itself must be of the form b' — b^ + b^ a/, bg and 6, being rational functions of a,, o^, or symmetric functions of the two roots x^, Xj, which roots must admit of being separately expressed as follows : if any expression of the sought kind can be found for either of them. It is, therefore, necessary and sufficient for the existence of such an expression, that the two following quantities, .^1 + ^2 I ^1 - ^2 should admit of being expressed as rational functions of a^, a^; and this con- dition is satisfied, since the foregoing relations give We find, therefore, as the sought irrational and irreducible expression, and as the only possible expression of that kind, (or at least as one with which all others must essentially coincide,) for a root x of the general quadratic, the following : 'ft b still denoting any arbitrary rational function of the two arbitrary coefficients a , a^, or any numerical constant, (such as the number t, which was the value of this quantity b in the formulae of the preceding articles,) and the two separate roots x^, a!j, being obtained by taking separately the two signs of the radical. And thus we see d priori, that every method, for calculating a root x of the respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 207 general quadratic equation as a function of the two coefficients, by any finite number of additions, subtractions, multiplications, divisions, elevations to powers, and extractions of prime radicals, (these last extractions being supposed to be reduced to the smallest possible number,) must involve the extraction of some one square-root of the form a:=Vh\a^-4>a,), and must not involve the extraction of any other radical. But this square-root a I is not essentially distinct from that which is usually assigned for the solution of the general quadratic : it is therefore impossible to discover any new irra- tional expression, finite and irreducible, for a root of that general quadratic, essentially distinct from the expressions which have long been known : and the only possible diffisrence between the extractions of radicals which are required in any two methods of solution, if neither method require any superfluous ex- traction, is that these methods may introduce different square factors into the expressions of that quantity or function^, of which, in each, the square root a' is to be calculated. [14.] Proceeding to the general cubic, a? + a^ x^ + a^x + a3=. 0, we know, first, that the three coefficients are symmetric functions of the three roots, «. = ~ (^, + ^. + ^3)* a, = iP, ^« + ^, ^3 + ^, ajg, 03 = - X, x^ 0^3, so that we cannot express any one of these three arbitrary roots x^, x^, x^, as a, rational function b of the three coefficients a^, a^, a^; we must therefore inquire whether it can be expressed as an irrational function b , involving at least one radical a/ of the first order, which is to satisfy the two conditions, and «/ = F.' («.» «.' "3) ; the functions f^ and f/ being rational, and the prime exponent a/ being either 2 or 3, because it is to be equal to the number of values of the rational function VOL. XVIII. 2 F 208 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, F ', obtained by changing in all possible ways the arrangement of the three roots X , a;,, iCj, and therefore must be a divisor of the product 1.2.3 = 6. Now by the properties of rational functions of three variables, (of which an investigation shall soon be given, but which it is convenient merely to enunciate here, that the course of the main argument may not be too much interrupted,) no three- valued function of three arbitrary quantities x^, x^,x^, can have a symmetric cube ; and the only two-valued functions, which have symmetric squares, are of the form b (iT, - x^) (x^ - X,) (x, - X,), b being a symmetric but otherwise arbitrary multiplier. We must therefore suppose, that the radical a/ is a square-root, and that it may be thus expressed : «.' = F,' (^., X,, X3) = b{x^- xj (x^ - X,) (x, - X3) = V{P (^. - xy (a;. - x,y {x, - x.f} = ^/{b' (a.^ a/ - 4 a>3 - 4 a/ + I80, o, a, - 27 O3')} = /- 108 6* (c/-c/), b being here rational with respect to a^, a^, ag, as also are c, and c^, which last have the same meanings here as in the second article ; so that the function f is of the form, f(a^,a^,a,)=-108b'{c^'-c,'). No other radical of the first order, a/, can enter into the sought irreducible expression b "* ; because the same reasoning would give aj = c{x^- xj (», - x^) (x, - x,) = y o/, c being rational with respect to a,, a,, a^, so that the radical aj would be super- fluous. On the other hand, no expression of the form b^ + S, 0/ can represent the three-valued function x ; we must therefore suppose that if the sought ex- pression b '" exist at all, it is, at lowest, of the second order, and involves at least one radical a,". such that and 0,""'" respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 209 the rational function f/' admitting of 2 a/' values, and consequently the exponent a/' being = 3, (since It cannot be = 2, because no function of three variables has exactly four values,) so that we must suppose the radical a," to be a cube- root, of the form a," = v^6o + 6.<, Jg and 6, being rational with respect to o,, a^, a^. But In order that a six- valued rational function f/'> of three arbitrary quantities x^y x^, x^, should have a two-valued cube, it must be of the form F," (a;,, x^, X,) = (p^ +p^ a;) {x^ -t- p^^ x^ -f p^x^); in which p^ and p^ are symmetric, a/ has the form recently assigned, and p^ is a root of the numerical equation P3* + P3 + l = 0; we must therefore suppose that «." = {Po +i>. O {^. + 9^ ^, + ft ^,), and h + b^a: = 27(p,+p^a:y {c. + t:V(p,^- />,) y }' Cj retaining here its recent meaning ; so that the radical a/' may be considered as the cube-root of this last expression. If any other radical a^' of the second order could enter into the composition of b , it ought, for the same reasons, to be either of the form < = (^o + ?i <) (^. + ft' -^^a + ft ^3). or else of the form O2" = (q^ + qi a/) (or, -{- p,x^-\- p^ a;,), pi being here the same root of the numerical equation p^ -\- p^-^-lzi 0, as in the expression for o/' ; we should therefore have either the relation or else the relation U _ ; 7- a, , Po+Pidi „ _ 9 Ca (Po + JPi «i) (yp + gi "iQ 2f2 210 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, c, retaining its recent meaning ; so that in each case it would be superfluous to perform any new extraction of a cube-root or other radical in order to calculate a.2', after 0/ and a/' had been calculated ; and consequently no such other radical a/' of the second order can enter into the composition of the irreducible function h . If then that function be itself of the second order, it must be capable of being put under the form Ki ^I'i K' being functions of the forms V = (V)o+(V)i<. in which the radicals a/ and a/' have the forms lately found, and (b^\, . . . (5/), are rational functions of a,, a^, O3. And on the same supposition, the three roots s^, s^, X3, of that equation must, in some arrangement or other, be represented by the three expressions, ^p = K"=w+hW<+p^'b2ar, P3 retaining here its recent value : which expressions reciprocally will be true, if the following relations, can be made to hold good, by any suitable arrangement of the roots s , a: , a: , and by any suitable selection of those rational functions of a,, a^, a^, which have hitherto l)een left undetermined. Now, for this purpose it is necessary and sufficient that the arrangement of the roots x , ^ , x , should coincide with one or other of the three following arrangements, namely ar^, x^, X3, or x^, x^, .tr,. respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 211 or X3, x^f or^; the value of 3 ft/ (p^ + p^ o/) being, In the first case, unity; in the second case, p^ ; and, in the third case, p^ ; while, in every case, the value of bj is to be —3^, and that of 5/ b^' (b^ -\- b^ a,') is to be Cj. All these suppositions are compatible with the conditions assigned before ; nor is there any essential difference between the three cases of arrangement just now men- tioned, since the passage from any one to any other may be made (as we have seen) by merely multiplying the coefficient &/, which admits of an arbitrary multiplier, by an imaginary cube-root of unity. We have, therefore, the following irrational and irreducible expression for the root x of the general cubic, as a function of the second order, — h" — ~"' J_ "" _i_ ScaCPo + PiOi') x-o --g-i- 3(^„+^,„;^+ all 5 in which it is to be remembered that «/' ' = 27 {p, -Yp, alf |c. + -iV (/>/ - ft)-^'} , and that 0/*= — 108ft^(c,^-c/); c, and Cj having the determined values above referred to, namely ^i = ~-si (2«i' — 9a, a^ + 27 03), c^ = l (a,^ — 3a,), and /93 being an imaginary cube-root of unity, but J and p^, />,, being any arbi- trary rational functions of o,, a,, O3, or even any arbitrary numeric constants ; except that b must be different from 0, and that p^, p^ must not both together vanish. (In the formulae of the earlier articles of this essay, these three last quantities had the following particular values, * = tV(/'3'— />3), i>o = i» i'i = 0-) By substituting for the cubic radical a/' the three unequal values a,", p^ a,", p^ a,", in the general expression, just now found, for x, we obtain separate and unequal expressions for the three separate roots x^, x^,x.^; these roots, and every rational function of them, may consequently be expressed as rational functions of the two radicals a/ and o," ; and therefore it is unnecessary and improper, in the present research, to introduce any other radical. But these two radicals a,' and a," are not essentially distinct from those which enter into the usual formulae 212 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, for the solution of a cubic equation : it is therefore impossible to discover any new irrational expression, finite and irreducible, for a root of the general cubic, essentially distinct from those which have long been known ; and the only pos- sible difference, with respect to the extracting of radicals, between any two methods of solution which both are free from all superfluous extractions, consists in the introduction of different square factors into that quantity or function y^, of which, in each, the square root a/ is to be calculated ; or in the introduction of different cubic factors into that other quantity or function y/, of which, in each method, it is requisite to calculate the cube-root a/'. It is proper, however, to remember the remarks which have been made, in a foregoing article, respecting the reducibility of a certain expression, involving two cubic radicals a," and a^', which is not uncommonly assigned for a root of the cubic equation. [15.] But it is necessary to demonstrate some properties of rational functions of three variables, which have been employed in the foregoing investigation. And because it will be necessary to investigate afterwards some analogous pro- perties of functions of four and five arbitrary quantities, it may be conducive to clearness and uniformity that we should begin with a few remarks respecting functions which involve two variables only. Let F {x^, Xq) denote any arbitrary rational function of two arbitrary quan- tities A\, oTj, arranged in either of their only two possible arrangements ; so that the function f admits of the two following values F (or,, x^) and f (x^, a;,), which for conciseness may be thus denoted, (l,2)and(2, 1). These different values of the proposed function f may also be considered as being themselves two different Junctions of the same two quantities or, x^ taken in some determined order ; and may, in this view, be denoted thus, F,(a:., :rj andF,(^,,^,), or, more concisely, (1,2). and (1,2),: respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. - 213 they may also, on account of the mode in which they are formed from one com- mon type F (x^, 1' ), be said to be syntypical functions. For example, the two values, ax^-{-hx, = {\, 2) = f(^,, x^) = F,(^,.^,) = (l, 2),, and ax. + bx^ = (2, 1) = F (x^, or,) = f, (x^, xJ = (1, 2)., of the function ax^ -\- bx^ , may be considered as being two different but syn- typical functions of the two variables x^ and a:,. And again, in the same sense, the functions — and — are syntypical. X-i Xi J J L Now although, in general, two such syntypical functions, f^ and f., are un- connected by any relation among themselves, on account of the independence of the two arbitrary quantities or, and x^ ; yet, for some particular forms of the original or typical function f,, they may become connected by some such relation, without any restriction being thereby imposed on those two arbitrary quantities. But all such relations may easily be investigated, with the help of the two gene- ral forms obtained in the thirteenth article, namely, F^ = a-\-b(x^—x^),F^ = a — b(x-xJ, in which a and b are symmetric. For example, we see from these forms that the two syntypical functions f^ and f. become equal, when they reduce themselves to the symmetric term or function a, but not in any other case ; and that their squares are equal without their being equal themselves, if they are of the forms ± b (x— xj, but not otherwise. We see, too, that we cannot suppose F=P3 f,, without making a and b both vanish ; and therefore that two syntypical functions of two arbitrary quantities cannot have equal cubes, if they be themselves unequal. [16.] After these preliminary remarks respecting functions of two variables, let us now pass to functions of three; and accordingly let f(x^, Xg, x ), or more concisely (a, j3, 7), denote any arbitrary rational function of any three arbi- trary and independent quantities x^, x^, x^, arranged in any arbitrary order. It is clear that this function f has in general six different values, namely, 214 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, (1, 2, 3), (2, 3, 1), (3, 1, 2), (2, 1, 3), (3, 2, 1), (1, 3, 2), or, In a more developed notation, corresponding to the six different possible arrangements of the three quantities on which it is supposed to depend ; and that these six values of the function f may also be considered as six different but syntypical functions of the same three arbitrary quantities x^,x^,x^, taken in some determined order; which functions may be thus denoted, F, (Xj, x^, xj, . . . F^{x^, x^, xj, or, more concisely, (1,2,3)„...(1,2,3)«. For example, the six following values, ax^ + bx, + car, = (1, 2, 3) = f(^,, x^, xJ, ax, + bx^ + cx^ = (2, 3, 1) = f (x,, x^, x^), ax^ + bx^ + cx^ = (3, 1, 2) = f(x^, o:,, orj, ax, + bx^ + cx^ = (2, 1, 3) = f(x,, x^y or,), ax, + bx, + cx^ = (3, 2, 1) = f(^,, x,, x^, ax^ + bx^ + ex, = (1, 3, 2) = F(arp x^, x,), of the original or typical function may be considered as being six syntypical functions, Fj, f^, F3, F4, f^, Fg, of the three quantities x^, x,, x^. Such also are the six following, £l._l_ ^_L_ —A- £i_l_ £l_J_ — I Xi "r^3' 3:3+-^'' xi +-^2' X, "T"^'' Xi "T"^'' 0:3 "T*^*' which are the values of the function ~-\- x . ? ' . Now, in general, six such syntypical functions of three arbitrary quantities are all unequal among themselves ; nor can any ratio or other relation between them be assigned, (except that very relation which constitutes them syntypical,) respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 215 so long as the form of the function r, although It has been supposed to be rational, remains otherwise entirely undetermined. But, for some particular fonns of this original or typical function F(a:„, a;^, x ), relations may arise between the six syntypical functions Fj, . . . Pg, without any restriction being thereby imposed on the three arbitrary quantities a:,, x^, x^; for example, the function f may be partially or wholly symmetric, and then the functions Fi, . . . f^ will, some or all, be equal. And we are now to study the chief functional con- ditions, under which relations of this kind can arise. More precisely, we are to examine what are the conditions under which the number of the values of a rational function f of three variables, or of the square or cube of that function, can reduce itself below the number six, in consequence of two or more of the six syntjrpical functions f,, . . . Fg, or of their squares or cubes, which are them- selves syntypical, becoming equal to each other. And for this purpose we must first inquire into the conditions requisite in order that any two syntypical func- tions, or that any two values of F, may be equal. [17.] If any two such values be denoted by the symbols t(x^, Xp^, x^j, and f(x^^, x^^, x^), or, more concisely, by the following, (a , ^,, 7,) and (a, /3^, yj, it is clear that in passing from the one to the other, and therefore in passing from some one arrangement to some other of the three indices a, ^, 7, (which must themselves coincide, in some arrangement or other, with the numbers 1, 2, 3,) we must have changed some index, such as a, to some other, such as ^, which must also have been changed, itself, either to a or to 7 ; this latter index 7 remaining in the first case unaltered, but being changed to a in the second case. And, in whatever order the indices Oj, /Sp 7i may have coincided with a, j3, 7, it is obvious that the function must coincide with the syntypical function F^(ar„, x^ x^) or (a, ft 7)., VOL. XVIII. 2 G 216 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, for some suitable index i, belonging to the system 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ; the equation («■' ^.» 7,) = («,» P.» 7,)y is therefore equivalent to one or other of the two following, namely, either 1st, . . . (a, p, y). = (^, a, y)., or 2nd, ... (a, p, 7). = (/3, 7, a).; In the first case, the function f,. is symmetric with respect to the two quantities .r^, Xg, and therefore involves them only by involving their sum and product, which may be thus expressed, o, and Oj being symmetric functions of the three quantities or,, x^, x^, namely, the following, a^=z —(x^-\-x^-\-Xj), a^ = XiS2-\-x^X3-\- x^x^; so that if we put, for abridgment, ttg zz Xi X2 ^3, the three quantities x^, x^, x^ will be the three roots of the cubic equation x^-\■a^x'^-\-aiX ■\-a:^=^0. In this case, therefore, we may consider f. as being a rational function of the root X alone, which function will however involve, in general, the coefficients y o, and a.2 ; and we may put _x(^.)-x(V-'/'(^)_ .. . (f), x> ^^^ ^ denoting here some rational and whole functions of x , which may however involve rationally the coefficients of the foregoing cubic equation. And respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 217 since it is unnecessary, on account of that equation, to retain in evidence the cube or any higher powers of :r , we may write simply Oy b, c being here symmetric functions of the three quantities ;?•,, x^, Xj : so that, in this case, the six syntypical functions, or values of the function f, reduce themselves to the three following a-\-bXi-\-cXi% a -^ bx^ -\- cx^% a -\- bXj-\- cx^^ . Nor can these three reduce themselves to any smaller number, without their all becoming equal and symmetric, by the vanishing of 6 and c. In the second case, the form of f^ being such that it must also be such that (A 7i «)i = (r. «» ^)i ; for the same reason we must have (^, a, 7). =z (a, y, /3). = (7, /3, a)., so that the function changes when any two of the three indices are interchanged, but returns to its former value when any two are interchanged again ; from which it results that the two following combinations («. A 7)i + (A «. y)i and (x —xJlx ~x )(x.~x ) remain unchanged, after all interchanges of the indices, and are therefore sym- metric functions, such as 2 a and 2 b, of the three quantities ar^ x^, x^ : so that we may write - F. (x^, x^ x^) = (a, ft 7). = a + 6 {x~ xp) {x^- x^) (x^- x^) ; and consequently the six syntypical functions, or values of the function r, reduce themselves in this case to the two following, a ± 6(a:,-jrj) (or.-^g) (jTs-jrj), 2g2 218 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, in which a and b are symmetric. It is evident that any farther diminution of the number of values of F, conducts, in this case also, to the one-valued or symmetric function a. Combining the foregoing results, we see that if an unsymmetric rational function of three arbitrary quantities have fewer than six values, it must be reducible either to the two-valued form a + b (x-x,) (^ -iCj) (:v^-x,), or to the three-valued form a + bx + cx^. [18.] It is possible, however, that some analogous but different reduction may cause either — I. the square, or II. the cube of a function f of three variables, to have a smaller number of values than the function f itself. But, for this pur- pose, It is necessary that we should now have a relation of one or other of the two forms following, namely, either I (a^, ^2. 72) = — («i> A> 7i) or II. . . . (a^, p,, 7,) = P3 (a„ ^„ -y,), (Pj denoting, as above, an imaginary cube root of unity,) instead of the old func- tional relation (a^, /S^, 7^) =z (a„ /3,, 7 J. And as we found ourselves permitted, before, to change that old relation to one or other of these two, 1st, (|3, a, 7) . = (a, ft 7). ; 2nd, (/3, 7, a). = (a, /3, 7). ; so are we now allowed to change the two new relations to the four following : I. l,..(ft 0,7).= -(a,|8,7).; I. 2, . . (/3, 7, a). = - (a, /3, 7).; II. 1, . . (A a, 7). = ft (a, ft 7). ; II. 2, . . (ft 7, a), = p, (a, ft 7). ; the relation (I.) admitting of being changed to one or other of the two marked (I. 1) and (I. 2); and the relation (II.) admitting, in like manner, of being changed either to (II. 1) or to (II. 2). But the relations (I. 2) and (II. 1) conduct only to evanescent functions, because (I. 2) gives and (II. 1) gives respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. ' 219 (7, «. ^X = - (ft 7. «)i = + (a, A 7)i. (a, /3, 7). = - (7, a, /3). = - (a, ft 7)., («5 ft 7)i = ft (ft «. 7)i = P3^ («' ft 7)i : we may therefore confine our attention to the other two relations. Of these, (I. 1) requires that the function should not change its value when x^ and Xo are interchanged, and consequently, by what was shown above, that it should be reducible to the form a + hx + co: ^ ; in this case, therefore, we have the expression, («> ft y)i - Fi {^a^ ^^y ^y) - (^„ - ^^) (« + K + c^y% the coefficients a, b, c, being symmetric functions of .Tj, x^, X3. Accordingly the square of this function f. admits in general of three values only, while the func- tion is itself in general six-valued ; because the square of the factor x^ — x^, but not that factor itself, can be expressed as a rational function of x , and of the quantities a,, a^, a^, which are symmetric relatively to oTj, X2, x^. It may even happen that the function itself shall have only two values, and that its square shall be symmetric, namely, by the factor a-{-bx -\- ex ^ being reducible to the form b (x^—x) (xo — x ), in which the coefficient b is some new symmetric function ; but the results of the last article enable us to see that the functions thus obtained, namely, those of the form or more simply of the form 6(^1-^0 (^1-^3) (-^2—^3). are the only two-valued functions of three variables which have symmetric squares : they enable us also to see easily that the square of a three-valued function of three variables is always itself three-valued. It remains, then, only to consider the relation (II. 2) ; which requires that the function (g, i3, 7); 220 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, should be of the two-valued form a-\-b {x^ — x^ i^a^^^y) (■^s — ^ ) ' because, if we denote it by 0 {x^, x^ x ), we have 0 (x„, X^, X^) = (p (x^ x^, xj = 0 (x^, X^, Xp\ and we have, therefore, in this case, (a, /3, 7;) = F. (X^, X^, X^) = {a + bix^—Xp) (x^-x^) (Xp—x^)} ix:^-\-p3'Xj3-\-p3^y)y a and b being symmetric coefficients, which must not both together vanish ; and accordingly we find, a posteriori, that whereas this function Fj has always itself six values, its cube has only two. The foregoing analysis shows at the same time, that if an unsymmetric function of three variables have fewer than six values, its cube cannot have fewer values than itself; and accordingly it is easy to see that the cubes of those two-valued and three-valued functions, which were assigned in the last article, are themselves two-valued and three-valued. In fact, the passage from any one to any other of the values of any such (two-valued or three valued) function, may be performed by interchanging some two of the three quantities a;,, x.^, x.^; and if such interchange could have the effect of multiplying the function by an imaginary cube-root of unity, p^, another inter- change of the same two quantities would multiply again by the same factor p^ ; and therefore these two interchanges combined would multiply by p^^ which is a factor different from unity, although any two such successive interchanges of any two quantities x^, Xg, ought to make no change in the function. If, then, a rational function of three arbitrary quantities have a symmetric cube, it must be itself symmetric. The form of that six-valued function of three variables which has a two- valued cube, may also be thus deduced, from the functional relation (II. 2). Omitting for simplicity, the lower index i, which is not essential to the reasoning, we find, by that relation, (|3, 7, a) = p^{a, /3, 7) ; (7, a, p) = p,^ (a, ft 7) ; (7, ft a) = ,,3(0,7, /3); (ft 0,7)= p3* (a, 7,^); respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 221 to that . (a, A 7) • ( /3) is a three-valued function 1/^, which may be put under the form a, b, and c being symmetric, and b and c being obliged not both to vanish. Attending therefore to that cubic equation of which x^, x^ and x are the roots, we have y/ = a^« + 6«'a;„ + c^^'V, a'*', b^, and c® denoting here some symmetric functions, and c, c'^' being obliged not both to vanish ; and consequently, by eliminating x^, we obtain an equation of the form in which the coefficients of ^„ and _y„2 cannot both vanish, and in which therefore the coefficient of x^ cannot vanish, because the three-valued function ^^ must not be a root of any equation with symmetric coefficients, below the third degree ; we have therefore an expression of the form 2 fa' in which, p, q, r are symmetric, and q and r do not both vanish. But i'a = («> ^' 7) + («' 7> /3) = («. A 7) + {a,^,y) ' and the cube of (a, /3, 7) is a two-valued function ; therefore ^a=i'' + ?'(«.A7)+^'(«,A7)^ the functions p', q', r' being either symmetric or two-valued, and consequently undergoing no change, when we pass successively from the first to the second, or from the second to the third, of the three functions (a, j8, 7), (p, 7, a), (7, a, /3), by changing at each passage, x^ to Xn, x^ to x , and x to x^ ; and we have seen 222 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, that these three last-mentioned functions bear to each other the same ratios as the three cube-roots of unity, 1, p^, p.^ ', we have therefore ^/3 = y + ?' Pa («. A 7) + r>3^ (a, J8, 7) V ^y=p' + q'p'('^P,y)+r'pA^P,yy; and thus, finally, the six-valued function which has a two- valued cube is found anew to be expressible as follows, K A 7) = 3^ K + ft'^/j+Pa^y) ; in which the coefficient -^—, is a two-valued function, of the form a, b, denoting here some new symmetric functions. The theorems obtained incidentally in this last discussion supply us also with another mode of proving that the cube of a three-valued function of three arbi- trary quantities must be Itself three-valued : for if we should suppose 9/^ = ft^/^, and consequently 1/ =i p^y^= p^y^, in which y^ — a + bx^ -\- cx^, and b and o do not both vanish, we should then have relations of the forms ^a = ;> + ««/a + ry^, ^li=P + 9P3:f/a + ^p3^ya^ ^y=P+9P3''^a + rp,y^^; but these would require that we should have the equation ^a + P3 ^/3 + /'s^^ = 3 y .y^, a condition which it is impossible to fulfil, because the first member has six values, and the second only three. [19.] The discussion of the forms of functions of four variables may now be conducted more briefly, than would have been consistent with clearness, if we had not already treated so fully of functions In which the number of the variables is less than four. respecting Eq nations of the Fifth Degree. 223 Let x„ x^, ir^, x^ be any four arbitrary quantities, or roots of the general biquadratic, x'' -f a, ar* -j- Oj ar* -}- «3 a; + 04 = 0 ; and let ^{x„ x^, x^, x^), or, more concisely, (1, 2, 3, 4), denote any rational function of them. By altering the arrangement of these four roots, we shall in general obtain twenty-four different but syntypical functions ; of which each, according to the analogy of the foregoing notation, may be denoted by any one of the four following symbols : (a, ^, 7, g) = F (X„, X^, X^, X^) ^ (1, 2, 3, 4)^ =: ^j (^i> ^2> ^3> "^v- In passing from any one to any other of these twenty-four syntypical functions F,, . . . F24> hy a change of arrangement of the four rm)ts, some one of these roots, such as the first in order, must be changed to some other, such as the second ; and this second must at the same time be changed either to the first or to a diffe- rent root, such as the third ; while, in the former case, the third and fourth roots may either be interchanged among themselves or not ; and, in the latter case, the third root may be changed either to the first or to the fourth. We have therefore four and only four distinct sorts of changes of arrangement,, which may be typified by the passages from the function (a, /3, 7, 8) to the four following : I. . (i3, a, 7, 5) ; II. . (^ a, g, 7) ); III. . (/3, 7, a, I) ; IV. . (P, 7, I, a) ; and may be denoted by the four characteristics Vl> V2> V3> V4; or more fully by the following, Of h a^b a,h,c a,h,c . ^ Vi> V2, V3> V4; a, h V 1 implying, when prefixed to any function (a, ^, 7, I), that we are to inter- a,b change the a'* and ¥'' of the roots on which it depends ; v 2> that we are to interchange among themselves, not only the a'* and /!»'*, but also the c'* and d"" ; a,b,c V3, tliat we are to change the a" to the ¥", the h"' to the (f, and the c'* to the VOL. XVIII, 2 H 224 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, a'* ; namely, by putting that which had been 6'* in the place of that which had a, h,c been a'*, and so on ; and finally V45 that the a'* is to be changed to the 5'*, the 6** to the c'*, the c** to the rf'*, and the rf" to the a'* : so that we have, in this notation, I.. • V,(a,^, 7»^) = = (A «» 7. 8) ; II.. • VaCo, i3, 7, S) = = (A «, ^. 7) ; III.. 1,2,3 • VaCoj A 7. ^) = = (A 7, «, ^) ; IV.. • V4(«, A7. ^) = = (^, 7. ^, «)• The first sort of change may be called, altering in a simple binary cycle ; the second, in a double binary cycle ; the third, in a ternary ; and the fourth, in a quaternary cycle. And every possible equation, (a2» ^2» 72» y = («P A> 7i> y. between any two of the twenty-four syn typical functions f^, may be denoted by one or other of the four following symbolic forms, in each of which the two mem- bers may be conceived to be prefixed to a function such as (a,, /3„ 7,, 8,) : a,J) a,b a,b,c Othc I...v, = i; II...V2=i; III... V3 = i; IV...V4 = i; or, without any loss of generality, by one of the four following, in each of which the two members are conceived to be prefixed to a function such as (a, /3, 7, B) . : 1,2 1,2 1,2,3 1,2,3 I. .. v. = i; II. ..V2 = i; III. ..V3 = i; IV. ..V4=i; the I" and IP" suppositions conducting to twelve-valued functions, the III'" to an eight-valued, and the IV"* to a six-valued function ; while every possible pair of equations between any three of the same twenty-four syntypical functions, if it be not included in a single equation of this last set, may be put under one or other of the six following forms : 1,2 1,3 1.2 3,4 (I.I.).. V,= 1, V,= 1 (I.II.)..V, = 1, V2=l (ILII.)..v. = l, V2 = l (I.I.)' .. V. = 1, V, = 1; 1.2 2,3,4 (I.III.).. v, = i, V3 = i; 1,2 1,2,3 (II.III.).. v, = i, V3 = i; respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 225 which conduct respectively to functions with four, six, three, one, six, and two values ; nor can any form of condition, essentially distinct from all the ten last mentioned, be obtained by supposing any three or more equations to exist between the twenty-four functions f,. A little attention will not fail to evince the justice of this enumeration of the conditions under which a rational function of four arbitrary variables can have fewer than twenty-four values : yet it may not be useless to remark, as connected with this Inquiry, that, in virtue of the notation here employed, the supposition a,b b,a a,b ^ Vi = 1 involves the supposition Vi = 1 ; ^^ supposition Va = 1 involves the h,a c,d d,c a,b,c b,c,a c,a,b suppositions V2=l> V2=l> V2 = l; Vs = 1 involves Vs = 1» V3=l> a,c,b c,b,a b,a,c o,6,c b,c,d c,d,a d,a,b V3 = l, V3=l. V3 = l; V4 =1 involves V4 = 1> V4 = 1> V4= 1> a, c a,d,c d,c,b c,b,a b,a,d a,b V2 = l, V4 = 1, V4=l. V4 = l» V4=l; while the system Vi = 1> a,b a,b c,d a,b a,b,c V2 = I is equivalent to the system Vi = l, Vi = l; Vi = l> V3= 1» to a, b a, c a,b a,b,c a,b b,c,d a,b a,c,b Vi = i, Vi = i; Vi=i, V4=i> tovi=i, V3=i; Vi = i> V4=i» a, b a,c a,b a,b,c a,b b,d a,b,c to V, = 1, V2 = 1; V2 = i» V4 = i» to V2 = i' Vi = 1; V3 = i. bfCfd a, 6 a, ft, c a,hiC a, J, c ajbtC Cjd V3=l. to V2=l5 V3=l; V3 = l> V4=l, to V3=l» Vi = l; and a,b,c a,c,b a,b,c a,b,c V4 = l, V4=l) to V3=l> V4=l: analogous equivalences also holding good for other systems of analogous conditions. Let us now consider more closely the effects of the ten different suppositions (I.), . . . (II. III.)- In the case (I.), the function f is symmetric relatively to some two roots x^, x^, and may be put under the form of a rational function of the two others, X , x^i or simply of their difference, (I.). ..F = 0(^^—0;^); it being understood that this function 0 may involve the coefficients a^, a^, a^ , a^, which are symmetric relatively to x^, x^, x„ x^: because it is in general possible to determine rationally any two roots x , Xg, of an equation of any given degree, when their difference, x — ^^, is given. 2 H 2 226 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, In the case (II.)j we may Interchange some two roots, x^, Xq, if we at the same time interchange the two others ; and the function may be put under the form (II.)-. V= some three roots, x^, Xg, x , may all be interchanged, the fourth root remaining unaltered ; and, on account of what has been shown respecting functions of three variables, we may write (III.) . . F = 0 {X^) 4- {X^ - X^) {X^ - X^) (X^ - X^) 1^ (X^) , the function -^ (as well as 0) being rational. In the case (IV.), we may change x^ to Xq, if we at the same time change Xo to ar , a: to Xgy and x^ to x^ ; and the function f is of the form (IV.).. v = (l>{x^- Xi^ + x^-x^.x^-- x^.x^-x^); 1,2,3 1,3 because the condition V4 = 1 involves the condition Va = 1> ^"^ consequently the present function f must be rational relatively to the two combinations x^-\- x — Xq — x^ and x^ — x . x^ — x^\ or relatively to the two following, x^ — x^ -\- X — x^ and x^ — x^-\- x — x^ . x^ — x . x^ — x^; but of these two last- respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 227 mentioned combinations, the former alone changes, and it changes in its sign 1,2.3 alone, when the operation v ^ performed, so that it can enter only by its square ; which square {x^ — Xo-\- x — x^Y can be expressed as a rational function of the product (x^ — Xn-{-x — x^) (x^ — x ) (x^ — x^), and of those symmetric coefficients which may enter in any manner into 0. By similar reasonings it appears, that in the six other cases, (I. I.) — (II. III.), we have, respectively, the six following forms for f : (I. I.) . . F = (p (xg) - a + b x^ + c Xg^ + d Xg^ ; (LI.)' F=0(^a + ^^-^y-^5); (I. II.) . . F = (l)(x^x^+x^Xg)=a + b (x^ x^ + x^x^) + c (x^ x^ + x^ Xgf ; (I. III.) . . F = a ; (II. II.) . . F = (j)(ix^- x^.x^-x^); (II. III.) . . . F = a + b(x^-Xp) {x^ - x^) (x^ - x^) {x^ - x^) {xp - x^) (x^ - x^) . To one or other of the ten forms last determined, may therefore be reduced every rational function of four arbitrary quantities, which has fewer than twenty- four values. And although the functions (I. I.)' and (11. II.) are six -valued, as well as the function (IV.), yet these three functions are all in general distinct from one another; the function (IV.) being one which does not change its value, when the four roots x^, x^, x , x^ are all changed in some one quaternary cycle, but the function (I. I)' being one which allows either or both of some two pairs x^, x^ and x , x^ to have its two roots interchanged, and the function (II. II.) being characterized by its allowing any two roots to be interchanged, if the two other roots be interchanged at the same time. It may be useful also to observe, that the three-valued function (I. II) belongs, as a particular case, to each of these three six-valued forms, and may easily be deduced from the form (I. I.)', as follows : F = ^{x^^X^-X^-X^)-^{x^^X^-X^~X^) = x{^a+^?- ^y-'^s) - ^K^^+^j-^j) • 228 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, Attending next to conditions of the forms V = - 1> V = /'3> instead of attending only to conditions of the form V=l, we discover the forms which a rational function of four arbitrary variables must have, in order that its square or cube may have fewer values than itself ; which functional forms are the following : The general twenty-four-valued function f will have its square twelve- valued, if it be either of the form ■ or of this other form P= (^a — ^/s) • "^ (^a + ^/3 — ^y - ^5' '^a " ^/3 ' ^y " ^j) ' The same general or twenty-four-valued function will have an eight-valued cube, if it be of the form F =' {0 (^^) + i^a - ^H) (^a - ^y) (^/3 " ^y) ^ (^^) } (^a + P,' ^^ + P, ^) ' Pa being, as before, an imaginary cube-root of unity. The twelve-valued function (I.) will have a six-valued square, if it be reducible to the form V={x^ — Xg).y^(x^ + Xp—X^ — Xg). The twelve-valued function (II.) will have a six-valued square, if it be either of the form ^ = (^« + ^/3 — ^y — ^s) • -f (^a — ^^ -^y - ^l)f or of the form T = {x^- x^) {x^ -Xi).^ (^„ -^x^-x^- x^). The eight-valued function (III.) will have its square four-valued, if it be of the form The six-valued functions (IV.), (I. I.)', (II. II.), will have their squares three- valued, if they be reducible, respectively, to the forms. respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 229 F = (x„ - a;^ + a;^ - x^) {x^ - x^) (x^ -x^).^ (x^ x^ + x^ x^), P = (^a + ^/3 - ^y — ^5) • -f (^a ■^13 + ^y^^)» v = {x^ — x^){x^-x^).^{x^x^-\-x^Xs); and the last-mentioned six-valued function, (II. II.), will have its cube two- valued, if it be reducible to the form T-{a-\-b{x^- x^) {x^ - x^) {x^ - x^) {x^ - x^)(x^ - x^) {x^ - x^)} X{x^x^ + x^x^ + P3' (^„ ^y + a^^ a;^) + ft (^„ ^5 + ^^ Xy) }, ^3 being still an imaginary cube-root of unity. And the square of the two- valued function (II. III.) will be symmetric, if it be of the form F = S (x„ - x^) {x^ - x^) {x^ - x^) (Xp — x^) (Xp - x^) (x^ - x^) . But there exists no other case of reduction essentially distinct from these, in which the number of values of the square or cube of a rational function of four independent variables is less than the number of values of that function itself. Some steps, indeed, have been for brevity omitted, which would be requisite for the full statement of a formal demonstration of all the foregoing theorems ; but these omitted steps will easily occur to any one, who has considered with attention the investigation of the properties of rational functions of three variables, given in the two preceding articles. [20.] The foregoing theorems respecting functions of four variables being admitted, let us now proceed to apply them to the d priori Investigation of all possible expressions, finite and irreducible, of the form b , for a root .r of the general biquadratic equation already often referred to, namely, X* ■\- a^ x^ -\- a^ 3^ -{- a^ X -{- a^ := 0 . It Is evident in the first place that we cannot express any such root x as a rational function of the coefficients a,, a^, a^, a^, because these are symmetric relatively to the four roots iF„ x^, x^, x^, and a symmetric function of four arbi- trary and independent quantities cannot be equal to an unsymmetric function of them ; we must therefore suppose that m in b is ' greater than 0, or, in other 230 ■ Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Ahel, words, that the function b is irrational, with respect to the quantities a^, a^, Oj, 04, if any expression of the required kind can be found at all for x. On the other hand, the general theorem of Abel shows that if any such expression h exist, it must be composed of some finite combination of quadratic and cubic radicals, together with rational functions ; because 2 and 3 are the only prime divisors of the product 24 = 1.2.3.4. And the first and only radical of the first order in b , must be a square-root, of the form «/ = b {x\ - x^) (x, - ^3) {x, - X,) {x., - x^) {x^ - x;) (.r, - x,) - v/- 442368. 6l(e,^-e/) = /- 2". 3^ 61 (e,^ - O. 6 being some symmetric function of x^, x.^, x^, x^, and e^, e^ having the same meanings here as in the second article ; because no rational and unsymmetrlc function of four arbitrary quantities Xi, x.^, Xj,x^, has a prime power symmetric, except either this function a/, or else some other such as a.^ which may be de- duced from it by a multiplication such as the following, a^ = -a,'. But a two- valued expression of the form f =^b,,-\-biai cannot represent a four-valued function, such as x; we must therefore suppose that the sought expression b " contains a radical a," of the second order, and this must be a cube-root, of the form «i" = (Po + Pi «/) («i + /'a' ^2 4- p, u,) = ■^ (&„ + 6j O ; in which, p^ is, as before, an imaginary cube-root of unity ; p„, p^, b^, b^ are symmetric relatively to iT,, x^, x.^, x^, or rational relatively to a„ a^, a.^, a^; u^ ^^ Xj ajj ~\- x^ IC4, U2 ^^ Xy X3 -J— X2 X4, M3 ^^ x^ x^ — |— x.^ Xj f and - 6. -f b, 0/ = 1728 (p„ -f p, a,'y \e,-\-^, (p,^ - Pa) y ^ the rational function e^, and the radical a,' retaining their recent meanings : because no rational function f," of four independent variables a;,, x^, x^, x^, which cannot be reduced to the form thus assigned for a,", can have itself 2 a," values, a/' being a prime number greater than 1, if the number of values of the prime power f,""' be only 2. Nor can any other radical respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 231 such as a^' of the same order enter into the expression of the irreducible function b ; because this other radical would be obliged to be of one or other of the two forms following, namely either "a" = (^0 + Ix a/) («^i + P3 ^2 + P3 U3), or else < = (?o + S'l a/) («i + ft ^2 + />/ U3) , Pj being the same cube-root of unity in these expressions, as in the expression for a," ; and the product of the two last trinomial factors is symmetric, (w, + /)3* Wj + /)3 M3) (m, + />3 W2 + ft' W3) = 144 e^ ; a/ so that either the quotient — or the product aj' a," would' be a two-valued function, which would be known when a,' had been calculated, without any new extraction of radicals. At the same time, if we observe that we see that the three values w,, u^, u^ of the three-valued function x^x^-\- x Xg can be expressed as rational functions of the radicals a," and a/, or as irrational functions of the second order of the coefficients a,, a^, a^, O4 of the proposed biquadratic equation, namely the following, ' ^ i ^^ Po + Piai ^ «! > _ 1 $ j_ P3fflr , 144^2(^0 + piai') > «.-7^«2i- p^ + p^a,' + p3«." y so that if the biquadratic equation can be resolved at all, by any finite combina- tion of radicals and rational functions, the solution must begin by calculating a square-root a/ and a cube-root a/', which are in all essential respects the same as those required for resolving that other equation of which Uy, u^, u^ are roots, namely the following cubic equation : u^ — a^u^ -{- (^Oi a.j — 4a^)u-{- (4 a^ — o,^) o^ — Oj^ = 0 ; VOL. XVIII. 2 I 232 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, which may also be thus written, (m — ^Oj)'— 48 e^ (w — ^ aj — 128 e, = 0. Reciprocally if w„ u^, u^ be known, by the solution of this cubic equation, or in any other way, we can calculate a,' and a/', without any new extraction of radi- cals ; since if we put, for abridgment, t^-Uy-u^- (x, - x^) {x^ - X4), ^3 = W, U.^— {Xi — X4) (^2 ~ X.J, we have and O, — Pi, Cj '3 > Oi' = (Po+PibtJ^t,)(u, + p,^u.,-\-p,u,). Again, it is important to observe, that if any one of the three quantities <,, t^, t^, such as <,, be given, the other two, t^, t^, and also m,, u^, u^, can be deduced from it, without any new extraction ; because, in general, the difference of any two roots of a cubic equation is sufficient to determine rationally all the three roots of that equation : it must therefore be possible to express the radicals a,' and a," as rational functions of #, ; and accordingly we find 0/ = 6^1 (144^2 - ^,*), and < = {p. +P.t '. (M4 .. - ,.')} (fl^ t, + ,^.) ; while ^1 may reciprocally be expressed as follows. Hence the most general irrational function of the second order, which can enter into the composition of b , and in which &„', b^, b^ are functions of the first order, and of the forms may be considered as a rational function of ^, , / V respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree'. "' '" '233 it is, therefore, included under the form (II. II.), and is either six- valued or three-valued, according as it does not, or as it does reduce itself to a rational function of «,, by becoming a rational function of t^ ; and in neither case can it become a four-valued function such as x. We must therefore suppose, that the sought irrational expression b , for a root x of the general biquadratic, con- tains at least one radical a/" of the third order, which, relatively to the coeffi- cients a^,a^,a^,a^, must be a square-root, (and not a cube-root,) of the form and, relatively to the roots x^, x^, x^, x^, must admit of being expressed either as a twelve-valued function, with a six-valued square, which square Is of the form (II. II.) ; or else as a six- valued function, which is not itself of that form (II. II.), and of which the square is three-valued. This radical a/" must there- fore admit of being put under the form <" = K" V,, the factor b " being a function of the second or of a lower order, and v^ being one or other of the three following functions, v^ = x^ + x^-x^- x^, v^ = x^ + x^-x^- x^, v^ = x^ + x^-x,- X,, which are themselves six-valued, but have three-valued squares. And since the product of the three functions «„ is symmetric, - v^v^v^ = 64.e^, (e having here the same meaning as in the second article,) we need only consider, at most, two radicals of the third order, a,'" = 5." t;. = -/ft/' ' (a; _ 4 a. + 4 ^^,), a '" = ft/'w. = V^6;"(«,' -^a^ + ^uj; and may express the most general irrational function of the third order, which can enter into the composition of 6 " , as follows : )(( (/ /; /// // /// // /// '// 2 1 2 234 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, the coefficients of this expression being functions of the second or of lower orders. If we suppress entirely one of the two last radicals, such as aj", without introducing any higher radical a/'', we shall indeed obtain a simplified ex- pression, but cannot thereby represent any root, such as ^ , of the proposed biquadratic equation ; for if we could do this, we should then have a system of two expressions for two different roots, x , a; , of the forms which would give but this last rational function, although six-valued, cannot be put under the form (II. II.), and therefore cannot be equal to any function of the second order, such as &„". Retaining therefore both the radicals, a/", a.^", we have next to observe, that if the function ^"' can coincide with the sought function b "' , so as to represent some one root x of the proposed biquadratic equation, it must give a system of expressions for all the four roots x , x , s , x^, in some ar- rangement or other, by merely changing the signs of those two radicals of the third order ; namely the following system, ,// (// ,// /// ,// /// /// // // /;/ ;/ /// ;/ //; //( iTy = Oo,, — 6,,,a, +Oo,i«2 — Oi.iOi «2 , ,// ((/ // III II III III which four expressions for the four roots conduct to the four following relations, respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 235 Reciprocally, if these four last conditions can be satisfied, by any suitable arrangement of the four roots, and by any suitable choice of those coefficients or functions which have hitherto been left undetermined, we shall have the four ex- pressions just now mentioned, for the four roots of the general biquadratic, as the four values of an irrational and irreducible function V", of the third order. Now, these four conditions are satisfied when we suppose ^a — "^V "^13 — ^'ii ^y — *''3> ■^S — ^' 4 1 II _ — a, ," _ 1 7" _ 1 Oo.o-^-; 01.0-4^,; ^'-'"iv' and finally /; h..= 16 64 vww 2«, 2 ' but not by any suppositions essentially distinct from these. It is therefore possible to express the four roots of the general biquadratic equation, as the four values of an irrational and irreducible expression of the third order b'", namely as the following : ^ _ z,'" _ -fli . ar , ai" , 16V&/'e4 X - h" =z ZflL 4. J!l1 _ <1 _ 16&r6."e4 ' "■' 4 4 6," 4V' ar<' ' *3 — "1,0 T- -TTT/ "T" 4 4 6," 462" ai"'a, in „ III > ^ ,"' _ -a, a,'" a/' , \&b^'b^'e^ ** — ''1,1 T- 46," 462" a{"a^" ' and there exists no system of expressions, essentially distinct from these, which can express the same four roots, without the introduction of some radical, such as o/^, of an order higher than the third. We must, however, remember that these expressions involve several arbitrary symmetric functions of x^, x^, x , i\, or arbitrary rational functions of a^, a^, a^, a^, which enter into the composition of the radicals o/, o/', a/" a/", though only in the way of multiplying a function by an exact square or cube before the square-root or cube-root is extracted : 236 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, namely, the quantity b in a/ ; p^ and p^ in a/' ; and, in the radicals a/", aj", twelve other arbitrary quantities, introduced by the functions b'', bj', which lat- ter functions may be thus developed, */' = r„.o + r„.. a/ + (r,,, + r,,, a/) a " + (r,.„ + r,.. a/) a/'^ *;' = r\, + r\, a/ + (r „„ + r\,. <) a," + (r\, + r\., <) a/'^ In the earlier articles of this Essay, these fifteen arbitrary quantities had the fol- lowing particular values, ^~ 1152 ' Po~ 12' ^> — "' . ^0,0 ~ i 5 ^0,1 — ^1,0 ~ ^1, 1 — '^1,0 — ^1,1 — ^l ^0,0—55 ^0,1 "" '"l.O — '"l,! ""'"'.0 ^2,1 — *^' Apparent diflFerences between two systems of expressions of the third order, for the four roots of a biquadratic equation, may also arise from differences in the arrangement of those four roots. Analogous reasonings, the details of which will easily suggest themselves to those who have studied the foregoing discussion, show that if we retain only one radical of the third order o/", but introduce a radical of the fourth order a/^, for the purpose of obtaining the only other sort of irrational and irreducible expres- sion, 5^"*^ = b , which can represent a root of the same general biquadratic equation, we must then suppose this new radical a/^ to be a square-root, of the form a - = p'" (x,-x,) = 1/^'- (_ !^ + 12^3+ ^) ; p'" being a function of the third or of a lower order, which in the earlier articles of this Essay had the particular value ^ ; while t?, has the meaning recently assigned, and e^, e^ have those which were stated in the second article ; we must also employ the expressions _ r /// , r (x„ x^x^-\-j;^x,)i (d) . . 0 {x„ s,); or at least to some form not essentially distinct from these. In making this reduction, the principle is employed, that any symmetric function of or,, x^, x^, x^, is a rational function of Xj, and of the five coefficients Oj, a^, a^, a^, a^; which latter coefficients are tacitly supposed to be capable of entering in any manner into the rational functions 0. It may also be useful to remark, before going farther, that the four forms here referred to, of functions of four variables, with four or fewer values, may be deduced anew as folloVs. Retaining the abridged notation (a, /3, 7, 5), we see immediately that if the six syntypical functions (1, 2, 3, 4), (2, 3, 1, 4), (3, 1, 2, 4), (1, 3, 2, 4), (3, 2, 1, 4), (2, 1, 3, 4) be not all unequal among themselves, they must either all be equal, in which case we have the four-valued form 0 (xj or (I. I.), or else must distribute them- selves into two distinct groups of three, or into three distinct groups of two equal functions. But if we suppose (1, 2, 3, 4) = (2, 3, 1, 4) = (3, 1, 2, 4), in order to get the reduction to two groups, the functions (1, 2, 3, 4) and (2, 1, 3, 4) being not yet supposed to be equal ; and then require that the six following values of (a, j3, 7, 8), (1, 2, 3, 4), (2, 1, 3, 4), (1, 2, 4, 3), (2, 1, 4, 3), (1, 3, 4, 2), (3, 1, 4, 2), shall not be all unequal ; we must either make some supposition, such as (1, 2, 3, 4) = (1, 2, 4, 3), which conducts to the one-valued form (I. III.), or else must make some supposition, such as (1, 2, 3, 4) = (2, 1, 4, 3), which conducts to the respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 239 two-valued form (II. III.). And if we suppose (1, 2, 3, 4) ~ (2, 1, 3, 4), in order to reduce the six functions (1, 2, 3, 4) . , . (2, 1, 3, 4) to three distinct groups, the functions (1, 2, 3, 4) and (2, 3, 1, 4) being supposed unequal; and then require that of the six following values, (1, 2, 3, 4), (2, 3, 1, 4), (3, 1, 2, 4), (1, 2, 4, 3), (2, 4, 1, 3), (4, 1, 2, 3), there shall be fewer than five unequal ; we must either suppose (2, 3, 1, 4) zz (4, 1, 2, 3), in which case we are conducted to the three-valued form (I. II.) ; or else must suppose (2, 3, 1, 4) = (2, 4, 1, 3), which conducts again to the four- valued function (I. I.), by giving (I, 2, 3, 4) = (p{x^. Now of the four forms (a), (b), (c), (d), the form (a) is five-valued, and therefore admissible in the present inquiry ; but the form (b) is, in general, ten- valued ; the form (c) has, in generalj fifteen values ; and the form (d) has twenty. If, then, we are to reduce the functions (b) (c) (d) within that limit of number of values to which we are at present confining ourselves, we must restrict them by some new conditions, of which the following are sufficient types : (b)'.. 0 (^5' ■ 0K> • 0 {Xt-> ■ 0 {X„ T,- x^. x^ — X,. X,- X,. x^- x^. *2- x^. ■"4 • "^3 X,) ^"~ - X, — x^. x^ — X 3 • •*'l — X \ • ^2 — X 3 • -^2 — a -x^) (b)" . X,- ■x^. .X,- •^3 .X,- ■X,. .x^- ■OTj, .x^- ■X, .x^- -^4) X,- -x^ . x^ - -a?3 .X,- -^5 • *^2 ~ -OTj .x^- -^5 .a?3- -^5); (b)'" . a;,- -x^ .x^- ■x^. .x^- ■x^. x^- «3- x^- X,. ^3— ^4) — G) i«I'4j *^\ **^2 • 1 *~" 3 • 1 6 • 2 '~~ 3 • 2 5 * 3 5/ ' (c)' . . 0 (x^, X, x^-\- ^3 x^) = ^ (x^, X, x^ -f- 0^2 a;,) ; (c)" . . 0 (x^, x^ X.-, -f- x^ x^ = 0 (0^4, », a?2 -f x^ x^) ; (c)'" . . 0 {x„ X, x^ -\- X, x^) = 0 (x„ ir, X3 -{■ x^ X,) ; (d)' . . 0 (x„ X,) =

{x„ X,) = 0(0;^ JTa)- (To suppose 0(^5, 0:4) = 0(^4, x^), would indeed reduce the number of values of the function (d) from twenty to ten, but a new reduction would be required, VOL. XVIII. 2k, 240 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, in order to depress that number below six, and thus we should still be obliged to femploy one of the three conditions (d)' (d)" (d)'".) Of these twelve different conditions (b)' . . (d)'", some one of which we must employ, (or at least some condition not essentially different from it,) the three marked (b)' (c)' (d)' are easily seen to reduce respectively the three functions (b) (c) (d) to the five- valued form (a) ; they are therefore admissible, but they give no new information. The supposition Ob)" conducts us to equate the function (b) to the following. because it allows us to interchange x^ and x^, inasmuch as s^ may previously be put in the place of ^4, and Xi in the place of x^, by interchanging at the same time x^ and x^, — a double interchange which does not alter the product Xi — x^. . . X3 — Xt, since it only changes simultaneously the signs of the two factors Xi— x^ and X3 — x^'^ or because, if we denote the function (b) by the sym- bol (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), we have (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) = (2, 1, 4, 3, 5), and also, by (b)", (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) = (1, 2, 3, 5, 4), so that we must have (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) = (2, 1, 4, 5, 3) = (1, 2, 5, 4, 3) ; but also the condition (b)" gives (1, 2, 5, 4, 3) = (1, 2, 5, 3, 4) ; we must therefore suppose (1, 2, 3, 5, 4) = (1, 2, 5, 3, 4), that is, 0 \^i > ^l 3^2 • -^1 ^3 • ^1 ^i ' ^i ^3 ' "^2 '''5 • •''3 •''5/ — ^iyX^, X^ ' Xjj . Xj X^ , X^"^ X^, X^ X3 • X^ X^ . X3 •^5)9 which is an equation of the form (b)', and reduces the function (b) to the form (a), and ultimately to a symmetric function a, because x^ and x^ may be interchanged. The supposition (b)'" conducts to a two-valued function, which changes value when any two of the five roots are interchanged, so that the sum (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) -|- (1, 2, 3, 5, 4), and the quotient (1,2, 3, 4, 5) -(1,2, 3, 5, 4)^ (xi — Xi) {xi — X3)... {X4 — x^y are some symmetric functions, which may be called 2a and 2 J; we have there- fore, in this case, a function of the form, (e) . . o -\-b x^—x,. x—x^ . x^—x^ . «.— «, • x,—x^ .x^ — x^. x, — x^ . x^ — x^ . respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 241 in which a and b are symmetric. The remaining suppositions, (c)", (c)'", (d)", (d)'", are easily seen to conduct only to symmetric functions ; for instance, (c)" gives 0 (-^5' "^l •*"« "T -^3 ^a) "~ V \^« "^3 "^5 ~r -^2 ^l) "^ 0 \^1' ^3 ^i ~T" ^i •^i) = 0 (^„ OTj a:^ + OTa X,) = 0 (oTj, a:^ x^ + oTj o;,) =: 0 (ar^, ^, ^3 + ^g ^4)1 so that the condition (c)' is satisfied, and at the same time x^ is interchangeable with Xt . And it is easy to see that the five- valued function

«3, a,, a J, the exponent a^ being prime, and the function f being rational relatively to a,, . . . ftj, and therefore symmetric relatively to ^1, . . . x^ With these suppo- sitions, the function F,' must, by the principles of a former article, have exactly a^ values, corresponding to changes of arrangement of the five arbitrary quan- ties x^, . . . x^', the exponent a/ must therefore be a prime divisor of the product 120 (=1.2.3.4.5); that is, it must be 2, or 3, or 5. But we have seen that no rational function of five variables has exactly three values ; and if we sup- posed it to have five values, so as to put, (by what has beeu ajjeady shown,) we should then have three other equations of the forms 2 k2 242 Sir WiLLiXM R. HxuihTOJi on the Argument of Abel, the coefficients being all symmetric, and being determined through the elimina- tion of all higher powers of x^ than the fourth, by means of the equations or/ + a, xj' + a^ x^ + a^ x^ + a^x^ + a^- Q, Xa + «l-^a' + «2 V + «3 a^a' + ^4 «„' + ^s 37^ = 0, &C. ; and it would always be possible to find symmetric multipliers c,, c.^, c,, c<, which would not all be equal to 0, and would be such that c, h, + c, 5/^' + C3 5.^^' + c, 6,'^' = 0, c. &3 + c, ^^'^^ + C3 63''' + c. K*' = 0, c,&, + c,6/-^' + C3 5/'' + c,6/'=0; in this manner then we should obtain an equation of the form c, a/ + c, a,'* + C3 a,'* + c, a/ * = c, b, + c, 6„'*' + c, h^'' + c, &;"' + (c, 5, + c, 6/^' + C3 5.'^) + c, 6/^0 a:„, in which it would be impossible that the coefficient of x^ should vanish, because the five unequal values of a/ could not all satisfy one common equation, of the fourth or of a lower degree; we should therefore have an expression for x^ of the form x^=d^-\- rf, a/ + d^ a/' + d^ a/^ + d, a^\ the coefficients rf,,, . . . d^ being symmetric ; and for the same reason we should have also ^/j = t^o + «^i Pi «/ + <^2 Pi «i" + d^ p,^ a/ =• + c?4 Pi* 0/ ^ a;^ = c?„ + «?, />/ 0/ + c?2 P5* «/^ + d^ p., a," + d, /»/ o/^ j;^ = «?a + rfi /)/ o,' 4- c?2 /»5 «.' "* + «^3 /Ss" «." + d^ />/ o/", ^, = <^0 + <^I Pi «/ + «^2 /Js" «.' ' + C?3 P5' «/ ' + C?4 Ps «,'*> ■r„, a;^, or^, ar^, or^ denoting, in some arrangement or other, the five roots x^, x^, respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 243 Xj, x^, x^, and />s, p^, /»/, p^* being the four imaginary fifth-roots of unity; con- sequently we should have 5 < «/ = «a + Ps' a;^ + />5' ^y + Ps' -^j + /'5 -y. ; a result which is absurd, the second member of the equation having 120 values, while the first member has only five. We must therefore suppose that the exponent a^' is = 2, and consequently must adopt the expression a/ == 6(a;i— OTj) {x^—x^') (x,—x^) (x^—x^) (x^—x^) (x^—x^) (x^—x^) (^3— ^4) the factor b being symmetric. This, therefore, is the only rational and unsym- metric function of five arbitrary quantities, which has a prime power (namely its square) symmetric. Let us next inquire whether it be possible to find any unsymmetric but rational function, which, having itself more than two values, shall have a prime power two- valued, If so, the function f/' must have exactly 2a " values, and consequently the prime exponent a/' must be either three or five, because it must be a divisor of 120, and cannot be = 2, since no rational function of five arbitrary quantities has exactly four values : so that a/' or f/' must be either a cube-root or a fifth-root of the two-valued function//. And the six or ten values of f/' must admit of being expressed as follows : (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). ; p^„(l, 2, 3, 4, 5). ; . . . />"|r '(1, 2, 3, 4, 5), ; a."— I (1,2,3,4,5)^; p^^.(l,2,3,4,5)^;...p^„ (1,2,3,4,5)^; in which, p „ and p „ are imaginary cube-roots or fifth-roots of unity, according as a," is 3 or 5 ; while (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). and (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)^ are some two different values of the function f/', which may be called f," and f,"', and correspond to different arrangements of x^, x^, x^^ x^, x^, being also such that 244 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, F/'"'" = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5);'" = a + 6 (^1 - ^.) • . • (^4 - ^5)' vr"" = (1,2,3,4,5)1" = a-b(x^~ x^) ... (x,- X,). These last equations show that the cube or fifth power (according as a," is 3 or 5) of the product of (1, 2, 3, 4, 5),. and (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)^ is symmetric, and consequently, by what was lately proved, that this product itself is symmetric ; so that we may write f/' . f;" = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). . (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), = c, and therefore V(l, 2, 3, 4, 5). . v(l, 2, 3, 4, 5)^ = c, V being here the characteristic of any arbitrary change of arrangement of the five roots, which change, however, is to operate similarly on the two functions to which the symbol is prefixed. (For example, if we suppose (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). = (1, 2, 3, 5, 4), (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), = (1, 2, 4, 3, 5), and if we employ V to indicate that change which consists in altering the first to the second, the second to the third, the third to the fourth, the fourth to the fifth, and the fifth to the first of the five roots in any one arrangement, we shall have, in the present notation, V(l, 2, 3, 4, 5). = (2, 3, 5, 4, 1), v(l, 2, 3, 4, 5)^ = (2, 4, 3, 5, 1) ; and similarly in other cases.) Supposing then that y denotes the change of arrangement of the five roots which is made in passing from that value of the function f/' which is = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5\ to that other value of the same function which is = Pa"(l> 2, 3, 4, 5)^ we see that the same change performed on (1,2,3, 4, 5)^ must multiply this latter value not hy p „ but by p~\,; which factor is, however, of the form p^ „, so that we may denote the 2 a," values of F," as follows: (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). ; V d, 2, 3, 4, 5)^ ; . . . v"'"~' (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). ; (1, 2, 3, 4, 5),; V (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), ; . . . v°'"~' (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), . respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 246 We see, at the same time, that the sum of the two functions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). and (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)j admits of at least a," different values, namely, V"{(1, 2, 3, 4, 5), + (1, 2, 3, 4, 5),}= f," + f^", VH(1. 2, 3, 4, 5). + (1, 2, 3, 4, 5),} = p^,, f/' + /)">;", V'""-'{(1, 2, 3, 4, 5), + (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) J = pf.r' f." + p-^:'""') f^". On the other hand, this sum f/' 4- F,"' cannot admit of more than a," values, because it must satisfy an equation of the degree a/', with symmetric coefficients ; which results from the two relations F.""'" + F;"«'"=2a, f/'f;" = c, and is either the cubic equation (< + f;")' - 3 c (f/' + f;") - 2 o = 0, or the equation of the fifth degree (f/' + f '"f - 5c (f," + f;")' + 5c^(f/' + f;") -2a = 0, according as a " is 3 or 5. We must therefore suppose that the function f," + f^^" has exactly a/' values, and consequently that a^" is 5 and not 3, because no rational function of five independent variables has exactly three values. And from the form and properties of the only five-valued function of five variables, we must suppose farther, that F/'+F-' = F," + ^4; = 6„ + 5.ar„ + &,^/+63^„^ + 64^„S x^ being some one of the five roots x^, . . . x^^ and tiie coefficients 6„ , . . . &^ being symmetric ; and that conversely the root x^ may be thus expressed, i^. = ^0 + d, (f;' + ^,) + 4(f/'+ ^,) V • . . + ^.(fx"+ i^)'. the coefficients d^, . . . di being symmetric. We must also suppose that by changing f,", successively, to pr, f/', p^ f,", />/ f,", p*r,", we shall obtain succes- sively, expressions for the other four roots, x^, x , x^, x^, m some arrangement 246 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, or other ; and therefore, if we observe that f/'* has been concluded to be a function of the two-valued form, we find ourselves obliged to suppose that the five roots may be expresse d as follows, (if the supposition under inquiry be correct,) x^ - e,' + e,' F/' + ej f/'^ + e,' f/- + e,' f/'", ^^ = «o' + P, e; F." + f/ el F/'^ + /)/ el f/'^ + p,^ ei F/'^ ^ = eo' + ft^e/F/' + p/e,' F/'^ + p^e/ <'\9'< ^r, ^s = e: + p,' el F/' + p, el v^ + p/ el f/'=' + p/ e,' f/'*, ^e = ^o' + P.' el F/' + p/ el F."^ + p/ e/ F/- + /,, e; F/'S Co', ... ^5' being either symmetric or two-valued ; but these expressions conduct to the absurd result, 5 el F," = x„ -J- p/ and we find that no rational function of five arbitrary variables can have any prime power two-valued, if its own values be more numerous than two. [22.] There is now no difficulty in proving, after the manner of Abel, that it is impossible to represent a root of the general equation of the fifth degree, as a function of the coefficients of that equation, by any expression of the form h " ; that is, by any finite combination of radicals and rational functions. For, in the first place, since the coefficients a,, . . . 05 are symmetric functions of the roots x^, . . .x^, it is clear that we cannot express any one of the latter as a rational function of the former ; m in S , must therefore be greater than 0 ; and the expression h if it exist at all, must involve at least one radical of the first order, a/, which must admit of being expressed as a rational but unsym- metric function f/ of the five roots, but must have a prime power f/"' symme- respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 247 tric> and consequently must be a square-root, of the form deduced in the last article, namely, a,' = 6 (x, — a;J . . . (a?, — xj, the factor h being symmetric. And because any other radical of the same order, Ojj'j might be deduced from a/ by a multiplication such as the following, a^ zz r a,', we see that no such other radical a^, of the first order, can enter into the ex- pression b , when that expression is cleared of all superfluous functional radicals. On the other hand, a two-valued expression such as cannot represent the five-valued function x; if then the sought expression x =■ b exist at all, it must involve some radical of the second order, o,", and this radical must admit of being expressed as a rational function f," of the five roots, which function is to have, itself, more than two values, but to have some prime a. " power, F," ' , two-valued. And since it has been proved that no such function F," exists, it follows that no function of the form b can represent the sought root X of the general equation of the fifth degree. If then that general equation admit of being resolved at all, it must be by some process distinct from any finite combination of the operations of adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, elevating to powers, and extracting roots of functions. [23.] It is, therefore, impossible to satisfy the equation 0 + a, 0 -j- Ojj 6 -j- Oj 0 -|- a^ 6 -|- O5 = 0, by any finite irrational function b ; the five coefficients a^, a^, a^, a^, a^ being supposed to remain arbitrary and independent. And, by still stronger reason, it is impossible to satisfy the equation b 4-a,6 -f...+a„_i6 -j-a„ = 0, if n be greater than five, and a^, . . .a^ arbitrary. For if we could do this, then the irrational function b would, by the principles already established, have . VOL. XVIII. ? L 248 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, exactly n values ; of which, n — 5 values would vanish when we supposed a^, a„_i, . . . Og to become = 0, and the remaining five values would represent the five roots of the general equation of the fifth degree ; but such a repre- sentation of the roots of that equation has been already proved to be impossible. [24,] Although the whole of the foregoing argument has been suggested by that of Abel, and may be said to be a commentary thereon ; yet it will not fail to be perceived, that there are several considerable differences between the one method of proof and the other. More particularly, in establishing the cardinal proposition that every radical in every irreducible expression for any one of the roots of any general equation is a rational function of those roots, it has appeared to the writer of this paper more satisfactory to begin by showing that the radicals of highest order will have that property, if those of lower orders have it, descending thus to radicals of the lowest order, and afterwards ascending again ; than to attempt, as Abel has done, to prove the theorem, in the first instance, for radicals of the highest order. In fact, while following this last-mentioned method, Abel has been led to assume that the coefficient of the first power of some highest radical can always be rendered equal to unity, by introducing (generally) a new radical, which in the notation of the present paper may be expressed as follows : :) (m)\ ^\ '■■■^Jjn) > n^"^ J L < a -/ p: < but although the quantity under the radical sign, in this expression, is indeed free from that irrationality of the m"" order which was introduced by the radical of* , it is not, in general, free from the irrationalities of the same order intro- duced by the other radicals a; , ... of that order ; and consequently the new radical, to which this process conducts, is in general elevated to the order m + l; a circumstance which Abel does not appear to have remarked, and which renders it difficult to judge of the validity of his subsequent reasoning. And because the other chief obscurity in Abel's argument (in the opinion of the respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 24d present writer) is connected with the proof of the theorem, that a rational function of five independent variables cannot have five values and five only, unless it be symmetric relatively to four of its five elements ; it has been thought advantageous, in this paper, as preliminary to the discussion of the forms of functions of five arbitrary quantities, to establish certain auxiliary theorems respecting functions of fewer variables ; which have served also to determine a priori all possible solutions (by radicals and rational functions) of all general algebraic equations below the fifth degree. [25.] However, it may be proper to state briefly here the simple and elegant reasoning by which Abel, after Cauchy, has proved that if a function of five variables have fewer than five values, it must be either two-valued or symmetric. Let the function be for brevity denoted by (a, /3, 7, 2, e,) ; and let V and V^ denote such changes, that O, 7» ^> e, a) = V (a, ^, 7> ^» «) » {p, e, a, 7, 8) = v' (a> P, 7, ?> e). These changes are such that we have the two sjonbolic equations but also, by supposition, some two of the five functions V'(a, /3, 7, 8, €),... v*(a, ^, 7, ^, «) are equal among themselves, and so are some two of the five functions V^-'Ca, /3, 7, 8, e),... V^'(«, /3, 7. S. 0; we have therefore two equations of the forms in which r and r^ are each greater than 0, but less than 5 ; and by combining these equations with the others just now found, we obtain V = l, v^ = l: that is (P, 7, 8, £, a) = (a, |3, 7, 8, e), and (^, e, a, 7, 8) = (a, ^, 7, 8, e) . Hence (7, a, )8, 8, e) = (^, 7, 8, £, a) = (a, ^, 7, 8, e) ; 2l2 250 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, and in like manner, (a, 7, 8, /3, e) = (a, ^, 7, ?, e) = (7, a, ^, 8, e) ; we may therefore interchange the first and second of the five elements of the function, if we at the same time interchange either the second and third, or the third and fourth ; and a similar reasoning shows that we may interchange any two, if we at the same time interchange any two others. An even number of such interchanges leaves therefore the function unaltered ; but every alteration of arrangement of the five elements may be made by either an odd or an even number of such interchanges : the function, therefore, is either two-valued or symmetric ; it having been supposed to have fewer than five values. Indeed, this is only a particular case of a more general theorem of Cauchy, which is deduced in a similar way : namely, that if the number of values of a rational function of n arbitrary quantities be less than the greatest prime number which is Itself not greater than n, the number of values of that function must then be either two or one. [26.] It is a necessary consequence of the foregoing argument, that there must be a fallacy in the very ingenious process by which Mr. Jereabd has attempted to reduce the general equation of the fifth degree to the solvible form of De Moivre, namely, of which a root may be expressed as follows, because this process of reduction would, if valid, conduct to a finite (though complicated) expression for a root x of the general equation of the fifth degree, j;^ + a, a;^ + a, «' + fls a;^ + o, * + cfj = 0, with five arbitrary coefficients, real or imaginary, as a function of those five co- efficients, through the previous resolution of certain auxiliary equations below the fifth degree, namely, a cubic, two quadratics, another cubic, and a biqua- respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 251 dratic, besides linear equations and De Moivre's solvible form ; and therefore ultimately through the extraction of a finite number of radicals, namely, a square-root, a cube-root, three square-roots, a cube-root, a square-root, a cube- root, three square-roots, and a fifth-root. Accordingly, the fallacy of this pro- cess of reduction has been pointed out by the writer of the present paper, in an "Inquiry into the Validity of a Method recently proposed by George B. Jer- RARD, Esq., for transforming and resolving Equations of Elevated Degrees :" undertaken at the request of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and published in their Sixth Report. But the same Inquiry has con- firmed the adequacy of Mr. Jerrard's method to accomplish an almost equally curious and unexpected transformation, namely, the reduction of the general equation of the fifth degreq to the trinomial form jr* -j- D.r -|- E = 0 ; and therefore ultimately to this very simple form XT' ■\- X — e ; in which, however, it is essential to observe that e will in general be imaginary even when the original coefficients are real. If then we make, in this last form, X — p(co%6 -^ \/ — Ismff), and e =: r (cos u -|" V^ — Isinu), we can, by the help of Mr. Jerrard's method, reduce the general equation of the fifth degree, with five arbitrary and imaginary coefficients, to the system of the two following equations, which involve only real quantities : p^ cos 50 4" P cos 0 = /• cosw ; /)^ sin 5 0 -|- /> sin 0 = r sinw ; in arriving at which system, the quantities r and v are determined, without ten- tation, by a finite number of rational combinations, and of extractions of square- roots and cube-roots of imaginaries, which can be performed by the help of the usual logarithmic tables ; and p and 6 may afterwards be found from r and v, by 252 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, two new tables of double entry, which the Avriter of the present paper has had the curiosity to construct and to apply. [27.] In general, if we change x io x-\- ■/ — 1 j/, and Oj to a,-}- y'— 1 b^, the equation of the fifth degree becomes (a? + V~i yy + (a, + /=i h) {x + V~\yr and resolves itself into the two following : I. . . ^— 10^V + 5a:y + a, (a;*— 6 x^y^ +y) — i, (4 x'^ — 4 a;^') + o,(a;^-3a;y)-5,(3^j/-y) + a3(ar— /) -2^30;^ ^^a^x — b^y^¥a^z=.0', and 11... 5^V-10ar>'+y + a, (4 ar'^ — 4 xy^) + 5, (a:^ — Qx^'y^ +y) + a^ (3 x'y - y) + 6, (a;' - 3a;y) + 2a^xy + b^{x''-y'') + 04?/ + 6^0:4-65 = 0; in which all the quantities are real : and the problem of resolving the general equation with imaginary coefficients is really equivalent to the problem of resolving this last system ; that is, to the problem of deducing, from it, two real functions (x and^) o/'ten arbitrary real quantities a^, . . .a^,b^, . . .h^. Mr. Jerrard has therefore accomplished a very remarkable simplification of this general problem, since he has reduced it to the problem of discovering two real functions of two arbitrary real quantities, by showing that, without any real loss of generality, it is permitted to suppose a, = Oj =: O3 = ftj = 6j =: 63 = 64 = 0, and a, = 1, Oj and b^ alone remaining arbitrary : though he has failed (as the argument de- respecting Equations of the Fijih Degree. 253 veloped In this paper might have shown beforehand that he must necessarily fail) in his endeavour to calculate the latter two, or the former ten functions, through any finite number of extractions of square-roots, cube-roots, and fifth-roots of expressions of the form a + \/—i b. [28.] But when we come to consider in what sense it is true that we are in possession of methods for extracting, without tentation, such roots of such imagi- nary expressions ; and therefore in what sense we are permitted to postulate the extraction of such radicals, or the determination of both x and y, in an imaginary equation of the form X 4- V—iy = V a + V— 1 by as an instrument of calculation in algebra ; we find that this depends ultimately on our being able to reduce all such extractions to the employment of tables of single entry : or, in more theoretical language, to real functions of single real variables. In fact, the equation last-mentioned gives {x-^-x/ZTiyfzza-^V-b, that is, it gives the system of the two following : which, again, give and a_l afa— 1) (a — 2) a—Z •. i o i a^ y — rrrr 3 ^ y + &c. = 6 ; {x^ + f) =a^ + 6^ at— a(a— l)(a-2) /yV X 1.2.3 \xJ ^ _ b aia-l)fyy , -a' ~ 1 . 2 ©*+... If then we put 0. (P) = P"' 254 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, and 0,W^ "^- 1.2.3 ^+--- a(a-l) 1 — J _ 2 T--t- . . . and observe that these two real and rational functions (j>^ and ^^ of single real quantities have always real inverses, 0 ~' and ^ ~', at least if the operation 0 ~' be performed on a positive quantity, while the function 0~' {f) has but one real and positive value, and the function 0~' {t) has a real values ; we see that the determination of x and y in the equation X -\- V— yy - /a + V— 1 b, comes ultimately to the calculation of the following real functions of single real variables, of which the inverse functions are rational : ^'+y = *,"'(<'' + »■)! 1 = *.-©; and to the extraction of a single real square-root, which gives Now, notwithstanding the importance of those two particular forms of rational functions 0, and 0^ which present themselves in separating the real and imaginary part of the radical \/a + V^-ib, and of which the former is a power of a single real variable, while the latter is the tangent of a multiple and real arc expressed in terms of the single and real arc corresponding ; it may appear with reason that these functions do not both possess such an eminent prerogative of simplicity as to entitle the inverses of them alone to be admitted into elementary algebra, to the exclusion of the inverses of all other real and rational functions of single real variables. And since the general equation of the fifth degree, with real or respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 255 imaginary coefficients, has been reduced, by Mr. Jerraed's* method, to the system of the two real equations af" — 10 x*j/^ + 5 xy* +x — a, 5 x*y— 10 x^y +y + J/ = &) it ought, perhaps, to be now the object of those who interest themselves in the improvement of this part of algebra, to inquire whether the dependence of the two real numbers x and y, in these two last equations, on the two real numbers a and b, cannot be expressed by the help of the real inverses of some new real and rational, or even transcendental functions of single real variables ; or, (to express the same thing in a practical, or in a geometrical form,) to inquire whether the two sought real numbers cannot be calculated by a finite number of tables of single entry, or constructed by the help of a finite number of curves : although the argument of Abel excludes all hope that this can be accomplished, if we confine ourselves to those particular forms of rational functions which are connected with the extraction of radicals. It may be proper to state, that in adopting, for the convenience of others, throughout this paper, the usual language of algebraists, especially respecting real and imaginary quantities, the writer is not to be considered as abandoning the views which he put forward in his Essay on Conjugate Functions, and on Algebra as the Science of Pure Time, published in the second Part of the seventeenth volume of the Transactions of the Academy : which views he still hopes to develope and illustrate hereafter. He desires also to acknowledge, that for the opportunity of reading the original argument of Abel, in the first volume of Crelle's Journal, he is indebted to the kindness of his friend Mr. Lubbock ; and that his own remarks were written first in private letters to that gentleman, before they were thrown into the form of a communication to the Royal Irish Academy. * Mathematical Researches, by George B. Jerrard, Esq., A. B. ; printed by William Strong, Clare-street, Bristol. VOL. XVIII. 2 M 256 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, ADDITION. Since the foregoing paper was communicated, the writer has seen, in the first Part of the Philosophical Transactions for 1837, an essay entitled " Analysis of the Roots of Equations," by a mathematician of very high genius, the Rev. R. Murphy, Fellow of Caius College, Cambridge ; who appears to have been led, by the analogy of the expressions for roots of equations of the first four degrees, to conjecture that the five roots x^ x^ x^ x^ x^ of the general equation of the fifth degree, x'^ax''-\-bx''-\-cx''-\-dx-\-e = 0, (1) can be expressed as finite irrational functions of the five arbitrary coefficients a, h, c, d, e, as follows : X, —a — a + « v'a + «* v' ^ + w^ v^7 + «)* v'2, X3 = -^ + «'''v'« + «V/3 + «'v'7 + w'v'2, —a X^ = -f- + a?^a + w^^ + w' ^y+u?^l. —a (2) w being an imaginary fifth-root of unity, and a ^ y I being the four roots of an auxiliary biquadratic equation, a = a' + v/i3' + /7' + /2', /3 = a'+/^'-/7'- /S', 7= a' - //3' + /y- /B', 8=a' - //3'- /y+v/S'; (3) in which j8' 7' S' are the three roots of an auxiliary cubic equation, P' = a"+^/3" + iJ'7", 1 7' = a"+0^r + eV7", \ (4) 8'=a"+e^^^"+0^7"; -1 respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 257 6 being an imaginary cube-root of unity, and /3'' 7" being the two roots of an auxiliary quadratic, And, doubtless, it is allowed to represent any five arbitrary quantities x^ x^ x^ x^ x^ by the system of expressions (2) (3) (4) (5), in which a, w, and 6 are such that a=z — {x^-'tX.■^ + X^+ X^ + X^), (6) a,' + w'+w^+w + l = 0, (7) 02 + 0 + 1 = 0 , (8) provided that the auxiliary quantities a /3 7 8 a' ^' 7' 8' a" /3" 7" a'" a^^ be de- termined so as to satisfy the conditions ^■^ a■=X^•\- U)^ X^ + u? X^-\- (O^ X^ + wX^, 5 ^ ^ = x^ + to^ x^ + ti)X^-\- w^ x^ + (o^ x^, b-^y=.x^ + m^X^ + w*X,-¥toXi + ui^x^, 5 V' S ■= X^-\- wX^-\- w'^X^ + tO^Xi-^ W^X^, (9) 4a' = a+p-|-74-S, 4/^' = a-l-/3-7-8, 4/7' = a-/3-|-7-8, 4 v/g' = a-/3-7+5, 3a"=Z|8'-f-7'-f-g', 3 ^^" = P' -1-0^ 7' -I- 08', 3^7"=/3' + 07'-f-02 8', 2a"' = /3"-f7", 2/a^'' = ^"-7". ] 1 (10) (11) (12) But it is not true that the four auxiliary quantities a', a", a'", a^'', determined by these conditions, are symmetric functions of the five quantities x^, x^, x^, x^, x^, or rational functions of a, b, c, d, e, as Mr. Mokphy appears to have conjectured them to be. 2m 2 258 Sir William R. Hamilton on the Argument of Abel, In fact, the conditions just mentioned give, in the first place, expressions for a, j8, 7, 8, a', as functions of the five roots a;,, x^, x^, x^, x^, which functions are rational and integral and homogeneous of the fifth dimension ; they give, next, expressions for ^', 7', 8', a", as functions of the tenth dimension ; for (3", 7", a'", of the thirtieth ; and for a^^, of the sixtieth dimension. And Mr. Murphy has rightly remarked that this function a^'' may be put under the form a^^ = kk^. a/. A3*, a/, a/, a/. Bj*. . b/. c,*. . c^. d/. . d/. e,*. . e/, (13) in which A; is a numerical constant, and Ai = X^—X^ + w {X^ — X^) + «.* {X:,—X^), A2 = ^3-^2 + «'(-^5— -^2) + "'''(^5— ^4)> A3 = ^4— a;^ + «. (ajj— 0^5) + «.* (x^— 0^3), A4 = iFj — 0^3 -f- w (a;^ — a;3) + w" {x^— x^, K = ^3— ^^4+ («'+ «') (^5—^2) ; J these six being the only linear factors of V -r- which do not involve x^. But the expressions (14) give, by (7), \\^J AiA2A3A4= {x/+X3* + a;/ + x/— (x, + ir,) {x^-\-oi;,)Y + { (^2— a^s)' + («2— ^4) (^5—^3) } { (^3-^4)' + (^2—^3) (^5—^4) } ; (16) and the expressions (15) give (14) (15) 1+' A5 As = (^^3— ^4)'+ (^2— ^5) (^3-^4)-(^2— ^5)' ; (17) the part of a^'', which is of highest dimension relatively to x^, is therefore of the form Na;«(K* + a?3* + a^/ + a^/-(x, + ar,)(^3+^4)P + {(a'2— 3^5)' +(^2— -^4) (^5—^3)} {(■«^3--^4)'+(^2— ^3)(^5— ^4)}) X {(^3-^4)' + (^2-^J (^3--^4) - (^2-^5)'}^ (18) N being a numerical coefficient ; and consequently the coefficients, in a''^, of the respecting Equations of the Fifth Degree. 259 products x^ OTj" ^3 and x^^ x^ x^^ are, respectively, — 6n and — 4n ; they are therefore unequal, and a^^ is not a symmetric function of .ri, oTj, x^, x^, x^. The same defect of symmetry may be more easily proved for the case of the function a', by observing that when x^ and or^ are made = 0, the expression 4 . 5* . a' = {x^J^ U) x^-\- u)"^ x^-\- w^x^ -\- to* x^'' -|- {x^-\- w^ X^-{- m X;^-\- w^ X^-\- w"^ X^^ -\- (a;, -\-w^x^-\- w^ x^-^-uy^Xi-^-w x^y (19) becomes (x^ + WX3 + w^ x^y + (^2 + «^ 0^3 + tt»* a; J* + (X^ + a)^Xj + a)X^y + (x^ + w* iCg + oP X^y =z 4a;/— So:-/ (x^ + x^) — lOx/ (x^^ + 2X3^^ + x^) — 10a;/ (X3' + SoTj^ a;,— 12a:3^/ + a;/) — 5a-2 (a;3*— 16x3^ a:^ + 6X3^ a;/ + 4a;3 a;/ + a?/) + 4a;3^— 5a;3* x,- lOx^'x^^—lOx^^ x^^—Sx^x,'' + 4ar/, which is evidently unsjonmetric. The elegant analysis of Mr. Murphy fails therefore to establish any conclu- sion opposed to the argument of Abel. (20) The Reader is requested to make the following Corrections : In article [7.], the biquadratic equation ought to be vr* 4- ^<;' In the first page of article [14.], read a,'"' =/, (a,, a,, a,), and a/=: f/ (:r,, x^, x,). In the enumeration, in article [19.], of the cases in which the twelve-valued function (II.) has a six-valued square, insert : or of the form ^ = (^a + ^li — ^y — XS) ^ {Xa + ^fi — ^y — ^S-^a — ^fi' ^y — ^s)- 260 XIV. On the Irish Hare. (Lepus Hibernicus.) ^^ William Thompson, Esq., Vice-President of the Natural History Society of Belfast. Read 28th May, 1838. The Earl of Derby was the first to call the attention of English zoologists to the differences existing between the common hare of Great Britain and that of Ireland ; and for the purpose of having the matter duly investigated, he, in April, 1833, transmitted specimens of the Irish hare to Mr. Yarrell, who exhi- bited them at a meeting of the Linnaean Society. In the month of July in the same year, this gentleman introduced the subject to the Zoological Society, at the same time pointing out some of the more prominent characters which distin- guish the two animals. With regard to the specific difference of the Irish hare, Mr. Yarrell did not on either occasion offer an opinion. Mr. Jenyns, in his Manual of British Vertebrate Animals, published in 1835, introduced the Irish hare as a variety of the Lepus timidus, with the remark, that it " might almost deserve to be considered a distinct species." Mr. Bell, in his work on British Quadrupeds, completed in 1837, judging from external characters, brought it forward for the first time as a different animal from the common hare of England. In a communication to the Magazine of Zoology and Botany for August, 1 837, Mr. Eyton stated, that from an investigation of the anatomical characters of the Irish hare, he detected such differences as " would probably distinguish it as a species, distinct from the common hare, did no other characters exist," (vol. ii. p. 283.) Having thus looked retrospectively to the Irish hare, from the first simple announcement of the characters in which it differs from the Lepus timidus, until from internal, as well as external evidence, it is considered specifically dif- ferent, it may be thought unnecessary to treat further on the subject, but the sequel will, I trust, show, that it has not yet been entirely exhausted. Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. 261 The very erroneous idea prevails in some quarters that the hare of Ireland was not known to differ from that of England, until the subject was introduced in London in the year 1 833. Respecting the former animal, Mr. Bell observes, that " it is certainly a very remarkable circumstance that it should have remained unnoticed until so late a period, and can only be accounted for by the fact, that it is the only hare found in Ireland, and that therefore the opportunity of comparison did not frequently occur," (p. 342.) The difference between the hare of Ireland, and that of England and Scotland, has however, though not com- mitted to the press, been long known in this country to the oldest sportsmen, dealers in animal skins, and such other persons as had the opportunity of examining them.* Yet, strange to say, to naturalists generally, what is here quoted from the "British Quadrupeds" correctly applies ; the subject having been for the first time introduced to the scientific world at the period to which allusion has been made. With the club of the Linnasan Society I happened to dine upon the day on which the specimens were received from Lord Derby, (then Lord Stanley, ) and on the evening of which the subject of the Irish hare was first brought forward. On being questioned by the chairman, I had then the pleasure of stating as a fact well known in the north of Ireland, all the external, and likewise the culinary difFerencesf existing between the hares of the two countries, but at * On account of the difference between these animals in the two countries, the late David Ker, Esq., upwards of thirty years ago had some hares brought from England, and turned out on the largest of the three Copeland Islands, off the coast of Down, where, however, they did not much increase, and long since became extinct. About twenty years ago, a sporting friend, when visiting the island of Islay, off the coast of Argyleshire, killed several individuals of the Irish hare, as well as of the indigenous one, and on pointing out the former to some persons resident in the island, was in- formed that they were not any novelty, as the species had been introduced from Ireland by the chief proprietor of the island, but at what period I have not learned. It may be in reference to these, that Daniel, in his "Rural Sports," observes, with respect to the size of hares in different parts of the British Islands, that " the smallest are in the Isle of Islay." In a journal kept by that distinguished naturalist, the late John Templeton, in which criticisms on the works he read, and observations on passing events, as well as on objects of natural history, are recorded, I find the following note under date of Jan. 10, 1807. With reference to the different quality of the fur in hares mentioned in I^essep's Travels in Kamtschatka, it is remarked — " It is known that the Scotch hares have a fine wool fit for making hats, while the fur of the Irish hare is not accounted of any use." \ The Scotch and English hares are at every age, and for all culinary purposes, generally esteemed superior as food to the Irish. 262 Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. the same time added, that we regarded the hare of Ireland only as a very distinct and well-marked variety of Lepus timidus. Further than this, as has been already noticed, Mr. Yarrell and Mr. Jenyns did not go, Mr. Bell being the first to characterize it as a species.* That it really is such I became at once satisfied on a very minute examination of Scotch and Irish specimens towards the end of 1833. About this time my friend Mr. Yarrell requested from me the fullest information on the animal, preparatory to his drawing up a paper on it, and for him such facts as I was conversant with were reserved, knowing as I did that in such truly able hands the subject must be judiciously treated. In fur- therance of the inquiry, I had at that time the pleasure of transmitting him a specimen of the animal, and of presenting others to the British Museum. In consequence of Mr. Yarrell having now relinquished this intention, I am induced to bring together here such particulars of the history, &c. of this animal as are known to me. In consulting the Mammalogie of Desmarest, and Synopsis Mammalium of Fischer, the two latest general works upon the subject, I find that there is not any species of Lepus described, corresponding to the hare of Ireland, nor is there such in any other work to which I have had access. The species known on the continent of Europe are but two in number, both of which, the Lepus timidus and Lepus variabilis, are natives of the British Islands. Between these species only, and the hare of Ireland, does it seem necessary to draw any comparison. Considered in connexion with them, it holds in several points of view, both as to form and colour, such as the relative length of ears to head, length of tall, In assuming a white garb, (though not periodically,) &c., an intermediate place. The habits of the Alpine hare, together with the localities to which it is restricted, are very different from those of the Irish species ; the latter animal in these respects exactly agreeing with the Lepus timidus. Specimens of the hare of Ireland and of Scotland, from the approximating counties of Down and Wigton, and examined in a recent state, presented the following differences :f * In the article " Hare," published in the British Cyclopaedia of Natural History, (1836,) it is likewise so mentioned, vol. ii. p. 705. In a note contributed by the late E. T. Bennet, in his edition of White's Selborne, (1837,) it is remarked that " Ireland has also its peculiar hare," p. 128. f The males were obtained in February ; the females in December. The latter are in both species generally larger than the males. Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. 263 Irish Hare. Scotch Hare. Male. Female. Male. Female. Weight, Weight, Weight, Weight, 51bs. 3oz. 71bs. 4ioz. 61bs. 8oz. 61bs. 9^02. Inch. Line Inch. Line. Inch. Lin*. Inch. Line. Length of head and bod^ to upper base of tail 20 0 24 6 22 6 21 0 „ from nose to point of middle claw of hind leg when stretched out ... 27 2 , , 30 0 . , , . „ of head, measured with compasses 4 8 , , , , 4 9 , ^ , „ of head, from anterior base of ear, measured as last , , , , 4 0 . , 4 0 „ of head from forehead, on a line with ante- rior base of ears, following its curve to the nasal slit 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 „ of ears posteriorly, including fur 4 5 , , , , 4 9 , , • • „ of ears, from anterior base 4 2 4 3 4 1* 4 10 „ of tail, including hair .... ^ , , , 4 0 4 3 5 0 „ of tail, to end of fleshy portion 2 0 2 6 3 0 3 6 ,, of whiskers ...... 3 6 3 6 4 0 4 6 „ from shoulder in a straight line, to end of hairs which extend a little beyond middle nail ....... 14 0 , , , , 13 0 , . . „ from sole of fore foot to back, in a straight line ....... 12 0 • • • • 11 0 FORE EXTREMITIES. Length of radius ...... 4 1 4 9 4 2 4 9 „ from carpal joint to end of middle claw 2 9 3 3 2 9 3 1 „ of middle toe and claw .... 1 5 1 7 1 4 1 4 HIND EXTREMITIES. Length from knee-joint to end of middle claw, in a straight line ..... 11 0 11 3 10 9 11 0 „ of tibia ..... 6 0 6 0 5 4 6 0 „ of heel to point of middle claw 5 6 5 6 5 1 5 0 Colour of Irish Hare, (^Female Specimen.) Top and sides of head of a tolerably uniform dull reddish-brown, except an oval spot just before the eye, and of about its size, being Colour of Scotch Hare, [Female Specimen.) Upper surface of head dark-reddish brown ; a white spot about the size and form of the eyes just before them ; a whitish mark originating at * Another male of this species, and of similar size, examined at the same time, had the ears thus measured — four inches two lines in length. VOL. XVIII. 2 If 264 Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. somewhat paler, and close round the eye, where it is very dull white ; of this colour also is the under surface of the head. Ears presenting anteriorly a mixture of black and reddish-grey ; posteriorly greyish, becoming gradually paler to the margin, which for two- thirds from the base is white ; extreme tip (about six lines) black, which colour extends down the posterior margin for about one-third the length of ear. Back and upper portion oi sides, dull reddish- grey ; under surface of neck pale grey ; lower parts, from between the fore legs to tip of tail, white, except at inner base of hind legs, which are of a very pale grey ; upper portion of tail* white, with a few black hairs towards the base, giving that part a sullied or impure tinge. Fore legs, dull reddish-brown in front and outer sides ; inner and hinder portion white, which colour comes forward transversely on the outer sides of the legs just above the foot, which is brown. Sides of hinder legs greyish, tinged anteriorly with yellowish-brown ; of this colour a stripe extends from the tarsal joint to the mid- dle toe, and is bounded on both sides by white ; entire base from tarsal joint to toe-claws dull greyish brown, inner portion of same part whitish ; this varied marking more or less conspicuous in different individuals. Lips greyish ; whiskers uniformly white or black, or of both colours ; irides dark hazel. anterior point of upper surface of the eye, be- coming broader posteriorly, and extending more than halfway from the eye to the base of the ear. Ears presenting anteriorly a mixture of black and reddish-grey ; medial portion pure reddish- brown, which colour does not appear in the ears of the Irish species ; posteriorly, from base, for about two-thirds their length, whitish, thence to tip black, of which colour a narrow marginal line extends downwards to middle of ear. Back and upper portion of sides mottled with a pale-reddish colour and black, the former pre- dominating ; towards the lower portion of the sides the pale reddish-brown, or rich cinnamon colour, only appears, and this alone prevails on both sides of the neck, and on its lower portion ; entire under surface, from between the fore legs to the tip of tail, white, except at inner base of hind legs, where a pale cinnamon colour prevails. Fm'e legs dark reddish-brown in front and outer sides ; inner and hinder portion a very pale red and white intermixed. Hind legs, to tarsal joint, of a grey and very pale red combined ; from thence to middle toe reddish-brown, which colour becomes gradually paler posteriorly ; inner portion of same part whitish. Lips blackish ; whiskers uniformly white or black, or of both colours; irides dark hazel. * It is singular that this, the most obvious of all the differences in colour between the two species, should have been quite unnoticed by the several authors who have written on the Irish hare, more especially as the colour of the tail is always one of the few leading characters given of Lepus timidus, both by British and Continental authors. On questioning some of the Belfast dealers in hares as to their means of knowing the two species, I found that the difference of colour in the tail was one of their marks of distinction ; — with every external character indeed, they are, and always have been, quite familiar. Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare, 265 From this comparative description it appears that the Lepus timidus dis- plays greater diversity of colour in the head, ears, and body, than Lepus Hiber- nicus, and that the latter exhibits greater variety in the disposition of colours on the legs. On looking to the visceral anatomy along with my friend, Dr. J. L. Drum- mond, the following measurements were made : Length of small intestines from stomach to coecum „ of coecum from termination of the ileum „ of colon ....... „ of rectum . . . .- . . , . IrishHare. Male. Weight, Slbs. 3oz. Scot.Harb. Male. Weight, 61bs. 2oz. Feet. 12 1 4 3 Inch. 10 6i 5 0 Feet. 14 2 4 3 Inch. 0 0 8 0 In the following table a comparative view is presented of the osteological characters of the two species : Irish Hare. Scot.Harb. ■ Male. Female. Female. OriginalWt. Original Wt. Original Wt, Slbs. 3oz. Tibs. 4Joz. 71bs. 4oz. Inch. Line. Inch. Line. Inch. Line. Length of head . . . . . . 3 6 3 8 3 9 Breadth of head above the meatus anditorii 1 2 1 loi 1 1 „ at the zygomata .... 1 9 1 1 2I Distance between the superciliary ridges 1 ^ 1 3 1 Length of humerus ...... 3 9 3 10 3 10 , of radius ...... 3 10 4 n 4 H , of ulna ...... 4 7 4 4 11 , from base of radius to lower extremity of metacarpus 1 4 1 6^ 1 6 , of second finger and nail .... 1 4 1 8 1 7 , of femur ...... 4 6 4 8 4 lOi , of tibia ...... 5 H 5 3 5 7 , of OS calcis ...... 1 2^ 1 2 1 2 , from base of os calcis to lower extremity of metatarsus 2 4 2 3 2 5 , of second toe and claw, measured in a straight line 1 10 2 n 2 0 , from upper extremity of os calcis to lower extremity of matatarsus ..... 3 7 3 6 3 6 „ of scapula ...... 2 10 3 2 3 2 Breadth of scapula ...... 1 6 1 m 1 lOi Length of pelvis ...... 3 4 3 7 3 2n 2 266 Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. This table, which exhibits a comparison of two female specimens of equal size and weight, shows a very different result from that arrived at by Mr. Eyton, who observes, that the skeleton generally of the Irish hare is larger than that of the English ; that the lateral processes of its lumbar vertebrae are longer ; its scapula and ribs broader, and its cranium* larger ; but in all these characters an equality is presented by the individuals under consideration.f Mr. Eyton further adds, that the Irish is distinguished from the common hare by " the greater length of the humerus, in proportion to that of the ulna ;" but in these individuals the humerus is equal, and the ulna of the Lepus timidus of superior length. As remarked by Mr. Eyton, — " in the numbering of the vertebrae and ribs (twelve in number) they do not differ, except as to the caudal ones, which in the Irish hare are thirteen, and in the English sixteen ; the sacral in both are four, the lumbar seven, the dorsal twelve, and cervical seven ; making the total number in the Irish hare forty-three, and in the common hare forty-six." The teeth appear in all respects similar in both species. The orbits are somewhat more of an oval form in the Irish than in the common hare. The most obvious characters oiform between the common and Irish hare are the superior length of ears and tail,J and the less rounded head of the former animal : those of colour have been before noticed. The specific character I propose for it is : Fur above uniform dull reddish-grey ; tail whitish above ; ears and tail shorter than head. The description of colour which has been drawn up does not apply to the Irish hare at every age, and here is an important difference between this and its * Although this can hardly be called larger, there is some difference in form between it and that of Lepus timidus. t Although the lumbar vertebrae are not in reality longer in the Irish species, yet from taking a more horizontal direction they so appear when the animal is viewed with its head towards the spectator. J The greater length of these parts gives an erroneous idea of superior size to the Lepus timi- dus when there is an equality in the length of its head and body, and in weight. Mr. Bell and Mr. Eyton, judging, it may be presumed, from the individuals examined by them, describe the Irish as larger than the common hare ; but the difference in size is, I consider, dependent on locality, as both species differ remarkably in this respect in the barren and mountainous parts of the country, and in the rich demesnes of the valley, where they are protected. In general I should say the Lepus timidus is the larger animal. Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. 267 approximate species. The Lepus timidus sometimes, though rarely, becomes white, Uke various other animals ; the Lepus variabilis annually appears so at the beginning of winter, throughout which it so continues. The Lepus Hiber- nicus, on the other hand, assumes this colouring with age. This inference I was at first inclined to draw from the fact, that it was only in preserves, or where they were unmolested, that I remarked them to be parti-coloured, or almost pure white ; their enemies, where they are not protected, being so nume- rous, as to prevent the attainment of their natural term of life.* To the same effect I have the evidence of a most intelligent game-keeper, who states, that hares turned out young into a demesne in the County of Down, and marked by a piece being taken out of their ears, regularly became white in the hinder parts during the fifth spring ; in the sixth this colour extended over the sides ; in the seventh they were all white but the head ; and in the eighth, he thinks, pure white. In all these stages but the last, they have occurred to myself. In a park in the County of Antrim, he has made similar remarks, though without the precise datum afforded in the first Instance. Here he judges from hares frequenting particular haunts gradually presenting the white appearance just described, and which I am inclined to believe is occasioned by a change of colour in the existing fur. About the month of February the whiteness of garb exhi- bited from the fifth to the eighth year begins to appear, and is borne through March and April, when the annual change of fur takes place, and the white is thrown off" for that of ordinary colour. In the Belfast Museum there is a specimen (from Shane's Castle-Park, County of Antrim) which retains the ordinary colour only on the upper portion of the head and front of the ears, the tips, as in the Alpine hare in winter garb, retaining their blackness. The entire of the remainder, except a small portion at the base of the fore-legs, tinged with pale fawn colour, appears of a pure white ; but on close examination exhibits along the back, and on the breast, unchanged in colour, some long black hairs ;f the lips are whitish. * In the note by Mr. Bennet, of which part has been already quoted, it is remarked, but with- out any reason being assigned for it, that the Irish hare is " apt to become white in winter when kept in parks or other enclosures," p. 128. f These " long hairs" which have been described as altogether wanting in the Irish species, exist in every specimen I have examined, but are extremely few in number, compared with those in the common hare. 268 Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. Within one week, in the month of October, 1829, I had the opportunity of observing the three species of British hare in their native haunts : the Lepus Hibernicus about Belfast ; the Lepus tiinidus, towards the base of the higher Grampians at Glenlyon, in the north-west of Perthshire ; and the Lepus varia- bilis, about the summits of the same noble mountains. Of the Alpine hare, some individuals which were killed in the last week of this month, had not in any degree changed the colour of their dark summer fur, whilst at the same time others were almost entirely white.* The motion and general appearance of these animals when not much alarmed, their place of refuge being at hand, seemed intermediate between those of the common hare and rabbit ; but when they had wandered from the summits of the mountains, where no sheltering crevices of rocks were nigh, and their strength was put forth by the pursuit of the shepherds' dogs, they exhibited very considerable speed. The Lepus Hibernicus is in a wild state easily distinguished from the Lepus timidus, by its shorter ears, differently coloured fur, and by the whiteness of the upper surface of its tail. This last-named distinction can rarely be observed except in parks where the animals are preserved, and where admitting of a near approach, they move gently off; but in such places the difference is very obvious. Some sporting friends, who from coursing much, both in Ireland and Scot- land, have had ample opportunities of observing the difference between the two species before greyhounds, consider that in an open country the Irish hare goes off faster from the dogs than the Scotch, and is thus less likely to be killed at at the first dash : in other respects their speed is equal. This was remarked in similar ground in both countries, and with the same greyhounds. It has likewise been stated by these gentlemen, that when wounded by the gun, the Scotch is more easily captured than the Irish species. It is probable that under both circumstances the difference may be owing to the hare in the Irish counties in which my friends sport, being more persecuted, and consequently more on the alert against her enemies, and I speak from personal knowledge of both countries. * Although I am well aware that there is often a considerable difference in the period at which individuals of the same species put on such a change, yet I would suggest to the attention of persons who have the means of investigation, to ascertain whether the Alpine hare be white in winter from the first year of its existence. Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. 269 With respect to the points of economy to which allusion has not already been made, and to habits generally, there is a very great similarity between the two species. Thus the places selected for the " form" are the same, as are those for the reception of the young, the number of the latter, except in extra- ordinary cases, being four or five. By intelligent gamekeepers, both are consi- dered to produce five times in the course of the year. When the parent has been killed, I have seen the young extracted with their eyes fully open, and within the first hour of their untimely birth, able to run about. Towards the end of the third week the leverets are said to be independent of their parent ; und at this time, what Daniel in his Rural Sports remarks of the English hares equally applies to the Irish, that " when we meet with one young hare, we are almost certain of finding more within a small distance." The Irish hare changes its quarters according to the weather, leaving situations exposed to cold winds for more sheltered places. In the choice of food I am not aware of any difference between the two species. In the severity of winter, when the Irish hares betake themselves to the flower-garden, the delicate leaves of the pink or carnation are especial favou- rites ; in the kitchen-garden, parsley and the more tender varieties of cabbage, young plants of the cauliflower and broccoli, being preferred to any of the coarser kinds ; and in young plantations, consisting of an average number of species of deciduous forest trees, I have particularly remarked their predilection for the oak, not another species being touched, until the whole of these had been first barked. Mr. Bell observes that the English hare " swims well, and takes the water readily, not for the purpose of escaping from pursuit merely, but for the sake of obtaining a plentiful supply of food." This applies equally well to the Irish hare, with the exception of the last clause of the sentence, for which I cannot vouch, though I have no doubt of its accuracy also ; a friend, when quietly angling, having once observed a hare that was quite undisturbed enter and swim across the deep pool of a mountain stream, though by going a very short way lower down she could have passed in the usual manner. When collecting marine productions, in company with Mr. Hyndman, about the entrance to Strangford Lough, in January, 1835, we at different times in one day started two hares that were lying very far out upon low rocks, upon 270 Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. which marine plants only vegetated ; and had one of them remained undisturbed for only a few minutes longer, she would, without resorting to swimming, have been cut off from the mainland until the tide had ebbed, the rocks being insu- lated for at least the half of every twelve hours. Were such instances as the one mentioned of the hare swimming across the stream, rather than go a short way about, general, (which they are not asserted to be,) it would seem that when undisturbed, this animal has less aversion to swim- ming than to leaping, as by its disinclination to the latter exertion, by far the greater portion killed in the higher grounds of Ireland fall victims. When a few stones are removed from the base of the loose mountain-walls, though their entire height be very inconsiderable, the hare will take advantage of the opening, rather than leap the wall ; a habit so universally known, that by snares placed in these aper- tures they are easily secured, and chiefly when going to, or returning from their feeding ground. On this habit a difference was observed by a person employed as gamekeeper in the neighbourhood of Belfast, and who had previously served in the same capacity in Scotland. This man remarked, with some surprise, that in a field where hares were generally numerous, and which was separated from a plantation, where they were preserved by a mill-race, over which was a wooden pipe, that they invariably, when disturbed, ran for, and crossed over it, rather than leap the race, which the Scotch hare would have done. Although it has been thought proper to mention such trivial facts, yet no stress is laid upon them, as we find many animals very much influenced by immediate circumstances. In the descriptions of the Lepus timidus I have read, there is not any notice of their herding together when numerous ; but the intelligent game- keeper before alluded to, states, that in Northamptonshire he has frequently seen them when driven out of a plantation congregate together, to the number of about thirty, in the open ground. Where the Irish hares abound, their grega- rious propensity is a marked character. In several demesnes in the north of Ireland, when they were carefully preserved, they, on becoming plentiful, herded together like deer, and thus have I repeatedly seen from one to three hundred moving together in one body like these animals. In all these demesnes they eventually increased to such an extent as to prove most destructive to the plan- tations, &c., and were consequently destroyed in great numbers ; from a demesne in the County of Down they on several occasions have been sent into Belfast Mr. Thompson on the Irish Hare. 27 1 by the cart-load. This herding together is not the result of what might be perhaps considered semi-domestication in the demesne or park, as in a perfectly- free and wild state, when permitted to increase, they exhibit the same social and gregarious habit.* • A sporting gentleman of my acquaintance, for seven or eight years kept a number of native hares in a large yard in the town of Belfast, chiefly for the purpose of keeping up a sufficient supply for his hunting ground, and in this he was from the first successful, as the females produced three times in the year. The males, perhaps from an undue proportion relatively to the females, fought so violently, that for the sake of peace, a few of them were emasculated, and in consequence grew to an amazing size. The same gentleman kept one of these hares for several years fastened like a dog, by a chain and collar. Those which had their liberty in the yard (which was extensive) never became tame ; but when taken young, and pains are bestowed upon them, they exhibit considerable docility, and have been taught to play tricks, such as to beat a drum, &c. VOL. XVIII. 2 o POLITE LITERATURE, VOL. XVIII. POLITE LITERATURE. Art. I. The Punic Passage in Plautus, collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. By the Rev. James Hamilton, A.M. of Trinity College, Dublin. Read 29th June, 1835. " In lis explicandis multi hactenus frustra sudarunt. Magno molimine rem aggressi, doctis non satisfecerunt ; qui eos Hannoni Pceno affingere multa dictitant de quibus nunquam cogitavit." It has been remarked respecting literature in general, that its value may be characterized as that of an historical cabinet, preserving the forms of thought, feeling, and expression of men of different ages and nations, but of passions and circumstances more or less like to our own; and that it is this which gives the charm to the productions of poetry, history, and eloquence, whether ancient or modern, foreign or domestic. To this inherent interest and value, attaching generally to the classical remains of antiquity, there would seem in the drama of Plautus which contains the Punic passage, to be superadded the peculiar piquancy arising'from curiosity ; such as might be excited by some strange natural production, or antique work of art, if in the latter there should be an inscription In a character difficult to decypher, or in the former a coalescence of natural substances not usually com- bined, of which one ingredient, in itself valuable, is rendered still more so by having attached to and cohering with it another of heterogeneous quality, and at the same time both " rich and rare." Thus Imbedded in one of those productions which were the delight of the Roman literary world,* and affording a specimen of the thoughts, feelings, and * Musas Plautino sermone locuturas fuisse si Latine loqui vellent. QuiNTiLiAN, /n* nsp 73aDTi2DN pbn ]y'' Tihis nn ia»B "'b n'^a V»Db ina risB' >b b^n ni bss "Tiaira nbs t^ bje;"' cbpitaDs-n^s Jiann-iaa an n!i"»2n id*' ns p ir^i "2 "i-wa nwt pn "'bs a^-ip ^n- raoN n"* nn n2t»b a^biaa nbs ibnbn o -\v •^ay-i Literal Translation of the Punic into Latin. 1. Veneror Deos et Deas qui banc urbem colunt ; 2. Ut iter {meum) rite consummarint, secundantes rem meam, docentes me hie 3. Repperire filium errabundum fratris mei — delectas gnatas meas — 4. Surripuit eas insidiator — quern ut-profanum-arceant a diis et in mare, unusquisque, de- mergant. 3. Hospitio hie donatusj fui apud Antidamantem — mihi cum eo quia necessitudo fuit 6. Grandaevus ille, testimonum horum est, caUiditate sua fecit rem sibi, quam facultas dabatur ad faciendum. 7. Et filius equidem posuit domum hie habitationis suae, Agorastocles 8. Signum veritatis erit tabula (cui Deus meus inscriptio) haec allata mecum. 9. Et respondit testis, quod, superne, illi hae regiones ad habitandum illic. 10. Eundo hae via excelsum-versus videbo nunc bivium ego ; et interrogabo equidem ex aedibus egredientes. • Vowel points have been introduced only wliere tliey seemed necessary to distinguish the sense ; e. g. the conjuga- tional vowel marks affect the sense radically in the word nya in the fourth line, and grammatically in the word (Tijnj in the fifth. ■'■■' •f Chaldee for «yn- X = exceptus fui. The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, The Latin Translation, arranged Word for Word with the Punic, after the manner of the Interlinear Version of Montanus. V T haDC ; colunt qul-urbem hie docentes-me rem- meam, secundantes gDatas-meas delectas demergant (unusquisque,) et in mare, a-diis 73aDTb3N pbn p-* inna apud-Antidamantem necessitudo {fuit) quia donatus-fui ad-faciendum. dabatur quam-facultas sibi, rem est, a'^bp'it2D«-n2N ^3nni3S3 Agorastocles habitationis-suae, •"a -iwa nst pn >hH w-)p mecam allata haec (inscriptio) mi Deus-meus tabula illic, ad-habitandum regiones n"'Vb nh^aaa as bstrsi "as egredientes. ex-aedibus illos et-interrogabo ego ; maibsi n^2ibM n> to et-Deas Deos Veneror cODSummaiint rite iter-(meum) Ut ins ii^n ni 72 rv n^p fratris mei errabundum filium Repperire •in!ibbn>2? 2-1S pra quem-ut-profanum-arceant insidiator Surripuit-eas nn Sasa ^b n^a hie cum-eo mihi Hospitio* b»D inans^n nbs ts ww^ fecit eallidate-sua horum testimonum Grndasvus-ille an n^i2 10^ cs p nil hie domum posuit equidem filius Et ini nias n^ erit veritatis Signum nbs Sb nbn 13 iv >2V^ hae sibi aperuit. quod, testis £t-respoDdit Y^v s: ns-is nnib» i^ sia bivium nune videbo excelsuin-versus hae-via Eundo * The collocation and construction of the Latin translation of this line, which the interlinear arrangement somewhat disturbs, will be perceived by turning to the preceding page, line 3. It runs thus — " Hospitio hie exceptus fui apud antidamantem mihi cum eo quia necessitudo fuit." It will be observed, that the emendations of the Punic text suggested, are only two, and that they are such as do not alter the sense, the supplying in the second and third lines the suffix i. fre- quently omitted in the Syriac dialect. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. The six latter Lines of the Passage, supposed to be Libyan, as they are found in the Poenulus. Ex anolim volanus succuratim misti atte cum esse Concubitum a bello cutius beant lalacant chona enus es Hujec silec panesse athidamascon alem induberte felono buthume Celtum comucro lueni et eniin avosd uber bent hyach Aristoclem Et te se aneche nasoctelia ellcos alemus duberter micomps vespiti Aodeanec lictor bodes jussum limnimcolus. TTie same divided by Interstitial Lines. Ex alonim|uvalonus]succurat|im niitsi|atti|cu|esemacon Cub|itum|abelllocuti|uth|beantilallacan'tlchona en|uses hui Ec s|ilec p'ane|ess|e|athidamascon|alem m|dubert|elfel|ono buthjume Cel|tum|comlucro|lu|eni|e|tenim|avos'|duberlbeut hy|ach Aristoclem Et|tese|aneche|nasocte|li|a eli|co|slalemus|dubert|e rm|micom|ps|vespiti Aode|anecriict|or|bo|de]sj|ussuml|im|nimco|Ius. The same corrected and reunited into distinct Vocables. Yth|alonim|uvalonuth|succurat|immitsi|atti|cu|ysmacon Chub|ythmu|abel|locuthi|uthlbeant|lallacan'tlchonaen|useshui Ycth|ilec|po|ane|yssle|Athidamascon'alemin|dubert|e fe|ono|buth|umle Cel|tum|com|ucr|ro|lu|ani|eitena|im|avosdlduber|benthy|Acharistoclem Ythltese|anechi|nasocti|lilaeli|cos|alemuth|dubert|ermlmicom^,ps'|vespiti Aode|anec'|llctlorlbo|di|si'lus'llim|mnico|lus. VOL. XVIII. 10 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, The six Libyan Ldnes in Hebrew Characters, with Translation. *'l^:)^2W'^ ^p tin ^'Sn cn mpw niDibMi Q"'3ibs n •>»tt;»t»i i:n nph rb ni'^a rr'-i \-n3b bns wn-' n^n nstti nv3 iDiN bye mm I'^abs ibornTis ww^ ^2n >^3 pbn np Db3t2Dn«ns Tii'-a i2-t ID") DS N2m ''3S lb r"-i -ip^ can en b^n T • " inatt? ssD cpn mn msi nabyi ph ^bs •'b TiNtr: ■'sas stcta n^ rb nn2» j=in bNtPS") y^D n su nsis n^bv "Ssn vtik Decs deasque qui urbem, quinetiam iter habentem peregrinum in solitudine, tuentur ; Gratia et favore consummarint luctuosum iter meum et liberos (defatigatione confectum) repperire desiderium et delicias meas (sinant) Ante hac consortium hie mihi fuit grandaevo cum Antidamante. Callidate aiunt fecisse liabitationis suai domum, quinetiam Divitias hie. Propinquus et carus sodahs illi ego. Et habitationem equidem posuit fama (est) filius ejus Agorastocles. Signum occultum egomet fero mecum Deus mens sculptura. Adolescens, fama est antiquum locum patefecit et habitationem suani. Certiorem me faciam egomet, exqelsum videbo, eundo hac qua concursus — et interrogabo equidem ex sedibus egredientem. • By comparing the first Funic line with the corresponding part of the Libyan, it appears that the principal corrup- tion of the latter consists in occasionally transposing the radical letters, and also substituting t< for n- Collated loith parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 11 The sic Libyan Lines arranged in separate Sentences, with the Reading and an Interlinear Fersion. messecon misti succurat volanus anolem Ex esemacun cu atti mitsi itn scorath valonutli Alonim yth 7i3aE7"< -p "TIN "i^iD DN m^w m^ibsi oiiibw rv tuentur in-solttudine peregrinum iter-habeutem quin etiam qui-uvbem Deaeque Dii us ytum cub useshui chonajn I'can'th la ben'tli yth locuti abel ythmu chub >•sw'aw^ pn n'i^^b ■ sb n^in n^ ^roh bas ^an'' 2!in et delicias-meas desiderium repperire Indent) defatigatione liberos et iter meum luctuosum consum gratiil et favore -confectum -marint ess ecs A ntidamascon e yss ani po ilec ycth pDasT'ta:s nT^ wvs'' •'2S «b pbn np> Antidamante fuit cum-grandsvo mihi hie consortium ante-hac turn eel ume buth ono fel duberte alemin ■ • nn b^n nvai n>\'^3 lais bys msT vnbs hie divltias quinetiam domum habitationis-suie fecisse aiunt calliditate Agorastocles beanthi duber vosd im utena ani lu ro ucr hhom=cora nbatsD-isns Tii'^n ^3^ 7D1 qn wm ''2N 'ib v'-\ ip"'^ QOh Agorastocles filius ejus fama est posuit equidem habitationein et ego illi sodalis et carus propinquus choch aeli li nasocti aneclii tese yth=eth ph ■'bs "'b ■>nstr3 "i32« N»i3 n^ .sculptura Deus, inecum fero egomet occultum siguum uspiti ps' micom erm dubert ulemuth ^raxa nds ^^p1:> Q-in man niaby habitationis suae dilatavit locum antiquum fama est adolescens loz rcnico im uissul si de bo or' 'Hot aneche aode egredieutem ex sedibus equidem etinterrogabo concursus hac eundo videbo excelsura egomet certiorem^me-faciam qua locum B 2 12 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, The Punic Passage identified and harmonized with the Libyan in Sense and in Phonetic Power. COLUMN SHOWING THE WORDS COMMON TO BOTH. Veneror Deos et Deas qui-urbem tuentur P. J\ryth alonim valonuth s'corath ysmacon L. Ex anolim volanus succurat esinacon=mes8econ Rite consummarint iter-meum P. cun ythmu m'halach{i) L. *chub ytum locuti &vore COLUMN SHOWING WOBDS PECULIAR TO EACH. banc quinetiam iter-facientem peregrinum solitarium P. sith L. im mitsi atti I luctuosum, secundantes rem-meam dirigentes-me hie, defatigatione-confectum P. mtstliahhim ythdibri mascilai pho L. abel la Repperire gnatas-meas dilectas P. caneth benothai dodain L. Tean't beant *eseshui liberos delicias-meas filiutn errabundum fratris-mei desiderium meum P. yth-hen yth-thii ahh{i) L. chonsen P. L. Di alonim alonimf Consortium hie mihi cum-Antidamante P. Elech ihym It Antidasmachon L. Ilea *p' ane+ Athidamascon ego Grandsevus testimonium horum calliditate fecit rem P. yss id ele britnti fel chil L. ess *dubert *alemin fel eel sermo est surripuit-eas insidiator quem-ut-profanum-aiceant a-diis, et-in-mare P. b'yrn arob s-y'Vluhu m[alonim] uhym is yrduhu unusquisque demergant hospitio P. beth donatus-fui [milii cum eo quia] noth-tho-thi \_li m'mo ihn] L. chom ucr-ro lu eni propinquus et carus sodalis illi ego sibi quam facultas dabatur ad-faciendum P. H s- CO- ntn liphul Et filius posuit domum habitationis Agorastocles P. Uyth ben ysd buth nuchthenno L. Bent vosd buth *aono Signum veritatis, Deus meus sculptura, allatum mecum P. yth emeneth cbU choch nasui hi L. et tese eli co naaocte li tese occultum fero mecuni Et-respondit testis aperuit-sibi hasce regiones ad-habitaudum P. u'ni-id iVlu ele gebulim lasibit L. *dubert ps'a *micom spit'i Fama est aperuit sibi locum habitationis suae Eundo hac via excelsum-versus videbo bivium P. Bo di 'lyth% eray 'nyn L. Bo de 'lict or' *si' concursum hie et habitationem equidem fama est P. thym L. utena im duber erit tabula («c. — signum veritatis erit, &c.) P. yhy chrs hie P. thy7n L. erm alemuth antiquum adolescens (*c. — antiqum locum adolescens aperuit sibi.) et interrogabo ex aedibus egredientes P. uys'l mmoncuth lusim L. u's'ul mnico lus • The words marked thus ( • ) are the synonimes of those above them. J p'ane = po ane po := t»s = hie. t See the Milan Palimpsest of the Libyan lines discovered by Angelo Maio. § Local n- Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 13 HERMENEUTICAL PRECOGNITION OF THE PUNIC AND LIBYAN LINES. As ancillary to the interpretation of the Punic original, it may be convenient to premise a brief analysis of the Latin version. In the first Latin sentence, Hanno invokes the Alonim and Alonuth, the tutelary deities of the city he had arrived in. In the second, he prays that he may have arrived there under their auspices, and that his business may prosper. In the third, that they may permit or grant him to recover his lost daughter and nephew, (son of his brother.) The fourth contains, along with the reminiscence of the abduction, an appeal to heaven against the author of it. The fifth, his reminiscence of the hospitality he had been granted there by Antidamas. The sixth, the information he had had respecting that old man's fortunes and implied death. The seventh, that respecting the residence there of his adopted son, Agoras- tocles. In the eighth, he mentions his having brought with him, as his introduction, the Tessera Hospitalis. • In the ninth, his having been directed to that quarter of the town as the locus of Agorastocles's habitation. The tenth, his determination to inquire further of the persons coming out from the houses. We have thus ten Latin sentences corresponding with as many Punic lines ; a congruity which suggests the inquiry, how far they mutually correspond in other respects, or rather the presumption that each Latin sentence gives the translation more or less closely of each corresponding Punic verse. As confir- matory of this presumption, the first point of agreement between them which claims our notice is, that the proper names at the close of the fifth and seventh sentences of the Latin are found at the close of the corresponding fifth and seventh verses of the original. The next is the circumstance that where common 14 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, names are repeated in the Latin, there is found a corresponding repetition in the Punic. For example, the sentences we have alluded to, the fifth and seventh, contain each of them the Latin adverb hie, and accordingly the fifth and seventh Punic lines contain each the Hebrew word of same import, thyn. So in the sentence between them, the sixth, we have the two words of the same root, fecisse ami/aciundum, in the Latin, and in the corresponding line of the Punic the equivalent word of the same Hebrew root phi'l and phu'l. So much for the fifth, sixth, and seventh. In the fourth Latin sentence the word Dii, and in the first Deos ; so in the Punic of both Alonim. In the eighth Latin sentence Deum, and in the eighth Punic ^li, (Deus mens) of the Gospel and Psalms. In the thirds/mm, and also in the seventh. So in Punic three and seven, bj/n or ben, son. In the second Latin ut, and in the Punic chi, the Hebrew for ut; and so in the ninth Punic chi, and in the Latin ut, virtually, (being there com- muted for the equivalent, accusative, and infinitive.) It should have been •mentioned, that in the first and sixth sentences there occurs the repetition of the Latin relative qui in the first, and quod in the sixth ; and that accordingly we find a corresponding repetition in the first and sixth Punic lines, that of the letter s, the sibilant by which in Latin characters the Hebrew relative is expressed. These congruities speak for themselves. They show that the Punic verses correspond with the Latin sentences; they give the Punic for the several words repeated in the Latin, and show the affinity, or rather identity, of the Punic with the Hebrew and the cognate dialects. The repetitions we have hitherto noticed are however only of words of the same root, let us now endeavour to extend the process to those of the same grammatical form. In the first, fourth, and eighth Latin sentences we have the words Deos and Deas, Dii and Deum. In the corresponding Punic line occur the words Alonim Alonuth, Alonim ^l; Alonim Alonim agreeing with Deos Dii, Alonuth with Deas, ^l with Deus. In the same way, for filium a,nd Jilias, or gnatas, we have ben or byn, and binoth, in the third and seventh line; and in the last line but one another word occurs in im-gebulim for regionibus of the Latin in the same penult line. In short, to the Hebrew scholar it must be clear that im and uth are the masculine and feminine plural Punic, as we know they are masculine and feminine plural Hebrew. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 15 The only line not included in the above induction of corresponding repe- tition is the last. But it too affords exemplification of the im and oth being masculine and feminine plural in Punic as in Hebrew. For qui egrediuntur foras is obviously equivalent to egredientes ex cedibus, (the Delphin interpreta- tion,) and accordingly as " /m^;" signifies egredior, and " mnuchoth" cedes, we find the Punic run — luzim m-mmnchoth. Before we dismiss the subject of words in duplicate, it may be worth while to point out one or two other cases of Hebrew duplicate, not less pertinent, though less obvious, than those already noticed, — viz. repetitions of words or phrases occurring in the original, although not veubally transferred into the Latin translation. Examples of this sort occur in translations accounted literal, but are still more likely to occur in such as are only paraphrases or abridgments. And the Latin translation of the Punic is, properly speaking, nothing but an abridgment. In the sixth line we have the phrase " aiunt" they tell me, they inform me, their information is. In the last line but one, " monstratum est," it has been told me, my informant, in answer to my inquiries, deposes, Sfc. In both these clauses, therefore, we have in common the idea of information, testi- mony, &c., and accordingly in both we find the same Hebrew-Punic word ny, id, = witness. ly, the Punic id, has (as witness has in English) the double meaning of either witness, testimony, information, or deponent, informant, nbti IV, id elleh, in the sixth verse, is the testimony of these people, ly '>3y, vni id, in the penul- timate verse, is equivalent to witness answered or deposed, ny mv, is a peculiar Hebrew phrase which occurs in the ninth commandment, ly "ijy (with ■> instead of n) is an Arabism, which having the copulative 1 prefixed, becomes by synaeresis the u'niid of the Punic,* and witness testifies. The word ly in the penultimate line is recognized by Bochart, but it escaped his observation in the sixth, as did also the words respectively combined with it in phrase in both lines. n'7J^, ele, these, after it, in the former ; and ijy, ni, answered, testified, before it, in the latter. Again, as the latter section of the passage relates almost entirely to the idea of hospitalities, either those received by Hanno from Antidamas, or expected on * See Schindler in verb. 16 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, the part of his representative, Agorastocles, we may expect the recurrence of terms equivalent to house, dwelling, dwelling-house. Now amongst the Hebrew synonymes for such ideas are the following : j^i^, heth, riniDOj mnuchth, nmD)On*':35 ie^/t mnuchth, or nini nl!ls buth nuchth.* Accordingly, in the fifth Punic line, for hospes mihifuit Antidamas, the first word which presents itself is ie^A, which, connected with the word noctothi, (for notothi,) in the same line, means that Hanno was granted hospitable accommodation in the house of Antidamas ; or in the Latin phraseology of the ensuing scene, hospitium prcebe- hatur, agreeing with the domum prcehente of Horace, Sat. v. lib. 1. And in the last line, in which occwxiforas, rightly interpreted in the Delphin edition, ex cedibus, we find the equivalent Hebrew phrase, nim^DD, m-mnuchth, from the houses. And in the seventh verse, which, as we shall find, means, that the adopted son Agorastocles had built or fixed his residence there ; the line runs — uth ben ysd buth nuchtheno or beth fnnuchtheno — wdijicavit domum habitationis hie. nmaa nn, a house of rest, a mansion, a house of residence, is a phrase which occurs in the Hebrew Scripture, and frequently in the Chaldee paraphrase. By this copious induction of words in duplicate, we have not only elicited so many Punic vocables and their value, but have established the principle, and are entitled to the benefit of it, that the language of the passage is Hebrew, or one of its cognate dialects ; and that the ten Latin sentences correspond in sense, as well as number, with the ten first Punic lines. We have therefore in the first instance the Punic mass divided into ten integral portions, each of which will be found to consist of two distinct parallel or correlative clauses. Several of these clauses become still farther decomposed by the intervention of the duplicate terms already discovered, or by the Hebrew equivalents, easily discoverable, of expressions rendered literally in the Latin, or nearly so. And as to the re- maining unknown Punic expressions, their value must be elicited by bringing Into juxta-position with them such Hebrew expressions as have, whether as ac- cessories or supplements, coherence with the Latin in sense, and with the Punic In phonetic power. The accomplishment of this result, or approximation to it, should be the solution, or the approximation to it, of this Interesting philological problem. * See Plantevich's Thesaurus Synonimicus. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 17 Having thus taken a first view of the Punic passage, properly so called, it remains that before we pass on to the explication of it in detail, we take some notice of the six lines, commonly distinguished by the title of the Libyan Verses. Some critics have dealt with them as a continuation of the preceding ten ; others have pronounced them a repetition or version of them In a different dialect. The attempts to explicate them on the former hypothesis have been condemned, I believe, unanimously as failures. Those who have adopted the latter view of them have, I think, as uniformly abandoned the attempt in despair. One encouraging fact, however, meets us in limine, and one, of which the tabular matter, in the twelfth page, furnishes ocular demonstration ; that the six lines are so far the duplicate of the ten, that in each of the ten Punic lines, but one,* we find a small, but significant, combination of vocables, which have their echo in the corresponding locus of the Libyan passage, — a broken sentence common to both, agreeing with the Latin in sense, and with both Punic and Libyan in phonetic power. Along with this series of duplicates in sound, we find a series equally numerous of synonimous expressions, constituting duplicates in sense. And with this common portion the ascititlous or supplemental Punic and Libyan remainders cohere, as the " common Gospel" of the German criticf with the supposed additions of the Evangelists, forming a harmony of the Punic passage with the Libyan, such as is submitted in the next page.J * I find since this paper was sent to press, that this exception is removed by the Milan Palimpsest of Angelo Maio, in which we discover within the locus where we might expect it the word Alonim corresponding to the Di vostramjidem of the Latin. f Eichorn. X In reference to this harmony it would seem a proper opportunity to observe, that some of the best editions of Plautus, in place oi ysdihuth, in the seventh line, read ysdibur, which may be ren- dered, " has fixed (report is) his residence here," harmonizing with the voso duher of the Milan paUmpsest, as buth-nuchth does with the 'ono huth of the preceding Libyan line. Again, in the penultimate line of the Punic the words cAtY ^m, maybe read either cAin^S^w, that yonder, above there, to him, &c. ; or chi nO^M, that he has opened for himself; according to the meaning, operp—open eminently, ascribed by Parkhurst to the word bbn. The latter reading is recommended as harmo- nizing with the Libyan of the same sentence in meaning ; but the former having been adopted in the first instance, the corresponding Latin rendering superne, illi hce regiones, &c. hold its place still, p. 7. VOL. XVIII. 18 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus 'b'- A Harmony of the Punic and Libyan Passages* May the Gods and Goddesses who guard this city, [and also the lonely traveller on his way,] Graciously = auspiciously consummate my [sovrov/fuY] journey — prospering my business, directing me here [Worn out with fatigue^ to recover my children, the stray son of my brother — my beloved daughters [my darling — my delights,] He swept them off, the lier in wait — whom-may-they-cast-out-as-profane from the Gods, and in the sea, one and all, may they sink him. Hospitality I was granted here because / had a connexion with Atitidamas : [a near and dear guest to him (was) I]. The old man the testimony 0/ these people =■ [the report'] is by his shrewdness^ acquired a house of residence — moreover a fortune for himself, such as ability was given him to acquire. And his son has established his house of residence here Agorastocles. [The private] token of truth will be this tablet — my God the engraving [I have] brought along with me And [the youth] icitness deposes [= report is] has opened these quarters [the old place] for his habitation, Going this way toward the high place, I will see the Bivium, [I will inform myself — I will see] the high place, going this way [the concourse] and will ask the out-goers from the houses. * The parts in Italics are in duplicate; those joined by = synonimous; those in brackets Lybian. t Synonimes in the original obv and D~ir, cattiditas. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 19 Argument of the first Section of the Punic Monologue. Journeying in search of his lost nephew and daughters, Hanno is represented as invoking in the first part of the monologue the auspices and guidance of the tutelary divinities of the city for their recovery, and, as we shall find, for the punishment of the Andrapodlst. In the sequel of his soliloquy, we shall find him resolving to put in requisition, for the same purpose, the friendship of the son of his former host, and the appliances of federal hospitality. The case of Hanno may be considered as one of the many cases arising out of that infamous traffic, which, from the earliest ages, may be said to have been the curse of the race of Canaan and of the continent, which contains what was called the Land of Ham. Of this traffic, one principal branch was the abduction of what were called surreptitious children, — a son, or brother's son, whose " careless childhood had strayed," or been decoyed ; one or more of the beloved daughters of the house, or haply the entire flock, seized by the " Her in wait," and carried oflF "at one fell swoop," leaving the bereft parent to consume the miserable remainder of his days in hopeless efforts for the recovery of the lost remnant of his line, in journeys of interminable length, and of doubtful issue, begun with prayers for their direction, success, and consummation, and ending with curses upon the execrable author of his bereavement. Such, or substan- tially such, will be found to be the argument of the first section of the Punic monologue in the Pcenulus. The section divides Itself into two principal parts, — the one relating to the abduction of the children, including an Imprecatory appeal against the child- stealer, or Andrapodlst ; the other relating to the journey for their recovery, beginning with an invocation addressed to the tutelary deities for success. It may conduce to the more easy development and explication of the passage to follow the order of time, and begin with the part relating to the Abduction. c2 20 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, The Punic Phraseology respecting the Abduction explicated. Yth byn ithii ahhi — dodain benothai — byr'n arob. We shall first consider the part translated in the Latin, and then explicate the Punic for which there is no Latin equivalent. Gnatas meas Fratris fillum Quae mihi surreptoe sunt. Latin, Filium Fratris Gnatas meas. Punic. yth Byn A Bynuthii r yth Ben - ahh ( Benothai Hehr. Chald.-!^ ^^ ^^ ^, | ,^^2^ This part of the clause explains itself, and requires no further explanation. Qua; mihi surreptce sunt, or, as it is expressed elsewhere in the play, " surripuit eas," (^prcedo), he carried them off. In looking for a proper Hebrew equivalent for surripuit, we must bear in mind, that it is not simply taking away, but, taking away or bereaving of chil- dren, that is meant, taking away posterity. In this sense the Hebrew word most frequently used is the word byr, "lyn. It is the pihel of nyi, and occurs repeatedly in that sense in the first book of Kings ; surripuit eas, will be, accord- ingly, pyn , Punic byrn. For the Latin of this clause we have thus given the Hebrew-Punic equivalent. But certain Punic expressions remain for which no Latin is given, viz. : — Between "byn," son, and "a," of my brother, Ithii, "'''yriri"' yth thii. After "a," br other, 9iaA before " benuthii," daughters, Doedin, ^ilil dodain. Between " byr'n," he carried them off, and the fol- lowing clause, Arob, :3^{^ ar'b. To explain these three expressions must be our next business ; and first, of the expression Ithii, Yth-Thyii "^yri Ti^- Ithii, "I'lyn W Yth th'ii, " Errabundum," the estray. The nephew, or ben-ahh, is, in the prologue of the Pcenulus, line 65, desig- nated abditivus a patre, the estray, or decoyed one. So, of the surreptitious Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 21 child in the Mencechmi, we find the expressions, aberravit a patre in the pro- logue of that play ; and in the fifth Act, section 9, deerrare a patre ; the cir- cumstance of straying being in both cases connected with that of abduction. The Hebrew equivalent for stray is well known to be nyn, thyh. In the participial form, straying, and with the Chaldee article prefixed nynn'> iththoeh, or ithoeh. In this form the meaning would be " filium errabundum fratris," the stray son of my brother. In the parable of the lost sheep, as given in St. Matthew's Gospel, " the one that went astray" is rendered in the Hebrew Testament nyn ^^<. But in the 15th chapter of Job, we find the root in the passive rendered seductus, which in the passive participle, pahul form, would be ''lyn thui, decoyed ; and in the Chaldee dialect would become i^yn thii ; and with the article prefixed, (whether the Chaldee rv or the silent n) ithii.* Now this is the very Punic word which, in its position between ben and ahh, was noticed above, as requiring elucidation, and which turns out to mean in that, its proper grammatical place, " the stray, or kidnapped son of my brother," nx "^yn rv ]1 TV yth ben ithii ahh. Doedin Bynuthii, in^^2 |nn Dodain Benothai, my beloved daughters. The little trait of boyish vagrancy and decoyed childhood which we have just adverted to, as expressed in the prologue, and thereby detected in the untranslated part of the monologue, as it gives an air of individuality and verisimilitude to the poetic picture in the latter, so it serves by the undesigned coincidence between it and the former, strongly to sustain the truth of our philology. Now, as in that clause, the adjunct " abditivus" estray or decoyed, so characteristic of the ram- bling boy, was found wanting in the Latin version of the Punic, but by the help of the prologue detected in the Punic itself; so in the clause we are next about to consider, we may suspect it owing to the Latin being defective, that we find * Where the same consonant ends one syllable and begins the next without a vowel between them one only of those consonants is retained in the pronouncing and in spelling. And wherever in the spelling we find the consonant doubled, the two consonants must be read as with a vowel, or rather apostrophe between them, making a syllable, thus : "'"'yn n** ^ yth-thii, is pronounced and spelled " ithii" in the third line ; but imbb'»J& = syl'luhu, in line fourth is pronounced so that " yl'lu" makes three syllables and " I'lu" two. 22 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, in it no epithet appropriate to Hanno's daughters, on whom his fondest affections seem so strongly to have centered. In one of the following scenes, however, (Act V.) where the fond father gives vent to his feelings on the recognition of his children, he does so by the affectionate compellation, cupitce et expectatce, the same that is addressed by an Apostle to the spiritual children from whom he had been separated — " beloved, and longed for" — like that effusion also of excited feeling in the song of Solomon, " O beloved." In the passage last referred to, the Hebrew is dodim, with which the Punic word we are now illustrating in fact agrees, except that in order to correspond grammatically with its substantive, it is made rii'i dodain, " dodain benothai," my beloved daughters. In reference to the Libyan version we should here observe, that there are two remarkable synonimes for pn, dilectus, viz. : pn, gratiosus, suavis ; (Hebrew Scriptures, passim); and "^VW^, delicicB ; (Proverbs, viii. 30.,) " I was daily his delight." We find, accordingly. In the corresponding part of the Libyan passage these two very strong expressions of affection exempHfying those duplicates in sense which we mentioned as recurring in that version. Byrn Arob, niK pyi Bvir'n Ar'b, " surripuit eos insidiator," he swept them off- — the Her in wait. The next word, arob, signifies a Her in wait, and nearly corresponds with prcedo, the pirate or andrapodist spoken of in the Poenulus as the author of the surreptitious abduction, which nefarious object was generally effected by lying in wait for the unwary victim. By one of those Hers in wait Hanno's nephew has been already mentioned as being decoyed or led astray. And of one of that class of persons it is that we read in the tenth Psalm, " He doth ravish or carry off his victims when he draweth them into his net, he lieth in wait for that pur- pose." Or, as elsewhere, " lieth in wait to catch men." As, therefore, the ravishing, catching, or carrying off the children, was expressed by the preceding word, -lyn, ra'puit sustulit, we are not surprised to find that word accompanied by a word signifying lying in wait for them, m^ ; " surreptcB sunt, surripuit eas prtedo," the man-stealer carried them off, llj^ pyn. That the word arob is used in Scripture in similar cases of abduction, and exactly in a similar way, in reference either to the method or agent by which abduction is effected, shall be shown in the following clause. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 23 Punic Phraseology respecting the Abduction collated with the Hebrew Scriptures. Of the cases of abduction, bereavement, or captivity recorded in Scripture, those which I shall refer to are the following : — That of Lot, the first recorded case of abduction into captivity, (a nephew too, as in the case before us.) That of Joseph, the first recorded case of child-stealing. That «f the daughters of Shiloh, the first case on record of the forcible abduction of females. The bereavement of tJie monarchs of Israel by the taking away, or extinction, of their posterity ; and, finally, the abduction into captivity of the Israelitish people.* AVith respect to the first, the nephew of Abraham is designated in Hebrew as the nephew of Hanno is in Punic, Ben — ahh. With respect to the second, the " Hebrew Boy,"f who says of himself that he was " stolen from the land of the Hebrews," and who was " sold to be a bond servant," we find, in the account of his abduction, the circumstance previously mentioned of the child straying in the field ; the same root being used for straying that is used in the Punic, with respect to the Boy of Carthage, the well-known root, nyn. With respect to the third case, the daughters of Shiloh, their abduction, like that of Hanno's daughters, was effected by ambush, or liers in wait ; the word for liers in wait in the Hebrew passage in question, and in several others, being, as in the Punic, the word arob, 2"l^4.| The remaining word in this clause to be collated with Scripture is by*r, nyi, the word by which Hanno expresses the abduction of his daughter and his own bereavement. With a view to collating it and the entire clause with the Hebrew Scripture, we must bear in mind what the extent of that bereavement was; and that the previous abduction of his nephew and that of his daughters left him not only childless, but without hope of posterity. This condition is one • This case of abduction will be referred to as including passages illustrative of the imprecation against the Andrapodist by parallel Scripture denunciations against those who were accessory to the selling the children of the Israelites in the slave markets. ■f See Sir \Vm. Jones's Translation of the Persian poem of Hafiz in his Grammar of that language. X See those several passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 24 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, frequently alluded to in the Old Testament, and expressed generally by peri- phrasis, but sometimes by a single and special term. The abduction of a captive, as in the case of Lot, is expressed by the word niU?, captivum abducere ; in cases of child-stealing, as that of Joseph, by the word 1'^l,furari; forcible abduction, as in the case of the women at Shiloh, P^tDn, rapere. But in cases of bereave- ment, threatening the extinction of the family line, the phrases used are such as follow : " Write this man childless ;" "I will cut off son and nephew, name, and remnant ;" " I will bring evil upon his house ;" or, finally, " I will take away his posterity." The most general, as well as the most brief formula, is the last one. Par- ticular instances of such extinction of the line are of course to be looked for rather in the records of royal than of private families. In those of the kings of Israel we find the following denunciations : " I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam ;" " I Avill take away the posterity of the house of Baasha ;" " I will take away thy posterity," again addressed to Ahab. The Hebrew word for taking away, or abduction, in all these sentences being the same, the word "lyi. Its reiteration in the same meaning, and on similar occasions seems to imply a spe- cial and singular propriety in its application to cases of extinction of the family line. This was Hanno's case, and the word ^yi is the word he uses, :i^n pya byr'n arob, " he took them, or swept them clean off — the lier in wait." The word ~iyi, as thus used in Scripture, must be confessed to be a word of curious felicity and of rare pith and pregnancy, and admirably adapted to ex- press the sure, swift, and fatal effect, of an unseen destroying power. Not less, but rather more curious and interesting is its selection, adoption, and propriety of application in the case before us, a fragment of heathen poetry, the sole sur- viving fragment, that can be so called, of the Carthaginian language and poetry. Certainly, no other single word could have been put into the mouth of Hanno, so capable of adequately expressing the gravamen of his wrongs, hopeless be- reavement of posterity. It is admirably in keeping with the case and the dra- * The word hyr, the Septuagint renders by the Greek a^olvi^uj, to cause to disappear, and the Latin version of Castalio, by " abstergere," to sweep off". The idea conveyed by it in the great majority of occasions on which it is used, and in which both the above interpretations agree, includes the more or less rapid disapparilion of an object as the effect, from the operation of some violent and sweeping agency as the cause. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 25 matic character. The conception, it would seem to conjure up, if not definitely to convey, being that of the harpy violence of the spoiler, like some ambushed minister of the fates, sweeping off the sweets of his domestic happiness and hopes, and leaving " no remainder."* Punic Phraseology respecting the Imprecation explicated. Sj/lloho Malonim, uVym is yrduhu, imnn"' tTN CD''1'1 tZ3''3l'7S'0 im'7'7''\r, " Quern ut profanum arceant a Diis et in mare unusquisque demergant." At this part of the monologue, Hanno's reminiscence of his wrongs calls forth against the author of them an appeal to the gods, rendered in the Latin Di, &c., which we may consider as an appeal to their retributive justice — in effect, an imprecation Invoking punishment on the Andrapodist, or African slave-dealer of that day. With respect to the punishment to which Hanno's imprecation pur- ports to doom the Andrapodist, we are here deserted by the Latin, but may ven- ture to form some conjectui-e on the subject from certain known usages of antiquity in general respecting the disgrace and punishment of such execrable characters, and perhaps we may add, from those of the Carthaginians in particular. It will be recollected then, in the first place, that persons attainted with the guilt of infamous crimes, such as those called Andrapodists, men or child- stealers, were included amongst those designated as jSefirjXoi'f and e^eipyovfjieuoi, * Reminding us of the expression purporting to have been dictated by parallel circumstances and feelings, «' My children too, that were most precious to me, Hell kite, at one fill swoop." Macbeth. And of the similar circumstances and feeling expressed by Logan, the American chief, in the words — " There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any human being." " To whom nor relative nor blood remains, No, not a kindred drop that runs in human veins." See Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, and Campbell's Gertrude of Wyoming. ■}• So St. Paul, 1 Timothy, ix. /3£/3)jXoiy — avSpaitoSiaXioif. " Quo me diis marinis mactarent." CoiNTUs Smyrn^us, lib. 12. De Sinone Iliad. Punic Phraseology respecting the Recovery explicated. Chi rrChlach cun ythmu mtsliahhim yth dibri raskili pho caneth. n3D nQ 'h^ys'd nm n'' tZD''D>'72Jo inn'' j^s '''7'7nD ••d " Vt iter meum rite consummarent secundantes rem ineam dirigentes me hie repperire, ^c." That my journey duly they may consummate, prospering my business — direct- ing me here to recover, ^c. Having thus dispatched the subject of the Abduction of the children, and of the imprecation which follows it, we now turn to that part of the section which * A number of victims, not oipoHests, as it lias been rendered in the Latin version. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 31 relates to tlieir recovery, and to the journey undertaken for effecting It, including the business of that journey, and the previous invocation for the direction, suc- cess, and consummation of it. The recovery, repperire, Heb. nap", gerund of rvyp, Punice, caneth, Libyce, can't, or rather lacan't — ad repperiundum. In the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, in which God declares that he will set his hand "to recover" the children of the cap- tivity from their abduction, HDp, cantli, is the Hebi'evv word used for to recover. The same word we find accordingly in the Punic sentence corresponding with tlie Latin one to which repperire jilium belongs, inynediately preceding and governing the clause yth byn, {ithii ahh.) We shall in regular course consider more particularly the Scriptural authority and peculiar and curious propriety of this word as here applied — XMk "'ynn p H'' Hip, repperire JUium errabundum fratris. Connected with the recovery is the journey. The word for journey, used by the king of Persia when he gave audience to Nehemiah, was, according to that writer, ■j'7nD, Punice m'lach, being the second word in the second Punic line. The same word is used for journey in the beginning of the account of Jonah's mission to Nineveh, and occurs once, and I believe only once, more in Ezekiel's prophecies, who wrote in Chaldea. So that the geography of the word may be said to be Chaldean, and the chronology of its use in Scripture probably not antecedent to the captivity. But though its occurrence is thus rare in the Old Testament Hebrew, it is frequent in the Rabbinical writings. In Maimonides, for example, respecting the kind of prayers to be used on a journey, and the kind of journey allowed on the Sabbath, &c. In the Itinerary of Ben- jamin of Tudela it occurs in almost every page, being used indifferently with the Old Testament word for journey, f"n. It may be added, that Hutter, in his Hebrew version of the New Testament, more than once uses mah'lach for jonrney, e. g. John, iv. 6. " Jesus being weary with his "[bTXO, m'lach, &c." The translation published by the Society for the Conversion of the Jews, uses the old and more common word, "jm. In the Libyan the equivalent for m'lach is the Chaldce lach, or f"?, loc, formed from the same root by aphseresis, as "j'^no, mhlach, by prosthesis. According to the Rabbinical points, the pronunciation of the m should be suspended by the metheg, or distinguished from the re- 32 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, mahider of the word, and the h not being sounded in the middle, a hiatus is left in its place. For the business of the journey, or any other business, the Hebrew-Chaldee equivalent, most common from the days of Abraham to those of his descendants at the present day, and in use in their common letters of business, as mentioned in Buxtorf. Lectio. Hebr. German, is— Dbr. in. Re mea nm ^^?, Chaldaice n2^^^ Punice, mispronounced, ^c^ dibri.* For prosperiti/ or success, the Hebrew word most generally used is n"''7Sn, as is well known even to the tyro in the language. It is the word, for example, used in the first Hebrew Psalm in that clause, " Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."! I^ut n'''72n, though the most common, is not the only word for prosperity/. Success, in the fullest sense, consisting in what is begun being con- summated or completed ; success and consummation are in a degree synonimous. And, accordingly, in the verse of the first Psalm already referred to, the D'^b'i'^ is rendered in the cognate Arabic version by CDan% shall consummate. We are not therefore surprised to find these two synonimes used in this passage in the two consecutive clauses of the second verse ; the one being applied to the journey, and the other to the business of it : nil n"" Q"'n'''7Sa lan^ 7'7nD O. There remain three Latin words in this clause of the section, yet to be matched with Hebrew Punic equivalents ; the first is the adverb "/n'c," liere, w^hich some various readings insert in the beginning of the third Latin line, meas que hie ut gnatas, &c., a reading which the Punic justifies, as it confirms our reading of tlie Punic. 2. The next is siritis, the verb wliich governs the infinitive, repperire, and which sliould have a Punic equivalent 'to govern the Hebrew Punic infinitive n3p, caneth. 3. The last is rite, which though appa- rently, as it is virtually, the equivalent for mtztiahhm, rather implies than ade- quately expresses the meaning of that word. * According to the same analogy of mispronunciation, by which in the next scene the word sounded datas by the Roman slave, is by Hanno sounded dechtas. As in the Punic passage, fifth verse, " nutthoti," I was granted, is by Hanno sounded noctothi : and as the Sicilians in the imme- diate vicinity of Libya deflected Carthado to xas^r/wy, and transmitted the same pronunciation to the Greeks, as observed by Salmasius in his Notes on Cornelius Nepos, Hamilcar. f The Punic metathesis to mstyal is agreeable to the change which the letter 2 has undergone in similar words, and by which mitzraim and hotsra tsibi (antimony) are frequently found changed to mestraim, hostra, and stihi. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scrijitiires. 33 First, with respect to the local particle hie, given amongst the various readings ; its Hebrew-Punic equivalent rig, pho, is immediately discovered in the place where it might be expected, before n3p, repperire, and where it was in fact detected by the writer of this Essay before he was aware of the support of that reading in the Latin version, which confirmed the Punic reading and interpretation. It makes with repperire most excellent sense, and is in harmony with Hanno's subsequent prayer, that the business of his journey might that day be brought to a consummation.* Second, siritis, (repperire siritis), permit,— Javour — by divine interposition lead to the recover}/, &c. Of Hanno's journey for the recovery of his children, it is said in the prologue. Terra marique undequdque quceritat, ^-c. — characterizing it as a journey of search, in which the obstacle to success consists in the uncertainty of the route and point of destination. In such case the means necessary for overcoming that obstacle, and, accordingly, the objects of prayer, must be guidance, direction, and instruction. Thus, iEneas alludes to the guidance of his goddess mother, onatre ded monstrante viam ; and Ceres " passioning" for the abduction of her daughter exclaims on setting out in search of her, Quis monstrator erit.f Now for monstrare docere, &c., to direct, guide, instruct, the Hebrew equivalent is the well known Hebrew word 'jOv&n. In the participial form, like D"'n"''72Ja, (but in regimen, before the suffix ('''7''D^a,) it it is discovered between the word mi, dibari, in the second line, and the word rjQ, pho, in the third, part of it ending one Punic line, the remainder beginning the next, (as those lines stand divided in the text,) 13 riD 'h'^yv^ nDnn'' L:Dn"''72iD ion*' — "l'7na ut iter consummarint secundantes rem-meam docentes-me hie repperire, &c.J Rite itself being a religious term, may be referred to the next section, viz. * Poenulus, Act V. Sc. 4, line 15. "j" Claudian Raptus Proserp. Lib. iii. v. 429, p. 12.3, Rich. Heber's edition, vol. ii. " Where shall I seek ? — What lands my darling hide ? Who'll show the prints, and be my faithful guide ?" Hughes' Translation. \ It may be repeated here, that as the synonimes for journey are m'lach and derech ; so for the success of a journey the Hebrew synonimes are Dan and rTibsn and V''D££'n, and that the foUowfng are Scripture phrases respecting a journey — make way perfect — consummate a journey — direct, instruct in the u-ay. So that in a Hebrew^Chaldee concordance under the word "jn, vjo, synonime of "fbna iter, all the above phrases and synonimes will be found. VOL. XVIII. E 34 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Funic Passage in Plautus, The Punic Phraseology of the Part respecting the Recovery collated with Scripture. The word rite, Punic cun, is one of great significance. It is a term of tute- lary worship, and, though not formally included in the invocation, forms the link awA. junctura between it and the body of Hanno's prayer; which, in this respect, reminds us of the invocation of the tutelary deities, in the 2nd Book of the iEneid, " Ut rite secundarent," &c. ; and the still more solemn address to them in the Carmen Seculare, what may be considered the subject of Hanno's prayer family increase, and restauration. Rite* — tuere matres — prodiicas sobolem — prosperes decreta super jugandis — Romul(S genti date remque prolemque, Sfc. In praying for this reparation and family increase and prosperity, and expressing hope in, and only in, the divine tutelary favour conciliated by pious worship, the language of the 127th Psalm has a remarkable agreement with that of the Carmen ; but particularly in an expression which seems to be in sense, and in the Chaldee version in sound, the same with the word cun, the Punic equivalent of rite. An expression which, however, from mistake as to the sense, has occasioned much obscurity to readers and trouble to commentators on the Psalms. " It is but lost labour that ye rise up early and so late take rest, (/or) so he giveth his beloved sleep." The illative particle yor implies, that the conclusion follows from the premises, whereas the apparent inconclusiveness is felt by the generality of readers as a non sequitur. The truth is, the illative for is not in the original, and the right way of dividing and reading the passage is, in place of including that clause in the same verse with the preceding, to make it the beginning of the following verse : — " Duly, fitly, he giveth to his beloved" the desiderated blessing. (As a gift that cometh from the tutelary God, and conferred on his faithful people as a reward.) This is the rendering of the Chaldee version for the word which other versions render so, the Hebrew p = recte, bene = rite ; but, according to the Chaldee rendering, convenienter, and .in phonetic power, (according to the dialect of that version) cun,f pronounced * Rile joined v/ith prosperes and with secundarent, as the Punic, cun ^-VS, with ffoiy ythmu. ■f The drift of the lesson inculcated in the Psalm is that human industry ' ' may plant," and human Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 35 . chiun, like the first syllable of the Greek word for dog* in the inflected cases. This is the third Punic word of the second line, and might be translated aus- piciously. It escaped Bochart altagether, and the hallucination led to other mistakes. It is like rite, a term of Jewish tutelary worship ; an expression of affiance in the faithfulness of the tutelary God of Israel. Chi m'lach cun ythmu — yarv JV3 "["^nn O — " Ut iter consummarint," — That my journey duly they may consummate. In a journey of mental anxiety and trouble, and bodily toil, Hanno prays, that the tutelary powers may consummate his enterprise, iaan% ythmu. In the 20th Psalm, fifth verse, Arabic version, the supplication to the tutelary God of Israel runs, " May he hear thee in the day of trouble, and consummate^ thy purposed operations. The word in the Psalm differs in no respect, of root or form, from the other, except in the omission of the polytheistic plural. ">"in n'' Ll]'^n'''7Sa, prospering my business. Whether the distinguishing the business of the journey from the journey itself may be considered as a pleo- nasm, we shall not stop to inquire. What is to our present purpose to remark in collating this passage with the Scriptures is, that with respect to a journey having for its object the securing, as far as human prudence could, the prospect of a family, or rather the recovering of that prospect, and preventing the line of inheritance from becoming extinct, the words of Hanno praying for the pros- pering of this business are, mtsliahhim yth dbri, nn ni Q''n"''7S0, and that in the account in Genesis, of the journey of Abraham's servant, having a similar end in view, the words, for the business and the prospering are Hanno's words : " The servant put his hand under Abraham's thigh," we are told, " and sware carefulness " water ;" but God giveth the increase, and duly (in accordance with his tutelary cha- racter) will give it to his beloved. This sentiment would exactly be expressed if the verse were supposed to run, " Duly God will give to his beloved," not Sib sleep, but S2Ji^ increase, " remqiie prolemque." The difference between the two readings, being merely the difference between a 3 and 2. And when it is considered how slight, and almost evanescent, that difference is ; and how liable a 3 may be supposed to the loss or accidental omission of its distinctive mark ; it will not appear, perhaps, an unreasonable stretch of conjectural criticism to surmise such mutilation or omis- sion in the present instance, and that SaC7is an erratum for S3K7, " crescere," increase. * The Hebrew p, as in the accusative of xv\ goose ; the equivalent Chaldee ^V3, as in the accusative of xu/, dog ; Socrates' oath, jaa k'jvo. km xV- e2 36 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautm, to him concerning that matter or business," super hac re, in the original, "ill. And in the prayer of the same person for the success of his undertaking, his words are, "O Lord God of my master, if thou art prospering,*' &c. n"''7SD, intzliahh* Let us now look into the account of Nehemiah's journey. In it, we have already remarked that we find Hanno's word for journey is the one used by the Persian monarch. Nehemiah, moreover, we also find, in praying for the success of it, prosper I pray thee, uses Hanno's word ?^', n3, and for prosper and for business, he (as well as Abraham and his servant) uses Hanno's word htzliahh and dbr ; hlztiahh twice, both in the end of the first chapter before his jovirney, and after it at the end of the second, when he expresses his confidence that God would prosper it, (Jitzliahh), in reply to the adversaries who tauntingly demanded of him the business of his journey, " Qucenam est hcec res, dbr in, quam facitis?" The God of Heaven, he answered, He will prosper us, vS^t''. But there is another word of Hanno's prayer used by Nehemiah in his. We have noticed the circumstance of Hanno's being a yoMrnej/ and business, o? search and recovery ; and that, consequently, as a means of speeding it, he prays for guidance or instruction. Such a journey, one of search and uncertain route, was that in the wilderness, and one which required, and obtained, the same deside- rated interposition of Providence. In commemorating which — (the guidance afforded the Israelites) — Nehemiah notices, not only the outward guidance of the fiery pillar, but God's giving his Holy Spirit to instruct the travellers. Nehe- miah, ix. 20. Hanno's word is ■>'7'>DU?a, instructing me ; Nehemiah's Q'^o^n, to instruct them ; the one the participle, the other the infinitive or gerund. So in Psalm xxxii. the divine promise recognizes this peculiar aid as desirable in a journey, " I will instruct thee in the way that thou shalt go," '7''Dtc^}. The last woi'd of Hanno's prayer which remains to be collated is caneth, " repperire," to recover, Isaiah, xi. English version, Hebrew n^p.t By that word we may consider Hanno expressing the end and object of his enterprise, as a kinsman, to redeem his relatives from slavery, as their champion to rescue, or liberate, them from exile and oppression, and as the pious father to recover them as his posterity, the lost remnant of his line. Now when Nehemiah speaks of his redeeming his kinsmen, the Jews, who were sold • Gen. x.\iv. 42. f Root HJp. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 37 to the heathen, he uses in that capacity the word 13'»Dp, caninu* When Moses, by whose hand the Israelites were rescued from bondage, speaks of their forget- ting their divine champion who had liberated them, he says, " Is he not thy father that canah'd — redeemed thee ?" TT3p. Finally, when the Father himself of the families of Israel solemnly announces, by his prophet, his gracious purpose of addressing himself to the fulfilment of the promises respecting the restoration of the exiled and captive Israelites, Isaiah says, " He will set his hand again the second time to recover, n3p, can'th, the remnant or remaining posterity of his people that shall be left, like as it was to Israel (on the occasion last men- tioned) when he came up out of Egypt." Besides, therefore, the other passages we have referred to for some of them, we have thus found in the account of Nehemiah's journey alone, all except two of the words used by Hanno in the part of his prayer respecting the consummation of his journey, the success of its business, and the guidance and direction required for finding and recovering his children — mlach — mtslyahlmn yth dbri msklai caneth — as we before traced his words in the Scriptures relating to cases of abduction, and on those bearing on the curse and divine denunciation against the Andrapodist. At the conclusion of the part respecting the abduction, we enlarged a little on the pith and pregnancy of the word "lyi, bier, byr, of the Punic, as specially applicable to cases of bereavement, such as Hanno seemed threatened with — the abduction of his entire posterity. In concluding the part now before us repect- ing the Recovery, we should not do justice to the felicitous adaptation as correlatives, of the Punic-Hebrew words for abduction and recovery — " the carrying away into captivity," and " the redemption thence," if we did not remark, that as "lyi was found to include not merely bereavement, but threat- ened extinction, so n3p, as used in Isaiah, xi. is clearly intended to apply to the recovery of not merely the lost, exiled, or captive members of a family, but the apparently lost remainder — the entire stock, " name and remnant," in the direct and collateral lines.t What has been said of the Punic m'hlach, ythmu, carHth, ben, &c. applies to the Libyan locut, ytum, cant beant, Sfc. of the same roots. Immediately before locut, journey, stands the Libyan " abel," sorrowful. Gen. xxxvii. 35, " I will go down to my son sorrowful," VlXj abel ; Psalm, xxxv. 14, " Like one sorrowful, '^lik, * Same root njp. f See the entire passage, Isaiah, xi. 38 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passa iii ^^i^ expression the Chaldee for laborans is "•x'?.* The natural pathos of this parenthetic expression of despondence is obvious. It is introduced, moreover, by a beautiful and artful junctura in the Libyan Invocation, which, as we shall see when we come to explicate that passage, includes the traveller with the city as under the divine tutelary protection. The Invocation. The Plautlne Latin translation of the Invocation is at once spirited and literal, and properly rendered into Hebrew- Chaldee, gives the Punic line of which it purports to be the translation. And in the greater part of the line in- terpreters agree. Little, therefore, need be said by way of explication, but to remark that from this perfectly literal Latin translation Bochart, misled, it would seem, by his own erudition, elaborately deviated. Having discovered in the Arabic language a word corah similar in meaning to the Greek x^P^^ ^^^ somewhat similar in sound and spelling to the Punic corath, he was tempted to adopt the reading corah, and the rendering regionem, in defiance alike of the Punic reading, which is not corah, but corath, and of the Latin rendering of Plautus, which is not regionem, but urhem, the well-known meaning of corath in the Hebrew Scriptures. A word, than which none can be more In keeping in the mouth of a native of Carthage, and a worshipper by descent and religion of the tutelary god Melc- Carth, and engaged In the act of worshipping the tute- lary divinities of the place. * nN7 Idh, sesms obviously the derivation of the Latin, lassus ; French, las, &c. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 39 Job, xxix. 7> " When I went out of the gates near the corath, city." Prov. viii. 3, " Wisdom crieth at the entry of the corath, city." Corresponding with the words of the first Punic line are those of the Libyan, with this difference, that immediately before the Libyan word messecun= esse- macun, corresponding with the Punic isimacon, we find the clause im (misti =) mitsi atti cu, which will be found parenthetically to include the traveller as well as the town under the guardianship of the tutelary powers : "im" moreover; " atti cu" the lonely or herefi stranger ; " mitsi" journeying or on his way* The two principal words, atti and mitsi, both occur in the sixteenth chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians, fourth and twenty-second verses.f Argument of the latter Section of the Punic Monologue. Having invoked the divine favour and divine vengeance, Hanno now bethinks him of human aid, and of putting in requisition the services of Agoras- tocles, his old host's adopted son, and presenting to him as his introduction the Tessera Hospitalis. The federal and hereditary hospitality of the ancients would seem to have had for its object to secure the hospitable reception and accommodation of tra- vellers against the fickleness of private friendship, the fluctuation of international wars, and the changes and casualties of fortune and mortality. The covenanting individuals died, but the connexion and their beneficial interest in it vested in their representatives. Until the family on either side became extinct, and so long as either of the parties was in possession of a residence and establishment to qualify him as host, the other, on producing the hereditary tessera, was recog- nized as a guest, and helped as a friend. If we suppose one of the parties to such an hereditary contract on arriving in a town, to address to himself, or one of his attendants, the reflection that by virtue of it he had formerly been * See the lexicons, Schindler, Castello, Giggeius, &c. f The collating of the Invocation with the Hebrew Scriptures being for the reasons above alluded to, not requisite for further elucidating or confirming the explication of it, is reserved with other matter for the conclusion of this paper. 40 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, granted hospitality there, that the accounts he had were, that the old man had died in opulent circumstances, and that the son, moreover, had established his residence there, that, thougli personally unknown to him, he himself had brought as a token of truth the tessera along with him, and that he had been informed on good authority that in those quarters his friend's habitations lay, resolving to pro- ceed that way to the high place, where he should see the Bivium or square, and make inquiry of the persons going out from the houses ; — we shall have nearly to the letter the remaining part of the Punic Monologue. This we now proceed to consider. In explicating the passage in detail we must bear in mind, that on the prin- ciples laid down in the preceding paragraph, our traveller will, in reference to former hospitalities, felicitate himself, not simply on having received them, but received them in virtue o^ federal connexion which insured to him the benefit of them in future. In allusion to the death of his personal friend we will allude, not merely to his having died but having died rich. In allusion to his heir not merely his being here in the town, but having a house and establishment here ; and his reference to the tessera would go to imply, not merely his having, but expecting to use it as a token or ticket of introduction. It may be added, that on reaching the quarter of the town in which was situated the residence of his friend, his most direct way of obtaining informa- tion and assistance would be to appear upon the Bivium, or High Place, at the head of the Bivium, where hospitable and wealthy residents accosted and invited strangers who had no fixed host; and to which strangers looking for their hereditary hosts resorted to meet and be recognized by them. It may clear our way, moreover, to observe here, that the Punic may be divided into three triplets, (besides the Invocation which takes up the first line). The first triplet includes the journey and prayer for its success, the recovery and abduction of the children, and the parenthetic imprecation. The second triplet refers to the hospitalities Hanno had enjoyed in the house of Antidamas, to the information he had of his son and heir having also set up house in tlie same city, with a parenthetic line between respecting the old man's fortunes and decease. Jn the third triplet the penultimate line alludes to the quarter of the town he had arrived at as the locus of the young man's residence, and the last, to the very street of it, which he proposes to proceed to, with a parenthesis in this triplet also Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 41 respecting the Tessera hospitalis. So that of the six lines which the section now before us takes up, two are parenthetical, one relating to the fortunes of the old man, and another to the Tessera. Of the other four, the first pair relate to hospitality — the second pair being Ichnographical. If we begin with the former and end with the latter of the parentheses, the remaining two couplets will have a continuity of connexion rendering the sense more easily perceptible, as follows : " Here I was formerly granted accommodation in the house of Antidamas be- cause of my connexion with him as guest and favourite friend. His son, more- over, has fixed his house of residence here. And witness deposes that he has occupied those quarters yonder as his habitation, and opened the old site. Going this way toward the high place there, I will observe the Bivium (the concourse,) and will make inquiry of the persons going out from the houses," Tlie Punic Phraseology respecting Hannos deceased Host explicated. " Eumfecisse aiunt sibi quodfaciundumfuit.'^ Yss id eleh brimtiphil yth chil li sco ntn liphul. Ess alemin dubertfel eel. GrandcEvum testimonium (sermo) hoi'um est calliditate suafecisse rem sibi quam facultas dabatur ad faciendam. It has been already shown, under the head of Duplicates, that the Punic equivalent for aiunt is id ele, n'JN *1i?5 and for fecisse quod faciundum ; fel* s, Iphul. For sibi the Punic is either lu = the Hebrew iS or, as here, li = the Chaldee 'in'?- The only remaining Latin word in the line is eum, meaning, obviously, the old man as distinguished from the son — the Jilium of the next line. Now, in the Hebrew Chaldee synonymy, as p» signifies senex, and 3ty canus, so tyiy signifies grandcevus. The last is the word adopted here :f and with perfect propriety and accordance with the facts of the story. For, subsequently to the * Fel both in Punic and Libyan. f Both in Punic and Libyan, in the latter spelled ess. VOL. XVIII. F 42 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, time of his being Hanno's host, Antidamas had become the purchaser of the boy, Agorastocles : Antidamas, being then a rich old man but having become at the period of Agorastocles' adolescence and his own death very old and very rich. Having thus gone through the part of the Punic which corresponds with the Latin, we must stop to remark that this Latin verse is elliptical and obscure ; and, that in order to fill up the ellipsis, we must endeavour to ascertain what it was that Antidamas did, or accomplished, to which the words yec?'f and faciundum refer. It was exactly what has been last hinted at, viz. : his having not only lived to a great age, but as long as he lived continued to amass riches, which he is said to have bequeathed to his adopted son, Agorastocles ; — adoptasse eum in divitias. To complete the ellipsis on this principle we should insert some such word as lucrum ; grandcevum ilium, testimonium horum est, fecisse lucrum sibi quod faciundum fuit. Certain it is, that one of the most common Hebrew words for riches is ^tn chil, and that chil^*\X},X or rather ^"in n** ytli ckil, immediately follows the equivalent for fecisse, and lies between it and the equivalent for faciundum ; facere being here, in fact, equivalent to Horace's rem facere. That the phraseology ^ipl bl?D and ^in Hiyy* is that of the Hebrew Scrip- tures will be shown presently. For the present let us proceed to the two Punic phrases that remain besides those already elicited, viz : brimti and cont. If we are right, as I think the Hebraist must concede, in assigning to "j^n "JVD ( phil chil) the sense of rem facere, lucrum facere, then yec«5se lucrum quod faci- undum fuit must be understood to va^an fecisse lucrum pro virilisuo, summa ope, in Scripture idiom, according to his ability ; " as of the ability that God giveth ;" or, as in a passage very like this one in the antithetical repetition of the word (fo, — Eccles. ix. 10. "Whatever thy hand findeth to do — do {with thy might), Hebrew '?Tn5l3 with thy cohh. Fac quod assequitur manus tua ad faciendum— facultate tua — as cohh has been given s-co-ntn ^ig^ ^n3 n^tlS which exactly gives the last expression in this line. Of the explication we have offered of co-ntn and shall offer of brimti confir- mation strong will develope itself when we come to collate the line with parallel passages of Holy Writ. But with respect to the remaining unexplained expres- sion we must first observe, that as money-making is the principal subject matter * In the Libyan spelled eel. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 43 of this sentence, and as two qualities principally conduce to that object, diligence and shrewdness, and as diligence seems here expressed by the periphrasis of making a fortune such as means were afforded of making, so we may anticipate that the remaining quality, shrewdness, should be alluded to in the remaining expression hr'mthi. The subject we have remarked is money-making. The speaker, be it remembered, is a Carthaginian {loquitur Pcenus,) of whom their countryman, St. Augustine,* states, money to have been ever uppermost in their thoughts, and whom also Cicerot characterizes as possessing eminently the quality which fitted them for success in the pursuit, calliditas or shrewdness. One of the principal expressions for this quality is in Hebrew 0*11^> in Arabic the syno- nimous and nearly similar word Qby. Of these the Punic adopts the former, the Libyan the latter. The Hebrew word with the particle i prefixed, Q'^ya? byrim, is, in fact, a Rabbinical and Hebrew phrase, Joshua, ix. 4, Exod. xxi. 41. It is in the Targum paraphrased by no5n> wisdom, (and vice versa), as a good quality. And in a good sense as synonymous with rDQlDn? wisdom, it occurs in the Proverbs, " I, Wisdom, dwell with a-jy. Prudence." In short the whole line runs as follows : — " The old man, the testimony or report of these people is, by his TZ^'yj shrewdness made the fortune for himself which ability or means were afforded him of making. The Punic Phraseology respecting Wealth, and Shrewdness, and Success, in acquiring it, collated with the Hebrew Scriptures. In collating this Punic line with parallel passages of Scripture, we must recollect that, as aii>, calliditas, and n^^rfj sapientia, are in the Hebrew and in the Targum used as convertible terms, so Isaiah (xliv. 4,) uses the Hebrew * St. Augustine refers to the story of the mountebank who undertook to discover in the Carthaginians each man's inchnation and thoughts, and redeemed his pledge by pronouncing of them all, " Vili vultis emere et care venders." — Dk Trinitate. f In that passage so frequently quoted, " Nee numero Hispanos, nee robore Gallos nee calli- ditate Poenos, Sfc." — De Repub. Arusp. JP 2 44 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, ^yg, our Punic phi, as synonymous with niyy ; and the Arabic* version fre- quently substitutes the former (Hanno's word) as the equivalent of the latter. In placing the Punic and Hebrew in juxta-position, we shall do the same, put- ting for n»5n5 any and a^yj and for nu;y. bVi^- Thus in the two passages of Scripture most deserving our attention as eluci- dating the Punic — Ezekiel, xxviii. 4. " With thy wisdom, thou hast gotten thee riches." Deuteronomy, viii. 18, &c. " He hath given thee power to get wealth," we substitute for the first of the following readings the latter : ■jiys"? |riD ns and '7>n "jj^D aii?n— ntyy"? n^ ]nD and ^^n ntyy ncr^n^- To say nothing of yss, u^u/'i, applied in Job and elsewhere exclusively to persons of Antidamas' age, let the Hebraist glance at those two passages and at the Punic together, and he will perceive that with very slight alteration the sub- stance and language of those two passages, along with the Hebrew expressions, for which there is equivalent Latin, as already noticed, make up altogether Hanno's verse, and that, if we may so speak, Ezekiel, Moses, and the author of the Proverbs, when speaking of money-making, shrewdness, diligence, and suc- cess in the pursuit, — in short on Hanno's subjects, speak in Hanno's language and phraseology : and that — by wisdom to get wealth — 'j'TI ^^D IID''iy3> '■'■hjrim phil chil" power given to get wealth ; ^\x^ 'Ji^D'? ?n3 liS, co' ntn Iphul chil, are phrases common to the Syrophojnician Gentile and the inspired Jew. Nor will it be considering the words too curiously to remark, respecting the phrase, by his shrewdness or wisdom, the rare fitness of its collocation be- tween the two expressions conveying the ideas of lengthened years on the one hand, and accumulated riches on the other; connecting prudence with wealth as its effect, and with lengthened years as its cause.f On this subject it will be recollected in passing, as noticed by a late Most Reverend and eminent Orientalist in his remarks on Job,J respecting the word \i}\u*^, that Chappelow well hit off its meaning as not merely implying age, but the wisdom which should accompany it. Little, probably, did the author of that criticism surmise, that it would find its strongest sustentation — quo minime reris — from this Punic passage and the Libyan version of it rightly understood. * Psalm, vii. 4. and xv. 5. f •n'a^n D''tC''tt?''3, Job, xii. 12. J Magee on the Atonement, Note. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures: 45 Respecting the word wm^, which Archbishop Magee dwells upon in reference to the antiquity of the book of Job, it does not appear to have been observed, that the only other book of Scripture in which it occurs, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17, dates subsequently to the captivity. Whether, coupled with this drawback, its occurrence in the book of Job may weaken the argument for its antiquity, or strengthen it, by referring it back to that common radical language used by Abraham and his early descendants, which comprehended as Michaelis suggests, Syriac, and Arabic, as well as Hebrew, is a discussion on which it would be foreign to our purpose at present to engage. With respect to the passage from Ecclesiastes, ix. 10, referred to in passing, we may here observe, that as the monition it contains, to " do what is to be done, or what we can do, while we have might, or with all our might," serves to intro- duce the memento, that " there is no work or device in the grave," so the inti- mation of Antidamas having acted on the principle of making or accomplishing what he could, while he lived, may be, as it has been, considered an Euphe- mism, implying that he had died. But as the Libyan passage, though corres- ponding with this Punic verse in other respects, has nothing corresponding to the words, 5' cd" ntn Vphul, in which the supposed euphemism lies, it may be doubted whether any euphemism in a positive sense of periphrasis was intended at all. In other respects, as has been said, the agreement of the Libyan account of the man's fortunes with the Punic is very satisfactory. The Libyan ess, f el, and eel, old are obviously the Punic words yss,fel, chil. The Libyan duberth, from ^:3-|, " sermo," report, corresponds with id, 'ly, testi^nony ; and finally, the Libyan Alemin, root D^Vj is strictly 'synonymous with the Punic brimth, root my, both signifying prudence, shrewdness, 'wisdom, both in the Koran and in the ' Arabic version of the Bible, Q^jy, as well Q'^y, are used sometimes for wisdom in the good sense. Thus in the Koran, " We have no a^y but what thou hast taught us," and in the Holy Scriptures, Psalm xix. 3, and Tim. iv. 6, are referred to by Castello. But frequently the Arabic word a"?!?, is like the Hebrew a^y, used to express the acuteness, subtlety, or wisdom of the serpent. The question in the third chapter of Genesis, " who told thee, &c." in reference to the tempta- tion of the serpent, that the forbidden fruit was of efficacy to make one wise, is in one of the Arabic versions, " Who did Q^y thee, &c. who has made thee so wise." 46 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, The word is moreover sometimes used to designate divination and the kind of knowledge attributed to magicians. Indeed the name of the magician or sor- cerer, in the Acts of the Apostles, Elymas, seems derived from a"?!?. Punic and Libyan Phraseology respecting the Hospitality of the Ancients explicated. Hospes hie mihifuit Antidamas. Byth li nrjmo thyn nothothi iyn elech Antidamas chun. Ycth ilec po'ni Antidamascon hhom ncr ro" lu ani. The leading idea in this verse is Hospitality, including both the^M* hospitii, or federal hospitality of the ancients, and also hospitable entertainment. Some light is thrown upon the phraseology applied to both meanings by that of the ensuing scene, and by the more technical phraseology also of federal hospitality preserved in the copies still extant of Tesserte and such docume* ts. With respect to com- mon hospitable entertainment, Hanno's hereditary host, on recognizing him as his hereditary guest, sajs, " ergo hospitium hie tibi prcebebitur." According to which form of expression, Hanno's reminiscence of the hospitalities afforded him would run in Latin — hospitium hie mihi prcebebatur ; or according to Horace's phrase in the fifth Satire, lib. i. " Muraena praebente domum," Domus hie prcebebatur (= hospitio hie exceptus fat) ^c, but in the Hebrew or Oriental idiom, hospitio — donfio donalus fui, which reduced to Hebrew, will give beth — thyn nuitothi, *ijTn>7)5 ^j-j n«i2-* Words which, I need not add, are immediately detected in the Punic. Thus we find the Latin, although a fair and spirited, is by no means a literal translation of the Punic. The Libyan and Latin are here much nearer to each other. By reference to the Libyan tabular matter, and the * On the pronunciation noctothi for noththoihi, like yctdibiri for ythdibri, in a former line, and like dechtas for datas in the following scene, it is intended to offer some remarks in a note at the end of this paper. ^ Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 47 Latin and English translation of It, It will be perceived that the part correspond- ing with the Plautlne Latin, Antehac hospes hie niihi fuit Antidamas, is ren- dered as follows : " Antehac consortium hie mihi fuit cum Antidamante ; pro- pinquus et cams sodalis illi ego." Heretofore I had a hospitable connexion with Antidamas ; a near and dear guest to him was I. Or, as it might be rendered, " Hospes et cams sodalis illi ego,^' I was his guest and favourite boon companion. Ycth ilec j)o ane, Sfc. Com ucr' ro lu ani. Po, the Punic pho, Heb. n3» hie* Ycih=^cs = Arabic jnj?"!, wkth, a watch or clock — Kaipos, tempus, tunc, aliquando. Ro, Heb. "ly-], " sodalis," a companion — boon com- panion ; uer, Arab, "^pi, " chams," favourite. Com, ovhhom, 'zin^ P^opinquus, qui tua cura = clientela ducitur, — a guest, an object of hospitable care.f So much for the idea of common hospitality, which is all that is expressed by the Latin, and which in the original Libyan runs — " Heretofore I was here the guest and favoured companion." In the Punic — " Hospitality — hospitable accommodation — lodging here I was granted." The Scripture reference and parallelism will be considered in the next paragraph. But the other view of the word hospitality — the federal sense of it, remains first to be disposed of. That in this line, federal as well as common hospitality is implied, though not expressed, the mention of the Tessera in the antipenultimate line warrants us in assuming. The phraseology in which it is expressed, the ensuing scene, together with the Tesseral inscriptions and other classical subsidia, will assist in detecting, and our Scripture references in illustrating and confirming. In the next scene, connected with the mention of the Tessera Hospitalis, we meet the significant words, m,ihi cum eo, a phrase which will be found almost appropriated to federal hospitality, both in technical and colloquial usage. It occurs constantly in the old inscriptions on the TesserjB.J And in Cicero's Letters, in reference to the persons with whom he sojourned or invited during his exile, we frequently meet the phrase mihi cum eo quia necessitudo, which rendered into Hebrew, give pbn IV** ioi?)D ^b ', Punice, li m-^mo iyin eleeh ; the ipsissima verba of this part of the Punic passage. ^S mihi, Di?)o cum, particularly used in contracts and sponsions ;§ >y«i is the illative particle, corresponding with the conjunction * See the Recovery. f See the Arab. Lexicons. X See Thomasssin on the Tessera. § 2 Sam. xxiv. 21. Job. xxxiv. 33. 48 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic. Passage in Plautus, quia, Sfc. j?^n>* the appropriate expression, corresponding with kolvcoviu, ix€pis, consortium, participatio, — -fellowship =znecessitudo, Sfc, literally, as in the Vulgate, pars ; whence our English version expresses it in different passages, some of them having reference to the fellowship of hospitality, in place of having connexion or no connexion — having j9ar^ or no part with the persons alluded to. Examples of this will come more fitly to be noticed in collating vrflth the Hebrew Scriptures. It may be observed, for the present, that as in the Hebrew versions of the New Testament, the equivalent {or part is p'^pij so in both New and Old Testament the same word occurs with ay and Qya.f The notes in Poles' Synopsis explain the expression by making pars equivalent to commercium : " Hebra^a erat formula sive proverbialis locutio qua negabant sibi cum aliquo futurum commercium." Comparing this part of the Punic with the Libyan, we find the significant word elech, or ilec, implying federal hospitality common to both, but in the Libyan placed at the beginning, as in the Punic at the end of the sentence, for the same reason however, as being the most important and cardinal expression. We shall also find that between the expression for the federal con- nexion of hospitality and the exercise and participation of it on the part of host and guest, there intervenes in the.Libyan the account of the old host's subsequent fortunes. A peculiarity of the Libyan, which is pointed out the rather as being a justification of the arrangement proposed and acted on of treating the Punic line on that subject as & parenthesis ; which arrangement had been made before what had been dealt with as virtually parenthetical in the Punic, was proved to he formally so on subsequently examining and comparing that passage with the Libyan. * pbn, as Henoch is pronounced and spelled Enoch, so Helech — Elech, the n being left mute. f 2 Sam. XX. 1 Kings, xii. 16. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 49 The Punic and Libyan Phraseology respecting Federal and Common Hospi- tality collated With that of the Hebrew Scriptures. The principal term used to express Federal hospitality in Scripture is p'?n» (the Punic elech, Libyan ilec and ileach,) consortium, fellowship, mutual con- nexion. And the expression or, if we may so speak, symbol for hospitable entertainment and accommodation, is r\^'2, dotmis hospitium, house, (the beth and buth of the Punic and Libyan.) Divertite in domum j^\^ ^n is the phrase used by Lot to the angels as equi- valent to " accept hospitality," Gen. xix. 2. And the being granted an house, •innD JTi^j the expression used by Hanno, is exactly the phrase used to express the hospitality granted to Hadad by the King of Egypt, dedit ei domum et cibum,Sfc. an*?! )l*':i i^ ]T\'^ — 1 Kings, xi. 18.* In reference to i^e^/era/ hospitality, (of a spiritual and sacramental kind,) we have in 2 Corinthians, vi. 14, 15, a vocabulary or synonymy of Scriptural ex- pressions such as those that follow : consortium, communio, societas, partici- patio, pars, — " what part hath he that believeth with an infidel ?" This last expression of the Apostle had also been previously used by our Lord himself with like reference to the sacramental or federal hospitality of the Eucharist, John, xiii. 8, " If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Now the word part in both these instances is the word for which the Libyan and Punic ilech, or ^elech, is the equivalent, and as such is used in the Hebrew versions of the New Testament. As to the phrase " to me with him," we find, among other places, the parallel expression in Hosea, ii. 18, " A covenant to them with the beasts of the field, &c." ay an^ ; (a passage which Jerome explains as the type of St. Peter's vision respecting the admission of the Gentiles to federal connexion with the Jews, in the same mystical company and sacramental fellowship. — Acts, x. 9-) And with respect to |y*t, i'n, because, it occurs in Isaiah, Ix. " The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because |y»i he hath anointed me." * Respecting the Libyan expression for hospitable entertainment, comiLcro, &c. see Recapitula- tion and Revisal. VOL. XVIII. a 50 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, Punic and Libyan Phraseology respecting the Residence of the Son of hi^ former Host explicated. Filium prcedicant esse hie Agorastocles. Uth byn im ysd' buth thym nucuth-ennu Agorastocles. Utena heanthi ym vosd duber {aono huth), nm 1Q^ ON ino'^n wDm And the son {report is) has established the residence here — Agoras- tocles. Two leading ideas seem to occupy the mind of Hanno in his soliloquy : in the first instance, the success of the journey he had taken to a strange city ; and secondly, as auxiliary to that success the hospitable reception he anticipated from there presentative of his deceased friend, and the favourable influence of the patronage which the relations of hospitality among the ancients included. The benefit of Clientela, which he had not only prayed of the tutelary divi- nities of the place, but intended claiming of his host by the exhibition of the hereditary tessera, (in which, be it remembered, the Clientela was in so many words generally specified,)* depended upon the heir of Antidamas being domi- ciliated in the place. And as it is this leading idea that we observe breaking out in the expression, "ifini tsn n*!^' I w^«* affmded an hospitium here by Antidamas ; (including both hospitable accommodation and federal fellowship ;) so the same train of thought accounts for his enlarging on the wealth which Antidamas had accumulated, and bequeathed to his adopted son, as placing him in circumstances to be the representative of his hospitality as of his riches. And the same train of calculation again, we may anticipate, should lead him to ascer- tain not merely whether Agorastocles were m the town, but whether he had a domicile, and kept up an establishment there, of which, as his guest, he miglit have the benefit. On this supposition, the purport of the seventh verse, we might surmise, * See Thomasin on the Tessera. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 51 should be, not merely, " They say or report that his son is here," but " The son has fixed his house or residence here." Accordingly on looking to the Latin of this line with a view to elicit the Punic reading and its interpretation, we recognhe filium in ben, hie In thin, and between them and the proper name Agorastocles, "ncuthenno," his residence, one of the words which we have already found the meaning of as duplicates ; and before thin another duplicate, viz. bvth, or ibuth, equivalent to A' buth, cedes, house. And with the word buth or nucthenno, or both, the remaining word, viz. ysd, {to found or establish,) coheres, making the sense we anticipated as demonstrative of intended hospitality, "and the son, moreover, has fixed his residence here, Agorastocles." Turning next to the Libyan of this verse, we find it confirm our interpretation of the Punic. For the change from the Punic to Libyan is one generally from the Hebrew to the Arabic form, e. g. verbs beginning with »i change that initial to i, so ysd should become vosd. Accordingly, in the Libyan, vosod immediately appears, being, as the Milan Palimpsest shews, the proper reading of the word commonly read voso. And with it turns up also one of the syno- nimes for house, viz. tna, {s^^ri.* We have thus the Libyan corresponding with and confirming the Punic reading, tena im vosod duber beanth, " More- over, the son, report is, has established his residence here, Agorastocles." As to the agreement of the phraseology of this verse with parallel passages of Scripture, the conception seems clearly in the spirit of that demonstration of divine bounty, under the emblem of hospitality, — " Wisdom hath builded her house, and hewn out her seven pillars, — she hath furnished her table, &c." " In my father's house are many mansions." And the latter Scripture reference, be it observed, is coupled with the other, not merely as parallel to it in sense, but because the two emphatic terms in it which (according to the Syriac version) our Lord uses as indicative of the divine hospitality, are the very terms which, in the Libyan, Hanno is made to use in reference to the hospitality of his old host : viz. aono buth, or byth, Ji^l n31N» common to the third Libyan line, and to John, xiv. 2, 22, (Syriac version.) * Our Libyan N3n, mansion, habitation, seems clearly to have been considered by the Seventy Interpreters as the singular of nN3n, the word in the third verse of the first chapter of Malachi, which they translate Jtu/AaTa, habitations. — See Pocock on Malachi. e2 52 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, The Punic and Libyan Phraseology respecting the Site and Ichnography of Agorastocles' Dwelling. In hisce habitare monstratum est regionibus. U'niid chi'l'lu eleh gblim Isibith thin. And witness testifies that he has rendered the quarters of his habitation accessible. Elem uth dubert erm micom psa uspiti. The young man, the report is, has opened the antiquated (or shut upf) place and his dwelling. As the fifth verse stated Hanno's reminiscence of his old host's house in the city ; and the seventh verse his information that his friend's adopted son had fixed his residence there ; so the ninth states the information he had received respect- ing the site of his habitation, in the neighbourhood of which he had now arrived. The phrase with which the line begins witness reports, has been already considered, and shewn to be a Hebrew phrase, ^y s^y, witness answered or de- posed, u'ni id. The part of it (chi I'lu) also has been already explained in the note, p. 17j as meaning that he had opened, as Parkhurst, or as Gesenius explains 'j'jns rendered the place accessible ;* Libyan {yji^tj. The Hebrew gebulim, a^'7^3;|, for quarters, regions, must be familiar to the Biblical reader ; and its Libyan equivalent, npc mkom ; rO'ii}'^, for his dwell- ing ; the Libyan spiti. Wliat is peculiar to the Libyan is the very natural and significant designation of Agorastocles as the young heir Q'jy ; and the place he had opened as the antiquated, or shut up place, ^^53 ap)0 (a"!!! ?) Q"in> ermt mkom psa. As a demonstration of hospitality it may remind us of Job's, " I opened my gate towards the road — nr»DI^-" — Job, xxxi. 32. * See his Lexicon in Verb. f Respecting the Libyan Erm, see Recapitulation and Revisal. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 53 Phraseology of the last Punic and Libyan Lines explicated. Bo di alyfh eraeh n'-^nin 'n\ Uys'l im mmnuchoth luzim. Eundo hac via excelsum-versus videbo nunc bivium ego : et interrogabo equidem ex cBdibus egredientes. Aode ane& lict or bo de si us'l im mnico lus. n"? nmD»n a^ "^ti^m t!d •'I nu hj^^ij^ n'''?^ '>53i^ )fiM^- Certiorem mefaciam egomet excelsum videbo eundo hac qua concursus et interrogabo equidem ex cedibus egredientes. To understand the untranslated part of the tenth Punic line, we must bear in mind what has been touched on in the preliminary view of this latter section, that the head of the bivium, or chief place of concourse, of the Proverbs, was the place to which strangers directed their course in order to recognize, or be recog- nized by those to whom the ties of common business or other connexion attracted them, and that the bivium was called pji, ynyn, and the head of it the high place. To go therefore in the direction which led to this eminence or height, that he might see the bivium, and be seen, and address his inquiries to the people passing out of the houses, in one of which his friend was supposed to reside, would naturally be the course he would resolve on. Bo di ylith era n'-^nyn n'uys'l mmnuchoth luzim — going this way toward the high place, I will see now the bivium, and will interrogate the persons going out from the houses. In the Libyan, instead of |^5y, bivium, the place of concourse, we have the synonime or equivalent y«iO, concursus, concourse itself. The Libyan bo, de, 'lict, or, he. will be found to correspond with the Punic bo, di, alyVh, eraeh, &c. The first Libyan word of the verse aode will be noticed in the next paragraph. 54 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, Last Verse of the Punic and Libyan Passage collated with 2)arallel Passages of the Hebrew Scripture. Bo {^3, Psalm, cxxvi. 6, "veniendo" going, (see Hare's Psalter.) Bo ^'2i accompanied by a local n» Gen. x. 19, T\'T\^ ii'2 JialD >V35 going towards. So here, bo di alyfh, "going this way towards the high place, yalyf jT''?!?, occurs Judges, i. 15, " superioris tractus," (see the Hebrew Concordance,) the high place, or ground, in contradistinction to the lower ground, or valley. This word in the Libyan is spelled 'lict, with the guttural x, like yet and noctothi and dechtas in Punic ; and ex and nasocthi in Libyan. Di "1"^, is the Chaldee equivalent of the Hebrew, zeh ns sometimes spelled i^, as in the Libyan. It is used in the same sense as here in Numbers, xiii. 18, ascendite hac, in the Hebrew n?> Chaldee Targum j^'i-* nN"1N ereh. Psalm viii. 4, / shall see. HNIN eraeh. Psalm xlii. 3, / shall V T appear ; but in the Chaldee version and Luthers, / shall see. Hence Hanno's meaning may have been either / will see, or, / will appear upon the Bivium. In the Libyan this word is spelled or. rD*>y5 linyn, bivium, Gen, xxxviii. 14, 21 ; hivio, bivio itineris, Vulgate and Tremellius ; Arabic, loco conspicuo ; Syriac, bivio viarum ; Jerom, non locus sed bivium ; Calmet, chemin fourche, Hebr. a la lettre.f In the Libyan we find i;*i1*lN aodeh, I will learn or inform myself, remind- ing us of that verse. Gen. xviii. 21, "I will go down now and will see, &c. and will know." Our Libyan and Punic harmonized, it will be recollected, are as follows : — I will know, yilTssS or will inform, myself — I will see, n{«*")Nj going this way now, {>j3 ; which will be found to correspond in sense and reading with the Scripture passage. • The Chaldee particle '^1, it should be observed, is sometimes the relative, qui, and some- times the interrogative, quis ? but never signifies aliquis, as Bochart translates it. ■f Jerom's words in his Queestiones seu Traditiones HehraiccB in Genesis xxxviii. 14, 21, are as follows : " Non est igitur nomen loci sed est sensus sedit in bivio sive compito, ubi diligenter debet viator aspicere," &c. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 55 Respecting the latter clause — mnucoth, has been explained in the Precog- nition, under the head of Duplicates, n"inO!a?a» ex cedibus, equivalent of the Latin, /om*. Before this word stands j/sV (m*) ^i^]:}^, percontabor, " J will ask, inquire;" after it lu^im a'>?'7> " egredientes, qui egrediuntur" the persons departing.^ Punic and Libyan Phraseology respecting the Tessera explicated. Deum Hospitalem ac tesseram mecum fei'o, ^:i iiiyD nt vn i'jn ty-ip in^ n:3nN? n*"- Yth emeneth yhi chers cell chok zth nasu bi. Signum veritatis erit tabula, (Deus mens inscription hcec allata mecum. Yth tese anechi nasocti lu\-\ cbU co\ Signum occultum egometfero — tabulam {Deus mens inscriptio.} The Tessera Hospitalis, the subject of the eighth verse, may be defined as follows : Signum veritatis, tabula cui Deus inscriptio. Adopting this defi- nition, the Latin verse may be thus paraphrased : Signum veritatis erit tabula cui Deus inscriptio, which rendered literally into Hebrew-Chaldee, will give the above Punic heading, (except the three last words.) The Libyan variation in the description occult (Chaldee Niyto) is very significant and interesting. For tablet, the synonimy of Plantevich and the Hebrew Bible, including the Chaldee and Syriac versions, give the synonimes U^'ip, cheres, niS luhh, and {v^gi dapa. ly^p, cheres, the word used by Hanno, occurs in Exodus, xxvi. 18, and Ezekiel, xxvii. 6, in the latter as an ivory table : and ^r^-\ and niS dapa and luhh, its equivalent and convertible terms, are used in the Syriac Testament, (John xix. 19,20,) for the titXos, the inscribed tablet affixed to the cross. The synonime for tablet, luhh, pronounced, or rather spelled, li, as jTi|, sith, mature considera- tion leads me to conclude is what is signified by the word li in the Libyan of this verse, rather than li, mecum, along with me.X * Im, DN = equidem — nunc. f Proverbs, iii. 21. iv. 21, J It is submitted, that Bochart's word, "IV3, does not ever signify a picture or figure in any 56 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, •i"?}*?, ^li, has been already noticed as the Dtus meus of the Gospel and Psalms. For the word inscriptio there are in Scripture two words used synoni- mously, 2n;3 and pn : Job, xix. 23, " Oh, that my words were an^j written, printed, pn-'* So Isaiah, xxx. 8, " Write in a table, 2n!3 — Note in a book, |?nj &c." Accordingly the Lexicons — Schindler's, &c. give pn^ scriptura. The meaning of j-it» hcsc, is well known, 'slu^i is the Pahul participle of nu?3, final n changed to •!. *i^ =-mecum. The Punic and Libyan Phraseology respecting the Tessera collated with parallel Passages of Scripture. When Rahab demanded a tessera or token from the spies, she designated it exactly in Hanno's words,* nttN nn^ Joshua, ii. 12. If Hanno's tablet be supposed (as certain other tablets having inscriptions are described by the old lexicographers) a XevKcofia, or (ravi9 XevKrj, his tessera would correspond very strikingly with the symbol mentioned in the Apocalypse, viz. a white symbol, or countersign, having his god engraved or inscribed in such an occult or secret way as to be only known to the giver and receiver of it ; a token, moreover, of admissibility to eat of the hidden manna or spiritual ybodf sense but as a painting ox figuring on a heam or contabulated pannel ; nor can I discover that Buxtorf, in his Chaldee Lexicon, gives as the interpretation of "W^, tabula cut aliquid insculpta, as Bochart and his followers seem to imply. * n!2N pro njlSS, Pagnini, TTiesaurus, in Verb. t See Bishop Pearson on the Creed, Art. IV. (Note.) And Adam Clarke's and Hartwell Home's remarks on the " white 4/ij(})oj" in the Apocalypse. " The original words," says Home, " do not specify either the matter or the form, but only the use of it. By this allusion, therefore, the promise made to the Church of Pergamos seems to be to this purpose — ' To him that over- cometh, I will give a pledge of my affection, which shall constitute him my friend, and entitle him to privileges and honours, of which none else know the value.' And to this sense the following words well agree — which describe this stone or tessera as having « a name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.'" CoUated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 57 Recapitulation and Revisal. Such Is the solution which my best consideration has led me to propose, of what may be called the Punic Problem — a problem which the scantiness of its data renders of difficult, and but for a condition attending it, which I shall pre- sently advert to, of dubious solution ; — the data consisting of a meagre abstract, in the shape of what is called the Plautine Latin, and of the Libyan version, more obscure, perhaps, than the Punic passage of which it is supposed to be a transla- tion. On the other hand, however, as the Punic, the Libyan, and the Latin purport to give for the same meaning a triplicate form of expression, I persuade myself that not only the problem is capable of solution, but of a solution capable of being proved to be the true one ; the Latin version, with such subsidia as may conduce to illustrate its meaning, being made use of in decyphering the Punic as a clue, and to verify our reading and interpretation of the Punic, the I>ibyan being made use of as a test and criterion. In exemplifying and applying our criterion, as the first Punic line seemed to be so plain, and its signification so generally agreed upon, as to supersede the necessity of any analysis in this Essay, we shall begin with the second. Of the second line, the Latin indicates the principal subject to be a journey, and the success or consummation of it through the divine tutelary /avor ; and one of the words in Hebrew for journey, supplied by our lexicography, being m'lach (Chaldec lac), and in the very head and front of the Punic line, the vocable m'lach being found, we adopt that as the true reading. The Latin clue having led us to adopt, we next look out for a test by which to try it, a Libyan cri- terion. Accordingly we detect the Chaldee lac, or loc, in the Libyan loc \uti'\ of the corresponding line. In the same way, the next Punic vocable but one, {ythmu), is obviously nothing but the third person plural future of a'>nn (Hiphil conjugation), to consummate, "may they consummate, or accomplish," and is accordingly by our Latin guide indicated as the Punic reading. And on the other hand, that reading is verified by the Libyan ytum :^ythmu, cohering locally and grammatically with the Libyan locuti, journey, as the Punic ythmu VOL. XVIII. ff 58 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, with in'lach. Again, in the same verse, when looking for a term of tutelary- import corresponding with the Latin rite, as used in the ^neid, in reference to the prosperity oi a journey, and in reference io family prosperity in the Carmen Seculare, we find in the latter reference in the 127th Psalm (Chaldee version) the old Chaldee word cim, or chiun ; and in the dying song of Moses, in reference to the happy termination of the journeying of the Israelites, the old and poetical word lihub, or cuh. And when we find that of those two synonymes one is used with the m'lach ythmu of the Punic, and the other with the ytlmm (:^ythmu) locuti of the Libyan, we have evidence as satisfactory as the subject admits, that cun and cuh are the right reading. In the third verse, the same principles of reading and Interpretation suggest and confirm the Punic reading caneth benotliai, and the Libyan can't henn't, as in harmony with the Latin in sense, and with each other in sense and sound. Again, in the same verse, the expression of endearment towards his children, which the subject of that line might be expected to elicit, and the actual expres- sion of it by Hanno in a subsequent scene, in the words "cupitcB et expectatcs," suggest to us the appropriate synonymy of (a*i*TiT) dodim, " beloved,'' (in the Canticles), and the still more expressive ("iiytyyu?) sheshui, " my delights," (in the Proverbs.) Accordingly, the circumstance of one of these synonymes being found in the Punic, viz. dodim, and tlie other in the Libyan, clearly justifies the philoprogenitive import we have attributed to those vocables.* The word hospes, in the fifth verse, coupled with the mention of the tessera in the eighth, suggests the idea of hospitable fellowship : and the Hebrew word for which Gesenius's Lexicon rightly gwe?, fellowship, as the proper equivalent, is {pb'n) elech. Elech, &ccordimg\y, we find in the fifth Punic line, immediately next to the proper name of Hanno's host, Antidamas ; and in the same sentence, with the same proper name, in the Libyan, the same word spelled ileach. Can this significant congruity allow us to doubt that elech, in the sense we interpret it, is the true reading ? With respect to the further meaning included in hospes, of common hospitable entertainment, we find, of the two synonymous expressions for it, one, " I was granted a house, or home," in the Punic ; the other, " I was guest and companion," in the Libyan. • There is no legible Libyan for the fourtb verse but the word alonxm. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 59 Nothing can be more satisfactory than the application of our Libyan criterion to the sixth line. For the V\xmc yss, fel, chil, (grandcevus fecit rem), we have the Libyan duplicates ess, f el, eel: for the Punic hrimti, (calliditate sua), we have the Libyan synonyme alem [in] ; and for the Punic id ele, the Libyan synonyme duhert, both equivalent to the Latin aiunt. The remaining words s and liphul having been shewn in the precognition to be Punic duplicates, equivalent to quod faciundum, and co ntn being shewn to be a Hebrew Scripture phrase. In the seventh line, ben, ysd, nuchth, Agorastocles, agreeing with the corres- ponding Libyan line in the vocables bent, vosd, tena, Achorastocles, so determine the reading, that any other essentially different from, or inconsistent with such reading, must be erroneous. For the Punic thyn of that line has been shewn to be a Punic duplicate equivalent to the Latin hie ; and the only remaning voca- ble is either buth, as some editions read, (and above explained, as having nuchth for its adjunct ;) or as other copies dibur, corresponding with the Libyan duher. The eighth verse is in the Latin, Deum hospitalem ac tesseram mecumfero : accordingly we have in the Punic, a^li chats nasu ; and in the Libyan, celi chos nasocte* With respect to which word chots, I have ascertained that it, and not choch, (as in the editions I used), is given in all the standard manuscripts and the editio piinceps, as the true reading, signifying moiety, half (Latin) dimidium — a meaning expressly included in that of tessera, as consisting of two counterparts, tallying with each other ;f and in this sense obviously alluded to in the following scene by Hanno : " Tesseram conferre si vis hospitalem, eccam attuli" {nasocte) ; to which his host responds, " Est par probe nam habeo domi." In this part of the verses, the Punic and Libyan are duplicates. In the other part of the description of a tessera as a tablet, constituting a true and secret countersign, they harmonize as synonymous expressions. The Punic, yth eme- neth cheres, signum veritatis tabula. The Libyan, et tese li^Quhh) sigmim occultum tabula. * As, for balbeit, bailee ; for carthada, carchedon ; for yth of the first Punic, ex of tlie first Libyan line : and for the word pronounced datas by the slave in the next scene, dechtas in the mouth of the Carthaginian ; so for yth dibari, yctibari ; for nuttothi, noctothi ; for nasithi, nasocte ; for alyt, of the Punic, alyct, of the Libyan. f Fuit antiqui moris, tesseram dari \ios^\i\h\is dimidiatam. — Calepini Diet. Octoling. in verb. Tessera. U 2 6() The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, In the ninth we have the Libyan spiti as duplicate of the Punic sibit : and as synonymous expressions with each other respectively, 57?^^ -^id, witness testi- fied, corresponding with dubert, report is ; uiH, rendered accessible, with psa opened, gubylim, regiones, with micom, locum. The agreement in the tenth has also been fully demonstrated in its place. Thus on the one hand, the Latin, augmented and elucidated by such subsidia as we can bring to bear upon it, suggests to the linguist a copious Hebrew voca- bulary and synonymy applicable to the purport of the sentence, supplying an apparatus of verbal and phraseological tests for his Hermeneutical analysis, which, on the principle of affinities, serve to detect and disengage from their state of combination the elementary ingredients of our Punic compound. On the other hand, to the Punic thus detected and elicited, some Libyan word or phrase betrays a family likeness not to be mistaken : or some outstanding synonyme which the Punic rejected, as inapplicable, is recognized as a fellow synonyme in the Libyan. The Libyan thus exhibiting, to a gi'eat degree, the same words with the Punic, differently pronounced, or the same ideas differently expressed, duplicates in sense, or duplicates both in sense and sound. In short, the criterion of our reading the Punic rightly will be, that the Punic so read will furnish the key that unlocks the Libyan. — A result not only curious, but convinc- ing, and affiarding a kind of assurance in our philology somewhat analogous to that afforded by the experimentuni cruets in philosophy. Such unexceptionable exactness as implies exemption from what may be called fractional verbal errors, and complete exclusion of uncertainty or doubt, our Hermeneutic Theory does not pretend to ;* but to the satisfactory explanation of the philological phenomena, not only of the unadulterated Punic text and the Latin interpretation, but of what has been " unattempted yet," the Libyan ver- sion, it does. * For example, the Libyan phrase comucro lu ani, (whicli appears the synonyme of the Punic beth nothothi,) may be read ether " a guest and dear friend," ST "ipl En, or 3?'-)D1 Cn3, " as a guest and as a friend," in accordance with that verse of the 35th Psahn, "as a friend and a bro- ther." In the same manner, in the eighth verse, the Libyan li may correspond with the Punic by mecum. But more probably is the Libyan corruption of luhh tabula, the synonime of the Punic chi/rs, the same. So again in the ninth verse, erm macom of the Libyan may either be read Qin, i^ the antiquated place " as distinguished from the wcll-linown word, macom-ades, "ncieplace;" Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 61 Gesenius. In my brief remarks upon the word coreth, in the Invocation, I purposely abstained from enlarging upon the next word, upon which I had supposed inter- preters were agreed. With respect to this supposed agreement of interpretation, I have since found that I was mistaken, and that Gesenius (whose recent work upon the Phoenician language and remains was, through the kindness of the learned librarian of our University, put into my hands after my own essay had' gone to press) renders this part of the passage differently. The word which I would protect, being one of the very few in the reading and interpretation of which I concur with Bochart, but which Gesenius, following Bellerman, discards, is the Punic and Hebrew equivalent of tlie tutelary word, colunt, of Plautus, used by Hanno in the same tutelary reference, as in Virgil's "posthabita coluisse Samo" respecting Juno's guardianship of Hanno's own city, — the Punic word ysmacun, root, '\oQ, tueor. In defence of the reading ysmacun, and the Plau- tine version of it, colunt, I would submit the following considerations. The notions and terms of tutelary religion are not to be deemed foreign from the religious notions and phraseology of the Hebi'cws. By that covenant which was the foundation of their peculiar theology, God was pleased to become, by federal engagements, their God, and they became his people ; he graciously pledging himself to be their patron and tutelary Deity ; they being pledged to be his devoted and client followers. Accordingly of Jehovah, the Elohim of Israel, that dwelleth at Jerusalem, the holy city, it is said, they [who] " call themselves of the holy city, stay themselves on the God of Israel," as their tute- lary Divinity : that being, as the Hebraist knows, the force of the word "j)OD here used.* In the same manner we find, in the third Psalm, David, in his cha- racter as king of the state and people of Israel, expressing himself with thankful confidence, " I laid me down and slept, I awaked, for Jehovah sustained me." In both passages, the term used being the same with that used in the Punic by Hanno in the invocation, the tutelary word "^nD-f or d~in, " enclo.ied place," in reference to the opening of it by the improving heir. See also the remarks on dibur in the seventh Une. * Isaiah, xlviii. 2. f Yiamaceni in the Psalm, is translated sustental in the present tense in Junius and TremsUius, 62 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Funic Passage in Plautus, Now as the Israelites claimed to be under the tutelary guardianship of their Elohim, Jehovah, who dwelleth at Jerusalem, and as Jerusalem was styled the city of the great King, so the Tyrians gave to their tutelary deity the title of Melcarth, as king, patron, and protector of their city. Moreover, with respect to Carthage, the daughter of Tyre, and the mythological notions and phraseology of her peo- ple, they, too, as represented by Virgil as well as Plautus, forcibly remind us of, if they were not borrowed from, those of holy writ. As the tutelary God and King of Israel is said to have loved the gates of Zion* more than all other dwel- lings, so of the tutelary divinity or patroness of Carthage, the queen of the gods, we read that this city was favoured of her so highly, that she gave it the pre- ference above all lands : " terris magis omnibus iinam coluisse" " In Salem his tabernacle," (or moveable shrine), the ark of His strength, from which pro- ceeded the efHuence of his awful power, and effulgence of his visible presence. So of the Heathen divinity, the poet says, " hie arma, hie currus fuit^ " Ta- hernacolo," says the Italian interpreter, Fabrini, in explaining the word currus, " Tabernacolo dove si portano a processione le statue de gli dei." " I have set my king upon my holy hill." — Psalm, ii. " From Zion," says the prophet, " shall go forth the law," or royal edict. — Micah, iv. 2. " Jehovah shall reign in Mount Zion." — Micah, iv. 7- Ea; Hierosolyma gentibus jus dicet, in the Latin translation. So Virgil, "Hoc regnum dea gentibus esse, jam turn tendit quefovetque." " The hills stand about Jerusalem : the Lord round about his people,'* {circumdat), says the Psalmist. So Homer, of the tutelary protection of Apollo : OS xpvarjv aix(f)ifie^T]Kas TeveSoio Se i(l)c avaaa-eis. The parallel might be extended, but more to the purpose is it to observe, that as the Latin colunt virtually includes the several meanings expressed by the tute- lary phrases, yb?jeo,yaveo, rego, circumdo, sustineo, tueor, tutor ; so the Hebrew root to which those phrases arc, according to lexicographers and translators, equi- valent, is that which we find in the corresponding position in the Punic, the word \\\o\ig\\ future in the Hebrew, agreeably to the Hebrew enallage noticed by Michaelis the elder in his commentary on Psalm cxxvii. 2 : " He giveth his beloved sleep :" the future, in the Hebrew (]n\ dahit and det), implying a wonted act. So, though in the Latin colunt in the present, the Punic word is in the future, p3S2D'', ysnwcun, like David's ''3D!SD% but pluraUzed in the mouth of the Polytheistic worshipper. * " Jehovah hath chosen Zion," — Psalm, cxxxii. " Dis quibus septem placuere coUes." — HoR. Carmen Seculare. Collated with parallel Passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. 63 ■Jtt0> samac ; a word of which Hebrew criticism might fairly predicate what a classical critic has of one of its equivalents^ above alluded to, the Homeric a/A0i- fiaivco, that it is peculiarly appropriate to the expression of tutelary influence.* And as the word Elohim is used both of the true God of Israel and of the false Heathen gods, so samac ("^joD) is used in Scripture to express the exertion of tutelary influence — both real on the part of the true tutelary God of Israel, and prete7ided on that of the false gods of the Heathen — hoped for on solid grounds by the true Israelites, and vainly expected by those who were only so outwardly, "calling themselves of the holy city, and therefore staying (samaching) themselves on the Alohim of Israel." As in the participial form, as a noun, signifying upholder, tutelary patron, somech, it is said : " Jehovah is amongst my somechim," (Psalm, liv. 4) ; so it is said of the false tutelary gods of the Heathen : "The somechim of Egypt shall fall." — Ezek. xxx. 6. That is, as explained in Pole's Synopsis, as the Philistine tutelary Dagon fell before Jehovah.f • " Vis verbi, a/Kptjiaivuv, eximia inest in Tutela exprimenda." — Kennedy's notes on Homer in loco. 1 1 shall here take the Hberty of adding the following remarks ; first, on some points of interpre- tation in which Gesenius follows Bochart ; and afterwards on some of those for which we are indebted to his own ingenuity : addressing myself to the task with unfeigned respect for that distinguished professor's learning and labours. In the third, fifth, and tenth lines, Bochart proposes and Gesenius seconds three different amend- ments of the Punic, each of them by the interpolation or substitution of the same letter, r. Through its intervention in the third line, our Hebrew-Punic word caneth (equivalent to the repperire of the Plautine Latin) had, by Bochart, been, with the preceding li and pho, made lipkorcaneih, contrary to the text in all manuscripts and editions. For Gesenius was reserved the adjustment, in this case, of the conflicting claims of the emendation and the text, which he effects thus. Having, on the ground of Bochart's critical conjecture, and to make the reading meet the interpretation, admitted the r, and taken, as it were, his etymological turn out of it, he then, to meet and obviate objections against thus tampering with the integrity of the text, dismisses the r, on the grounds of a critical conjecture of his own, of rather an original kind, viz. a supposed agreement, if I understand his meaning, between the Carthaginian orthoepy and the English. Gesenius' words are, " Cum Bocharto scribo liphorcaneth, jn33"lD7, quanquam retineri posse censeo liphocaneth sine r quod Poeni, in pronunciando subinde omisisse videntur ut Angli in horse" In the fifth line again, by the help of the r power, our Punic hyth-li-m' -mo-thyn is transformed, to meet the interpretation, into heterem muth, &c., but this emendation, being contrary to all authority, and leaving the original word scarcely recognizable, the authorized reading, hyth-li-mmo-thin, &c., is like the vuIgate lipho caneth allowed to keep its place to the eye and the ear, though not backed like it by the same high 64 The Rev. J. Hamilton on the Punic Passage in Plautus, Sfc. Respecting the parenthetic part of the Libyan Invocation, purporting to include the bereft stranger travelling on his way, as under the protection of the local tutelary deities, it may be observed, that it is not only in accordance with the known Heathen usages of tutelary religion, but with that divine provision in the dedication of the temple by Solomon : " Concerning tlie stranger that cometh from a far country, when he shall pray toward this house ; hear thou in heaven, and do according as the stranger shall call upon thee." — 1 Kings, viii. 42., &c. support. In the tenth line, again, the Punic moncot, by first assuming the borrowed feather, and then dropping one of its own characters, first becomes moncor, and is then further transformed to moccor. Gesenius' words are, " moncot pro moncor, potest enim moncor esse part. Hoph. non contractum (moccor), 1313." Of the fourth line, the interpretation, "Virtute magna quae diis est et imperio eorum" depends upon the mis-reading, hiru aroh, contrary to all authorities, for the authorized him arob : the alleged authority for this reading being the simple ipse dixit, " Perbene ita jam Bochartus." The ninth line is very literally translated in the Plautine Latin so far as it goes, and Gesenius and Bochart in this instance, if they have not reached the mark, have not diverged more widely from it by emendation. The interpretations which we owe to Gesenius, as originally and properly his own, remain to be acknowledged. That of the second line is as follows : l/t uhi ahstulerunt salutcm meam, impleatur jussu eorum desideritim meum. This interpretation is founded upon a conjectural emendation con- trary to manuscript authority, substituting an r\S, incolumitas, for yth-mu ; an emendation and interpretation which are discredited by the author's own misgivings, thus candidly expressed, " Hoc loco nee superiores interpretes mihi satisfecerunt, neque ipse mihi satisfacio." The sixth line Gese- nius renders, Vir contemnens loquentesjatua, strenuus rohore, integer in agendo, which ho contrasts, rather complacently, with Bochart's still more extravagant interpretation, Vir mihi familiaris sed is eorum ca:tihus junctus est quorum habitatio est in caligine. Seventh verse, Filium est Jama esse hie cognatum nostrum Agorastoclem ; which Gesenius, in his notes, elucidates thus : Cognatum, " ut Angli, a relation pf mine." A rather bold Prolepsis, to say the least. For surely the next scene shows, that at the period of the monologue no surmise of such relationship had suggested itself to Hanno, but that, on the contrary, the denouement to that effect comes on him by surprise. Eighth lino, Eth eme- neth, nearly coincides with the reading I have adopted ; and I so far feel gratified, by having, for once, Gesenius on my side. But the ellipsis he has recourse to, to justify the interpretation, token, would not have appeared to him necessary, if he had recollected the reference above given, to the passage in Joshua, in which eth emeneth, or oth emeneth, appears to bean old Canaanitish phrase, of the same import as that used by Hanno, and used in the same sense by a person of the same stock and of the same religion. 65 II. Jn Essay on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the Sanscrit Writing and Language. By Charles William Wall, D.D., M.R.I. A., Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. Read 13th November, 1837. All the letters of the Hebrew text of the Bible, in its original state, were employed as signs of syllables, beginning with consonants and ending with vowels. The vowel part of every syllable was variable, and it was left to the judgment of the reader to determine that part for each place of the occur- rence of a letter, according to what his knowledge of the language showed him the context required. Even still, near four-fifths of the vowels must, in reading the present unpointed text, be supplied in a similar manner ; the only difference being, that they are no longer considered to be included in what the letters express, the powers of those letters having been decomposed, in conse- quence of which they are now used as consonants. The remaining portion of the text at present, indeed, exhibits signs for the vowel, as well as the consonantal, ingredients of the syllables, three of the letters being occasionally diverted from their original use to the purpose of vocal designation; but where those letters are now so employed, or rather where they were so in former times as far back as their pronunciation can be traced,* there they constitute no part of the original * This distinction is necessary on account of the difference between the ancient and the modern pronunciation. Thus the word >"Q5?, which signifies a Hebrew, is now read HiBRI (the mark under the H is used merely to point out that there is a difference in power between 5? and the other Hebrew gutturals, although that difference is not now exactly known ; and the Italic serves to show that there is no separate sign for it in the original group) ; but its Greek translation, '£(3pa(0f, proves that, at the time when the Septuagint version was made, it was pronounced HeBRdY, its sound terminating with that of the English monosyllable ay ; and, consequently, that its final character belonged always to the text, although it is now read as a vowel letter when the writing is unpointed. VOL. XVIII. I 66 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the writing in the sacred volume, and were introduced into it by the Jews after the Septuagint version had made them but very slightly acquainted with the value of such signs. Had they previously become more familiar with the subject, they would of course have adopted at least five vowel-letters instead of tliree, and they would have vocalized the whole of the text instead of only about one-fifth part of it. But however imperfectly and irregularly this vocalization was made, — and the very imperfection and irregularity which are observable in it, now contribute to the proof of its human origin ; — still at the time of its insertion it was a most providential addition to the sacred text, to preserve the true meaning of the word of God; an object which in most, though by no means in all instances, it has certainly effected. For the view of which an outline has now been laid before the Royal Irish Academy, I am indebted to a strong conviction long impressed upon my mind, that by that Providence which has so constantly and visibly protected the Bible, means must ever have been placed within human reach of reconciling the original text with its earliest and most important version ; in consequence of which I was led into the frequent practice of selecting passages where they now disagree in sense, and trying how, with least alteration, the Hebrew might be written in such a manner as that the Greek should become its accurate transla- tion.* Upon comparing what T had thus written out with the original, I found that, in a very great number of instances forming a large proportion of my trials, the difference produced in the Hebrew words was only in the letters Waw and Yod, when used as vowel signs ; — a fact in itself sufficiently striking, but which could not be accounted for, in the way that first occurred to me, by the suppo- sion of an exchange of those letters having taken place in the course of successive transcriptions ; because, although they are at present very like, they were quite different from each other in point of shape in the more ancient Hebrew writing. What, then ! suppose the letters in question, — where they now appear in the unpointed text as vowel-signs ; or in the pointed text, as quiescents ; — were not * This mode of reconciling the Greek version with the original was first suggested to me by a few attempts so made, which I found in Bythner's Li/ra Prophetica ; and I was convinced of its being the right way of proceeding, by the consideration that the same groups of Hebrew letters, in the unpointed text, admit of different readings, and, consequently, of different senses. Bythner was prevented from making any effectual progress in this operation, by the circumstance of his taking the vowel points into account, as if they formed a constituent part of the original Hebrew writing. b Sanscrit Writing and Language. &J in the original record at the time when the Greek translation of it was made ! Upon following up this thought I found, with the aid of certain consequences arising from it which the investigation suggested, that in far more than nine cases out of ten — perhaps I should come nearer to the true proportion in rating it at nineteen cases out of twenty — all difference between the Hebrew and its Greek version could at once be removed. And the unquestionable truth of the position on which I proceeded, was confirmed to me by inspection of the Samaritan text, in which it is, indeed, the same set of letters that are employed as vowel-signs, but the two I have already mentioned are much more frequently inserted, and the Haleph, though not very often, yet oftener than in the Hebrew ; which proves beyond a doubt that all three were introduced into it at a later period, and when the use of such signs had become better understood among the Shemitic tribes. Thus the present Hebrew, the Samaritan, and the Greek me- morials of the word of God, enable us to ascend to one common skeleton text ; to the antecedent existence of which they all bear testimony ; since, according to the different vocalizations of that original text, it admits of being read so as to agree with each of the three records. But I must add that, as the reading which is indicated by the Septuagint version is the oldest, so it is the best of the three ; for, whenever the inspired writers of the New Testament quote from the Old, they sanction this reading, even where it differs from the Masoretic one* ; and generally, in case of such difference, it is supported also by the Samaritan vocalization. Causes of delay, over which I had no control, and interruptions which I did not anticipate when I published a preliminary volume with reference to this subject, have interfered with the progress of my labours in its more immediate development, and retarded the appearance of the second volume much longer than I could wish ; but before another year elapses, I trust I shall be able to come forward with a corroboration of the views I have already submitted to the judgment of the public, together with such solutions of difficulties and answers to objections as have occurred to me, in explanation and support of the matter to * Instead of the vocalization used in the unpointed text, the Masoretic one, which is grounded on it, is here mentioned, as restricting the original to the same sense in a more complete manner. The two systems, however, agree, as far as the ruder one extends, not entirely, but only for the most part. I 2 68 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the which I have just adverted. In the mean time I hope enough has been here stated to justify my availing myself of the disclosure, so far as to apply it to an object of a merely literary nature, though one of some interest ; namely, the determination of the origin of the graphic system of the Brahmans. Although alphabetic writing is, as I have elsewhere endeavoured to prove, of divine origin, yet the miracle employed to convey an apprehension of its nature and use to the human mind was not extended beyond what was necessary for the purpose. Accordingly in the first writing of this kind all the characters were originally used with syllabic powers ; and as man was capable of rising by natural means from a syllabary to a superior alphabet, so he was left to his own exertions to accomplish this object. The great step necessary to his ascent depended on his discovering that the vowel parts of syllables admitted of but few varieties ; on his disengaging those parts from the whole syllables ; and on his classifying them and representing them by signs. Before the Greek transmuted the gutturals of the old Phoenician alphabet (most of which were of no service to him in their original use) into vowel-letters, he must have gone through some process of this kind in his thoughts ; and to his genius and sagacity is due the beautiful inven- tion which has given such an immense superiority to the alphabetic writing of Europe over that of Asia. As long as Hebrew continued a living language the syllabic signs answered every requisite purpose ; but when it went quite out of familiar use, the ruder method of designation was no longer sufficient for pre- serving the sacred text. Before this was actually the case, and as soon as ever the necessity for an alteration arose, we find matters so arranged that the Bible was translated into Greek, and that a very important improvement was intro- duced into Hebrew writing itself. The national prejudices of the Jews, and their backwardness in literary acquirements, would lead one to suppose they would be the very last people to avail themselves of the improvement in question, yet they appear to have been the first. They certainly took this improvement immediately from the Greek writing, and it is common to them with all the Shemitic nations of Asia;* but so very peculiar a mode of vocalization, — whereby * It is, I believe, chiefly owing to the circumstance of all those nations having adopted the same method of vocalization, that it has been assumed to be an essential part of the writing employed by each of them, and that its adventitious nature has been so long concealed. But if once attention be turned to the various proportions in which the letters applied to the use of this method are inserted Sanscrit Writing and Language. 69 an h is occasionally made to stand for a or e; a ^ for e or i; and a, w for o or m; — is not by any means likely to have been adopted by different people independently of each other. In accordance with the supposition of this vocalization having commenced with the Jews, is the fact, that it is more imperfect in the Hebrew writing than in any other Shemitic system in which it is used ; it is fuller, — and of course was later inserted, — in the Samaritan, and is still fuller in the Chaldee, the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Persian systems.* On the other hand, the methods of pointing the Hebrew, the Syriac, and the Arabic, which were sepa- rately invented to supply the defects of the older mode of expressing vowels that is common to them all, vary considerably from each other ; and the very curious vocalization of the Ethiopic or Abyssinian system, which, as well as that first annexed to the Hebrew, was derived immediately from the Greek, is of a nature wholly different from any that has been yet alluded to. The period when the Ethiopic writing received this improvement shall be presently investigated. It is to the system last mentioned that I propose tracing the origin of the writing which Is connected with the Sanscrit language. But as some very gross errors with respect to the nature of alphabets in general, and of the Abyssinian syllabary in particular, have of late been confidently and plausibly advanced ; their refutation becomes necessary as a preliminary step to my progress. The erroneous views to which I allude will be found collected together in the follow- ing passage of a paper of M. Abel-Remusat, late Professor of Chinese in the Royal College at Paris, which was read to the Institut de France in the year 1820. " Par syllabaire j'entends ici une reunion de signes syllabiques independans entre eux, sans analogic les uns avec les autres, et par consequent indecomposables ou indivisibles. Cette propriete constitue le second degre dans les trois sortes d'ecritures que les gramraariens distinguent, le systeme mixte entre I'ecriture alphabetique et I'ecriture figurative. On ne saurait en rapprocher la pretendue ecriture syllabique ethiopienne, moins encore celles des Hindous ou des Tartares. in the several systems ; and still more, if the total difference of the vocalization annexed to the Ethiopic system be considered in connexion with this subject ; the circumstance in question must cease to mislead the judgment. * The modern Persian language is such a medley of different tongues that it is difficult to determine to what class it should be referred ; but as to the modern Persian writing, there can be no doubt of its being Shemitic, as the alphabet employed in it differs from the Arabic one, only by the addition of a few letters. 7Q The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the Ce sont la de veritables alphabets, dont on forme a volonte un syllabaire, comme nous le faisons nous-memes avec les lettres de notre alphabet." — Memoires de rinstitut, torn, viii, p. 55. This passage was written in reference to the Japanese syllabary, which the author contended to be the only one as yet discovered in actual use (in order that he might make out the Corean system to be not a sylla- bary, but a complete alphabet of consonants and vowels) ; although in his volume of Recherches sur les langues Tartar es, published in the very same year, 1820, he endeavoured to prove that the Tartars formerly employed sylla- baries of their own invention. Passing by, however, this inconsistency, I have to observe, that in the extract before us, short as it is, there are yet included four very material errors. In the first place, the Professor, in expressing his conception of a syllabary, has omitted its essential property, — ^namely, its being limited to some fixed num- ber of terms ; — instead of which he has substituted an accidental one, and made its nature in part depend on that of the characters by which the syllabic powers of the system are represented. The nature of the characters undoubtedly may give rise to the subordinate distinctions of diiFerent species ; but that it is not essential to the general idea of a syllabary, is evident from a consideration of the very one which gave occasion to his remarks. The Japanese syllabary can be written in seven or eight different ways, namely, with the kata-kana characters, or the Jira-kana, or the yamato-kana characters, &c. Yet still, the series of powers thereby denoted remaining in every respect unchanged, the system con- tinues to be essentially one and the same ; and is called either the Japanese syllabary from the people who make use of it, or the I-ro-fa syllabary, from the first three powers of the series. If any one choose to speak of the kata-kana syllabary, or the fra-kana, or the yamato-kana syllabary, I do not object to this mode of expression ; as it is only making the distinction of subordinate species which must still come under the common denomination of the I-ro-fa, or the Japanese syllabary. M. Klaproth, I observe, in a formal treatise upon this syllabary, published in the volume of the Nouveau Journal Asiatique which came out in the year 1829, expresses himself indifferently in either way. The title of his paper is as follows : " Sur ITntroduction de 1' Usage des Caracteres Chinois en Japon, et sur I'Origine des differens Syllabaires Japonais." Here he speaks of different syllabaries ; but, when introducing the subject, he more Sanscrit Writing and Language. 71 correctly, as I conceive, talks of one syllabary written with different sets of signs. " On sait que les Japonais se servent a present de deux genres d'ecriture, c'est- a-dire, qu'ils emploient, ou les caracteres ideographiques des Chinois, ou un syllabaire compose de quarante-sept syllabes, qui sont representees par diverses series de signes." — torn, iii, p. 27. It is not, however, necessary to appeal to any authority on the point in ques- tion ; common sense shows that every phonetic system must, in its general nature, depend essentially on the powers which it represents, and on them alone. Thus, for instance, our alphabet is called the English alphabet, whether it be exhibited in Roman or Italic characters, in capitals or in small letters, in those appropriate to print, or in such as are employed in manuscript ; but if the powers be changed to those of French pronunciation, though the collection of characters remains precisely the same — for of late the French have introduced w into their writing for the expression of foreign sounds — yet the system is changed, and can no longer be termed the English alphabet. What led M. Abel-Remusat to attach to the shape of letters an importance that does not really belong to it, was probably the circumstance, that, if the characters be indivisible into parts corres- ponding to the elements of the syllables they represent, those syllables are less likely to be decomposed. There is, however, no necessary connexion between the one decomposition and the other. The characters might be indivisible in the manner just mentioned, and yet the syllables be separated into their compo- nent parts (of which the Hebrew letters afford a very striking instance) ; and on the other hand they might be divisible in a way which would obviously give assistance to the decomposition of the syllables, and yet (as shall presently be shown) that decomposition not take place. But let the conformation of the cha- racters aid the reader ever so much in this analysis, and tend ever so much to suggest the operation to his thoughts, still as long as he failed to decompose the syllables, the system would yet remain, in reference to his apprehension, no more than a syllabary. In the second place, M. Abel-Remusat was quite unwarranted in representing syllabic writing as distinct from alphabetic, in a degree at all parallel or analogous to that in which it is separated from hieroglyphic designations. It is true that a syllabary is intermediate, in the order of learning, between less imperfect alpha- bets on the one hand, and hieroglyphs on the other (for we never could rise to a 72 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the conception of consonantal powers except through such a medium, — a point which has been fully explained in my publication on the origin of alphabetic writing) ; but it is by no means intermediate between them in its nature ; on the contrary, it is of the same general nature as an alphabet, in those respects in which the latter can be brought into comparison with an ideagraphic system. They both belong to phonetic writing, and still more, to a common species of such writing ; inasmuch as both are distinguished by the essential property of being confined to some determinate number of signs. However inferior, then, a syllabary may be to a system of consonants and vowels, it is, notwithstanding, entitled to the same general denomination. Hence I have, throughout the part of my work which has been already published, called such systems syllabic alphabets ; and in doing so I was justified not only by the real state of the case, but also by precedents of high authority. Thus, although in the portions of the Ethiopic version of the Bible which have been printed, the powers of the letters are undoubtedly syllabic, and are described as such by all the earlier writers on the subject; yet the collection of those letters was commonly denominated by them an alphabet, and may be seen in the Prolegomena of Bishop Walton's Bible, as also in the short grammatic treatise prefixed to Dr. Castell's Heptaglot Lexicon, printed with the title of Alphabetum u3]^thiopicum placed over it. The Chinese Professor, however, attached more weight to the opinions of certain modern grammarians, whom he has not mentioned by name ; and with them he decided that a syllabary is not an alphabet, but " a mixed system between alphabetic and hieroglyphic writing." I should not object to this new use of old established words, if it had not a tendency to perplex the mind, and to give a very erroneous view of the subject under consideration. In the third place, the most extraordinary of the mistatements of M. Abel- Remusat in the passage before us, is the assertion that the Ethiopic system of phonetic signs is not a syllabary. If indeed he had insisted that this system was not composed of " alphabetic and hieroglyphic writing mixed together," the position would be at once admitted. But this truism could not be his meaning, as the putting it forward would be merely fighting with a shadow ; for no one ever contended that the Ethiopic characters were partly hieroglyphs. After all then, to render him intelligible and read in his words something more than mere unmei^nlng sounds, he must be considered as deserting his own definition Sanscrit Writing and Language. 73 immediately after having given it, and as using the term syllabary here in its ordinary acceptation. Accordingly, by his denial of the Ethiopic alphabet being a syllabary, he must be understood to maintain, that the powers of the letters employed in this writing are not syllabic. I confess I was startled by this part of the passage under examination when I first read it, and should not have been more surprised by a bold denial of the Greek and Roman alphabets being systems of consonants and vowels. Had the latter declaration been made with ever so much confidence, of course I should not have thought it necessary to refute it; but as the Ethiopic writing is not so generally known, a short account of it here may perhaps not be superfluous. When by the discovery made by the Portuguese navigators of a passage round the Cape of Good Hope, a direct communication was opened with Abyssinia, and intercourse with the Inhabitants became in consequence more frequent, the attention of the learned was turned to the very peculiar kind of writing em« ployed by that people ; and great interest was excited by the appearance of a version of the Scriptures in a language and character then first brought into notice in Western Europe. The study of this version was much facilitated ^y the nature of the language, which was found to have a very close affinity to Hebrew ;* it was encouraged even by the Popes, from a desire to provide means for the extension of their spiritual dominion over a distant empire ; and it was considerably promoted by their having granted an asylum and permanent resi- * The curious fact of an African people speaking a dialect of Hebrew is, perhaps, best accounted for by Nicephorus (Callistus) in his Ecclesiastical History; where, incidentally describing the extensive district of Abyssinia between Axum and the ocean near its junction with the Red Sea, he informs us, that the inhabitants called themselves Assyrians ; that up to his time they spoke the Assyrian (or Chaldee) language ; and that they were the descendants of colonists who had been transported thither from Syria by Alexander the Great. Certainly it must have been some very despotic measure by which their forefathers were driven to so ungenial a clime ; and no one was more likely than the Macedonian conqueror to have put this [^into execution, both from the extent of his power and the violence of his disposition. The passage to which I refer, is as follows: — Taurrjc toIvvv tJ}? i^vd^ag Totg t^ooOsv fiepsaiv iv apiartpa 'Av^ov /jurat ilalv, S>v ij fisrpo- TToXtg "Av^ov /iiQ. ripi S' avTciiv dcrlv sttI tov i^WTurw KaOriKOVTeg^QKcavbv Trpog avaToXac, ^ AaavpioC raiiTt) 8e t?J kX^uh, koi Trap' avroig ovofjia (ptpovcnv' ovg 'AXt^avSpoc 6 Maics- C(t)v, EK Supiae avaoT-fjaag, iKii Kari^Kicrtv' 61 Sf Iq Sivpo ry Trarpii} yXuiacT)/ ■xpwvTcii. — ■ Histor-ia Ecclesiast.lih.iyi, c. 18. VOL. XVIII. JT 74 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the dence in Rome to Abyssinian exiles, of whom great numbers were, about that time, forced to leave their own country by Mohammedan persecution. Through the advantage of such aids, a knowledge of this writing was soon obtained, and parts of the Ethiopic translation of the Bible were printed in the Roman capital under the superintendence of native Abyssinians ; the Psalms and Song of Solomon, during the remarkable pontificate of Leo the Tenth,* and the New Testament not many years after. Then followed from the press, in different countries of Europe, grammars, lexicons, harmonies, in all of which, and also along with the portions of Scripture first published, were given the Ethiopic alphabet represented as a syllabary. From the parts of this version which were printed, it was ascertained to be one of great antiquity, as it agrees with the oldest known Greek copies of the Bible in many passages which are otherwise written in less ancient MSS. Hence much attention was paid to the work, and several of the most able scholars and divines of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries engaged in its examination ; but however they may have differed among themselves upon other points, not one of them, as far as I can find, ever dissented from the above representation of the nature of the Ethiopic letters. To oppose such authority it is plain that a very strong case should be made out ; but the Professor has offered nothing against it more than his own opinion, which he did not support by any proof, nor indeed could he ; for the slightest examination of the alphabet itself will be sufficient to show that his view of the matter was totally erroneous. * It is but justice to Leo to state, that the part of this version which came out under his auspices was much more accurately executed than the remainder of the original publication. This will, I conceive, be clearly seen upon a comparison of the reprints of the two parts in Bishop Walton's Polyglot Bible, in which the Psalms are given much freer from errors of the press than the New Testament. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 75 Ethiopic Alphabet. Hoi U ha l> hu ht V ha y he he 1/ ho n He. Law 1^ A- A, It A 15 A, 15 A le lo ■? Lamed. Haut ha hw hi ha he he ho n Hcth. Mai "i m ut ^ ^> 0 Samekh, so SM si s5 se se so Rees i 4, L I, L c Q 1 Resh. ra ru ri t3 re re TO Saat rt i^. rt. ^ l\ h iy \u Shin. sa su si sa se se so Qaf qM qj 9 q5 qe qe qo P Qoph. Bet n ha ft- a hi n h5 a be be n bo :2 Beth. Taw t tM t t5 te te to n Taw. Harm ha hu hi h« h5 hg ho n Heth. Nahas h V i. 7 ^ \ •r 3 Nun. wa nu ni na ne ne no Halph 7\ ha hw A. hi h^ he he ho N Haleph. Kaf n ku ki n k5 ke ke ko 3 Kaph, Waw ® ®, f: T T CD- P 1 Waw. via v/u \vi w5 we we wo Hayiii 0 h« V o hi h5 he V 0 V ho y Hay in. K 2 76 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the Zai H 1+ zu H, zj H la ze ze H zo 1 Zayin. Yaman p p a !? R ^ p- "1 Yod. ya yw y« ya y« ye yo Dent s. da d« dj J? d5 dS de do T Daleth. Geml 1 T -i 3 1 *] 1 :i GimeL g« g« g' g« g5 g« g« Tait m nv t5 m. 1e to ID Teth. Pait K /V /I ?i A. ?5 ^ D Pe. P« p« p« P« p5 P? po Tzadal ft- tzu tzi tz5 a, Ue 8- tze 8 tzo 15 Tzade. Zzap e zzu 9. zzi zzd zze 9 zze zzo )S Tzade. Af fu f» < ft 4: fe fo 2 Phe. Psa T T X J T T T S Pe. pa P« pt p5 Y>e pe po After each series, above exhibited, of syllabic signs formed by variations of a common letter and called by a common name, is subjoined in the same line the corresponding Hebrew letter v?ith its name, to show the connexion which in many instances obviously holds between those words. The period when this alphabet was derived from the Hebrew or some other Shemitic syllabary is lost in impenetrable obscurity ; but whenever it was that the primary formation of the system took place, it must at that time have consisted solely of its first column of characters ; the remaining columns could not have been added till after the Abyssinian had, in his conception of the subject, arrived at a distinct classification of the vocal elements of his syllables. The different pointings that are placed under the consonantal parts of tlie guttural powers, are intended merely to inti- mate that those powers differ from each other, though what is peculiar to each is now no longer known. I have not marked the quantity of the powers in all the columns of the above table ; as there is some difference in this respect between Bishop Walton's Sanscrit Writing and Language. TJ and Dr. Castell's representations, chiefly in consequence of the latter author having taken into account the effect produced by the position of syllables in words, the first and penultimate syllables being generally read long, and the remaining ones short. There is a difference also between them as to the vocal part of the powers in the sixth column, which is represented by Dr. Castell as a j/. But as this part, except when in the first or penultimate syllable of a word, is pronounced rapidly, and in consequence indistinctly. It is very immaterial whether it be denoted by a short e or short y. These differences may possibly have been in some measure occasioned by want of uniformity in the practice of a people, who could not be expected to have very exact notions on the subject, as it appears they were unable to disengage consonants from syllables. But from whatever causes they may have arisen, they have no relation to the inquiry before us ; they may perhaps affect the certainty as to the length of the powers, and as to the sound of the vocal part of those in the sixth column ; but they do not in the remotest degree bear against their general nature as syllabic. The only powers about which there can be any question under this head, are those belonging to Halph and Hayin, which are usually represented by series of vowels ; but it is evident that both sets of powers could not at first have been merely vocal, as in that case they would have been exactly the same, and one of the letters, as super- fluous, would never have been introduced into the alphabet; nor is it at all likely that either set were formerly such, since to a certainty neither of the Hebrew characters which are called by the same names was originally a vowel-letter. But if any doubt on the subject should remain upon the reader's mind, it will, I trust, be entirely removed by inspection of some specimens of this writing which shall be immediately laid before him, one of them having a strong bearing on this very point. Admitting, however, that in later times when this systsm was printed, both letters were used to denote vowels, still even thenceforward by far the greater number of the powers remain syllabic. In order to make use of the foregoing table it is necessary to observe, that, when a character drops the vocal part of its own power to share that of a preceding character in the formation of a compound syllable, it is the variety of shape that occurs in the sixth column whicli is employed ; and also that the letters are read from left to right, in the same direction as in European legends, the Ethiopic writing differing in this respect from the graphic systems of all the other Shemitic languages. 78 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the Now if it be allowed that proper names are pronounced nearly in the same way in cognate languages, it will be very easy to verify the powers above as- signed to the Ethiopic letters, so far at all events as to show that they are syllabic ; viz. by exhibiting any such words from the text of the Ethiopic version. For this purpose the names David and Abimelech are here selected from the title of Psalm xxxiv., as also Zion and Jerusalem from Psalm li. 19* ; just as they are written in the version in question and in the unpointed Hebrew text, except that the prefixes are in both kinds of writing omitted. After each group of characters the pronunciation is given in Roman consonants and Italic vowels ; but when there is a separate character added to express the vocal part of a syllable, as is sometimes the case in the copies of the Hebrew Bible which are at present extant, then its power is denoted by a Roman vowel, and it is itself exhibited in an open form, to distinguish it from the ancient letters of the group, and mark its adven- titious nature. 1. Rt-^ (DaW^T) 2. Afl<^A,^ (HaB/MeLeK) -m (DaWzD) i'7a^3N (HflBIMeLeK) 3. a-p-^ (TZeYoN) 4. A.P4,<^A.^ (HzYoRwSaLeM) p^s (TZiYON) D'7t»in> (YeRUSHaLeM) To apply to the point under examination any of these examples, as for instance, the first of them ; — if we look for the character S, in the Ethiopic alphabet, we shall find it in the series of letters which are in common termed Dent, and in the first column, where the power assigned is Da ; in like manner we shall find X in the series Waw, and third column, with the power W^, and ^ in the series Taw, sixth column, with the power Te. But the vocal part of the powers in the sixth column is very short, except when those powers form the first or penulti- mate syllable of a word ; and when they form the last, it becomes imperceptible like the Shewa quiescent of the pointed Hebrew. According, then, to the re- presentation of the powers of the characters which is given in the table, the group J? *£ ^ expresses the word DaWiT; while, on the other hand, from the position of the same group in the title of Psalm xxxiv. in the Ethiopic version, * The number of each Psalm after the tenth is diminished by one (in consequence of the eleventh being joined to the tenth) in the Ethiopic version, which herein agrees with the Septuagint, and differs from the Hebrew. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 79 we may be certain that it denotes the Royal Psahnist, and, consequently, that it must have been read by some combination of sounds nearly approaching to DaWiD, the ancient pronunciation of his name in Hebrew and, after the Hebrew, in the Septuagint. This group, therefore, fully verifies the powers assigned to the first and second of its elements, and that of the third by approxi- mation. The second group, examined in like manner, will serve to establish the correctness of the powers attributed to every one of its ingredient characters without exception. In the third group, although it may be proved in the same way that the powers of the characters are syllabic, yet it is questionable whether the vocal part of the first power be e ov y ; and as it is here long, (from the posi- tion of the syllable in the word expressed), the difference is perceptible ; while the example seems to accord better with Dr. Castell's than the Bishop's repre- sentation of the powers of the sixth column, unless it be allowed that e, followed by the consonant 3/, has a sound approaching to that of i. The first three names are pronounced very nearly the same in the Septuagint as in the Hebrew, and, consequently the groups we have been examining do not enable us to determine from which text the Ethiopic version was made ; but the fourth group clearly marks the derivation of this version immediately from the Septuagint. Tlie Greek translator was unable exactly to express the first syllable of Yerushalem, and substituted for it Hie. The Ethiopic writer has also given two syllables in place of the original one, but not from any inability to express that one ; and there- fore he must evidently have done so from his having translated from the Greek. It deserves moreover to be here noticed, that in his imitation of Hie, he has expressed e by the syllable ya ; which clearly points out that the series of letters termed iJaZp/i and Hayin did not denote mere vowels at the time when he made his translation ; for if they had, it surely is by one of the characters of either series that he would have represented the second part of Hie. It may be also remarked, that the first name is represented exactly by the same number of letters in the Hebrew as in the Ethiopic writing ; and as those in the derivative writing have undoubtedly syllabic powers, there is even hence some probability of the corres- ponding elements of the group belonging to the parent system having been at first employed with like powers. If the letters in the Ethiopic designation of this name were divested of the marks which serve to confine the terminations of the syllables they denote to particular sounds, the whole group would then be pre- 80 Tlie Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the cisely analogous in its use to the Hebrew one ; in which the vowel parts of the syllables expressed are left to be determined by the reader through the means of his familiarity with the spoken denomination of the Jewish sovereign in question. The first letter, indeed, of the Ethiopia group is destitute of any mark, as it belongs to the first column of the alphabet, which is now limited to syllables ending in a ; but before the addition of the other columns this one evidently could have had no such limitation ; and then the Ethiopic method of denotation was exactly of the same nature with the original Hebrew one, not only in refe- rence to the name which I have here happened to pitch upon as an example, but also with regard to every part of the two kinds of writing. To show the close affinity which subsists between the two languages, I here subjoin the first sentence of the Lord's Prayer, Matthew, vi. 9» from the Ethiopic version ; with the equivalent Hebrew expression immediately under each group, just as in the preceding examples. I\^h (HaBwNa) WW^p'-V (ZoBaSSaMaYoT) 13^n« (HaBINU) a^n^l® (SHeBBoSHSHaMflY/M) Our Father who — in the very heavens, S}\^Rf\ (YeTQaDDaS) h^lfl (SeMKa) tonpn^ (YiTHQaDDeSH) -jati? (SHeMeKa) hallow itself (i. e. hallowed be) thy name. The corresponding groups in the two ways of writing the sentence will be found to agree in their roots ; in their inflexions (excepting the formation of the plural number of the noun) ; in the reflective form of the verb, and the peculiarity of substituting that form for the passive one ; in their prepositions ; in their pronouns ;* and in the manner in which those pronouns enter into combination with the principal terms ; whence it is probable that they may, in some degree at least, agree also in the collective sounds denoted by them. If this inference be ad- * I admit that the syllable prefixed to the Ethiopic expression for in the very heavens, and used with the signification of the pronoun who, is not derived from the relative HtTM but from the de- monstrative TVt. This latter pronoun, however, is sometimes used in the Hebrew, as it is here in the Ethiopic, with a relative sense. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 8 1 mitted, it affords, in its application to the passage before us, another verification of the powers of the Ethiopic letters ; not indeed as exact a one as that derived from comparing proper names, but still sufficient to show to a certainty that the general nature of those powers is syllabic, which is all that is necessary to be proved upon the present occasion. The ground of M. Abel- Rem usat's mistake on this subject, — a mistake indeed which pervades the whole of his treatise on the origin of the Tartar alphabets, — is his having overlooked the difficulty which illiterate people expe- rience of conceiving a consonantal power. It is true that the Abyssinian had a clear conception of vowels, — this is obvious from the bare inspection of the table of his alphabet ; — and he must have had an equally clear one of consonants, if he had arrived at those vowels by any analysis made by himself of the syllabic sounds of his language. But what would be the inevitable consequence ? Having by this process discovered the powers of a superior alphabet, he could not be igno- rant of the nature of his own discovery ; he must have been aware of its value, and thence unquestionably would have availed himself of its use. It is quite contrary to all that is known of human nature to suppose that any people would encumber their memories with a system of 182 characters (besides twenty more which do not regularly form part of the alphabet), if they had themselves found out a way by which they could write equally well, or indeed better, by means of only thirty-three signs ; namely, twenty-six for consonants, and seven for vowels. Nations, I admit, often reject the inventions that have originated in other coun- tries, through prejudice against what is foreign, or through ignorance of the resulting benefits. But neither impediment here lies in the way ; and no well ascertained instance can be produced from the history of the world, of men arriving by their own efforts of thought at an important improvement in any art, and yet foregoing its advantage. The fault of the Professor's reasoning on this point appears to have been, that he began at the wrong end. Having himself a clear conception of a consonantal as well as a vowel power, he took it for granted, that the Abyssinian had equally clear notions on the subject, and was able to conceive an articulation separate from any vowel sound by which it might be rendered perceptible to the ear. Well, then ! the poor African having quite distinct in his thoughts the elements of syllables, would take care to have their signs equally distinct ; and the very VOL. XVIII. L 82 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the nature of the characters of his system would at once point out the mode of effecting their decomposition to one who was already acquainted with the decom- position of their powers. Nothing, then, could be more easy to him than the rising from his syllabary to a superior alphabet ; and it is absurd to suppose that he would not avail himself of the advantage of this alphabet which was so com- pletely within his reach. Hence, in spite of all former evidence, and in spite of present appearances, it would, from such reasoning, necessarily follow, that the Abyssinian really used the elements of his graphic system as consonants and vowels. To this extraordinary conclusion at all events M. Abel-Remusat actually came, whether the train of thoughts which led him to it was exactly that which I have described, or one in any respect different. Now, as I apprehend, the safest mode of proceeding is to commence with what may be known to a cer- tainty, not merely through the concurrent evidence of great numbers of men eminent for learning and ability, but also by our own observation. The letters belonging to the text of the Ethiopic Bible are, to a certainty, and beyond all question, therein employed with syllabic powers. The Abyssinian, therefore, did not know how to make out of his system a superior alphabet ; and, consequently he could not have had any clear conception of a consonant. From the fact which has been just established, it follows that the Abyssinian did not, by means of his own penetration and sagacity, acquire the conception of vowels which enabled him to make the classification, exhibited in the table of his system, of the syllabic powers that he referred to each letter. For he could not, by any analysis of the articulate sounds expressed by those letters, have arrived at vowels without reaching, by the same process, to consonantal powers. The addi- tion, therefore, to his alphabet of all the columns after the first, — by means of which his syllables are, in reference to their vocal ingredients, methodically arranged and definitely expressed, — must have been derived by him from some external source. But he could not have taken the hint which guided him in this matter from observation of any of the other Shemitic systems ; as the several modes of pointing them did not commence till long after ; and if he had first met with the older vocalization that is common in kind, though not in quantity, to all those systems, he would, it is plain from analogy, have adopted it, in like manner as all others placed in the same circumstances had done, however he might have subsequently differed from them in his mode of supplying the defects of that Sanscrit Writing and Language. 83 primary vocalization. There was, consequently, no other quarter from which he could have learned the use of vowel designation except from Greek writing ; and he, as well as the Jew, must have had his notions on the subject suggested to him immediately from that writing. Accordingly, his translation of the Bible affords very decisive evidence that, when he made it, he had only the Septuagint version, and not the Hebrew Scriptures, in his possession ; and, in further cor- roboration of this view af the case, it may be observed, that the vocal part of the syllabic powers of his alphabet has an obvious affinity to the vowels of the Greek system. For although all vowel sounds equally admit of an open and close state, yet in both those systems the distinction is made in the denotation of only two of them ; while one of the vowels so distinguished (e) is the same in each system, and the total number of vowels In each is also the same. On the other hand, the Ethiopic syllabary in its primitive state, it is plain, was derived either immediately or remotely from the ancient Hebrew one. Before the vocalization of either system had taken place their corresponding elements must evidently have been used in the same manner with powers that were precisely similar ; and even still above half of those elements are called by names that are very nearly the same. The difference In the shapes of the characters Is no objection to this connexion between the two alphabets ; some few of the corresponding ones are like each other, when the more ancient forms of the Hebrew letters are referred to ; and If still older elements of each series were extant, their similarity would probably be yet more striking. Besides In tracing a connexion of the kind, we must look for the proof of it far more in the powers than in the shapes of the characters which are compared. Thus our numeric figures, though different in form from the Indian ones, are on all sides admitted to be thence derived, because they are employed in the same way, and their values are regulated by the same principle. And still further It may upon this point be observed, that there are several alphabets, confessedly derived from the Sanscrit one, from which, notwithstand- ing, they wholly differ in the shapes of their letters. Again the difference in the order of the letters of same name does not bear against the Hebrew origin of the Ethiopic system ; for there is as great a difference at present in point of arrangement between the Hebrew and Arabic letters which correspond with each other, and yet from their being used with the same numeric powers, it is plain that their order must likewise have originally been the same. L 2 84 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the A very close limit to the age of the Ethiopia scriptures may be deduced from evidence which history supplies connected with the subject. The Christian religion was first established in Abyssinia by Frumentius, who was for this pur- pose consecrated Bishop of Axum in the year 335 by the celebrated Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria. The circumstances which led to the conversion of the Abyssinians are told by Rufinus in the ninth chapter of the first book of his Ecclesiastical History, who closes his account by stating that he had it imme- diately from a companion of Frumentius ; — " Quae nos ita gesta, non opinione vulgi, sed ex ipso Edesio, Tyri presbytero postmodum facto, qui Frumentii comes prius fuerat, referente cognoviraus." The Abyssinians themselves claim a mucli earlier date for their conversion to Christianity, and assert that they were pre- viously followers of the Jewish creed. But their account of the matter is so obviously fabulous as not to be entitled to any notice ; aud the part of it last mentioned is refuted even by their own version of the Bible ; for surely if they had been Jews by religion, they would have had the Old Testament in the original Hebrew, — in a tongue cognate to their own, and from which conse- quently they could have much more easily translated the Scriptures than from Greek. It is further recorded in history, that the Abyssinians were again con- verted to Christianity in the reign of the Emperor Justinian, that is, about two hundred years after the first time ; from which it would appear that they had in the interval relapsed into paganism. But it is not necessary to consider the authorities on which the narrative of this second conversion rests ; as the first is the only one to which it is material here to attend.* But to return to the passage upon which I have been commenting ; — I shall conclude my remarks on it by pointing out, in the fourth place, M. Abel- Remusat's error in supposing that the Abyssinians formed the syllabic powers of * Scaliger, in his learned work De Emendalione Temporum, notices the second conversion of the Abyssinians; but very unaccountably overlooks the first, which is fully as well authenticated. His words upon the subject are as follows ; — " Jactant vetustatem Christianismi a Candace Ilegina et Philippo Apostolo. Sed id manifesto falsum convincit Ecclesiastica Historia. Anno enim XV. Jus- tiniani Imperatoris, Adad Rex Axuraitarum vovit, si vinccret Omeritarum vicinorum Regem, se Christianum factum iri. Victo rege Omeritarum, missis ad Justinianura legalis, impctravit ab eo episcopos, qui primi omnium tunc Christianismum in ^Ethiopia publicarunt." — De Emend. Temp, lib. vii, p'. 682. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 85 their system in the same way as Europeans combine syllables out of more simple ingredients. At the bottom of this hypothesis lies the very identical fallacy which has been exposed in the preceding instance, namely, the assumption that the Africans in question had a distinct conception of both the ingredients of syllabic sounds ; whereas it has been proved that they had only one of those ingredients clear in their thoughts. The hypothesis may still further be shown to be erro- neous from the manner in which the Abyssinians recited their alphabet. I do not here speak of their present practice (with which, I confess, I am not acquainted), but of that which prevailed among them at the time when parts of the Ethiopic version were printed under the superintendence of individuals belonging to their nation. The seven columns of their alphabetic table they called by names which had no relation whatever to the vowel sounds in those columns, viz. — 1. Gheez. — 2. Chaab. — 3. Sals. — 4. Erab. — 5. Hams. — 6. Sads. — 7- Sab. And their mode of recitation was as follows. Let us, for instance, take the series of syllabic powers classed under the letter Bet. They first called out Bet Gheez, and then pronounced the syllable Ba ; next, Bet Chaab, after which they pronounced Bu ; next. Bet Sals, after which, B« ; and so on. As much as to say, that Bet, as written in the column Gheez, sounds Ba; as written in the column Chaab, sounds Bw; and so on. Here evidently is no indication of the Ethiopian having had any perception of the compound nature of the powers recited by him. The fact is, he no more looked on such powers as complex than the Japanese now does, who, although he has vowels, as well as what are more properly called syllables, denoted by letters of his system, yet considers the latter species of sounds to be as perfectly simple and undecomposable as the former. On the contrary, the European is taught signs for the separate ingredients of arti- culate sounds before he is made to bring them together for the expression of those sounds ; which circumstance of itself must draw his attention to the fact of there being some composition in syllabic powers ; and when, through this observation, and the practice of repeating b a, ha ; b e, be ; b i, bi, &c., he has arrived at the distinct perception of what is denoted by consonants, he dismisses from his thoughts the cumbrous machinery by which he acquired this knowledge. He must indeed commit to memory the combinations of letters representing words which are peculiarly spelled ; but he retains as the elements of his orthography, not the hundred, or more, simple syllables, ba, be, bi, &c. &c., but merely the 86 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the four or five and twenty consonants and vowels of which those syllables are com- posed. While, on the other hand, the Abyssinian was forced to recollect all through, the two hundred and two signs of his system, together with their powers. The errors which have in the foregoing pages been exposed respecting the essential nature of alphabetic writing, it may be here by the way noticed, were committed in a capital which affords, by its libraries and learned societies, the greatest assistance to studious investigation ; and are those, not merely of a man of some talent and research, but also of one who devoted particular attention to a branch of the very subject in question. Now when, under such circumstances, an author has betrayed ignorance of the essential principles of alphabetic con- struction, is it to be supposed that they are discoverable by men of the lowest grade in the scale of intellect, and destitute of all external aid, such as those to whom the independent invention of alphabets has been attributed ? But although a knowledge of what is essential to an alphabet is not necessary to the making use of one already formed, or to the deriving from that one others by imitation ; yet it is obviously requisite to the original and independent formation of any such system. Still further I have to remark, that with human inventions there is always connected something subject to external observation, which consequently leaves room for the operation of what is called accident or chance in their production ; and that it is only from small beginnings that they ascend by gradual improve- ment to great and noble specimens of art. But in the Imaginary case of the independent contrivance of an alphabet, there is nothing external upon which observation can act, till after some system of phonetic signs is constructed ; and the getting at the first principle of the construction is by far the most difficult part of the entire problem. The articulate sounds of language are much too numerous and too fleeting to form of themselves an immediate subject for classi- fication ; and no remedy can be derived from the substitution of signs, unless they be chosen in such a manner as to avoid the use, to any considerable extent, of homophones or diaphones, that is, of different signs for the same sound or of the same sign for different sounds. But experience shows that mankind are quite incapable of attending to this caution till they are acquainted with the reason for it, or till they have the advantage of an example to follow, which latter aid is Sanscrit Writing and Language. 87 excluded on the supposition of an independent invention. Here, then, lies one of the many and, as I conceive, insurmountable difficulties of the imaginary case under consideration. Man cannot construct an alphabet, by his own unaided powers of intellect, till he has discovered the principle of its construction ; and he cannot find out the principle until he gets under his observation a system of signs, selected according to this very principle of which he is as yet ignorant. Whether the reader will be more struck with this difficulty than with those previously submitted to him in the part of my work which has already been published, I cannot take upon me to determine ; but I am induced to place the subject before him in diffijrent points of view, in the hopes of gaining his assent to the correctness of one way of considering it, if not of another. I do not, how- ever, expect him to acquiesce in mere abstract reasoning unsupported by actual experience. What I principally rely on, is the fact that, not merely no alphabet has ever yet been proved to have been produced by the independent contrivance of man, but also every alphabet for which such origin is claimed can be clearly shown from its own nature to be a derivative one. I have already established, I will venture to say, beyond a doubt, and by the strongest evidence, both internal and external, the Greek origin, as well of the alphabetic writing of the Egyptians — to which, by the way, they never attained till after their conversion to Chris- tianity,— as also of the phonetic writing previously employed by them in their hieroglyphic system. I shall now for like pui'pose proceed to the consideration of the Sanscrit alphabet. This alphabet is here exhibited in the character (in which it is principally written) called Deva-nagari, which signifies, according to some authors (for all are not agreed upon the point), " the written language of angels." This mean- ing of the term is just worth noticing on account of the accordance of the opinion it implies with that which almost universally prevailed in the ancient world, of letters having been a gift to man from some one or other of the gods. The diffusion of this notion through countries and ages so widely separated asunder seems to indicate the remains of an early tradition on the subject, and conse- quently tells somewhat in favor of the divine origin of the first alphabet, though not of those for which the honor has been claimed by pagan nations. The letters of the system now to be considered are arranged as follows, the power of each being placed immediately under it. 88 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the Sanscrit Alphabet. ri rl e i o ou an ah ^ ^ JT "JT T- ko kha g" gha na ^ ^ 3r 2r 3r cha chha j« jha na 2- 3- ::? S- or ta tha da dha na FT sr K ^ 5T ta tha da dha na q" CfF ^ iT sr pa pho ha bha ma ^ T ^ ^ y« ra la yd scr ^ ^ ^ ^ sho sha aa ha ksha The first ten vowels are arranged in pairs in which the short or close state of the sound precedes the long or open one. By the open a is meant either that which occurs in the yvov A. father or that in water; by the open i, the pronun- ciation of this vowel which is used in machine ; by the open u, that in rule ; by e, the open power of this vowel which occurs in they or there, not the close one in then ; by o, the open sound of it in hope, not the close one in hop ; by the last i, and by ou, the English sounds of those letters, as in wine, pound ; — sounds nearly unknown in the Shemitic languages or those of the western continent of Europe, which the English have derived from their German ancestors (though they do not express them by the same letters), and which are common to the German, the Greek, the Sanscrit, and the Chinese colloquial systems. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 89 The first twenty-five of the characters which follow the vowels are arranged Tery methodically, in horizontal lines, according to the organs with which they are pronounced; — those in the first line being looked upon as gutturals ; those in the second, as palatals ; those in the third, as Unguals ; those in the fourth, as dentals ; and those in the fifth, as labials ; — and in columns, so that the second and fourth columns should give the corresponding powers of the first and third with the addition of an aspiration, and the fifth column the nasal sounds of the several series. The first N of the nasal column (as likewise its equivalent, the N by which the fifteenth vowel is terminated), corresponds in power with the ng of the word thong; the second, or palatal N, has a power somewhat resembling that of ng in the word engine. The third N differs probably but little in power from the fourth (which agrees with ours), as, in the course of derivation and inflection, it is usually changed to that fourth. The addition of h to the power of a letter does not produce the same effect as with us ; for instance by pha is not meant a sound having any resemblance whatever to fa, but merely pa uttered with a strong emission of the breath ; whence some write this power p'ha, to distinguish it from what pha expresses in our use of the combination. From the scheme of the alphabet above given, an European would be apt to suppose it a system of vowels and consonants ; but in point of fact it is only a syllabary as it is, for the most part, used by all of the eastern nations, without exception, who write with it. The letters which appears to us as consonants, have not properly consonantal, but syllabic powers; and express syllables ending with the short vowel a. When the vowel part of the syllables to be expressed by these letters is different, then their shapes are modified, more clumsily indeed than in the Ethiopic system, but still in a manner precisely analogous. Thus, according as the vowel termination of the syllable denoted by the first letter is changed, this character is written in the following different ways ; the articulate sound corresponding to each variety of shape being placed immediately under it. ^ ^T f^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ kfl ka ki kj kw ku kri kri If ^ ^ % % iiT ^ ^: kli kli ke kt ko kou kan kah VOL. XVIII. M 90 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the Each of the other letters undergoes similar modifications of shape, as well as similar alterations of its syllabic power ; and the Indian learner is taught to repeat, first the sixteen syllabic powers of the letter cfj ka in the order here given ; next the sixteen powers of the letter ^ k'ha in the same order ; next the sixteen of the letter Jf go; and so on till he has gone through the sixteen times thirty-four powers of the system. From his being practised to repeat and made to get by heart this collection of 544 syllables as one complete in itself, there is a likelihood that the vowel-letters did not originally belong to his alphabet. I am aware that the present mode of representing the subject is to state, that the vowel-marks by which the syllabic characters are modified, are derived from the vowel-letters ; — a representation which is suggested by the analogous appearance of tlie characters produced from the combination of two or more of syllabic powers, — but there are very few of the letters and marks in question between which there is the slightest visible connexion ; and where there is any, it surely may have arisen just as well from amplifying a mark into a letter, as from con- tracting a letter into a mark. That where such connexion exists it was produced in the former way, is rendered probable not only by the practice above alluded to, but also by the name of the Sanscrit alphabet, viz. ^^^^f KeKHo, which is evidently derived from the two letters cj^ and ?^, just in the same manner as that of the Greek system is from its first two letters. Alpha and Beta, or that of the Japan series from its first three terms, I-ro-fa; whence it would appear that, when this alphabet received its present denomination, ka and k'ha must have been its first two characters, and consequently that the vowel-letters, which now precede them, must have been subsequently added to the system. It is quite impossible that men who had formed the syllabic part of this system by their own effbrts of thought, could be blind to the immense advantage of resolving it into consonants and vowels, instead of continuing to use it as a set of syllabic signs ; the circumstance, therefore, of the Indians still employing it in the latter manner, and particularly of their doing so after they had got vowel- letters, aflFords, as I conceive, the most conclusive evidence that they did not arrive at it by invention. But I have discussed this point so fully in the case of the Ethiopic syllabary, that it is unnecessary for me to dwell upon it here, any further than to observe that the arguments previously urged, bear more strongly on the system now under consideration ; inasmuch as, from its greater number of Sanscrit Writing and Language. 91 syllabic powers, the inconvenience of making the inferior use of it is far greater ; and also because it is still more easily convertible into a superior alphabet, since it is not merely the case that its characters are obviously resolvable into sets cor- responding to the elements of the syllabic powers, but they are virtually so resolved since the introduction of the vowel-letters ; and all that is wanted on the part of those making use of it, is a clear conception of the nature of a consonant. So far the point is made out from a general comparison of the two syllabaries ; but there are particular considerations, applicable to the Sanscrit one alone, which lead very forcibly to the same result. In the first place, that this syllabary is not an invention of the Hindoos, is quite obvious even from the single circum- stance of its being unsuited to their language ; for it cannot be applied to the expression of all Sanscrit syllables, but merely serves to denote those which begin with a consonantal power ; and, consequently, must have been derived by imita- tion from some foreign system connected with a tongue which, like the Ethiopic, includes no articulate sounds except such as are of the latter description. In the second place, it is positively absurd to suppose this people to have invented their syllabary unless they had a distinct idea of consonantal powers ; for It would be altogether Impossible for them to determine the syllabic sounds to be reduced to a common class without their clearly perceiving what was common to those sounds. For instance, supposing the arrangement of their syllabary to be en- tirely their own work, unaided by the observation of any prior system, how could they possibly have selected the syllables ka k«, k^ k^, 'kit kw, &c. as those to be represented by a common character variously modified In shape, unless they had a distinct conception of the proper power of k ? But that they have no such conception of this or any other consonantal power, is evident not only from their foregoing in the greater part of their writing the advantages of a superior alpha- betic system, but also more immediately from what is known respecting their mode of considering the subject. For instance, whenever any of their characters is not modified by a vowel mark, they consider It as the sign of a syllable ending in a, and say that a is essentially inherent In it ; evidently thereby showing that, as they are unable to utter any articulation without the help of some vowel-sound, so they are unable even to conceive it without the same help. Again, when a character M 2 92 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the is of necessity used by tliem In a manner in which it would be looked upon by us as a consonant, that is, when it closes the syllable expressed by the preceding character, and is pronounced by the aid of the vowel part of that syllable, drop- ping its own vocalic power, — In which case an Ethiopia character is also neces- sarily used as a consonant ; — they then call this letter ^^fT KanD?T, i. e. curtailed; and so make it perfectly obvious that they do not look upon the power of a character in any other light than as syllabic, even when the circumstances of the case would appear almost to force upon them a different conception of the subject. Here I have to notice a circumstance, which seems in some measure at least to indicate, that the framers of the alphabet before us were persons habituated to hieroglyphic writing. In the Sanscrit language there occur several articulate sounds commencing with a combination of two or even of three consonantal powers, and which are, in consequence expressed by the Pandits by combinations of two or three of their syllabic characters.* Each of those combinations is reduced to a single character, for a reason which shall presently be considered ; but the point to which I now wish to draw attention Is, that in the reductions in question, very little care is shown to preserve any likeness of the resulting com- pounds to their component characters. In most of the compositions not more than one of the ingredient letters can be recognized, — at least by those who are not very skilful In the analysis ; — and the consequence is, that the learner has thrown upon him very unnecessarily the burden of committing to memory a great number of additional characters, which it is as difficult for him to fix in his thoughts as if they had no relation whatever to those simpler ones with which he was previously acquainted. Such indifference on the part of the framers of the system to the numbers of extra-characters with which they encumbered it, looks very like the effect of familiarity with a species of writing in which the amount of symbols Is Indefinite. In support of this view of the subject may be noticed the superabundance of letters in the alphabets of the Siamese and Tonquinese, — • * In this case also, the characters — that is, all except one of them in each combination, — drop the vowel part of their powers, and so must practically have suggested to the Pandits some idea of consonants ; though they have failed to excite a clear one, as is evident from what has been already stated. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 93 a deterioration of their respective systems, which Is obviously attributable to the influence upon their phonetic practice produced by the habit of Chinese writing ; — and as the like effect is observable in the Sanscrit system, we cannot rationally avoid ascribing it to a like cause. Hence it would appear, that the Sanscrit writing was the first of an alphabetic nature that was employed by the Brahmans ; and that they had no previous syllabary of a ruder kind devoid of all marks expressive of vowel powers. We now come to the inquiry, whence was this alphabet derived ? — the answer to which, I must premise, I do not feel myself called upon to give. All that is requisite to my theory as to the origin of alphabetic writing, is to show that the system in question is a derivative one ; and of so much, I trust, the reader has been already satisfied. — As a matter, however, of curiosity I enter upon this investigation, and confess I shall be disappointed if the considerations, here pro- posed, are not looked upon as going a great way towards deciding the point at issue. In the first place, the Sanscrit syllabary could not have been derived from any of the Shemitic kinds of vocalized writing, employed in Asia, which have come down to our times. For in all those different kinds, a vowel letter is occasionally used immediately after another character to express in conjunction with that character a syllable ; but such a mode of expression never occurs in Sanscrit. Whenever in this writing a complete vowel-letter follows another character, they always denote two different syllables ; and are not united in the expression of the same one, even when that preceding character is destitute of any vowel-mark of its own. Thus fi\\t ovv Staipeatv r^c noXirdaQ, Koi Tijv Trig Idiag ra^eojQ iTrifiiXuav Sia vpoyovwv ToiavTt}v t(T)(ov ol to iraXaibv rrjv " AtyvTrrov KaroiKOvvrtg. — Diodm-i, lib. i, p. 68. t vvvX c£TO TrAtov El? r)7i/ 'AXE^avSpEfavrfjJNfiXftiKarayETai' ra o' Ik Trig ^ Apafiiag Kol Trig 'IvStKJJc £'C Muoc opfiov' tW VTri()Be(ng tig Kotttov Tiig Qtif5aiSog' Kafii'iXoig, J; Siiopvyt Tov NaiXou* iKeiOev S' tic ^AXs^dvSpuav. — Strahonis, lib. xvi, p. 781. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 103 length from east to west is double tliat from north to south, is very absurd ; but lie shows an intimate acquaintance with the circumstances of the countries in which he resided as a merchant, and there is no reason to doubt his testimony as to facts that must have come under his own observation. In the second book of his treatise he gives the following account of the African trade with India. " There is a region producing frankincense in the extreme parts of Ethiopia, being inland, but having the ocean farther on, whence those inhabiting Barbary [he so calls the country between that previously spoken of and the ocean], as being near, entering into the inland places and trafficking, bring from them most of the spices, as well as frankincense, cassia, aromatic reed, and many other things ; and the same persons again convey them by sea to Adule [the seaport of Axum], and to the Homerite district [one immediately bordering on Abyssinia], and to the inner India and Persia."* Here we have it asserted in express terms that a traffic was carried on from the principal seaport-town of Abyssinia and from the country which adjoins it, to the inner India; that is, to the Asiatic India, which was so called to distinguish it from a part of Africa which formerly had the same general denomination. It is not to be supposed that the Barbary navigators went directly across the sea to India, but in the mode of voyaging that was then in use they must have gone first to Adule, then along the coasts of Arabia and Persia, and in the last instance along those of India. I subjoin another passage from the third book of the Christian Topography of Cosmas, not only on account of the allusion it contains to his having himself made this very voyage, but also because it shows the extent to which Christianity, * "Eari 81 r\ \iiy^a. r) Xi/Savwro^opoc £*,»W .^<*,./g M/l*^ their way into the forests of Germany; — without any conceivable motive for their adopting such a course, and withcfut either the courage or the energy that must have been requisite for putting it into execution. Surely the bare state- ment of this hypothesis is sufficient to expose its monstrous improbability ; the Ganges might almost as easily be conceived to have in days of old flowed back- ward to water the wilds of Siberia. Oh no ! The larger currents of human emigration have never taken such a direction as that here fancied ;* it has always been, on the contrary, the hardy sons of the north who, in search of more genial climes and more fertile soils, have made incursions towards the south ; and the admixture of German with the languages of Persia and India, can be accounted for only by the supposition of numerous hordes of Germans having formerly made good their settlement in those countries. The correctness of this view of the subject history supports, not only by recording analogous cases of emigration, but still farther by supplying us, — there is some reason to think,— even with the very identical instance which occasioned from this point, instead of continuing their route by land, they embarked on the Black Sea, and made a descent upon the coasts of Greece." — Baron Cuvier's Lectures on the Natural Sciences. With respect to the prohahility here stated, therie are two points which I beg to submit to the reader's consideration. Supposing a body of five or six hundred thousand Indians, with their wives and children, were now to force their way to the eastern shores of the Black Sea: 1°. is there in the entire of that sea, even at the present day, shipping sufficient to convey such a multitude on the voyage pointed out by the Baron ? 2°. even granting the shipping there to be sufficient for the pur- pose in question, is it ever collected, the whole of it together, on the eastern shore, or if it were, would the Indians, in the imagined case, be able to prevent the dispersion and escape of by far its greater part ? * The strangeness of the hypothesis under consideration reminds one of Seneca's fanciful pre- diction, that Indians should settle on the banks of the Arras or the Wolga; and Persians on the Elbe and the Rhine. " Indus gelidum potat Araxem ; Albim PerssB, Rhenumque bibunt." SeneccB Medea, Act. ii, vv. 373-4. How very different in its bearing upon the same point is the prophecy of Noah ! In this pro- phecy— the oldest but one in the Bible, and which history, as far back as it reaches, remarkably verifies, — it is foretold, not that Asiatic nations should settle in Europe, but on the contrary, that Europeans should establish their residence in Asia. " God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem." — Gen, ix. 27. P 2 Il6 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the the phenomenon under consideration. Before I come to this instance, I shall notice but one subordinate case. The Galatians, to whom St. Paul addressed one of his Epistles, were confessedly the descendants of Gauls who had forced a passage into Greece and thence into Asia ; and, above six hundred years after, in the time of Hieronymus, their posterity, according to this divine, spoke nearly as good German as the inhabitants of the city of Treves ; — a circumstance which he puts very prominently forward in the exordium to his commentary on the Epistle just alluded to.* But a far more extensive irruption of Northerns into Asia, and earlier by about four hundred years, is upon record ; the account given of which by Herodotus, in different parts of his celebrated work,t is so well known that I consider it unnecessary to quote what he has stated upon the sub- ject, and shall confine myself to the following abstract of his narrative. The Cimmerians, who were a European people, flying from the Scythians, and, some- how or other, getting out of the way of their pursuers, took a westerly direction, and seized on the territories of the king of Lydia, which at that time extended over nearly the whole of Asia Minor. The Scythians, on the other hand, swept like a torrent over the countries that were more to the east, and pushed their conquests towards the south as far as the confines of Egypt, from entering which kingdom they were prevented only by large presents from Psammetichus. After they had kept possession for twenty-eight years of what the historian calls Asia, they were, by far the greatest number of them, destroyed in Media by means of a treacherous stratagem, in the time of Cyaxares, great grandfather of Cyrus ; and the Cimmerians probably held Lydia about as long, since they were thence driven by a prince who was the cotemporary of Cyaxares. Of the Scythians who escaped from the general massacre of their tribe by the Medes, some fled to Lydia, where they were hospitably received, and others returned to their native country ; but with respect to the Cimmerians, we are not told what became of them after their expulsion from Lydia. As, however, it is not stated that these latter barbarians were much reduced in force, there is no reason whatever for • Unum est quod inferimus et promissum in exordio reddimus, Galatas, excepto sermone Graeco quo omnis Oriens loquitur, propriam linguam eandem pene habere quam Treviros. — S. Hieronymi Operum, torn, iv, p. 256. t See, in this work, Book i, chapters 15, 16, 72, 74, 103, 104, 105, 106, and Book iv, chapters 1,3,4. Sanscrit Writino; and Language. 117 supposing that they bent their steps back towards the dreary north ; while on the other hand, the traces of a North-European language found in India render it likely that they may have invaded and conquered part of that widely extended country. But whether it be to them or to some earlier horde of intruders that those traces are to be attributed, the lingual phenomenon In question renders it certain that, at some very remote period, a large colony of people speaking a dialect of close affinity to the German tongue, settled In HIndoostan ; and the analogies of history show very clearly how the event may have occurred. Two very grave objections which beset the opinion hitherto most generally received, having been removed by the mode now proposed of considering the subject, it remains to be inquired. In the third place, whether the rest of our way to a consistent account of the origin of the Sanscrit language can be cleared of difficulties. The cause of the infusion of German Into this language has been just ascertained : but the admixture with it of Greek and Latin cannot be explained In the same manner, as no extensive settlement of either Greeks or Romans was ever established in India. Some other source must, therefore, be sought for the South-European part of the compound In question ; and here the old connexion which has been already proved to have subsisted between the Egyptians and Indians, naturally presents Itself. One of the most remarkable of the Institutions of the former people was that of a sacred dialect, the principle of the formation of which (as, from the scanty remains of It preserved by Josephus, has, I trust, been made apparent in the part of my work already published) was the agreeing upon meanings for Egyptian words quite different from their com- mon or ordinary acceptations ; whereby the priests were enabled, as long as they kept their secret, to converse among themselves in a species of gibberish that was to the people at large an unknown tongue. Now why may not the Brahmans of early times have taken a lesson from their Egyptian instructors in this, as well as they certainly did in other respects ? The Introduction, Indeed, into their sacred language of South-European ingredients was a mode of rendering It unintel- ligible to the vulgar, which was a great improvement on the model they had to follow ; but the end of the formation of both dialects appears to have been just the same. And In like manner, as I conceive, it was the desire of having a species of writing which the Indian public could not read, — till they were specially taught its nature, and which most probably for ages they were not 118 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the taught ; — that induced their priesthood to imitate a foreign plan in the construc- tion of a graphic system wholly different from that to which, as hieroglyphists, they had been previously accustomed. But in reference to the subject of investigation more immediately before us, we have to notice the great spread of Hindooism among the indolent and voluptuous inhabitants of Southern Asia, — a circumstance which can be easily accounted for. However Brahmanism, the form which this religion assumes within India, and Boodhism, that which it takes outside, may otherwise differ, they agree in a principle most conducive to their general diffusion. Their supreme deity is the god of Epicurus of old, and the notion of him was most probably derived from the Epicurean philosophy ; his beatitude consists in " that he do nothing, understand nothing, desire nothing ;"* so that in the con- ception of his worshippers he is, with respect to the moral government of the world, an absolute non-entity. By believing in such a god it is evident, that the warnings of conscience are drowned, and all restraint upon the passions is removed. The consequence unfortunately is, that Hindooism, in one or other of its forms, at present includes among its votaries nearly half the entire number of the beings who compose the human race. But as far as ever this pernicious superstition has reached, it is through the medium of the Sanscrit language that its doctrines have been conveyed. It is, therefore, no way inconsistent with my view of this language having originated in the contrivance of but one particular caste, that it should become so widely diffused, as it eventually has been, among the nations of the earth ; for the use to which it has been applied, suggests an adequate cause for the vast extent of the field over which it has spread. But as the circumstance which has been just considered, does not bear against the assigned origin of the Sanscrit tongue, so there are others which, I apprehend, tell very strongly in its favor. Wherever this tongue is at present made use of, it is employed only as the language of religion and learning ; and no country can be pointed out where it can be shown, even with the remotest degree of proba- bility, that it ever was spoken by the nation at large. What, however, I princi- pally rely on is, the internal evidence which the language itself supplies upon the point in question. Here a general consideration first presents itself, with which, * See Dr. Marshman's Clavis Sinica, page 165. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 119 I apprehend, the inquiring mind must be struck ; namely, that, notwithstanding the number and complication of the rules of the Sanscrit grammar, there are, it is said, no deviations from them. Now this is a peculiarity which never took place in any national language ; even Latin, which is perhaps the most regular of all, occasionally presents to us, in the writings of the very best Roman authors, expressions which are not strictly reducible to any rule ; and the necessity for the occurrence of this irregularity in every dialect spoken by the whole popula- tion of a country is obvious. Illiterate persons are continually introducing incorrect phrases, which are at first avoided by the learned ; but as soon as ever one of those phrases is adopted by the great majority of the people, it then, in a manner, forces itself upon men of better education. Alphabetic writing, indeed, checks this evil, but it cannot completely stop it ; and the consequence is, that there never was a national language, without its idioms. It was the assertion of grammarians, that the Sanscrit tongue was free from all irregularities, which first turned my attention to the extreme unlikelihood of its having ever been used generally by an entire nation ; and more particular consideration of its grammar has confirmed me in this view of the subject. In the first place then, — to proceed to particulars, — the letters of the Sanscrit alphabet are arranged according to the organs by which they are uttered. This is an arrangement that has been made by grammarians in the case of many alphabets, but it never has been adopted by the nations using them. The order in which the letters of each national system are placed, has been determined by imitation of some older one, or by accidental circumstances ; and when once fixed, people who have learned them in this order, will not submit to the trouble of changing it. The artificial arrangement, therefore, of the Sanscrit letters clearly distinguishes the system to which they belong from all that have com- menced in national use ; and marks out that it was originally formed not for the bulk of a people, but for and by a particular class of persons who had already made a considerable progress in the technicalities of the grammatic art. In the second place, there is a metaphysical refinement in the grammar of this tongue, which never could have originated in national practice. If the Sanscrit words be distinguished into sets of a common general meaning and a common original, most of those sets have, each of them, a tfTrf DHaTw or root, which expresses a general idea abstracted from every modification of it that cor- 120 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the responds to any Inflexion, and so is a significant term at the same time that it does not belong to any gramraatic part of speech ;* — a description which in some degree involves a contradiction ; for if an articulate sound be significant it is a word, but it cannot be a word without coming under the head of some part or other of speech. Now, I maintain it, this is a mere artificial contrivance, and not a natural production of the human understanding. In fact, mankind, consi- dered at large, would never go to the trouble of framing words of which yet they were not to make any use in mutual intercourse. The Sanscrit grammarians call these dhdtus by a term which signifies nature ; but surely no appellation was ever more misplaced ; such monstrosities must have sprung, not from the plain, natural sense of unsophisticated minds, but from the fanciful conceit and per- verted ingenuity of wrong-headed metaphysicians. In languages destitute of inflexions, like the Chinese, there are words which may in turn serve the office of every part of speech according to their position in sentences ; but this is a very different thing from their belonging to no part of speech. In those which are distinguished by inflexions, it is generally the simplest form of a word that is looked upon as the root; and if the language be only partly inflected, this root may be common to more parts of speech than one. Thus in English the root of the words lowest, Xoveth, loved, \oying, \o\ely, is love, which may be either a noun or a verb ; but this again is a very different case from its being neither the one nor the other, and yet signifying the abstract thought of love. If we take an example of a set of words of the same general meaning, in any of the more com- pletely inflected languages, as for instance in Latin ; amo is usually considered as the simplest form of the verb expressive of love, and, consequently, as the root of all the other forms of it; but this root agrees not with the notion of a dhdtu, for not only does it belong to a particular part of speech, but also it includes a particular inflexion of that part. If on the other hand we confine ourselves to the syllable am, which is common to all the modifications of the word in question, we in one respect approach nearer to our Indian model, in that we have got an articulate sound that is not in Latin either a noun or a verb, or any other part of * In reference to the Sanscrit roots of verbs, Mr. Carey informs us, that " The meaning affixed to the dhatus is designed to express merely the simple idea, they being in their crude state neither nouns nor verbs." — Carey's Gram. p. 137, Sanscrit Writing and Language. 121 speech ; but in that language it has no meaning, and, consequently, still fails to supply us with a dhdtu ; as soon as ever we amplify it sufficiently to have a meaning, it is immediately restricted to some particular part of speech, and to some particular form of that part. In short, as far as I am aware of, there is no language, unconnected with the Sanscrit, in which there is to be found a set of words of the same kind as the Indian dhdtus ; and whoever impartially considers the matter, must, if I mistake not, perceive, that these creatures of the imagina- tion, or, as it were, metaphysico-grammatic pegs for hanging words upon, never could have had their rise in the practice of any nation ; and that their production Is attributable solely to some class of Individuals who had far more leisure and and less common sense than fall to the share of the great body of mankind. In the third place, the total transformations which the roots of words occa- sionally undergo in Sanscrit sentences, manifestly show design on the part of those who introduced them ; — design which Is incompatible with the supposition of their having originated in a natural way. In all natural changes of language by which new dialects are produced, the newly adopted modifications of words have arisen from causes Independent of human forethought, and are to be ascribed to the influence of external circumstances operating on the organs of speech, the sense of hearing, and the Instinctive energies of man, rather than on his intellect or will. This, I apprehend, may be fairly inferred from the savage character of those by whom such changes are brought about, and from the consi- deration that a great alteration in the grammatical frame-work of a language has never been suddenly effected in a civilized state of society. Thus the transition from Latin to Italian Is due to savages who took no interest in philological speculations, but were wholly intent upon fighting and plunder ; as soon as they became a little civilized, and capable of reflexion, an end was put to all further violent innovation in the structure of their speech.* But however devoid of * The power which alphabetic writing exerts in preserving the grammatic structure of a language is strikingly illustrated by the above example. What space of time was occupied in completing the transition from Latin to Italian cannot now be exactly ascertained ; but it undoubtedly was very short in comparison with the previous duration of the older dialect, or the age which the subsequent one has since attained to. The savages who effected this transition could neither read nor write (and if the nation they conquered had sunk into equal ignorance, the difference between the ancient VOL. XVIII. « 122 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the attention or design men may be in the case of the natural production of new verbal modifications, yet in general those modifications are in the same dialect similarly made for similar alterations of the sense ; partly from the instinctive predilection of the mind for uniformity, and partly perhaps from some indistinct reference to older forms. It is this analogy in their formation that, afterwards presenting itself to notice, gives room for the application to them of grammatic rules of classification, determining how each word is to be inflected for the several varieties of its primary signification, in polysyllabic tongues ; or how its elementary sounds are to be changed in composition or in connexion with other words of a sentence, in the languages which admit of such permutations. In all those modifications of a word, when arising from a natural source, one common property is observable ; namely, that the root is scarcely ever wholly changed ; for it is impossible that the expression for the principal part of the meaning of a term should entirely disappear without arresting the attention of the person who intro- duced so striking a transformation. Hence the instances of total alterations of the kind in the construction of sentences are few and anomalous in, I believe, every known language except the Sanscrit ; while in this latter tongue the dhCitu and the modern language of Italy would probably have been much greater than it now is) ; but as soon as the art in question again came into use among the upper classes of society, all great changes of Italian ceased ; it has, indeed, since received gradually improvements, but its grammatic frame is, in the main, unaltered from what it was at the earliest period to which it can be traced. On the other hand, however barbarous in other respects were the Turkish invaders of Greece, they still had an alphabetic writing of their own distinct from that of the Greeks ; which circumstance effectually prevented any blending of the languages of the two people. The consequence is, that Greek never underwent a total change in its inflexions ; and it is not perhaps too much to say, that the modern language scarcely differs from the diaJects which were spoken in Greece three thousand years ago, more than those dialects differed from each other. Compare now with those two examples the case of South-Eastern Asia and of America. In the former district, — where alphabetic writing is probably not of very ancient standing, and where its use has been considerably deteriorated by the pre- dominance of hieroglyphic practice, — ^great numbers of languages have started up, many of them even since the formation of the Sanscrit, from which they obviously are in part derived. In the latter range of countries, — into which it is certain that the alphabetic art was not introduced till the time of the Spanish invasion, and which the state of their population affords reason to think, were not then very long peopled, — there have been found no loss, it is said, \X\a.nJifleen hundred dif- ferent dialects spoken by the original inhabitants. — See Pritchard's Supplement, &c. p. 11. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 1 23 not unfrequently disappearing,* does so, exactly according to rules which, for every case, determine the substitutions that are to be made ; and that in so pre- cise and definite a manner, that the student can always recover the root ; — a circumstance which, as 1 conceive, strongly marks out a considerable part of the Sanscrit structure as artificial, and draws a broad line of distinction between it and all natural languages. In the fourth place, " to be" is expressed in Sanscrit by two different verbs, which in the first person singular are, ^fffST ASM?, from the dhdtu 3JCT AS, and i^^ffjf BH«Va Mi, from the dhdtu i^ BHm ; but of these the latter is conjugated through all the moods and tenses of the active, passive, and middle voice ; — a peculiarity of which, I believe, no instance is to be found in any natural language. In fact the verb substantive, though in many languages used as an auxiliary in the expression of passive forms of thought, does not, when employed as a principal, in strictness admit of the distinction of voices, and in consequence is generally confined to the inflexions of a single voice. There are, however, several exceptions to this restriction ; in Hebrew, for example, the verb riTt, HaYaH, is found in a few of the passive inflexions of the preterite and the par- ticiple benoni ; in Greek, elfii is used in the imperfect and first future middle ; and in Welsh, bod occurs in the third person singular of the tenses of the passive voice.t Many other such instances might be adduced ; and it is only accordant * Mr. Carey enumerates the following ways of forming derivatives from dhatus : " 1 . by pre- fixing an inseparable preposition ; 2. by inserting a syllable or syllables between the root and the other additions ; 3. by a substitution of other letters for some or all the original letters of the dhatu ; 4. by affixes ; 3. by the terminations which make the inflexions of nouns and verbs. — Carey's Gram. pp. 11-12. t See Dr. Pritchard's Supplement, &c. p. 174. I take this opportunity of noticing an observa- tion of Dr. Pritchard's respecting the Welsh language, which in a philological point of view is very valuable. By a comparison of the personal inflexions of the verbs with the pronominal suffixes to other words, he has proved those inflexions to consist of fragments of pronouns, in hke manner as in Hebrew ; or, to give his conclusion on the subject in his own way of expressing it, he has clearly shown, " that the Welsh verbal terminations are in general merely abbreviated or modified pronouns, affixed to the verbal roots ; and this conclusion does not rest merely upon a probable conjecture, on which the grammarians of other Indo-European languages have been obliged to found it, but on the more substantial fact, that the very terminations in question are actually to be identified with the Q 2 124 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the with what was to be expected from the nature of the case, that great irregularities should occur in a verb which, in all languages, must have been one of the first inflected, and in most of them probably was brought into use before their models for uniformity of inflexion had been established. But that the common sense of mankind is opposed to the employment of this verb in more voices than one, is proved by the circumstance, that, although they would not give up irregular inflexions of it to which they had been once habituated, they yet never completed those inflexions throughout the moods and tenses of a second voice. The very striking difference in this respect between the Sanscrit and all other languages, pronouns, as they are used on other occasions in an abbreviated form." — PritcJiard's Supplement, &c. p. 133. But the structure of the formative additions to the root of the verb is more clearly dis- cernible in Hebrew than in Welsh combinations, in this respect, that, in the former language, the case of the pronoun of which part is employed, can be frequently distinguished ; and then, in accor- dance with strict correctness of expression, it is found to enter the formative in the nominative case, while on the other hand, the modification of it appropriated to oblique cases, is that which is used as an affix. Thuspakad-ta (thou hast visited) has the termination of the pronoun of the second person singular masculine in the nominative case; hut pekod-ka (thy visiting, or to visit thee) and pekad- nu-ka (we have visited thee) exhibit, each of them in its last sj'Uablc, the termination which belongs to this pronoun in oblique cases. Still, however, there is a far greater distinctness of the elements of inflexion in Welsh than in any of the other ancient European tongues ; whence it would appear, that the progress of amalgamation which takes place after the formation of a new dialect, lasted a shorter time, and by the use of alphabetic writing — the only conceivable means of producing such an effect, — was sooner stopped in this tongue than in the rest ; and, consequently, that it has been transmitted to us in an older state than any other of the North-European languages which have sprung up from the same stock. This inference from the structure of the Welsh dialect is, to some extent, supported by historic evidence; for the ancient Britons, from their close connexion with the Romans, early got the benefit of alphabetic writing, and were comparatively civilized at the period when their Saxon oppressors were in a state of the grossest barbarism. Hence it is probable that Welsh is older than any form of the German language now extant ; though it falls short of the age of Latin by near a thousand years, and of that of Greek by a still greater interval. The claims, therefore, which the Germans set up for the antiquity of their language are wholly inadmissible ; indeed one can hardly avoid smiling at the extravagance of those claims. Thus one of their writers, Jakel, in a work pub- lished so lately as the year 1830, under the title " Der germanische Ursprung der lateinischen Sprache," has seriously endeavoured to prove that Latin was derived from German. He might just as rationally have attempted to prove that the Roman alphabet was derived from the German one ; or rather, indeed, he should have commenced with this latter notable point, and have shown the German graphic system to be the older of the two ; for nothing can now be known of the language of any people before the epoch of their first use of letters. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 125 has strangely been laid hold of as a mark of its great antiquity ; but leads, as I conceive, to quite another result, and chiefly serves to show its artificial origin. It is unnecessary to go farther into particulars under this head ; many others probably will occur to the Sanscrit scholar, bearing the same way ; but a sufficient number, I apprehend, has already been adduced to establish, beyond all doubt, the fact that the language in question owes the original production of a great part of its structure, not to causes naturally operating on the human mind, but altogether to artificial contrivance. Now what conceivable motive, except that which I have suggested, could have influenced men to take the trouble of artificially framing this most troublesome and complicated in its frame-work of all languages ? Upon the whole, then, there are three properties of the San- scrit tongue to which I have endeavoured chiefly to direct attention; 1. the subtilty of its grammar ; 2. the infusion into it of Greek and Latin as well as of German ; 3. its artificial formation. But with those properties the view which I have submitted to the reader is not merely compatible upon general principles, but its congruity with them is sustained and borne out by the historic evidence of analogous cases ; while on the other hand, the opinion which has hitherto pre- vailed on the subject is wholly irreconcileable with every one of the three. The statement which I wish to place before the Royal Irish Academy respecting the nature, age, and origin of the Sanscrit, both writing and language, is now concluded, as far as it depends on the immediate investigation of the sub- ject in question. But as considerations drawn from astronomical science lend a great accession of strength to my argument, — not only in showing that the authority of the Brahmans, which is entirely opposed to my representation, is entitled to no sort of attention, but also in other ways ; — I think it right to avail myself briefly of the collateral support which I can thence derive ; for which purpose I shall chiefly refer to two articles of J. Bentley, Esq., inserted in the sixth and eighth volumes of the Asiatic Researches. These articles are well worth reading on their own account, and afford a happy illustration of the force with which mathematical skill may be sometimes brought to bear upon subjects that are not purely of a scientific nature ; but my description of them, confined as it must be within narrow limits, and destitute of the explanatory aid which examples of calculations actually worked supply, will, I fear, convey but a very 126 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the inadequate idea of the great clearness and ability with which they have been composed. The main foundation of Mr. Bentley's discovery respecting the Hindoo astronomy, and which he has established in the most convincing manner, is, that every known system of it, excepting, indeed, those grounded upon methods obviously borrowed from modern European science, is constructed on the follow- ing principle. The framer of each system selected ad libitum as the epoch from which the celestial motions were to be calculated, some very remote point of time, with no other restriction than that, according to his notion of the length of a year, the sun must have been then exactly in the vernal equinox ; and arbitrarily assumed that, at that very instant, the moon and planets, with the nodes and apsides of their orbits, were in conjunction with the sun (that is, that as seen from the earth they were then in the imaginary right line passing through the centres of the earth and sun). Such a coincidence most probably never occurred, and certainly did not occur, as Mr. Bentley has clearly shown, at the commence- ment of the Cali yuga of the system of Veraha, (in the year B. C. 3102), to which instant of time it is ascribed, as well as to the epoch from which the system is made to begin.* In this, as well as in the other purely Hindoo systems, the number of revolutions performed by each celestial object during the Calpa, or grand cycle, is fixed ; consequently the mean motion of each is determined ; and the calculation of its mean heliocentric longitude at any assigned time is greatly simplified by the above described assumption. For as the whole length of the Calpa is to the part of it elapsed up to any assigned instant, so is the number of revolutions performed by any planet in the former space of time to the number performed by it in the latter space ; from which, deducting the integers, the fractional remainder gives, according to the assumption in question, the sought longitude. It is, however, certain that every such system being founded on a * To express myself more accurately, an actual conjunction is assumed to have taken place only at the commencement of the great cycle (or Calpa') of this system ; and a mean conjunction at the commencement of its Call yuga. What the actual positions of the heavenly bodies at the remoter point of time were (supposing them to have been then in existence), it vpould be impossible now to ascertain ; but their positions at the nearer epoch, calculated according to their mean motions, are easily determined, and come out altogether different from what they should be, to verify the Hindoo assumption respecting them. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 127 false hypothesis, must exhibit the mean motions too great for the planets which had really passed the line of conjunction at the assumed epoch ; and too little, for those which then had not as yet arrived at it. The remoter, indeed, that epoch is, the less will come out the error in the mean motion of each planet, as being a given quantity (and that, at all events, not more than a semicircle) distributed among a greater number of revolutions ; which explains the cause of the Hindoo cycles being made so enormously great, and of their magnitude being increased in each succeeding system. By such means the errors in mean motion may be so much reduced, that the mean longitude of each of the heavenly bodies, — which can be determined by the system, at a certain period not very far from the time of its being constructed, just as accurately as by European tables, — shall come out nearly accurate for some length of time reckoned backward and forward from that period ; the interval during which the system thus answers being greater, in the same proportion, as the errors in the mean motions it exhibits, are less. But after some years the accumulation of errors, be they ever so small, must at last become sensible ; and the farther the time for which the mean longitudes are sought, recedes from the era of the construction of any set of Hindoo tables, the greater must be the errors of the several computations in which those tables are employed ; a circumstance which has given occasion to successive formations of different systems, or rather to reconstructions of the one system, the main principle on which they all are founded being the same. If a set of tables were framed ever so correctly upon the plan I have just sketched out, they still could give the mean place of each heavenly body with exactness only at one instant ; but they would so give it for every planet, apsis, and node, at the same point of time, namely, at the time of their being con- structed. As however the case is, no Indian tables are so correct; in all of them the moment of exactness is different for different celestial objects ; but for each object this moment can be ascertained in any set by a simple proportion. For the error in the present mean longitude of a celestial object as given by a Hindoo system, is the accumulation of error in mean motion since the instant for which we are searching ; but the quantity of the former error is got by calculating the present mean place of that object according to the Hindoo tables, and also according to correct European ones, and then taking the difference ; and in like manner the quantity of the latter error is had by calculating in each set of tables 128 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the the motion of the same object in a hundred years, and taking the difference. As, then, the error of motion for a hundred years is to the present error of mean longitude, so let one hundred years be to a fourth proportional ; and this will be the number of years that have elapsed since the point of time when the system gave with exactness the mean longitude of the celestial object under examination. Now it is evident that the aim of an Indian astronomer, in constructing new Hindoo tables, must have been to avoid the inaccuracy, ascertained by expe- rience, of older ones, and to make his calculations as to the places of the heavenly bodies agree with actual observation as near as he possibly could. But in adjust- ing the mean motion ascribed to each planet so as to accomplish this end, he was in fact bringing the above-mentioned point of exactness (if I may so call it) near to his own time ; and the more successful he was in his adjustment, the nearer those two points of time must have been to coincidence. We cannot, however, depend upon any single operation for determining the latter time by means of the former. It is far more likely, considering the imperfection of the Hindoo's means, that inevery case there should be a failure of coincidence, the point of exactness for some of the planets, &c. preceding the era of the construction of his tables, and for others following it. The only secure way, therefore, of arriving at the era in question is to calculate several of those points, and the greater the number of the calculations, the nearer must their mean result come to the precise epoch which is the object of our search. The method above described has been applied by Mr. Bentley to deter- mining the ages of the two principal Hindoo systems of astronomy, that of Varaha Mihira, which is detailed in the Surya Siddhanta, and is asserted by the Brahmans to have been constructed above two millions of years ago ; and that of Brahma Gupta, which is acknowledged on all hands not to be above thirteen hundred years old. Let us begin with the former system. In the year 1799, when Mr. Bentley made his calculations, the error in the mean longitude of the Moon's apogee, as deduced from the tables of the Surya Siddhanta, was 4° 15' 28.2 " ; and the error of those tables as to the motion of the same apsis in the course of 100 years is 42' 10.9". As then 42' 10.9" is to 4° 15' 28.2 ", so let 100 be to a fourth proportional, which comes out 605. There had, conse- quently, in the year 1799, about 605 years passed, since the time when the tables of the Surya Siddhanta would have given the mean longitude of the Moon's Sanscrit Writing and Language. 129 apogee correctly, which could not be distant by any great interval from the time when those tables were constructed. By similar calculations applied to the Moon's ascending node, the Sun's apogee, Venus, Mars, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars's aphelion, he got for each calculation a number of years which could not be very different from the age of the Surya Siddhanta ; and the mean result of the ten operations gave that age, at the time of their being made, some- what less than 731 years. From the foregoing result, combined with other considerations, Mr. Bentley very justly drew the following conclusion. " Therefore, any Hindu work in which the name of Varaha or his system is mentioned, must evidently be modern ; and this circumstance alone totally destroys the pretended antiquity of many of the Puranas and other books, which, through the artifices of the Brahmanical tribe, have been hitherto deemed the most ancient in existence." — Asiatic Researches, vol. vi, p. 574. To this it was objected by a cotemporary writer, that the Varaha who wrote the astronomical treatise was a different person from Varaha Mihira ; — an objection which has no ground whatever to rest on except the assertion of the very persons whose veracity is called in question, and to which, besides, our author gave the following answer. " It was not necessary that the name of Varaha Mihira should occur in the Puranas to prove them mo- dern ; for, putting Varaha and his system altogether out of the question, yet still the names, not only of the princes in whose reigns he lived, but also of several others, down to the last Mohammedan conquest, with the years of each reign, are to be found in some of the Puranas ; a most certain proof that these works are not the genuine monuments of primeval times." — Asiat. Resear. vol. viii, p. 201. To this reply of Mr. Bentley I must add, that he has, by his astronomical proof, completely identified the age of Varaha, the author of the system in question, with that of Varaha Mihira, which falls inside the limits within which Indian chronological dates can be securely depended on ; or in other words, he has proved that the Varaha who wrote the Surya Siddhanta lived at a time when it is known to a certainty, from historic records, that a person of that name lived ; so that here, in some degree, history lends her aid, in verification of the result to which science had by a different route conducted us. But a far more decisive and convincing proof of the correctness of Mr. Bentley's method is supplied by the method itself; as may be perceived from his VOL. XVIII. R 130 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the second application of it, to a brief account of which I now proceed. Brahma Gupta flourished about the year of our era 527 ; a date, respecting which there is no disagreement, and which is sufficiently verified by the position of the colures on the Hindoo sphere, as fixed by him. Now the English astronomer deduced the time in which the tables of Brahma Gupta were constructed from nine diffe- rent operations ; by calculating, in the manner already described, the several lengths of time elapsed since those tables would have given exactly the mean longitudes of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon's apogee, her ascending node, the Sun's apogee ; and by taking the ninth part of the sum of those lengths. The mean result was found to be 1263^ years; and if these be deducted from 1799, the year when the calculations were made, the era of the construction of the tables comes out A. D. 535^, or eight years four months different from that era, as otherwise ascertained. But in a system framed somewhere about six hundred years after, it is probable that the mean motions of the heavenly bodies are given more accurately in accordance with the artificial basis of Hindoo astronomy than in that of Brahma Gupta ; whence it may, as I conceive, be fairly inferred, that the age which has been made out for the Surya Siddhanta differs from the truth by less than eight years. In confirmation of our author's account of the false assumption on which the Indian astronomy is founded, I give the following extract from Mr. Harte's translation of Laplace's Systeme du Monde. " The Indian tables indicate a knowledge of astronomy considerably advanced, but every thing shows that it is not of an extremely remote antiquity. And here, with regret, I differ in opinion from a learned and illustrious astronomer, whose fate is a terrible proof of the inconstancy of popular favour, who, after having honoured his career by labours useful both to science and humanity, perished a victim to the most sanguinary tyranny, opposing the calmness and dignity of virtue, to the revilings of an infatuated people, of whom he had been once the idol. The Indian tables have two principal epochs, which go back, one to the year 3102, the other to the year 1491, before our a»ra. These epochs are connected with the mean motions of the Sun, Moon, and planets, in such a manner that, setting out from the position which the Indian tables assign to all the stars at this second epoch, and reascend- ing to the first by means of these tables, the general conjunction which they suppose at this primitive epoch, is found. Baillie, the celebrated astronomer Sanscrit Writing and Language. 131 already alluded to, endeavours, in his Indian astronomy, to prove that the first of these epochs is founded on observation. Notwithstanding all the arguments are brought forward, with that perspicuity he so well knew how to bestow on subjects the most abstract, I am still of opinion, that this period was invented for the purpose of giving a common origin to all the motions of the heavenly bodies in the zodiac. Our last astronomical tables being rendered more perfect by the comparison of theory with a great number of observations, do not permit us to admit the conjunction supposed in the Indian tables ;" — Harte's Translation and Commentary, &c. vol. ii, pp. 220-1. From the above extract it appears that Laplace was aware of the artificial nature of the Hindoo systems of astronomy, as well as of the falsehood of the claims to antiquity which are set up for them by the Brahmans, But the beau- tifully ingenious application of the knowledge of that nature to the purpose of compelling each system to tell its own age, is, I believe, altogether and exclu- sively Mr. Bentley's invention, I subjoin another extract from the same translation of Laplace's work, which affords some additional proofs of the several sets of Indian tables having been constructed in comparatively modern times. " Many elements, such as the equations of the centre of Jupiter and Mars, are very different in the Indian tables from what they must have been at their first epoch. A consideration of all these tables, and particularly the impossibility of the conjunction at the epoch they suppose, prove, on the contrary, that they have been constructed, or at least rectified, in modern times. This also may be inferred from the mean motions which they assign to the Moon, with respect to its perigee, its nodes, and the Sun, which being more rapid than according to Ptolemy, indicate that they are posterior to this astronomer, for we know, by the theory of universal gravitation, that these three motions have accelerated for a great number of ages. Thus this result of a theory so important for lunar astronomy, throws great light on chronology." — Harte's Translation, &c. vol. ii, p. 222. Although I avail myself of the support afforded by the proofs alluded to in the above extract, both on account of the great — the deservedly great — scientific celebrity of their author, and also because they lead to a right result ; yet I am bound to add, that the last of them, and that upon which he appears chiefly to rely as a useful test of chronology, is, in reference to that of India, altogether inconclusive. For the age of a set of Hindoo tables can in no way be deduced R 2 132 The Rev. Dr, Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the from the motions they assign to the Moon, unless they exhibit those motions correctly for the time when they were constructed. But from M. Laplace's own showing it follows that they can none of them be, in the remotest degree, de- pended on as accurate to this effect ; since he admits that the Moon was not in the position attributed to her in any Indian system at the epoch from which its computations are made to commence ; and has proved that her mean motions, in each system represented as constant, are in reality varied in the course of time. That we may see more distinctly the combined effect of the two misrepresentations, let us first suppose for a moment the motions in question to be constant, as they are exhibited by the Indian astronomers. Then the framer of each system, as reckoning from a wrong beginning, must necessarily have assigned a wrong mean motion to the Moon, in order to bring out her mean place right at the end of the computed revolutions, that is, in his own time. If on the other hand, we suppose the Moon's position at the commencement of an Indian epoch to be rightly given, then the uniform mean motion attributed to her, could agree with her really varying mean motions only once during the immensely long course of the acceleration of those motions, and once during their retardation. Let now the real state of the case be considered, both sources of incorrect computation being taken into account ; and it is possible that an Indian set of tables may, by a com- pensation of errors, give a right return of the lunar motions twice in the period of the variation of those motions ; but the chances are millions to one against either time of their doing so coinciding with the era of their construction. M. Laplace, therefore, was wholly unwarranted in arguing from the motions under consideration, as If they were rightly given just at that era. An example or two will, perhaps, place this matter in a clearer point of view. M. Laplace states that the Indian tables assign mean motions to the Moon more rapid than according to Ptolemy, and thence infers that they are posterior to the age of that astronomer ; but he might have added, that the motions in question are more rapid than according to Lalande, and, consequently, upon his own prin- ciple, the tables exhibiting them are more modern than those of Lalande, — a conclusion which is obviously false. Thus for instance, in the tables of Brahma Gupta, the mean motion of the Moon is exhibited more rapid than in those of Lalande by 5' 38.9" in a century ;* and, therefore, according to our author, • See Asiatic Researches, vol. vi, p. 580. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 133 Brahma Gupta is more modern than Lalande ; — indeed so much more modern, that the time of his existence is not yet arrived, nor will it for near four thousand years to come ;* and it must have been only by some sort of prophetic anticipa- tion that the Brahmans have had his tables for the last 1300 years. Again the same tables exhibit the mean motion of the Moon's apogee slower than in those of Lalande at the rate of 8' 3.4" in a century ; which difference also, by our author's reasoning, would remove the Indian astronomer into futurity, but only about half as far off from us as in the preceding instance. The tables of Varaha likewise exhibit the mean motion of the Moon greater than modern ones do, and, of course, he is not yet come into existence ; but on the other hand, they must be above ten thousand years old, since the mean motion of the Moon's apogee is given slower in Lalande's tables than in them at the rate of 42' 10.9" in a century. These are a few of the absurdities and contradictions into which the application of the lunar theory to Indian chronology would lead us. The mis- take of M. Laplace arose, as I conceive, from his overlooking the bearing which the nature of the Indian astronomy had upon his argument; — a bearing, which is strictly deducible from the data that he himself has supplied. To return to the two articles of the English astronomer ; — upon stating that, previously to the age of Brahma Gupta, the Hindoos came no nearer to deter- mining the true length of a lunation than within 20' 49^" of time, he offers the following remark. " This makes an error of one day in less than six years, * M. Laplace states that the retardation in the mean motion of either apsis of the Moon's orbit, which has accrued since the time of Hipparchus, or in the course of about two thousand years, is at the rate of nearly fifteen minutes in a century. " — j'en avois couclu quale mouvement du perigee lunaire se rallentit de siccle en siecle, et qu'il est maintenant plus petit d'environ quinze minutes par siecle, qu'au temps d'Hypparque. Ce resultat de la theorie a ete confirme par la discussion des observations anciennes et modernes." — Mecanique Celeste, tom. iii, p. 274. But he has also proved that the rate of retardation of the apsis is three times the rate of acceleration of the Moon herself. The secular motion of the Moon, therefore, is greater now than it was two thousand years ago, by about five minutes of his notation, or somewhat above two minutes and a half of the common sexagesimal admeasurement ; and of course it will take about four thousand years more before she acquires the further secular acceleration of 3' 38.9" ; — that is, supposing the rate of acceleration to continue the same for the next four thousand years as for the last two thousand, which probably is not exactly the case, but I have no occasion here to look for more than a very loose approximation to the truth. 134 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the which shows that the Hindus, at that period, could not determine the times of conjunctions and oppositions of the Sun and Moon for six years together correct, much less eclipses. — Vol. viii, note in p. 235. And after telling us that Brahma Gupta made his Calpa, or grand cycle, commence on a Sunday, he observes : " This is the first system, so far as we yet know, [for he had already proved the system of Varaha to be really a later one], in which the names of the days of the week and of the twelve signs [of the zodiac, each set of names exactly cor- responding to the European ones] were introduced. These were probably received from the West, and the first point of Aries was fixed to that point in the Hindu sphere which corresponded with the instant of the vernal equinox, which, in the time of Brahma Gupta, was the beginning of Aswini. This posi- tion has therefore a direct reference to the actual time when the twelve signs were first introduced, that is to say, near 1300 years ago; though hitherto but little, if at all, attended to by writers on the Hindu astronomy, &c." — Vol. viii, note in p. 236. From combining the information supplied in these two places, it appears that the Indians were indebted to European instruction for their first approach to accuracy in determining the celestial motions, and that this improve- ment in their astronomy took place not long after they had completed their alphabetic system. Now I do not urge this circumstance in proof of alphabetic writing being essential to the discovery of the first elements of this science, be- cause I admit, that the Hindoos had some rude knowledge of it for ages before ; but, as I conceive, my theory of their owing the completion of their alphabet to Europeans, derives some collateral support from its being ascertained that they got instruction in another subject from the same quarter and about the same time. Mr. Bentley speaks with hesitation of the quarter from which the Hindoos learned the names of the days of the week and of the twelve divisions of the ecliptic ; but had he, with the acuteness he possessed, sufficiently considered the subject, he scarcely could have failed to penetrate it. Even Mr. Colebrook, though by no means disposed to countenance any great reduction of the antiquity of Indian science,* yet admits the probability of the Hindoos having got the * Although Mr. Colebrook had read the admirable astronomical articles I have been referring to, previously to his writing the paper from which the ensuing quotation in the text is taken ; yet in Sanscrit Writing and Language. 135 names In question from the Greeks. After describing the Indian division of the zodiac into twenty-seven portions corresponding nearly with the arches described by the Moon in the several days of her sidereal revolution, those days exceeding twenty-seven only by a few hours, he observes : " The Hindus have likewise adopted the division of the Ecliptic and Zodiac into twelve signs or constellations, agreeing in figure and designation with those of the Greeks ; and differing merely in the place of the constellations, which are carried on the Indian sphere a few degrees farther west than on the Grecian.* That the Hindus took the hint of this paper he clings to the notion of the extravagant antiquity of a correct celestial sphere which he supposes to have been formerly in use among the Hindoos, and expresses himself inclined to believe that the pole star in that sphere was x Draconis, " which had been at its greatest approximation to the pole, little more than four degrees from it, about 1236 years before Christ." — As. Res. vol. ix, p. 330. In the same paper he endeavours to throw a slur upon the value of the articles in ques- tion ; as appears from the following passage, — the only one in it in which I can find that he has taken any notice of either of them, — " Brahmegupta wrote soon after that period [when the vernal equinox was near the first degree of Mesha] ; and the Surya Sidd'hanta is probably a work of nearly the same age. Mr. Bentley considers it as more modern (As. Res. vol. vi.) ;" — As. Res. vol. ix, p. 329. Of course, then, Mr. Bentley was mistaken, and his discovery is of no use ! Here, however, our author admits the Surya Sidd'hanta to be less than 1300 years old ; and yet, a little farther on, he undertakes to prove another treatise of Varaha, — an astrological one, entitled the Varahi Sanhita, — to have been written as long ago as the time of Eudoxus. This treatise contains a chapter on the motions (un- connected with the precession of the equinoxes, and, therefore, quite imaginary) of seven stars in Ursa Major, called the Rishis ; and from an astrological method given by a commentator for determining these imaginary motions, Mr. Colebrook draws his inference, by steps through which I will not attempt to follow him ; but if the reader should lay any stress upon reasoning which rests upon such a foundation, he will find it in the place already mentioned, pp. 363-4. The whole is wound up with the following observation. " In corroboration of this inference respecting the age of Varaha Mihira's astrological treatise, it may be added, that he is cited by name in the Pancha iantra, the original of the fables oi Pilpay, which were translated (or Nushirvan more than 1200 years ago." — lb. p. 364. The weakness of this indirect attack upon Bentley's method of determining the ages of the different systems of Indian astronomy, is quite on a par with the fallacy of the previous insinuation, and requires but little refutation. A deduction from imaginary motions obviously proves nothing ; and the appearance of Varaha's name in the work just specified, only proves, — no matter what antiquity may be claimed for that work, — that it must have been written within the last eight hundred years. * Mr. Colebrook here alludes to an older Indian sphere than that now in use, which, from his account of the position of the colures in it, would appear to be of great antiquity. It is barely pos- sible that the Hindoos may have had a rude instrument of the kind long before they arrived at any accurate information on the subject of astronomy ; but, from the circumstance of Mr. Bentley's 136 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the this mode of dividing the Ecliptic from the Greeks, is not perhaps altogether improbable." — Asiatic Researches, vol. ix, p. 347. The septenary division of time is so widely diffused through the East, that it may possibly have descended to diflPerent Asiatic nations independently of each other, by some remains of a tradition handed down from patriarchal times ; but the names of the seven days had beyond all doubt a more western, as well as a more recent origin. Dion Cassius expressly attributes their invention to the Egyptians, and describes the astrological principle on which they were framed ; from which, as well as from his assertion, it appears that their rotation commenced with Saturday.* But the Christians, in adopting them, changed the initial one from Saturday to Sunday, evidently because the latter coincided with their first day of the week. Dion further shows that he could not be mistaken as to the people with whom this invention originated, for he informs us that it was not an old one in his time, giving this as a reason for its having been unknown to the ancient Greeks ;f and the same reason obviously accounts for its not having been never having found one mentioned in any older treatise than that of Brahma Gupta, it is, I conceive, much more likely that the ancient sphere in question is only a modern fabrication of the Brahraans, after they had become aware of the precession of the equinoxes; — a fabrication contrived to give colour to the pretended antiquity of their astronomical skill. * The inventors of the names under consideration supposed that, 1. Saturn, 2. Jupiter, 3. Mars, 4. the Sun, 6. Venus, 6. Mercury, 7. the Moon, presided constantly over the world, each by turns an hour, in the order here stated ; and they called each day after the celestial body which presided over its first hour. In this manner the first day got its name from Saturn ; the second, from the Sun ; the third, from the Moon ; the fourth, from Mars ; the fifth, from Mercury ; the sixth, from Jupiter ; and the seventh, from Venus. That this was the original order of the astrological names of the week is proved, not only by the evidence of Dion, but also by the very nature of the case itself. For the above primary series, upon which the order of the names in the secondary one de- pends, is arranged according to the relative distances from the earth, which are attributed in Ptolemy's system of astronomy to the bodies he supposed to revolve round our globe. But if the rotation in the primary series be made to commence from any other body but Saturn, the order of the terms in that series will come out such as has no intelligible relation to the planetary system or any known theory respecting it. ■)• To 8e 817 EC TOVQ tirra, tovq irXavyiTat; wvofia(Tfitvovg, rac rifilpaQ avaKuaOai, KaTtarri filv vtt' ^AiyvirTidJv, Traptari St koi trrt iravTag avdpwTTOvg, oi) iraXai ttote, wg \6y(f) eiTruv, ap^ajuEVOV. Ot -yoOv apx.o'^oi "EXXjjvec ovBaixTJ avrb (ova -ys ifii iiSivat) riTrl(TTavTO. — J)ionis. Cassii, 1. xxxvi, p. 37 ; Leunclavii Ed. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 137 introduced into India before the sixth century. Now it deserves to be noticed that the Brahmans, in applying these Pagan names to their astronomy, adopted the Christian, not the Pagan, arrangement of them ; for in Brahma Gupta's system, which is the oldest in which they appear, the grand cycle is made to commence on a Sunday. If, then, it was from the Egyptians that they got those names, it must have been after this people were converted to Christianity ; but from that period till the commencement of the Saracen conquests in the seventh century, not only was Alexandria, on account of its magnificent library, the prin- cipal seat of Grecian learning, but also the language of the Greeks was very generally spoken, and their literature studied in lower Egypt; as they had been for a still greater length of time up to the same epoch throughout the by far greater part of Western Asia. That the Hindoos did not learn the astrological denominations under consideration from the ancient Germans, as has by some been conjectured, is certain, not only from the comparative lateness of the period when those denominations were introduced into India, but also from the circum- stance of the Sanscrit words used for the purpose agreeing in signification with the Greek and Roman, rather than with the German terms. For the Germans, in adopting this mode of distinguishing the days of the week, substituted for the names of the planets Mars, Mercui-y, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, those of their tutelary deities Tuisco, Woden, Thor, Freya, and Sater (in which substitution, by the way, they were followed by their English descendants) ; whereas in the Indian designations the planetary terms are retained, those designations being Ruvi, Soma, Mangala, Budha, Vrihaspati, Sucra, Sani, which are taken from the same celestial objects, and in the same order, as in the Greek or Roman series of denominations, as altered by the Christians. Still it has been urged, that the above Sanscrit words, after the first two, denote severally, not only the planets, but also the Gothic deities, in the order in which I have given them; as for instance, that not only the Hindoos have called the planet Mercury after their god Boodha ; but also that Boodha and Woden are one and the same personage. This attempted identification, however, is wholly at variance with the characters and the names of the imaginary deities in question ; for the former is represented as essentially indolent, as doing nothing, understanding nothing, desiring nothing ; but the latter, as actively mischievous, the demon of battles, and slaughtering thousands at a blow. And besides, if they were the same god, they surely would VOL. XVIII. s 136 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the have the same name ; German terms for other meanings have been preserved in the Sanscrit, and of all words those by which a people distinguish their deities are least likely to be changed or forgotten. The close correspondence between the Indian and Greek names for the signs of the Ecliptic, as well as constellations of the Zodiac, will be at once seen from the significations of the Sanscrit terms, as given by Sir William Jones in the fol- lowing extract from one of his essays. " They divide a great circle, as we do, into three hundred and sixty degrees, called by them ansas, or portions ; of which they, like us, allot thirty to each of the twelve signs in this order : Mesha, the Ram. Tula, the Balance. Vrisha, the Bull. Vrishchica, the Scorpion. Mifhuna, the Pair. Dhanus, the Bow. Carcata, the Crab. Macara, the Sea-monster. Sinha, the Lion. Cumhha, the Ewer. Canya, the Virgin. Mina, the Fish." Asiatic Researches, vol. ii, p. 292. It is absolutely Impossible that so arbitrary and fanciful an application of words could have separately occurred to two different nations ; and one of those in ques- tion, consequently, must have got them from the other. But the Indians had them no earlier than the sixth century ; it is obvious, therefore, that they must have been the borrowing party, and that they derived this set of names, as well as that for the days of the week, from Greek instruction. The same observation applies with nearly equal force to the employment by the Hindoos of the Metonic cycle. This cycle was formerly supposed to be exactly equal to 235 lunations; whence it was inferred, that new and full Moons occurred at precisely corresponding times of each successive series of 19 years; and, consequently, that if those times were noted for any one of the cycles in question, they would be ascertained for all that ensued. In reality the 235 lunations fall short of 19 Julian years by less than an hour and an half. This cycle, therefore, is (according to a statement of Mr. Bentley's, which has been already given) far more accurate than any employed by the Indians before the period in the sixth century when Brahma Gupta lived; whereas the Greeks made use of it for fixing beforehand the time of the celebration of their Olympic Sanscrit Writing and Language. ~ 139 games (depending on the day of full Moon next after every fourth summer solstice) above four hundred years before the Christian era. The Indian astro- nomers, I admit, may possibly have discovered this cyele by their own sagacity ; but there is evidently a much greater likelihood, that they learned it from the same source as that from which they got the twelve divisions of the Ecliptic with their names, as also the names of the days of the week. I shall refer to Mr. Bentley's essays only on one point more, the importance of which will be perceived from the following extracts. " Two of the most ancient Hindu systems now known, and which in early times were applied to the purposes of chronology, are contained in an astronomical work entitled the Graha Munjari. This work is extremely valuable, as it enables us to fix, with precision, the real periods of Hindu history, with their respective durations ; and to show from thence the alterations that have since taken place by the introduction of new systems." — Asiatic liesear. vol. viii, p. 224. "Now if we transfer the names, &c. in the four ages of the first system of the Graha Munjari, to the Sati/a, Treta, Dwapar, and Cali yugas [that is, to the golden, silver, brazen, and iron ages] above mentioned [of Brahma Gupta's system], and those in the Manwantaras* of the second system to the Manwantaras of the same name in this [third system] ; then we shall have the periods of the Hindu history, accord- ing to modern notions, founded on the system of Brahma Gupta." — Ibidem, p. 237. " The Cali yuga, or iron age [of the first system], began in the year B. C. 1004."— Ibidem, p. 225. Thus it appears that our author has not only convicted the Brahmans of the grossest falsehood in the claims to antiquity which they have set up for their records; but he has also pointed out the actual way in which those claims were gradually extended. The Cali yuga of Brahma Gupta is fixed two thousand and ninety-eight years earlier than that of the first system of the Graha Munjari ; of course by transferring the dates of events from the one system to the other, and by giving them a corresponding position in reference to the Cali yugas of each, they are thrown farther back into antiquity in the later chronicle by more * " The Calpa [of each system] is divided into lesser periods of years, called Manwantaras and Yugas ; the intention of which seems to be, to assist the memory in calculating the years ex- pired of the system j at least they answer no other purpose at present." — Asiatic Bes. vol. vi, not in p. 546. s 2 140 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the than two thousand years. And unquestionably if we had access to still older systems of Indian astronomy, with their dependant chronicles or Puranas, we should, on comparing them with the representations on the subject that have been last imposed upon the public, find the quantity of the retrogression still greater. Mr. Bentley, indeed, seems to have thought that the earliest chronicle he speaks of, gives the dates correctly, because there is not much difference in this respect between it and the second ; but as the Pandits have been to a cer- tainty caught antedating in one of those systems of theirs that have reached us, the obvious inference from analogy is, that they practised the same kind of fraud in the others. Even in the first of them the adoption of enormous cycles is pre- sented to our observation (and there surely is strong reason to suspect the chronology which is connected with such cycles) ; its Calpa, though of very diminutive size when compared with subsequent ones, yet contains 2,400,000 years. What, however, places beyond the reach of doubt the fallacious nature of the chronological part of this, as well as of the subsequent systems, is, that it refers names and events to times long antecedent to the use of alphabetic writing among the Hindoos ; of which times, consequently, it is impossible that they could have any knowledge. The next neighbours to this people, the Persians, afford a very striking instance of the actual impossibility (ever since man's age was curtailed to its pre- sent length) of any nation's preserving its history by means of oral tradition, or of such hieroglyphic writing as was employed by the ancients ; and I shall con- clude what I have to state for the present on the subject before me with bringing this point under the consideration of the reader. The earlier portion of the ancient history of Persia has been transmitted to us by Herodotus ; and the most interesting and remarkable part of it, — that which is connected with the life of Cyrus, — has also been recorded by Xenophon. The latter, indeed, embellishes his narrative with speeches of probably his own invention ; which, however, are most appropriate to the characters, as he had been told them, of the parties about whom he writes. But, with respect to facts, no doubt can be reasonably en- tertained but that he, as well as the former author, paid the strictest attention to truth, in relating them faithfully as they had been described to him ; and both historians had opportunities of gaining the best information that was accessible in their respective days. Yet they differ most materially from each other in the Sanscrit Writing and Language. 141 beginning and ending of their accounts of Cyrus ; and that too, upon points on which it is impossible that writers, with their dispositions and advantages, could have differed, if Persia had in ancient times possessed records that were perma- nently legible. Herodotus makes this extraordinary personage the son of a man of low condition, who commenced his public life with rebellion and usurpation ; Xenophon represents him as the son of a king, who succeeded to the thrones of Media and Persia by regular inheritance, after the most exemplary loyalty and obedience to his predecessors. According to the earlier historian he came to a disastrous end in a foreign land, and having engaged in a war of unjust aggression against the Scythians, lost his life in battle, overcome by savages, and over- reached by a woman ; according to the later one, he never once was defeated, but after a long and uninterrupted career of victory and conquest, spent the close of his reign in peace and tranquillity at home. These differences as to the com- mencement and termination of so public and important a life, are wholly incompatible with the supposition of accounts having been written while the events in question were recent, and of the records thus formed having continued legible up to the times of our two historians ; but they are precisely the sort of changes which national vanity, in the absence of such documents, would prompt the Persians to make in the history of their favourite hero ; and they appear to have arisen in the very way in which misrepresentations of the kind may be con- ceived most naturally to have been produced. Herodotus read his celebrated historic work at the Olympic games not more than seventy years after the time of Cyrus,* yet he in it alludes to reports already propagated different from the * I have here placed the recital of Herodotus a little earlier than it is usually fixed. The time of this occurrence is not, I believe, directly specified by any ancient author ; but it can be collected from the age of Thucydides, combined with an anecdote told of him by Suidas, that he was then only a boy, and wept with emotion at hearing what was read out by the father of history. 9ouKu8i8i)e . . . • ouroe riKOvaEv, tri irate Tvyxavuiv, 'HpoSoTOu £7ri rfjg OXvuTriag rac iOToptac avTOV Siepxojutvou, ag avvijpaxparo' koi KivriOtig viro rjvoc ivBvaiaiTfiov, 7rX/;p»}c SaKpuwv lyiviTO. Thucydides was, according to Aulus Gellius (Noct. Att. 1. xv, c. 23), forty years old at the commencement of the Peloponnesian war ; and that war broke out (see Beverege's Chronol. p. 147) in the second year of the Lxxxvii'" Olympiad. He, therefore, was born in the second year of the Lxxvii'" Olympiad ; and, consequently, was ten years old at the Lxxx'" celebration of the games, and fourteen at the Lxxxi". The following one cannot be taken into account, as he was then passed the age assigned to boyhood among the ancient Greeks. Of the two ages of Thucydides 142 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the narrative he gives of the birth and death of that sovereign ; but they were then so notoriously false, that he did not think it worth while to specify them.* In, however, about sixty years after, when Xenophon collected his materials while living on terms of intimacy with Persians of rank in the army of Cyrus the younger, all vestiges of the older accounts, it would appear, were lost in Persia ; for he takes not the slightest notice of them, but confines himself to statements that were, in all probability, of more recent origin, and among those which had been rejected by the more ancient writers as utterly unworthy of credit. which are compatible with the above anecdote, the former is better adapted to the part of it which describes his bursting into tears ; and this would fix the recital in question to the year B. C. 460 ; that is, sixty-nine years after the death of Cyrus, and fifty-nine before the battle in which the younger prince of that name lost his life. * Herodotus intimates, in a manner that cannot be mistaken, the falsehood of the reports rejected by him; particularly of those respecting the birth and early part of the hfe of Cyrus; in allusion to which he says, " As then certain of the Persians relate, who do not wish to extol beyond measure the concerns of Cyrus, but to tell the actually true account, according to these statements I shall write." 'QiQ wv Uepiriwv fiirt^tTspoi Xlyovai, ol /xrj /3owXoju£vot (ts/jlvovv ra fftpi Kiipov, aWa rov iovra \syiiv \6yov, Kara ravra ypaipw' — Herodoli, 1. i, c. xcv. It is moreover to be remarked, that our author does not refer to written accounts in the hands of the Persians, either here, or in the place where he alludes to the different reports respecting the death of Cyrus ; in each place he only mentions spoken ones ; and here says he will write what was told him by others. The consequence is, that while he speaks with certainty and from his own knowledge of the manners and customs of the Persians (showing thereby that he had actually gone to Persia, and spent some time there for the purpose of getting the best information) ; he does not by any means express himself with the same confidence respecting the history of that nation. I would not, however, have it inferred from the remark just made, that the Persians had at this time no writing of any sort in use among them ; but merely that they had not a great deal, and that they had none which Herodotus could read. It cannot be maintained that they had none whatever, as in the early part of this author's account of the life of Cyrus (Lib. i, c. cxxiii), he mentions the circumstance of a letter having been sent to that prince, concealed within the body of a hare, from a nobleman of the court of Astyages. But from his having derived his information immediately from Persians, and having lived among them upon terms of intimacy, it is evident that he must have understood their language ; and, therefore, supposing they had any historic records, he would in all probability have learned to read them, if they had been alphabetically written. I should not rely much on this proof of the Persian writing having been hieroglyphic at the time in question, if it stood alone ; but it is, I submit, entitled to some consideration, inasmuch as it falls in with, and thereby serves to corroborate, the more decisive one which is given in the text, derived from discrepancies, between Herodotus and Xenophon, that cannot possibly be accounted for in a satisfactory manner on any other supposition with respect to the nature of that writing. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 143 Where the two historians differ, the preference, as I conceive, is manifestly due to the representations of the older, as he lived nearer to the time of the events he records ; but as it has been attempted to enlist Scripture on the side of the younger, I must observe that the sacred volume decides nothing between them. It has been urged that Xenophon's character of Cyrus being the more favorable one, is that which is more entitled to credit ; because Isaiah calls this conqueror the anointed of the Lord (Is. xlv, 1), that is, his appointed one for A particular service. But in the third verse after, the Prophet states that Cyrus knew not the true God ; and consequently he did not act from any principle of obedience to the Almighty. Surely bad men, as well as good, are instruments in the hands of Providence, whose ends they may be promoting, when they are least influenced by any such intention, and are least conscious of their actions having such a tendency. The soldiei's who were engaged under Cyrus in the service in question, namely, in the taking of Babylon, are in like manner called by the same Prophet, speaking in the name of the'Lord, " my sanctified ones,"* — Isaiah xiii, 3 ; and just in a similar point of view, and when destined for a similar employment (the chastisement of a rebellious people), Nebuchadnezzar is termed by another Prophet, " my servant," — Jer. xxv, 9. Yet it evidently would be quite unwarrantable hence to infer, that the individuals composing the immense armies which on the above occasion besieged Babylon, were all saints, or that Nebuchadnezzar was a righteous man. Another argument brought forward in favor of the later historian, is founded on the prophecy of Isaiah, in which he formally and expressly denounces against Babylon its siege by the Medes and Persians, and obscurely alludes to its capture through stratagem, and its spoliation by those people ;f — a prophecy which was in every particular fulfilled; * The original meaning of H^Tp, the root of the Hebrew word here employed, is " to separate" ; from which is derived its secondary meaning of " to sanctify." The primary signification of the term seems more appropriate to the use made of it by the Prophet in this place ; where he speaks of those who, in the counsels of the Almighty, were set apart as the agents destined to bring about a certain event. t The prophecy above referred to, is contained in the following passage of the Bible. " A grievous vision is declared unto me ; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam ; besiege, O Media." — Isaiah, xxi, 2. The obscurity in which this pas- sage has been hitherto involved, is, I submit, in a great measure removed by a just view of the character of Cyrus. It is from a misconception on this point that commentators have, in opposition 144 The Rev. Dr. AVall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the but surely it was equally so, whether we suppose, with Herodotus, that the nations from which the besiegers were principally drawn, had but one common sovereign, or with Xenophon, that they then were ruled by two in alliance with each other. The distinct character of the Medes and Persians is no more destroyed by the supposition of their being under the sway of a single monarch, than that of the besieging armies is, by their being under a single general, on which latter point both historians are agreed. Scripture, therefore, leaves the question entirely open, as to which writer Is more to be relied on, when they differ; but certainly it gives strong support to both of their accounts of the taking of Babylon, by the remarkable accordance with circumstances predicted by the prophets which each account exhibits. Indeed it was quite impossible that the main facts of so eventful a life as that of Cyrus, — except such as were less creditable to him, and which national vanity very soon interfered to distort, — could have been wholly altered or forgotten in the space of 1 30 years, even by a people who had no more durable mode of pre- serving the memory of them than oral tradition. Accordingly we find our two historians agreeing on many prominent points ; they both make the father of this remarkable man, a Persian named Cambyses ; and his mother, the daughter of Astyages, King of the Medes ; according to both, he conquers Croesus, seizes his kingdom, and spares his life ; according to both, he takes Babylon by the strata- gem of making outlets for the river which ran through it, thereby suddenly drawing off the waters, and thus gaining an admission for his troops into the town by night through the dried channel. In these particulars, and perhaps in some more in which Herodotus and Xenophon agree, the truth of their respec- to not only the Hebrew text, as it now stands, but also the Septuagint version, ventured to attach a passive sense to the verbs in the first part of the prophecy, in order to shift the application of it from Cyrus to the Babylonian king. Thus Bishop Lowth has construed the sentence in question. " The plunderer is plundered, and the destroyer is destroyed." And William Lowth, though by a diffe- rent but very forced translation, has virtually given the same meaning of the sentence. To justify such an alteration, the Waw in the words of the original, "T2 0 and IT tlJ, should be transferred from the first to the second syllable of each ; and I admit that before the Hebrew text was vocalized, these words might be read in either way. But where the early vocalizers, the Masorets, and the Greek translators, have all agreed in limiting the sense to that indicated by the present reading, the case should be very strong indeed, which would warrant our changing it in opposition to iheir combined (luthoritirs. Sanscrit Writing and Language. 145 tive narratives cannot, I will venture to assert, be rationally doubted.* With respect to the subsequent portion of the ancient history of Persia which Hero- dotus has given, it is a fortiori to be relied on, as coming so close to his own time; not that he is to be implicitly followed in every thing he tells, for no un- inspired writer was ever wholly free from error, and he particularly, though an evident lover of truth, was very credulous; but the general correctness of his nar- rative in its leading features must, I conceive, be acquiesced in. After him the continuation of this history was, in consequence of the increased intercourse between Greeks and Persians, undertaken by so many writers, that a judicious comparison of their works has enabled the moderns in Europe to arrive very nearly at certainty in reference to the principal facts. If now we turn to the accounts at present in the possession of the Persians respecting the ancient history of their country, we must be struck by their total silence as to every one of the circumstances relative to Cyrus which have been above enumerated ; and by the blank they exhibit not only as to these, but also as to every other event of importance which occurred in Persia down to the time of its conquest by Alexander the Great. Their writers, indeed, give us long lists of Persian sovereigns, which, as a matter of course, they extend backwards to the highest date assigned to the deluge ; — a practice of which all nations avail themselves who have from any source got even the most obscure idea of that catastrophe, but are wholly ignorant of their own ancient history. But if we examine the actions of those sovereigns, we shall find that they are engaged almost exclusively in wars with the Turanians or Tartars; that is, with the nations with which the Persians had chiefly intercourse for the last 1500 years; so that all their historians have been able to effect was, cither to transfer lives * In comparing those two writers I have not taken into account Ctesias, the colemporary of the latter; because very little of his history has been preserved, and that little cannot be at all depended on, as he wrote under the control of a despotic monarch accustomed to the most servile flattery. There is, however, one point in his narrative worth noticing. He makes the duration of the Assyrian empire, previous to the revolt of the Medes, to be 1300 years ; while Herodotus rates it only at 520. Lib. i, c. 95. This discrepance has puzzled chronologers in no small degree, in con- sequence of their overlooking the want of alphabetic writing among the Persians in the time of the two historians ; but it is just such as might be expected to arise, in the course of the sixty or seventy years that intervened between them, from the natural tendency of tradition to augment the antiquity of dates, wherever it has been unchecked by documents of permanent legibility. VOL. XVIII. T 140 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the which had existed within this period, beyond it, or to fabricate lives of the same kind, in order to fill up their account of times that were utterly unknown to them. These writers distinguish the families that ruled over Persia, previously to the Arabian conquest, into four dynasties; — the Pishdadians, the Kaianians, the Ashkanians, and the Sassanians ; — of which the second was terminated by the Macedonian conquest. I here subjoin the Kaianian race, as also the Median and Persian dynasties of the Greek historians to which it is supposed to correspond. PEKSIAN LIST. Kaikobad. Kaikaus. Kaikhosrou. Lohorasb. Kishtasb. Ardeshir or Bahaman. Queen Homai. Darab I. Darab II. Eskander. GREEK LIST. Dejoces. Phraortes. Cyaxares I. Astyages. Cyaxares II. Cyrus. Cambyses. Darius. Xerxes. Artaxerxes. Darius Nothus. Artaxerxes Memnon. Ochus. Darius Codomannus. Alexander. The names in the two lists which are fancifully assumed to belong to the same individuals, are here placed respectively on the same lines ; but in point of fact there is not the remotest resemblance in the histories of the persons, thus compared, until we come down to the very last name upon each list. And how very little congruity there is even here, will be seen from the following abstract of the concluding part of the Persian account of the Kaianian dynasty ; which I take from the Dissertation on the Languages, Literature, and Manners of Eastern Sanscrit Writing and Language. 147 Nations, prefixed by Richardson to his Persian, Arabic, and English dictionary, London, 1806. — " Bahaman, the sixth king of the Kaianian dynasty, had mar- ried his daughter Homai, whom he left pregnant at his death ; disinheriting his son Sassan, in favor of this lady and her offspring, Homai was declared heiress of the empire, if not delivered of a son, and regent, in that event, till he was of age to reign. Avei'se even to the distant prospect of resigning sovereign power, the queen ordered the birth of her son to be concealed ; and sent him privately to be exposed in a casket on the banks of the Gihon ; the rising of the waters soon swept him away, and threw him on a dyer's bleaching ground. The rich stuffs and valuable jewels, which the poor man found in the casket, convinced him that he was a child of elevated birth ; he educated him, however, as his own son, and wished him to follow his profession; but the prince, unwilling to believe himself the son of a dyer, urged his reputed father so strongly, that the good man discovered at length all he knew ; and delivered to him the jewels which he had carefully preserved. Young Darab determined immediately on the profession of arms ; and set out for the army, which was then marching against the Greeks. He arrived on the eve of a battle ; in which he distin- guished himself with such heroism, that his fame reached the queen. The prince was sent for ; Homai was struck with his presence ; she discovered him by the jewels and the old man's testimony, and resigned the diadem to him, after having reigned with great reputation about thirty years. This Darab is repre- sented as an accomplished prince, and a successful warrior. Philip of Macedon, amongst others, according to Khondemir, drew upon him his resentment, by refusing to acknowledge his authority. He marched against him ; and, forcing him to take refuge in a fortress, Philip sued for peace, which was granted, on condition of giving his daughter in marriage to the Persian king, and paying an annual tribute of a thousand beizets, or eggs of gold. The young queen did not please her royal consort ; though pregnant, he returned her to her father's court, where she was afterwards delivered of the famous Alexander, whom Philip edu- cated as his son ; and left him his kingdom, with the secret of his birth. Darab having, in the mean time, espoused another lady, she brought him Darab the younger ; who mounted the throne on the demise of his father. This prince is represented by the historians of the East in very different colours from the gentle and amiable Darius Codoraannus. His cruelties and oppressions rendered him T 2 148 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the detested in Persia ; and the great lords exhorted Alexander to assert his right to the empire. Encouraged by those general discontents, he resolved upon the attempt; and, as a leading step, informed the ambassadors of Darab, when demanding the annual tribute of the golden eggs ; ' that the bird who laid them, had flown to the other world.' This refusal, with the raillery which accom- panied it, enraged the King of Persia. He marched immediately, to reduce the Macedonian to obedience. The monarchs met ; a bloody battle ensued ; and Darab was worsted. He retired to his tent, to take some repose before renewing the engagement ; but was stabbed by two of his attendants, who fled immediately to the Grecian camp. Alexander, informed of the murder, hastened to Darab's pavilion ; he found him in the agonies of death ; he threw himself on his knees, wept, and protested his ignorance of the treason. The dying prince believed him ; named him as his successor ; gave him his daughter Roshana in marriage ; requested him to revenge his assassination ; to govern Persia by Persian nobles ; and expired in his arms. Alexander, they add, chiefly by the counsels of Aris- totle, whom they call his Vizir, punctually fulfilled these last injunctions of the dying king ; the great men of Persia being appointed to the government of the provinces and dependent kingdoms; which they were permitted to hold on feudal principles of homage, subsidies, and military service, to their conqueror, as paramount sovereign of the empire. — Here is a detail which corresponds with the writers of Greece and Rome in nothing but the catastrophe; and yet, in the whole annals of Persia, there is not, perhaps, a single passage which boasts a more intimate agreement." — Dissertation, &c. pp. xviii, xix. Mr. Richardson seems to have conceived that the ancient Grecian accounts are preferred to this one by Europeans, merely because the mind is prejudiced in favor of the statements with which it is first acquainted ; but surely the inhe- rent improbabilities and inconsistencies in the narrative before us are, even without any reference to older documents, sufficient to prove it a gross fabrica- tion. We have here a father disinheriting his son in favor of a daughter, and the son, with the nation at large, submitting to this decree without resistance ; — the daughter endeavouring secretly to destroy her only child, a son, to whose preservation alone she could look with confidence as the means of ensuring to her protection in old age ; — that son passing his life in poverty and ignorance up to thirty years of age, and yet immediately after turning out a most accomplished Sanscrit Writing and Language. . 149 prince ; — and so on. It is unnecessary to pursue this view of the subject farther ; but if the passage be considered in all its bearings, it will be found by far more adapted for the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, than for a place in the pages of real history. But to revert for a moment to the two lists ; — the ground on which it is imagined that Kaikhosrou is the same person as Cyrus, is because the Persian authors represent him as a prince who was exposed in his infancy, brought up by people of low condition, and discovered, when arrived at manhood, to be of royal birth ; — circumstances, by the way, which have no analogy to the history of Cyrus as given by Xenophon, but only to that transmitted to us by Herodotus ; and which would equally serve to identify Darab with the ancient hero of Persia. In every other respect the two characters here compared are totally different from each other ; and the pairs placed immediately above* and below the one just considered, are composed of equally discordant parts. Let us, however, for an instant assume that the preceding names belonged to the same individual, in order to try if this will assist us in the identification of the prin- cipal pair ; and then we shall find so far, indeed, a correspondence, that Kaikhosrou is the grandson of his immediate predecessor, but not by his mother's side ; the Persian historians give him this relationship through his father, whom they describe as the eldest son of Kaikaus, and state that his mother was the daughter of a Tartar king. Yet Sir William Jones was so possessed with the notion of the identity of the characters under consideration, that, In his sixth discourse on the Persians, he declares, — •" I shall then only doubt, that the Khosrau of Firdausi, was the Cyrus of the first Greek historian, and the hero of the oldest political and moral romance, when I doubt that Louis Quatorze, and Lewis the Fourteenth were one and the same French king." — Asiatic Researches, vol. ii, p. 45. Even In the particulars of the birth and early life of the two heroes, on which alone Sir William had to rely for the identity he insisted upon, there is a discrepance which is quite sufficient to prove them diffe- rent persons ; and I do not hesitate to assert, that the imaginary character which he wished to fasten on the Grecian portrait, belongs much more appropriately to * In this comparison Cyaxares II. is passed over, as not forming one of a pair, there being no sovereign to correspond to him in the Persian list ; and besides, he is not found even in the Grecian list, as far as it is given by Herodotus. 190 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Nature, Age, and Origin of the the Persian representation. Both points will, I apprehend, appear very evident from the following abstract of the Persian account, which I quote from Dr. Hales's Chronology, although the Doctor does not himself seem to have been aware of the direct bearing of his own statement. " Mirkhond represents Kaikosru, or Cyrus, as the grandson of Kaikaus, by his eldest son, Siavek, who was assas- sinated shortly after his birth ; and Khosru was then concealed by his mother, Franghiz, the daughter of the king of Turan. Kaikaus long sought his grand- son, who, at length, was discovered at a hunt, by a Persian nobleman, and brought to the Persian court, received with great joy, and made commander-in- chief [is there no romancing here ?] of the Persian forces. That some time after, a competition for the succession to the crown took place between Cyrus and his uncle, Fraiborz, or Cyaxares, the surviving son of Astyages. [In the two lists the name Cyaxares, on its first occurrence, where it forms one of a pair, is matched, not with Fraiborz, but with Kaikobad. Dr. Hales certainly had a very strange way of identifying characters, and it would be difficult to decide, in refe- rence to the several persons whom he here confounds together in pairs, whether those of each pair were more unlike one another in names or In the whole course of their actions^. When Astyages, unwilling to decide between his son and grandson, told them both, that he would appoint his successor, whichever of the two should first, with equal forces, reduce a rebel town, investing it on both sides. The skill and valour of Cyrus prevailed, and to him the town surrendered. Whereupon, his grandfather declared him his heir ; and soon after retired from the world to solitude, and left Cyrus in peaceable possession of the kingdom." — Hales's Chron. vol. lii, p. 94. Upon the total difference which subsists not only between the lives of Kaikhorsrou and Cyrus, but also between every part ofthe Grecian and Persian representations of the ancient history of Persia, the opinion of Richardson is valuable, because he was most extensively conversant with Persian and Arabic literature. " From every research (he says, in the dissertation I have already referred to) which I have had an opportunity to make, there seems to be nearly as much resemblance between the annals of England and Japan, as between the European and Asiatic relations ofthe same empire. The names and numbers of their kings have no analogy ; and in respect to the most splendid facts of the Greek historians, the Persians are entirely silent. We have no mention of the Sanscrit Writing and Language. 151 Great Cyrus, nor of any king of Persia, who, in the events of his reign, can apparently be forced into a similitude. We have no Croesus, king of Lydia ; not a syllable of Camhyses, or his frantic expedition against the Ethiopians. Smerdis Magus, and the succession of Darius, the son of Hystaspes, by the neighing of his horse, are to the Persians circumstances equally unknown as the numerous assassinations recorded by the Greeks. Not a vestige is, at the same time, to be discovered of the famous battles of Marathon, Thermopylce, Salamis, Platcea, or Mycale; nor of that prodigious force which Xerxes led out of the Persian empire to overwhelm the states of Greece. Minutely attentive as the Persian historians are to their numerous wars with the kings of Turan or Scythia ; and recording, with the same impartiality, whatever might tarnish as well as aggran- dize the reputation of their country, we can with little pretence to reason suppose, that they should have been silent on events of such magnitude, had any records remained of their existence, or the faintest tradition commemorated their conse- quences."— Dissertation, &c. p. xvi. The reasoning of our author at the conclusion of this extract is, so far, quite correct ; but where he, as I conceive, fell into error, was in the tacit assumption that the Persions actually had records of all events which In early ages occurred in their country, from which he was necessarily led to the inference, that the Greek accounts respecting those events wei'e mere idle fictions, without any real foundation : — a paradox so monstrous, that at times he is forced to shrink from it, and very inconsistently to admit, that there may be some truth in the older Euro- pean statements. The only way of our escaping from the dilemma in which he was placed, is that which I have already suggested. The Persians, it has been proved, had in reality no permanent mode of recording events in ancient times, nor is it likely that they had any, till long after those in question had taken place ; and this consideration sufficiently accounts for the total ignorance they now betray upon the subject ; — an ignorance which cannot upon any other ground be rationally explained. They adopted the Arabic writing along with the Mohammedan creed ; and previously, the Syriac writing, which, it is most likely, they learned at the period when, during the reign of Constantine, they were converted to Christianity. Whether they had before the last-mentioned epoch the benefit of any alphabetic mode of designation is, I conceive, very 152 The Rev. Dr. Wall on the Sanscrit Writing and Language. questionable ;* they were, indeed, for a long time under Greek rulers, but so were the Egyptians, and yet it is certain that this latter people had no alphabetic- writing of their own till they became Christians. Analogy therefore would lead us to a corresponding inference with respect to the Persians ; but at all events it is, I submit, clear, from the specimen I have given of their history of the latter part of what is called by them the Kalanian dynasty, that they could not have had any durable mode of preserving the memory of events till long after the termination of that dynasty. If, for instance, they had got any better writing than hieroglyphs within two hundred years of the period in question, it is quite impossible that they could have made such a nonsensical medley as they have, of the life of Alexander the Great. Still, however, from the time they came under Greek dominion, the government documents must have been in Greek ; which circumstance would Indirectly contribute to render their national writing more permanently legible, by affording a standard of reference. The effect of this is visible in the approach, made at the end of the Kaianlan list, to the names of real history. Thus, I submit, is laid open to our view the mysterious cause why the Persians should be wholly ignorant of the ancient history of their country ; — a cause which has operated exactly in the same way in the case" of every Asiatic nation to the east of Persia. But I shall have an opportunity of placing this matter in a much stronger light when, in the prosecution of the work with which I am engaged, I come to treat of the language, the writing, and the history of China. * The Persepolitan inscriptions, which are probably the oldest now extant in Persia, are written in Syriac letters of an ancient form. 153 III. On the Years and Cycles used hy the Ancient Egyptians. By the Rev. Edward Hincks, D.D. (Communicated by the President.)* Read 9th April, 1838. jVIUCH has been written on the subject of the Egyptian year ; but I apprehend that no correct information respecting it is any where to be met with. It has been generally stated, that it originally consisted of 360 days ; and that at some epoch, on which authors are not agreed, five additional days were annexed to it, in order to approximate more closely to the length of a solar revolution. In opposition to this received opinion, I venture to lay before the Academy the five following propositions, which I hope to be able to establish in suc- cession. 1st, In the early part of the eighteenth century before the Christian era, there occurred a marked chronological epoch in Egypt. 2nd. Before this epoch, the Egyptians used a year, of which the commence- ment took place at a fixed astronomical season, and the average length of which was, consequently, that of the tropical year ; while after this epoch they used the wandering year of 365 days. 3rd. Between this chronological epoch and the year of our Lord 34, there elapsed six cycles, of some sort or other. 4th. The nature of these cycles was such, that in one of them the astronomi- cal phenomenon, which had marked the commencement of the old fixed year, travelled forward through a fifth part of the wandering year, or seventy-three days ; and, consequently, that in five such cycles that phenomenon returned again * To prevent the possibility of misconception, it seems proper to state, that this paper ^¥as not sent to the President until finished ; and, of course, that he is not responsible for the accuracy of any statement, result, or reasoning that it contains ; having merely had the kindness to communicate to the Academy what yias transmitted to him for that purpose. VOL. XVIII. u 154 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles to the commencement of the wandering year, having taken place on every day of it. 5th. The length of each of the smaller cycles was 300 years. Consequently, the epoch when the wandering year -was introduced was 1767 B. C. ; and the first day of the first year was the 8th November, 1767, according to the proleptic Julian reckoning. Of the truth of the two first of these propositions I have long been convinced. The three last are the result of an investigation, which was suggested to me by a reference to a passage in Tacitus, which I noticed in an article on the Pyramids in Eraser's Magazine for November, 1837. On examining the passage referred to, I felt convinced that the ingenious author of the article had drawn an incor- rect inference from it ; and, endeavouring to ascertain what information it really conveyed, I became satisfied of the truth of the third of the above propositions. From this I soon passed to the fourth and fifth, the latter of which, being the grand result, to which the rest are subsidiary, I have since been able to confirm by independent arguments. I. The first proposition I by no means offer as a new one. It is an obvious consequence of the discoveries of the late lamented Champollion, respecting the hieroglyphical notation of the year ; and it must be at once acquiesced in by all who are acquainted with those discoveries. I shall, however, say a few words in explanation and support of it. It was demonstrated by Champollion that the Egyptians divided their year, exclusive of the Epagomenas, into three seasons ; and that they denominated them hieroglyphically the first, second, third, and fourth months of these three seasons. He interpreted the characters which stood for the three seasons to mean, respectively, vegetation, ingathering, and inundation. Whatever doubt there may be as to the correctness of the two former interpretations, there can be none as to the last. It is beyond all question that the hieroglyphic names for the four last months of the year are the first, second, third, and fourth months of the inundation. Now, as the Egyptian year of 365 days was in its nature a wandering one, and as any given day of it would in course of time pass through all the seasons of the solar year, it follows that the seasons of the wandering year would sometimes coincide with those seasons of the fixed year, of which they bore the names. These epochs of coincidence between the wandering year and used by the Ancient Egyptians. 155 a supposed fixed year are easily discoverable ; and of this kind is the epoch, of which I speak in this proposition. We know that the inundation commenced about the summer solstice. In order, then, to discover the years in which the required coincidence took place, we have only to ascertain the years in which the summer solstice fell on the 241st day of the Egyptian year. Perfect accuracy is, of course, not to be expected. The solstice would, in fact, occur on this day for four successive years, and the fluctuations in the seasons arising from meteoro- logical causes, as well as the difficulty of making an exact observation of the first rise of the Nile, would leave room for an error of perhaps twenty years on either side of the year determined by calculation. I mean to say that in any of these forty years the seasons of the wandering year could not be observed to differ from those seasons of which they bore the names. Now, I find by calculation, that on the 241st day of the Egyptian year, which commenced on the 30th October, 272 B. C, that is to say, on the 27th June, 271 B. C, the solstice occurred shortly after the Egyptian noon. We may then reckon from 291 B. C. to 251 B. C. to be a period of apparent coincidence between the seasons of the wandering year and those seasons of the true year after which they were called ; and the epoch of coincidence, as observed by the Egyptians, must have fallen between these extremes, though it would not ne- cessarily fall in the middle year 271, which is pointed out by astronomical cal- culation. Going back through all the seasons, I find again that on the 241st day of the Egyptian wandering year, proleptic or actual, which would or did begin on the 11th November, 1780 B. C, that is, on the 9th July, 1779 B. C. the solstice occurred about Egyptian noon. This gives fdr the period of appa- rent coincidence 1800 B. C. to 1760 B. C. ; and I am justified in saying, that within these limits a remarkable chronological epoch must have occurred. II. Thus far, as I have already intimated, I have advanced nothing but what will be generally admitted by those who have given their attention to hierogly- phical discoveries. I now, however, bring forward a proposition, in maintaining which I believe I stand alone, namely, that up to this chronological epoch, which I have last mentioned, the Egyptians used a year, of which the average length was that of the tropical one, its commencement being marked by a phenomenon, depending on the sun's annual revolution. It is, in the first place, manifest, that the hieroglyphical notation of the u 2 156 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles months must have been adopted at a time, when the seasons of the actual year, of whatever sort that may have been, coincided with the seasons represented by their names. This is a proposition, which cannot, I think, be questioned ; and it furnishes us with a criterion, by which we may at once reject many suppositions respecting the origin of the wandering year as impossible. The only hypotheses which will stand this test, besides that which I have stated above, are the follow- ing : — 1. That the year of 365 days succeeded a year of 360 days at the chro- nological epoch of the eighteenth century, the hieroglyphical notation of the months being then first used ; 2. That at this chronological epoch the hierogly- phical notation of the months was introduced ; the year of 365 days having been previously in use, but the months having been otherwise noted ; 3. That the hieroglyphical notation was first used for a year of 360 days ; 4. That the year of 365 days, with its hieroglyphical notation, was introduced at a chronological epoch similar to that of the eighteenth century before our era, but occurring in the thirty-third century before it. In deciding which of these several suppositions is the correct one, we have to consider their intrinsic probabilities, and also the testimony of ancient authors, so far as this has been given in favor of, or in oppo- sition to, any ; and it will be well for me to state, in the first instance, that the argument that I am about to use is a disjunctive syllogism. I hope to be able to show, that all the suppositions, which I have above enumerated as possible, in reference to the criterion first laid down, except only that which I have stated to be my own, are either highly improbable — I may even say absurd, or are alto- gether opposed to the testimony of antiquity. On the other hand, I maintain that my own hypothesis is both intrinsically probable, and conformable to the testimony of such ancient authors as have alluded to the subject. 1. The first of the four hypotheses, which compete with my own, must, I conceive, be rejected on account of the extreme improbability that the Egyptians should have continued to use a year of 360 days so late as the beginning of the eighteenth century before our era. A great number of centuries must then have elapsed since the peopling of Egypt, even according to the lowest biblical chro- nology ; the Inhabitants must have had considerable Intercourse with neighbour^ ing countries ; and we know that they had attained to no small degree of civilization. Can we then suppose with any reason, that, up to this late period, they should know no better than to measure their time by a year of 360 days ; — used hy the Ancient Egyptians. 157 a year, which, while it had no relation to the phases of the moon, would have represented so inaccurately the course of the sun, that its commencement would pass in thirty-five years from midwinter to midsummer, and in seventy would go through the entire round of the seasons ? That such a year should have been tolerated ybr centuries in any country, and more especially in Egypt, where the striking annual phenomenon of the inundation must have attracted the attention of every individual, is, in my judgment, a supposition which cannot be entertained for a moment. It is alleged, however, by its advocates, that the testimony of antiquity is in its favour. I readily admit that there has been a very general consent among modern authors, as to the supposed fact of a year of 360 days having been in use before the year of 365 days ; but I deny that any author, who deserves to be called ancient, has given countenance to such an opinion. Plutarch, indeed, records a fable, that " the Sun, having discovered the infidelity of his wife Rhea, prevented her by a curse from bringing forth her offspring on any of the 360 days of the year ; but that Hermes, playing at dice with the Moon, won five additional days, on which Osiris and his brothers and sisters were born." Such is the only ancient authority in existence for a year of 360 days having ever been in use ; and it is evident that this authority, by throwing back the disuse of that year to the mythological epoch of the birth of Osiris, does in fact negative the supposition that a year of 360 days was ever used in the times of real history. There was, however, in the eighth century after the Christian era, a monk of the name of Georgius, (usually called, for distinction, Syncellus,) who compiled a Chronography, in which he has preserved some valuable fragments of the works of ancient authors that are lost. This writer is usually appealed to as an authority for the existence of a year of 360 days ; and he certainly has asserted its existence ; but then he has not asserted it on the authority of any more ancient writer, and this makes all the difference in the world. If a statement to this effect had occurred in a quotation made by Georgius from Manetho, or any ancient author that he named, that statement would have weight, arising from the antiquity or character of that author. In the present instance, however, the statement is that of Georgius himself; it is the mere expression of the opinion of a writer of uncommonly weak judgment, who lived so late as the eighth century ; and it is consequently altogether worth- less. I insist the more on this point, because I have seen this statement of 158 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles Georgius quoted as a statement of Manetho. Georgius gives, indeed, copious extracts from Manetho, as transmitted both by Africanus and by Eusebius ; and in these extracts he mentions several facts respecting different Egyptian kings ; but the passage in which he speaks of the year does not occur in any of these extracts. It is to be found (page 123 C. D. Paris edition) in the Catalogue of Egyptian Kings, which he gives as his own ; — a catalogue, which is universally admitted to be full of the grossest errors, so as to be utterly unworthy of notice. In that catalogue he mentions a king, whom he calls Asseth ; he places him immediately before Tethmosis or Amosis, and he elsewhere says that he was the father of Tethmosis. No such king is mentioned either by Africanus or Euse- bius ; and Josephus calls the father of Tethmosis Alisphragmuthosis. There was, therefore, some reason for Scaliger to wonder, " whence Georgius fished up this king Asseth." Josephus, however, mentions a king Assis, the last of the shepherd sovereigns ; and this appears to have been the Asseth of Georgius. It is true, that, according to Manetho, as preserved by Josephus, the reign of Assis terminated 251 years before that of Tethmosis began ; and that Assis was one of the Shepherd conquerors, while Tethmosis was the native prince who expelled them. These would be no objections in the eyes of Georgius. It would be quite in accordance with his peculiar method of cataloguing kings to place these two sovereigns in the relation of father and son ! After mentioning Asseth, Georgius makes the following remark : — " He added the five additional days of the years ; and in his time, as they say, the Egyptian year was appointed to con- sist of 365 days, when it before this was composed of only 360." Here we have the statement, which later writers have so generally acquiesced in ; and we have it repeated in the same sentence, apparently for greater emphasis ; but it still rests on the authority of Georgius only ; and I can by no means esteem the authority of a blundering writer in the eighth century, as suf&cient to establish a fact, which is intrinsically so improbable. But, it will be objected, would Georgius have been likely to invent such a statement ? Must he not have had some foundation for it in some ancient writing now lost ? I grant that it is improbable that he fabricated such a statement without foundation ; but I think there is every probability that he misunderstood the statement of the unknown author which served him as a foundation. In the double statement of Georgius we may, I think, discern the original text of the unknown writer and the glosses used by the Ancient Egyptians. 159 of his ignorant copyist. The clause in which he inserts the words of quotation, (dJy (pouTi,) I take to have been copied, and to contain a statement which is probably true ; the preceding and following clauses I believe to be Georgius's own, and to contain his blundering gloss on the original statement, and his re- assertion of it when perverted by that gloss. I conceive that the unnamed author simply made the following statement. " In his time" — it is uncertain whether he is speaking of Assis, the shepherd, or of the father of Tethmosis ; but it is certain that these were not identical, as Georgius imagined ; — " in his time the Egyptian year was appointed to consist of 365 days." The chronological epoch of the eighteenth century before Christ might very well occur in the reign of Assis, the shepherd, if the chronological system of Mr. CuUimore be correct ; or in that of the predecessor of Amos, the founder of the eighteenth dynasty, if Champollion and Rosellini be in the right. Now, the author of this statement may have intended to point out the reign in which the wandering year of 365 days succeeded the old fixed year. But Georgius, having heard or read the statement of Plutarch, already referred to, that once on a time the year had only 360 days, explained what his author had said of the abandonment of the old fixed year, in reference to a supposed abandonment of the imaginary year of 360 days ; he added the words, "which before this was composed of only 360 ;" and, to make his meaning still clearer, he put the entire into other words, *' he added the five additional days of the years." This may, or may not, be the source of the erroneous statement of Georgius ; but that the statement is errp- neous, I can entertain no doubt whatsoever. The continuance of the use of a year of 360 days to so late a date as about 1780 B. C. is far too improbable to be admitted on the testimony of a writer, so recent, and of such weak judgment, as Georgius Syncellus. 2. But it may be asked, might not a year of 365 days have been substituted for one of 360, at an earlier period than 1780 B. C, when the Egjrptians were less civilized, and before they had intercourse with other nations ? To a believer in the divine record respecting the peopling of Egypt, it might be sufficient to reply, that no such period of want of civilization and isolation from other nations, as this question presumes the existence of, can be supposed. When Ham and his descendants settled in Egypt, they came there fully acquainted with the know- ledge that had been acquired before the flood ; and we cannot doubt that the 160 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles true length of the year was among the facts known. It is difficult to suppose that the excess of the solar year over 365 days should not have been known and estimated ; but, as to its excess over 360 days being familiar to the first settlers, there cannot be a question. How then could it ever have occurred to them to limit the length of the year to 360 days ? Even the unbeliever in revelation must see the absurdity of a year of 360 days having continued in use to so late a date as 1780 B, C. ; but to the believer in the Holy Scriptures there is the same absurdity in the supposition that such a year ever existed in Egypt at all. I write not, however, for believers in the Scriptures exclusively ; and I will, therefore, without reference to their authority, reply to the question which I have supposed to be asked ; and will show that a year of 365 days could not have been substituted for one of 360 days in the ages preceding 1780 B. C. any more than at that epoch. The year 2782 B. C. has been fixed upon by some chronologers as that in which the year of 365 days succeeded that of 360. Those who maintain that opinion, or any similar one, will have to account for the hieroglyphical notation of the months on the different monuments. That notation could not have been intro- duced at the time when the year of 365 days was introduced, or at any subsequent epoch before about 1780 B. C, because until this last mentioned period the physical characters of the actual year could never have corresponded to the physical characters expressed by the notation. It remains then, that the notation must have been first introduced about 1780, the form of the year remaining unaltered ; or that the notation must have been introduced previously to the change in the form of the year. The absurdity of the former supposition is shown in this manner. Assuming it to be the case, it must have been well known, at the time their denominations were given to the months, that they would become inapplicable to them in the course of a few years. There must have been many living, who would be able to testify, that, though the inundation commenced then at the beginning of the ninth month, it had commenced in their youthful days before the middle of the eighth, and they had heard from their fathers of its commencing in the seventh. There was no change in the form of the year cotemporary with the adoption of this notation of the months and seasons, which might give rise to the belief that hereafter the seasons would continue correctly denominated. The year must have been generally recognized used by the Ancient Egyptians. 161 as being In its nature a wandering one, — as having been so, and as still to con- tinue so ; and, this being the case, it seems hard to conceive how any legislator would think of giving names to the seasons of the wandering year, grounded on their coincidence with the seasons of a fixed year ; and it is still harder to con- ceive how the names given by such a legislator should have supplanted those previously in use, and become the only ones, by which time was hieroglyphically described for above 2000 years ! 3. The next supposition which I have to refute is, that these hieroglyphical names were originally given to the months of a year of 360 days. In the first draught of this paper I had not thought it necessary to notice an hypothesis, which appeared so irrational as this ; but I have since learned that M. Biot has adopted it ; and respect to his talents induces me to notice his work. There does not appear to be any argument brought forward by M. Biot in support of this opinion. He assumes, as two incontrovertible propositions, that the Egyptians originally used a year of 360 days, and that their calendar was originally adapted to such a year ; and all his ingenuity is employed in inventing for them cycles, which, if they had known and used them, would have obviated, in some measure, the inconveniences of the system which he ascribes to them. Now I have already shown, thkt there is no ancient testimony in support of the opinion that the Egyptians used a year of 360 days ; and as for the form of the calendar being an evidence of it, M. Blot might have recollected that the Sanscullotides were an original and essential part of the year, which his countrymen adopted at the Revolution, and which was precisely similar In its construction to the Egyptian year. There is not a shadow of evidence opposed to the opinion, that the " five celestial days" were, in like manner, an original and essential part of the hiero- glyphic calendar. M. Blot has stated, that " in the first ages of a nascent ■ civilization a year of 360 days, divided as in Egypt, would express the annual series of operations of agriculture with a fidelity which should have been long sufficient (qui a du long-temps suffire)." In reply to this, I will only observe, that. In the short space of thirteen years, during which the French revolutionary calendar continued in use, if the sanscullotides had been omitted, the commence- ment of the year, and of course that of each of the months, would have deviated sixty-eight days from its original place ; the vintage would scarcely be over when Nivose would commence, and the snow might be still on the ground in the VOL. XVIII. X 162 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles beginning of Germinal. I can conceive it to be possible that the French Revo- lutionists might have adopted a year of this form ; but, had they done so, I cannot think they would have given names to the months, expressive of their physical characters ; — not even though they had a Delalande to point out to them that " in sixty-nine or seventy years, or more accurately three times in 209 years, the months would return to their normal places." It is surprising to me that M. Biot did not perceive that the establishment of any cyclical relation between the year of 360 days and the tropical year supposes a knowledge of the length of the latter. Had the use of the tropical year preceded that of the year of 360 days, such a relation might have existed ; but this is not M. Biot's opinion. He attributes the use of the year of 360 days to ignorance. It originated, according to him, in " the first ages of nascent civilization," ages of which I deny the existence in Egypt ; and was abandoned when it was discovered that a year of 365 days would more accurately exhibit the succession of the seasons. Under such circumstances, how could a cycle, such as M. Biot has imagined, have been employed ? The demi-savages, whom he supposes to have then inhabited the valley of the Nile, had not him to reveal it to them. In truth, the parts of M. Biot's memoir, in which he treats of the cyclical relations of this year of 360 days, are but a specimen of ingenious trifling. Till he had brought forward some proof that it existed at all, and, if so, that it existed cotemporaneously with the hieroglyphic notation of the months, he need not have troubled himself to show that in 209 years such a wandering year would have its seasons three times in coincidence with their primitive places ; while in 48? years the dogstar would seven times rise heliacally at its commencement. 4. There is a fourth way of accounting for the hieroglyphic notation of the months, as it exists on the monuments. The notation might have been intro- duced, with or without a change in the form of the year, at the chronological epoch, similar to that of the eighteenth century before our era, which might have occurred in the thirty-third century before it. To this I reply, that the epoch in question is prior to the most remote of the eras which biblical chro- nologers have assigned for the deluge. This simple statement ought to be con- clusive against the hypothesis. But, as this paper may fall into the hands of some who undervalue this consideration, I will lay before them some others. I might appeal to the fact, that no dated inscriptions have been discovered. used by the Ancient Egyptians. 163 which even ChampoUion, who was disposed to give the highest possible antiquity to them all, could refer -to an earlier age than the twenty-first century before our era. Is it probable that the hieroglyphic calendar should have been in use for twelve centuries before that time, and that no monumental records of its exist- ence should remain ? But I will rather apply myself to expose the fallacy of the grand argument, by which they, who throw back the origin of the hieroglyphic . calendar to 3285 B. C, or before it, pretend to establish their system. This argument may be briefly stated as follows. There is reason to think, from certain passages in ancient authors^ that the summer solstice and the heliacal rising of Sirius coincided at the time when the hieroglyphic calendar was con- structed. M. Biot alleges that this coincidence took place in the year 3285 B. C. ; and, though he admits that it would continue sensibly, or within the limits of errors of observation, for 500 years on either side of this epoch, that is, from 3785 to 2785, he seems to think we are tied down to the middle date by the consideration that then only the two coincident phenomena would occur at the beginning of the ninth month of the wandering year. Now I admit that it is probable, though it is by no means certain, that there was a sensible coincidence between the summer solstice, the heliacal rising of Sirius, and the 241st day of the Egyptian year, when the hieroglyphic notation was introduced ; but I say that this coincidence might have occurred more than 1000 years after the epoch, which M. Biot has assigned for it, and subsequent to the biblical epoch of the colonization of Egypt. In order to prove this, I chiefly insist on the points, that what is called the heliacal rising of a star depends on two uncertain elements, namely, the latitude of the place of observation, and the depression of the sun below the horizon at the time of the star's rising, which is barely sufficient to allow that star to be seen ;* that M. Biot has assumed greater values for both these elements than he * In order to determine the heliacal rising of a star, spherical trigonometry furnishes us with the following formulas : a being the latitude of the place of observation ; y the depression of the sun below the horizon necessary for the star's being seen at its rising ; X being the declination, and ^ the right ascension of the star, and ui being the obliquity of the ecliptic ; we have, the latitude being north, and the decUnation of Sirius south ; tan. a. tan. A, zr sin. y; X 2 164 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles was in fairness entitled to do ; and that, if he had not done so, the epoch of coin- cidence between the heliacal rising of Sirius and the solstice would have resulted much later than he makes it. It is, however, not unworthy of being noticed, that the rigorous coincidence, which he alleges to have taken place in the year 3285 B. C, and on which he appears to lay so much stress, did not really, even on his own hypothesis, take place in that year. The following are the solstitial dates in that year and in the two preceding and two following years, given pro- leptically, both according to the Julian computation and to that of the Egyptian wandering year. That for 3285 is taken from M. Biot's memoir, adding 1.93 hour for the difference between Parisian and Memphitic time ; the others are deduced from this by addition and subtraction of 365 days 5.82 hours, which was in that age about the average interval between successive summer solstices. Years B. C. Hours after Memphitic Midnight. 3287 July 21st Pachon 1st 10.92 3286 21st 1st 16.74 3285 20th 1st 22.56 3284 21st 2nd 4.38 3283 21st 2nd 10.20 u. -t- •/ being the arc of the equator between the first point of Aries and the horizon, at the time when Sirius is rising ; COS. tu. cos. (fi + v) — sin. ui. tan. a . : — ^—^. — r =: cot. 9o ; 6o being the arc of the ecliptic between the first point of Aries and the horizon ; sin.y.sin.fl. . ,. . . f ^ ° — sin Sy — a„;) COS. a. sin. (jj,-\-y) fly being the arc of the ecUptic between the first point of Aries and a parallel of altitude, the vertical depression of which below the horizon is y. The morning, on which the sun's longitude^»'«< exceeds 9y, is the morning on which Sirius is said to rise heliacally. Now 9y is, as we have seen, a function of five quantities, a, y, X, /x, and w. The three last are determined, the time being given ; but they vary with the time of observation. The two former are independent of the time ; but a, is different for different places of observation, and y for different stars. The more brilliant the star, and the more remote its place of rising from the part of the hori- zon whick is over the sun, the less will y be. used hy the Ancient Egyptians. 165 It appears from Inspection of this table, in the first place, that the year 3285 B. C. ought not to have been selected as the year of coincidence between the solstice and the first day of Pachon, but rather 3287 or 3286. It appears also that about this period the summer solstice fell regularly on the 21st of July of the proleptic Julian year, and was only beginning to fall on the 20th in leap years. M. Biot, instead of directly determining the coincidence of the solstice and the heliacal rising of Sirlus, which would be a purely mathematical problem, independent of any artificial divisions of time,* uses the 20th of July of the * From the definition of heliacal rising, the sun's longitude at the time of the star's rising must exceed 6y, but by a less quantity than the space which it passes over in a day. Its average excess over it in a period of four years may be estimated at half this space, say 29'. 30". Consequently, when the heliacal rising coincides with the solstice, 9y must be equal to the difference between 90° and this last-mentioned quantity, or to 89°. 30'. 30". If A, /x, and to be calculated for any epoch, their values for other years may be expressed by series of the form a„ -|- a, < -|- Aj<', &c., t being the number of years after the epoch; and by the formulas of the preceding note, ^ 4" ''> K' ^'^^> "'*'" mately, 9y may be expressed in similar series. The value of t, which will satisfy the equation fly=r89°. 30'. 30", will give the precise number of years after the assumed epoch, at which the required coincidence took place. In order to simplify the calculation, the epoch for which A, jw,, and ui are calculated should not be far removed from the epoch of coincidence. In that case, we may confine ourselves to the terms in the above series which are independent of t, or contain only its first power. These terms will at any rate give a first approximation ; and we may then calculate the values of A, ^, and w for the year so found as a new epoch. The great practical difficulty arises from the uncertainty which there is as to the proper motion of Sirius, and as to the precession, and change of the obliquity of the ecliptic. According to the best data that I have been able to procure, (namely, the values of the precession and obliquity given by M. Biot from Laplace's formulas, and the proper motion givenin the catalogue of the stars in the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana,) I make the right ascension of Sirius in 3285 B. C. to have been 43°. 47'. 15", and his dechnation 23°. 37'. 45". The former was increasing at the rate of 38",43 a year, the latter diminishing at the rate of 13", 64 a year. The obliquity was 24°. 6'. 30", and its diminution annually 0",33. Substituting these values for A, /x, and oi in the formulas of the preceding note, and making a = 30° and y =: 11° (the values assumed by M. Biot) I find /x 4- )/=58°. 25'. 6" + 28", 45 1 ; e<, = 74o. 7'.43" + 28",36<; fly =88°. 32'. 1" 4- 25", 95 <. In these expressions, the rates of increase are much more to be depended on for accuracy than the values at the epoch. From the equation 166 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles Julian year as a middle term. The heliacal rising, he alleges, always occurred on that day ; the solstice occurred on that day in 3285 B. C. In that year, therefore, they rigorously coincided. This appears plausible ; but I would ask, in the first place, did the heliacal rising of Sirlus occur in every year on the 20th of July ? Would not the intercalation, which threw the solstice from the 21st to the 20th, have thrown the heliacal rising from the 20th to the 19th ? We are, perhaps, not in a state to answer these questions, either affirmatively or negatively, from our ignorance of the precise amount of the change that the posi- tion of SIrius has undergone, in the long interval of 5000 years, from its own proper motion and from the precession of the equinoxes.* But, secondly, admitting that the rising of Sirius on the 20th July was the heliacal rising, was this the rising that coincided with the solstice ? Is it not obvious, on the con- trary, that the rising in the early morning of the 21st was the rising which coincided with an event that occurred at half-past ten in the preceding night ? There was then no real coincidence between the heliacal rising of Sirlus and the solstice in 3285 B. C. M. Biot must admit that there was none in the preceding or following years ; and that which, he endeavours to show, took place in this year is only a colourable one, depending on the arbitrary commencement of the 88°. 32'. 1"4- 25", 95 1 = fl^ = 89°. 30'. 30" we have 25",95<=68'.29"; t = 135. If then the values of A, /x, and ui that I have used be correct, the coincidence occurred in 3150 B. C. ; or a few years earher, as the coefficient of f was positive, and the average rate of increase of fiy in 133 years was on this account somewhat greater than the rate at the commencement of the period. The coincidence would continue for as many years before and after this date as fly would take to increase 29'. 30", or whatever was the exact value of the sun's motion in longitude for half a day. That is to say, it would continue from about 3215 B. C. to about 3083 B. C. * If the value of fly for 3285 B. C. be correct, the sun would have attained that longitude about thirty-six hours before the solstice ; that is, about half-past ten in the morning of the 19th July. He would consequently have been some ten or eleven minutes less than 11° below the horizon at the time when Sirius rose. I should think this was within the limits of probable error in the computa- tion. The occurrence of the heliacal rising of Sirius on the same day of the Julian calendar, which was the case for a great number of centuries, is owing to the excess of the mean Julian year, 363.25 days, over the tropical year, being very nearly equal to the time that the sun would take to pass over the annual increa,se of fly. ' used by the Ancient Egyptians. 167 artificial day. It seems absurd to lay any stress on a coincidence occurring rigo- rously in any specified year, when the phenomena which coincide approach one another at the very slow rate of about eleven minutes a year, and when they would, of course, continue to coincide for about 130 years. But, as M. Biot has insisted a good deal on this coincidence having rigorously taken place in 3285 B. C, it seems proper to show that his statement to that effect is unfounded. The 130 years of coincidence did not begin till about seventy years after this epoch. The error which M. Biot has committed in this matter is, however, com- paratively of little importance. I now proceed to show that the suppositions which he has made in his calculation respecting the latitude and the arc of de- pression are altogether unwarranted. The former he assumes to be 30°, and the latter 11°. Now I contend that both of these values have been taken unwarrantably great ; and the extent to which this vitiates the calculation may be judged from the following statement; a diminution either of the arc of depression or of the latitude by one degree will bring down the epoch of coincidence above 150 years.* A person aware of these facts might easily exhibit an apparent coincidence between the phenomena in question on any assigned year of perhaps 1500. He has only in the first instance to choose a suitable arc of depression ; then to calculate under what parallel of latitude, assuming this arc, the star would rise heliacally at the solstice of the assigned year ; and lastly, to invent plausible reasons for using that arc, and for placing his observer under that parallel. It appears to me that this is just the course which M. Biot has pursued. His curious reason for choosing the latitude of 30° seems to prove it. He takes the latitude of Memphis ; " because for epochs so ancient we cannot place the centre of religion in the very lowest parts of Egypt r This one-sided reason shows plainly what was passing in his mind. * Using the values of A, /x, and to for 3283 B. C, as laid down in a former note, I find that a substitution of 10° for y, in place of 11°, diminishes 9y by 1°, 19'. 11" ; a substitution of 29° for a, in place of 30°, diminishes 8y by nearly the same quantity, namely, by 1°. 20'. 11". To compensate for this diminution, Oy must be augmented by the terms depending on the time; and, allowing for the increase which the coefficient of t would undergo, as well as for the necessary introduction of the term containing P, it will appear that either of these substitutions must bring down the epoch of coincidence considerably above 150 years. 168 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Year's and Circles He would gladly have reduced the arc of depression, which he must have seen to be too great, by a couple of degrees ; but had he done so, he must, by way of counterpoise, have added as many degrees to the latitude, and thus descended to the extremity of Egypt, which he could not venture to do. But why place " the centre of religion" so low down the Nile as Memphis ? For doing so He has not assigned the shadow of a reason. If we are to seek the cradle of the Egyptian religion, and view the heavens from thence, tradition refers us not to Memphis or Heliopolis, but to Philas, the reputed burial place of Osiris, and the most sacred spot in the country. I will not be so unreasonable, however, as to take M. Biot to the most southern part of Egypt. I propose that we divide the interval, and take Thebes for our observatory. It was the most ancient capital of Egypt, as all are agreed. The latitude of Thebes is 25°. 45', four degrees and a quarter south of M. Biot's parallel, answering to about 600 years, by which I contend that I am entitled to bring down the epoch of coincidence between the solstice and the heliacal rising of Sirius. I have, in fact, calculated the solstice and the Thelan heliacal rising for the year 2550 B. C, using, as M. Biot has done, 11° for the arc of depression ; and I find that they took place on the same day, in that and many following years.* But in making this calculation I erred by taking so large an arc of depression as 11°. M. Biot's reason for taking it is, that it was the value of that arc adopted by Ptolemy. I grant it ; but this seems to me a sufficient reason for rejecting it as excessive. Ptolemy gives it as the arc of depression of the sun below the horizon, which would allow a star to be visible at its rising. He uses it for all stars alike, taking no notice of the inequality in this arc, which their unequal brilliancy and the unequal distance of their places of rising from the part of the horizon over the sun would require. Now, I argue, that, if 11° be the proper » In 2550 B. C. I find, using the same data as before, X = 20°. 51'. 40"; ix, = 52". 16'. 0" ; w = 24°. 2'. 8" ; whence we have, for the latitude of 30°, e„ = 80°. 31'. 48" ; 6,, = 94°. 24'. 25" ; but for the latitude of Thebes, (25°. 45') e„ zr 76°. 6'. 12" ; 6,, = 89°. 27'. 52". This year, then, was about the middle one of those in which the solstice coincided with the heliacal rising of Sirius at Thebes ; that is to say, on M. Biot's assumption that the arc of depression should be taken so great as 11°. I cannot but think that 9° or 9°. 30' would be fully sufficient. Now I find that in 2550 B. C, at Thebes, Sg = 87°. 1'. 29" ; Sg,, =: 87°. 38'. 2". Subtracting these quantities from 89°. 30'. 30", and dividing the remainders by 27", we have in the former case 330 years, and in the 'alter case 250 years, as the intervals between 2550 B. C. and the mean epochs of coincidence. used ly the Ancient Egyptians. . 169 arc of depression for a star of average brilliancy, it is quite too great for a star of such preeminent brilliancy as Sirius ; especially when the distance in azimuth of its place of rising from the sun was upwards of 60°. M. Biot allows that the obser- vation of heliacal risings admits an uncertainty of three or four days at least ; but one principal cause of this uncertainty is, that the heliacal risings of bright stars must precede, while those of faint ones must follow, the times calculated on the hypothesis of their rays having a uniform power. On the ground of the possible errors of observation, he allows 500 years before or after the epoch of 3285 B. C, as limits, within which the heliacal rising would sensibly coincide with the solstice. It appears to me, that there would be little likelihood of the heliacal rising of Sirius being later than the time calculated on the supposition of the sun's being 11° below the horizon, but that there would be every probability of its being earlier. It would, therefore, I contend, be right to lower the epoch on this account by at least half oi this admissible error of 500 years. I have further to add, that there is a different source of errors of observation, which M. Biot has overlooked, but which should evidently be taken into account. He has only considered the possibility of erroneously observing the heliacal rising of Sirius ; but, surely, an error in observing the solstice is to be expected also. He seems to have forgotten, that, in the whole of this argument, what has been called the solstice is not the observed arrival of the sun at the tropic of Cancer, but the observed commencement of the inundation of the Nile. In this observation an error of four or five days might easily take place, which would correspond to 520 or 650 years in the epoch. For this admissible error of observation, and for that which may remain in observing the heliacal rising, I conceive that 600 years will be a very moderate allowance. To sum up the whole of this argument, I take from M. Biot's epoch 135 years, in which I conceive that he has erred as to the epoch of coincidence between the solstice and the heliacal rising of Sirius, even on his own hypothesis as to latitude and depression. I take 600 years more, in which he has erred by taking the heliacal rising at Memphis in place of that at Thebes ; and 250 years more, which he should have allowed for the superior bril- liancy of Sirius to the average brilliancy of the stars mentioned by Ptolemy in his Apparitions. This reduces the epoch oi accurate coincidence between the heliacal rising of Sirius and the solstice from 3285 B. C. to 2300 B. C. ; and I maintain that there would be a sensible coincidence, within the limits of errors of observation, VOL. xviii. r 170 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles for 600 years before and after this last epoch ; that is, to so late a date (at Thebes) as 1700 B. C. M. Biot, however, lays great stress on there having been a treble coincidence in the year 3285. Not only the heliacal rising of Sirius, as computed hy him, and the solstice, but also the first day of the ninth month of the year, coincided in that year ; and, whatever be the case as to the solstice and the heliacal rising of Sirius, he thinks that the solstice and the commencement of the ninth month could never have coincided between 3285 and 1780. Now, I admit that there is great apparent force in this reasoning, and it would be diffi- cult to answer it on any other hypothesis as to the nature of the year than that which I am maintaining in this proposition. According to this hypothesis, how- ever, the objection does not lie. According to it, there was invariably a sensible coincidence between the solstice and the beginning of the ninth month, from the first colonization of Egypt down to the beginning of the eighteenth century before Christ. And there was, consequently, by what I have just proved, a sensible coincidence between all the three events, not for a few years only, as M. Biot supposes, but for the whole period between the peopling of the country, and the change of the form of the year in the eighteenth century before our era. 5. I will now proceed to develope this hypothesis of my own, for which I have cleared the way by assigning special reasons why every other possible hypothesis should be rejected. Let me first, however, mention one grand objec- tion, to which they are all in common liable. They none .of them account in a satisfactory manner for the hold which the hieroglyphical notation of the seasons gained on the affections of the people. A wandering year existed in the country for 2000 years, the names of the months and seasons of which were descriptive of their physical characters at a particular epoch. If we say that the names were first given at that particular epoch, we in some measure account for their first introduction ; we account for these names having been given rather than any other names descriptive of physical characters. All the hypotheses that we have been considering go thus far ; but this is not enough ; and they none of them go further. They do not account for names descriptive of physical characters being given to the months of a wandering year, rather than names expressing simply the order of succession, or names derived from the deities, which were supposed to preside over them. It is a remarkable fact, that names of this latter kind existed, and might have been used, but that they never are used in used by the Ancient Egyptians. ' 171 expressing dates. The month Athur might have been expressed in a date by the known symbol of the goddess of that name, who presided over it ; namely, a hawk within an enclosure ; but it always is expressed by a much more compli- cated group of hieroglyphics, signifying " the third month of vegetation." Now, on any of the hypotheses which we have been considering, except the first, it is a strange and unaccountable circumstance, that names of this last kind (names expressive of physical character) should have been given to the months at all ; and on any of the hypotheses, the first inclusive, it is unaccountable how they continued in use, after they were found not to represent correctly the physical characters which they professed to represent. There is, it appears to me, only one way, in which this most remarkable fact can be accounted for. The names were first applied to the months of & fixed year ; they continued to be applied to the months of such a year, until the use of them was firmly established by cus- tom ; and, when a wandering year was substituted for the old fixed one, the deviation was gradual ; there was no violent change, sufficient to overcome the force of habit, which would plead powerfully for the retention of the old names. But, it will be asked, how can we suppose it possible that the Egyptians, if they had ever enjoyed the advantage of having a fixed year, would abandon it, and adopt the less perfect year of 365 days in place of the more perfect one ? To this I reply, that the Egyptians had a different notion of what a year ought to be from what we have ; and that we have no right to question their having acted in a particular manner, merely because, if we, with our present feelings, had been in their situation, we should have acted otherwise. I conceive that, ac- cording to Egyptian notions, the year of 365 days, as it existed In the age of the Ptolemies, and for fourteen or fifteen centuries previously, was the perfect model of what a year ought to be ; that the change, which introduced it in place of the old fixed year, would be considered as a grand reformation of the calendar ; and that the getting rid of the 366th day, which had previously occurred at the end of certain years, would be regarded as the getting rid of an abominable nuisance. This is not a mere conjecture of my own ; the testimony of antiquity deci- dedly favours this opinion. Geminus, the most ancient writer extant, who alludes to the form of the year, further than simply to describe it, says that " it possessed a great advantage in the estimation of the Egyptians, in that it sancti- r 2 172 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles fied all the seasons equally, by bringing to them in their turn all the feasts of the year." The kings of Egypt were required to swear at their accession " that they would allow no intercalation of month or day, but would adhere to the 365 days, as their ancestors had appointed ;" — a plain evidence of what I have some- where seen stated as a fact, that some Egyptian king had attempted to restore the year to its original state by intercalating a month to make up for the days already lost, and by ordering single days to be intercalated afterwards on the old system ; but that a popular insurrection had compelled him to abandon the project. The oath, it would seem, was imposed upon him at that time ; and his successors were regularly required to take it. We have again a valuable testi- mony to the importance, which the Egyptians attributed to the preservation of the proper form of the year, in the complaint made by lamblichus, after the fixed year had been substituted for the wandering one at the Roman conquest. " The change," he says, " has taken away all their force from the prayers of the people." If, in fact, we consider the religious appropriation of the days of the year to the different deities, we shall see the ground of this complaint. The year consisted of twelve months, and each month of thirty days. Now, these thirty days were parcelled out among the different deities, so that each had his own festival day occurring twelve times in the year. Each city, and probably each family and individual, had its peculiar days to be observed, while the remaining days in the month were passed over without notice. Besides these monthly festivals, there was a grand annual festival, observed on the five celestial days, in which all the Egyptians took a part. The honors paid to the kings, who were worshipped as gods during their lives, were arranged on this same system. We have a specimen in the decree on the Rosetta stone. The days, which were to be kept in honor of the young king, were two in each month, the I7th and 30th, because, as the decree states, the 30th Mesore was his birth-day, and the l7th Mechir was the day of his accession, and a yearly feast ofjive days, at the beginning of every Thoth, a feast equalling in length and immediately following the grand feast of the five celestial days. There is no reason to sup- pose that the honors appointed to be paid to Ptolemy Epiphanes by this decree were at all different from those which had been paid to his predecessors. Know- ing, then, what these were from this valuable record, we obtain an insight into the whole system. We see the course of the monthly festivals ; and we see how used by the Ancient Egyptians. 173 the introduction of a 366th day into any year would not only leave a day in that year without any religious rites properly belonging to it, but would throw all the religious rites of subsequent years from those days to which they would be popu- larly regarded as pertaining of right. Enough, however, has been said on this subject, which is rather a matter of curiosity than of importance. I proceed to explain the nature of the Egyptian year, which was first used, and to which the hieroglyphic notation was originally adapted, more fully than I have yet done. The commencement of the year was originally fixed, and continued for many centuries, at the period when the fall of the Nile allowed the first operations of agriculture to commence. This may have been ascertained in the first instance by some kind of nllometer, which would mark the time when the Nile in its descent reached some standard height. It is not necessary to suppose that the year consisted, at the first introduction of this system, of months of thirty days, with additional days in the end. The division into three seasons probably pre- ceded the division into months ; and I think there is reason to suppose that these seasons were equal ; or rather that two of them, probably the first and third, con- tained 122 days each, while the middle one contained 121 in ordinary years, and in what we should call leap years 122. My reason for this conjecture is, that in the final result, to which my researches have conducted me, I find the solstice to have occurred on the 244th, and not on the 241st day of the year. This might have been occasioned by an inaccurate observation, i. e. a late inundation, in the year, which happened to be selected as the standard one ; but it appears more probable that the three seasons were for a time as nearly as possible of the same length ; and consequently that the solstice was properly placed on the 244th day of the year, that being the first day of the third of the seasons. The deter- mination of the commencement of the year by a nilometer was objectionable, as it would not give years of the same length. A year so determined might perhaps contain 370 days, or it might contain no more than 360 ; but, on an average, it is evident that the length of such a year must have been that of the true solar or tropical year. To avoid this inconvenience, another mode of determining the first day of the year was adopted, probably at a very remote period, very little subsequent to the colonization of Egypt. This method consisted in observing the meridian shadow cast by the sun on the first day of the year. The length of that shadow was measujred in some one year on its first day, determined either 174 ■ The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles by the nilometer, or by its being the 122n(i after the solstice, and that length was thenceforward considered as the standard ; and the day, in which the sha- dow, in its increase after the summer solstice, attained to that standard length, was accounted the first day of the new year. The years so determined would be of the same average length as before, but they could only consist of 365 and 366 days. They would arrange themselves in periods, consisting of three com- mon and one protracted year, occasionally interrupted by periods consisting of four common and one protracted year. During the time that this system con- tinued in use, and probably shortly after its introduction, the year was divided into twelve equal months of thirty days, and the five or six days, which it con- tained additional, were placed together at the end. To this form of year the hieroglyphical notation was adapted. The names given to the months in that notation expressed physical characters, which they were known to possess, and which they must continue to possess so long as the form of the year should remain as it was. In order to determine the first day of the year by the meri- dian shadow cast by the sun, it was necessary that there should be some object of a remarkable appearance, terminating in a point, and of a permanent nature, the shadow of which might be measured. The pyramids possessed all these charac- ters in a remarkable degree ; and I cannot doubt, that, whatever end they might be intended to answer of a sepulchral or religious nature, they were constructed externally with a view to their being used to mark the commencement of the year, and that they were actually used for this purpose. The ingenious author of the articles on the Pyramids in Eraser's Magazine, conceives that they were designed to mark the commencement of the wandering year at the period of their erection ; the day of the pyramid's first casting a shadow being the day corresponding to the first day of the wandering year at the time when the pyramid was built. But in the long course of time, which must have elapsed while a pyramid was being built, the sun's altitude on the first of Thoth must have ■ varied considerably, supposing, as this vvriter does, that the year was then a wan- dering one. Besides, the commencement of the building of a pyramid does not appear to have been an event of such importance as that its era should have been marked in this manner. I should think it much more likely that the pyramid was constructed so as that the first day of its casting a shadow at noon should be the first day of a fixed year ; and there appears some reason to think that, in used by the Ancient Egyptians. 175 some of the pyramids at least, this was the case. It is a remarkable fact, that the date assigned by this writer for the erection of the great pyramid of Jizeh is the identical year of the epoch, at which I have been led to place the reformation of the Egyptian calendar ; he calculates that it would cast its first shadow on the first of Thoth in 1767 ; and that is the very year, to which the cycle that I have discovered conducts me from A. D. 34 ; and in which, consequently, the length of the shadow at noon was sensibly the same as in every preceding year. This is a curious coincidence ; and I should lay a good deal of stress on it, if I could depend on the inclination assigned to the pyramid by this writer being correct. It would appear from the measurement of the French engineers that it was more considerable ; and that of the second pyramid, of which the top is in a finished state, is certainly so. It is not to be supposed that all the pyramids in a group were constructed for being used as chronometers. A single one would alone be required for this purpose, and the second pyramid at Jlzeh was probably the one used. This would cast a shadow on the first day of the year, reaching to a per- pendicular wall of rock, parallel to the north side of the pyramid. On this wall there are said to be hieroglyphics. It would be desirable that travellers in Egypt should ascertain if this be the case, and especially if the rocky wall be marked, opposite to the vertex of the pyramid, in any such manner as might constitute a sort of dial. We must not suppose that the Egyptians waited for the construction of a pyramid in order to determine the commencement of their year, nor is it likely that there was any in existence so early. They used such a pointed object as they could readily procure ; fixing upon some one object, and some one length of its shadow, as standards. The standard of measurement was easily copied. It was only necessary to have a suitable object previously prepared, and on the first day of the year, as indicated by the original standard, to mark the length of the shadow of that object. In this manner the standard of mea- surement might be transferred from one place to another ; and at length such gigantic objects as the pyramids were every where used. But this led to an inconvenience, which was probably a principal cause of the wandering year being substituted for the fixed one. The indications of these standards would not always agree ; and the longer the measure used, and therefore, apparently, the more accurate the measurement, the more distinguishable would be the dif- 176 The Rev. E, Hincks on the Years and Cycles ference of the indications. The cause of this diversity may be easily seen. At the end of 365 days, the altitude of the sun would not be precisely the same as at the beginning, but about 5' greater, his altitude decreasing something more than 20' a day. If the standard were copied on the first day of this next year, the length of the shadow would evidently be, as compared with the original standard, too small, in the proportion of the cotangent of the altitude, increased by these five minutes, to the cotangent of the altitude itself. The consequence would obviously be, that the new standard would indicate a different series of years of 366 days from the original standard ; it would point out the same first of Thoth in three out of four years, but one a day earlier in the fourth. To obviate this error, it would probably be soon agreed, that the standards should only be copied at the end of the years of 366 days, when the altitude would be nearly the same as at first. But this would only diminish the evil. In the first place, it could not in every instance be certainly known before-hand, whether the current year would consist of 366 days ; it might be a matter of doubt, until the shadow decided the question, whether such a protracted year would, on this particular occasion, occur at the end of three or of four common years. But, setting aside this consideration, the copy taken at the end of a year of 366 days could -aeyex perfectly represent the original standard. The altitude at the end of four years would be somewhat different from what it was at the beginning ; and though the copy then taken would agree with its original in indicating the first few years of 366 days, it would before long indicate different ones, its quin- quennial periods being interspersed among the quadrennial ones in a different manner. Under these circumstances, we cannot wonder that the Egyptians should consider the existence of these years of 366 days as a nuisance, and should in course of time determine to get rid of it. Had they occurred at settled intervals, they might have been tolerated ; but, occurring as they did irre- gularly, and the standards in different parts of the country indicating different times for their occurrence, they would be a constant source of annoyance and contention. It was at length resolved that there should be no more intercalation, but that the twelve months and the five celestial days should constitute the entire of the year. The period when this change took place is indicated by the names of the months, hieroglyphically given to those of the year when a fixed one, and used hy the Ancient Egyptians. 177 retained through the influence of custom after it had become a wandering one. Those names indicate physical characters, which the months of the wandering year could only have between the limits 1800 and 1760 before our era. Within these limits the reformation of the calendar must have taken place ; and it will be the object of the following researches to establish the precise year, in which the new system was introduced. III. I have already intimated that I have been directed in this inquiry by a passage in Tacitus. It is the twenty-eighth chapter of the sixth book of his Annals ; and before I go further, I shall give a translation of the material part of this chapter. " In the consulship of PauUus Fabius and Lucius Vitellius, after a long course of ages a phoenix arrived in Egypt, and caused much conversation respecting it among the most learned, both of the natives and of the Greeks. I will state those facts, about which there is an agreement, as well as some others that are doubtful, but not undeserving of being known. Those who have described its appearance are agreed that it is consecrated to the sun, and in face and plumage unlike to other birds. Different accounts are given respecting the number of years that it lives. The most common statement is 500 years. Some say that the interval is 1461 years ; and that former birds flew into the city of Heliopolis (attended by great numbers of other fowls, which were astonished at the strange appearance) first in the reign of Sesostris, afterwards in that of Amasis, and next in the reign of Ptolemy, the third Macedonian sovereign (Ptolemao qui ex Macedonibus tertius regnavit). But the chronology is cer- tainly obscure. Between Ptolemy and Tiberius were less than 250 years. On this account, some have supposed that this last was not a real phoenix ; that it did not come 'from the land of Arabia, nor do any of those things which the old tradition has recorded." Then, after describing the manner in which the phoenix provides itself with a successor, he concludes : " These things are un- certain, and in part fabulous ; but there is no doubt that this bird is sometimes seen in Egypt."* • PauUo Fabio, L. Vitellio Coss. post longum saeculorum ambitum, avis phcenix in iEgyptum venit, prsebuitque materiem doctissimis indigenarum et Graecorum, multa super eo miraculo dis- serendi : de quibus congruunt, et plura ambigua, sed cognitu non absurda, promere libet. Sacrum soli id animal, et ore ac distinctu pinnarum a ceteris avibus diversum, consentiunt qui formam ejus VOL. XVIII. Z 178 The Rev. E. Hincks an the Years and Cycles It is evident from this last sentence, that Tacitus, and those from whom he derived his information, were completely mystified by the Egyptian priests ; and that they supposed the phoenix to be a real bird. Pliny appears to have thought the same. He speaks of it in his Natural History B. 10, c. 2 ; and, while he mentions 660 years as the length of its life, he preserves an important statement of Manilius, that " in the life of this bird a revolution of the Great Year was completed, and the seasons and stars returned to the same situations." Brotier, in his note on the above cited passage in Tacitus, after correcting an absurd mistake of Hardouin, who understood Manilius to speak of the paschal cycle of 532 years, gives it as his own opinion, that he spoke of the canicular cycle of 1461 years; after describing which, he says, "This is that most celebrated revolution of the Great Year, and restitution of the zodiac, which was shadowed forth by a bird, sacred to the sun, and renewing its existence from itself ; whence the Egyptian fable of the Phoenix originated.'"' There can be no doubt in the minds of any, who are acquainted with Egyptian literature, that this idea of Brotier's is a correct one, and that the appearance of a phosnix was a mystical mode of expressing the renewing of a cycle. He had, however, no right to assume that the cycle spoken of by Manilius was the canicular cycle, or that the Egyptians used no other cycle than this. We learn from Censorinus, that that cycle was renewed A. D. 138 ; the phoenix whose life was 1461 years appeared at that time ; but we learn from this passage of Tacitus that some phoenix made its appearance A. D. 34, which was the year in which Fabius and Vitellius were consuls. We learn also that this phoenix, or a different one, had previously appeared in the reigns of Sesostris, of Amasis, and of Ptolemy Phila- definiere. De numero annorum varia traduntur : maxime vulgatum quingentorum spatium : sunt, (jui asseverent, inille quadringentos sexaginta unum interjici ; prioresque dites, Sesostride primum, post Amaside dominantibus, dein Ptoletnaeo, qui ex Macedonibus tertius regiiavit, in civitatem, cui Heliopolis nomen advolavisse, multo ceterarum volucrum comitatu, novam faciem mirantium. Sed antiquitas quidem obscura; inter Ptolemseum ac Tiberium minus ducenti quinquaginta anni fuerunt; unde nonnulli falsum hunc phaenicem, neque Arabum e terris credidere, nihilque usurpavisse ex his, quae vetus niemoria firmavit : confecto quippe annorum numero, ubi mors propinquet, suis in terris struere nidum, eique vim genitalem affundere, ex qua foetura oriri ; et primum adulto curam sepeli- endi patris ; neque id temere, sed sublato myrrhae pondere, tentatoque per longum iter, ubi par oneri, par meatui sit, subire patrium corpus, inque solis aram perferre atque adolere. Haec incerta et fabulosis aucta. Ceterum aspici aliquando in vEgypto earn volucrem non ambigitur. used by the Ancient Egyptians. ' 179 delphus or Evergetes. The latter of the two was evidently the one of whom Tacitus was thinking, when he said that between Ptolemy and Tiberius there were less than 250 years ; though this observation is incorrect, even in reference to Evergetes, unless we count from the end of his reign to the beginning of that of Tiberius. We should, however, recollect that Tacitus is here copying the words of some other writer, and that he may have considered Alexander as the first Macedonian sovereign of Egypt, though Tacitus overlooked him as such. The writer of the article in Eraser's Magazine conceives that apocatastatic cycles of 1460 years terminated at the several epochs, at which Tacitus places the appearance of a phoenix ; and he thinks that one of those cycles commenced at the chronological epoch of the eighteenth century before Christ, and ended in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus. This might be readily admitted ; but at what chronological epoch can we fix the commencement of that cycle, which terminated A. D. 34 ? or that, which terminated in the reign of Amasis ; 1461 years before which, the year of 365 days was not in use, according to this gen- tleman's system, any more than according to that, which I have endeavoured to establish in opposition to it ? Besides, Tacitus evidently intimates, by what he says of the interval between Ptolemy and Tiberius, that these appearances had been recorded by the author whom he follows, as a connected series, and not as a number of independent ones. On these grounds, I concluded that a series of cycles, of some sort or other, must have terminated A. D. 34. The origin of them I could only fix at the reformation of the calendar in the eighteenth century before Christ ; and what I had to do in order to ascertain their number, was merely, by comparing some one of the epochs mentioned by Tacitus with A. D. 34, to obtain such narrow limits for the length of the cycle, as that there could only be a single integral quotient, when this length should be made to divide the entire interval, which I had already restricted within the limits 1833 and 1793 years. Of the three epochs which Tacitus mentions, the first was of no use to me, because even the age at which Sesostris lived is not among the data of chro- nology. Still less could the limits of his reign be so. The last was likewise insufficient for my purpose ; for the possible limits, which it gives for the appear- ance of the phoenix, are 285 B. C, the beginning of the reign of Philadelphus, and 222 B. C, the end of the reign of Evergetes. The limits of the interval z 2 180 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles are consequently 318 and 255 years, which will allow of being repeated six or seven times between the chronological epoch and A. D. 34. The penultimate appearance, in the reign of Amasis, was, consequently, that, on which I had to depend. Amasis reigned 44 years, down to about half a year before the Persian conquest. No chronologer has fixed this conquest later than 525 ; which is, therefore, the latest date, at which this phoenix could have appeared. There are cogent reasons, however, for placing it two years earlier ; and I am inclined to think that the first year of Amasis was that which began in January, 572, B. C* • As this does not appear to be recognized as a truth by the students of Egyptian literature, and as the arguments in its favour can be very briefly stated, it will be well to state them here. 1st, Manetho, as quoted by Africanus, makes the reign of Cambyses over Egypt six years. 2nd, There is an inscription in existence near Cosseir, (Burton's Excerpta Hieroglyphica, pi. 8,) in which the duration of the Persian authority in Egypt, up to the period of its being cut, appears to be recorded. The period stated is six years of Cambyses, thirty-six of Darius, and twelve of Xerxes. 3rd, There is a pillar in the museum at Florence, the inscription on which reckons seventy-one years from the 3rd of Neco to the 35th of Amasis ; whence it follows that Neco and his successors reigned thirty-nine years before the accession of Amasis. Now, the first year of Neco could not have been later than 610 B. C, as we know from Scripture that in that year he defeated Josiah. Consequently, the first year of Amasis could not have been later than 571 B. C. As the first year of Darius was 521 B. C, we have at least fifty years for the interval, viz. forty-four for the reign of Amasis, and six for that of Cambyses and Smerdis. It is probable, however, that the first year of Neco was 61 1 B. C, and that of Amasis 572 B. C. We may allow a year for the short reign of the son of .Amasis; for the confusion attending on the conquest, and for the dominion of the Magi ; and there will then remain forty-four years for Amasis to have reigned, and six for Cambyses. With respect to the division of the intervening thirty-nine years, I believe Herodotus to be correct when he assigns sixteen years to Neco, and six to Psamitich II. Manetho, as we find his text in Syncellus's work, on the authority of Africanus, makes the two reigns to contain six years each. This, however, is an obvious mistake of a copyist as to the reign of Neco. There remain seventeen years for Apries or Uavre, "the priest of the sun," reckoning his reign to last from the death of Psamitich II. to the accession of Amasis. As to the latter hmit, however, it is probable that Uavre lived some time after Amasis assumed the royal dignity, say two years. This would account for his reign having been reckoned as of nineteen years by Manetho ; and it may have been reckoned by others as of twenty-five years, (the number given to him by Herodotus,) if his years were computed from the death of Neco. I suppose Psamitich II. and Uavre to have been brothers, and to have shared the sovereignty between them. I suppose, further, that the king, known to us from the monuments as Psamitich III., was the son of Psamitich II., and that in course of time he was deposed by his uncle. Amasis married the daughter of this prince, and avenged his cause by used hy the Ancient Egyptians. ' 181 I therefore take this as the earliest date. The least and greatest intervals are 558 and 605 years ; halving which, I obtain 279 and 302|, as the least and greatest numbers of years that the cycle can contain. These limits are incon- sistent with there being any number of cycles except six between the chrono- logical epoch in the eighteenth century and A. D. 34. Five such cycles could not have exceeded 1512|^ years, while seven could not have been less than 1953; but we have seen already that the entire interval could only vary about twenty years from its mean value 1813 years. It consequently became a matter of cer- tainty that the number of cycles was six ; and that the least possible value of each was 299 years, the sixth part of 1793. The greatest possible value has been previously determined to be 302|- years. IV. The next point was to ascertain what period of time, having a cyclical character, and being such as the Egyptians would be likely to observe, was to be found within the narrow limits which have been now determined, 299 and 302|- years. I observe, in the first place, that owy cycle, depending on a comparison of the wandering year of 365 days with a fixed year of any description, could not differ much from 1505 years, which Is the nearest whole number to the quotient of 365 days by the excess of the mean tropical year over 365 days. It is evident then that the period which we wish to ascertain could not be any such cycle, taken as a whole. It might, however, be a submultiple ofit; and it at once presents itself to us as a remarkable coincidence, that the only small divisor which 365 will admit, namely ^we, is the only integral quotient that could result from dividing a number which can but little differ from 1505 by a number lying between the limits 299 and 302^. We are not then driven to the necessity of seeking a lunlsolar cycle, or a cycle connecting the revolution of the moon with the year of 365 days, which might lie between the prescribed limits ; we at once deposing Uavre ; which, we know, he did by the aid of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to whom he was in subjection for a considerable part of his reign. The above appears to me the most probable mode of solving the acknowledged difficulties respecting the succession of the Saitic kings. I do not propose it as absolutely certain; but I cannot but regard it as what should be considered a settled point, that the conquest of Egypt took place in 527 or 528 B. C. I am aware of the confident statements of Herodotus and Diodorus to the con- trary ; but these are in my judgment far outweighed by the threefold evidence that I have adduced against them. 182 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles see that the cycle required was that, in which some annual phenomenon advanced seventy-three complete days through the wandering year ; that is to say, in which it traversed through a fifth part of it. Now what phenomenon was so likely to be chosen as that, which had marked the commencement of the old fixed year, and for observing which there existed every facility ? The only other annual phenomena, which suggest themselves, as at all likely to have taken the place of this, are the heliacal rising of Sirius, and the solstice or commencement of the inundation. The former of these is, however, out of the question, because the corresponding cycle would contain only 1460 years ; the fifth part of which, 292, is less than the minor limit already ascertained. In fact, if we counted back six periods of 292 years from A. D. 34, we should reach the year 1719 B. C, when the physical characters of the seasons would by no means correspond with accuracy to those indicated by their hieroglyphical names. The difficulty of observing the solstice correctly, on account of the very great altitude which the sun then has in Egypt, as well as on account of the small change which its alti- tude then undergoes on consecutive days, renders it exceedingly unlikely that that phenomenon should be chosen ; and there would be no advantage gained by observing the commencement of the inundation, as there is a want of regularity in it. Taking all these circumstances into consideration, it cannot, I think, admit of a doubt that the interval between the introduction of the wandering year and A. D. 34 contained six-ffths of a complete cycle, in which the phe- nomenon, which had marked the commencement of the old fixed year, travelled through all the days of the wandering year. V. It only remains that we should determine the length of this complete cycle. But here, methinks, some one will ask — " have you not yourself already stated it ? Is not this the cycle obtained by comparing the year of 365 days with the mean tropical year, which you have already stated to be 1505 years ?" I answer that the mean tropical year is a mathematical abstraction, which may be calculated, but which cannot be immediately observed; and that of the many tropical years which may be observed the inequality is so great, as sensibly to vary the length of the cycle formed by comparing them with a year of 365 days. There are two distinct causes for the tropical year, as it must have been observed hy the Egyptians, differing from the mean tropical year ; and both of these causes have the effect of lengthening the year, and consequently of shortening used by the Ancient Egyptians. 183 the cycle. They do this to such an extent, that 300 years will be found to be the true length of the smaller cycle, and not 301, as would be the case if we used the mean tropical year. The first of these causes is the annual change undergone by the equation of the centre, proper to the point in the orbit where the sun is situated at the commencement of the year. The sun's perigee passed through that point in the orbit about 400 years before the chronological epoch of the eighteenth century before Christ ; whence it is easy to see that for a long course of ages about that epoch the sun would at the end of a mean tropical year be behind his place at the beginning of it ; as the annual change in the equation of the centre would always lengthen the year.* The other cause of the year being * Let 9 be the sun's longitude at the commencement of any year, reckoned from the mean equinox of that time, and not corrected for lunar or planetary perturbations. Let fl' be the sun's longitude, reckoned in like manner, at the end of any time t. The elliptic theory of the planets gives us the following equations, n expressing the mean motion in longitude during that time in reference to the mean equinox ; 9=:e + 2esin(e— «T)-f.&c. (1) ff=znt + e+2e'sm(nt+£ — m')-\-kc. (2) The remaining terms of these values, containing the second and higher powers of the eccentricity, may be disregarded ; as it is evident they can only modify in a very shght degree the results obtained from considering the two first terms. At the end of a tropical year 9'— e = 2s-; (3) and the value of t which satisfies this equation is, of course, the length of the tropical year. What is called the mean tropical year is the value of t, obtained by leaving out of consideration the part of the orbit in which the sun was situated at the beginning of the year ; or, in other words, by consi- dering only the^rst terms in the above values, which are independent of the angle e — ■a. In the mean tropical year, 8' — 6=:nt; and therefore, by (3) nt=2it; or t = ~. (4) n ^ It is evident that this value of t would abo satisfy (3), taking into consideration the other terms in the values of 9 and 9' ; provided only that e and w were invariable. The divergency, then, of the various tropical years that may be observed from the mean tropical year is due to the secular variations of these elements. We know that e is continually diminishing, while ■m is continually in- creasing. Let e — Se and iii-\-Sit express the values e' and jr', belonging to the end of the year ; and let St be the variation of the length of the tropical year, caused by the variations of the elements. It will obviously be a function of Se, Svr, and of the angle g — -ir; and it will depend on the magni- tude of this angle (that is, on the part of the orbit where the sun is situated at the commencement of the year) whether it is to be added to the mean tropical year, or subtracted from it. Substituting in (2) their values for e' and tj-', and writing t-\- St for t; confining ourselves abo I 184 The Rev. E. HmcKS on the Years and Cycles lengthened is the diminution of the obliquity of the ecliptic. The phenomenon, by which the commencement of the year was indicated, was the attainment of a given length by the meridian shadow of an object ; that is, the diminution of the sun's altitude beyond a given limit, or his attaining a given south declination. Now, the sun being at this time In the quadrant following the equinox, he must not only attain the same longitude as he had at the beginning of the year before this can happen, but he must go over a small additional arc sufficient to compen- sate for the decrease of obliquity. The time of his passing over this small arc must be added to the mean tropical year, as well as the time of his passing over the annual variation of the equation of the centre ; and the sum of all three will be the tropical year, as it would have been observed by the Egyptians. I do not mean to say that it would be precisely so in a single year. The lunar and planetary perturbations might make it greater or less. But, taking the sum of a few observed years, the effect of these perturbations would disappear, and the average value of the observed year would be that which 1 have stated. It remains that I should ascertain the numerical value of this tropical year. 1 find, in the first place, that the annual precession, about the time of the chro- to the first powers of the variations, as well as of the eccentricity, we have by equation (3) 0 =: nS< { 1 4- 2 e cos (e — w) } — 2 Je sin (e — ■a) — 2 eSzr cos (s — w) ; 2i5esin(£ — tsr) -|- 2eJ«rcos(£ — w). n When the mean anomaly is less than 90°, both the terms, which compose the value of St will be positive. It was so, in the case we are considering, from the earliest age that can be conceived to about the year 2170 B. C, when the perigee passed through the sun's place at the commencement of the Egyptian year. In the next quadrant, the term depending on Se is negative ; but during the greater part of the time that the perigee takes to pass through it, St will be positive, on account of the variation Jm being greater than Se. If e — w be greater than 180°, but less than 270°, U will consist of two negative terms ; and if it be less than 180°, but greater than 90°, its terms will be of opposite signs, but the negative one will preponderate. In the interval between the chronological epochs of the eighteenth and third centuries before Christ, the average, '^ue of s — ra- in reference to the summer solstice was about 218°. The tropi- cal year commencing at that solstice was consequently less than the mean tropical year, both the terms of St being negative ; and of course the cycle, formed by comparing such a year with the year of 365 days, was greater than the cycle, formed by comparing the mean tropical year with the year of 365 days. The latter consisted of 1505 years ; the former of 1508 years ; the coincidence of the solstice with the 241st day of the year occurring in 1779 and 271 B. C. used hy the Ancient Egyptians. 185 nological epoch in the eighteenth century before Christ, was, by Laplace's for- mula, 49 'j32 ; that is, 0",78 less than the precession, with which Delambre's tables are calculated. I seek then in those tables the time in which the sun would describe 360°. 0', 0",78, and find it to be 365,242485 days, which I take for the length of the mean tropical year. I find the annual variation of the equation of the centre to be 2'',1125, taking into account both the decrease of the mean anomaly and that of the eccentricity. The time of describing this arc would be 0,000595 of a day. Lastly, the annual decrease of the obliquity of the ecliptic is 0",4238. This must be compensated for by an increase in the longitude of 0",58845 ; and the sun would take 0,000166 of a day to describe this arc. Adding together these three quantities, we hav^ for the value of the tropical year, as the Egyptians would observe it, but independent of lunar and planetary perturbations, 365,243246 days. I now divide 73 days by the excess of the last number over 365, and the quotient is 300,1077 years.* When we consider that this is the value of the cycle, calculated on the supposition that the length of the year at the beginning of the eighteenth century had always been its length ; but that, in point of fact, its length had been for many previous cen- turies constantly decreasing, it will be obvious that the Egyptians, looking to their past observations, could not possibly have estimated the lesser cycle at more than 300 years. I have built nothing on the consideration of this being a round number, though that is a circumstance that would not be likely to be overlooked, even had 301 been a somewhat more accurate cycle ; but I contend that, accord- * There can be little doubt that Laplace's formulas give the obliquity and its annual variation in past ages too great, and the precession too small. In the question respecting the heliacal rising of Sirius, the correction of this error would have been in my favour. Here it is the reverse; and, therefore, candour obliges me to notice it, and to estimate its bearing on the strength of my argu- ment. The difference between the precession now and in 1780 B. C, as estimated by Laplace, cannot have exceeded its true value by so much as 0''.06. The excess was probably much less; but I am now taking extreme values. The annual decrease of the obliquity must have been at the least 0". 39. The difference between this and the value in the text would be compensated for by a difference of 0". 047 in longitude. The total difference is less than 0".I07 ; over which the sun would move in 0.00003 of a day. We should thus have 0.243216 for a divisor, in place of that in the text; which would give 300.144 for the quotient, determining the length of the cycle. The difference between this and the value given in the text is evidently immaterial, so far as our present argument is concerned. VOL. XVIII. 2 A 186 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles ing to the principles laid down for computing the value of the tropical year, it is such as will lead to 300 and not 301 years, as the time in which the sun would descend to the standard altitude on the seventy-fourth day of a year made to consist always of 365 days. Counting back six of these periods of 300 years from A. D. 34, I arrive at 1767 B. C, in which year the commencement of the wandering year was on the 8th November. On that day, therefore, the new system must have been adopted ; and the first Egyptian year of 365 days must have been the one, of which that was the first day. The longitude of the sun on that day was about 211°. 39'; and its declination about 12°. 18' south. We may therefore safely conclude that 12^° w^ nearly the standard declination ; and that up to this epoch (1767 B. C.) the first day in which the surCs south declination exceeded 12^°, was the first day of the year. I will only add, that the first day of the year, computed in this manner, will occur at the end of 300 years on the 109574th day from the introduction of the system ; those 300 years containing 109573 days, or 300J Egyptian years of 365 days. And not only so, but this will continue to be the case for no less than ten periods of 300 years, or two com- plete revolutions of the seasons. I find that on the 19th October, A. D. 1234, which was 3002 years of 365 days from 8th November, 1767 B. C. ; and which would have been the 1st Thoth of 3003rd Egyptian year, had such continued in use ; the sun's declination was less than 12°. 35' ; and consequently this was the first day of its exceeding 12°. 15' ; for the diurnal increase of the declination was, at that time, and in that part of the orbit, near 21'. If we trace the period backward, in place of forward, its accuracy is considerably greater. In the 900 years preceding 1767 B. C. the change of declination would not amount to a minute ; and in the preceding ages, if we choose to calculate what would have occurred before the colonization of Egypt, the cycle would be so exact, that the change of declination in 300 years would be scarcely observable. VI. I now proceed to mention some important verifications of these results, which I have obtained from independent considerations, since I first arrived at them. These verifications respect first the length of the cycle, and secondly the date of its epochs. 1 . It is a very remarkable circumstance, that the double period of 300 years, or the time in which the attainment of 12J° south declination by the sun would pass from the first to the 147th day of the wandering year, is a lunisolar cycle of used by the Ancient Egyptians. 187 singular accuracy, being nearly equal to 7421 synodical revolutions of the moon. In fact, if we assume 600 tropical years to be equal to 219146 days ; which in those remote ages was scarcely more than their true value, according to the Egyptian mode of observation ; and if we equate this value to 7421 lunations ; we obtain for the length of each lunation 29,53052 days. The true length of a lunation was in the 18th century before Christ about 29,53060 days ; the error being only one 12500th part of a day in each lunation, or, more accurately, 5916 ten thousandth parts of a day in 600 years. There can be no doubt that the lunisolar cycle of 600 years was observed in the most remote antiquity.* The knowledge of it, acquired in antediluvian times, would be preserved by the survivors of the deluge ; and would be carried at the subsequent dispersion to all countries. The Egyptians would thus have been led to pay particular atten- tion to this period of 600 years ; and, when they noticed the remarkable fact, that in the half of that period there occurred just 73 years with 366 days ; and, consequently, that it would be equal to 300^ years of 365 days ; they would be the more easily persuaded to adopt a wandering year, which connected itself so readily with the cycle that was already in use among them. I here speak of the men of learning among them ; for, as to the bulk of the population, all their feelings would be in favour of a year of uniform length, and in opposition to the nuisance of the 366th day, which, occurring so irregularly as it did, was a con- stant source of vexation to them. The period of 300 years was thus the half of the lunisolar cycle of 600 years, and at the same time the fifth part of the cycle of 1500 years, which commenced at the time that the year began to wander, and would terminate when the 1st of Thoth returned to its original place in respect to the seasons ; when the sun would again attain to 12^" south declination at its noon. Properly speaking, the period of 300 years was not cyclical. At the end of it, nothing returned to the situation in which it was at the beginning of it ; but it was the greatest common measure of the two cycles which the Egyptians used, and consisted of an integral number of days ; it thus possessed two characters, which entitled it to especial notice. Another period, also claiming especial notice, was the great period of 3000 years, which was the least common multiple * It has been often remarked, that Josephus speaks of the cycle of 600 years as having been known to the antediluvians ; accounting for their discovery of it by the great lengths of their lives. —See Ant. Jud. I. 3. 9. 2^2 188 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles of the two cycles ; containing five lunisolar cycles, and two cycles of 1500 years. This period of 3000 years is mentioned by Herodotus (Eut. 123) as that in which the transmigration of souls is completed ; and it appears from the Old Chronicle to have been the duration of the reign of Chronus, or Time. But an objection may here be stated. If the period of 300 years was not in strict propriety cyclical, why should the Egyptians have represented it by a phoenix, which could only symbolize a period, in which things returned to their pristine state ? This objection admits the following answer ; which, if it be correct, supplies a fresh verification of the results, at which I have already arrived. The Egyptians did not place the return of a phoenix at the end of every period of 300 years ; but only when the multiplier was an even number or five. In other words, using their mystical language, no phoenix lived so short a time as 300 years ; but as one phoenix lived GOO years, and the other 1500, the intervals between the successive appearances of phoenixes would sometimes be only 300 years. Now, it is to be observed, that, though the period of 300 years, which terminated A. D. 34, was the sixth such period, since the reformation of the calendar in 1767 B. C. ; the phoenix which appeared then is only numbered by Tacitus as the fourth. Why ? because at the end of the Jirst and third periods of 300 years, there was no complete revolution, and consequently no phoenix. Tacitus's phoenixes appeared first under Sesostris. This was the ' lunisolar phoenix, whose life was 600 years, which is the space mentioned by Philostratus in the third book of his life of Apollonius. The time of its appear- ance was the 147th day of the 601st Egyptian year, or 4th November, 1 167, B. C. The next phoenix, which Tacitus mentions, was of the same sort ; and appeared under Amasis on the 293rd day of the 1201st Egyptian year, or 31st October, 567 B. C. This falls within the reign of Amasis according to any system of chronology ; and, according to what I conceive to be the most probable system, it falls in his sixth year. The third phoenix of Tacitus was that of which Mani- lius speaks ; saying, that " in its life a revolution of the great year was completed, and the seasons and stars returned to the same situations." Its life was accord- ingly 1500 years, and it returned, alter et idem, on the first day of the 1502nd Egyptian year, or on the 29th October, 267 B. C. ; which was the 19th year of Ptolemy Philadelphus, the third Macedonian sovereign of Egypt. Lastly, the lunisolar phoenix appeared under Tiberius, on the 74th day of the 1802nd Egyp- tian year, or 27th October, A. D. 34. We have thus all the phoenixes, whose used by the Ancient Egyptians. 189 appearances are recorded by Tacitus, accounted for ; and the only scruple, which any one can have, in respect to the coincidences of these appearances with the reigns of the kings whom Tacitus mentions, is whether Sesostris reigned at so late a date as 1 167 B. C. I will not discuss this point. I will only observe that, according to Mr. Cullimore, who has paid much attention to Egyptian chro- nology, the construction of " the Memnonlum," as the palace of this sovereign at Thebes has been most improperly called, took place about 1,138 B. C. ; and he reigned sixty-eight years, according to Manetho ;* so that, if Mr. Cullimore be right, he might well have commenced his reign before 1167. I take it for granted, that we are to understand by Sesostris, Rameses the Great ; the second sovereign of that name, whose numerous monuments exhibit him as the most distinguished of a race of conquerors. 2. I now come to some verifications of the epochs, that I have assigned for the commencements of these cycles. Connected as they are with one another, it is evident, that, if any one can be verified, independently of the series, the veri- fication will extend to all. I at first considered the statement of Tacitus as so explicit with respect to the year 34 being that of the appearance of the phoenix, that I felt little desire for any verification of it, so soon as I became quite satisfied that the cycles of 600 and 1500 years were established on sure grounds. I was, however, startled at finding that the appearance of this phoenix was fixed by Pliny in a different year. He speaks of it (B. 10, ch. 2) as having arrived in Egypt in the consulship of Paplnlus and Plautius, that is, in A. D. 36. From the whole train of argument that I have used, it is evident that this change in the year of appearance of the phoenix, supposing it to be established, would only alter the epochs of my cycles, bringing them down two years, or 730 days ; * There is a tablet in the British Museum, dated on the 29th of the first month of the Inunda- tion, (Pachon,) in the sixty-second year of this prince. Mr. Cullimore fixes the date of the Memnonium from the astronomical sculptures on its ceiling. It is but fair, however, to state, that from the very same data M. Biot places the building of this edifice in 1300 B. C, and Mr. Wilkinson in 1322 B. C. Though I feel disposed to agree with Mr. Cullimore, I by no means regard his system as established on perfectly sure grounds ; nor do I consider my own conclusions, contained in this paper, to be so connected with it, as that they would be shaken by its being overturned. Tacitus may very well be supposed to have used the name " Sesostris" indeterminately ; not for the great Rameses, but for some of the numerous princes who claimed descent from him, and bore his name. All, I presume, will admit that the sovereign who reigned in 1167 B. C. was a Rameses ; and Tacitus may have meant nothing more than this. 190 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles making, for example, the origin of the system to be the 7th of November, 1765 B. C, in place of the 8th November, 1767- Being desirous, however, of getting rid even of this small uncertainty, I considered, in the first place, whether Tacitus or Pliny was a priori most worthy of credit, as to his date of this pheno- menon ; and, in the second place, what confirmation there might be obtained of either date from independent sources. As to the first point, it appears to me that an annalist, like Tacitus, record- ing the events that occurred in the period of which he treated in their regular order, would be much less likely to go astray than a writer, like Pliny, who merely recorded the date of an isolated fact. The confusion, which existed among the chronologers of that period, with respect to the correct epoch of the building of the city, might easily lead to an error of two years ; for, though Pliny describes the year, in which the phoenix appeared, by its consuls, and not by the year of the city, the author from whom Pliny copied may have used this latter mode of describing the year ; and Pliny may have used consular Fasti, con- structed on a different system from those which his author used ; e. g. the latter may have stated, that the phoenix appeared A. U. C. 787, which would coincide with the consulship of Fabius and Vitellius, according to the chronology of Varro, or with A. D. 34 ; but Pliny may have understood him as speaking according to the chronological system of Cato, in which A. U. C. 787 coincides with the consulship of Papinius and Plautius, or A. D. 30.* Now, that this is the true mode of accounting for the difference between Tacitus and Pliny, and that the former was consequently in the right, is, I think, clearly established by this fact. In the same passage, Pliny gives another consular date, which is likewise two years after the date which would have been correct. Speaking of the cani- cular cycle, he says that the 1225th year of it (for that is evidently what we should read ; the m standing for 1000 having been dropped by a careless transcriber) coincided with the year in which P. Licinius and Cn. Cornelius were consuls. Now, the year of their consulship began in October or November of the proleptic Julian year 98 B. C. ; but the canicular cycle was renewed A. D. 138, according to the express testimony of Censorinus. The year which began in July, A. D. 138, was the first of the new, or the 1462nd of the old cycle ; whence it is easy to see, that the year of that cycle, which would begin in September, 98 B. C, must * Niebuhr, in the thirty-seventh chapter of the second volume of his History of Rome, points out an error of Livy of the same magnitude as this, which he attributes to a similar cause. '^'»^^ used by the Ancient Egyptians. . 191 be the 1227th year. The 1225th would begin two years earlier, coinciding with the consulship of Antonius and Posthumius. This might be considered as decisive in favour of Tacitus having assigned the correct year of the arrival of the phoenix ; but a confirmation from another source is certainly desirable. I find this confirmation in the chronological system of the Persians, who had also a wandering year of 365 days, and who had also periods of 600 years, of which one commenced in 1 767 B. C, the very year that I have assigned for the commencement of the Egyptian cycles. That the Per- sian cycle began in 1767 B. C. I establish in the following manner. The era used by the later Persians was that of Yezdegird, which dates from 16th June, 632 A. D. Yezdegird appears to have reformed the Persian calendar by add- ing an intercalary month at the end of every 120 years ; before his time the year was a wandering one, like that of the Egyptians, Now it is said that the first year of Yezdegird was the 2401st year of the old era, supposed to be that of Jamshid ; and, if we count back 2400 years of 365 days from l6th June, 632 A. D., they will lead us to 6th February, 1767 B. C. It is, however, incon- sistent with what is expressly stated on the subject, that this old Persian era should be the era of Jamshid. His era, we are told, began at the vernal equinox. We must therefore go back about 240 years to 2007 B. C, when the equinox and the Persian new year coincided on the proleptic 7th April, in order to reach the era of Jamshid. Of what then did the epoch take place in 1767 ? To this question I can only give one answer ; and, when we couple it with the fact that the Egyptian cycles began in the same year, it must be admitted to be highly probable that the answer is a correct one. The answer is this. In the year 1767 B. C. the old lunisolar cycle of 600 years came to an end. The Egyptians, who were desirous of substituting the wandering year of 365 days for their ancient year, of the inconveniences of which they were long sensible, thought the arrival of this epoch a good opportunity for making the change ; and the first year of the new cycle of 600 years was their first wandering year, and con- sequently the first year of their cycle of 1500 years. The Persians had adopted the year of 365 days 240 years before ; but, on the arrival of this epoch, they counted their years from it, rather than from the introduction of the wandering year by Jamshid ; and, what is very remarkable, they appeared to have retained the use of cycles, or rather systems, of 600 years, after they had totally abandoned the use of the tropical year, and when these periods had consequently lost, or at 192 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles least changed, their cyclical character in relation to the revolutions of the moon. I say "changed ;" for I am aware, that the period of 600 years of 365 days had a cyclical character, as well as that of 600 tropical years. The difference be- tween these two was, as we have seen, 146 days, which is nearly equal to five lunations ; and thus, while 600 tropical years nearly equalled 7421 lunations, 600 Egyptian or Persian years nearly equalled 7416 lunations. The latter two num- bers being each divisible by 24, we have 25 Egyptian years nearly equal to 309 lunations ; a cycle, which was, of course, well known to both Egyptians and Per- sians, when they had been any length of time using the wandering year. It is a remarkable result of what has been now ascertained that the years of the Egyptians and of the Persians were connected in a uniform manner ; and that, reckoning them from their respective epochs, there could never be above a year difference in the date. The first day of the Egyptian year was the 276th of the Persian year that bore the same number ; while the first day of the Persian year was the 91st day of the Egyptian year, which was numbered one less.* But it occurred to me, that, if what I have stated be correct, there would be an important verification attainable of the fact, that the year which began A. D. 1767 was the first of alunisolar cycle. It must have the astronomical characters of such a year. These characters are not to be sought in the Persian year, which began 6th February, 1767, nor yet in the Egyptian year, which began 8th November, 1767 ; but evidently in the old year, such as existed in antediluvian ages. This year is generally admitted to have begun at the autumnal equinox. Now the point to be ascertained was this. Was the new moon, which occurred * I have derived my information respecting the Persian year from a comparison of what is stated in the Encyclopedia Metropolitana ; Art. Calendar (where the authority quoted is Playfair's Chro- nology) with Barret on the Zodiac, p. 7, who quotes Freret. I have endeavoured to separate the facts stated by these writers on ancient authority from their own inferences from them. The former I have retained ; the latter I have criticised, and in general rejected. The historic facts mentioned by these authors are the three following, viz. that the era of Yezdegird commenced on the 16th June, A. D. 632 ; that the first year of it was the 961st of a period of 1440 years, which had been preceded by another similar period ; and that after the time of Yezdegird a month was to be intercalated at the end of every 120 years. The nature of the year before Yezdegird is matter of hypothesis. Freret supposed it to have had intercalary months in the same manner as afterwards. I cannot but regard this opinion as unfounded. If Yezdegird made no change in the form of the year, there appears no reason for the Persians dating their years from his reign. He was an unfortunate prince, with whom his dynasty ended. used hy the Ancient Egyptians. » '—'^^ l93 nearest to the autumnal equinox in 1767 B. C, at such a distance from the equinox as would naturally result from the incorrectness of former cycles ? On examining into this matter, I found that it was precisely so. In 1767 B. C. the autumnal equinox occurred on the 8th October, and the new moon four days after, on the 12th. Now the new moon gained on the equinox about a day in each cycle of 600 years ; consequently, in 3567 B. C, three cycles back, the new moon would occur the day after the equinox ; and, taking into account the uncertainty of observation, at that early age, we might very well place the com- mencement of the series of cycles at that epoch. Those, however, who, with the early Christians, and most of the learned in modem times, adopt the chronology of the Septuagint version of the Scriptures, will naturally place the commence- ment of this series of cycles at the autumnal equinox 4167 B. C, when the coincidence of the equinox with the new moon was still more exact. There is only one other subject, connected with the Egyptian year, on which I feel it necessary to make any remarks ; and that is the canicular cycle. I con- ceive that what I have said has completely overthrovra the theory of Freret, followed by many in our own day, that two such cycles had elapsed in 138 A. D.; or that the first year belonging to these cycles began in July 2783 B. C. It is possible, that in 1323 B. C, the heliacal rising of Sirius being observed on the first Thoth, a cycle may have been adopted, grounded upon the occurrence of this phenomenon. But it seems much more probable, that some astronomer of the Alexandrian school, under the Ptolemies, observing the day on which Sirius then rose heliacally, and observing the rate of the progress of its rising (a day in four years) calculated at what time the rising would take place on the 1st of Thoth ; and commenced the cycle proleptically at that time. In either case, we must suppose the Menophres, from whose time the years of this cycle are dated by Theon, to have been an Egyptian king ; and there is no name to be found in Manetho, so likely to have been he, as Mephres of the eighteenth dynasty ; who was probably the last Thothmos but one (the third or fourth) ; he whose sister shared the government with him in the beginning of his reign.* The interval * In identifying this Thothmos with Mephres, (though not with Menophres,) I follow ChampoUion and Rosellini, who, however, makes him the fourth Thothmos, supposing there to have been in all five sovereigns of that name. I feel reluctant to differ from Mr. Wilkinson on this subject; but the evidence on which the identification rests is such as to carry conviction to my mind. This VOL. XVIII. 2 B 194 - The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles between him and Rameses the Great, indicated by the monumental series, is not inconsistent with the supposition that the former reigned in 1323, and the latter in 1167. Thothmos, we know, assumed the title Mae-Re or Mae-Fhre, " lover of the sun ;" for it appears in several of his shields ; and he was the third in genealogical ascent from the " Memnon" of the vocal colossus, as Manetho makes Mephres to be. The father of Amenophis Memnon was, accord- ing to Manetho, Thothmosis ; and the father of the Amenoph, of whom the colossus is a statue, was a Thothmos. Lastly, the son of Amenophis Memnon is called Horus by Manetho ; and the son of this Amenoph has for his hieroglyphical name Amun-men Har-em-heb, " Horus in a panegyry ;" a coincidence of the most striking description. It is satisfactory to find the latter part of this name written without abbreviation in the twelfth plate of Mr. Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, as the name of the royal scribe who presides at the feast. The name is analogous to Muth-em-vaa, Har- em-vaa, Phtha-em-vaa, &c., i. e. " Muth in a barge," &c., which are common Egyptian names. But, to return to our Thothmos The only objection, that I am aware of, to his being Mephres, is the length of his reign. Manetho makes Mephres to have only reigned twelve years and nine months ; but the thirty-fourth year of Thothmos is mentioned on the monuments. I answer this objection as follows :— Manetho, in giving this short reign to Thothmos, limits it to the time, during which he reigned alone after the death or deposition of his sister ; but Thothmos dated the year of his reign from the period when he ascended the throne in conjunction with her, though, probably from his youth, with only nominal sovereignty. If his sister were the queen who erected the obelisks at Karnak, as I presume she was, we know that she took the credit of them entirely to herself, and the subsequent erasure of her name by Thothmos is a proof that there was little friendly feeling between the joint sovereigns, and affords ground for suspecting that the partnership in the crown, such as it was, was put an end to with violence. But that Thothmos was really king in conjunction with his sister, and of course that he would count her reign as a part of his own, is proved by a statue in the British Museum, the inscription on which commemorates the reigning sovereigns as that is, " the good goddess, the lady of the worlds, (defaced) may she live and be established like the Sun for ever ! and her brother, the good god, lord of ' Achth,' (the Sun establishing the world, i. e. Thothmos III.,) may he live like the Sun for ever !" In the case of a single sovereign, we find the used hy the Ancient Egyptians. 193 I will now conclude this paper, which has much exceeded the limits that I at first contemplated. I entertain a confident hope that, if attentively considered, it will be found to establish some important points of chronology, and to establish them in perfect consistency with divine revelation. title " Lord of the Worlds," prefixed to the first shield, while the title " Lord of Achth" precedes the shield which contains the phonetic name. I am not satisfied as to the meaning of this title ; but the name N£^a;^3oj, given by Diodorus to the father of Bocchoris, seems to be the expression of it in Greek characters. In Manetho's list of the eighteenth dynasty, as handed down to us by Josephus and others, the name of Mephres immediately succeeds that of Amessis, i. e. Amenset, the sister of the first Amenoph. Rosellini supposes the sister of Amenoph to be the queen of the Karnak obelisks, and makes Mephres her son. Not having access to his work, I cannot say on what evidence he assumes this relationship to have existed between that queen and Mephres ; but it is certain that Thothmos III. was brother, and not son, to the queen of the Museum statue ; so that, if he were son to the queen of the Karnak obelisks, there must have been two queens regnant, his mother and his sister. How- ever this may be, I feel quite satisfied that Queen Amenset, the sister of Amenoph I., was a distinct person from the queen who erected the Karnak obelisks. — I cannot venture to write down her name. I am inclined to think that three names are wanting in our copies of Manetho's Ust of sove- reigns, answering to Thothmos I., Thothmos II., and Queen Amen — {?). We know that there is a deficiency of sixty years in some part of Manetho's list ; for the total duration of the dynasty is distinctly stated by Josephus, more than once, to have been 393 years ; while the sum of the reigns in the present copies of his list is only 333 years. Three reigns might well comprehend the sixty years that are deficient ; and a copyist, having before him two queens' names beginning alike, might by an easy mistake place after the former of them the successor of the latter, omitting the second queen and the intervening kings. As for Mr. Wilkinson's hypothesis respecting Thothmos III., I consider it to be completely overturned by the fact, of which he does not appear to be aware, that his sister shared the government with him, or rather held it almost exclusively, in the early part of his reign. It has been also refuted on independent grounds, in a very satisfactory manner, by the author of the papers on the Pyramids in Eraser's Magazine. The instances in which the Egyptian throne was filled by joint sovereigns, are already known to be pretty numerous ; and further researches will doubtless augment their number. Amenoph III. had a brother, who for a time shared the government with him. Queen Taosre, who reigned in the interval between Rameses II. and Rameses III., had a brother, as well as a husband, for her partner in the throne. And I would suggest to the students of Egyptian literature, as well worthy of inquiry, whether the three sons of Rameses III. were noi joint sovereigns ; nay, whether all the other kings of that name, whose tombs are in the valley of the kings at Thebes, but of whose existence there seem to be no other monuments, were not the immediate descendants of these three kings, reigning cotemporaneously, and not in succession. 2b2 \Q6f The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles It may be well to annex the following series of chronological epochs, dated according to the principles which have been established in this paper : — B. C. 3567- Oct. 20. A lunisolar cycle of 600 years commenced, the new moon and autumnal equinox coinciding. 2967. Oct. 16. Another similar cycle commenced. 2367. Oct. 12. Ditto. The knowledge of these cycles was preserved through the Deluge ; and, subsequently to it, when Egypt was peopled, the years were reckoned according to this cycle ; though the commencement was placed about a month after the equinox, when the Nile had fallen to a certain level, or rather when the sun had attained 12^° south declination. 2007. April 7. Jamshid, king of Persia, introduced a wandering year of 365 days, which he made to commence at the vernal equinox, in place of the autumnal. The use of the cycle, of which this was the 36 1st year, was still retained. 1767- Feb. 6. The lunisolar cycle was renewed according to the Persian reckon- ing ; and accordingly this was reckoned as the beginning of their Jirst year. Their years were now arranged in periods of 120 and 1440, as well as of 600 years ; and these were all years of 365 days. 1767. Nov. 8. The lunisolar cycle was renewed according to the Egyptian reckoning ; and at the same time it was resolved that there should be no more intercalations ; but that each year should consist of 365 days. 1323. July 20. Egyptian year 445, Thoth 1st; the first year of Menophres commenced. 1167. Nov. 4. Egyptian year 601, Choiac 27th; the lunisolar cycle was re- newed. The phoenix of Sesostris appeared. 747. Feb. 26. Egyptian year 1021, Thoth 1st ; the first year of Nabonassar commenced. 567. Oct. 31. Egyptian year 1201, Paoni 23rd; the lunisolar cycle was re- newed. The phoenix of Amasis appeared. • used by the Ancient Egyptians. 197 B. c. 527. Jan. 2. Egyptian year 12il, Thoth 1st ; the first year of Cambyses com- menced. 332. Nov. 14. Egyptian year 1437, Thoth 1st; the first year of Alexander commenced. 267. Oct. 29. Egyptian year 1502, Thoth 1st; the cycle of the Seasons was renewed. The phoenix of Ptolemy appeared. 30. Aug. 31. Egyptian year 1739, Thoth 1st; the first year of Augustus commenced. 20. Aug. 30. Egyptian year 1743, Thoth 1st; the first day of the first fixed year ; first used in Alexandria, and by degrees in all Egypt. Their 1st Thoth coincided with the 30th August in the years 26, 22, 18, &c. B, C. ; but with the 29th in every other year. 34. Oct. 27. Egyptian year 1802, Athur 14th; the lunisolar cycle was re- newed. The phoenix of Tiberius appeared. P. S. — I think it right to mention that, since the foregoing sheets were written, my views respecting the primary division of the Egyptian year have undergone a slight modification. I offered it as a not improbable conjecture, that a division of the year into three nearly equal seasons preceded the division into twelve months of thirty days each, with epagomence at the end. I am now quite satisfied, not only that this was the case, but that these seasons were sub- divided into months containing alternately thirty and thirty-one days ; the thirty- first day of the last month being dropped in the ordinary years ; and that it was while this division subsisted, that the hieroglyphical notation of the months was adopted, and that the mythological connexion between them and the different deities was established. I was led to see this by considering the positions which the equinoxes and solstices would have in a year commencing on the first day that the Sun's south declination exceeded 12;|°. About the time of the reforma- tion of the calendar in 1767 B. C. the vernal equinox would occur sometimes on the 150th and sometimes on the 151st days of such a year ; while the summer solstice would fall sometimes on the 244th and sometimes on the 245th. But, if we go back a few centuries to the time when we may naturally suppose that 198 The Rev. E. Hincks on the Years and Cycles, Sfc. the names and the mythological patrons of the several months v?ere assigned to them, the vernal equinox and the summer solstice would both fall a day later in the year. Now, it has been satisfactorily shown by M. Biot, that the normal position of the vernal equinox, according to his view of the matter, that is, according to mine, its position in the old fixed year, was in the fifth month, Tybi ; while that of the summer solstice was in the ninth month, Pachon ; and should have been at its very commencement. If we suppose, as I now do, that the months primarily consisted of thirty and thirty-one days alternately, both these conditions would be exactly complied with. The 151st and 152nd days of the year, between which the vernal equinox would fluctuate, would be the 29th and 30th days of Tybi ; while the 245th and 246th days, on one or other of which the summer solstice would fall, would be the 1st and 2nd days of Pachon. On the other hypothesis of twelve equal months, and five or six epagomenae at the end, the vernal equinox would fall out of the limits of Tybi ; while the summer solstice would not occur before the 5th or 6th of Pachon. From these considerations it now appears to me quite evident, that the equaliza- tion of the months took place very little before the introduction of the wandering- year, for which it prepared the way ; if, Indeed, the two changes did not take place at the same time ; the five extra days of the alternate months being gathered together at the end of the year, on the occasion of the wandering year being substituted for the fixed one. ANTIQUITIES. VOL. xviir. ANTIQUITIES. Akt. I. Remarks on the Book of Mac Firbis, an Irish Manuscript lately transcribed for the Academy. By George Petrie, Esq., R.H.A., M.R.I.A. Read 27th February, 1837. JVLORE than a year since I had the honor of suggesting to the Council of the Academy the importance of obtaining from its proprietor, Lord Roden, a loan of an Irish manuscript of great celebrity, in order that a transcript of it might be made for our library ; and this suggestion having been acted on, the manuscript was placed in our hands for this purpose by that distinguished nobleman, through the friendly medium of the Dean of Saint Patrick's. As the Council afterwards did me the honor to entrust to me the care of having this transcript made, I feel it my duty now, on its completion, to submit it to the Academy for their inspection, and to make a few remarks on its nature and contents, in order that the Academy may be enabled to judge not only of its value and importance as a historical record, as well as of the pains which have been taken by the persons em- ployed to render it as perfect as possible, but also, that the Academy may feel satisfied that the funds which have been applied to this purpose have not been injudiciously expended. Another object which I propose to myself in offering these observa- tions is, to obtain the sanction of the Academy for prefixing to the volume, previously to its being bound, a short record of the circumstances under which it was made; and, as the transcript has received the addition of much important co-relative matter, not included in the original manuscript, that a notice may be added of the sources from which such additional matter has been obtained, and how it is distinguished in this transcript. a 2 4 •■ Mr. Petrie on the Book of Mac Firhis. The original manuscript, which I also lay on the table, is, as will be seen, a small quarto on paper, containing 957 pages, all of which, with the exception of a few towards the end, are in the handwriting of the compiler, the celebrated Irish hereditary antiquary, Duald Mac Firbis ; and the pages not written by him are in the handwriting of the no less celebrated antiquary Michael O'Clery, chief of the annalists, popularly called the Four Masters, of whose great work the autograph is in the library of the Academy. The contents of the volume may be described in general terms as historico-genealogical, being a history of the several colonies who established themselves by conquest in Ireland, with genea- logies of the principal families who descend from them, carried down in many instances to the time of the compiler. The nature and extent of this collection will be best understood from the following abstract of its contents, which, how- ever, for the sake of brevity, I am obliged to compress into a very narrow compass. The writer commences with this title of the work, in the manner of Irish writers of his own time, as follows : — " The branches of relationship and genealogical ramifications of every colony that took possession of Ireland [carried] from this time up to Adam, (excepting only those of the Fomorians, Lochlons, and Sax- Galls, of whom we, however, treat, as they have settled in our country, ) together with a sanctilogium and cata- logue of the kings of Ireland ; and finally, an index, which comprises, in alpha- betical order, the surnames, and the remarkable places mentioned in this book, which was compiled by Dubhaltach Mac Firbis of Lecan, 16.50."* The writer then proceeds to give the title of the work, after the manner of the old Irish authors, giving an account of the time, place, author, and object of the work, as follows : — " The place, time, author, and cause of writing this book, are : — the place, the college of St. Nicholas, in Galway ; time, the time of the religious war between the Catholics of Ireland and the heretics of Ireland, Scotland, and England, particularly the year 1650 ; the person or author, Duald, the son of • " CpaoBa coiBneapa ajup geuja jenealuij jaca jaBala oap ^aB Gpe on aitipa 50 haoarii (ace poihopaij toclonaij njup Saxjuill amain laitiam o ranjaoap oap mp) 50 naoiTiifeancup ajup pempio^pui^e Poola pop. Cfjup pa oeoij clap na ccuimpi^reap (lap nupo aibjiope) nu plomnce ajup na haire oipoeapcu luaiceap ipin leabappa do ceajlomao lepan tDuBalcac mac pipBipi^ Ceacain 1650." Mr. Pethie on the Book of Mac Firbis. 5 Giolla losa more Mac Firbis, historian, &c. of Lecan Mac Firbis in Tireragh on the Moy ; and the cause of writing the book is to increase the glory of God, and for the information of the community in general." In the introduction which follows, and consists of 18 pages, the compiler argues ably in support of the authenticity of the ancient history and genealogies of the Irish, and of their claims to early civilization, particularly in literature and the architectural art. He gives, from ancient authorities, the names of the poets, law-givers, historians, harpers, and builders, who came with the early colonies, as well as of those writers most distinguished in subsequent times, of whom he states, that it would require a whole volume to mention only the names. " With regard to our later writers," he adds, "who flourished within the last 600 years, here follow the names of some of them : — the O'Mulconrys were the hereditary Bards of Connaught, and some branches of them were Bards of Thomond, some ofLeinster, and some of Annaly, (now Longford ;) — the Clan- Firbis were the hereditary Bards of Lower Connaught, (i. e. of the County of Sligo,) of Hy Fiachrach Moy, of Tir-Amalgaid, (Tirawly,) of Cera, of Hy Fiachrach Aidne, of Eachtga, and of the race of CoUa Uais, that is, of the Clan Donnell; the 0' Cumins were the hereditary Poets of the O'Ruarksof Brefney, (now the County of Leitrim;) the O'Duigenans were the Poets of the Mac Dermots, called Clan Malroney, and of Conmacne of Moy- Rein ; the O'Du- vegans in Hy- Maine, followed them ; the O' Clerys and the O'Keenans were the Poets and Historians of Tirconnell ; the O'Luinins were the Poets of Fermanagh ; the 0' Clercens, of Tyrone ; the 0' Duinins, of South Munster, that is of the descendants of Eogan More, namely, the Mac Carthys, the O'Sul- livans, &c. ; the Mac an Ghabhans, of Ormond ; the 0' Riardans, of File ; the Clan Crutins and O'Brudins in Thomond ; the Mac Gilkellys, in Western Connaught with the O'Flahertys, and so on. — Every district had its Bard and its Brehon, or Judge ; and the genealogies were so accurately entered in their hooks, that he who refuses credit to them, may equally deny faith in his father or grandfather, since our fathers and grandfathers were our witnesses, each generation committing them to the care of their successors. " Neither was there any order, lay, or ecclesiastic, in Ireland, which was not bound by penalties, as stated in our Law books, and on pain also of loss of honor and reputation, to preserve their genealogies and histories, so that on comparison 6 Mr. Fetrif, on the Book of Mac Fir bis. with those of other districts and churches, they should be found to correspond ; and it was ordained by law that there should be always seven ranks or orders of the learned to inspect those books, namely, 1, the Ollamhs ; 2, the Anrads ; 3, the Cli ; 4, the Cana ; 5, the Dos ; 6, the Mac-Fuirmid ; 7) the Fochlag. The order oiFileas were, by law, to be of free families, and of spotless integrity with respect to theft, murder, extortion, adultery, &c. " The Irish historians, not content with recording the history and customs of the nobility, have also written concerning the physicians and tradesmen of old times, and hence we know who the builders were of our first Baths and DunSy from the poems of the ancients ; and if those ancient buildings have disappeared, be it remembered how many fine castles have been levelled to the ground and disappeared in our own memories, or fallen of themselves from neglect. I myself have, within the last sixteen years, seen high and strong castles of lime and stone, and now nothing remains but the moats of earth to indicate where they stood ; and need we wonder if strong places which were built 2000 years, after the manner of eastern nations, such as Spain, &c. whence colonies came into Ireland, have disappeared also ? — Nor have they entirely disappeared either, for there are still remaining royal and extensive Raths in all parts of Ireland, in which are many chipped and smooth stones, and subterranean crypts or chambers, as at Rath Maoilcatha at Castle Conor, and at Ballydowd in Tireragh, on the banks of the Moy. There are nine subterranean chambers formed of smooth stones within that ancient Rath. I was within this Rath, and deem it one of the oldest in Ireland." He says that the history which he gives was written in books from time to time, from the deluge, by elders and persons vouchsafed by God, down to the time of Saints Patrick, Columb, Comgall, Finen, &c., who wrote after them, and handed the accounts down to succeeding ecclesiastical and other writers, so that it is to be found on holy altars, in libraries, in the hands of seniors, doc- tors, and historians at this day, and will for ever. He then adds, that the work is divided into nine books. The first treats of the arrival of the colony of Partholan, about 300 years after the flood ; the second, of the arrival of the Nemedians ; the third, of the conquest of Ireland by the Firbolg, or Belgae ; the fourth, of the Tuatha De-Dananns ; the fifth, of the Gaels, or Milesians ; the sixth, of the race of Ir and Dal Fiachach ; the seventh, Mr. Petrie on the Book of Mac Firhis. 7 of the race of Ebhir, and of the saints descended from Lughaidh, the son of Ith, who possessed one division of Munster ; the eighth, of the saints of Ireland ; and the ninth and last, of the Fomoraigh, or sea-robbers from Africa, the Danes and the Saxons, or Anglo-Normans. The first and second of these books, as Dr. O' Conor remarks, {Bibl. MS. Stow. vol. i. p. 141,) are fabulous and brief: they end at page 37. The pedigree of the Campbells, or Mac Aliens, of Scotland follows, and is particularly valuable, not only as an unpublished historical record of that great clan, but also as pre- serving the Irish historic tradition, that they were not of the Scotic, but of the Belgic race. The third book, which contains the history of the Firbolgs, commences at page 47, and ends at page 74. This book contains a list of the territories named from this colony, and of the tribes anciently located in them. This book is characterized by Dr. O' Conor as the best account of the Irish Belgae extant, {ubi supra,)sa^ called forth the following observation from his grandfather, the venerable Charles O' Conor of Belanagare. " It is particularly valuable by rescuing from oblivion the names of districts and tribes in Ireland antecedently to the second century ; since which the Scots have gradually imposed new names of their ovm, as they were enabled from time to time to expel the old Belgic inhabitants. It is a most curious chart of ancient topography, and vastly prefer- able to that given by the Alexandrian geographer, Ptolemy, who must have known but little of Ireland, wherein the Romans never made a descent." {Pref. to Ogygia Vindicated, p. ix.) This book also contains at page 49 a list of the battles fought by Tuathal against the Attacots ; and at page 54 an ancient historical poem of 164 verses, reciting the leading features of the history of the Belgae. The fourth book, which begins at page 75, and contains the history of the Tuatha De-Dananns, gives the names of their territorial divisions, with lists and genealogies of their kings and other distinguished persons. This occupies 9 pages, and ends at page 84. The fifth and succeeding books, with the exception of the last, are devoted to the history and genealogies of the Milesians, and commences at page 84. The pedigrees commence at page 114, with the northern tribes of the Kinel Owen — the O'Neills, Mac Loughlins, O'Kanes, O'Gonnleys, &c. &c. ; these terminate at 8 Mr. Fetrie on the Book of Mac Firbis. page 150. The pedigrees of the Klnel Connell, or families of Donegal, follow, as O'Donnells, O'Boyles, O'Doghertys, &c. ; and at page 159 there is a list of the chiefs of Tirconnell down to the year 1600. Page l6l, — Next follow the genealogies of the Clan Colman, of whom the O'Melaghlins, kings of Meath, were the most distinguished family. Page 163, — Next follow the genealogies of the posterity of Hugh Slaney, from whom the O'Kellys and other families of Bregia descend. Next, of the posterity of Carbry, the son of Niall. Next, of the posterity of Fiacha, the son of Niall, — the Macgeoghegans, MoUoys, &c. Next, of the posterity of Maine, — the Foxes, Magawleys, O'Breens, &c. Page 212, — The families of Connaught descended from Muireadhach Muil- leahan, — the O'Conors, Mac Dermotts, MacDonoghs, O'Malroneys, &c. Then follow the names, order of succession, and chronology of the Christian kings of Connaught, taken from an ancient poem. Page 261, — The genealogies of the families of Tireragh on the Moy, the Mac Firbises, O'Dowds, &c. ; with an account of their territories. Page 270, — Genealogies of the families of Ceara, in Mayo. Page 272, — Genealogies of the families of Tirawley, in the same county. Page 277, — A poem of 892 verses, by Giolla losa more Mac Firbis, enume- rating the families of Tireragh and Tirawley and their inheritances. Page 299, — The history and genealogies of the families of Oriel, — Maguires, Mac Mahons, &c. Page 320, — The history and genealogies of the families of Hy-Maine in Connaught, — the O'Kellys, &c. Page 330, — An ancient poem of 160 verses, by Giolla na naomh O'Dunn, on the genealogies of the families of Oriel, a district embracing the present counties of Louth, Armagh, and Monaghan. Page 334, — The history and genealogies of the Heremonians, in the southern half of Ireland. Page 400, — The history and genealogies of the Dalriads, or Irish colony, in Scotland, drawn from Irish and Scotch authorities. Page 408, — The genealogies of the kings of Scotland. Page 414, — An ancient poem of 108 verses, detailing the succession of the kings of Scotland down to Malcolm, the son of Donogh, in whose time the poem Mr. Petrie on the Book of Mac Firbis. 9 was written. This is the celebrated poem so essential to Scottish history, which has been published from this very copy by Pinkerton and by O' Conor; and no other ancient copy is now known to exist, nor could any other be found in the time of O'Flaherty, more than a century since. Page 418, — An account of the settlement of the Picts in Scotland, and of the wars of the Picts and Scots with the Romans. This tract, which is written in Latin, and occupies five pages, is a very valuable document, and, I believe, as yet unpublished. To this is appended, in our transcript, fourteen pages of very interesting matter not found in the original work, but copied from an insertion by Ma« Firbis himself in an abstract of it written in 1666. It gives an account of the first establishment of the claims of the Milesians to the Scottish sovereignty, and of the succession of the Stewarts, their genealogy, intermarriages, &c. ; with a collection of some Irish and Scottish surnames. Page 426, — A list of the Christian kings of Leinster, from an ancient poem. Page 430, — The history and genealogies of the Lagenian families, descended from Leary, the son of Hugony the Great. Page 461, — Genealogies of the descendants of the monarch Cathaoir more. Page 472, — Ancient and modem compilations of the genealogies of the Leinster families, as the Mac Murroghs or Cavanaghs, O' Byrnes, O'Tooles, Fitz Patricks, &c. Page 485, — The history and genealogies of the families descended from Ir, son of Milesius, — the ancient Ultonians. Page 491, — A short metrical and prose extract from the book of Sabhall Phadraig, (now Saul, county of Down,) treating of the Ulidians. Page 493, — An account of the families of the Ulidians, called Dal Fiatach, taken from the book of Saul. Page 505, — An account of the poets of Ireland and Scotland. Page 514, — An account of the Dalaradians, Page 535, — An account of the descendants of Fergus Mac Roigh. Page 556, — The history and genealogies of the families of Leix. Page 561, — Genealogies of the Ultonians, from the book of Saul, Psalter of Cashel, Book of Lecan, &c. VOL. XVIII. h 10 Mr. Petrie on the Book of Mac Firhis. Page 564, — Genealogies of the families of Leix, — the O'Mores, O'Kellys, O'Dowlings, O'Lawlers, O'Dorans, &c. Page 589, — An ancient poem of 320 verses, on the Irian kings of Ulster. Page 599> — History and genealogies of the Momonians. Page 658, — A quotation of 72 verses, from O'Dugan's topographical poem, respecting the Delvins. Page 665, — Genealogies, &c. of the families of Gallen and Leyney, — the O' Haras, O'Garas, &c. Page 688, — A list of the kings of Munster, down to Donnell O'Brien, in the twelfth century. Page 692, — History of Irish saints. Page 696, — Pedigrees of Irish saints. Page 754, — The chronology of the kings of Ireland, compiled from the Annals of the Four Masters, which Mac Firbis calls the Book of Fergal O' Gara. Page 768, — The history of the Fomorians and Danes. Page 780, — The history and pedigrees of the Anglo-Normans. Page 781, — A list of the names of the Normans who came over with William the Conqueror to England. Page 786, — The history and genealogies of the English families in Ireland, viz. first the Geraldines, concerning whom two anonymous poems are given, the first consisting of 148, and the second, which was written in 1601, of 248 verses : these poems commence at page 789, and end at 798. These poems are followed by genealogies of the families of Burke, Butler, Birmingham, Gibbon, Scott, Barry, Roche, Purcell, Nugent, Costelloe, Philips, Jordan, Gumming, Walsh, Barrett, Mac Quillan, Joice, Dillon, Tyrell, Bamwall, Tuite, Darcy, Petit, Cusack, Brown, Prendergast, Tobin, Dalton, &c. &c. Page 839, — The history of the family of Walsh, translated from the book of Laurence Walsh, written in 1588. After page 840, ten pages have been inserted from the abstract of 1666, already referred to, eight of which are devoted to a more detailed account of the family of Nugent than that given in the original work, and the other two, of the family of Darcy. Page 845, — A list of the chief governors of Ireland, from Earl Strongbow to Sir John Perrot, in 1584. Mr. Petrie on the Book of Mac Firbis. II Page 854, — A general index to the work, giving the proper names of men and places, excepting the saints and their churches. Page 926, — An index to that part of the work treating of the Irish saints. Page 935, — The topographical poem of O'Dugan, on the Northern Division of Ireland., Page 948, — The topographical poem of O'Huidhrin on the Southern Division of Ireland. This poem, which is in the handwriting of Michael O'Clery, ends the volume at page 957. Such are the principal contents of this valuable manuscript, which, it will be seen, contains much important historical matter not to be found elsewhere, and which it was of great importance should be deposited in some public library, easy of access to those who could turn It to useful account, as well as that the chance of its loss, while dependent on a single copy, should be diminished, by the exis- tence of a faithful transcript. Of its value the Academy will form some idea from the following observations, made by one in the highest degree qualified to form a just estimate — I allude to the venerable Charles O' Conor of Belanagare, who writes as follows in his preface to Ogygia Vindicated, p. xx. " Ptolomey could know but little of Ireland in the second century ; his defects, however, have been supplied in the Lecan records, as copied by the late celebrated Mac Firbis. In that copy (now in the hands of the Earl of Roden,) we have an account of the several tribes of Ireland in the beginning of the second century. It throws additional light on the history of that and some subsequent ages, and is undoubtedly the most ancient document of Qpltic topography hitherto dis- covered." That the transcript now finished is not inferior in penmanship to the original manuscript, will be obvious to every one who inspects it. But I have the pleasure of adding, that it is superior in many more important respects. The original has suffered much injury from its margins having been cut down by a modem binder, and a considerable portion of its contents has been wholly obliterated by stains. The losses thus sustained have nearly all been supplied from two abstracts of the work now, through the favor of their proprietors, in my hands. The first of these was written in 1726, by James Maguire of Slleve-da-Con, in the county of Fermanagh ; and the second is a transcript from an abstract of the original work, with considerable additions, made by Mac Firbis himself in 1666. And h 2 12 Mr. Petrie on the Book of Mac Firbis. here it may not be improper to state, that the existence of this amended abstract was unknown to Charles O' Conor of Belanagare, the best informed Irish scholar of the last century, though he was aware of Mac Firbis's intention of writing it, as he thus states, in speaking of the original work, in his preface to Ogygia Vin- dicated, p. ix. " Of that work Mac Firbis intended a second draught, (as he intimates,) with amendments and corrections, but whether he executed his design we cannot learn." In this abstract the compiler re-wrote many introductory pas- sages, corrected many errors, continued the pedigrees in many instances down to that period, and added many collateral names not included in the original work. In our transcript all these improvements, corrections, and additions have been carefully inserted from both works ; and that they should not be con- founded with the text of the original, they are all distinguished by marginal references to the works from which they have been taken. In like manner it has been deemed proper to distinguish several marginal observations which occur in the original, and which were written by Charles O' Conor. The transcript has been made by Mr. Eugene Curry, a person in every way qualified to do justice to the undertaking, whether as an Irish scholar, or a faithful scribe ; and the labour and zeal which he has devoted to the work, are deserving of the highest praise. With a transcript from his hands we must have felt satis- fied ; but that no doubt whatever should exist of its perfection, the critical skill of another Irish scholar of the highest distinction has been called into exercise, and applied with an equal degree of patient ardour, — I need scarcely say that I allude to Mr. J, O' Donovan, by whom the whole work, word for word, and letter for letter, has been most carefully compared with the original. In connexion with a notice of a work so important, it would not be improper to add some biographical account of its author ; unfortunately, however, but few materials now exist to enable me to give such a sketch as would be satis- factory, or as the subject deserves. Of his private history, all that is known may be told in a few words. He was a native of Lecan, in the county of Sligo, called Lecan Mac Firbis, from his ancestors, who, from the earliest times, were hereditary historians and anti- quaries of the lower Connaught. It is to them that we owe the valuable manu- script volume called the Book of Lecan, which was compiled in the 14th century, and which is now one of the distinguished boasts of our library. Mr, Petrie on the Book of Mac Firbis. 13 In the calamities of the civil wars of 1641 this family lost their hereditary possessions ; but the ruins of their castle, bearing their name, still survive, and give melancholy interest to a dreary landscape. The year of his birth is not recorded, but it is known that, in order to perfect his education as an antiquary, he was placed at an early age under the tuition of the Mac Egans, hereditary Brehons or judges in Ormond, from whom he acquired a profound knowledge of the Brehon laws. In subsequent years he employed himself in several works which he considered essential to the preser- vation of Irish literature ; and after the loss of his hereditary property he was employed as a translator and assistant by the celebrated Sir James Ware. Some oi the translations made for the latter are to be found in the library of the British Museum. To these meagre facts I can only add that of his death, which, as wq learn from Charles O' Conor, was tragical, — for this last of the Mac Fir- bises was unfortunately murdered at Dunflin in the county of Sligo in the year 1670. The circumstances connected with this event were known to that gentleman, but a proper respect for the feelings of the descendants of the mur- derer, who was a gentleman of the country, prevented him from detailing them. They are, however, still remembered in the district in which it occurred, but I will not depart from the example set me, by exposing them to public light. Of the other works of Mac Firbis, the only satisfactory knowledge which we possess is derived from himself. He states, in the preface to the work now before us, that he had written a dictionary of the Brehon laws, in which he had explained them extensively ; and also a catalogue of the manuscripts and writers of ancient Ireland. Neither of these works has as yet been discovered. But there is some reason to believe that the former at least may still exist, as an Irish scholar, O'Flanagan, quoted from it about twenty years since. The discovery of this work, which Charles O' Conor has characterized as "the great desideratum of the present age," would be of the highest importance, as its loss would be an .^ irreparable injury to Irish literature. In conclusion, I have only to add a con- gratulation to the Academy on their acquisition of so important an addition to their manuscript library, and on their having, by their liberality, rendered available to the public this valuable remain of the last hereditary antiquary of Ireland. 14 II. An Account 'of an ancient Irish Reliquary/, called the Domnach-Airgid. By George Petrie, Esq., R.H.A., M.R.I.A. Read 22nd October, 1832 ; and 9th January, 1837. 1 HE ancient cumdachs, or ornamental cases, in which the Irish were accustomed to preserve their early religious manuscripts and other relics, have been within a few years elaborately illustrated and familiarized to the learned by the Rev. Dr. O'Conor, and still more recently by Sir William Betham. Till that period the present existence of those interesting monuments of our ancient literature and art was scarcely known to the literary world, as they were generally concealed in the hands of poor and illiterate persons, by whom they were preserved, and transmitted from generation to generation, either from a veneration for their supposed sanctity, or as a means of support, derived from their frequent applica- tion among the vulgar to superstitious purposes. In this manner, and from both the considerations alluded to, the very singular piece of antiquity, which I have now the honor of exhibiting to the Academy, has been long preserved and employed, as, while its safe keeping was considered by its possessors to be a reli- gious duty, it was nevertheless hired out into the surrounding district on a sufficient deposit, and for a small consideration ; sometimes that persons suspected or accused of crime might exonerate themselves from the imputation by an oath taken on its contents — a practice apparently derived from the ancient use of the sacred volume which it contains ; at other times for the application of its sup- posed miraculous power in removing diseases both from men and cattle — a superstition probably originating in the use of the relics which it was supposed to enshrine. From such uses, and the great probability of ultimate destruction, it has fortunately been rescued by the enterprising spirit of its present possessor, Mr. Smith of College-green, the bookseller, by whom it was recently purchased in the neighbourhood of Clones in the county of Monaghan, its original locality, from one of the Maguire family, descended of the ancient lords of Fermanagh. Mr. Petrie on. the Domnach-Airgid. 16 In its present state this ancient remain appears to have been equally designed as a shrine for the preservation of relics and of a book ; but the latter was pro- bably its sole original use. Its form is that of an oblong box, nine inches by seven, and five inches in height. This box is composed of three distinct covers, of which the first, or inner one, is of wood — yew ; the second, or middle one, of copper, plated with silver ; and the third, or outer one, of silver, plated with gold. In the comparative ages of these several covers, there is obviously a great difference. The first may probably be coeval with the manuscript which it was intended to preserve ; the second, in the style of its scroll, or interlaced, ornament, indicates a period between the sixth and twelfth centuries ; while the figures in relief, the ornaments, and the letters on the third, or outer cover, leave no doubt of its being the work of the fourteenth century. This last, or external cover, is of great interest, as a specimen of the skill and taste in art of its time in Ireland, and also for the highly finished representa- tions of ancient costume which it preserves. The ornaments on the top consist chiefly of a large figure of the Saviour in alto relievo in the centre, and eleven figures of saints in basso relievo on each side, in four oblong compartments. At the head of the Saviour there is a representation of the dove, or Holy Ghost, enamelled in gold ; and over this a small square reliquary, covered with a crystal, and which probably contains a supposed piece of the true cross. Imme- diately over this again is a shield, on which the implements of the passion are emblazoned in blue and red paste ; and above this there is another square re- liquary, similarly covered with crystal, but of smaller size. The smaller figures in relief are, in the first compartment, the Irish saints — Columb, Brigid, and Patrick; in the second, the apostles James, Peter, and Paul; in the third, the Archangel Michael and the Virgin and Child ; and in the fourth, a bishop presenting a cumdach, or cover, to an ecclesiastic — a device which has evidently an historical relation to the reliquary itself, and which shall be noticed here- after. There is a third figure in this compartment which I am unable to explain. It should be observed, that these figures have been arranged by a person recently employed to repair the case, in a different order from their original one, as here given on the authority of one of a set of drawings of this reliquary, previously made, with which I have been favored by my friend Sir W. Betham. 16 Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. The rim is ornamented on its two external faces with various grotesque devices, executed with very considerable skill, and the angles were enriched with pearls, probably native, or other precious jewels. A tablet on the rim, and at the upper side, presents the following inscription in the Monkish character used in the 13th and 14th centuries : " JOHS : O KARBBI : COMORBANUS : S : TIGNACII : PMISIT." Or with the contractions lengthened ; thus : JOHANNES O KARBRI COMORBANUS [sUCCeSSOr] SANCTI TIGHERNACII PERMISIT. Another inscription, in the same character, preserves the name of the artist by whom those embellishments on the outer case were executed, and is valuable as proving that this interesting specimen of ancient art was not of foreign manu- facture. It will be found on a small moulding over one of the tablets : " JOHANES : O BARRDAN : FABRICAVIT." The front side of the case presents three convex pater ce, ornamented, in a very elegant style of art, with figures of grotesque animals and traceries : they are enamelled with a blue paste, and have in the centre of each cup an uncut crystal covering relics like those on the top. An interesting feature on this side is the figure of a chief or nobleman on horseback, with sword in hand. It exhibits with minute accuracy the costume of the nobility in Ireland during the 14th century. The ornaments contained within the rim, on the back or opposite side, are lost, and their place has been supplied by the recent repairer, with figures which originally belonged to the right and left sides. These figures are, however, restored to their proper places in the accompanying plates, on the authority of Sir W. Betham's drawings ; from which it appears that these sides were originally ornamented with figures in relief, like those on the top. On the right hand side, the upper compartment presents a figure of St. Ca- therine with those of a monk in the attitude of prayer on the left, and a boy incensing on the right : these latter figures are not in relief, but are engraved on the field of the tablet. The second, or lower compartment of this side is lost. On the left hand side, the upper compartment presents the figure of an eccle- siastic seated on a chair or throne, his left hand holding a small cross, and his Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. I'J right hand raised in the act of giving the benediction : figures incensing are en- graved on the field. This principal figure probably represents S. Mac Carthen, or St. Tighernach. The under compartment exhibits a figure of St. John the Baptist holding in his left hand a round medallion or picture of the Lamb ; and in his right hand a scroll, on which is inscribed the words, " £Jcce Agnus Dei." A figure of the daughter of Herodias with the head of St. John on a salver, appears engraved on the field. — (See Plate III.) In consequence of the removal of these tablets to the back, as already stated, the more ancient plated cover has become exposed on the two ends, as shown in Plate IV. The bottom, or back, of the case is ornamented with a large cross, on which there is an inscription in the gothic or black letter. This inscription is of a later age than those already noticed, but I am unable, from its injured state, to decipher it wholly. It concludes with the word " CloaCf)ar>" the name of the see, to which, as I shall presently show, the reliquary originally appertained. I now come to the most important portion of this remarkable monument of antiquity, — the treasure for whose honor and preservation so much cost and labour were expended. It is a Latin manuscript of the Gospels ; but of what text or version I am unable, in its present state, to offer an opinion, as the mem- branes are so tenaciously incorporated by time that I dare not venture, through fear of injuring, to separate them. These Gospels are separate from each other, and three of them appear to be perfect ; but the fourth, which is the Gospel of St. Matthew, is considerably injured in the beginning, and from this two leaves have been detached, which have enabled us to ascertain the subject of, as well as the form of letter used in, the manuscript, — namely, the Uncial or corrupt Roman character, popularly called Irish, and similar in appearance to the very ancient manuscripts of the Gospels preserved in the library of Trinity College. That it is of equal antiquity with those manuscripts — which are of the sixth century — I have little doubt ; and from evidences which I shall pre- sently adduce, I think it not unlikely to be of an even earlier age, — ^perhaps the oldest copy of the Sacred Word now existing. I shall endeavour to arrange these evidences in consecutive order. 1. It is of importance to prove that this cumdach, or reliquary, has been from time immemorial popularly known by the name of Domnach, or, as it is pro- VOL. XVIIK c 18 Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. nounced, Donagh, a word derived from the Latin Dominicus. This fact is proved by a recent popular tale of very great power, by Mr. Carleton, called the " Donagh," in which the superstitious uses to which this reliquary has been long applied, are ably exhibited, and made subservient to the interests of the story. It is also particularly described under this name by the Rev. John Groves, in his account of the Parish of Errigal-Keeroge, in the third volume of Shaw Mason's Parochial Survey, page 163, though, as the writer states, it was not actually preserved in that parish. 2. The inscriptions on the external case leave no doubt that the Domnach belonged to the monastery of Clones, or see of Clogher. The John O'Karbri, the Comharb, or successor of St. Tighernach, recorded in one of those inscrip- tions as the person at whose cost, or by whose permission the outer ornamental case was made, was, according to the Annals of the Four Masters, Abbot of Clones, and died in the year 1353. He is properly called in that inscription Cotnorbanus, or successor of Tighernach, who was the first Abbot and Bishop of the Church of Clones, to which place, after the death of St. Mac-Carthen in the year 506, he removed the see of Clogher, having erected a new church, which he dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul. St. Tighernach, according to all our ancient authorities, died in the year 548. ; 3. It appears from a fragment of an ancient life of St. Mac-Carthen, pre- served by Colgan, that a remarkable reliquary was given by St. Patrick to that saint when he placed him over the see of Clogher. " Et addidit, [Patricius] Accipe, inquit, baculum itineris mei, quo ego mem- bra mea sustento, et scrinium in quo de sanctorum Apostolorum reliquiis, et de sanctas Mariae capillis, et sancta Cruce Domini, et sepulchro ejus, etaliis reliquiis Sanctis continentur. Quibus dictis dimisit cum osculo pacis paterna fultum benedictione." — Colgan, Vit. S. Macaerthenni (24 Mart.) Acta SS. p. 738. From this passage we learn one great cause of the sanctity in which this reli- quary was held, and of the uses of the several recesses for reliques which it presents. It also explains the historical relievo on the top — the figure of St. Patrick presenting the Domnach to S. Mac-Carthen. 4. In Jocelyn's Life of St. Patrick, (cap. 143,) we have also a notice to the same effect, but in which the Domnach is called a Chrismatorium, and the relics are not specified, — in all probability because they were not then appended to it. In these authorities there is evidently much appearance of the Monkish Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. 19 frauds of the middle ages, but still they are evidences of the tradition of the country that such a gift had been made by Patrick to Mac-Carthen. And as we advance higher In chronological authorities we find the notice of this gift stripped of much of its acquired garb of fiction, and related with more of the simplicity of truth. 5. In the life of St. Patrick called the Tripartite, usually ascribed to St. Evln, an author of the seventh century, and which even in its present Interpolated state Is confessedly prior to the tenth, there is the following remarkable passage (as translated by Colgan from the original Irish) relative to the gift of the Domnach from the Apostle of Ireland to St. Mac-Carthen, in which it is expressly described under the very same appellation which it still bears. " Aliquantls ergo evolutis dlebus Mac-Caertennum, sive Caerthennum Eplscopum praefeclt sedl Episcopall Clocherensi, ab Ardmacha regnl Metropoli hand multum dlstantl : et apud eum rellquit argenteum quoddam rellqularlum Domnach-airgidh vulgo nuncupatum ; quod vlro Del, in Hiberniam venientl, coelltus mlssum erat." — VII. Vita S.Patricii, Lib. iii. cap. 3, Tr. Th. p. 149. This passage is elsewhere given by Colgan, with a slight change of words in the translation, as follows : " Aliquantls igitur evolutis dlebus S. Maccaerthennum Eplscopum, praefeclt sedi Clocharensl ab Ardmacha regnl Metropoli hand multum dlstantl : et apud eum rellquit argenteum quoddam rellqularlum Domnach-airgid vulgo appel- latum, quod vlro Dei In Hiberniam venientl caelitus mlssum erat." — Vita S. Maccaerthenni (24 Mart.) AA.SS. p. 738. In this passage, which is unquestionably prior to all the others, we find the Domnach distinguished by the appellation of Airgid — an addition which was applicable only to Its more ancient or silver plated case, and which could not with propriety be applied to Its more recent covering, which In its original state had the appearance of being of gold. On these evidences — and more might probably be procured If time had allowed — we may, I think, with tolerable certainty, rest the following conclusions : 1. That the Domnach is the Identical reliquary given by St. Patrick to St. Mac-Carthen. 2. As the form of the cumdach indicates that It was Intended to receive a book, and as the relics are all attached to the outer and least ancient cover, it is c 2 20 Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. manifest that the use of the box as a reliquary was not its original intention. The natural inference therefore is, that it contained a manuscript which had belonged to St. Patrick ; and as a manuscript copy of the Gospels, apparently of that early age, is found within it, there is every reason to believe it to be that identical one for which the box was originally made, and which the Irish apostle probably brought with him on his mission into this country. It is indeed, not merely possible, but even probable, that the existence of this manuscript was unknown to the Monkish biographers of St. Patrick and St. Mac-earthen, who speak of the box as a scrinium or reliquary only. The outer cover was evidently not made to open ; and some, at least, of the relics attached to it were not introduced into Ire- land before the twelfth century. It will be remembered also that no superstition was and is more common in connexion with the ancient cumdachs than the dread of their being opened. These conclusions will, I think, be strengthened considerably by the facts, that the word Domnach, as applied either to a church, as usual, or to a reliquary, as in this instance, is only to be found in our histories in connexion with St. Pa- trick's time ; and, that in the latter sense — its application to a reliquary — it only once occurs in all our ancient authorities, namely, in the single reference to the gift to St. Mac-Carthen ; no other reliquary in Ireland, as far as can be ascer- tained, having ever been known by that appellation. And it should also be observed, that all the ancient reliques preserved in Ireland, whether bells, books, croziers, or other remains, have invariably, and without any single exception, been preserved and venerated only as appertaining to the original founders of the churches to which they belonged. Since the preceding pages were written, the Domnach has become the pro- perty of the Hon. Henry R. Westenra, at a cost of three hundred pounds. That truly patriotic gentleman immediately on his becoming the possessor of this inte- resting monument of the Insula Sacra, honored me with a request that I would communicate to the Academy and to the University, that, as his only object in becoming its purchaser was that it might not pass out of Ireland, he would be at all times ready to surrender it to either of these national institutions, as a proper depository for its preservation, at a loss of a portion of the sum which it cost him. A liberality so enlightened will, I have no doubt, be admired and honored. Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. 21 I also avail myself of this opportunity to add, that, having been favored, recently, by Mr. Westenra, with a loan of the Domnach for further examination, I requested my friend, the Rev. Mr. Todd, to examine the detached membranes of the manuscript, and to give me his opinion respecting the antiquity of the version and age of the writing, as far as the fragments would permit such opinion to be formed. I now add his transcript of what was legible, together with his remarks ; and I am authorized by him to state, that although he at first thought the contractions used in the fragment, — and especially the (;) in the con- traction usq; — to argue a later date than the historical evidences indicated, he has since seen reason to change his opinion. While this sheet was passing through the press, he took the opportunity of re-considering the subject, by a careful examination of the valuable manuscripts of the Gospels preserved in the Library of Trinity College ; and he now thinks that the contractions of the Domnach manuscript might have been in use in the fourth or fifth centuries. It should be observed, that the type in which the following fragments are printed is not to be considered as a fac-simile of the MS., in which the letters are larger, but it will give a very good general idea of the character, having been cast from the best specimens of Irish MSS. of the sixth and seventh centuries. COLLATION OF TWO LEAVES OF THE DOMNACH-AIRGID MANUSCRIPT. Fol. \, facie. Mat. i. 1 CIOMIS Ih 1 t>auit) YMu ahXid am a6Racham sewuic issac issac ir sewuic la C06 iaco6 fr seNUic iut)ani ec pwct eius-]ut>as ir ^..uic pRcr CRes .... IS ec zaRam Ver. 1. A space is left for an illuminated L, of which some faint traces still remain. Ver. 2. Isaac autem — Vulg. The Versio Antiqua (ap. Sabatier) omits autem. Ver. 3. A stop between ejus and Judas in the middle of the line. The reading appears to have been " Judas autem genuit fratres pharis et zaram," a reading altogether peculiar. 22 Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. Fol. 1, dorso. Mat. i. a6ia 7 Huic assa . . assa ir ^ewuic 8 c losaphac tr ^ewuic lo Ram lORam ir ^gnuic oziam ozi 9 as ir ^GNUic locham locha ir ^ewu ic achaz achas ir ^eNuic ezechi am ezechias -[r sgnuic lo sen mawesses ir ^ghuic . . . . ir seNUic losias ... Ver. 7, 8. This is evidently the modern Vulgate ; the old version reads Ahiud, instead of Abia, or Abias ; and Asaph, instead of Asa or Assa. — Vid. Sabatier. Ver. 10. Josias. — This word is very obscure ; the second i in the original is elongated below the line, and has a curved line c« over it. Fol. 2, facie. Mat. i. eClli 56 15 ir ^e iaco6 iaco6 ir ^gnuic 16 Qmnes erj^o ^eNeRaciONes i7 a6 a6Raciiam usq; at) Dauit) igeNeRacioNes xiiii ec a t)auit) usq; aDciiaNsmi5RarioNe6a6i6 , . HIS seNGRaciONes XIIII ec a CRaws mi^uacioNe 6a6i60Nis usq; aD cRiscum seNeRaciONes x Fer. 15. A part of this verse appears to have been omitted, as there is not room left for the whole in the manuscript. Ver. 16. The clause " virura Mariae, &c." appears to have been omitted. This clause is given very variously in manuscripts, the Vulgate reads " Virum Mariae, de qua natus est Jesus, qui vocatur Christus." The ancient version (in Sabatier) reads, " Cui desponsata virgo Maria. Maria autem genuit Jesum, qui dicitur Christus." One manuscript in the Library of Trinity College (the book of Dimma) unites both readings thus, " Virum Mariae de qua natus est Jesus Christus. Cui dispon. Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. 23 sata virgo Maria. Maria autem genuit Jesum qui dicitur Christus." The Domnach manuscript appears to be singular in omitting the whole clause, Ver. 1 7. Omnes ergo, — The modern vulgate reads itaque, the ancient version ergo, as in this manuscript. In the rest of the verse this manuscript agrees with the modern, and differs from the ancient version, which reads " generationes sunt xiv." in the three places. The back of this leaf is altogether illegible. The contractions used in this fragment are ih for Jesus (ver. 1) ; If for autem (passim); je for genuit (ver. 16) ; (;) in upq; for usque ; and a line over e for em {ver. 17). The only stop visible is that already noticed in ver. 3. To the preceding addenda, it will not, I trust, be considered irrelevant to add a notice of an ancient seal of an abbot of the church in which the Domnach was preserved, and which has the appropriate device, — a figure of the patron saint holding a crosier with one hand, and a book, having a cumdach, or ornamented case, with the other. It is indeed not improbable that this seal was made for the very abbot, John O'Carbrie, by whom the outer cover was put on the Domnach; but on this point no conclusion is rested, as, unfortunately, the surname of the abbot is the only portion of the inscription difficult to be deciphered. It may, however, be remarked, that no other Abbot of Clones, having the Christian name of John, is found in the Irish annals, and that the style of the device and character of the letters on the seal belong to the fourteenth century, the period in which that abbot flourished. The inscription is as follows : SPKISIOHISVCCO-IRVABISDOMUSAPLORPPDECLVAIEOVS. 24 Mr. Petrie on the Domnach-Airgid. Or with the words divided and the contractions lengthened, thus : SIGILLUM PATKIS JOHANNIS V CCO-IRV ABBATIS DOMUS APOSTOLOKUM PETRI ET PAULI DE CLUAINEOUS. The matrices of this and another ancient seal of the clergy of the bishopric of Kilmore were found two or three years since in an island of Lough-Erne, and are now preserved in the British Museum. I i n t4 ^ ^ to 9 I ^ I Tn7i.s.j<:i.AaA7}SMYyai, . yymjMi^riuiM-;!^/ PLfiEE i. ^ iMCIENl'EHD SIDE OF THE D014NACH MROID I 25 III. On the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. By George Petrie, Esq., ■ R.H.A.,M.R.I.A. Read 24th April, 8th May, and 22nd May, 1837. 1 HE Ordnance Map of the County of Meath being on the eve of publication, I am permitted by Colonel Colby to read to the Academy a portion of the memoir written to Illustrate that map, which, from Its Importance to ancient Irish topography and history, can scarcely fall to excite a general Interest, and at the same time to prove In a very striking manner the value and importance of the great national work of which It will constitute a portion. The locality to which this paper relates is the well-known hill of Tara, — a spot which has been celebrated by native as well as foreign writers as the chief seat of the Irish monarchs, from the earliest dawn of their history down to the middle of the sixth century, at which period it was deserted. But though its ancient splendour has been the theme of most modern Irish antiquaries and his- torians, their labours have thrown but little light either on its past state or existing remains, and have made but little impression on the minds of the learned. Nor could a different result have been anticipated from careless and inaccurate notices of its ruins, and conclusions drawn from vague references to Irish autho- rities. The progress of the Ordnance Survey at length afforded an opportunity for a more satisfactory, because a more accurate investigation ; and by a scientific plan of the remains at Tara, joined to an examination of such ancient descriptive notices of its former state as are still remaining, we are put into possession of all the information now likely to be obtained in any way leading to its successful illustration. Before, however, I lay the result before the Academy, it may not be uninteresting to give some detail of the mode of investigation adopted on this occasion. The first step was to get all the existing vestiges laid down, according to measurement, on the map : this was done under the Immediate direction of Captain Bordes, who had the charge of the Survey in the district. VOL. XVIII. d 26 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. While this survey was in progress, a careful search was made in all the ancient Irish manuscripts accessible, for such documents of a descriptive or historical charac- ter as would tend to identify or illustrate these existing vestiges. The success which had already attended this mode of investigation in respect to the ancient fortress of the kings of Ulster on the hill of Aileach, near Derry, led us in the present instance to anticipate an equally fortunate result, and we were not disappointed. In the same ancient Irish topographical work — the Dinnseanchus — in which the account of Aileach was discovered, we found several ancient docu- ments relating to this spot, some of which describe with considerable distinctness and accuracy the remains existing on Tara Hill at the periods of their com- position. The topographical tract which contains these interesting documents consti- tutes a portion of those invaluable miscellaneous compilations of ancient Irish literature, called the Books of Ballymote and Lecan, which our Academy are so fortunate as to possess. Other very ancient copies of this tract are preserved in the library of Trinity College, and in that of the Duke of Buckingham, at Stowe ; and a transcript of one of the documents which it contains — the poem of O'Lochain, — is also preserved in our library in another work, namely, the LeabharGahhala, or Book of Conquests. This transcript, which is very valuable for its accuracy, is in the hand- writing of Peregrine O'Clery, one of the cele- brated annalists called the Four Masters, and the best scribe among those industrious compilers. Of these previously untranslated and unvalued docu- ments translations were made by Mr. O'Donovan, a gentleman eminently qualified for the task. The map having been prepared. Captain Bordes, Mr. Larcom, and myself proceeded to the hill of Tara, where we called in the co-operation of Mr. O'Donovan, then employed on the Survey in the district, that we might have the advantage of his assistance in our endeavour to ascertain how far the various monuments still remaining could be identified with those anciently described. Our first labour was to go over the ground with the map, in order to be satisfied of its accuracy, and that no vestige of any ancient remain had been omitted. The propriety of this examination was soon apparent : in our progress many important features were discovered, not previously noticed, and which required the aid of antiquarian science to appreciate ; and some interesting Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 27 traditional information was obtained respecting objects now changed or obliterated. Till this task was completed we made no use of the written documents, lest we might be led into false or unwarranted conclusions from imperfect data ; but having satisfied ourselves that we had omitted nothing, and distorted nothing to answer a theory, we commenced, with the map in hand, a second examination of the remains in the order pointed out by the ancient descriptions. This exami- nation, fortunately, we were able to make with little difficulty, as the first object mentioned was one in the identification of which we could not be mistaken, namely, a remarkable spring, whose locality on the side of the hill is distinctly pointed out, and which is stated to be the source of a stream which turned the first watermill ever erected in Ireland. Subsequently to this investigation several other historical documents, also tending to illustrate this interesting locality, were obtained, and are made use of in this memoir. They were chiefly found in the Book of Glendalough, in the library of Trinity College, and in the Leahhar Breac, or Speckled Book of Mac Egan, another compilation of Irish literature belonging to our Academy. Having premised thus far, as to the mode by which the information was obtained from which our evidences have been derived, I now proceed to the notice of this interesting locality, as drawn up for the Survey. The hill of Tara, though undistinguished either for altitude or picturesque- ness of form, is not less remarkable for the pleasing and extensive prospects which it commands, than for the associations connected with it, as the site of the residence of the Irish monarchs from the earliest times. In both these circum- stances it bears a striking similitude to the hill of Aileach, near Derry — the residence of the kings of Ulster — and to the hill of Emania, near Armagh, another residence of the Ulster kings, but who were of a different race. All these localities have shared a similar fate in the destruction of their monuments at distant periods, and all equally present striking vestiges of their ancient Importance. According to the Irish Bardic traditions, the hill of Tara became the chief residence of the Irish kings on the first establishment of a monarchical govern- d 2 28 Mr, Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. ment in Ireland under Slalnge, the first monarch of the Flr-bolgs or Belgae, and continued so till its abandonment in the year 563, "Slainje oPeapaiB bolj co mblas, gap cocbao ap cuip Ceaniaip." Slainge of the Fir-bolgs of fame (was he) by whom Temur was first raised. Poem ascribed to Caoilte Mac Ronain in MS. T.C.D. Class H. 1. 15. y! 58. The Bardic history of Ireland states, that there reigned within these periods one hundred and forty-two monarchs, viz. one hundred and thirty-six Pagan, and six Christian. Of these, nine are stated to have been of the Belgic colony ; nine of the Tuatha De Dannan ; one hundred and twenty-three of the Scotic or Milesian ; and one a Plebeian : and the time assigned to this interval, according to the corrected chronology of O'Flaherty, amounts to one thousand eight hun- dred and fifty-five years. Of the one hundred and thirty-six Pagan monarchs, and the manner of their deaths, O'Flaherty gives the following amusing summary ; " Ex his porro 136, centum ferrum sustulit : septemdecim naturae concesserunt : sex pestis absumpsit : tres fulmine percussi ; et decern diversis ahis modis singuH e vivis excesserunt : unus quippe idolatriee vitam devovit ; alter membris dilaceratis extinctus, ahus in patibulum actus ; alius sine vi, sine morbo, sine coloris mutatione animara exhalavit ; hie aquis obrulus ; ille igni in cineres versus ; animi moerore confectus alius ; alium equus quem regnum non valuit sessorem deturbavit ; huic spina piscaria faucibus inhsesit, atque alium per artus serpens pessumdedit vene- num." — Ogygia, pp. 420, 421, It is not necessary to the subject of this memoir to enter upon any minute investigation of the truth of historical traditions referring to times so remote : they are adduced here solely as evidences of the extreme antiquity assigned by the Bards to Tara as a regal residence ; and that this antiquity was really very great may, perhaps, be safely concluded from the notices of several of its ancient kings, given in the Annals of Tighearnach, which are now generally regarded by the learned as trustworthy. In these annals the name of a king of Tara occurs in the very first notice, as follows : "In anno xviii, Ptolemcei initiatus est reg- In the eighteenth year of Ptolemy, Cimbaoth, nare in Gmain, C\mbaoi Jilius pincain qui the son of Fintan, began to reign in Emania, who regnavit annis xviii. Tunc in Uemaip Ga- reigned eighteen years. Then in Temur, Eochy chach buaohar.h acuip Ujaine." the Victorious, the father of Ugonj'. The commencement of the reign of Cimbaoth, the seventy-fifth monarch of the Irish lists, which is assigned to the year 305 before Christ, is the period which Tighearnach regards as the limit of authentic Irish history : " Omnia Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 29 monumenta Scotorum ante Cimbaoch incerta erant." But though the authority of Tighearnach may seem sufficient to establish a very great antiquity for Tara, it is not to be inferred that it was at all times the seat of the monarchy, or that every thing related of its royal occupants preceding the known use of letters in Ireland has a foundation in truth. On the other hand, however, it would be equally premature to reject these traditions as wholly fabulous, as to receive them as real history, until the whole body of evidence contained in the Irish MSS. shall be subjected to critical examination, by being laid before the public with literal translations. In the mean time, without collecting all the matter relating to the history of Tara, which would in fact be nothing less than a history of Ire- land, it will be necessary, for the satisfaction of the reader, and the completeness of this memoir, to bring forward the notices of the more remarkable events in connexion with its early state, whether apparently authentic or apocryphal, without minutely canvassing their claims to credibility. And for facility of refe- rence, these notices will be given as often as possible from the published Annals of Tighearnach, Ulster, and the Four Masters. It is stated in the Annals of the Four Masters, from the Book of Clonmacnoise, that Ollamh Fodhla, the fortieth monarch of Ireland, according to the lists, first instituted the triennial assemblies, and erected the Mur Ollamhan, or House of Ollamh, at Tara. Qoip Doriiain, rpi liiile naoi ccec p'ce A. M. 3922. Ollamh Fodhla, after having been UDO. lap mbeic do pichec bliaoain i pije forty years in the government of Ireland, died in ©penn t) 'OUarii Porta acbail ma mup bu- his own house at Temur. He was the first king bein 1 Ceriipaij, Qf e ceona pi lap a noep- by whom the Assembly of Temur was instituted ; nao peip Cearripach, acup ap laip do coj- and it is by him that Mur Ollamhan was erected Bao mup n Ollairian i d Ceihpaij. CIp e Din at Temur. It is he also that appointed a chief po opDaijcaoipioch ap jach rpiochaic ceo, over every baronj', and a farmer over every town- acup bpujaio ap joch baile, acup u bpoj- land, and who were all to serve the king oflre- narii utle DO pij Gperin. GochaiD ceo uinm laud. Eochaidh was the first name of Ollamh OUariian Pocla, acup ap aipe uo pubpao Fodhla, and he was called Ollamh from his hav- OllaiTi ppip, ap a Beic 'na OUarh epgna ing been first a learned Ollamh (chief poet), and ceoup acup 'na pij Gpenn laparii. afterwards king of Ireland. On this passage it may be remarked, that though the date assigned to the foundation of these institutions is so very remote, as to make it appear wholly incredible, yet there is the testimony of Tighearnach that a monarch known by 30 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. this cognomen did really exist ; and the ancient lives of St. Patrick, as well as the authentic annals, sufficiently prove that triennial assemblies at Tara, what- ever may have been the exact time of their institution, had certainly existed from a very remote period preceding the introduction of Christianity. It must be confessed also, that the doubts created by the great antiquity assigned to Ollamh and his institutions have been considerably increased by the pompous amplifications given by the most learned modern Irish antiquaries of the simple records of the original annalists. It is not easy to read without incredu- lity the following passage from O'Flaherty, which may serve as an example of this amplification : " Ipse Uteris apprime excultus OUamh-Fodla, .i. per Hiberniam quae Fodla lingua nostra dicitur, praecipuus literarum professor (cui Achaio prius nomen datum) ob insignem literaturae peritiam meruit appellari. Qui ad promovendum etiam literarum studium Mur-OUamhan, i. Doctorum murum Temoria; erexit. Gymnasium, Canopum, Prytaneum, Academiam, vel Lyceum dicas ; de quibus ultimis accipe hos Ciceronis versus : " Inque Academia umbrifera, nitidoque Lyceo Fuderunt claras faecundi pectoris artes." — Ogygia, p. 214. By a reference to the passage previously quoted from the Four Masters, on which this evidently rests, it will be seen that the only foundation for a belief in the ex- istence of this college or Lyceum, is an etymological inference from the name of the house or mur, in which Ollamh Fodhla died, a name which, when translated grammatically, can have no other meaning than the House of Ollamh himself, as the genitive singular form of Ollamh is Ollamhan ; and it is thus understood by Keating, who has not a word about the college of the Ollamhs, or Professors, but simply states that Ollamh Fodhla died in his own house (ma C15 pein). In like manner, the late Irish lexicographer, Edward O'Reilly, in his Essay on the Brehon Laws, translates the following passage in the Leabhar Gabhala, or Book of Invasions : Qp 6 ceona pij lap a noeapnao pep He was the first king by whom was held the Feis Ceaiiipach a muip Olluriiain 1 cCeampai^, of Tara in the College of Professors. — Transac- &c. tions of Royal Irish Academy, vol. xiv. p. 147. The same writer elsewhere {Irish Writers, p. xv.) states, that the laws pro- mulgated by this monarch, Ollamh Fodhla, are quoted in Cormac's Glossary, a work of the ninth century ; but on a careful examination of that work, it has been found that this assertion is not true. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 31 The oldest authority for this name, Mur Ollamhan, is a poem in the Lea- bhar Gahhala, ascribed, though erroneously, as its language shews, to Fer- ceirtne, a poet of the first century ; but this poem gives no stronger evidence of the meaning ascribed to the name than the passages already quoted : OUarii poola peochaip jal t)o popainn mup n-Ollaiiian Cecna pf puana co pach Lay anoeapnoD p6p Ceampach. OUamh Fodhla, of brave fight, Erected Mur Ollamhan ; The first king, powerful with prosperity, By whom was established the Fes of Temur. It will be seen hereafter that the Mur Ollamhan is not mentioned among the vestiges described by the ancient topographers ; and indeed there is every reason to believe, that it had no existence save in the etymological inference of O' Flaherty, as the older writers do not appear to have understood the name in the sense stated by him. Of the nature of the Feises, or triennial meetings, perhaps the most ancient authentic record is that preserved in the following poem, quoted by Keating, who ascribes it to Eochaidh O'Flynn, a poet who died in the year A. D. 984 : peip CeaiTipach jach qieap Bliajain t)o coriiaU peace ip piajail Oo 5niri ann pin 50 ceann Q5 piojaiB aiiipa Gipeann. t)o pijne Cacaoip cleamnach peip pocaoiTi na pij-reaiiipach Canjaoap leip, peippoe oe, pip Gipeann 50 haonBaile. Cpi la pia Shaiiimn do jpeap Cpi la na oiaij pa odijbeap tDo'n cpluaj po buo Dioriiop DOij Q5 piopol pip an peaccriiom ^ccn 501D, ip jan join ouine, Qca a n-uipeao pm uile, j5<3n iiriipr aipm, jan alao, ^an eacpaoa o'lompaoa. ^fbe DO jniD nlo oioB pin pa bioobaD qioc 50 oqioimnith, Hi jeabca op 1 pann uaio Qcc a anam pe haonuaip. The Feis of Temur each third year, To preserve laws and rules, Was then convened firmly By the illustrious kings of Erin. Cathaoir of sons-in-law convened The beautiful Feis of regal Temur; There came with him (the better for it) The men of Erin to one place. Three days before Saman, always, Three days after it — it was a goodly custom — The host of very high fashion spent, Constantly drinking during the week. Without theft, without wounding a man Among them during all this time ; Without feats of arms, without deceit, Without exercising horses. Whoever did any of those things Was a wretched enemy with heavy venom ; Gold was not received as retribution from him, But his soul in one hour. Halida^s Keating, p. 330. 32 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Passing over a long series of monarchs, of whom nothing very important is recorded in connexion with this subject, the attention is next arrested by the notices in the annals respecting the reign of Tuathal Teachtmar, or Tuathal the Acceptable. Of this remarkable epoch in Irish history the following brief notices are given in the Annals of Tighearnach. 128. Piacha pinoolaio interfectus est in 128. Fiacha Findolaidh was slain at Temur, Temoria, vel a TTIuij bolj ut alii aiunt, o or, as others say, at Jffog-/i6o/^, by Elim Mac Con- eiim rriac Conpach, .i. o jiij Ulao, qui ceci- rach, that is, by the King of Ulster, who [after- dit hi each la Uuachol Ceachcmap a noigal wards] fell in a battle by Tuathal Teachtmar in a achaip. revenge of his father. 130. CuachalCeachcmopre^raatij^, aranw 130. Tuathal Teachtmar reigned thirty years. XXX. Ip hte cecna po naipc 6opurh Caijen He is the first who exacted the Borumh (Boarian ajup ip pip po lacao ap cup. mulct) of Leinster, and it is to him it was first paid. 160. Uu achat Ceachcmap occisus la 160. Tuathal Teachtmar was slain by Mai Mac TTlal TTIac Rochpame, 6a Ri n-Ulao oc lino Rochraidhe, King of Ulster, at Linn-an-gabunn an jabuno int)ail apaioe. in Dalaradia. In these notices there is nothing likely to be untrue ; but the Annals of the Four Masters, besides their usual difference in dates, add to the simple facts of Tighearnach some particulars from the Bardic poems not so easy to be credited ; and, as in the case of OUamh Fodhla, already noticed, the modern historians, as Keating, Lynch, O'Flaherty, and O'Conor, have collected so much minute his- torical details as must excite considerable doubts in the minds of unprejudiced readers, until their claims to authenticity shall be tested by a severe critical exa- mination. The reign of Tuathal Teachtmar is the great epoch at which, accord- ing to Charles O'Conor, the history of Ireland becomes as well minute as accu- rate ; and, indeed, it must be confessed that it presents but little inconsistent with the laws of historical probability : but as it would be wandering too far from the object of this inquiry to examine those details, except as far as they imme- diately relate to Tara, it is only necessary to cite the following particulars from the Bardic history, as given by the historians already referred to. 1. That Tuathal, after having obtained possession of the crown, proclaimed a convention at Tara, to which the princes and nobility of the kingdom repaired, and at which they all swore by their heathen deities, the sun, moon, and all the other celestial and terrestrial divinities, that they and their posterity Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 33 ■would maintain an inviolable attachment, subjection, and obedience to him and his posterity as kings of Ireland, as long as Irish soil should be sur- rounded by the sea. 2. That he formed the territory of Meath by a union of four portions from the four provinces, as mensal lands for the support of the monarchy. 3. That in three of the four portions thus united solemn assemblies were held every year, one at Tlachtga, in the Momonian portion, on the last day of October, celebrated by night to appease the local gods, through the ministry of the Druids, by immolating victims and lighting fires ; another on the first of May, at Uisneach, in the Connaught portion, for the sale of merchandizes ; and the third at Tailteann, in the Ultonian portion, about the first of August, to contract marriages by the consent of parents and friends. And 4. That in the fourth, or Lagenian portion, namely, Temur, a convention was held every third ■year for the administration of public affairs. In addition to these, Keating further adds, that Tuathal erected longphorts, or fortified habitations, at these four places. With regard to these statements, as the writers last referred to give no authorities for them, it is not easy to determine how far they may be true or otherwise. But for the summoning of the princes and nobles of Ireland to Tara by Tuathal, their swearing by the objects of their pagan adoration to be faithful to him, and the formation of the territory of Meath, as mensal lands for the support of the monarchy, very ancient authorities are found in all the copies of the Leahhar Gahhala, or Book of Conquests. If la Cuarhal cpa do Dichcheannao " It was by Tuathal that every province in each coiceo in Gpino, conao oe a oepap Ireland was decapitated to form Meath, which was mice pia .1. TTleiDi cacha coicio, no, ip o thence csMieA Meidhe, that is neck; or, it was TTIioi, mac 6paraa DepapjMwrferfjci^Mr' miDi. called from Midi, son of Bratha. Tuathal as- t)o job rpa Cuachal piji poTchpen pepa- sumed a mighty and manly reign over Ireland, mail pop Gpino, cap eip a oanap acup after having cut ofiF its Danars and enemies, oupbiobao do pcpip. t)o ponoao qia p^T Tuathal Teachtmar afterwards convened the Feis Cempach la Cuachal Cechrmap lapcam, of Temur, and the provinciahsts came to him to acup cancaoap coiceDaich Gpeno na chorii- Temur. These were the provinciahsts who came Dail CO CempaiD. Ip lao po imoppa na thither, viz. Fergus Febal and Eochaidh Mac coiceoaich chanic ano .1. peapjup pebal Conrach [who were] in the joint government of acup 6ochai6 TTIac Conpach 1 compiji pop Ulster, and Eogan, the son of Ailill Eran, over Ulcuib, ocupGojan, TTIac Qililla 6pan, pop Desmond, and Conrach Mac Derg over the Con- tDeapmuriiam, ocup Conpach TTIac Dep5 nacians, and Eochaidh Mac Dairi over great VOL. xviii. e 34 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Munster, and Eochaidh, the son of Eochaidh Doimhlen of the Damnonii, over Leinster. These then swore by the sun and moon, and by every power which is in heaven and on earth, that even though the provinciahsts should be able, they would never contend with his descendants."— Leabhar Gabhala, in Book ofLecan,fol. 296. pop Chonoaccaib, acup Gochaio TTIac Daipi, pop mumham moip ocupeochaio mac Gacbach tDoimlen do Oomnanncbaib, pop CaijniB. TJo 50b pom cpa pacba jpeni ocup epca coup each cumachcaich pil pop mm ocup pop calmain, ciamDaip coimnepc coiceoaich Bpeno, conapcaip coimnepc ppi a clomo pin co bpach. The word Danar in the above extract, which literally signifies Dane, but is there figuratively used, as it is to the present day, to denote a cruel person, a foreigner, shews that the prose part of this work was compiled after the Danish ravages in Ireland ; yet as several MSS. of it of the twelfth century exist, its antiquity cannot be brought lower than that age, while the poems which it quotes as authority are usually some centuries earlier. The poems given for the events of Tuathal's reign are the compositions of Maelmura Othna, a distinguished poet and historian, who was Abbot of Fahan, in the County of Donegal, and who, according to the Annals of the Four Masters, died in 884. They are quoted by O'Du vegan, who died in 1372, from King Cormac's Psalter, written, as it is believed, before the year 900. In one of these poems the form of the pagan oath of the Irish Chiefs, as recorded to have been sworn on this as well as on other important occasions, is more minutely stated than in the prose ; and as this is perhaps the most ancient authority in which it is found, and as it has never been hitherto published, it is here given with a literal translation. Qce pacba po 50b Cuachal, Cpen ppi cobach, Hem, calam, gpian, epca man, TTluip, cip copao, Copa, lartia, beoil im cheanjca, Cluapa, puile, Gchpoic, jai, pceich, cloiDim cpooa, Co na n-DUipe, Opeacha oaine, opucc la oaichgen, Cpaij la cuili ; Icb, blicc, mep, cac maic ap cena po jni DUini. t)o paoao uili na pacha, Sin lap n-oli^eD, These are the sureties which Tuathai took. Mighty at exacting. Heaven, earth, sun, pure moon. Sea, fruitful land, Feet, hands, mouths with tongues, Ears, eyes, Horses, javelins, shields, valiant swords With their hardness. Countenances of men, dew with colours, Strand with flood ; Corn, milk, fruit, each good likewise Which man doth. These sureties all were given, According to law, Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 35 ppi cloino Cuachail, ip ppi chenel, Ip ppi cmeao, Qipec maipep muip im Gpino, Ninopic nuaraic, Co na coipencai Cetiiaip cpiacaic Re cloino Cunchail. To Tuathal's children, to his race, And to his tribe, While the sea exists around Erin, Insulated, solitary, That the lordly Temur would not be defended Against Tuathal's children. But for the other statements no authority older than Keating has been found ; and it will be seen hereafter that no monumental memorial of the era of Tuathal existed at Tara in the time of the poets by whom its ancient remains are described. At the year 218, Tigheamach records the commencement of the reign of Cormac Ulfada, the grandson of Con of the Hundred Battles, and commonly called Cormac O'Cuinn and Cormac Mac Art. As the reign of this monarch is the epoch at which most of the monuments remaining at Tara had their origin, and as the circumstances recorded of his life bear, with few exceptions, the stamp of true history, it may be desirable to present to the reader a more ample detail of them than it was deemed necessary to give of those recorded as distinguishing the lives of his predecessors. As a chronicle of these events the Annals of Tigheamach are selected as the most authentic authority. A. D. 218. Copmac ULpcroa, hua Cuino, regnat annis xlii. 222. Kl. Cach Jpcicipo, pia Copmac llua Cuino, pop Ulcaibh. Cach meoha pop Conoachco. Cach Qnaeich, each Cinnooipe, 218. Cormac Ulfada, the grandson of Con, reigns forty-two years. 222. The battle of Granard, by Cormac Ua Cuinn, against the Ultonians. The battle of Medha against the Connacians. The battle of each Spucha pop ULcuiB. CuaiLjne. Cach pLigeoh K.iii. CachQcha 6eicheach,cach Racha DUine. K. V. Cach Chuile Cochaip po cpi, ocop cpi cachaa ntDuibpio. K. i;{. Cach QlLamuijh, ocup vii. cacha Cillme. K. vii. Cach nflui je Cache. Coinjeap mop Copmaic TTlic Qipc cap mojh pein ppi pe ceopa mbliaohon. Kl. i. Ceichpe cacha pop TTIunihain la Anaeith, the battle of Cinndoire, the battle of Sruiha, against the Ultonians. The battle of the pass of Cuailgne. The battle of Aih Beitheach, the battle of Rath Duine. The battle of Cuil Tochair three times, and three battles in Duihhfidh. The battle of AUamuigh and the seven battles of Eillin. The battle of Magh-Techt. The large fleet of Cormac Mac Art over the sea for the space of three years. Four battles by Cormac against the Momo- e2 36 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Copitiac, each 6eippe, each tocha 6ein, each Cuimnij, each ^peine pop mumhain beoup. Cach CLapai^h, each ITluipipc, cachpepca,acopchaip6ochaiDCaebhphaDa Dlac CTilLila ULuitn, each Qipo caim. Ocop opjjain na ninjhen ip m Claenpepca a Cempaij la tDunlainj mac n-Gnoa Hiaoh ■Rijh Caijhean. .). xxx. pijhinjhen ocop c. injen lajach n-mjin oibh.xxx. ap ccc. uile fin. Da pig Dec po bich Copmac lapom DO taijhnibh ap jalaibh aen pip, ocop ponaiDm na 6opuma eo na copmach laip. Kl. Hi. Copmac hua Cuino Dachpighaoh o Ulcaibh. 236. Bellum ocpochaipo TTIuipcheimne. TTlebuij pe Copmac hua Cuino, ocop pe Piachaij muiLlechon, Rijh IDumhan, pop Cpuichniu, ocop pop piachaij Qpaiohe, ubi et ipse cecidit ut alii aiunt. 248. K. ii. K. Hi. Ceapbhaioh Copmaic hill Chuino ppi pe vii. mipp- K. an, Qichpijhaoh Copmaic hui Chuino o Ulcaib lapom. Cach Cpinoa Spejh pia Copmac ocop pia Caoj mac Cein mic QiLLiLa Uluim, co n-a cpichao pig ocop co n-a caecao cach- mile ocop CO n-a pLuaj Diapmioe ap cena, ocop pia tujaiD C-ajha mac TTlojha Hu- aohac pop ULcaib, a copcpacap na cpi pepjuip .1. pepgup Polcleabaip, ocup pepgup Caippiaclach, ocoppepjup tDuiboecach, lap m aen oclaeh, la ^ujaio Cajha, co cue laip a cp\ cinou co po caipelb do Copmac a n-epaic a achap .i. Qipc mic Cuino, pobich pom a TTIuig TTIucpuime. Ocop po bpip Ccroj iiii. cacha ip in aen lo pin .i. each Conachaijh, ocop each Sichbe, ocop each Opoma puaiD, ocop each Caipje Golaipj. nians, the battle of Beirre, the battle of Loch Lein, the battle of Luimneach, the battle of Grian, likewise against the Momonians. The battle of Clasach, the battle of Muirisc, the battle of Ferta, in which was killed Eochaidh of the Long Side, the son of Aillil Olum, [and] the battle of Ardcam. And the slaughter of the daughters [girls] in the Claenferta, at Temur, by Dunlaing, the son of Enda Niadh, King of Leinster, i. e. thirty royal daughters and one hundred daughters with each daughter of them. Thirty and three hundred was the entire number. Cormac put to death twelve kings of the Lagenians for the deed of one man, and the Borumha was exacted by him with an increase. Cormac Ua Cuinn was deposed by the Ulto- nians. 236. A battle aX Fothaird Muiriheimne [Fagh- ard]. The defeat was given by Cormac Ua Cuinn and Fiacha Muillethan, King of Munster, to the Cruthni and Fiacha Araidhe, where he himself [i. e. Fiacha Araidhe] fell, as some say. The expulsion of Cormac Ua Cuinn for the space of seven months. Cormac Ua Cuinn afterwards dethroned by the Ultonians. The battle of Crinna, in Bregia, by Cormac and Teige, son of Cian, son of OilioU Olum, with his thirty kings, fifty heroes, and innume- rable forces also, and by Lugaid Lagha, son of Mogha Nuadhat, against the Ultonians, in which (battle) fell the three Ferguses, viz. Fergus of the Long Hair, and Fergus of the Crooked Teeth, and Fergus of the Black Teeth, by the one young hero, Lugaid Lagha, who brought their three heads and presented them to Cormac as Eric for his father Art, the son of Con, who had been killed in Magh Mucrime. And Teige gained four battles on that one day, viz. the battle of Conach- aigh, the battle of Sithbe, the battle of Druim Fuaid, and the battle of Carraig Eolairg. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 37 lopp na cachaib do bpeach Caoj am do Clinch ilLpeoh a cappcro do muiy 6pe5h o po mebuijh in each co haiohchi. Ipeo om do chimchil Cpicha ceo Cianachca, o 5laip nepa co cnoccaibh TTlaile ooaijh, ic abuino 6ipe. 231. Cach Cpinna Ppejabail, pia Cop- mac Ua Cuino, pop Ulcaib, ubi cecidit Qenjup pino mac pepjupa Duiboecaij, co ri-ap ULao. 254.1nDapbaUllaD a h-Spino aTTIanaiiiD, la Copmac hua Cumo. Qp oe ba Copmac Ulpaoa Dia po cuip ULcu a pao. K. i. 5""i Chellaij mic Copmaic, ocop mapbcroh Secna mic 6lae mic pechcaipe na Cempach. Ocop puiL Copmaic hui ChuinD DO bpipeoh oo aen popjum la h-QenjupmacPiacha Suiji, mic peiolilimio Reachcmaip, unde Qenjup ^^'^uaibceach dictum est. Tio bpip lapom Copmac iiii. cacha pop nat)eipib, conup pai a ITIumain, ocop CO po capuino app a cip. Kl. ett. Copmac hua Cumo cec cachaij DO ec a Cleiceach Dia maipc, lap leanmain cnama bpaoain ina bpajaio, no, ap lao na piabpaoa po n-opcaoap, lap na Bpach do rriaelcinn Dpaoi, o nap cpeo Copmac do. After the battles Teige obtained as much of the plain of Bregia as he was able to surround with his chariot from the time the [last] battle was gained till night. What he then surrounded was the Tricha ched of Cianachta, [which extends] from Glaisnera to the hilb of Mail Doaith, which are at the river Liifey. 251. The battle of Crinna Fregahail, by Cor- mac Ua Cuinn, against the Ultonians, in which fell Aengus Finn, the son of Fergus of the Black Teeth, with the slaughter of the Ultonians. 254. The expulsion of the Ultonians from Ireland to Manann, [the Isle of Man] by Cormac Ua Cuinn. It is thence he was [called] Cormac Ulfada, because he drove the Ultonians afar. The wounding of Ceallach, the son of Cormac, . and the killing of Setna, the son of Blae, son of the lawgiver of Temur. And the eye of Cormac Ua Cuinn broken with one blow by Aengus, the son of Fiacha Suighi, the son of Feidhlim Recht- mar, whence he was called Aengus Gabhuaibh- theach, [i. e. Aengus of the Dreadful Spear]. Cormac afterwards gained four battles over the Desii, so that he drove them into Munster, and expelled them from their [original] country. Cormac, the grandson of Con of the Hundred Battles, died at Cleiteach, on Tuesday, the bone of a salmon having stuck in his throat ; or, it is the sheevree [genii] that killed him at the insti- gation of Maelcinn, the Druid, as Cormac did not believe in him. It is scarcely necessary to observe, that these details have all the marks of authenticity ; nor is it necessary to their credibility to concede to the Irish of those times the use of letters, as oral tradition alone would have been sufficient to preserve such meagre details until the introduction of Roman literature with Christianity into Ireland in less than two centuries afterwards. Whether the Irish had or had not the use of letters anterior to this epoch is, at the same time, a subject open to investigation ; but it would be foreign from the purpose of this memoir to enter upon an inquiry so laborious ; it is sufficient to observe. 38 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. that no fact can be more incontrovertibly established, than that the Irish com- mitted to writing, in their native language, immediately after the introduction of Christianity, not only the laws, bardic historical poems, &c., of their own time, but those which had been preserved from times preceding, whether tra- ditionally or otherwise. Till this point, however, be determined, much of the matter stated by the later annalists in connexion with Cormac and his times will necessarily be received with suspicion by the learned, as in the additional details given in the following passage, recording the death of Cormac in the Annals of the Four Masters : A.D. 266. Cechpacha bliaoain oo Copb- mac ITlac Qipc mic Cuinohi pije n-6penn, 50 Bpuaip bap 1 j-cleccij, lap leiimain do cnarh bpaoain ma Bpajaic, cpep an piaB- pao po itnip mailjenn t)pai paip, lap n.iompoD DO Chopbmac ap na opaoirib po Birin aoapca oe do coippiB ; conao aipe pin po aimpij DiaBal eipiurh cpe pupaileaiii na nopuao, 50 D-cucbopoochpa do. Qp e Copb- mac DO rpacc cegupcc na pij, do coniieo moo, bep, agup poUariinuijre na pije. U^oap oipoepc eipioe 1 nolijciB, hi ccoirii- jniB agup hi penchup; ap ap e po piol peachc, piajaiL, agup Dip^iacha gacha haoi, ajup cecha camjne lap ccoip : conao e a olijce po pmacc pop chach Baoi pop congBail Leo gup an aimpip ppeacnaipc. Qp e an Copbmuc po mac CTipcbeop po rinoil Cpoinice Gpenn co haonthaijin 50 Uempaig, gup po popconjaip poppa Cpoinic Gpenn do pcpiobao 1 n-6nliubap, Dop Bo h-ainmPpalcaipUempach. 6ahipin liubap pin bacap conTigneoa agup coriiaimpipa pio^ai- 6e 6penn ppi piojaiB agup ImpipioiB an tDo- riiain, ajup piojja na gcoicceo ppi piogaib ©penn. 6a hann can po pgpioBao ina nolij- pao pi 6penn do na CoicceoacaiB, agup c?op, agup Dlijeo na jcoicceo o a porha- iTiaijce 0 cha uapal co hipeal. 6a hann qia baoi cpioch ajup copann Gpenn op ino op, A. D. 266. Cormac, the son of Art, the son of Con, after having been forty years in the government of Ireland, died at Cletty, the bone of a salmon having stuck in his throat, through the Sheevra, whom Mailgenn, the druid, induced to attack him, after Cormac had turned from the druids to the adoration of God; wherefore a demon attacked him at the instigation of the dru- ids, and gave him a painful death. It is Cormac who composed the Teagasc na Hiogh, to preserve manners, morals, and government in the kingdom. He was an illustrious author in laws, synchronisms and history ; for it is he that promulgated law, rule and regulation for each science, and for each covenant according to justice : so that it is his laws that restrained all who adhered to them to the present time. It is this Cormac Mac Art also that assembled the chroniclers of Ireland together at Temur, and ordered them to write the Chronicles of Ireland in one book, which was called the Psalter of Temur. It was in that book were [entered] the coeval exploits and synchronisms of the Kings of Ireland with the Kings and Emperors of the world, and of the kings of the provinces with the monarchs of Ireland. It was in it was also written what the monarchs of Ireland were entitled to receive from the provincialists, and what the provincialists [i. e. provincial kings] were entitled to receive from their subjects from the noble to the subaltern. It Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 39 0 cha coicceo co cuaich, o chuairh co baile, was in it also were [described] the bounds and meres ajup o baile CO cpaijio do cip. Oipoepc of Ireland from shore to shore, from the province na neicifi i leabap na h-Uiopi. dp poLlup to the territory, from the territory to the bally, lacr I leaBap 'Oinnpenchupa. " (townland,) and from the bally to the traigid of land. These things are conspicuous in Leabhar na h- Uidhri. They are also evident in the Lea- bhar Dinnshenchusa. This detail, it must be confessed, has but little agreement with the meagre and unsuspicious account given by Tighearnach. On every thing stated by the Four Masters the earlier annalist is silent, except the notice of the cause of his death, and even in this what is doubtfully put by the one, is made positive by the others. Whether, however, those details be true or false, or in whatever degree they may be so, it is due to the character for veracity of the Four Masters to mention, that they found what at least appeared to them sufficient evidence upon which to ground their statements, in very ancient documents. The additional facts of importance stated by the Four Masters are three : — 1. That Cormac was the author of the ancient tract called Teagasc na Riogh, or Instruction of the Kings. 2. That he was the author or compiler of laws which remained in force among the Irish down to the seventeenth century. And 3. That he caused the ancient chronicles of the country to be compiled in one volume, which was after- wards called the Psalter of Tara. On each of these facts a few remarks may be permitted. 1. The work called the Teagasc Riogh has been ascribed to Cormac by the Irish universally from a very remote period, and whether it be his or not, it is certainly one of the most ancient and valuable documents preserved in the lan- guage. The following verse of an ancient poet is a good authority for this statement : Copmac 6peireiTi na mbper p'P) Cormac Brehon of true judgments, e DO cpacc Uecapc na Ris ; Composed the Instruction of Kings ; N 1 pajcap uJDap ip p^pp No better author is found Qip olijcib aepoa Gipenn. Upon the aged laws of Erin. In an ancient manuscript in Trinity College library (Class H. 1. 15. p. 149.) it is stated, that it was the custom at the inauguration of the Irish chiefs to read the Teagasc Riogh and the Laws of Cormac ; and this statement is corroborated by a passage in the Annals of the Four Masters recording the death of an Irish 40 Mr. Peteie on the History/ and Antiquities of Tara Hill. chief. In which it is stated that he governed his subjects by the Teagasc Riogh and the Laws of Cormac. It must be confessed, however, that it was the opinion of the venerable Charles O' Conor of Belanagare, that this work " should not be considered as the composition of King Cormac, but as the epitome of some writer of an ulterior age." But it would seem more probable that the work, as at present preserved, is rather an amplification than an epitome of the original work, of which he is supposed to be the author. * Copies of the Teagasc Riogh are preserved in the Books of Glendalough and Ballymote, and translated specimens will be found in the Dublin Penny Journal, vol. i. pp. 213, 214, 215, and 231, 232. The whole would be well worthy of publication, as affording probably the best evidences now to be obtained of the wisdom and amount of civilization current among the Irish in very distant times. 2. As the institutor of laws the claims of Cormac appear to stand on a firmer basis than his title to the authorship of the Teagasc Riogh. Several tracts of his laws are preserved in MS. in our public libraries, and they are quoted in Cormac's Glossary, an undoubted work of the ninth century. The most perfect copy of these laws, as explained and enlarged by Cennfaela, a writer whose death is recorded in the Annals of Tigheamach, at the year 679, is pre- served in a MS. supposed to be of the fourteenth century, in the library at Stowe. A very interesting dissertation upon the contents and age of this MS. will be found in the Stowe Catalogue, by the late Dr. O' Conor, and, as this Catalogue is of extreme rarity, a few extracts from that dissertation are here given. " Description of the MS. of Brehon Laws now before us. " On the first leaf, Cennfaelad states that this work consists of two parts. The first is — ' Cuid Cormaic mc Airt Righ Eir — The part composed by Cormac, the Son of Art, King of Ireland; the second is — ' Cuid Cendfaelaid mc Ailill — The part composed by Cenfaelad, ' the Son of Ailil.' " Cenfaelad's part consists chiefly of a gloss on the law terms used by Cormac ; but this gloss is of the seventh century, the law terms of which are as unintelligible now as those of the third century were then. He adds that Cormac composed his part at Acill, near Temora, after he had resigned the sovereignty to his son Carbre. We have already seen that Cennfaelad was a writer of the seventh century, and that Acil was one of the Royal residences of Meath. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 41 " The first words of this fragment are — <' ' In ainim oe po — Cocc Don liubhapjxx oaipe lubpan -i aimpep do aimpep Domnaill mc. aeoa mc. ainmipeach n peppa do cenopaela inc. aill. -i cac, a oenma a hincino oepmaic do be in acenn cbinopaela ik. maijhe pach. " '■Ceopa bucroha in k.a pin .i. TtiaimD op conjalclaen in a gae pian Domhnall m a phipinoe •1 puibhne jeilr doduI pe jelcachc •! aincinn oepinaic do be in acino cinopaela ik. ITIaighe Rach. " < ]pe in p apncrobuaiDh maimo ap congal in a jae pen oomnall inapipinoe, uaip buaioh maitriD apin anpipen piap an pipen. " < Ipe in p. apncrobuaiDh puibne jeilc do duI pe gelcachc .1. ap ap pacaibh do laiohibh 1 Dopjelaibh ajappicicach opinille. " ' Ip e an p apnaobuaioh aincinn Depmaic do bein acino cinopaela uaip ip ann do pijhneo a leijap icuaim opecain icotnpac nacpi ppaicheo ir. cijhibh nacpipuaoh .1. paipenechaip "i pai- pilechca n paileijino -i Doneochpochanoaip naqiipcola canlai po bioh aicepium rpiajeipe ainDclechca cannaiohche -i ineoch bahincaip penca lepoe pob. eoh^lunpnaiche pui -\^ po pcpibh- cha aice icailc liubhaip. " ' Ho cumaohi inc-i pamaoh buaioh .1. pepopepaib ep n pepopepaib alban doduI caipip poip jan luinjjan eachaip .i. oubhoiaoh mac oamain -i pep DOjaioelaib. — Cocc aimpep lapcennpaela pin maohiapcopmac imm. loc do aicill apaice cemaip -j aimpepoo aimpep capbpe Inhpecaip mc. copmaic t peppa do copmao buoein -i racaic aoeiima .1. caech. pula copmaic Doaenjup jaebuaibnech lap puarach inline polaip mc aipc cuipb apaich eo. do cell. mc. copmaic, &c. 1 pe cuic copmaic Donliub. \^ am apapep ep. n na blai. 1 pe cuic cenopaela na pil ocha pinpip. Macomaoae copmac oon-ihhe n comaoe ceanopael 00b. ao jlunpnaichi pilip.a pai -i oeipmepp. aip. Cechbp. ineicjio pach coli. copmacuacuino pop pijne in lech .11. lapmocha cennpael mc aiU.a. 6a peppa aipeoa cpa cenopael mc aill.a. lap nape olcao ipin each — he do pigne duiI popcaoach.' " " This title has been transcribed with the greatest care, separating the words, which are joined in the text. What follows is a literal translation : but it is fair to confess that in no other transla- tion has the Compiler of this Catalogue found the difficulty which the abbreviations and some of the terms themselves, being Law terms of the most obscure antiquity, have in this instance imposed upon him.* Literal Version. " ' In the Name of God, this The place of this book (i. e. where it was written) was Daire-luhran (i. e. the Oak Grove of Lubran), and its time was when Donnald, the son of Aod, • " In the Collectanea Hiberoica, a very short fragment of these Blai is quoted, vol. ii. p. 8, &c. where the reading is very corrupt and different from this, and we are informed, after a few broken quotations, at page 20, that • all the rest of the Blai are wanting, and all that part composed by Cinfala and promulgated by Donald.' VOL. XVIII. f 42 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. son of Ainmire, was King of Ireland ;* and the person (i. e. the writer) was Cennfaelad, the son of Alill ; and the occasion of composing it was because Dermod's ignorance yielded to Cennfaelad's skill, at the battle of Moraith, — (fought in 634. Annal. IV. Mag.) " ' Three victories were gained there. Congal, the Crooked, was defeated in his falsehood by Donnald in his truth ;| and Subne the Mad ran mad on that occasion ; and the unskilfulness of Dermod yielded to the skill of Cenfaelad.J The cause of the victory of Donnald over Congal, in truth, was this, that falsehood must always be conquered by truth. — The cause of the victory gained by Subne the Mad's turning mad, was, that he lost some Poems and Narratives, of which others availed themselves after. — The cause of the victory of Dermod's unskilfulness yielding to Cenn- faelad's skill, was, that he (Cenfaelad) was educated at Tuani-Drecan, at the meeting of the three roads, between the houses of three learned men — that is, a Man skilled in Genealogies, and a Man skilled in Poetry, and a Man skilled in difficult reading ; and whatever these three schools taught in the day, he, by the acuteness of his intellect, pondered over each night, and whatever was most difficult, he unknotted, and wrote down in his book of hard questions. We must not omit a fourth victory gained at that time — that is, that a man of Ireland, and another man of Albany, passed over to the East, without a ship of burthen, without a ship of war — namely, Duhdiad, the son of Daman, and another of the Gael. " ' The place and time of Cenfaelad's work is stated. — If you ask for Cormac's, the place where he wrote was Acill, near Temora : the time was when Carbre Liffecar, his son, was King of Ireland. The person who wrote it, was Cormac himself; the occasion of his writing it was, that being deprived of an eye by Angus of the Fearful Spear, after the daughter of Solar, the son of Art the Bastard, was violated in Rath-Aodh, by Ceallac the son of Cormac, and (being consequently disqualified to reign,) he retired to Acill, &c. " ' Cormac's part of this book is the Science of the laws of Ireland, and the Blai Cenfaelad's part is the Laws which follow them. The precepts of Cormac to the aged, the Precepts of Cenfae- lad, to explain Law terms, difficult meanings, and devices. " ' The half the laws against falsehood — Cormac O'Con composed that half. ' The next after that Cenfaelad, the son of Alill, (composed.) 'A man of skill was he Cenfaelad, the son of Alii. ' He defeated the Ultonians in battle, and he composed the war songs.'§ " The sections of this fragment are 62. Each section begins with an ornamented initial, of a larger size than the other capitals, which mark the minuter divisions. The four first leaves con- * " That is from 628 to 642. — This King Dmnald is mentioned by Adamnan, in his Life of Columba, 1. 1, c. 39, in Triade, p. 349. — ' De bello in munitione Cethirni, in quo, ut multi norunt popull, Domnallus Aidi filius Victor sublimatus est.' The same battle is mentioned in the Irish Annals of the IV Masters, an. 624. t " This seems to have been a Religious war between the Christian king Donnald and the Pagan Congal. X " This was written before the art of dating by the Christian aera was known in Ireland, and therefore the author collects a number of cotemporary facts of universal notoriety, which served to establish his date. The Druids were not entirely suppressed in the 7th century. § " These four lines are written in the original as if they were prose. — What enables the translator to ascertain that they are in verse, is a regular cadence throughout, dividing the sentences into equal number of syllables. Vide next page. Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 43 tain 19 sections ; the first and second of whicli give the title, as above, with some additional circumstances, relating to the life of King Cormac. — Cenfaelad states in the third, that the Laws of the Irish are derived from four sources — the Hebrew, the Greek, the Latin, and the Irish ; adding that there are several ancient Irish terms of Law, which are here explained in detail, and also eight emails (or interpretations) oiEtgens (or crimes) which are also explained in the sequel. The following inference is drawn near the end of this section : — ' Ip ap pin ip poUup o biap pip in cinaio ac Duine jon copoibh pip nahepce concroh ampip Ion piach — i. e. and hence it is plain that when once man comes to know a crime, though he knows not the punishment attached to it, he is Uable to be punished accordingly.' " The fourth section begins with the words ' Giplip polla eicgioch op p. im cia leap no cia lin DO epnailib qiia pap o bheilijcb in cej. ip com. p. L^ban icincaighe -i i plain- ci5h.' These words are interhned with a very ancient gloss by Cenfaelad, from which it appears that this section treats of the various aggravating circumstances of crimes, and how each crime may be distinguished by its email, or signs and tokens. It also treats of proofs of crimes, and the necessity of corporal presence to establish evidence, — adding that the ignorant, and the Coward, who resemble brutes, must not be permitted to give evidence, even though their personal presence be ascertained : and here is quoted the authority of an ancient Poet, called Fer-Muman mac Echgain, whose words, in the ancient Irish idiom, are — " ' Conioh DC ac. poc paicc. -i anphocanpaicc. 6iDbcach caphaicchup ipoic — ip bpep. ciaimciajaicoij.' " These verses are written without any distinction of Unes, or even of words, except rarely ; and they are so written, that the second line must be read before the first. Several instances of this occur in Irish MSS. of great antiquity. Usher observes on an ancient MS. in which he discovered one of Columbanus's Poems, that it is all written as if it were prose. See his Sylioge, p. 99 and 122. Many similar instances occur in the writings of the middle ages, as noticed in the Rerum Hibernicarum, vol. 1. The above Irish verses may be interpreted thus : " 1. Whoever is in terror is a Fot. — He is false though he should strut as a champion. " 2. Wherefore it is said that Fot means a coward, and a confirmed Fot is a confirmed coward. " The idiom alone sufficiently proves that these verses must be referred to a very remote period, even were it not for the circumstance of some of the words not being divided from each other, and being wholly unknown at this day : and though there are undoubtedly, in Cennfaelad's gloss, and in the parts of this work composed by him, some references to Laws enacted by the Christian Kings of Ireland in the 6th and 7th centuries, the parts ascribed to King Cormac are written in an idiom so very obscure and remote, as to justify, ab intrinseco, the positive assertion of Cenfaelad, that they are the genuine Laws of that Prince. " The 5th section is Cenfaelad's interpretation of the Law terms of Cormac's work, beginning, ' Ciaanmano nacina pin — What are the names of those crimes.' " The 6th begins, ' Ro rannchiaghaic a cechaip jacb ne — Four quaUties make known the extent of each crime.' " The 7th is < Ceopa poohlapoghLa, — Three are the distinctive qualities of plunder.' /2 44 Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. " The 8th is, ' Ria bcao piacha p^PS — Let the extent of prosecution be proportioned to the degree of anger.' This treats of murder and manslaughter ; the different legal names annexed to each degree of guilt, in respect to both ; and the eric» to be paid for them. " The 9th is intitled, ' Qmeic ae pepep ceno pij,' &c. It treats of seven degrees of eric*, and seven degrees of punishment for crimes, &c. "The 10th begins, ' Qmeic apa pep ep pollup,' &c The 11th, ' Qmic apa peip ep peineachc,' &c.— The 12th, ' Qmeic ap Cinpluaj pop aen pep,' &c. — The 13th, 'Qjup cinaenpip pop j'luaj,' &c. — The 14th begins, ' Qmeic apniup p. cip neopoo t oeop .p.' &c. — The 15th, ' Qmeic apncinpij popchuaich,' &c. — The 16th, ' Qmic apapeip ep peppechca,' &c. — The 17th, < Qmic apapeichc aenpep imam,' &c. The 18th, < Qmic apapepip piachu.' — The 19th, ' Qmic apapeipep pep ippen,' &c. — The 20th, ' Qmic op blai oilpi,' &c. — The 21st, ' 6lai moja muj- paine,' &c 2i2d, ' 6lai echaenach,' &c. — 23d, ' 6lai echaenach.' — 24th, ' 6lai opomDeoin,' &c. — 25th, ' 6lai conconjal,' &c. — 26th, ' 6lai Opuich Dibpucun, i. e. Laws concerning the expul- sion of Druids.' — 27th, ' 6lai rriep cuipmcecb.' — 28th, ' 6lai mein mioclaip.' — 29th, ' 6lai con conj,' Sec, — 30th, '6lai echuipimupchup apopc a pope,' &c. — 31st, '6Lai Ciaglilinao,' &c. — 32d, ' 6lai pep cacha,' &c. — 33d, ' 6lai Supruaich.' — 34th, ' 6lai cpann cucaim,' &c. — 35th, ' 6lai nuchlechnup achqiop ooliap,' &c. — 36th, ' 6lai Supen Snippe,' &c. — 37th, ' 6lai capb n peche Dapmna,' &c 38th, < 6lai paebup comlenj.' — 39th, ' 6lai ounaoal.' — 40th, ' 6Lai mucc opcel,' &c. — 41st, ' 6lai Ciachpoic lopj poll -i locc,' &c ' 42d, ' 6lai noi impom.' — 43d, ' 6lai Ciachpoice uppcup paichce,' &c. — 44th, ' 6lai cecepij culcompuc,' &c. — 4.5th, ' 6lai pobcubao,' &c. — 46th, '6lai cene celluch,' &c. — 47th, ' 6lni Cappac Oenucb, &c. — 48th, ' 6lai Caipe combpuch,' &c. — 49th, ' 6lai-Damh oamhjal,' &c 50th, ' 6lai cuicbech pliab,' &c. 51st, '6lai TTloja biail,' &c. — 52d, ' 6lai Cumul lecc' — 53d, ' 6lai lapacbr oipoichio caip- ipiD ojplan,' &c 54tb, ' 6lai ap mupgal,' &c — 55th, ' 6lai muilenn bleich,' &c. — 56th, < 6lai clepamnuij cleip.' — 57th, ' 6lai echa ichlaino,' &c — 58th, ' 6lai lapunn aiplecb,' &c. — 59th, ' 6lai ecap gaipe imjuin.' — 60th, ' 6lai boncacha ban,' &c. — 61st, '6lai cuaille aipbe.' — 62d, ' 6lai oeilge oae,' &c. — 63d, ' 6lai Cuach qiejlia.' " That these Brehon Laws bear indisputable marks of original rudeness and simphcity, it is needless to say. Bede seems to advert to them where he says that the Irish permitted the Picts to intermarry with Irish women, provided the inheritance should pass to the descendants of these marriages in the female line,* which was contrary to the Laws of the Irish themselves, who never permitted inheritance except to the male hue, and when that was extinct, to the senior male of the same name and next a-kin to the deceased. But whether Bede adverts in this passage to written or unwritten Laws, certain it is that the written Laws of Ireland are referred to by the ^nte-Danish Poets of that Country, and by Cenfaelad in the 7th century ; as well as by Probus, in the 10th ; by Tigernach, in the 11th; and by the Magnates Hiberniee, in the 14th. — Placed in the extremity of Europe, secluded from the rest of the world, unconquered, unmixed, and never affected by the concussions of the fall of the Roman Empire, the Irish must have possessed primeval institutions, which this MS. is the best calculated to unfold." • "Bede, 1.1, e. 1." Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 45 These remarks of Dr. O' Conor are well worthy the attention of the learned, and should excite an ardent desire for the publication of documents so important to the history of Western Europe. It should be stated, however, that in the translation of the preface to this work, Dr. O' Conor has fallen into several errors, but it is not considered necessary to enumerate them here, as, excepting in one instance, none of them affect the general sense of his version. This instance occurs in the last line of the quatrain, where "war-songs" is incorrectly given as the translation of Duil Rosgadhach, which is, in fact, simply the title of Cennfaela's Commentary on the Laws, as appears from Cormac's Glossary, in which it is frequently quoted. 3. That the Psalter of Tara was really, as stated, compiled in the time of Cormac, is an assertion the truth of which is much more difficult to prove than his claims to the authorship of laws. The very title given to this work is suffi- cient to excite well-founded suspicion of its antiquity ; and no allusion to it has been found in the works of any author anterior to the eleventh century. It may also be remarked, that if such a work had ever existed, it would naturally be expected that, even though lost, it would have been quoted as authority, like the Psalter of Cashel, in the great compilations of Glendalough, Ballymote, Lecan, and Hy-Many ; but no extract from it, at least nothing given as such, has been found in any of those or other works. It is true that the Four Masters refer to Leabhar na h-Uidhri and the Dinnseanchus, as containing transcripts from the Psalter of Tara ; but on an examination of those MSS., nothing has been found that could, at least in their present mutilated form, be considered as the composition of so remote an age. The oldest authority yet discovered for the existence of the Psalter of Tara is to be found in the following verses in a poem by Cuan O'Lochain, which will be given entire in the course of this memoir. Copmac po clai caejao each, Cormac gained fifty battles, t)o pilao palcaip Ceariipach ; He compiled the Psalter of Temur ; Ip in cpalcaip pin a ca In this Psalter is Qn up oeach puim peanchuppa. What is a good summary of history. ' Ip pi m q^alcoip pin ao beip It is this Psalter that gives Secc n-aipopi j 6penn inoBip ; Seven monarchs of Erin of harbours ; Coic pi na coicceo pop gn' Five kings of the provinces it makes, Ri Gpenn ip a h-eppi. The King of Erin and her toparchs. ' Ip innci a cu oe cec leich In it are [entered] reciprocally 46 Mr. Petrie on the Historic and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Ino a nolij cecli pi cuiccio, What each king of a province is entitled to, Ino a nolij pi Cempach coip "What the King of Temur in the east is entitled to t)o pij cec CU1CCID ceolriioip. From the king of each harmonious province. Coimjniu comaimpepai caich, The chronology and synchronism of all, Cech pij Die poile oopaich, Of each king with each other, completely, Cpiochao cech coiccid o cpuaic, The boundaries of each province from the hill, O ca cpaijiD CO qiom cuair. From thBTraigid to the heavy [large] tuaith. Cpicha ap cpichaiD ceo nop geiB Thirty above a Triocha ched [barony] it finds t)o qiichuib ceo cec cuiccio. Of Triocha cheds in each province. In cech cuiceo oiB a ca In each province of them are Secc ppim picic ppim oingna. Seven full score of chief fortresses. A stronger objection, however, than any of the preceding, and which would apply to the other works ascribed to Cormac, as well as to the one in question, is the general belief of the learned that the Irish were wholly unacquainted with letters until the establishment of Christianity in the middle of the fifth century. To the preceding objections it may, however, be answered, that it is not likely that a work called the Psalter of Tara could be thus referred to in a genuine poem of the eleventh century, written by one of the most distinguished men of his time, if such a work had not, at least, an existence in the popular traditions of the time ; and it may be further argued, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to conceive how the minute and apparently accurate accounts found in various MSS. of the names and localities of the Atticotic tribes of Ireland in the first century, could have been preserved, without coming to the conclusion, that they had been committed to writing in some work, whatever may have been its original name, within a century or two of the times to which they relate. It may be also urged, that, without conceding the use of letters to the Irish generally before the establishment of Christianity in Ireland, there is nothing improbable in the supposition that their use might have been known to a few, and, among those, to Cormac. Even the sceptical Innes says, "It may have very well happened that some of the Irish before that time, passing over to Britain or other parts of the Roman empire, where the use of letters was common, might have learned to read and write." The probability, moreover, that Cormac did not share in the imputed illiterateness of his countrymen, will be greatly increased by a consideration of the ancient tradition of his being an author, and still more from the sufficiently conclusive evidences derived from all the ancient authorities of his belief in the true God. But, without insisting on this argument, it may be Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 4t7 urged with greater force, that there is considerable evidence to shew tliat Chris- tianity itself had made no small progress in Ireland long before the middle of the fifth century, the period assigned to its general establishment. This fact is sufficiently manifest from the record of the mission of Palladius in the Chronicle of Prosper : — " Ad Scotos in Christum credentes ordinatus a Papa Celestino pri- mus episcopus mittitur." It even appears certain that there were bishops in Ireland before Patrick, though not commissioned from Rome, as, in a passage in Tirechan's Life of St. Patrick, written in the seventh century, it is stated that the Bishop Colman offered his church of Cluain Cain in Achud as a votive offering for ever to Patrick, who committed it to the care of the holy men, that is the priests, Medb and Sadb. " Colmanus episcopus aeclesiam suam, id est, cluain cain in Achud Patricio episcopo de votiva immolatione in sempiternum obtulit et ipse earn commendavit Sanctis viris, id est, prespitero Medb et prespitero Sadb." — Book of Armagh, fol. 17, p. a. col. 1. And again, in a passage somewhat obscure, it is stated that a certain Irish bishop came to him from Caragh, in Connaught, to MagJi Tochuir, in Donegal. " Et exiit ad campum Tochuir et fecit aeclesiam ibi, et in quo loco quidam episcopus venit de genere Corcu Theimne ad eum de CellolaTbcA in regiones Temenrigi i Ceru contra solis occassum ; episcopus cum sorore una monachi Patricii, et est locus eorum cum familia Clono et ingemescunt viri loci illius." — Book of Armagh, fol. 15, p. a. col. 2. These passages receive corroboration from the words of St. Chrysostom, in his Demonstratio quod Christus sit Deus, written, according to Montfau9on, in the year 387, in which he states that the British islands situated outside the Mediterranean Sea, and in the very ocean itself, had felt the power of the divine word, churches having been founded there, and altars erected. " Kal "yap al ppsraviKaX vTitroi, al tiiq OaXarrtig iKTug K£(jtt£va£ ravrriQ, KOt ev avT(^ ovaai T(^ iiKiav<^, rijc SuvojUEWc tou pi'ifiarog yrrOovTO. koI yap KqKii ticicAijiTiot, koi OvaiaaTiipia wnrr]yaa cnoc lao pein pilec are in Hy-Faolain. And the sun and the wind 1 n-UiB Paolam, ajup^P'C" °5"r 5"^°'^ pof killed him because he had violated [his oath by] mapB porn, up po papaij laoconiD do pin ac them. Of that event the poet said : bepc an pili — Qc bach Caojaipe mac Neill, Laoghaire, the son of Niall, died pop caoB Caippi, jlap a cip, On the side of Caissi, green its land. tJuile De ao paejaio pair, The elements of God, whose guarantee he had Cue pac oail m bdip popp cm pi 5. violated. Executed the doom of death upon the king. The preaching of Christianity in Ireland by Palladius and Patrick, and its alleged establishment by the latter during the reign of this prince, invest that reign with a degree of historical interest which does not appertain to any other portion of Irish history, whether antecedent or subsequent. Yet, though it might naturally be expected, from the importance of the events and the acknow- ledged use of letters in Ireland at this period, that a clear and authentic record of the preaching of the Gospel would be preserved, it must be confessed that the fact is far otherwise. The acts of Patrick, or perhaps the Patricks, for there appear strong grounds for presuming the existence of more than one preacher of the name, are involved in obscurities and contradictions which even the learning and judgment of Ussher and Lanigan, as well as of many others, have failed to penetrate and explain. Still, however, the labour should not be aban- doned as hopeless. Many ancient documents, unknown to, or beyond the reach of former investigators, still exist ; and the examination of these holds out a hope to those w^io may devote their time and learning to the subject, that their exertions may be crowned with success. Such an examination, however, would be as much beyond the limits as it would be foreign to the object of this memoir; but as the preaching of Patrick at Tara is one of those facts on which all autho- rities concur, and as this event is, moreover, connected with some of the remains to be illustrated as still existing on the spot, it will be necessary to give some account of it in this place ; and, for the sake of brevity, this will be given in the condensed abstract furnished by Dr. Lanigan. After narrating the progress of St. Patrick, during the latter end of the year 432 and part of 433, until the approach of Easter, when he determined on 54 Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. celebrating that festival near Tara, the Doctor proceeds thus : — " On the follow- ing day, which was Easter-eve, or Holy Saturday, St. Patrick continued his journey, and arrived in the evening at a place called Ferta-fer-feic, now Slane. Having got a tent pitched there, he made preparations for celebrating the festival of Easter, and accordingly lighted the paschal fire about night-fall. It happened that at this very time the king, Leogaire, and the assembled princes, were celebrating a religious festival, of which fire-worship formed a part. There was a standing law, that, at the time of this festival, no fire should be kindled for a considerable distance all around, until after a great fire should be lighted in the royal palace of Temoria or Tarah. St. Patrick's paschal fire was, however, lighted before that of the palace, and, being seen from the heights of Tarah, excited great astonishment. On the king's inquiring what could be the cause of it, and who could have thus dared to infringe the law, the Magi told him that it was necessary to have that fire extinguished immediately, whereas, if allowed to remain, it would get the better of their fires, and bring about the downfall of his kingdom. Leogaire, enraged and troubled on getting this information, set out for Slane, with a considerable number of followers, and one or two of the principal Magi, for the purpose of exterminating those violators of the law. When arrived within some distance from where the tent was, they sat down, and St. Patrick was sent for, with an order to appear before the king and give an account of his conduct. It was arranged that no one should show him any mark of respect, nor rise up to receive him. But, on his presenting himself before them. Here, son of Dego, disobeyed the injunction, and standing up, saluted him, and receiving the Saint's blessing, became a believer. He was afterwards Bishop of Slane, and celebrated for his sanctity. Passing over certain contests between St. Patrick and the Magi, and some partly pro- digious and partly ridiculous fables, we find St. Patrick the next day (Easter Sunday) in the palace of Tarah, preaching before the king and the states general, and disconcerting the Magi. The only person, that on his appearing there, rose up to pay his respects to him was Dubtach, an eminent poet and instructor of Fiech, son of Ere, who afterwards became Bishop of Sletty. Dub- tach was the first convert on that day, and the saint became greatly attached to him. Thenceforth he dedicated his poetical talents to Christian subjects, and some works of his are still extant." — Eccles. Hist. vol. i. pp. 223-5. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 55 For the facts stated in the foregoing abstract it is not necessary here to quote the original authorities, particularly as a sufficient agreement is found, not only in all the lives of Patrick published up to Lanigan's time, but also in those which have been since published from the Book of Armagh ; and though these lives exhibit all the usual admixture of miraculous fables so characteristic of the lives of Irish Saints, there is nothing in them which should impeach the truth of the leading incidents which they record. There is, however, con- nected with this important event an ancient document still preserved, though hitherto unpublished, of such singular interest, whether considered as the oldest imdoubted monument of the Irish language remaining, or as an illustrative record of the religious doctrine inculcated by St. Patrick, that a more than usually copious account of it can hardly fail of being acceptable to the readers of this memoir. The document here alluded to is an ancient Irish hymn of St. Patrick, which he is stated to have composed and sung with his followers when approaching Tara, surrounded by his pagan enemies. The circumstances which occasioned the composition of this hymn are thus detailed in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, a compilation of the ninth or tenth century, but, as Colgan, who has published a Latin translation of it from the original Irish, supposes, first written by St. Evin in the sixth century, though subsequently interpolated. " Cum perversus Rex videret se non posse via jam excogitata sanctum virum e medio tollere, excogitavit et aliam. Invitat ipsum Temoriam, promittens quod ibi coram regni proceribus facturus sit publicam fidei professionem, et in Christum coram toto regno crediturus. Hsec fuit professio oris, sed longe alia meditatio cordis iniqui tyranni. Per loca enim, per quae sanctus Pontifex trans- iturus erat, varias instruxit insidias ad ipsum, antequam Temoriam veniret, e medio toUendum. Sed licet servus Christi fidelis Domino revelante ha;c non ignoraret, in Domino tamen jaciens suum cogitatum, statuit Temoriam proficisci, et discrimen imminens divinse relinquere dispositioni. Pro- mittit erg5 se Regem pone secuturum : et sequitur cum octo clericis, et Benigno puero : quos sua sacra benedictione et oratione contra paratas insidias, et omnia pericula raunivit. Et sic per medios insidiantium cuneos transibant : quorum et oculi tenebantur, ne eos agnoseerent. Obtutibus enim ipsorum solum apparuerunt octo cervi cum uno hinnulo, in cujus dorso videbatur aliqua sarcina jacere. Sic ergo mirificus vir sociique cum beato puero Benigno sacrum Bibliorum codicem in humcris gestante, per medios hostes salvi et incolumes Temoriam usque pervenerunt, salvifico orationis viri Dei prsesidio, velut sacrS, segide, muniti. Tunc vir sanctus composuit ilium Hymnum patrio idiomate conscriptum, qui vulgo Feth-fiadha, et ab aliis lorica Patridi appellatur ; et iu summo abinde inter Hibernos habetur pretio : quia creditur, et multa experientia probatur, pid recitantes ab imminentibus animai, et corporis praeservare periculis." — Septima Vita Tripartita S. Patridi, pars I. cap. Ix. Tr. Th. p. 126. 56 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. That the hymn or psalm thus distinctly named as the composition of Patrick is the identical one which will now be presented to the reader, will appear suffi- ciently obvious from the ancient preface prefixed to it, in which its origin is accounted for in nearly the same words. The MS. from which it has been taken is the celebrated Liber Hymnorum, preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, a manuscript which, in the opinion of Archbishop Ussher, as expressed in a letter to Vossius, was in his time a thousand years old. — See Epist. ad Vossium, in Dissert, de Symbolis Antiq. For the satisfaction of the learned, an interlineary Latin translation is given, as it would be impossible to retain the sense in the original order of words in an English one ; and, as the orthography of the words generally varies from that of more modern productions, and as many of the words themselves have been long obsolete, authorities for their explanations will be appended in notes. The characters used in the text will give a good general idea of those in the MS., and the ornamented capital is a, facsimile of the original one. It is only necessary to add here, that this hymn is in that ancient dialect of the Irish called Bearla Peine, in which the Brehon Laws and the oldest tracts in the language are written. Hymn of St. Patrick. Paqiaicc do pone inn immun po. In " Patrick composed this hymn. In the time aiiTifeipCoejaipe tneicNeiloo pijneo. pac of Loegaire, the son of Nial, it was composed. a oenma h. oia oioen co na manchaib ap The cause of its composition was to protect him- naimoib in baip po bacap m ecapnio ap na self with his monks against the enemies unto cleipcheib. Ocup ip luipech hippe inpo death, who were in ambush against the clergy, ppi himoejail cuipp ocup anma ap oemnaib And this is a religious armour to protect the body coup Dulnib ocup oualchib. Cecil ouine and soul against demons, and men, and vices. nop geba cech oia co n-mnichem leip i n-oia Every person who sings it every day with all his ni chaipippec tiemna ppi a jnuip. 6id oicm attention on God, shall not have demons appearing DO op cech neim ocup popmac. 610 comna to his face. It will be a protection to him against DO ppi Dianbap. 6m lupech Dia anmain lap every poison and envy. It will be a safeguard to n-a ^cpechr. paqiaicc po chan po in can him against sudden death. It will be an armour DO paca na hecapnaioi ap a chinn o f,oe- to his soul after his death. Patrick sang this at jaipe, na DijpeoDO pilao chpeiome coCem- the time that the snares were set for him by pai5 ; coniD annpin ac cheppa piaoLuchc na Loegaire, that he might not come to propagate n-ecapnaoe comcipaije alca, ocup lapnoe 1 the faith to Temur ; so that it appeared to those n-a n-DiaiD .1. benen. Ocup pech piaoa a lying in ambush, that they were wild deer, and a haintn. fawn after them, that is Benen. And Fethjiadha is its name." Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 57 OOooOOo o°po5,o 60° I' uoTTipiu^^ iNOiu^- niupt:^ "c^ew ro- ' Ad Temoriam hodie potentiam prsepoUentem in- voco Trinitatis. CReuim« URGOoauaio^ poisiN" Credo in Trinitatem sub tii oeNOauaD" in" DULemaiN'^ dqil." Unitate T«w numinis elementorum. ' Q, in, or at : sic hodie. « COTTTRIU^: apparently an obsolete form of Ceaiiipu 1 j, dat. of Ceariiuip. ' lNt)HJ, to-day : now generally written iniu or aniu in Irish, but andiu in the Erse. * NIURU, strength, force, power : so written in many ancient MSS., but now always neapr. » CRBN, strong, mighty : so written in all the ancient MSS., but in the modern ones qiean. ^ CO^CtlRm : used as a noun in the modern MSS. and in the Annals of the Four Masters, at the year 1577, in which sense it is taken by O'Clery, who, in his dictionary of obsolete Irish words, explains it by acac no juibe 6ian, i. e. a supplication or earnest entreaty : but here it is certainly employed as a verb, and means, I invoke, beseech, implore. ' CRIHOIU, the Trinity : now always written Upionoio. In the ancient MSS. c is frequently used for the d of the moderns. The same change is observable in the Welsh, Spanish, and Italian. * CT?6Cim, I believe : now cpeioim. " CU60t)QUQlt). This word is now obsolete, but its meaning is evidently triplicity, or tripartite division. The termination araio is no longer in use. "> POISIN, under the, is compounded of the preposition poi under, and the article an or in, the, the p being inserted to avoid a hiatus, as in cpep, leip, ip, annp. " OeNtDQCQt), unity : now written aonoacc. In the ancient MSS. ae and oe are almost . invariably used for the ao of the moderns. " IH, the : now written an, but in the ancient MSS. almost invariably in. " t)Uf,6mQlN, gen. form of ouileih, the Godhead, the Creator of the Elements: a word evi- dently of pagan origin ; it is derived from Dul, element. At this day the phrase pij; na n-oul is universal in Ireland, and is understood to mean God, i. e. the King of the Elements. " t)Q16 : now ouil, of the elements — See quotation in O'Reilly's Dictionary in voce duI. In an old Litany preserved in the Leahhar Breac, fol. 121, b, the Creator is thus addressed : " Q Dhe uli chomacraij, a be na ploj, a 6e uapail, a rijepna an Domain, a t)hlJ16imh na Nt)U6, — 6pchip Dinn." And again, in the same Litany : " 6epchep ap n-oucpacc qi^ihuqxi 1 piaonuipe in Duileriian, ap nic piu P"" F^'" op n-6pcechc," let our devotedness be carried through thee in VOL. XVIII. h 68 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. a COTTIRIUS INDIU NIURU ^GNG'^ CPISU'" CO N-Q" Apud Temoriam hodie virtutetn nativitatis Christi cum ea ejus baUhlUS,'s N1U1?U CROChUa'" CO N-a aONOCUL,^" NIURU baptismi, virtutem crucifixionis cum ea ejus sepulture, virtutem N-eseiR^e^" co ppes^abait,^^ niuru coniuO" oo^^ 6Re- resurrectionis cum ea ascensionis, virtutem adventus ad ju- chemNas^ 6T?acha.«' dicium seternum. the presence of the Godhead, (Duileman,') for we ourselves are not worthy of being heard. In Columbkille's Latin Hymn in praise of the Trinity, this phrase ouilerii na rioul is expressed thus : " Deus princeps principum, elementorum omnium." — Trias Thaum. p. 476. '* 5®N6, of the birth, gen. of gen, the birth ; Greek yivcfuu. '° CRISC, sic hodie. The nom. form is written Cptopc in modern books. "■ COHQ, with his, compounded of co, Lat. cum, with, and a, his, the n being inserted to avoid a hiatus : now written 50 n-a ; but cona is found in this sense in modern MSS, as well as ancient. " 6QnhllJS, baptism : now always written baipce. Both are apparently derived from the Greek, fi»irTiirft,a, through the Latin, though they bear a strong analogy with the primitive Irish word bacao, to drown, and bar, the sea. The form of the word here used is found in very old MSS. as in the preface to a fragment of the Seanchus Mor, preserved in a MS. in Trin. CoL H. 3, 17, p. 1. " pacpic DO caioeacc 1 n-6ipinn do pilao 6aicipi ocup cpeiDihe." '" CROChCQ, of the crucifixion, gen. of cpocao, which is derived from cpoc ; Lat. crux, the cross. This word is still used by the Irish, *" Qt)NOCUf,, burial: now written aolgcao, but aonocul is used in all the ancient MSS., and explained in the Glossaries of Cormac and O'Clery as signifying burial — " Qonacal .1. cup mapB .1. aolacao." — O'Clery. This is a primitive Irish word, not borrowed from the Latin. " 6S6n?5®> resurrection: sic hodie, and derived from aip, again, and eipje, to rise. ^ PReS5C[6Q16, ascension : now oeapsabail. In every part of Ireland where the Irish language is understood, Ascension Thursday is called t)iapDaoin tDecrpjabala. The word is thus explained by O'Clery in his dictionary of obsolete Irish words : " Ppeapjabail .1. duI ap neam DO Chpiopo, ascensio." This also is a primitive Irish word. ^^CONlUt), coming. This word is now entirely obsolete, but O'Clery explains it by ceacr, coming: "lomroiniUD .1. imceacc ; lomroiniUD lae ogup oioce .1. imceacr laire ajup oioce ; oip ip lonann coiniuo agup ceacc." This is the root from which the present cainij is formed. " t)0, to : now always 50, but do is used after a verb of motion in many old MSS. " 6RerhemNaS, judgment: now in common use, but spelled, according to the modern orthography, bpeiceariinap. This is a primitive Irish word, formed from bpeicerii, a judge. ^ 6RCtChQ, of eternity : sic hodie. "^o bpuc is still used to mean for ever, and la an Bpacha and La an bpeiceariinaip, the Day of Judgment. This also is a primitive Irish and British word. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 59 a uoTnr?iu5 iNOiu muxiTZ 5T?aO"hir?uphiN^iN^«URca- Apud Temoriam hodie virtutem amoris Seraphin in obse- caiD^o aiN^ec' hP^ ppescisiN^^ eseir?5e an ce\^w' poch- quio angelorum, in spe resurrectionis ad adipiscendum proe- i?aice.« IN eRNai^chib^ huasac" auhpach^ i caiRCheu- mium. In orationibus nobilium patrum in praedicti- Lai6^» pauha/" hi ppaicepcaib^' ap8t:ac«iN hiResai6« onibus prophetarum, in praedicationibus apostolorum, in fide ■^ ^l^Ctt), of the love : sic hodie, but the d is always aspirated. *« hlRUphlN : evidently intended for Seraphin. * IN, in, on : sic hodie. '" URCQCait), humility. This word is explained in O'Clery's Glossary, by the modern word uriialoiD, obedience, obeisance. The latter bears a close affinity to the Latin, the former none whatever. " CI1H156C', of angels : sic hodie, but spelled n-ainjeal. " hi, in : the aspirate h is frequently prefixed to the preposition i, in. " pReSClSlN, expectation. It is now obsolete; but it is of frequent occurrence in this sense in the Leahhar Breac. — See fol. 18, h, i, and 127, h, i. " QR CGNN, Hterally, on head, is used as a compound preposition in the best Irish MSS. to signify for, towards, for the purpose of, to the end that. ^ pOChRQlCe, reward : this is the gen. form of pochpaic, which O'Clery explains by luai- oeachc, reward, recompense ; and in the Annals of the Four Masters, at the year 1541, it is used in the sense of eternal reward. This word is of frequent occurrence in the Leabhar Breac : "mapa epoalca lapam immao na pochpaice nemoai." — Fol. 127, h, i. * GRNQl^^hl&h, prayers, dat. pi. of epnaije, prayer. The modern word is upnai^e. ^ hllQSQC, noble : now uapal. In the old Irish MSS. h is frequently prefixed to words beginning with vowels, sometimes to avoid a hiatus, and sometimes for no apparent reason. '^ aChRQCb, of fathers : sic hodie. *> UQlRCheC6Q16, prophecies, dat. form of caipcecal, prophecy. In the more modern MSS. it is written caipceaoal, which is the speUing adopted in O'Clery's Glossary, in which it is xplained by paipcine, the modern word for prophecy, borrowed from the Latin vaticinium. *° pQChQ, prophets : sic hodie, Lat. vates. *' pi3aicepcai6, dat. plural of ppmcepr, preaching. This word is written ppecepc in Cormac's Glossary, under the word cpuimrep, a priest, and ppoicepc in the Annals of the Four Masters, at the year 1441. In a passage in the same Annals, under the year 1020, caraoip na ppoicepca, literally, the chair of preaching, is used to express a pulpit. *' QpSCQ6, of the Apostles : sic hodie. This was certainly borrowed from the Latin. «hlResai5, dat. plural of ipip, faith, religion. "Do pilao cpeiome coup ippe."— i«/s of St. Patrick in the Leabhar Breac. " Na h-1ppe Cachoilci," of the Catholic faith.— itirf. h2 60 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. puismeoach,"^ m eNO^a^^ Noem« iNsen/^ hi N5Nimaib« confessorum in castitate sanctarum virginum, in actis per? pipeaN.« virorum justorum. a T:oTnpiu5 iNOiu niurc Nime/" soicse^' ^rgng/^ Apud Temoriam hodie potentiam coeli, lucera solis, eT:RochT:a^^ sNechuai,^* qng^^ CheNeO/^ oene^' Lochex:,^ candorem nivis, vim ignis, rapiditatem fulguris, " pUlSrn6t)QCh, confessors, from poipioi, confession : now obsolete. An example of the meaning of this word occurs in a MS. in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, Class H. 1, 11, p. 114 : " t)o com ariiuinjin na mapcipach ajup na B-paiptneaoach." " eNt)15C[, purity : now obsolete, but explained jlaine. — See O'Reilly's Dictionary in voce eanjaoa, which he explains from an old Glossary by the modern word jlan. ••^ NOGm, holy : now written naorii. See Note ". " IH56N, daughter, girl, virgin : sic hodie, but written in jean. ■^ 5NirnQ16, deeds, works, dat. pi. of jniTh : sic hodie, but written jniorh. ■^ pGR piRGQN, of just men : sic hodie, but written B-peap B-p(p6an. ■" NimG, of heaven, gen. of nearii, heaven : dc hodie. Lat. nimbus. " S01CSG, light : sic hodie. ^'^'^MQYAQ, of the sun, gen. of jpian, the sun : sic hodie. It is remarkable thar. no cognate is found for this word in any of the other Indo-European languages. The Hebrew Din is not far from 5pioc and cpiop, other Irish forms of this word, and the Algonkin Grounia, and the Kabyle Gronhia are still closer to jpian See Ordnance Memoir of Templemore, p. 212. " GCROChCQ, brightness, whiteness : written eaopochca in less ancient MSS. It Is formed from opocc, dark, thus : opocc adject, dark, opocca, subst. darkness, negat. eopocc, bright, eopocca, brightness. In like manner eocpom, light, is formed from qiom, heavy. — See O'Clery in voce opocc. Various examples of its meaning are found in the Leabhar Breac, Thus : " Co n-eqiocca xpene," with the brightness of the sun,&c.fol. 126, b, 2. " Cothjlaine ocupconipoiUpi ppi hecpochca peoleno," with a purity and brilliance equal to the brightness of a star. — Ibid. fol. 127, b, 2. " SHGChCQI, of snow : sic hodie, but written pneacca. Mecca, which is cognate with the Latin nix, is another ancient form of this word. " QNG, force, quickness. " Qme .1. luap no oeine." — O'Clery. ^ ChGNGt), of fire : sic hodie, but spelled ceineao ; old Germ, linden, to kindle. " t)GNG, rapidity, a substantive formed from the adjective Dian, rapid : sic hodie. ** COChGC, of lightning. This word is explained in the margin of the MS. by the word lapppac, flame or lightning. It is of frequent occurrence in the ancient Irish MSS. in which it is used to signify lightning or a thunderbolt. Thus in Cormac's Glossary, under the word ppuU : " bao luacicep locaio pop japmoin," more rapid than lightning (striking) against a pillar. It is written loideao by O'Clery, who explains it " paijnean, caoplapaip, no piaoa polupoa." Mr. Petbie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 61 velocitatem venti, profunditatem maris, stabilitatem ter- rae duritiam petrarum. a UOTTIRIU^ 1N01U N1URC 06 OOTTl CUamaRQChC,'" Ad Temoriam hodie potentia Dei me dirigat, cuTnachT:a'» oe oom chumsabaiL® ciaLc^" oe ooinm potestas Dei me conservet, sapientia Dei me imrhus,'' Rosc" oe oom Reimcise," ccuas^" oe oom edoceat, oculus Dei mihi prsevideat, auris Dei me '^ CUQChG, swiftness : sic hodie, but spelled luairhe. *> 5Q6Ch©, of the wind : sic hodie, but written jaoire. °' pUt)OmNQ, depth, profundity: formed from Doitiam, deep. O'Reilly explains pooomatn a gulf; but he gives no example or authority to support that meaning. ** mQRQ, of the sea, gen. of muip, the sea : sic hodie, * CQlRlSGm, stability. "Caipipiorii .1. coipipiorii .1. coriinuije." — O'Clery, ** CCtCmQlN, of the earth, gen. of calam, the earth: now ralihan ; Lat. Tellus. It is remarkable that the gen. form of calarh, the earth, and ouilerii, the Lord of the Elements, differs in this hymn from that found in the best Irish MSS., in which it is formed by adding an. ^ C06SQJt)eChC, solidity, firmness. This word is used in medical MSS. to express firmness, but is not explained in any Irish dictionary. * Q16GCh, of rocks. This word is thus inflected : nom. aileach, gen. ailije, dat. ailiji " Rop epceno bloo oono ailij po puiL Neoe :" a splinter of the rock flew at the eye of Nedhe. — Cormac's Gloss, in voce ^aip^. * CUQmQRQChU, piloting. This word, formed from luamaipe, which is explained by O'Clery, loinjpeoip, i. e. mariner, is of frequent occurrence in the Annals of the Four Masters in the sense of piloting, steering, &c. See also Cormac's Glossary in voce Hemjnacc. * CUmQChCQ, power : sic hodie, though sometimes written coriiacra. It is compounded of com, which has the same power as the Latin con, and machc, might ot power ; German, macht ! Engl, might. * ChlJrn5Q6Q16, keeping : now conjbail, compounded of cum, and jabal, like the Latin com-prehendo. ' '» CI QtC, sense, wisdom : sic hodie. Gen. ceille; obliq. c6ill. '» imChUS, instructing. " lomrup .1. pj^ala." — O'Clery. " T30SC, the eye. " Ropj .1. ruicpiri no puil." — O'Clery. This word is still understood. '^ RGimClSe, foreseeing. This form is now obsolete, but it is obviously from peith, before, of the same force as the Latin jDr«, and ci6im, I see. In the more modern MSS. peiihpechain and peimoechpin are the forms most generally used. '■• C6UQS, the ear: sic hodie; Greek, xAt/w, to hear. . ; » 62 Me. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. esrechu,^* bPiauhaR'" oe oom ei?La6r?ai," LaiTi'« oe exaudiat, verbum Dei me disertum facial, manus Dei ooTTiTn imoe^aiL,''* iNuech«» oe oom Tjemrhechcav me protegat, via Dei mihi patefiat, sciach«^ oe ooni oiuin,«' sochi?aiue«* oe oomm qnu- scutum Dei me protegat, exercitus Dei me defen- cuL,«^ QR^ iNCceoai5«' oeTTiNa,«« ai? ascai^uhib^' ouat- dat, contra insidias dsemonum, contra illecebras viti- " 6SCGChC, hearing : sic hodie, but spelled 6ipceacr. ''^ 6RiaChaR, word : sic hodie. " eT?6Q6'RQl, to render eloquent : now uplabpao. The prefix ep is frequently used in ancient Irish MSS. for the modern up or op, as epoipc for oipoeapc, illustrious ; epoam for upoam, an apartment in a house ; epoalca for upoalca, certain ; epnaije for upnaije, prayer. '^ CQm, hand : sic hodie, but the m is always aspirated. '^ imDG^Cflfy, protecting or shielding ; "imoeaoail .1. anacal." — O'Clery. "Sjiachimoeajla na Dainie." — Shane O'Mulconry ofArdchoill. " Imoeajla .1. anacla." — Teige O'Rody ofCrossfield. "CaBaip Dam do noem ppipaic oom imoejail ocup Dom imoioen:" give me thy holy spirit to pro- tect and shelter me. — L. Breac,fol. 121, h. *" IHCGCti, way. " Inceac .1. flije." — O'Clery. " Inceac .1. flije." — Peter Connell. *' RemCheChCQS. This form is not given in any Irish Dictionary, but pennreachc and peiriiceaccaipe, words similarly compounded, are of constant occurrence, the former signifying coming before, and the latter a forerunner. '* SCIQCh, a shield : sic hodie. *> tJlClN, sheltering, protecting : now olom. — See Note ". ^ SOChRQlCG, a host : sic hodie. This word is of constant occurrence in the Annals of the Four Masters, in the sense of host, army, multitude. ** CINIJCU6, protection: of constant occurrence in the Annals of the Four Masters: " na raije epnuioe do anacal laipp co n-a luce do celiB De ajup do loBpaiB." — Four Masters, ad ann. 919. — See this passage, translated in Colgan's Trias Thaum. p. 296. * QR, on, against : sic hodie, but generally written aip. *' lNCCGt)Q16h, snares, insidiis, dat. plur. of inceall, snare. This word is of frequent oc- currence in the Irish Annals : " T?o hinoleo in cealj." — Four Masters. The only form of this word now in use among the Irish is mnleoj, a snare. In the ancient Irish MSS. no and nc are often used for the nn of the moderns. In a MS. in Trin. College, H. 3, 18, p. 624, the phrase inna hmcleoaib is glossed by the more modern form ip na hirrolib, i. e. in insidiis. ^ DemNQ, demons : now written Deamna. This word is evidently derived from the Latin deemon. «^ QS^.ai^ChlS, temptations, dat. plur. of aplac, temptation. See O'Reilly in voce aplach, and Annals of the Four Masters, in which the word occurs in the sense of soUcitation, &c. This Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 63 cheu,** QR iT?Nechuaib«» aiCNio,»^ an cech"^ NOuiNe^" orum, contra inclinationes animi, contra omnem hominem Tnious"^ chRa8?:aR«' oam'" i ceiN* ocus^" m ocus'»» i qui meditetur injuriam mihi procul et prope N-uacheo«» ocus hi sochaiDe.«« cum paucis et cum multis. cocuiRius'"' ecRum"* chRa»«^ Na"« iiuiLe''" ngru so«* Posui circa me sane t*? omnes potentias has word occurs in the Leahhar Breac, fol. 121, 6, in the sense of temptation, allurement, &c. " t)om imoejail coup com anacol ap Demnailj, co na ulib aimpijciB ocup aplaijiB :" to defend and protect me against demons and all their attacks and temptations. ^ DUQ6ChGC, vices : now written ouBailceo. °' lRNGChUQ16, inclinations: now obsolete. ^ QlCNlt), of the mind, animi: now aijniD. '^ CeCh, every, occurs in all the old MSS., but is now always written and pronounced jach. "•" t)LUNG, person : sichodie. ^ miDUS, who meditates. This occurs frequently in the old MSS., but in modern books and dictionaries it is written miooap. The word tniDeariiain, which is a verbal noun formed from this, is explained by O'Clery thus : " miDearhain .1. pmuaineao ap a ocujcap meditatio" " Co po p^jraip ocup CO po tnijdp ipepn." — Leahhar Breac, fol. 127, b, 2. "'ChRQSCQR, injury, opposition, adverseness. It is formed from the adjective cpapoa or qiapai, cross, perverse. '^ t)C[m, to me : sic hodie. This is one of those instances of a union of a pronoun and prepo- sition in one word, peculiar to the Irish and its cognate dialects. * 1 CGIN, afar, at a distance: sic hodie, but generally written a jc^in or 1 5-c^in. * OCUS,and: now always written a5up; Lat.ai^'Me, which may have been originally written acj'Me. 100 ]],^ OCUS, near : now i n-pojup and 1 B-poccup. '°' IN UQChGtD, alone, or with a few. This phrase is of constant occurrence in the Annals of the Four Masters, and is thus explained by O'Clery : " uacao .1. aon ni amain .1. an noimip aonoa, jup ab uime pin a oeipreap uaca pe beajan ap bic." '"« SOChQltDG, an army, host, or multitude. This, as well as pochpaice, quod vide supra, is of frequent occurrence in the Annals of the Four Masters. 103 COCUIKIUS, I have placed, indie, past, first pers. sing, of the verb cocuipim, I place, an intensitive form of the verb cuipim, which is still in common use. "Cocup, placing." — O'Reilly. "X GCRUm, between me : now eopum, or eaopuni. '"" ChRQ, an expletive similar to the Latin sane, autem, or the Greek Ss. ; "* NCI, the, nom. plur. of the article an, in. 'wTiUlCG, all: sic hodie. '08 NGRC SO, these powers : sic hodie, but written neipc. 64 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. pRi«» cech NGRU N-amNQs™ N-euRocar?'" pi?isui»^ contra omnem potentiam hostilem saevam excogitatam DOTYl"^ChUT?p"* OCUS 00171171 aN17iaiN,"^ pT?l UlNCheULQ''^ meo corpori et meae animse, contra incantamenta saibpauhe,"' ppi oubpeccu™ ^eNCLiuchua,"" pRi saib- pseudo-vatum, contra nigras leges gentilitatis, contra pseudo- i?eciicu'^ hepececoa,'^' ppi himceLLacc^ N-iOLach- leges haereseos, contra dolum idololatrise, Ca,'^^' pPl bT^lChCQ'^^ haw-' OCUS 505aNO'^OCUS ORUaO,'^ contra incantamenta mulierum et fabrorum ferrariorum et druidum, "^ F^'> against, with. This preposition occurs in all the ancient MSS., and has various mean- ings, according to the noun which it governs. • "» QTTINQS, severe. " Ro peapao car ariinap ecoppa.".— jPowr Masters, passim. " Qriinap .1. Doilij."— O'C^ery. '" eCROCQR, unmerciful: now eaoqiocaipeach. "* PRISCI, prepared, or directed: now obsolete ; but ppepcal, attendance, is formed from the root FPT' o"" FP^r* "^ t)Om, to my ; compounded of do and mo : sic hodie. '" ChURp, body : now chopp. "' QNTTIQIN, soul, dat. sing, of anam : sic hodie. "° ClNChGCCQ, incantations. "t)a reneo poinmeac do jnicip na opaioe con cincberlaib mopaib," two goodly fires the Druids used to make with great incantations. — Cormac's Glossary, .in voce 6elLcaine. "' SQ16pQChe, false prophets: now paoBpaice ; LaX. pseudo -votes. '" t)U6RGCCU, black laws : now spelled ouB-peacca. "'5®^^^'^^^"^' of Gentilism or Paganism: now ^t^'nclioeacca. "" S Naoi pailje pein Seanchuip inoip. Laogaire, Core, Daire the stern, Patrick, Benen, Cairneach the just, Ross, Dubhthach, Fergus with goodness, The nine props these of the Seanchus Mor. As, however, it is not from the original Irish of the Four Masters, but from Colgan's translation of it, that subsequent Irish writers have formed their con- clusions as to the nature of this work, it should be stated that Colgan renders the words Seanchuy^ and penechup GpenD, Hibernice Antiquitates et Sancti- ones Legales : but, although this honest writer rendered these words accurately according to the sense in which they were understood in his time, it will be presently shewn that the accuracy of his translation may be very open to doubt. That the truth of this record of the Four Masters should have been unquestioned by modern writers will excite no surprise, when it is considered how customary it was with them to copy from one another without inquiry, or, as it is expressed by Toland, — who was, notwithstanding, himself the greatest of sinners in this way, — eternally to serve up the same dishes at every meal. But it could not escape the critical honesty of Dr. Lanigan that this statement is quite Inconsistent with the true history of the times. This able writer thus speaks of the Seanchus Mor, which he says was foolishly ascribed to St. Patrick by some of the anti- quaries : — " They tell us it was compiled In the year 439, and that St. Patrick was assisted In this mighty undertaking by two holy bishops, one of whom was Benlgnus, three kings, and three antiquaries, who, according to this notable history, formed the famous Committee of Nine, appointed for this purpose by the senate, called the Fes of Temor or Tarah. So then St. Patrick and other ecclesiastics would have been members of the national assembly of Ireland, and that at a time when the far greatest part of the persons entitled to sit in it were Pagans. Would king Leogalre, who was never a Christian, have allowed a place In that meeting to a foreigner, or, what would be still more strange, recog- nized his authority ? And how could Benlgnus have been a bishop in 439, or even a senator, and chosen on a committee ? In that year St. Patrick was better employed, preaching in Connaught, than In attending senates. The mixture of ecclesiastics with laymen in the states-general of nations was quite unknown In St. Patrick's days. What has become of the Seanchas More is uncertain." — Eccl. Hist. vol. i. p. 371. Mr, Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 7 1 It would be difficult, if not impossible, to answer some of these objections, and others of still greater force might have been added ; for example, the impos- sibility of Core, King of Munster, having been one of three kings constituting this committee, when it appears from the concurrent testimony of all the Irish histories that he must have been dead long before the period of its supposed for- mation, as his grandson, Aengus, was the contemporary of Laoghaire, and the first king of Munster converted to Christianity by St. Patrick. And in like manner St. Cairneach could not have been of this committee, as he was the cousin and contemporary of the monarch Muircheartach Mac Ere, who died in 534, and as his own death is placed by Colgan about the year 530. To these objections might be further added the facts that all the ancient lives of St. Patrick, with the exception, perhaps, of that compiled by Jocelyn in the twelfth century, are silent respecting this work, and that the most ancient accounts preserved by the Irish respecting its origin shew that it is involved in great obscurity. It is, notwithstanding, certain that the Irish had a work called the Seanchus Mor, of which portions, if not the whole, are still preserved ; and that the tra- dition respecting its supposed authors is of an antiquity anterior to the ninth century. It is quoted several times in Cormac's Glossary, and the same account of its origin is given in that work under the word Noipiy, or knowledge of nine, as that already extracted from the Annals of the Four Masters ; and it is also frequently quoted, and referred to Patrick's time, in the Brehon Laws of later ages. The antiquity of the Seanchus Mor is therefore beyond a doubt ; but as the character of this work, and its probable age, are questions which have been hitherto left in nearly total darkness by all the modern historians, it may not be wholly improper, even at the hazard of a slight digression from the imme- diate object of this paper, to take the present opportunity of investigating a subject of so much historical interest. And, first, with respect to the nature of the work, the clearest evidences will be derived from the ancient prefatory accounts prefixed to fragments of it still preserved in the Manuscript Library of Trinity College, Dublin, (Class H. 3. 17 ; and H. 3. 18,) which are here presented to the reader with as literal a translation as the idiom of the English language will allow. Caice locc, ocup aimpip, ocup cucaic What is the place, and time, and cause of fcpiBino, ocup peppa oo'n e-Senchup map ? writing, and author of the Senchus Mor ? 72 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Cocc DO, Hich, ap in conplichr i po lapac na jence ano ppi parpaic. Qimpep do, i plairup in pi j Caejaipi TTlic Neill. peppa DO, pepjup pilio, ao pace puaneiriain pou la paqiaic lap ciaccain a n-©pinn. Dicunt alii Cemuip ocup Caojaipi, ocup t)ubcac mac U Cujaip, pi-piliD inpi ©peno. Opo oepioh oi je na cpeDtni la pipu ©peno, ocup po ppic- coD poipcc^l Chpipc DoiB uile, ocup po papaijeo taojaipe com opuioaib qie pipcu ocup mipBuili Depmaipe do pijne pacpaic i piaonuipi pep n-Gjieno ; juna lapum po cpeicpic ocup popuipicup oijpep pharpaic, ap po conjpa huao popmna pep n-Gipeno do rutoeacc in aon inao ppi aoncaio n-imagall- rha im copup a m-bepcnai ocup a pechca ; ocup do cuap uaicib co pacpaic, co caio- chiopec Don oail. Q laire Din pia nachcain DO phacpaic cucu imap nap lapacap pip ©peno acuppu im a n-ecap. Cid qia, ol Caejaipe ppiu, ap annpam lib po ppiccaoin clepec Duib? Nin. cam diIjud, a\\ lac, ap m uaip jebup cac oume ceill pop Diljuo do neoc DO jena oe ulc, ni b\a comup pop pog- luib ocup jonaiD cac pep alaile, &c. Cio Din DO Denum ppippin ? Ippeo aipic mo aipic pa oe, ol 6aojuipe, map i bup comeple pi, ppomchup a aigneo peipin, .1. joncap nee Dia muincip ap a belaib ; maoa loja, be- mione ppip in pechc pin ; mana Diljea Don, &c. "Ro puiDiujao, Din, a comaipli f.aojaipe ocup pep n-6penD, pep punpaij do ^uin map ao bui ap belaib pacpaic amail do nicpeo an oail : quod completum est cpi pao taejaipe. lap pm. Din, po bic in pep do rhumcip pacpaic ap a jnuip 03 caiplim ipin capbac. t)o peccae pacpaic puap do cum a pochpaici ; papain po jab epic ocup calum- cumpcujao map mpi n-Gpeno ocup a pipu. Its place is Nith, [so called] from the conten- tion which the Gentiles had there with Patrick. Its time, in the reign of Laoghaire Mac Neill. Its author, Fergus the poet, who joined Patrick after his arrival in Ireland. Others say Temur and Laoghaire, and Dubhthach Mac-U-Lugair, royal poet of the island of Ireland. When the purity of the faith was acknowledged by the men of Ireland, and when the Gospel of Christ was preached to them all, and when Laoghaire, with his Druids, was defeated by the great wonders and miracles wrought by Patrick in the presence of the men of Ireland, it was then they believed and did the will of Patrick, who requested of them that the choice part of the men of Ireland should come to one place to hold a conference re- specting the justness of their covenants and laws ; and messengers were sent by them to Patrick [to state] that they would go to the assembly. The day before Patrick went to them, the men of Ireland conferred on the subject of their meet- ing. Why, said Laoghaire to them, does what the Cleric has preached to you seem difficult ? They replied. The law of forgiveness is so, for when every one is convinced that what he does of evil will be forgiven, there will be no power over plunderers, and one man will stab the other, &c. What, then, shall we do with him ? My advice is this, said Laoghaire, if it meets your approbation, let his own mind be proved, that is, let one of his people be wounded before his face ; if he forgive, we will agree with that law ; if he does not, &c. It was then agreed upon in the council of Laoghaire and the men of Ireland, that a certain person of Patrick's people should be wounded be- fore his (Patrick's) face, when they should ap- proach the assembly, which was done at the request of Laoghaire. After this, then, one of Patrick's people was wounded in the face as he was de- scending from the chariot. Patrick went up to the crowd, upon which the island of Ireland shook Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 73 ocuf po la m fluaj bu» ip in oail rap a ceann. Et timuerunt timore magna, etjhcti sunt velut tnortui, &c. 6apin Din, pleccaip Caogaipe ocup popmna noajouine n-Bpeno pop 015- peip n-t)e ocup paqiaic. Qimne, ainmne, a cLepij, oloaiD pip BpenD, po ppicchepcaip Dilja! rriair, eiti, ol paqiaic, peouicuili pip ©peno: paDinapum pip ©ipeno ppi paqiaic ut dictum est, cabaip comaiple paip. Ip lap pin lapum ap bepc paqiaic, po cepo-pa, epa, ol pe, a pep pijpilro mpi Gipeno .1. tDuBrach IDac U Cujaip, lepcap Ian do pach m Spi- para Naimb. TTlaich, em, ol t)uBcac ; Duppann Duir a pao ppiutn, a cleipij, ol Oubcac, ip amnup Dam ber ip in oail pin imp t)ia ocup Duine .1. ap maoeo ar beppa nem-epic m jniriiapa bep bio olc ooc incaib- piu, ocup ni bar po lac; maoeo, oon, apbep a epic ocup a innechlann bep ni ba maich la cia pon Don, ap ippeo pil 1 poipcelai oj- DiljuD caca uilc hocaccomnepumoialaile. TTlair cpa, ol paqiaic, an do bepa Dia pop c'eplabpai paiD. .Amen, non vos estis qui loquimini, sed spiritus patris vestri qui loquitur in vobis, &c. Ni pib buoein laibepup ace ppipac m'acap a ca inncib laibepup uaiB. 6ennachuip lapum paqiaic a jin-pium, ocup DO luio pach inSpipacaNaimb popaeplabpa conoepepc, " In cuch 1 njmclechc," &c. Rajam a lep cpa, oloaiD pip Speno, puio- lujoD ocup opou joD each pechca lino cio cinmoca inipeo. 1]' pepp, ol pacpaic, a Denam, ocup ip annpin caipcomla each aop Dana la h-Gipino, co caippen each a eepo piao Paccpaie ap beluib each plachala h-Gpino : ip ann po hepbao do t)ubchach cmppennao bpechemnupa ocup a uili pilioechca Gpeno and quaked, and the men trembled, and the host which was at the assembly came to meet him. And they feared with a great fear, and became as dead men, &c. Upon this Laoghaire and the choice of the men of Ireland submitted to the will of God and Patrick. Patience ! patience ! O ! cleric, said the men of Ireland, you have preached forgiveness. Very good, said Patrick, let all the men of Ireland consider it. The men of Ireland then said to Patrick, as it is said, Give advice upon it. It was after this that Patrick said, I will leave it to the decision of the royal poet of the island of Ireland, that is Dubhthach Mac-U-Lugair, a vessel full of the prosperity of the Holy Spirit. Very good, said Dubhthach ; it is severe in thee, O, cleric, to say so to me ; it is disagreeable to me to be in that decision between God and man ; for if I say that no eric is to be given for this deed, it will be evil for thy protection, and thou wilt not deem it good ; and if I say that eric and mulct are to be given for it, God will not deem it good, for it is in the Gospel that full remission for every evil is to be given by one neighbour to another. Very good, said Patrick, God will say to thy de- cision, ".^men, non vos estis qui loquimini, sed spi- ritus patris vestri qui loquitur in vobis, &c." It is not ye that speak but the spirit of your* Father which speaketh in you.f Patrick afterwards blessed his mouth, and the prosperity of the Holy Spirit descended upon his eloquence, and he said, " In cuch I njinclechc," &c. We require, said the men of Ireland, to settle and arrange every other law whatever among us as well as this. It is better, said Patrick, to do so ; and it is then that the professors of each science in Ireland came forward, and each explained his own art to Patrick in the presence of every chief in Ireland ; and Dubhthach was told to explain the judicature and all the poetical compositions of • In the Irish it is incorrectly translated m'acap, of my father. VOL. XVIII. t Quoted from Matth. x. 20. k 74 Mr. Petbie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. ocup necha peclica po pallnapac la pepaib 6peno hi pechc aicnio, ocup hi pechr paioi, ocup pileouib. Ocup na paioi aipcech- naoap do icpa in bepla mban mbiaio .1. Canoin ; ap in Spipac naem po labpup- caip ocup DO aipcecain qiia jinu na pep pipeon ce do pabacap 1 n-inip GpenD, ariiail oon aipcecam rpia ^mu mna ppimpaioio ocup mna n-uapal aiipech 1 pechc pecap- laice ; up po piachc pechc aicniD map no pochc pechc licpe ina bpiacpa t)e. pipaic- niD cpa Din po labpupcaip in Spipac naoih cpe jinu bpecemon ocup pileo pipeon pep n-Gpeno, o conjbao in inpi peo co cpeDearii unalL; Dop aippen t)ubcliach uile do Pacpaic in ni Din na cuccaiD ppi bpecip n-t)e 1 pechc licpi, ocup Nuapiaonuipi, ocup ppi coibpma cpepion. Conaipjeo in opo bpechemnapa la pa- cpaic, ocup Gcailpi ocup plaichi Gipeno, do neoch po baoip pechc aicnio uile inje cpe- oem ocup a coip, ocup a comuaim n-eclaipi ppi cuaic ; coniD he Sench'up IDap anDpin. Nonbup cpa do epjlupa do opou jao m lubaip piu .1. pacpaic ocup 6erH5nup ocup Caipnec, cpi h-Gppuic ; Caejaipe TTIac Nel, ocuptDaipi pi UloD, ocup Cope TTIac ^u^ach o niiiniain, na cpi pi ju ; tDubchac ITIacc U Cujaip, ocup TJop mac Cpechim, pui 6epla Peni, ocup Pepgup, na cpi pilio. Nopip Din, uinm in liubaip po hopouijpiD .1. pip nonbuip, &c. Ip i, cpa in Cam pacpaic : ippeo nao cutnomj nee bpecetn ooennae do ^aeoeluib 00 caicriiec nech ni po jaba i Sencup ITlap. Co eainic pacpaic cpa ni cabupcha up- labpa ace do cpiup a n-Gpmn : pep coi^ne, ppi h-aipnep ocup pc^lujao, pep cepoa ppi molao, ocup aip, bpechem ppi bpechemnup or, according to the Chronicon Scotorum, in 480 ; but the more accurate Annals of Ulster place the beginning of his reign in 484, which would allow an interregnum of two years. O'Flaherty, without noticing this interregnum, places the commencement of his reign in 483. His death is recorded in the Annals of Ulster at 506, and again, from a different ancient authority, at 511, but it is correctly placed by Tigheamach in 508, with which O'Flaherty, in his corrected chronology, concurs. From all the ancient historical accounts of the reign of this monarch, it appears certain that, like his predecessors, he died an obstinate unbeliever in the Christian religion ; and there are many circumstances connected with the history of Christianity in Ireland during his reign, which have not hitherto received that attention from historians which they seem to merit. It has been already stated, at page 53, that the history of the propagation of the Gospel in Ireland, as collected by historians from the lives of St. Patrick and other documents, is involved in obscurities and contradictions, which the learning and judgment of the most critical investigators have been unable to penetrate and explain ; and though the objects of, and limits assigned to the present memoir, will not allow of any elaborate attempt to elicit the truth as regards this most important and interesting feature in the history of the country, a few remarks may here be permitted, for the puqjose of drawing the attention of future historians to facts not hitherto noticed in connexion with this subject. That the acts attributed to one Patrick may be referable to, at least, two of the name, has been already hinted at in the passage just adverted to ; and the probable correctness of this conjecture will derive support from the Irish records now to be adduced ; and first, from the following historical notice of the reign of Lughaidh, as preserved in the Book of Lecan: X)o job rhpa Cujaio TTlac Caeyaipi piji Lughaidh, the son of Laeghaire, assumed th n-Bpeno pe coic bliaoan, cop chuip government of Ireland for five years ; and he sent rechca o'lappaio na 6opoTna ; ocup ni uaip messengers to demand the Boru ; and he did not can chach ; ocup po rhinoil uaipli 6eichi receive it without a battle ; and he assembled the Cumo oo roBach na 6opuma ; ocup canca- nobles oi Zieath Chuinn to force the Boru, and Dup Caijnij CO ITlaj n-Qilbi. t)o cuipeo the Lagenians came to Ma^/i ^t'Mt. The battle chpa each TTluiji Qilbi ecuppu, cop ppa!- of Magh Ailhhi was fought between them, in neoD pop tugaiD, ocup pop ITIuipchepcach which a victory was gained over Lughaidh and nVjc Gapca, ocup pop Chaipbpi ITlop ITlac Muirchertach Mac Earca, and Cairbri Mor, the Mr. Petrie on the History/ and Antiquities of Tara Hill. S7 Heill ; concro i n-ijail ^recte i n-oijail] in chacha pin nap fcuip Tlluipcheprach ocup Caipppi DO Caijnib cen po bo beo lac. Ctip- mir eolaij ndp chabai^ Cujaio m 6oporaa ace aen echc co heapbaoach. Ip a n-aimpip 6u5oach came poopaic I n-Spino; ocup do chuaio co Cempaij co aipm a poibi Cujaio, ocup capjaio do cpuichnechc cen ap, ocup bichlacr oc buaib pe a lino, ocup neiti a pwpcenD a paejail, ocup pon con, ocup eirh, ocup pijna paip ; ocup nip paem tujaio pin, ocup 6 nap aern DO eapcam paopaic he, ocup po eapcain a pijan .1. QilLino mjen Qenjupa, TTlic Naoppaich, pij TTluiiian ; conao o pin mall ica DimbuaiD pijna pop Chempaig ocup cen buaio con op Cempaij pof* ^° puaip CujaiD mac tae^aipi bap i n-achao papcha rpe apcuine in Cailjino .i. papcha cenncioi DO mm pop mapb lap n-Diulcao in Cailgino. son of Niall ; and in revenge of this battle Muir- chertach and Cairbri did not desist from [attack- ing] tlie Lagenians, as long as they lived. The learned state that Lughaidh never forced the Boru but once [and that] imperfectly. It is in the time of Lughaidh that Patrick came to Ireland ; and he went to Temur, where Lughaidh was, and offered him wheat without tillage, constant milk with kine during his time, and heaven at the end of his life, and success of hounds and horses, and of a queen upon him ; and Lughaidh did not assent to that, and because he did not, Patrick cursed him, and also cursed his queen, i. e. Aillinn, the daughter of Aengus Mac Nadfraich, King of Munster ; so that thence- forward there is an ill luck of queens on Temur, neither has it success of hounds. And Lugh- aidh, the son of Laeghaire, died at Achadh Farcha, in consequence of the curse of the Tailginn [saint], i. e. a flash of lightning struck him dead from heaven for having rejected the Tailginn. It may be observed, that the preceding passage, which is quoted from an abstract of the history of Ireland from the time of the preaching of the Gospel, in the reign of Laoghaire, to that of Roderic O' Conor, is obviously taken from the ancient historians of the country, and that, at the period of its composition, whatever inducement might have existed for fabrication to sustain the received history of the Apostle Patrick's life, there could not have been any to controvert it. Indeed, that the compiler of this condensed history clearly understood that the Patrick alluded to in the preceding passage was different from another of the name, who preached the Gospel in the reign of Laoghaire, will appear manifest from the following notice relating to the reign of that monarch, in which the death of a Senex Patricius is recorded : " Oo 50b chpa Laejaipe mac Neill Naoi jmllaij pigi rpicha annis pod adventum Patricii tenuit. Secundinus et senex Patricius in pace dormierunt" i. e, Laoghaire, the son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, held the government thirty years after the arrival of Patrick. Secundinus and old Patrick slept in peace. As the passage last quoted has been extracted by O'Flaherty from the Book of Lecan, it is certain that he was 88 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. not ignorant of the preceding one ; and the conclusion is therefore unavoidable that he, as well as those other writers who were familiar with the Book of Lecan, must have intentionally suppressed it from a perception that it would contradict the received history of St. Patrick, as drawn up from his lives. The passage, however, is of great importance, as tending to indicate that the acts of, at least, two distinguished preachers of Christianity in Ireland may have been blended toge- ther, and thus furnishing a sufficient explanation of the apparent chronological and other contradictions in which the various lives of our saint abound, and which, in consequence, may be regarded as the result of an anxiety to ascribe the honour of the conversion of Ireland to a single individual. Should such a conclusion be ever established, the following passage in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, relative to the infidelity of King Lughaidh, and in which the dis- pleasure of the Christian teacher is referred to the Patrick who preached in the reign of Laoghalre, might illustrate the manner in which the writers of the saint's lives constructed their legends for the purpose of transferring the acts of one saint to another : " Facta tanta plaga in populo, accedit vir Dei ipsum Regem, eique minatur scelerum suorum praesentem vindictam, subitamque mortem, nisi in Christum credat, desinatque veritati tot prodigiis probata; amplius resistere. Loegarius timore et tremore perculsus, habita ad Proceres concione, concludit praestare sibi credere, quS,m certam, praesentemque mortis subire sententiam. Rex igitur flexis genibus petit veniam, promittit emendationem, et se monita, et doetrinam viri Dei amplexurura. Ipse igitur, et hominum aliquot millia cum eo amplectuntur fidem Christi. Ciim autem vir sanctus videret Regem jam tandem superatum, et in alium hominem mutatum, ait ad ipsum ; quandoquidem meis monitis tandem obtemperaveris, et paratus sis in proposita veritatis via ambulare, nee sceptro nee vita privaberis ; sed annis multis vives, et regnabis : quia tamen mihi et doctrinae caelesti tam pertinaciter restitisti, et in via veritatis, tot signis monstratae, ambulare recusasti, regni sceptrum de semine tuo in fratrum tuorum progeniem transferetur ; tuaque posteritas eorum inserviet posteritati. Tunc Regina Angussa nomine, genua flectens humiliter virum Dei deprecatur, ut istius durae sen- tentia; dignetur mitigare rigorem, et saltern ea non feriatur infans, quern ipsa tunc in utero gestabat. Annuit vir sanctus ejus petitioni, dicens ; mea maledictio ei non nocebit, donee ipse propriis exigen- tibus demeritis raereatur maledici, et mese maledictionis fulmine feriri. Et ita evenisse eventus evidenter monstravit. Nam Lugadius filius, qui tunc in utero matris gestabatur, regnum postea universse HiberniRe obtinuit, tenuitque usque dum quadam die iter agens, venit ad locum quendam Achadh-farcha appellatum ; ubi conspiciens quandam Ecclesiam in coUe positam, ait ; nunquid ilia est Ecclesia istius clerici, qui iniquo prophetiae spiritu, prajdixit nullum de Leogarii patris mei semine Regem vel Principem proditurum ? Et statim ac haec protulit, fulminis e caelo missi, et in Terticem ejus cadentis, ictu extinctus illico interiit. Unde et locus nomen abinde sortitus, Achadh- farcha, i. e. coUis fulminis appellatur."^ — Lib. 1. e. LXVII. Trias Thaum. p. 128, col. I. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara HUl. 89 However improbable the statement in the Book of Lecan may be, that the Irish Apostle did not come to Ireland before the time of Lughaidh, it is still not wholly impossible that it may be true ; and, if it be, this legend must neces- sarily be regarded as a fiction invented to reconcile the account given of the opposition of Lughaidh to Patrick, with other legends in the lives of the saint manufactured at various subsequent periods. But, however this may be, the mere fact of the opposition, as stated in the Book of Lecan, would certainly seem to be borne out by the notice, taken literally, of the death of Lughaidh, in the authentic Annals of Tighearnach : 508. 6app Cujoacti, mic 6ae jaipe, pij A. D. 508. The death of Lughaidh, the son Cempach in Qchao phapcha .1. papcha of Laeghaire, King of Temur, at Achadh Fharcha ; cenoioe do nirh po itiupb lap noiulcao in , i. e. a flash of lightning from heaven killed him Cailjinn. after rejecting the Tailghinn.* It is true that the account in the Book of Lecan of the coming of St. Patrick to Ireland in the reign of Lughaidh, cannot be reconciled with any of the other accounts preserved of the acts of the Irish apostle ; but there is the less reason for suppressing any new fact bearing upon the subject, where the entire of the details given are in themselves so self-contradictory. Even the learned Dr. Lanigan appears to have succumbed to the difficulties that presented themselves in the con- sideration of this question, for though he has laboured with great ingenuity, and with even more professional zeal than he usually displays on other subjects, to place the life of Patrick on a solid foundation, he has not succeeded to such an extent as would satisfy a critical inquirer ; and indeed the very line of argument which he has chosen has rather tended to involve the question in deeper obscurity. As already stated, however, it is not intended in this memoir to enter fully upon an inquiry of such magnitude, but it may not be improper to state briefly the most striking difficulties which Dr. Lanigan has attempted to remove, — difficulties so great as to have even induced some learned men too hastily to deny the existence of St. Patrick altogether. From the various authorities, as honestly published by Colgan, one would, at first sight, be inclined to believe, that instead of the one Patrick of Dr. Lanigan, • For Tailghinn, in this passage, tlie Chronicon Scotorum lias Padruig, and it has been shewn at pp. 77 and 78, that Tailghin, which is translated Asciciput, in the Book of Armagh, Archicapus in the third life, vir cum corona decorata in the fourth iife, artis caput in Probus, and in circulo tonsus in capite by Jocelin and Colgan, was a name given to Patrick by the Druids. VOL. XVIII. m 90 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. there were five saints of that name, all of whom flourished in Ireland, and who were severally knowTi by the names Palladius or Patricius, Sen-Patraic or Senex Patricius, Patrick the Apostle, Patrick junior, and Patrick Aistire or Ostiarius. The account furnished by Colgan is in these words : " Praeter S. Palladium, qui et ipse Patricius legitur appellatus, quatuor ad minus Patricii, qui sanctitatis laude in Hibernia floruerunt, a nostris Hagiographis recensentur. Primus fuit Magnus Patricius Hiberniae Primas et Apostolus. Secundus, S. Patricius cognomento senior, Episcopus primo Ros-delanus in regione de Magh-Lacha, et postea, vivente adhuc sancto Patricio Apostolo Episcopus Ardmachanus : qui colitur Glastonise in Britannia, et Ardmachiae in Hibernia, ubi ejus reliquias asservalas et summo olim in honore habitas lego. Tertius, S. Patricius junior S. Patricii Apostoli discipulus, et ex fratre nepos. Et horum quidem singuli floruerunt sajculo quinto : nam primum obiisse anno 493, secundum vero anno 457, tradunt Quatuor Magistri in Annalibus ad eosdem annos : Tertius autem, et qui S. Patricii patrui sui jam defuncti acta conscripsit, vixit post annum 494. Et comparatione hujus dicti Junioris videtur prajcedens Patricius Senioris cognomentum sortitus ; vel forte idcirco quod ante hunc et sanctum Patricium Magnum Hiberniae Apostolorum e vita decessit. Quartus fuit Patricius Abbas alias Episcopus qui floruit sseculo none," &c. — Acta Sanct. p. 366. And again, in his Trias Thaum. p. 7, col. 1, note 22, he makes mention of another Patrick, a native of Auvergne, whose festival fell on the l6th of March. Of these Patricks, the one called Palladius, and generally known by that name, may for the present be thrown out of the question, as he remained but one year in Ireland, and his era is too well known to admit of controversy. And ig. like manner the Patrick Aistire, may be dismissed, as he flourished in the ninth century. The inquiry will, therefore, have reference but to the remaining four ; and of these four, three are thus distinctly alluded to in the following rhymes of an old monk of Glastonbury, quoted by Archbishop Ussher in his Primordia, p. 895. " Sunt hujus nominis, tene certissimk Tres Sancti Prtesules : primus HibernitB Archiepiscopus ; alter Avernice,- Qua natusfuerat ternus Hiherniee. Archiepiscopus primus Hibernice, Is primus postea Abbas Glastonite, Natus Bntannid prceclaro genere : Ut sua Vita declarat optime." Of Patrick of Auvergne, here mentioned, however, so little is known, that the Bollandists and Lanigan have come to the conclusion that he was no other than the Apostle of Ireland himself; and even though he were a distinct person, it is obvious that he could have had no connexion with Ireland, as his bishop- Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 91 ric existed in France. The entire number is thus diminished to three, and even of those three there is one, — the one already alluded to under the name of Patrick junior, — whose very existence is problematical. It is true indeed that Archbishop Ussher has, without including the Bishop of Auvergne, stated that there were three Patricks in Ireland, and it is upon his authority that Colgan has included the third Patrick, or Patrick junior, in his list ; but for the existence of this Patrick there is at least no Irish authority whatever, or even any presumptive evidence beyond a mere surmise of Ussher, grounded on the following passage in Jocelin : " Sanctus Patricius filiolus ejus, qui post decessum patrui sui Britanniam remeans in fata concessit, in Olasconensi Ecclesid sepuUus honorificey — Primordia, p. 817. Ussher, reading this passage, and knowing from various authorities, as well Irish as foreign, that a Patrick called Sen or Senex, and whom he supposed a different person from the Irish apostle, was interred at Glastonbury, at once adopted the notion that this Patrick mentioned by Jocelin must have been a third Patrick, and accordingly gave him the name of Patricius junior . The statement of Jocelin, however, as the Bollandists observe, can be entitled to very little attention. It manifestly proceeded from his desire to reconcile the vivid tradition existing in Glastonbury Church, with the adverse impressions of the Irish people ; and as he wrote in the popular belief of his day, that the Apostle of Ireland was buried at Down, and knew, besides, that another Patrick was buried at Glastonbury, the expedient probably suggested itself to him of creating that nephew of the apostle, whom Ussher supposed to have been a separate Patrick. The Irish authorities are, however, at variance with Jocelin on this point, for they all agree that the saint who was buried at Glastonbury was Sen- Patrick. And in the list of homonymous saints preserved in the Books of Lecan and Ballymote, as well as in the ancient calendars, only three Patricks are mentioned, thus : " pacpaic TTlac Calppuinn, pacpaic 1?uipp Dela, pacpaic Qipcipe : tres sunt." The Patrick last named died in the ninth century. Thus, then, three of the five Patricks may be considered either as non-existent or unconnected with the subject under discussion; and the question reduces itself to this : whether the acts of the remaining two have been confounded, and referred to one Individual, or whether there was in reality, but one saint of the name. That there were indeed two Patricks of great celebrity was the opinion of ■ m 2 92 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Archbishop Ussher, who endeavours to shew, from a great number of Irish and foreign authorities, that the first, or Sen- Patrick, was a bishop in Ireland, and died and was interred in the Abbey of Glastonbury, in Somersetshire, in 457 ; and that the second, the great Apostle, died in 493, and was interred at Downpatrick, in Ireland. On the other hand, according to Dr. Lanigan, the Sen-Patrick was the only Patrick, and his death and burial occurred at Down- patrick in the year 465. It is probable that Ussher may be wrong in the supposition that Sen-Patrick was not the first Patrick who taught Christianity in the country, but it seems infinitely more probable that Lanigan is wrong in the conclusion which he has struggled so laboriously to maintain, that the Sen-Patrick was the only saint of the name. To establish this conclusion he is obliged to reject all the records in the Annals as well as foreign authorities, which place the death of Patrick in 493, and to assume that the true year of Patrick's death was either 458, 471, or, truly, as he maintains, 465, and that the story which makes him live 120 years is a mere fabrication to assimilate him with Moses. He is forced also to maintain that all the statements relative to the death and burial of St. Patrick at Glastonbury are monkish forgeries, and that the Patrick of Glas- tonbury was an abbot of the name, who retired there in the year 850, or some other Patrick, perhaps of the seventh or eighth century, who died on the 24th of August. Had Dr. Lanigan, while he asserted that the Sen- Patrick of the authorities was the real Apostle of Ireland, acknowledged the existence of a second Patrick In the same age, to whom the title was erroneously given, it might be difficult to controvert his arguments ; and many ancient authorities unknown to him could be adduced to strengthen his position : nor would it have been necessary, in placing the death of the Irish Apostle at any of the years recorded by the annalists as the date of Sen- Patrick's death, to have reduced the period of his life thirty years, in opposition to all the authorities, to accord with his assumed chronology, as those dates would sufficiently support him. Thus the Annals of TIghearnach place the birth of Patrick in 341 : — "A. D. 341. Patricius nunc natus est." And again, his captivity in 357, which identifies this Patrick with the author of the Confessio : — " A. D. 357. Patricius captivus in Hiber- niam ductus est." Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 93 These dates, it will be at once obvious, would very nearly agree with the date of 457, as laid down in the Annals of Ulster, as the year of the death of Sen- Patrick, allowing one hundred and twenty years to his life ; or, what is very remarkable, would agree exactly with the date 461, which is given in the same Annals from other authorities. Dr. O' Conor indeed objects to those dates in Tigheamach, that they are errors of the transcriber in copying the numerals ; but he should have perceived that this was an unsatisfactory mode of accounting for the difficulty, as the entries in the Annals are ranged in strict chronological order, and the entry relative to the captivity of Patrick is made to synchronise with the mission of Julian the apostate into Gaul, and with the first year of the reign of Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin. There is, however, the most direct evidence to shew that this was not an error of the transcriber, but, on the con- trary, is in accordance with the ancient records of the Irish, as appears from the following passage in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, formerly in the possession of Archbishop Ussher, and now in the Manuscript Library of Trinity College, Dublin : " Scoti de Hibernid sttb rege suo Neill Nceigiallach multum diversas provincias Britannia con- tra Romanum impenum, fegnante Constantio filio Constantini, devastabant : contendere incipientes Aquilonalem plagam Britannitx. Et post tempus, bellis et classibus Hibernienses expulerunt habi- tatores terra illius ; et habitaverunt ipsi ibi. deinde, aliquibus interjectis. Ductus est itaque sanctus Patricius ad Hiberniam captivus, primo anno regni Juliani imperatoris apostates, qui regnavit post Constantium ; anno autem nono regni Neill Nceigiallach regis HibernicB, qui XXVII. annis patenter regnavit ; quique Britanniam et Angliam multum devastavit, ibique in bello cecidit." — Primordia, p. 587. In like manner the Annals of Connaught place the nativity of Patrick in 336, and refer his captivity to the year 352. " S. Patricius in Hiberniam captivus ducitur anno Christi CCCLII. et post sex annos d captivate liberatur." And allowing one hundred and twenty years to his age, this would very nearly agree with the date of the death of Sen- Patrick in the same Annals, at the year 457 : " Anno CCCCLVII. dormitatio sancti Senis Patricii Episcopi Glosoniensis EcclesicB." And this is supported by the notice in Tirechan, already given at page 52, that the death of Patrick occurred two or five years before that of Laoghaire. It may be objected indeed that the ninth year of the reign of Niall does not, according to Irish chronology, synchronise with the first year of the reign of 94 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Julian the apostate : but the annalists above quoted are more accurate in their chronology, and even if it vpere otherwise, in a question beset w^ith so many difficulties, this could be but of small weight, the chronology of the kings of this period being technical, and evidently shaped into form at a comparatively modern age, as may be seen in the extract from the Book of Cuana, an authority of the seventh century, quoted from the Annals of Ulster, above, p. 81 ; and it may be observed that the Book of Clonmacnoise, as translated by Connell Mageoghegan, makes the reign of Niall Naoighiallach synchronise with the reign of Julian, as it places the reign of the former about the year 360. Any shade of doubt, however, that might exist on this point will be removed by the following decisive record, preserved both in the Annals of Tighearnach and Ulster, of which no notice has been hitherto taken, and from which it must be inferred that the date of 461, given in the Ulster Annals as the year of Patrick's death, has been copied from the Annals of Tighearnach, which are defective at that year : " A. D. 663. In Campo Ito Focairt exarsit mortalitas primo in Hiber- nia, a morte Patricii cc ill. Prima mortalitas c xii." — Annal. Ult. Tighearnach gives nearly the same words, but places the first appearance of this plague in 664, which is the true year, as has been demonstrated from a very remarkable eclipse by which, according to both annals, this plague was preceded in the same year. Thus far the authorities adduced would seem to sustain Dr. Lanlgan's hypo- thesis, that Sen- Patrick was the Apostle of Ireland ; and the very epithet of sen, or old, prefixed to his name, would be a characteristic cognomen to one who, according to all the Irish accounts, had lived to so great an age. But this very appellation is in Itself a strong evidence that there must have been another Patrick of later age, or who was not so remarkable for longevity, as the Irish- have never applied the epithet sen, old, or og, young, to a man's name, except for the purpose of contradistinction either with regard to age or time. But if no other Patrick be allowed, these authorities would impugn altogether the dates assigned to the birth, captivity, and mission of the Apostle, as well as the time and place of his death. And hence Dr. Lanlgan involves his theory in inextricable difficulties by denying the existence in Ireland of any other saint of the name, and is consequently forced to set himself in opposition to all the ancient authorities, which allow about one hundred and twenty years as the period of the duration of Patrick's life. He is, moreover, obliged to repudiate as Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 95 monkish forgeries the authorities which state the death and burial of Sen- Patrick at Glastonbury, and the Irish authorities to the same fact as forgeries later and consequent on the former. But these authorities are not to be destroyed so easily, for they are supported by evidences with which the Doctor was unacquainted, or which, at least, he has kept out of sight. Thus, when he asserts that the monks of Glastonbury forged the connexion of the Irish Apostle with Glastonbury out of an abbot Patrick, who died there in the ninth century, or some other (unheard of) Patrick, who died there in the seventh or eighth, he should have recollected that he had himself stated that the memory of Patrick was venerated there as the patron saint from the earliest times, as shewn by Ussher from the Charters of Baldred, Ina, and Eldred ; and that the church of Glastonbury, when rebuilt by the Saxons, was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and St. Patrick. And again, when he treats the scholiast of Fiech, who states the same fact as applicable to Sen- Patrick, as of no authority, he should have known and acknowledged that Colgan considered him an author of the seventh century, and that, at all events, his scholia are preserved in the Liber Hymnorum, which cannot be later than the ninth. But evidence to this fact is found in another work, the authority of which the Doctor has himself maintained, and which indeed it is impossible fairly to impugn, namely, the Feilire, or Festilogy of Aengus, written before the close of the ninth century. A copy of this work, as old as the tenth century, was In the possession of the late Edward O'Reilly, and. there is another pre- served in the Leabhar Breac, which is supposed to be of the twelfth century. The passage alluded to is given at the 24th of August, as follows : caspeich 8L015 sReNQun Flamma populi srenatii oca sceoiL uo cLouha Est fama quae audita est sen pauRQic CIN5 cauha Senex Patricius caput proelii coem aiT:e qr spocha.* Mitis praeceptor nostri patroni. * In explanation of Srenatii the Glossographist of Aengus says, " .i. i n-^loinepcip na n-^aeoel 1 Saxpanaib .1. in Britannia ;" that is, in Gloinestir of the Gael, in England, i. e. in Britannia 96 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. On this point, Indeed, the Martyrology of Tamlacht, compiled in the ninth century, that of Cashel, compiled in the eleventh, and all the later Martyrologies concur, as thus stated by Colgan, who had them all in his possession : " Colitur Patricius Senior die 24. Augusti (qui ab Hibernis primus mensis Authumni vocatur) ut tradunt S, jEngussius, Marianus, Mart. Tamlactense, Calendarium Casselense et Maguir ad eundem diem, qui dicunt quod Ros-delae in Mag-lacha tractu Ossorise in Hibernia: et addunt Calendarium Casselense, Scholiastes Mariani, et Maguir quod verius sit quod Patricius Senior sepultus Glastenberice Hibernorum (hoc est Glastonise ubi multi olim erant sancti Hiberni) in Australi parte BritannicB : et quod Reliquiae ipsius asserventur Ardmachae: et addit Maguir quod fuerit Doctor sive Magister nostri Apostoli Patricii." — Trias Thaum. p. 7, col. 1. But if any doubt existed that the Irish and English both considered the saint of Glastonbury as the Sen- Patrick of the Irish, it would be removed by the two following passages, quoted by Ussher, one from the Annals of Connaught, and the other from the Life of St. Dunstan, the author of which, as he states, lived in the time of that distinguished man : " Ejus obitum in Annalibus Connaciensibue ita consignatum invenimus. Anno CCCCLIIII. dor- mitatio sancti Senis Fatricii Episcopi Glosoniensis JEcclesies. quod de Glastoniensi Ecclesia ut accipiamus, verba ilia antiquissimi Vitse Dunstani scriptoris suadere videantur. Hihernensium peregrini pr This would place the battle of Almhain in the year 720, which is one year earlier than the date given in the Annals of Ulster, and two years earlier than the year given by Tighearnach. 3» This would place the battle of Uchbadh in the year 736, which is too early by a year or two. The Annals of Ulster place tliis dreadful battle in 737, and Tighearnach in 738, which Dr. O'Conor proves to be the true date. ^* That is, in the year 776, one year earlier than the date in the Annals of Ulster. " That is, according to this calculation, in 831, which is one year earlier than that in the Annals of Ulster. " A. D. 832, Artri Mac Concobhair, Abbot of Armagh, and Concobar Mac Donnchadh, King of Tara, died in the same month." " There is something omitted here in the original, as is obvious from the context. After carrying on the chronology from the period of St. Patrick to the death of Artri, Archbishop of Armagh, the writer here commences in a very abrupt manner a second series of foreign chronology, from the period of Cyprian, the martyr, down to the mission of Palladius and Patrick to Ireland. ^ St. Cornelius was martyred in 252, St. Cyprian in 258. '^ The seventh persecution was commenced in the beginning of 250. ^Probus, the emperor, succeeded in 276, and died in 282. This would fix the first year of the reign of Cormac Ua Cuinn in the year 279 ; and from the commencement of the seventh persecution to the third year of the reign of Probus would be twenty-nine, not twenty years. Mr. Petsie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 103 JHocliiiano principe. Sechc m-bliaona lap pin cepcompac SenaiD Nece .i. viii, n-apo. eppcoip x, ap ccc. ipin oail pin. Cpicha bli- aoain lap pin co herpechc CLnnrom manaig. Sechc mbliaona x. lap pin co bap helaip ©ppcoip piccaue. F«i. m-bliaona lap pin CO ecpechc n-Qmbpoip. Noi mbliaona X. lap pin CO ecpechc TTlapcain. t)a bliaoain lap pm CO jabal Gppcopoioi do Qujupcln in hipone in-Qppaic. V. bliaona xx. lap pin CO bup Clujupcin. t)ech m-bliaona o bap Qujupcinco po -pomex) Palladius a Papa Celestino co popcela Iqip do pacpaic Dia ppoicepc DO Scocaib. Ip pi ino pin in oen- mao bliaoam ap cccc. o chpoich Cpipc ; mao 0 choip Domain, ic oa bliaoain xxx. ap cccccc. op V. riiile. Ip in bliaoain lap pin do Decha pacpaic do ppoicepc do cum n-Gpeno. Equus et Valerianus v>a immpip na bliaona pin. Ip m bliaoain pin pop [jab] Xipcip aip- chinoechc'Roma i n-oejaioCaelipcine. Iphi pin jm. bliaoain plachaCoejaipe ITlic Weill 1 Cemaip. 5a heppioe in cpep pig x. po ninth persecution under the Emperor Dioclesian.^ Seven years after that the assembling of the Synod of Nice," at which three hundred and eighteen archbishops were present. Thirty years after that to the death of Anthony the monk.*" Seventeen years from that to the death af Hilary,'" Bishop of Pictavia. Seven years from that to the death of Ambrose.'* Nineteen years from that to the death of Martin." Two years from that until Augustin assumed the bishopric of Hyppo" in Africa. Twenty-five years from that to the death of Augustin." Ten years*° from the death of Augustin until Palladius was sent by Pope Celes- tine, with a gospel for Patrick, to preach it to the Scots. This was the four hundred and first" year from the crucifixion of Christ ; and if we reckon from the beginning of the world, five thousand six hundred and thirty-two years. In the year after this''^Patrick went to preach to Ireland. Equus [recte Aetius] and Valerianus [r«cfe Valerius] were the two emperors ^recte consuls] of that year. It was in this year Sixtus assumed the [ecclesiastical] supremacy of Rome after Celestine. This was the fourth year '^ Dioclesian was elected emperor in 283, twenty-four, not twenty-five years from the third year of Frobue. .^ The Council of Nice was held in 325, forty-two, not seventeen years after the commencement of the reign of Dioclesian. *" St. Anthony died in 356 ; that is, thirty-one, not thirty years after the convention of the Council of Nice. " St Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, became bishop in 355, and died in 372, sixteen years after the death of St. Anthony, ■" St. Ambrose died in 397, twenty-five, not seven years after the death of St. Hilary. " The death of St. Martin is referred to the year 397 by Gregory of Tours, and by Sigebertus to the year 402, but Dr. O'Conor attempts to prove that 401 is the true date. No authority places his death nineteen years after the death of St. Ambrose, as stated here. ■" St. Augustin became Bishop of Hyppo in 396, before the death of St. Martin, and not twenty-one years alter it, according to this chronology. *' St. Augustin died in 430, thirty-four, not twenty-five years after his appointment to the Bishopric of Hyppo. ^ This, if not an error of the transcriber in writing deck for da, is entirely wrong ; for, according to Prosper, Palladius was sent to Ireland in 431. '^ The four hundred and first year from the crucifixion of Christ would be the year 434. , •** According to this calculation Patrick would have come to Ireland in 435, but as his coming is synchronised with the consulship of Aetius and Valerius, and with the first year of Pope Sixtus, the year intended is certainly 432, and the error must have originated with the transcribers. 104 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill pallnupraip Sipe h6 aimpip na v. pij n-aup- of the reign of Loeghaire, son of Niall, at Temur. oepc po panopac Gipe ecappu hi coic .i. He was the thirteenth king, who governed Ireland Concobap, Cfillil, Coipppe, Gochu, Cupi. since the period of the five famous kings, who di- Qla bliaoam ap cccc. lap pin ho cpoich vided Ireland between them into five parts, viz. : Cpipc ; ocup qiep bliaoain xxx. ap cccccc. Conchobhar, Aillil, Coirpre, Eochu, [and] Curi. cqi V. mfle o chiip Domain. This was the four hundred and second year from pin-ic, Qmen. the crucifixion of Christ, and the three and thirtieth year above six hundred and five thousand from the beginning of the world. Finit, Amen. The age of the preceding document, which has not been hitherto published, or even noticed, may be ascertained with tolerable accuracy from a catalogue of the successors of St. Patrick, in the see of Armagh, which immediately follows it in the same MS. and which is constructed on the same scheme of chronology, and appears to be the composition of the same writer. The last archbishop named in this catalogue, and in whose time it was obviously drawn up, is Domhnall, the son of Amhalghaidh, who succeeded in 1091 or 1092, and died in 1105 ; and as the writer allows only eight years to his episcopacy, it is clear that he wrote about the year 1100. That the chronology of these documents was drawn up in accordance with, as well as to sustain the popular belief of the period respecting the important eras of the saint's life, is sufficiently obvious ; and it may, therefore, be regarded as the best existing authority in support of the system which it was intended to uphold. That its chronology is almost entirely erroneous in whatever precedes the assumed period of Patrick's mission, has been shewn in the preceding notes, as well as its general accuracy from that period forward. The inaccuracies in the former are, however, of small importance in this inquiry, as the only question to be investigated is, whether the dates usually assigned to Patrick's birth, mission, &c., can be sustained by historical evidences or not, and to this inquiry the subject now naturally turns. 1. With respect to the period of Patrick's birth, it may be briefly stated that Ussher assigns it to the year 372, and Colgan to 373. For either of these dates, however, no record has been found in the Irish Annals, and it rests solely on the authority of the Chronicle of Florence of Worcester, compiled in the twelfth cen- tury. The BoUandists assign his birth, conjecturally, to the year 377, and Dr. J^anigan thinks he settles the point by placing it ten years later, and this solely on Mr. Pbtrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 105 a conjecture of Tillemont's, founded on certain passages in the Confessio of St. Patrick, which passages, even if authentic, would be indeed a very uncertain guide, but which are in reality not found in the oldest and purest copy of that work extant, namely, that preserved in the Book of Armagh, which is stated to have been transcribed from the original, written by the Saint's own hand. — See Lanigan, vol. i. pp. 135, 136. As already stated, the only notices on this point found in the Irish authorities refer it to 333, or, as Tlghearnach has it, 341. 2. With respect to the date of his captivity, a few words will also suffice. Ussher, in accordance with the statement of the fact in the Confessio, that he was sixteen years old at the time, assigns it to 388, to agree with the assumed year of his birth ; and Lanigan, in like manner, to suit his theory, places it In 403. The assumption of Dr. Lanigan Is, however, of no weight, as the conclusion on which he founds it has been already shewn to be groundless ; and in this, as in the former case, the Irish Annals of Tlghearnach, which assign his captivity to the year 357, are opposed to the conjectural dates of both. 3. The year of his mission. This Is the point on which the whole question as to the existence of a second Patrick hinges, and, as stated by Ussher, is that on which nearly all the authorities concur : — " In mortis anno deslgnando, ut vldes, magna est inter istos dlscrepantia : de anno mlsslonis in Hlberniam nulla." — Primordia, p. 880. It might be supposed, therefore, that this point was beyond the reach of controversy, and yet unfortunately it is that on which many learned men have since felt the greatest degree of doubt ; nor has any sufficient evidence been found that would set this important question at rest. The foreign autho- rities for the fact reach no higher than the eleventh century, when, it might be argued, the Irish legends of his life had been worked up and dispersed over Europe, through the innumerable missionaries which Ireland had sent out. The authorities in the Irish Annals on this subject are of uncertain antiquity, and their notices of this, as well as the circumstances connected with it, seem to have been wholly derived from the popular lives of the saint. It is to be regretted that on this important point the authority of the ancient Bodleian MS. of Tlghearnach is wanting, as the portion of it relating to the period is lost ; but there can be little if any doubt that the passages wanting in that copy are preserved in the more modern copies of his Annals in Dublin, called the Chronicum Scotorum, which record the mission of Patrick at 432, but omit that VOL. XVIII. 0 106 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. of Palladius. The Annals of Ulster do, however, record both, and give their authorities in a passage, the importance of which has not hitherto been suf- ficiently appreciated. " An. ab incarnatione Domini ccccxxxi. Palladius ad Scotos a Celestino urbis Romae Episcopo, ordinatur Episcopus, Actio et Valeriano Coss ; primus mittitur in Hiberniam, ut Christum credere potuissent, anno Theodosii viii. " An. ccccxxxii. Patricius pervenit ad Hiberniam ix anno Theodosii junioris, primo anno Epis- copatus Xisti xlii Episcopi Rom. Eccl. Sic enumerant Beda et Marcellinus, et Isidorus, in chronicis suis." Here then are references made to authorities, which, if correct, should at once settle the question ; but, unfortunately, no passages relating to Patrick's mission are found in any printed edition or MS. copy of the works of the writers referred to, while the mission of Palladius is recorded In them all. Indeed the silence of Bede, as well as the earlier chroniclers, has long been felt as a negative argu- ment, not easily refuted, against the mission of Patrick. But, however fatal this silence, particularly of Bede, may be to the mission of a Patrick following Palladius, in order of time, it should not be considered as an objection to the existence of a preacher of the name in Ireland anterior to that period ; and indeed the ancient churches and other monumental remains connected with his name, found in all parts of Ireland, as well as the vivid traditions still universally cur- rent, are sufficient to satisfy any candid inquirer, that such a personage must have existed, whatever may have been the period at which he flourished. Another objection which has been made to the truth of these accounts is, that, whether Palladius died, as the Bollandists state, on the Cth of July, 431 or 432, or the 24th of January, 432, as Lanigan argues from other authorities, there would still be too little time between that and the period of the death of Celestine, on the 6th of April that year, for the account of that event to have reached Rome, or at all events, for Patrick to have travelled thither to be con- secrated and commissioned by him ; and Lanigan acknowledges that Patrick could not have heard of the death of Palladius until about the latter end of February, or beginning of March. Dr. Lanigan, therefore, is obliged to reject the fact stated in some of the lives respecting Patrick's visit to Rome and conse- cration there by Pope Celestine, after the death of Palladius ; and he endeavours to meet the difficulty by the supposition, which he thinks satisfactory, but for which there is no authority, that St. Patrick was ordained second in the mission, Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 107 though not consecrated bishop, at the same time with Palladius, and that con- sequently on the death of the latter he proceeded no farther than Gaul to receive the Episcopal dignity, and was accordingly consecrated there by a bishop, Amathus, Amatorex, or Amator. But this again Involves a new difficulty, as this Amatorex, according to the Scholiast of Fiach, and several of the lives, was Bishop of Auxerre ; and, as the only bishop of that name had died fourteen years before, it is manifest that he could not have consecrated Patrick a bishop at the period assigned. To meet this objection. Dr. Lanlgan, while he acknowledges that no other Galilean prelate of the name is found in the history of the times, offers another equally Improbable conjecture, namely, that his consecrator was a Bishop Amandus of Bordeaux, and that the name Amandus might have been easily changed into Amatus, Amathceus, or Amator. But with those who may be disposed to consider the true era of Patrick as earlier than that usually assigned to him, this conjecture will have but little weight, and the statement respecting Amatorex of Auxerre will carry evidence in favour of the truth of their hypothesis. From the preceding observations it will be evident that the authorities hitherto quoted are Insufficient to establish the mission of a second Patrick, if the claim of Palladius to the name be allowed. It remains then to Inquire how far the Confessio and the lives in the Book of Armagh sustain this assumed fact. And, first, of the Confessio, it may be briefly stated, that this interesting document, which the learned generally have considered genuine, does not. In that most ancient and uninterpolated copy preserved In the Book of Armagh, contain even a single passage which would throw the slightest light on the obscurities of the question. It might, in fact, be equally applicable to any earlier Patrick as to the reputed one of this period. The collections in the Book of Armagh, relating to the Life of Patrick, are supposed, apparently with justice, to have been written in the seventh century, and their authority must therefore be taken in preference to that of all the later lives, which are evidently but systematized amplifications of them. Yet it will be seen that even in those documents the statements are so vague and contradic- tory that nothing very conclusive can be gleaned from them. The first of these lives, which, In a ruder style, is nearly the same in substance as that published by Colgan under the name of Probus, is ascribed by Ussher to Maccuthenius, a writer of the seventh century. In this life no statement of the consecration or o2 108 Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. mission of Patrick by Pope Celestine is found. It mentions, however, somewhat ambiguously, that Patrick, while with St. Germanus, desiring to proceed to Ireland, the latter sent an old priest called Segitius with him as a companion and witness ; and, that Patrick hearing in Ebmoria, a city of Gaul, of the death of Palladius, applied to a neighbouring bishop, Amathorex, to receive the episcopal dignity, after having obtained which he proceeded to Ireland. " Oportuno ergo tempore imperante eomitante divino auxilio coeptum ingreditur iter ad opus in quod oUim prseparatus fuerat utique aBvanguelii, et missit Germanus seniorem cum illo, hoc est ijegitium prespiterum ut testem cotnitcm haberet, quia nee adhuc a sancto domino Germano in pontificali gradu ordinatus est. " Certe enim erat quod Paladius Archidiaconus Pape Caelestini Urbis Romse Episcopi, qui tunc tcnebat sedem apostolicam quadragensimus quintus a Sancto Petro Apostolo, ille Palladius ordi- natus et missus fuerat ad banc insolam sub brumali rigore possitam convertendam ; sed prohibuit ilium [Deus convertere gentem illam — Probus], quia nemo potest accipere quicquam de terra nisi datum ei fuerit de ca;lo. Nam neque hii fieri et inmites homines facile reciperunt doctrinam ejus, ueque et ipse voluit transegere tempus in terra non sua, sed reversus ad eum qui missit ilium revertere vero eo hinc et primo mari transito, coeptoque terrarum itenere in Britonum finibus vita factus \_recte functus]. " Audita itaque morte Sancti Paladii in Britannis, quia discipuli Paladii, id est Augustinus et Benedictus et cajteri redeuntes retulerant in Ebmoria de morte ejus ; Patricius et qui cum eo erant declinaverunt iter ad quendam mirabilem honiinem summum iEpiscopum Amathorege [recte Amathoregem] nomine in propinquo loco habitantem, ibique Sanctus Patricius sciens quee eventura essent, ibi episcopalem gradum ab Mathorege sancto episcopo accepit, etiam Auxilius, Iserninusque, et cseteri inferioris gradus eodem die quo sanctus Patricius ordinati sunt. " Turn acceptis benedictionibus, perfectis omnibus secundum morem, venerabilis viator paratam navira in nomine Sanctae Trinitatis ascendit et pervenit Brittannias. Et omissis omnibus ambulandi anfractibus praster commone viae officium, nemo enira dissidia quaerit Dominum, cum omni velocitate, flatuque prospero mare nostrum contendit." — Fol. 2, p. a, col. 1 & 2. In the amplifications of the above obscure and apparently defective passage, as given in the Tripartite and other later lives, it is stated that Patrick was sent by Germanus to Rome to receive the approbation of the Pope to his mission, and to be consecrated for the purpose. But that Maccuthenius did not intend to convey any thing like this appears clear from the headings of the chapters prefixed to his work to be noticed presently, and in which it is distinctly stated, that going to the apostolic see, where he wished to learn wisdom, he met with St. Germanus in Gaul, and therefore went no farther. This is also shewn from the interpolated version of his life by Probus, which, however, sends Patrick to Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 109 Rome to receive the apostolic blessing, after having preached unsuccessfully in Ireland many years before the mission of Palladius. The next notice bearing on the question is found in the following passage appended to this life, called the Dicta of St. Patrick : but in this passage, which is very obscure, it is merely stated that the saint travelled through Gaul, Italy, and the islands in the Terrhene Sea. It appears, however, to be the ground- work of the amplified details to this effect, found in the later lives. " Timorem Dei habui ducem iteneris mei per Gallias atque Italiam, etiam in insolis quae sunt in mari Terreno. De saeculo requissistis ad Paradissum Deo gratias ; aeclessia Scotorum immo Romanorura, ut Christian!, ita ut Romani sitis, ut decantetur vobiscum oportet omni hora orationis vox ilia laudabilis Curie lession, Christe lession, omnis aeclessia quae sequitur me cantet Cyrie lession, Christe lession, Deo gratias." — Fol. 9, p. o, col. 1. The next document in the collection is the annotations of Tirechan, which, as the transcriber states, were taken " from the mouth or book of Ultan," who was the first bishop of the Dal- Conchubair, at Ardbraccan, and flourished in the beginning of the seventh century. In this tract, which is a collection of tradi- tional notices, not a regular life of the Apostle, the mission of Patrick, after the death of Palladius, is thus distinctly recorded : " Xiii anno Teothosii Imperatoris a Celestino Episcopo, Papa Romae, Patricius Episcopus ad doctrinam Scottorum mittitur ; qui Celestinus xlv episcopus a Petro Apostolo in Urbe Roma. " Paladius Episcopus primo mittitur, qui Patricius alio nomine appellabatur ; qui martyrium passus est apud Scottos ut tradunt Sancti antiqui. Deinde Patricius secundus ab anguelo Dei, Victor nomine, et a Celestino Papa mittitur ; cui Hibernia tota credidit ; qui earn pene totam babtizavit."— Fol. 16, p. a, col. 1. The next tract is the preface addressed by Maccuthenius, the author of the first life in this volume, as already noticed, to Aldus, Bishop of Sletty, for whom it was written ; and this is followed by a table of the heads of the chapters contained in the first book. This preface and table have been placed out of their proper order, through the ignorance of the transcriber, who was a different scribe from the person who copied the life itself ; and hence Ussher, who had this book in his possession, says on one occasion, — Primordia, p. 818, — that the Life of Patrick, by Maccuthenius, contained only the heads of chapters ; and yet, subsequently seeing his error, although it did not occur to him to state it, he several times refers to the life itself as the work of this author, and on one occasion, p. 832, gives a long extract from it. This apparent inconsistency did not escape the observation 110 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. of Colgan, though he was not able to account for it — See Trias Thaum. p. 218, col. 1. That this preface and table of contents belong to, and should have been prefixed to the first book of the work of Maccuthenius, is satisfactorily proved by their perfect agreement with the matter contained in it, and by the fact that a similar table is prefixed to the second book, and which is in its proper place. The settlement of this point is of considerable importance, as it determines, beyond a doubt, the age of the life itself. And as the preface clearly shews that, even at the period of the composition of this work, which is undoubtedly the foundation of all the subsequent lives, as well as the notices in Erric of Auxerre and Nennius, the greatest uncertainty existed respecting the history of Patrick, and as the writer acknowledges that his authorities were doubtful, and their truth suspected by many, it necessarily follows, not only that the details of sub- sequent writers on the points under consideration, not contained in this life, must have but little claim to historical authenticity, but also that even the statements of Maccuthenius himself, must be received with considerable caution. The preface alluded to runs as follows : " Quoniam quidem, mi Domine Aido, multi conati sunt ordinare narrationem utique Jstam secundum quod patres eorum, et qui ministri ab initio fuerunt sermonis, tradiderunt illis; sed propter difficillimum narrationis opus, diversasque opiniones, et plurimorum plurimas suspiciones, numquam ad unum, certumque historiae tratnitem pervcnierunt : ideo, ni fallor, juxta hoc nostrorum proverbium, ut deducuntur pueri in ambiteathrum, in hoc periculossum et profundum narrationis sanctse pylagus, turgentibus proterve gurgitum aggeribus inter acutissimos Carubdes per ignota aequora insitos, a nullis adhuc lintribus, excepto tantum uno patris mei cognito, si expertum atque occupatum ingeni olim ei puerilem remi cymbam deduxi. Sed ne magnum de parvo videar finguere, pauca hsec de multis Sancti Patricii gestis parva peritia, incertis auctoribus, memoria labih, attrito sensu, vili sermone, sed affectu pissirao, caritatis et sanctitatis tuae et auctoritatis imperio oboedens, carptim, gravatimque explicare aggrediar." — Fol. 20, p. a, col. 1. After the table of contents the following notice is appended : — " H«c pauca de Sancti Patricii peritia et virtutibus Muirchu Maccumachtheni, dictante Aiduo Slebtiensis civitatis Episcopo conscripsit." — Fol. 20, b, i. It is greatly to be regretted that the first folio of this life has been lost since the book was in the possession of Archbishop Ussher, but the subjects of which it treated are preserved by Probus, though, as usual, in an amplified or interpo- lated form, as appears from the titles of the chapters given in the table already referred to. These titles, however, throw but little light on the subject now Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. ill under consideration ; but, though they seem to shew that the writer believed that Patrick never yvent to Rome, they concur with the other lives in referring the date of his consecration to a period subsequent to the death of Palladius. The titles of the lost chapters, as well as those relating to his mission, are here given : (Fol. 20, a, i.) " De ortu Patricii et ejus prima captivitate. De navigio ejus cum gentibus et vexatione diserti cibo sibi gentilibus divinitus delate. De secunda captura quam senis decies diebus ab inimicis prsetulerat. De susceptione sua a parentibus ubi agnoverunt eum. De eetate ejus quando iens videre sedem apostolicam voluit discere sapientiam. De inventione Sancti German! in Galliis et ideo non exivit ultra. De aetate ejus quando vissitavit eum anguelus ut veniret adhuc. De reversione ejus de Gallis et ordinatione Palladii et mox morte ejus. De ordinatione ejus ab Amathorege Episcopo, defuncto Palladio. De rege gentili habeto in Temoria quando venerat Sanctus Patricius babtismum portans." The remaining tract is called the Book of the Angel. It relates chiefly to the rights due to the See of Armagh ; and contains nothing which throws any light on the subject under consideration. It is, in fact, a mere fabrication to support the authority of the church of Armagh ; and indeed it is not easy to avoid a suspicion that all the lives in this Book of Armagh have been written with a view to serve the same purpose. On the whole, then, it will be seen that these are the most ancient lives of the saint now extant, and the originals from which all the more amplified lives published by Colgan have been derived ; and the conclusion therefore follows, that the mission of a Patrick in 432 rests on authorities as early as the seventh century. Still it must be confessed that these authorities are so uncertain and contradictory, and, as Maccuthenius acknowledges, derived from such doubtful, and even then suspected sources, that it is difficult to refrain from a suspicion that this Patrick may be no other than the Palladius of the Roman authorities, and that the particulars of his life may have been drawn up from materials as properly belonging to the biography of the Sen- Patrick of the Irish authorities as to his own. The probability of the truth of this conjecture will be increased by an investigation of the authorities which treat of the time of his death and place of his burial, to be next noticed. 4. The year of his death. On this point the authorities are all at variance. 112 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. The dates in the oldest documents, — the lives in the Book of Armagh, — appear to agree with those to which the death of Sen-Patrick is referred by the an- nalists. The life by Maccuthenius is, indeed, silent on this head, but, as it states that the saint was one hundred and twenty years of age when he died, and as a similar statement is made in the life by Tirechan, in which the death of Patrick is placed two or five years before the death of Laoghaire, — that is, according to the chronology of the Irish Annals, in 458 or 461, — it may be concluded that both biographers concur on this point ; and it is remarkable that Giraldus Cam- brensis also places the death of Patrick the Apostle in 458. It has, however, been already shewn that these are the dates assigned by the Irish annalists to the death of the first or Sen- Patrick ; and that these dates must refer to him is obvious, as, if they belonged to the Patrick who came in 432, it would contradict the statement in all the lives, that he was sixty years preaching in Ireland. But the Irish annalists, as well as a crowd of foreign writers, place the death of Patrick, the Archbishop and Apostle of the Irish, in 491, 492, or 493. Thus the entry in Tighearnach, which has been copied by most of the subsequent annalists, quotes an ancient Irish quatrain as authority for the date 493 : " A. D. 493. Patricius ArcMepiscopus et .Apostolus Hibernensium anno etatis sue cente- simo •oigesimo, xvi. Kal. April, quievit. " O jenemam Cpifc, ceim aic, From the birth of Christ, a pleasant period, Cerpe ceo pop caem nocaio Four hundred above fair ninety, Ceopa bliaoain paep lap pern Three noble years after that Co bap pcropaic ppim appcail." To the death of Patrick, chief Apostle. This quatrain is also quoted by the Four Masters, and in all the copies of the Chronicon Scotorum preserved in Dublin, and most correctly in Duald Mac Firbis's copy of that work, preserved in the MS. Library of Trinity College, Dublin, which is here given with Colgan's translation, Trias Thaum. p. 234 : « O jenap Cpipc, — aipearh aic, A nato Christo (calculando recte), Cerpe c^oo pop caoninocaic Quadringenti cum nonaginta, Ceopa bliaona beacc lap pin Et tribus annis insuper, ^o bap paopaij ppiom Qppail. Usque ad mortem Patricii, praecipui Apostoli nostri." And thus, if this passage be not an interpolation, which is not very probable, it would appear that Tighearnach understood this Patrick, the Archbishop and Apostle, as a different person from an earlier Patrick, whose birth, captivity, and ^eath he had before recorded. But still the accuracy of this date will be apt to Mr. Petbie on the History and Antiquities ofTara Hill. 113 be doubted by the impartial investigator, when it is considered that it is not found in the original lives of the Saint, and a suspicion can hardly fail to arise that it owes its origin to the necessity for reconciling the sixty years assigned to the Saint's mission in Ireland with the year 432, in which it is asserted to have commenced. As to the foreign authorities, they can have little weight in this question as the most ancient of them, that of Florence of Worcester, is not earlier than the beginning of the twelfth century. Another point connected with this question is the reputed day of his death; and on this the authorities, ancient as well as modern, all concur in the statement, that it was the I7th of March. Thus in the earliest, the Book of Armagh : " Quod in die xvi Kal. Aprilis peractis totius ejus vitae annis .cxx. at provenerat sicut omnibus totius Hyberniae annis celebratur." — Maccutheniiis. " SoUempnitate dormitationis ejus honorari [debet] in medio veris per .iii. dies et .iii. noctes omni bono cibo praeter carnem quasi Patricius veniisset in vita in hostium." — Tirechan. So also in the Feilire or Festilogium of Aengus, at the IJth of March : LQsaiR 5r?eNi aiNe, Flamma soils puri, aspoL ei?eNO oi^e, Apostolus Hiberniaj sacrse, pauRQic coTTieu mice ^ Patricius custos millium T?op oiuiu oiar? uRoi^e. Fuit prsDsidium nostris miseris. Here then is a perfect agreement of all the authorities, ancient as well as modern, as to the day at present universally received as the festival of the Irish Apostle ; and this day is altogether different from that assigned to the death of Sen- Patrick, as well as different from any one of the days, for there are several, assigned as that of the death of Palladius. But though these records seem clearly to establish the fact that a second Patrick, the reputed Apostle, died on the 17th of March, the very great degree of uncertainty respecting the day as well as year of the death of Palladius, leave it by no means clear that this may not as properly be his day. The day of Palladius's death is variously assigned to the 15th and 25th of December, 431, and to the 27th of January and 6th of July, 432 ; and where three of these dates must obviously be wrong, it is not unreasonable to conclude VOL. xviii. p 1 14 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. that the fourth may be wrong also. But, however this may be, it is obvious, that without rejecting the most ancient historical evidences, the existence of a second Patrick cannot be questioned, whether this Patrick was Palladlus or not ; and if he were not Palladius, it will be difficult, if not wholly impossible, to collect any authentic circumstances relative to his history. It is indeed impossible to come to any other conclusion on this head without rejecting as fabrications all the historical dates of the annalists and the authority of Aengus and Flech's Scholiast, relative to the elder Patrick; but this rejection would be wholly unwarrantable, for though there might have been a motive to fabricate authorities in support of the history of the second Patrick, after it had been shaped into something like form, it is obvious that there could have been none to induce those writers to do so in opposition to that history, and thus contradict even their own statements. Dr. Lanigan, who, on this question, rejects the best authorities when they war with his hypothesis, and admits the worst when they support It, finding that the dates assigned by the annalists to the death of Sen- Patrick, whom he wished to make identical with the apostle, would not agree with the tradition of the Irish that the latter died on a Wednesday, assigns the death of Patrick to the year 465, and this solely on the authority of the Annals of Innisfallen, and because he found that the 17th of March In that year fell on Wednesday, as well as in 493. But he should have acknowledged that the Annals of Innisfallen, with respect to their chronology, are weak authority indeed in comparison with the more ancient annals, and particularly when they are not corroborated by other documents ; and even If the fact were otherwise, the passage in question could not be received as an authentic record, because it bears the evidence of an error in the transcription, as can be clearly shewn. The passage is as follows ; — " An. cccclxxxvlli. Kl. Quies Patricii in xvl Kl. April. Anno ccccxxxli. a passione Domini. Quies Meic Cuilind Luscai." Thus It appears that the year intended was 488, and that the death of Mac Cullinn, Bishop of Lusk, is placed in the same year with that of Patrick. But Mac Cullinn died, according to the Annals of Tighearnach and Ulster, In 495 ; and as all the events in the Annals of Innisfallen at this period are a few years antedated, it is obvious that an error has been committed in the numerals, from which Dr. Lanlgan's conclusion was drawn. 5. The place of his interment. It will have been recollected that the Irish, as well as the Glastonbury authorities, concur in the statement that Sen-Patrick, Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 115 or Senex Patriclus, was interred at Glastonbury; but according to the lives, Patrick the Apostle was buried at Saul or Downpatrick. On this point, how- ever, the accounts are so legendary and contradictory, that, if any conclusion could be drawn, it would be that they are all fabulous, and that nothing was known on the subject. This is acknowledged by Tirechan, who writes that where his bones are no one knew : — " uhi sunt ossa ejus nemo novit" It is true, that he afterwards states that his place of burial was pointed out at Saul- Patrick by St. Columbkille, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit : " Colomb cille Spiritu Sancto instigante ostendit sepulturam Patricii, ubi est confirmat, id est in Sahul Patricii, id est in aeclesia juxta mare, ubi est conductio martirum, id est ossium Coluimb cille de Brittannia, et conductio omnium Sanctorum Hibernias in die judicii." — Fol. 13, i, & 16, a. But this legend was evidently fabricated after the death of Columbkille, for the purpose of giving to Saul the honor of having the sepulchre of both. The life by Maccuthenius has a more ridiculous legend to account for his interment at Dun-leth-glaisse. It states that the saint, feeling his end approach- ing, commanded himself to be carried to Armagh, but was prevented by an angel, who desired him to return to Saul ; and that afterwards the same angel advised him as to his burial," and directed that after his death two untamed oxen should be suffered to proceed wherever they wished, and that where they should rest a church should be founded in honour of his body, which was accomplished accordingly, the Son of God guiding them to Dun-leth-glaisse, where Patrick was buried. These legends require no comment ; and it is pitiable to find such a man as Dr. Lanigan endeavouring to account for the uncertainty on this point apparent in the lives, by the supposition that the exact spot of his grave only was meant. But, according to Maccuthenius, the exact spot was known, for he says that in after times, when the church was in progress of building over his body, the men who were digging the ground perceived fire to break out from the grave, and retiring, they fled with fear from the flame. It is enough to state that on this point the ancient annals are silent, with the exception of the Annals of Ulster, in which is transcribed from the Life of Columbkille, the legend that narrates that saint's discovery of the sepulchre of Patrick, but without naming the locality. From the preceding data, then, it will be apparent : I. That the Irish authorities clearly prove the existence of at least two teachers p2 1 1 6 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. of Christianity In Ireland popularly called Patrick, namely, Sen-Patrick, and Patrick the Archbishop ; and, that the attempts of Dr. Lanigan to shape a con- sistent life of the Irish Apostle, by making him identical with the Sen- Patrick of the Irish and Glastonbury authorities, can only be sustained by an unwar- rantable rejection of the most ancient records bearing on the subject, and by substituting in their place conjectures either wholly gratuitous, or, at best, founded on documents of inferior credit. 2. That the most ancient Irish annals appear to make a distinction between the first Patrick and the second, the one being called St. Patrick, or Sen-Patrick, and the second Patricius Archiepiscopus et Apostolus, an epithet which is obvi- ously applicable to the Patrick of Celestine ; and that while the death of the latter is placed in the year 492 or 493, the death of the first Patrick is placed by the same annalists in 458 or 461. 3. That the acts of these two Patricks have been so blended together by the biographers — if they may be so called — of the supposed apostle's life, that it is now impossible to separate them, or to determine, with any degree of certainty, the acts which properly belong to either; though this much may perhaps be gathered, that the first, or Sen-Patrick, appears to have preceded the mission of Palladius; that he was the author of the Confessio, and the Irish Hymn, which last is now first published in this memoir, if these productions be not spurious ; andj that he died about the year 461, and was interred at Glastonbury, whither he had retired, as it would appear, previously to the mission of the second Patrick. 4. That the acts of the second Patrick are so feebly supported by ancient historical evidences with respect to dates, time and place of birth, death, and burial, and every thing except his mission, as to lead to the suspicion that even on this point there may have been a fabrication, and that he may have been no other than the Palladius of the Roman authorities, whose life is involved in an equal degree of mystery. In support of this perhaps novel conjecture many facts from the ancient lives and other authorities might be adduced, of which a few will suffice : 1. That the oldest Irish authorities shew that Palladius was also called Patrick. 2. That the Roman authorities, as well as Bede, while they record the mission of Palladius, are wholly silent respecting Patrick. Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 117 3. That Prosper ascribes the same success to the mission of Falladius that the Irish do to that of Patrick. 4. That in the various copies of the Annals of Tighearnach, known by the name of the Chronicon Scotorum, and which supply the chasms in the Bodleian copy of those annals, no mention is made of the mission of Palladius, but of that of Patrick only. 5. That in the different versions or copies of the Saxon Chronicle, as remarked by Ussher, where the mission of Palladius is recorded, no mention is made of that of Patrick, and that where that of Patrick is given that of Palladius is omitted, and that the dates are the same in all, and the words the same, excepting in the names, whether referring to the one or the other. An. ccccxxx. Hejx pay Pallatoiuj" a j-enb pjiam CelefCine \>am Papan to bobianbe Scoccum fullpihc. — Cod. Cot. An. ccccxxx. Hej\ paj- Patjiictuj" a j*enb fpam Celej*cme chas Papan Co bobmanne ScocCum fulluhc. — Cod. Petroburg. et Laud. 6. That in the extract given in the preceding sheet from the Leahhar Breac Palladius is stated to have brought with him from Rome a copy of the Gospel for St. Patrick, a circumstance which would hardly be explicable if the Irish Apostle succeeded him. 7. That Sen- Patrick is stated, in the oldest authorities, to have been the master or instructor of the patron of Ireland, and in the life by Probus it is stated that the latter was ordained priest by a St. Senior. 8. That Palladius, according to an ancient authority quoted by Ussher, was, like Patrick, a Briton. 9. That Patrick and Palladius, according to the lives, landed at the same harbour in Wicklow, and were opposed by the same chief. 10. That Palladius and Patrick are stated to have brought the same relics of the Apostles from Rome, though, according to Maccuthenius, St. Patrick never proceeded farther than Gaul. 11. That Palladius, according to Prosper, was the instigator of the mission of Germanus to Britain to root out the Pelagian heresy, while, according to the lives, Patrick accompanied Germanus to Britain for the same purpose. 12. That Palladius is said to have been unsuccessful in his mission, and that he left Ireland to return to Rome; and the oldest of the lives published by 118 Mk. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. Colgan, that by Probus, states that Patrick also was unsuccessful, and revisited Rome to obtain the apostolic benediction, but that he afterwards returned to Ireland. 13. Lastly, It may be repeated, that nothing certain Is known of the year in which either this second Patrick or Palladlus died, or the place where they were interred, which could hardly have been the case if Patrick died in Ireland, nor could the relics of Sen- Patrick only have been venerated at Armagh, as it is stated they were, if those of the second Patrick could have been obtained. These coincidences are thrown out for the consideration of the learned, with a hope that they may assist in promoting a spirit of impartial investigation of this interesting portion of the history of Ireland ; and though the subject has led to a much more extensive apparent digression from the immediate object of this memoir than was anticipated, or was desirable, still it cannot be considered as out of place in a dissertation on the history of a spot in which the first great effort is said to have been made to establish Christianity in the country, by the conversion of its monarch and chieftains. But, even if it were otherwise, it is hoped that an effort to assist in the elucidation of a subject so interesting in Itself, and so Important as that on which the whole chronology of Irish history has been erected, by the publication, in a faithful and ungarbled manner, of ancient documents, bearing upon the subject, and hitherto locked up from the learned, may be received in a spirit of indulgence. To resume the list of kings : IV. Muircheartach Mac Earca succeeded Lughaidh, according to Tlgh- earnach, in the year 509, but, according to the Annals of Ulster, with which Ware and O'Flaherty agree, in 513, there having been, according to the latter annals, an interregnum of five years' duration. The following notice of the reign of this prince is given in the Book of Lecan, fol. 306, p. a. col. 1 : Do job qia Ttluipcheprach (.i. TTIac Muirchertach, (i. e. Mac Erca,) son of Mu- Gpca) TTlac muipeoaich, mic eojain, mic redhach, son of Eogan, son of Niall of the Nine ■Nell 'Haijiallaich, piji n-Gpeno p6 ceachpa Hostages, assumed the government of Ireland for bliaoan pichec. a period of twenty-four years. Ipaipioepcheamac Gpcape TTIuipchep- Muirchertach was called Mac Erca, because each .1. pepc chuccq^caip Gppoc Gpc Slanja Ere, Bishop of Slane, placed his affection upon 00, Ota noebpao po : him ; of whom was said : Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 119 Gf^oc 6pc, - Bishop Ere, Whatever he adjusted was right. Whoever judges justly and fairly Will receive the blessing of Bishop Ere* Or, Earc, the daughter of Loam, was his mother, and from her he was called Mac Erca. Muirchertach sent messengers to demand the Boru, and he did not obtain it, but a promise of a battle instead. And Muirchertach assembled the men of Leath- Cuinn and the nobles of the race of Conall Earrbreagh, the son of Niall. The Lagenians came to Bregia against them, under the conduct of Jllann, the son of Dunking, King of Leinster, to give battle to the Hy-Niall. And the battle of Deata, in Bregia, was fought between them, in which were slain Ardgal, the son of Conall Earrbreagh, and Colcu, son of Cloithi, son of Crunn, son of Fedhlimidh Casan, son of CoUa Dacrich, King of Airgiall ; and the Lagenians were defeated in this battle, and in many others, so that he raised the Soru without a battle, while he lived afterwards. Among those battles fought by Muirchertach, were the battle of Eibhlinne and the battle of Magh Ailbhe, and the battle of Altnhain, and the devastation of the Cliachs against the Lagenians ; of which was said : The battle of Cinn-eich, the battle of Almhain, — It was an illustrious, famous period ; — The devastation of the Cliachs, the battle of Aidhne, Ocup carh TTIaiji CTilbi. And the battle of Magh Ailbhe. Muirchertach, according to Tighearnach, perished in the house of Cletty, over the Boyne, in 534, after a reign of twenty-four years. His death, and the manner of it are recorded in the Annals of Ulster thus : — " A. D. Dxxxiii. Demersio Muircertaig, Jilii Erce, in dolio pleno vino, in arce Cletig supra Boin." It appears from all the authorities that Muirchertach was a Christian ; and he should therefore be regarded as the first Irish monarch who was so. In the Cec ni con cepoaD pa cepc. Cach aen bepep co cepr caip popfbaiD bennachc €ppoic Spc. No, ip 1 Gape, injen CooTpn, a marhaip, ocup ip aipi a oepchea ITIac Gapca oe. t)o chuip chpa ITluipchepcach cechca o'lappaiD na 6opoina, ocup ni uaip ach carh DO jellcro do; ocup do chinoil ITIuip- cheapcach pip leichi Cuino ocup uaipli cloinoi Conaill Gappbpeaj, mic Heill. Ceacaic cpa Caijinj co 6pea5aib na n-ajaio do chup chac pe huib Neill, im Illano mac Dunlainj, im pij ^aijen ; ocup cuipchep cachtDeaca i m6pea5aib ecuppu, ocup mapbcap ann Qpogal TTIac Conaill Gappbpeaj, ocup Colcu niac Cloichi, mic Cpuino, mic peolimche Capan, mic Colla t)a-cpich, pi CTipjiall ; ocup bpipcep pop 6aijnib m each pin, ocup caca imoa aili, cop choboij can chach in bopoma in cen po ba beo lapum. Ip do na cachaib pm do chuip muipchepcach .1. each Giblinoi, ocup cacli TTlaiji Qilbe, ocup cach Qlmaine ocup opeain na Cliach pop CaijniB, oia noebpao : Cac ChinDeicb, cac Qlmaine, — pa h-aimpip aippopic ampe ; — Opcain na Cliach, each Qione, This quatrain is also quoted by Tighearnach, who ascribes it to St. Patrick. 120 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. record of his death given by Tighearnach, the following fragments of very ancient poems are quoted, to the understanding of which it is necessary to premise that, according to a curious Irish tale, a copy of which, on vellum, is preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, (H. 2. 1(5, p. 316.) this monarch fell a victim to the revenge of a concubine named Sheen, for whom he had, for some time, abandoned his queen, but whom he afterwards consented to put away at the command of his relative St. Caimeach of Tuilen. This concubine, according to the tale, which is of a wild and imaginative character, having lost her father, mother, sister and others of her family, who were of the old tribe of Tara, by the hand of Muirchertach in the battle of Cirb, now Assy on the Boyne, threw herself in his way and became his mistress for the express purpose of wreaking her vengeance upon him with the greater facility. And the story states that she burned the house of Cletty over the head of the monarch, who, when scorched by the flames plunged into a puncheon of wine in which he was suffocated. These verses appear to have been quoted by Tighearnach from a very ancient copy of this tragical story. In the Leabhar Gabhala of the O'Clery's the first quatrain of this extract is attributed to St. Cairneach, who is said to have foretold that the king would come to this fatal end. It should also be stated that the text of these Bardic verses, as printed by Dr. O'Conor, is so full of errors as to render their meaning unintelligible, but the true reading is here restored from the Leabhar Gabhala of the O'Clery's, the Book of Lecan, and from the copies of Tighearnach, the Chronicon Scotorum, and Annals of the Four Masters, in the Library of Trinity College : ST. CAIRNEACH'S PROPHECY. Jp om Oman ap in ben, I am fearful of the woman, Im a luiopi ilap pin,* Around whom many storms shall move, Qp an peap loipcpioep i een For the man who shall be burned in fire Pop caeb Cleicich baiopeap pin. On the side of Cletty wine shall drown. Sin m ben po mapb chu, Sin is the woman who kills thee, Q rriec 6pca, map id chiu ; O, son of Erca, as I see ; • Im a Luaiopi llap pin. This line is intentionally made oracular, so as to convey a double meaning, like the responses of ancient oracles, and seems to have been put into the mouth of St. Cairneach by the vf riter of the tragical death of Mac Earca. The verb luaiopi would also mean will report ; and pm, the last word in the line, which signifies tempest or storm, might be taken for the name of Mac Earca's concubine. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 121 6iD imoa o hanmanna bup, CuippiD nech pop aineolup. Ni h-mmain in ben, tJianao comainm Sin, TTIo oaij in pij loipcep cen ; 1 C15 Cleicich baiopiD pfn. Sin said, in telling her names : Ip mipe Uaecan in jen, t)o cap aipech Neill ; Ip ^amaociij mo ainin. In cac aipm ap pen. Opnao, Gapnao, Sin cen oil, 5aer, ^'^pb ocup ^emaoaig, Ocpao, lac COD, pao cen 501, Ice tn'anmanna ap aen cai. Cennfaela cecinit : pillip in pij mac ©pea ILleich hua Heill, Sipic putl pepnu Q muij 6po5aip cpicha Cein. pa pecc pepaip nai caippchiu, Ocup biD cian bup cuiiiain , Do bepc jiallu Ua Neill, Ca jialla mui^i TTluinan. Many shall be her names here, She will put one astray. Not loving the woman Whose name is Sin, For whose sake fire shall burn the king ; In the house of Cletty wine shall drown him. I am Taetan, the woman, Who shall slay the heir of Niall ; Gamadaig is my name. In every place and road. Osnad, Easnad, Sin, without reproach, Gaeth, Garbh, and Gemadaig, Ochsad, lachtad, saying without falsehood. Are my names in one way. The King Mac Erca returns To the side of the Hy-Niall, They seek the blood of men In Magh Brogais, of the country of Cian.* Seven times he fought nine battles. And long it shall be remembered, He obtained the hostages of the Hy-Niall, With the hostages of the plain of Munster. It should perhaps be added, that, according to the historical tale already noticed, the interference of St. Cairneach with King Muircheartach was insti- gated by his queen, Duaivseach, the daughter of the King of Connaught, whose spiritual adviser he was, and that Cairneach, on coining to the house of the king at Cletty, to remonstrate with him, having been refused admittance, became filled with religious indignation, and, erecting a monument for the monarch, ascended it, declared his reign at an end, and pronounced a curse on the dis- honoured mansion and its locality, in the following words : •The meaning of this line appears from the tale already noticed which states that, when StCairneach ratified a league of friendship between the Hy-Niall and Kianachts, he mixed the blood of both tribes in one vessel, and then wrote the conditions on which peace was established between them. " Oo jnicep lapum coDac ann pin ecuppu, OCUp cumaipcio Caipnech a puil in oen leapcap oiblinib ; ocup pcpiBup ariiail do ponpac in cooac ann pin/'—H. 2. 16, p. 316. VOL. XVIII. q 122 Mr. Peteie on the History and Antiquities of Tara HilL t)uma na cloy fo co bjiach. The mound of the bells this for ever ; Pooeyca po pwnF'^ each, For the future all shall see it, Ceacc in rpenpip TTlic epca. The monument of the hero Mac Erca, Nip ba clair a tmceacca. Whose proceedings were not feeble. mallacc popp an culaij-pi — A curse [be] upon this hill — Pop Cleiciuc c^caib cuana; Upon Cletty of beautiful hillocks ; Hap ap maich a ich na a blicc, May not its corn nor its milk be good ; ^up op Ian o'puarh ip o'anpicc. May it be full of hatred and misery. Hap ob aim pij na puipec>i ; May neither king nor chief be in it ; Hi D15 neac app co buioech. No one shall depart from it grateful. 61D cumam lim-pa pem la I shall remember during my day Cecc P15 Gpenn 'p'" ouma. The monument of the King of Erin in the mound. ■Ro epcain Caipnech rpa m ovin ann pin, Cairnech then cursed the Dun, and rang his ocup po benn a cblocc ann, ocup cainic app bell in it, and afterwards departed under sorrow >ap fin po bpon ocup fa roippi. and sadness. That the preceding verses, though very ancient, as their language shews, are of a later date than the time referred to, can scarcely be doubted ; yet the fact which they record is at least historical, and the form of the malediction is likely to be also true, as it seems certain that in consequence of the saint's curse, the house of Cletty was for ever after deserted by the Irish princes. V. Tuathal Maolgarhh, the great grandson of Niall, succeeded, according to Tighearnach, in 534, and, after a reign of eleven years, was killed in 544, in the battle of Greallach Eilte, at the foot of Slieve Gamh, in Leyny, in the County of Sligo. Nothing remarkable is recorded of the reign of this monarch, except that, like his predecessors, he forced the Lagenians, after a successful battle, to pay him the Borumean tribute, which he received without further con- test during the subsequent years of his reign. The annalists do not record the celebration of the Feis- Teamrach either in the reign of this monarch or in that of his predecessor. VI. Diarmaid Mac Fergus Ceirhheoil, who was also a great grandson of Niall the Great, succeeded, and, after a reign of twenty-one years, according to Tighearnach and the Annals of Ulster, was killed in 565, at Rathbeg, in Moy- llnny, in the now County of Antrim. His head was buried at Clonmacnoise, and his body at Connor, near where he was killed. Though this monarch was, at least nominally, a Christian, yet it is curious Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 123 to observe that there is the clearest evidence that Druidisni still lingered in the country during his reign, and even that Dermot himself kept a Druid in his service. These facts appear from a notice of the battle of Cuil-Dreimne, as given in the Annals of Tighearnach, and still more distinctly from an account of this battle in the Leabhar Buidhe of the Mac Firbises of Lecan, a vellum MS. of the fourteenth century, preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, Class H. 2. 16, p. 873 : CinoiliD Colum Cilli Ua Neill in Cu- aipcipc DO Di^ail a comaipci pop t)iapmaic. Cecaic leip lapum Pepjup ocup tDomnall oa TTIac TTIuipchepcaij TTlic Gapca, ocup CTinmipe Plac Seona, pi Cmeoil Conaill, ocup NinoiD mac t)uach, ocup Qeo TTlac Gchach Uipmcapna, co Conachcaib leo. X)o ^ni Ppaechan JTIac Ceintpain, imoppu, DpaiDiapmacp, aipbi Dpiicro ecip inoapluas. Jp ann pm ap bepc Colum CiUi inpo : Q t)ia ciD nacK n-oingbai oino' ]n cia rfup in nepnmaip ap a Im?' In c-ploij DO boinj bpeacha oino,' Sloj DO cinj a cimceall caipn ! Ip mac ainbci no oop maipn. Ip e mo t)paf, nim epa,* mac t)e ip pipne co n-jend.* Ip alamo pepap alluaj,^ ^abap 6aecain piap in pluag V po la 6aecan puilc buioe, 5epaiD a hep. puippi.' Columbkille assembled the Hy-Niall of the North to revenge his protegee on Diarmalt. There came with him then Fergus and Domhnall, the two sons of Muirchertach Mac Erca, and Ain- mire, son of Sedna, King of the Kinel-Connell, and Ninnidh, son of Duach, and Aedh, son of Eochaidh Tirmcharna, having the Connacians with them. Fraechan, son of Tenisan, the Druid of Diarmait, then made the Druidical Airbhi be- tween the two hosts. Then Columbkille said this : O God ! why wilt thou not drive from us This mist which envelopes our number ? The host which has deprived us of our judgment, The host which proceeds around the cam ! He is a son of storm who betrays us ! My Druid, — he will not refuse me, — Is the Son of God and truth with purity. How grandly he gives the onset — The steed of Baetan before the host ! Power by Baetan of the yellow hair. Will be gained from Erin on him [the Steed], ' CI Dia, ciOD nac oinjba an cia, tDup a n-epmaip mtp a lin. — Chron. Scot. * In ceo Dupp in puipmeip a lin Ann. Tig. H. 1. 18, p."60. ' Qn r-pluaij do Boing bpeaja Din. — Ann. Tig. Qn c-pluaij do boinj beaca Din. — Four Masters. * \Al mela, i. e. It is no reproach. — Chron. Scot. Columbkille here alludes to the Druid of King Dermot, who was engaged in pagan incantations. * mac t)e ip lium co n-jeba, i. e. The Son of God, and may he side with me. — Ann. Tig. *> Ip alainn pepap in luao. — Ann. Tig. ' 5ob"P 6aoDain pep in pluaj Chron. Scot. " I an ^oBap an can ip eac, & an can ip jabap." — O'Clery. ' depaij a h-Gpen puippe Ann. Tig. and Citron. Scot. Baetan afterwards became king of Ireland. q2 124 Mr. Petrie on the-Histojy and Antiquities o/Tara Hill. Cic Cuacan ITIac tDimai, irnc Sapam, Tuatati, son of Dima, son of Saran, son of mic Copmaic, mic Gogain, mic NeiU, ocup Cormac, son of Eogan, son of Niall, came and put cuipiD mn aipbi n-t)puaD cap a cheann, the Druidical airbhi over his head, and sprang ocup linjiD caippi, ocup beanaip imjai oo'n over it, but he was met by a javehn from the other leich naill, ocup mapbcap he, ocup ip e aen side and killed ; and he was the only man of pep nama painic bap do muincip Coluim Columbkille's people who was killed. Diarmait Cilli.' IDaiD pop t)iapniaic lap pin. was routed after that. The record of this battle, as given by Tigheamach, is nearly to the same effect, but its text, as printed by Dr. O'Conor, is quite corrupt, and the trans- lation of it totally erroneous ; as for example, the phrase aijibi Ti-t>|iua6, the Druidical airbhi, or charm, is translated " ut expelleret Druidas" though, as the passage above shews, the aipbi was in reality the charm, whatever that may have been, which the Druid of Dermot had placed between the armies. It was in the reign of this monarch that the last Feis, or assemblage of the Irish states, was held in Tara, as thus recorded by Tighearnach, at the year 560 : — "Cena postrema Uempach la Oiapmaic ITlac Cepbuill." i.e. The last Feis of Temur by Diarmait Mac Cerbuill. From the following passage in the Yellow Book of the Mac Firbises, (p. 87 Ij) it would appear that two other meetings were held in the same year, one at Uisneach, in Westmeath, and the other at Tailltean, (Teltown) in East Meath : t)o jnicep mopoail Uipnij la tJiapmaic The convention of Uisneach was celebrated ocup la pepa ©peno i m-6ellcaine : ap by Diarmait and the men of Ireland in May : for poboap lOD qii apo oalaGpeno ipa n-aimpip there were three great assemblies convened in 1 in .1. X)A Uipnij I m-6ellcame, ocup Ireland at this time, namely, the assembly of Oenach Caillcean im Cugnappao, ocup p6ip Uisneach, in May, the fair of Taillteann, in Uempach im Samam, ocup cebe no chiceo August, and the Feis of Temur, in November ; ' This passage is more correctly given in the MS. Annals of Tighearnach thus :^—" ppaocan, ITIac Ceniupam a pe Dopme mo aipbe n-opuuD do Oiapmoio. Cuacan, ITIac Sapain, mic Copmaic, mic Gojom ip e pola in aipbe opuao oap a ceann. ITIajline po cmj raippi qui solus occisus est." And still more distinctly by the Four Masters thus : — " Ppaocban Mlac Cenuppam, Gp e DO pi^ne inD epbe n-opuao DO t)iapmaiD. Cuaran ITIac tDiminain, mic Supam, mic Copmaic, mic Gojain, ap e po la mo epbe Dpuao oap a ceno. Upi mile qia ip e copchaip do mumcip Oiapmaoa. Qoinpep ippeb copcaip Do'n leic naill, — ITIaglam a ainni. Qp ay ^ po chinj cap an eipbe n-Dpuab." i. e. Fraochan, the son of Tenussan, was the person who made the Erbhe Druadh for Diarmait. Tuathan^ son of Dimman, son of Saraft, son of Cormac, son of Eogan, was the person who put the Erbhe Druadh over his head. Three thousand was the number slain of Diarmait's people. One man only was slain on the other side ; Maglam was his name. For it was he that sprang over the Erbhe Druadh. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 125 caippib o pepaib ©pino pa bioba baip in ci and whoever of the men of Ireland refused to no milleao in cana pm. attend those meetings, or violate this regulation, was considered an enemy unto death. The reign of Dermot is, however, most memorable, as that of the last monarch who held his residence at Tara, as, according to all the ancient autho- rities, it was abandoned after his death in 565, in consequence of the curse of St. Ruadhan, the patron of Lorrah, in the County of Tipperary. This fact is thus stated in an ancient Irish poem on the dates of the desertion of the palaces of the different Irish kings : O peimiop Diapmaoa ouinn, From the reign of Diarmait, the brown [haired] TTlic pheapgupa, mic ClionuiU, Son of Fergus, son of Conall, O bpeicip Ruaoain oa roij From the judgment of Ruadhan on his house, Ni paiB pij a D-Ceampoij. There was no king at Temur. MS. Trin. Col. H. 1. 17, fol. 97, p. 2. The cause assigned by the poets and monkish chroniclers for the abandon- ment and consequent ruin of this most ancient residence of the Irish kings, is, as usual, of a somewhat legendary character. It is thus related in the Book of Clonmacnoise, as translated by Connell Mac Geoghegan in 1627 : " King Dermott, to mak manifest unto his subjects of the kingdom his magnificence, apointed a sergiant named Backlawe, with a speare, to travaile through the kingdom, with power to break such doores of the nobilities as he should find narow in such manner as the speare could not enter into the house thort wayes, or in the breadth of the doores. " The sargiant travaihng to and fro' with his directions, putting in execution the king's pleasure in that behalfe, by breaking of either side of such doores as he could find unfitt for that purpose, untill at last he came to the house of one Hugh Gwarey, in I maine in Connaught, where being desired by those of the house to enter in the absence of the said Hugh, the sargiant said, he could not bring in his speare as he ought. Noe, said they of the house, wee will break the doore of either side, and make it in such manner as you may bring in your speare, as you desire, which they accordingly did. The sargiant haveing the doore broken, entred and feasted with them ; and soon after Hugh Gwarey came to the towen, and seeing his doore broken, he asked who brok it, and being tould that it was Backlawe, the king's sergiant, he entred the house in a rage, and without much a doe killed the sargiant presently, and tooke his flight himselfe to Roadanus Abbot of Lohra, who was his mother's brother, thinking by his sanctitye and meanes to secure himselfe from the king's furie for kiUing the sargiant. " Roadanus sent his said nephew to the King of Wales, who was his well-wisher, and one in whome hee reposed great trust. The King of Ireland heareing of the killing of his sargiant by Hugh Gwarey, caused narrow search to be made for him, and understanding that he was sent to the 126 Mr. Vetvue on the Histori/ and Antiquities of Tara Hill. King of Wales, wrote to him that he should send him back, or refuseing see to doe, that he with all his forces would goe over to him, and destroy his kingdome, and remaine there untill he had found Hugh Gwary, which the King of Wales perseaveing, sent him back to Roadanus the abbot againe — When King Dermott understood how he was sent over, he prepared to come to Lohra with a few of his guard, and in his coach came to Lothra aforesaid, and sent one of his men to know where Hugh Gawry was. The man looked about him, and could see none but Roadanus, that sate in his accustomed chaire or seat, where he did use to say his prayers, under whose feet, or neere adjoyning, he caused a hole to be made in the floore, for Hugh Gwary to rest in, whereof nobody had knowledg but Roadanus himselfe, and one more that carried him his meat at the times of refections. The king, seeing the man brought him noe tydings, he entred himselfe, and was confi- dent, Roadanus being inquired of the place where Hugh Gawrey was, would not lye, but tell truth as was his custom. The king accordingly entred, and saluted him with harch salutations of bitter and pinching words, such as were unfitt to be spoken to such a holy and vertuous man, saying that it did not belong to one of his coat to shelter or keep in his house, one that committed such a fact, as to kill his sargiant that was imployed in the execution of his instructions, and prayed that there would be noe abbott or monk to succeed him in his place in Lothra. By God's grace, said Road- anus, there shall be abbots and raonkes for ever, and there shall be noe kings dwelling in Tarach from hence forward. When they had thus bitterly spoken, the king asked where Hugh Gawry was ; I know not where he is said Roadanus, if he be not where you stand, for soe he was indeed right under the king's feet. The king thinking he spoke in jest, departed, and being out of the house, thought with himselfe, that the holy man spoke truth, and that Hugh Gwarey was under the place where he stood, and sent one of his men in againe with a pick-ax to digg the place, and to bring him out by force. As soon as the man came to the place, he struck the earth with the pick- ax, his hands lost all their strength on the sudaine in such manner as the party could not hft the pick-ax from the ground, then he cryed mercy, and besaught Roadanus for forgiveness and remission, with his benediction, which Rodanus accordingly gave him, and kept the man thenceforth with him in the habitt of a monke. The king seeing him not returning entred himselfe, and caused the hole to be digged, where he found Hugh Gwairie, whom he carried prisoner to Tarach. " Roadanus seeing himselfe violently abused, and bereft of his kinsman, sent for others of the church, and followed the king to Tarrach, and there craved Hugh Gawry of the king, which he abselutely refused. After supper the king with the nobles of his court, and prelates of the church, went to bed, and about midnight the king being heavely asleep, dreamed that he saw a great tree that rooted deeply into the earth, whose lofty top and braunches were soe high and broad, that they came neare the cloudes of heaven, and that he saw 150 men about the tree, with 150 broad- mouthed sharp axes cutting the tree, and when it was cut, when it fell to the earth, the great noyse it made at the time of the falling thereof, awaked the king out of his sleep ; which dream was con- strued, interpreted, and expounded thus : — that this great tree, strongly rooted in the earth, and braunched abroad, that it retched to the very firmament, was the king whose power was over all Ireland ; and that the 150 men, with sharp axes cutting the tree, were these prelates saying the 150 Psalmes of David, that would cut him from the very rootes to his destruction, and fall for ever. When the morning came the king, nobles, and prelates arose, and after the clergymen had don Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara HilL 127 with their prayers, they besaught the king againe to enlarge unto them Hugh Gwairye, which he did as absolutely refuse as hee did before ; and then Roadanus and a bushop that was with him tooke their bells that they had, which they rung hardly, and cursed the king and place, and prayed ■ God that noe king or queen ever after would or could dwell in Tarach, and that it should be wast for ever, without court or pallace, as it fell out accordingly. KingDermot himself nor his sucessors kings of Ireland could never dwell in Tarach, since the time of that curse, but every one of the kings chose himselfe such a place as in his one discression he thought fittest, and most conve- nient for him to dwell, &c., as Moyleseacluin more, Donasgiah ; Bryan Bowrowey, Kyncory, &c. Eoadanus being thus refused, he tendered a ransom of 30 horses, which the king was content to accept, and soe granted him Hugh Gwairye." — MS. in Trin. Col. Dub. F. 3. 19, p. 45, et seq. The same account, but at greater length, is given in an Irish manuscript in Trinity College, class H. 1. 15. It is also given in the chapter, " Qualiter maledixit Themoriam,''' in the Life of St. Ruadhan, in the Codex Kilkenni- ensis, an ancient vellum MS. of Lives of Saints, in Marsh's Library, Class V. 3. Tab. 1. No. 4. r, and in the life published by the BoUandists, at the 25th of April, from the Codex Salmaticensis. The detail of circumstances connected with this event, as above given, are, it must be confessed, strongly marked with those marvellous incidents which characterize the writings of the middle ages ; yet, there is no reason to reject the groundwork of facts on which the superstructure of fable has been raised, and which appears simply to have been, that the monarch Dermot had for some offence captured the relative of the Saint of Lorrah, and that the latter in the manner usual with the saints of that age, took revenge by cursing him and his palace, a curse which in a superstitious age had the effect of deterring the suc- ceeding monarchs from residing there. It cannot indeed admit of doubt that Tara was abandoned at that period : the malediction of Ruadhan, with its conse- quences. Is referred to by the ancient Scholiast on Fiech of Sletty's Irish Poem in praise of St. Patrick, preserved in the Liber Hymnorum ; and an ancient Icelandic work called the Konungs-shuggsio, or Royal Mirror, states that it had been abandoned and utterly destroyed, in revenge of an unjust judgment pro- nounced by a king who had once ruled over it. — See Johnstone's Antiq. Celto- Scand. p. 287, st seq. This desertion of Tara, in consequence of the malediction of an ecclesiastic, affords a striking, but, as already shewn, not a solitary example of the power of the clergy in a superstitious age ; for, though the Irish monarchs continued to 128 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. take their title from this distinguished place from the death of Dermot till the extinction of the monarchy, it seems quite certain that it was never after used as a royal residence. This remark was necessary, as some popular modern his- torians, finding the title of King of Temur applied in the ancient authorities to the later Irish monarchs, have fallen into the error of supposing that their residence was still at Tara. It appears, however, that these monarchs had never after any fixed or common residence, but that, as the Book of Clonmacnoise states, in the extract just given, and also according to the Leabhar Buidhe Lecan, — col. 321, — each of them chose for himself a residence most convenient or agreeable, which residence was usually, if not always, within their own hereditary principalities. Thus the kings of the family of the northern Hy-Niall appear to have resided chiefly at their ancient fortress of Aileach, near Derry, and those of the southern Hy-Niall, first, at the Rath, near Castlepollard, now csXledt. Dun-Torgeis, having afterwards become the residence of the Danish king, Turgesius, and subsequently at Dun-na- Sciath, on the margin of Loch Ainninn, now Lough-Ennell, near Mullingar. From the preceding historical notices, it will not appear surprising that a spot of such ancient importance as Tara should have been a favourite theme not only with the ancient bards, but also with most of the modem antiquaries and historians of Ireland ; or that the latter should indulge in the common, though foolish national vanity of exaggerating its claims to architectural splendour, by vague references to ancient authorities which they never allowed to see the light. To expose the errors in the accounts given of Tara by O' Conor, Vallancey, and others, would be but an idle combat with shadows. However gratifying they may have been in their day to the Milesian national vanity, they have made but little impression on the cooler minds of the uninterested, or unprejudiced, and are now wholly disregarded. The existing remains, though but time-worn ves- tiges, are the best evidences of the original character and extent of the works which a people not far advanced in civilization raised in distant ages ; and what- ever claims to truth the ancient accounts of the place may have, they must now rest on their agreement with these vestiges. It will be seen from the accompanying plan of the earthen works still exist- Irarui:. ULA .\'0l, XVIU Anti/imaa; pJ29 OF TARA 1837 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 129 ing on the hill of Tara, that, to use the words of Stanihurst, " doubtless the place seemeth to bear the shew of an ancient and famous monument;" and it will also appear, from an examination of the ancient Irish accounts of these remains, that their origin is not assigned to a period which may properly be regarded as beyond the limits of true Irish history. It should not, indeed, be expected that such accounts would be wholly free from fable, particularly in whatever relates to the earlier national traditions ; but it should be anticipated that the names and particular descriptions of the state of the monuments at the time would neces- sarily have the character of truth, as there could be no inducement for fable in such matters ; and that they really have this veracious character will appear quite manifest from their agreement with the present vestiges of the monuments to which they refer. The principal ancient Irish tracts written in Illustration of the origin and names of Tara, and describing the localities, &c. of the hill and its monumental remains, are preserved in the ancient topographical work called the Dinnseanchus, a compilation of the twelfth century. Most of the documents found in this work are, however, evidently of an earlier age, though in many Instances not of the antiquity ascribed to them ; and though some of them are of little value to the present investigation, it has been thought advisable to present them to the reader without mutilation or selection ; for, however worthless in other respects, they are of Importance as monuments of the ancient Irish language, and as shewing the character and real value of the bardic history of the country. The first document in this collection is a short treatise in prose, explaining the meaning and origin of the various names by which the hill of Tara was anciently called. It is ascribed to Amergin, a poet of the sixth century, and is followed by a poem to the same effect, ascribed to Flntan, a poet supposed to be of the same age, but of whom many fabulous accounts are given by the Irish Bards. They are as follows : tDinopeanchup ©penn anopeo, do pijne The Dinnseanchus of Ireland here, made Qmepjem, mac Qmaljaoa, mic TTIailepu- by Amergin, the son of Amalgaidh, son of Mael- am, DO nu Deipib Cempach, ba pili pen t)i- rain, of the Desii of Temur, who was the poet apmaoa, ITlicCeapbaiU. Ipeoo pao ailjiup of Diarmaid, the son of Cearbhall. It is he that pop pinocan, mac 6ocna i Cempaij, oia made the request of Fintan, the son of Bochna, mbai mopoail peop n-epenn i Cempai j, at Temur, when there was an assembly of the men im P15 n-Bpenn, im tDicpmaio, ITlac Cap- of Ireland at Teinur, with the King of Ireland, VOL. XVIII. r 130 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. baill ocup itn piano peblai, mac Scann- lain, comapba parpaic, ocup im fxii peap n-6penn, im Ceanopaelao, mac QiUolla, mic Gojam, mic Neill, ajup im phinn- ran, mac 6ochna, apopeanoip Gpenn ; ocup CO po cpoipc Qmipjeiii cpi laice ocup cpi haiDce pop pinran, i piaonaipi peap n- Gpenn, pceo mac ocup mjein, i Cempaij ; coneicciup oo peancapa p'pci omo n-6penn, pooeij po laD coc oume ocup cac oine oi o aimpip Ceappa mjine 6eaca, ip i ceona po jab Gpe, 50 plair n-tDiapmaoa TTlic Ceap- baiU; CO n-epepc. Cemup, om, ol Qmaipgen, mup Uea, in- jmi ^Luigoeach, mic Icha, ota luio co ^eoi n-Olljorach. Ip na plairpen ba bmoioip la cac noume in 6pe jur apaile beoip ceoa mo cpor, ap meo in cpioa ocup na caipoine bae la each oiapaili m Gpinn ; conio aipe finipppuicui \n mup pin jMam jGc mup pobir. Ice cecna paep cuip h-Speno cuip Ceo, mjiniu tuijoech, ppi ^^oe. NoCemaip .i.Cephimup .1. TTlup Cephi, injini 6achrip, pi hippainia. Ip 1 bai ic Canchon, mac Caicmeno, pi 6peacan ; cop bo mapb occo hi ; ocup do paoao Gcipun loal no m-6peacan ppi a caipej ca mbao beo no mapb hi. Rujao hi lapum lap na bap CO heappain, co noeapnao mup impi ano .1. Cephi mup. Cfc connaipc Cea om bean Gpemoin innpm .1. mup Cephip; luio pen Don co h Gpinn le a peap, ocupoo bepeao Di each culach cojao in h-Gipinn, conio le laparii con apnecc mup amuil mup Cephip conao inoi po aonacc; wjitfeCemuip dicitur. Cemaip ocup t)puim Cam ocup Ciar opu im ocup Caraip Cpopino'ocup t)puim n-t)ep- cen, CU15 anmanoa Cempach in pm. Vel ita, Uemaip. A verbo Graeco Te- Diarmaid, the son of Cearbhall, and with Flann Febla, the son of Scannlan, Coarb of Patrick, and with the learned men of Ireland, with Kinfaela, the son of Ailill, the son of Eogan, the son of Niall, and with Fintan, the son of Bochna, chief senior of Ireland ; and Amergin fasted three days and three nights on Fintan, in the presence of the Irish, both sons and daughters, at Temur ; so that he (Fintan) manifested unto him the true histories of the Dinns of Erin, and the proceedings of every person and every tribe of it from the time of Ceasair, the daughter of Bith, who was the first that took Ireland, until the reign of Diarmaid, the son of Cerbhall ; so that he said : Teamuir, then, said Amergin, is mur Tea, i. e. the wall of Tea, the daughter of Lughaidh, son of Ith, who went to Geide OUgothach. In his reign, the voice of each other was sweeter to the men of Ireland than the strings of the harp, from the greatness of the peace and friendship that each had for the other in Erin ; so that this mw was more melodious than any mui' in existence. The first royal crime of Ireland was the crime of Tea, the daughter of Lughaidh, with Gede. Aliter Teamuir, i. e. Teph-mur, i. e. the wall of Teph, the daughter of Bachtir, king of Spain. She was married to Canthon, the son of Caith- mend, King of Britain, till she died with him ; and Etirun, the Idol of the Britons, had been given as a guarantee for her restoration either dead or alive. After her death she was brought to Spain, and a mur was there erected around her csAeATephimur. Tea, the wife of Heremon, saw this mur ; she afterwards came to Ireland with her husband, and he gave her every hill she chose in Ireland, so that she erected a mur similar to the mur of Tephi, where she herself was afterwards interred ; whence it is called Teamair. Temair and DruirnCain and Liathdruim, and Cathair Cro- finn a.nd Di'uim n-Descen are five names of Temur. Or thus, Temair. Authors affirm that the Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 131 moria, [Ssw/igtu ?] quod Latine interpretatur conspicio, hujiis oppidi quod Temoriam voca- wjM* nomen esse derivatum auctores affirmant ; omnisque locus conspicuus et eminens, sive m campo, sive in domu, sive in quocunque loco sit, hoc vocahulo, quod dicitur Cemuip, nomi- naripoiest. Sicinproverbio Scotico reperitur, ut dicitur, Cemaip na cuaici, et Cetnaip in eaije, quam sententiam, in suo silencio,* Cor- maccus de hoc nomine disputando,posuit. Hoc igitur opidum, multorum sive conmune, vendi- cat, nunc cunctis enim Hihemensibus oppidis excellens, congruenter eorum conmune vocabu- lum possidet ; quippe cum huj'us rector, usque hodie, tocius insole Scotorum monarchiam sortitur. Ceamaip 6pea5 cio ni oia ou InoipiD a Ollamna ! Coin DO oejail pip in mbpuij ? Cum DO bo Cemaip Cemaip ? In ac papcalan na car, Ho ac ceaD jabail Ceappach, No'n ac Nemeo cu nem nup, Ho ic Cijal gapb jligapjlun ? In DC Peapaib 60I5 na mbaj Ho'n ac line 6uppacan ? SloinoiD ca gabail oib pin O Dca Cemaip ap Cemaip. Q Chuam, a Pinochaio ^e\1, (J. 6poin, a Chu aloo em, name of this town, which we call Temoria, is derived from the Greek word Temoria, (fleoifsa ?) which in Latin is interpreted conspicio ; and every place which is conspicuous and eminent, either in a plain or a house, or in whatever place it be, may be called by this name, Temair. Thus it is found in this Scotic saying, Teamair na tuaithi and Teamhair in taighe , which sentence Cormac, in treating of this name, has inserted in his glossary .f This, therefore, being a town of many, or a com- mon town, and now excelling all [other] Irish towns, aptly possesses their common name ; for its ruler, even to this day, holds the sovereignty of the entire island of the Scots. Teamhair of Bregia whence it is [named] Tell, O Ollaves ! When did it separate from the Bruigh ? When was Teamhair [called] Teamhair? Is it with Partholan of battles. Or at the first invasion of Ceasair, Or with Nemed of noble valour, Or with Ciogal, the rough and knocker-knee'd ? Is it with the Firbolgs of battles, Or of the race of Luprachan ? Tell, in what invasion of these Was Teamhair called Teamhair. O Tuan, O generous Finnchadh, O Bran, O active Cu-alladh, • This seems to be a mistranscription for some word denoting glossary [lexico ?] The Irish word is Sanasan. t The writer alludes to the Glossary of Cormac Mac Cullenan, in which it is conjectured that Temhuir is derived from the Greek verb Btoiptii), conspicio, and the Scotic phrase Cemaip na ruaice, ocup Ceriiaip an coi je, quoted as an illustration of it, thus : — Cemuip .1. Cerhup .1. TTlup Cea, injine Cuijoech TTlic Iche : Ho, Cethuip .1. 5pec po cpuailneo ann .1. Cemopo [eewptw] conspicio: Ceriiuip Din .1. cac loc ap a m-bi aupgnarii do ecpiB icip riiaj ocup cech ; unde dicitur Cemaip na Cuaire .1. rulac; ocup Ceriiaip an coi je .1. gpianan, i. e. Temhuir, i. e. Te-mhur, i. e. the mur of Tea, the daughter of Lughaidh, son of Ith. Or, it is a corruption of the Greek 6(wpf w, conspicio. Temhuir then is every place where there is a meeting of the learned both in the plain and in the house. Unde dicitur Temhuir of the country, i. e. a hill, and Temhuir of the house, i. e. a Grianan. The Book of Glendalough also quotes this derivation as Cormac Mac CuUenan's. r2 132 Mr. Petbie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Q t)ubain, — nap coicep cam, CiD, on, ciD Dia ca Cematp ? t)o bi can, ba call coill cam, Q n-aimpip mic am Ollcam, No 50 po piece m coill cap L\ai mac Caijne leacanglap. O pm amac ba t)puim 6eir, — Q h-apbup ba hapbup meich, — No 30 copacc Cam jan cpao, niac pen piaca Ceinopmoam. O pin amac ba t)puim Cam, In culac cup cejoip maip. No 50 copacc Cpopino cam, Injean QUoio oUblaoaij. Cacaip Cpopmo, nip bo cam, Q hamm ac Cuaca t)e tDanann, Igop copacc Cea nap cle, 6ean 6pemom 50 n-apojne. Ro claicea clao im a ceac Q5 Cea, mjm Cuijoeach, Xi.0 h-aonacc 'n-a mup amui 5, Conao uaici ca Cemuip. popoD na pig ba hamm di ; RijpaiD mac IDileo moci ; Cuij anmano urppi ap pm, O popopuim gu Cemaip. 1p mipi pincan pili, Nip pam ejni en I mm, Ip ann pom cojbao ap pm, Qp an poo bpuj op Cemaip, 0 ! Dubhan, — ye venerable five. Whence so named is Teamhair ?* There vfas a time, when it was a fine hazel wood, In the time of the famed son of Olcan, Until felled that knotty wood Liafh, the son of Laigin Leathan-glas. From thence it was [called^ Druim Leiih, — Its corn was rich corn, — Until the coming of Cain without misery, ' The son of Fiacha Ceimifinnan. From that time forth it was [called] Druim Cain, This hill to which the great were wont to go, Until the coming of Crofin the fair. Daughter of the far-famed Alloid. Cathair Crofinn, not inapplicable Was its name among the Tuatha-De-Dananns, Until the coming of Tea, the just, Wife of Heremon of the noble aspect. A wall was raised around her house For Tea, the daughter of Lughaidh, [And] she was interred in her wall outside, So that from her is Tea-mur. Foradh [seat] of the kings was its appellation; Kings of the sons of Milidh (ruled) in it ; Five names it had before then, From Fordruim to Teamhair. 1 am Fintan the poet, I was not the salmon of one flood, Where I was after that raised W'as on the sod-fort over Teamhair'. • Fintan is here represented as addressing the five oldest men in Ireland, by whom the traditions of the country are said to have been preserved. These vvere Tuan Mac Cairill of Ulster, Finnchadli of Leinster, Bran of Burren, in North Munster, Cu-alladh of Cruachain Conallaidh, probably in South Munster, and Dubhan of Connaught Fintan, himself, on whom this poem is fathered, was believed, by the old Irish Shanachies, to have lived from the time of tiie first colony which came into Ireland, until the reign of Dermot Mac Ceirbheoil; having during this period undergone various transmigrations. For an account ot Fintan , see a curious story \n Leakhar na h-Uidhre; and for the traditional account of the five seniors here mentioned, see the Leabhar Buidhe of the Mac Firbises, p. 244. O'Flaherty remarks on this legend, that it might be inferred from it that the Irish Druids held the doctrine of the Metempsychosis : " Ex hac autem fabul^ coUigere est Fythagoricae, ac Platonicse scholse de animarum migratione, sen in quaevis corpora reditu, deliramenta apud Ethnicos nostros Druidas viguisse." — Ogygia, p. 4. But a mote important inference, which may be drawn from it, is, that the fictions relative to the early colonization of Ireland were first concocted in the reign of Dermot. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 133 Cuan O'tochain cecin.it yo pip.* t)o beip maipi do na mnaib Cemaip jan caipi ap cocBail. puaip injen Cuijoech na laim Culmaj buQ liac do locbaio. ©Uom po 5UID ben ^eoe pop a ceili, po cuala, tJinjna oarjlan Dpeim name, 6a6 arlam ame im huaja.f Qpup, bao Dun, bao oainjean, hao coDup itiup cen manoup, popp mbiao lecc Cea lap cuineiti, Comao cuilleo ota hallao. ha\ ic 6petnon unrial 6en 1 njlemeaoon jeinel, Ruj uoD cec poja pomep, Qd noimeaD cec ni ao bepeo. ftpejacea cpeab cuiUmeach, T?o cluincep uaip ba haipoqieaB, pepc popr F"''' '" Tiop IDepjec** In pom pelccec nap h-aip^eao. Injen Poppaino colin aipcc, Cephi polaino luaioeo leipj, Cuan O'Lochain composed the following. Gives beauty to the women Temur without weakness after being erected. The daughter of Lughaidh received in her hand A hill-plain, which was sorrowful to a harlot. The portion,'\ which the wife of Gede requested Of her husband, I have heard, [Was] A fair coloured dingna of delightful ascent, Which she was active and skilful in selecting. A habitation, which was a dun and a fastness. Which was the glory of murs without demolition,^ On which was the monument of Tea after her death\ So that it was an addition to her dowry.^ The humble Heremon had A woman in beautiful confinement. Who received from him every thing she wished for. He gave her whatever he promised. Bregatea, [was] a meritorious abode. It is heard that it was once a high abode, [Where lies] The grave under which is the great Mergech, The burial place, which was not violated. The daughter of Pharaoh of many champions, Tephi, the most beautiful that traversed the plain, • In the copies of the Dinnseanchus, preserved in the Manuscript Library of Trinity College, Dublin, H. 2. 15. p. 229, and H. 3. 3, p. 2, this poem is ascribed to St. Cairneach ; and it would appear from the language that it is some centuries older than the time of Cuan O'Lochain, to whom it is ascribed in the Book of Ballymote. f In a gloss on this poem, preserved in a MS. in the Library of Trinity College, H. 2. 17, p. 871, this word ellam, which is there written eallaih, is thus explained, eallaih .1. coibci : amail a oeip : ©allam po jaio ben ^beoe pop a ceile, po cuala, tJingna oacjlan opeimi noaine, 5aD arlatii aine im huaja. t The three copies differ in the last word of this line. In the Book of Ballymote, and in the gloss already referred to, it is written lluaxa, as in the text, but in the copy preserved in H. 3. 3, the line runs thus : pa h-aclain aine ro-buDDa, and in the one preserved in the Book of Glendalough, 6a arlam aine im uara. § In the gloss on this poem above referred to, the word manoup which is there written mcnnap, is explained pjQileaD, loosening, demolition. II In the same gloss this phrase lap CUinnem is interpreted lOp mbap, after death. IT t)ia hallarh .i. Dia coiBci. — Gloss. •• Pepc pop puil in mop ITIepsech H. 3. 3. 134 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. Rocum carpal^, cpooa in cuipo, t)ia luip5 por copna if oia oelj,! t)o pao ainm Dia cacpaij cairh — In ben co naib pacmaip pig — ITIup Cephi Fpip roip^e oail, Qf r|ia oipjeao cen ngpain cec njnim.J Ni cleiri in pun pia paoa, TTIup Dap Ceplii, po cuala, poeyain puno cen oual oijnajg Cumpac moppi^na puama. Poo lerec cije Cephi, ^an rpeici miDic puici, Sepcao cpcnjeo can claice, Con pejpat) pci'O' T opuioi. Qc cuala in 6ppain uiUijH Injin lepcBain, laecbuilli^ Cino 6accip, mac Guippij, t)op puj Cancon caem cuinoij. Cephi a ainm op gac njepao, TTIaipg popp mbepao a mupao ! Sepcao rpaijjeo cen colao, r,eo DO ponaD oia punao. Nip CU5 pi5 Speojain cen bpon, Clap bo meabaij la Cancon, Co m-beic a haipec Dia hon, O pi na Tn-6peacan mblao mop. [Here] Formed a cahir, strong the circle,* Which she described with her wand and bodkin. She gave a name to her fair cahir — The woman with the prosperous royal smile — Mur-Tephi, where the assembly met, And where every action was achieved without treachery. It is not a mystery to be said, A mur [was raised] over Tephi, I have heard, Strength this without contempt, Which great proud queens have formed. The length, breadth, of the house of Tephi, The learned have measured it without ignorance, Sixty feet without weakness, As prophets and druids have seen. Spain the angular has heard Of the mild, fair, comely daughter Of Cino Bactir, son of Buirrech, Whom Canthon, the beautiful hero, married. Tephi her name, [distinguished] above every virgin, Wo to him who had to entomb her ! [A tomb of] sixty feet without addition, By them was made to enshrine her. The King of Braganza without sorrow did not cease, Though it was defeat to Canthon, — Until she should be restored from her sojourn, By the King of the Britons of great fame. • CuipD .1. ceipD no obaip no cacip, ut est : Rochum cachpaij cpooain chuipo, oia luipg pop copna, ip Dia D1I5. Ctgup ariiail oroeip buic bpon cepo Cuinn .1. cuipo Cuinn .1. carip cuino. — Gloss. The word cuipo certainly signifies circle, circuit, or ambit. See Ordnance Memoir of the Parish of Temple- more, pp. 212 and 213, where the origin of the word cacaip and its cognates is inquired into. f t)ie luipc pop copaino ip Die oelj H. 3. 3. t>ie luipc pup comaip, &c.— H. 2. 15, p. 229. % Qp noipcceo jac 5pain jac jniom.— H. 3. 3, and H. 2. 15. § pui pam punna cen oijna.— Lift. Glendalough. Paepin punn cen oual Dinjna — H. 3. 3, and H. 2. 15. II The epithet Ulllech, angular, and rpe-uillech, triangular, is applied to Spain in old Irish poems, from which it would appear that the writers of them had a chart of that kingdom. Thus in the Book of Lismore, p. 151 : '.' Cap Domjnap Nepcuin anunn, — 5° cpich Ppepen ic peoum, Ocup mo oepbaiD cap muip, — Seoch in Gppain cpe-uiUij." Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 135 65 cjiuaj Cephi cainij cuaio, Nip gnim cleire pe oen uaip Cancon po leij luinj cen luatj. pop cuino in c-paili c-pepb-puaio. Coimoiu Cancoin, ni clici, Gcepun, ba hepcpeoe, If pluaj na njlap oepc jleici, Uao ppi raipec qien Cephi. T?o pcapc bap 6peran on bpuch, dp ba ecal heccepun, Comap blaiD ppia mepp Don mup, Cep a capblaij Cephi pun. Ip pon pamla pin, punoa, 55""> 5U calma a ceocuma Cempa jan caiobliup cpuma, Qp aibniup, ap eopuma. Ceamaip cac apo, cac ipjna, popr nibiD popca, po oingna, The piteous death of Tephi, who went to the north, Was not a concealed fact for one hour. Canthon put his ship without cheerfulness On the surface of the bitter-reddish brine. The God* of Canthon, it is not concealed, £!therun, in whom faith was placed. And the host of the bright green eyes, Had been pledged for the restoration of proud Tephi. The chief of Britain shouted from the shore, For Etherun was an idol — That it would be fame and respect to the mur, South in the famous shrine of Tephi, f It was in this manner, in this place, They nobly made the first form Of TemurJ (which is) without an 6qual For amenity, for lightness. Temur [means] every height, every eminence. On which is a dwelling, a good fortress,§ • Coimoni, God ; Divinity, numen. In tlie copy of tliis poem, preserved in the Book of Glendalough, the word eplam, a patron saint, or tutelary god, is substituted liere for COimoiu ; and in the prose account of this Tephi, Gchepun is called the Idol of the Britons — loal na m-5peacan. It can be no other than the Taran of the British antiquaries and historians, by which they understand the chief God or Jupiter of the Pagan Britons. + The meaning of this quatrain is very obscure, and some error has crept into the text through the ignorance of transcribers. The three copies of it differ in orthography and words, and each is equally obscure. The meaning seems to be, that Canthon took a figure of the British god Etherun or Taran with him to Spain, to be placed on the tomb of Tephi, that it might add to its fame and venerable character. X The meaning is, that the tomb which was erected in Spain for Tephi was the model after which Heremon built the monument or mur of Tea on the hill of Temur, from which it took its name. § The words Dinn, Dinjean, and Dinjna, which seem cognate with Tin^in the Scandinavian dialects, are of constant occurrence in ancient Irish MSS., and employed to signify a fort, fortress, or palace. The Hag's Castle in Lough Mask is, in the Annals of the Four Masters, called the Dinjean DOinjean of Connaught. As the words Dinn and Dinjjna are of such constant occurrence in these documents, and not explained in any dictionary, a few examples of their use are here given from the Book of Lismore, one of the best Irish MSS. now extant. Thus, describing a city in the east, the word Dino is used in the sense of tower : "Cpi Dopuip umaiDi pop cech cerpaiiiain Di, ocup Omo DirojluiDi pop cec n-Dopup," &c. And again: "Ocupnile nech Don carpaij t)inn na caiplen d6 puil pop a peo, occ coimoep oa jach aen lao pum." — p. 123. Again : " t)o nicep a puach do pinoGD in gac tDino a piji na Caprpaijeach." — p. ill. The word omgna is used throughout the same MS. to signify a fortress or habitation : Ctpcaba uaim-pi DOib, ap Qenjup 05, TTlac in tDajoa, .1. Dunao ocup tDinjna, ocup baile pijoa pomopo cu ponnacuib pic-apoa, ocup 50 n-jpiananaib jledpoa, jlainioe — p. 190. In the same MS. Tara is called the chief Dlngna of Ireland. 136 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Ceamaip cec benn nac bipoa, Qcr mao 6main pop ip^na. 5a capja cpiach ocup cop,t Rob aoba mac nich co neim, Ceamaip cen cappi, cen rpaij, Q maipi DO mnaib do Beip.f Temur every Ben not pointed,* [Exceeding all] except Emania in distinction. It was the meeting-place of lords and chieftains, It was thehabitationofwarriors of venomous contest, Temur without weakness, without misery, Their beauty to the women gives. t)o Dinjnaib na Cempach in po pip. Nemnach .1. cippapuil ic on c-pio, 1 n- aipciup cuaipcepc na Cempach. 5^*^'r' °°" ceio a Nemnaij .1. Hic a h-ainm, ip puippi a ra in ceona muileno do ponoo 1 n-Gpe la [rede do] CiapnaiD cumail Copmaic. tacpac cije ITlaipipen pil op in cpio ppi Hemnaij a cuaio, ocup ceopa cloca beja [imbe].' Ip athlaiD po puioijeo in ceac pin, tap^ apo ocup cuapao aipipel. ITIaipipeo, Don, bancpebach bae im copae ppi Cop- Of the remarkable remains of Temur. Neamhnach, a well which is at the Sidh, to the north-east of Temur. From this well flows a stream called Nith, on which is the first mill erected in Ireland by [recte for] Ciarnaid, the Cumhal (bondmaid) of Cormac Mac Art. The ruins of the House of Mairiseo lie from the Shee (hill ?) to the north of Neamhnach. There are three small stones around it [or in it]. In its structure, this house had a high middle and low tuarad. Mairiseo was a widow who was co- • This line is corruptly given in the Book of Ballymote thus : Cemaip cac benoach bipoa, which would mean " Temur means every pealced and jtointed hill ;" but the true reading given above in the text is found in the Book of Glendalough, which is an older and more correct MS., and in the Gloss on this poem in H. 2. 17. The Book of Glendalough gives another quatrain here between the lines Ctcc mao ©main pop ip5na and 6a capja rpiarh ocupcop ; but it is probably an interpolation, as it is not to be found in any other copy. It repeats the Scotic proverb, Ceriiaip cuachl ocup CIJI, from which Cormac Mac Cullenan inferred that the word might be derived from the Greek. It runs thus : " Ceamaip Cuaichi ocup ciji, — Cen luachi, cen laecmipi, TTIacaip anai cec pini, — Conop bpacliaij bear bini." f The word cop literally signifies a tower, but it is here, and in many other compositions, used in a figurative sense to mean lord or chief. Uuipi^in, a word formed from it, is also used to signify a pillar or post which supports a house ; and also a king. — See Cormac^s Glossary and the Forus Focal. X CI maippi pop mnaiB ni cheil. — Book of Glendalough. ' In the copy of the Diinnseanchus, preserved in the Library of Trinity College, H. 2. 18, this passage is given as follows : 1 glaipi bee cheic a Cempaij paip, ip puippi a ca in muilleno cecaoepnao do Chiapnaic cumail Chopmaic, a small stream which flows from Temur eastwards j on it is the first mill erected for Ciamat, the bondmaid of Cormac. ' This word is omitted in the Book of Ballymote. But it is here supplied from the Book of Glendalough. In H. 3. 3, ann, i. e. in it, is here used for imbe, around it. But it is now impossible to decide which is the better reading, as the monmnent is totally destroyed. ' lap apo in H. 3. 3. Mr. Petrie on the History/ and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 137 mac* Cac cec puioijup in cucc pin,* ni ba ouaibpeac, ocup ni bia cen ana ano. Tiar taejaipi Hlic Weill ppipooain a cuaiD. Cechpi ppimooippi cacha apoa ince. Ocup po puiDijeo [copp]'' Caejaipi po a pciar jaipciuD' ppip in cloo n.imeccpac n-aipchep oepcepcach na pij paca ^[.oejaipi I Cempai j ; ocup a ajaio po oep ic cacujao Fpi Coijniu .1. ppi clamo 6peapail 6pic.' Qra I caeB Rara Caejaipi a n-aipoep 6ecc ITIara ITIopjlonDaij .i. ariiup bpacbeap- cach' po bai i pail Copmaic. Ro baoap la ano cearpap oclaec i g-cluici i cueb T?aca Caejaipe a n-aipoep. Poepuipim rriaca a cecpap oap cuim^ib allep i ra- lum.'" Mac Rij 1 caeb Raca Caejaipi a cuaio. Qcac qii oecpa ippuioiu" .1. Cacpac Uije temporary with Cormac. Every house situated in that manner, was not sorrowful, nor without plenty. The Hath of Laoghaire, the son ofNiall, lies to the north of this. There are four principal doors on it, facing the cardinal points. The body of Laoghaire was interred with his shield of valor in the external rampart, in the south-east of the royal Rath of Laoghaire at Temur, with his face to the south, [as if] fighting with the Lagenians, i. e. with the descendants of Breasal Breac. By the side of Rath Laoghaire, to the south- east, lies the Monument of Mata Morglonnach, a treacherous soldier, who lived with Cormac. One day, there were four youths playing at a [certain] game by the side of Rath Laoghaire, to the south east, Mata buried the four down to their hips in the ground. Rath Righ is by the side of Rath Laoghaire to the north. There are three decora here, viz. ; * 1 compe pi Copmac, i. e. cotemporary with King Cormac.-— H. 2. 18. * QriilaiD pin. In H. 2. 18. " Copp. Supplied from H. 2. 18. ' Po a pciac eoj puibni — H. 2. 18. 8 This is also stated by Tirechan in the Book of Armagh, fol. 10, a, 2, " Nam Neel pater raeus non sinivit mihi credere, sed ut sepeliar in cacuminibus Temro quasi viris consistentibus in bello, quia utuntur Gentiles in sepulcris armati prumptis armis facie ad faciem usque ad imvaErdathe apud magos, id est judicii diem Domini. Ego filius Keill, et filius Dunlinge im Maistin in Campo Liphi pro duritate odivi ut est hoc." See also Leahlmr na h- Uidhri, in which it is stated, that Laoghaire was interred in a standing position, with his face turned to the south, as if bidding defiance to the Lagenians, the hereditary enemies of his family. ' Instead of arhup bpacbeapcach, the copy preserved in the Book of Glendalough has amup DO Caijlllb, a soldier of the Lagenians. '" This sentence is given entirely different in the copy in the Book of Glendalough, thus, Oo po lie ITIacca upchup DC chloich ano, co n-oecaio pop cunc a oa lepp, co n-epbailc in r-oclac oe. " The reading in the Book of Glendalough differs considerably from this. It runs thus : Ctraac rpi Decpa injanca 1 puioiu .1. Cachpac ino pij caige Chopmaic i n-aipchiup oepciupc na pacha allech Fpi paich Coe^aipi po oepp ; lachpach ino phoppaio la caeb in pig-raije a n-iap ; mup Cea ecuppu allech po oepr •'• ^ca ben h-©pimoin. Ciachopuim ocup t)puim Cain, ocup mup Cea, ocup Cachip Cpoino, anmano Cempac 1 coppuc. Ra haonacc lapum Cea, ben h-Gpimoin ecip lachpac ino phoppaio ocup ino pig caije ; coniD oe pin pa ammnijeo Cemaip .1, Cea- VOL. XVIII. « 133 Me. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Co^imaic 1 n-aipriup oecpipc na pacha illeic ppi RairCaijQipi po oep; Cacpacin poppaio I caeb Caqiaiji Cije Copmaic a n-aip; Hlup Cea a leir oep, conio o pain po hainmnijeo Cemaip .1. Cea mup .1. in cnoc bee pil ecip in oa mup po oep ip ano a ca. Cappac Copmaic .1. cippa pil po caeb T3aca na TJ15 a naip ; ocup qii hanmano puippi .1. tiaij ocup Cippa bo pinoi, ocup Oepc Dub : ip oe aca, — ni caec a laej 50 a liaij. In oapanai a Cempaij paip, ocup apoili a Cempaij piap." t)ubo na bo" .1. in ^'''^T ^empach ppi t)uma na n-jiall" a map. t)uma na n-jiall, ppi Cacpac m poppaio 1 n-aipcuaiD. pal I caeb t)uma na n-giall a cuaia, .1. in cloc no jeppeo po coppaib cac pij no 5eBeD h-Gpe. pal ainm na cloice pin .1. po ail .1. ail po pi. tecc Con ocup Cecen ipin 6eicip i comapoDup Raca Rij piap. Qcac 01 cloic ano, 6eacc Con in oapanai, Ceacc Cechen apaili, coniD jnarpocal," — t)om gniip Cu the ruins of the House of Cormac in the south- east side of the Rath, facing Rath Laoghaire to the south. The ruins of the Forradh alongside the ruins of the House of Cormac to the east. Mur Tea, i. e. the wall [or enclosure] of Tea is on the south side. From this Teamhuir, i. e. Tea-mur is named. It is in the little hill which lies between the two Murs to the south. Caprac Cormac, i. e. a well which lies under the side of Rath na riogh to the east. It has three names, viz. ; Liaigh and Tipra Ho-finne and Dearc duhh : hence is [the saying] ni caec olaej^o aliaij. — The calf does not visit his phy- sician. The one is to the east of Tara, and the other to the west. Dumha na bo, i. e. Glas Teamhrach, lies to the west of Dumha na n-giall. Dumha na n-giall (the Mound of the Host- ages) lies to the north-east of the ruins of the For- radh. Fal lies by the side of Dumha na n-giall to the north, i. e. the stone that roared under the feet of each king that tookpossessionof [the throne of] Ireland. Fal, the name of this stone, means po ail, the under stone, i. e. the stone under the king. The Monuments of Cu and Cethen lie on the Leiter (slope) in the vicinity of Rath riogh to the west. There are two stones here ; the one, the monument of Cu, the other, that of Cethen. So mup .1. cnoc bee pil ecip na oa mup allech pa oepp ip ano a ca. i.e. There are three wonderful features in this, namely, the ruins of the royal bouse of Cormac in the south-east of the Rath, by the side of i2a(A-iaogAa(>e, (wliich is) to the south ; the ruins of the Forradh, by the side of the royal house, to the west ; the Mur of Tea between them, at the south side. Tea was the wife of Heremon. Liathdruim, and Druim-Cain, and Mur-Tea, ani Cathair Croinn, were the first names of Temur. Tea, the wife of Heremon, wasinterred between the ruin of the Forradh and the royal house ; and hence Temur was named Tea-mur. It is situate in a small hill, between the two Murs, to the south. " This, which was omitted through the negligence of the transcriber of the Book of Ballymote, is supplied from H. 3. 3. The Book of Glendalough has. In Dolanai a Cemaip paip, alaile a Cemuip piap. " Duma na bo in the Book of Glendalough and H. 3. 3, which is more correct. " Omitted in L. Ballyraot. Supplied from the Book of Glendalough. '* Qnnpocal in the Book of Glendalough, and nachpocal in L. Ballymot. The true reading is restored from H. 3. 3. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities ofTara Hill. 139 ocup Cecen, .i. Cu po mapb Ceclien, pan- naipi Copmaic ap lap in rije co pa jaib cac Dipgi pope poojaip na Ueampach piap conappapann, conio po mapb bparaip in pip po mapbpom, ocup ac bepc Copmac na po mapbca Cu, ocup ni caprup aeoapjaipe co po mapbaiD stjnul.^^ Qca copap ip m Compan"' o 6ecc Ceren po cuaiD, ^aej a h-ainm ; piap cac n-oipja bpuinneap. Qca lacpac na Cuccpac Cop- maic pop a bpu ipin leicip op Caej anaip. ■Rac na Senuo i comaip Dutnai na n- jiall. Mar Senaio ppi pal a cuaio. taqiac pupaill Qooinnain ip in par pin, ocup a cpop ap belaib na paca paip, ocup a puiDi, ocup a ouma ppi cpoip anneap.'* f,ecc TTlaine niic TTluinpeamaip ppi Rac na pij anaip. Qra larpac in cije po loipceao pop 6enen jilla paqiaic, ocup pop Cucao rnael, opuiD Caejaipe, eao beaj o Cbpoip Qoomnain paip-oep .1. 1 caeb a para'^ a cuaiD. [Ctcaac ceopa clocha beca 1 coeb Racha na SenoD cuaio,'" .1.] ceopa cloca po laici popp na DpuiDib ; ice a n-aninano .1. TPael ocup 6I0CC ocup 61.uicni ; ITIael paip, ocup 6L0CC po oep, ocup 6luicni po cuaio. that it has become a common saying, " They have acted like Cu and Cethen," i. g. Cu slew Cethen, Cormac's butler, in the middle of the house ; and he passed directly under the height of Temur to the west, where he was overtaken and killed by the brother of him whom he had slain. And though Cormac said that Cu should not be killed, no in- terposer overtook them until he was killed like- wise. There is a well in the Compan (slope) to the north of Leacht Cethen, Its name is Laegh, and [its streamlet] flows directly westwards. The ruins of Cuchtair Chormaic are on its brink in the letter over Laegh to the east. Rath na Seanadh (fort of the synods) lies oppo- site Dumha na n-giall, and to the north of Fal. The site of Pupall Adamnain (pavilion or tent of Adamnan) is in this Rath, and his (Adam- nan's) Cross is opposite the fort to the east, and his Seat and his Mound are to the south of the cross. The Monument of Maine the son of Muin. reamhar lies to the east oiSath na Riogh. The ruins of the house, which was burned over Benen, the boy of Patrick, and Lucad Mael, the druid of Laoghaire, are a short distance to the south-east of Cros Adamnain, that is, at the side of the Rath to the north. There are three small stones at the side of Rath na Seanadh to the north. These three stones were placed over the druids who were named Mael, Blocc, and Bluicni : Mael to the east, Blocc to the south, and Bluicni to the north. >6 Co po mapbaiC anoip in the Book of Glendalough, i. e. so that both were killed. " For compan, the Book of Glendalough and H. 3. 3, have cobpan, a slope. " Better thus in H. 3. 3, Cacpach pupaill Qoomnam ppip in paic a cuaio, ocup a cpop ap belaib an oa pac pciip, ocup a puioi ocup a ouma ppi cpoip a n-oeap. i. e. The site of Adamnan's Tent lies north of the Rath, and his Cross opposite the two Raths to the east, and his Seat and his Mound south of the cross. " For 1 caeb a paca a cuaio, the Book of Glendalough has 1 coeb na conaipe anaip abic. i.e. At the side of the road, a little to the east. '° The words included here in brackets, which were evidently omitted through the negligence of the transcriber of the Book of Ballymote, are supplied from the Book of Glendalough. s2 140 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. CTca tecc in abuicc ppiu anaip. Ip mlaiD aca in cubao paipoep ocup piap oep : qii cpoijri nama a comup [in oa lijC] na- eppcaiD bicc rip; ip amlaiD ica in lije ocup cloch bej po calmain m a [aipchiup ocup alaile na-*] lapcup. Po jabcap rpi cpaigio ino in Dopa peer, a qii co leic m pecc n-aili. Qcac oa ouma ppip in Cubao a ruaio .1. tDall ocuptDopca, .i.tDall ceap ocup t)opca cioji ;" ocup cac po mapB apaili Dib. Ocup ni puil mup acuppu ocup na cloca ocup in Cubao. TTlup na rpi cojup 1 pail tuinje na m-ban. 61a na pian ppi plije anaip,** ap belaib T?ara Senaij. Ctca Conj na m-ban .1. Ceac ITIiDcuapca o'n Duma aipreapac piapcuoio. Ip amLaio po puiDijeo lacpac in cije pm, leic poa" pu ruaiD, ocup a upapo po oep, ocup comcoj- bail mup uimi anaip ocup a map, ip pilce-^ bij an lee ruaipceprac oe ; po cuaio ocup po oep a ca a coip. puar cije poca, con Dib Doppib oej paip, no a cearaip oej," .i. peer piap, ocup pecc paip. Ocup ap bepcao ip ano pin do melci pep Cempach ; oeicbip pin, ap na callao popjla pep n-Gpeno ano"' The Monument of the Dwarf is east of them. The Cuhhat (grave) extends south-east and south- (north- ?) west. Three feet only is the measure- ment of the two stones. There is a small eascaid below. This grave has a small stone under ground to the east and another to the west. It is found to be three feet at one time [of measuring] and three feet and a half at another. There are two mounds north of the Cuhhat called Dall and Dorcha, Dall towards the south, Dorcha towards the west, and these [i. e. the per- sons interred under them] slew each other. And there is no wall between them, and the stones and the Cubhat,{^dviaxrs grave.) Mu7' na d-tri g-cogur is in the vicinity of Long na m-ban. Lia na h-fian (the Stone of the Fians) is to the east of the road, opposite Rath Senaigh. Long na m-ban, i. e. Teach Midhchuarta, is to the north-west of the eastern mound. The ruins of this house are situate thus : the lower part to the north, and the higher part to the south ; and walls are raised about it to the east and to the west. The northern side of it is enclosed and small ; the lie of it is north and south. It is in the form of a long house, with twelve doors upon it, or fourteen, seven to the west, and seven to the east. It is said, that it was here the Feis Teamhrach was held, which seems true ; because as many men «' Supplied from H. 3. 3. " Supplied from the Book of Glendalough. » The reading in the Book of Glendalough is thus : t)all ainm in Dumai lapchopaij, ocup t)opcha Dan ainm m Dumai aipchepaij. i.e. Dall is the name of the western mound, and Dorcha the name of the eastern mound. " Instead of pl'je, road, the copy in H. 3. 3, has ll^e, a grave. " 6eicbpeD poe pocbuaio. — Book of Glendalough, and H. 3. 3. ** Ocup ip paellice biuc. — Book of Glendalough. *' In the Book of Glendalough better thus : Q cerap Dec De DOipplb ino, no a xil, ut alii dicunt. ^ Thus in the Book of Glendalough : tDeichbip pun op no cailleo epmop pep n b-Gpeno ano, ocup p be pin in cec i m-biD amuip. i. e. This is likely, for the greater part of the men of Ireland would fit in it, and his is the bouse in which the soldiers used to be. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 141 DO DOinib, ocup ip e pin in reach mop milib amup. Qca Duma beg ppi larpac in cije i n-aipoep ip in aipcino oepcepcaij, .1. Duma iia m-ban-amup [a amm*"]. Qca Compojr'" Caelcon ocup a pach 1 comopoup m cmo cuaipcepcaij do Cuinjna m-ban. Caelchu ano pm TTlac Coaipn, mic RuaiD, mic Caip, di Bojanacc Caipil, [nech DO bepeo buaic ppimciall pep TTluman amac ; o cue puipic Ruip Cempac"] Ip oia pil Cuac Cip DC Ceampaij. Cpeouma Nepi, injen Gchach SalBuiDi, macaip Concobaip, ip in chino aipcepac cuaipcepcac'* 1 comapoup cino oipcip cuaip- cepcaij Cuinje na m-ban. Rach ConcoBaip Dlic Nepa 1 caeb in Cpeouma a cuaio, ocup a Dopup paip 1 co- mapDupcopupaCmo ocupTneoi Conculoinn. Qca larpac Sceic Conculoinn co n-a Cul 1 comapDup na DleiDi paip cuaio. Sam- laiD a ca pac cuopoma copmail ppip in cal- main, ocup cnocan beag na meoon, Ian na ceala oe huip." Qca Sepcann Cempach 1 comapoup tuinje no m-ban piap cuaiD.i. Sepcann palac bey pil 1 caeb Caipn na macpaioi a n-oep. Qca T?ac 5pa'"e o Sepcann Cempach a map pop popapo na celcha.'* would fit in it as would form the choice part of the men of Ireland. And this was the great house of a thousand soldiers. There is a small mound to the south-east of the ruin of this house in the southern end, called Dumha na m-han-amus. The Gi-ave of Caelchu and his Rath are near the northern head of Long na m-ban. This Caelchu, the son of Loam, son of Ruadh, son of Cas, was one of the Eoganachts of Cashel, and the most distinguished of all the men of Munster for wisdom ; and from him the chiefs of Ros- Teamrach and the tribe of Tuath-Cis, at Temur, are de- scended. The Treduma (triple mound) of Nesi, the daughter of Eochaidh Salbhuidhe, the mother of Concobhar, [Mac Nesa,] at the north-eastern end near the north-east head oi Long na m-ban. The Rath of Concobhar Mac JVesa alongside the Treduma to the north ; its door faces the east opposite the Ceann and Medhi of Cuchulainn. The ruins of Sciath Chonchulainn and its Tul are near the Medhi to the north-east. The Rath is level with the ground, and there is a small hillock in its centre Ian na teala de huir. The Sheskin of Temur is close to Long na m-ban to the north-west. This dirty little Sheskin (moor) is south of Cam na macraidhe. Hath Grainne (Grania's fort) is west of the Sheskin on the height of the hill. ^ Supplied from the Book of Glendalough. *" Cubac in the Book of Glendalough, and cuuac, which is intended for cuBoc in H. 3. 3. The word is used in the oldest Irish MSS. to signify a tomb or grave. " Supplied from H. 3. 3. ^' Qipcep cuaipcepcac in the Book of Glendalough, which is the correct reading. " Thus in the Book of Glendalough : Ip aiTilaiD a ca pach copiiiail cucpoma poi pin calmain, ocup cpuaichine beop in a meoon; Ian inoela oe uip. In H. 2. 16, better thus: Ip amlaiD aca paich cuopoma copamail ppip in calmam ocup cnocan bee 'na meaoon, Ian na cealca Dia huip. '* pop popapo na culcha, in the Book of Glendalough. 142 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Qca pochac Racha 5p™"°' '^ ruaio^* pan na capbao i comapoup na Claenpepca cuaipcepcaiji paip. Qcac na di Claenpepca ppi Raich 5paini a map. Ip m Claenpepca oepcep- caij po opr in injenpaiD la Caijniu oia Samna. Ip m Claenpepca cuaipcepcaij pu^ tujaiD [ITIac Con*] in jubpeic ip in jlaipin DO opjain do na caipcaib" Qca Capn macpaioi taijen i caeb Sep- caino Cempach a cuam. Qca Cpop pepjupa noebailtcip. (Ip e boi I Cappaic Clumain,) i caeb Caipn na macpaiDi u niap.^' Q ca Depeal Cempach eoip oa Capn na macpaioe .1. eoip in capn oepcepcach ocup in capn cuaipcepcach. Qca Capn macpaiDi hua Neill 1 caeb oepil na Cempach a cuaio. Raic Colmain TTlic Caelcon o Capn macpaiDi h-Ua Heill paip cuaio .1. in-^' capn cuaipcepcach. Qca Duma mo tuchouinD 1 caeb Racha Colmain TTlic Caelcon aniap. Qca Qolaic [ocup tDiaDlaic*"] 1 comap- Dup Raca Colmain paepcuaio, .1. hi caoB na leicpeac a naipcuaio ; .1. di cippaic mo pin, Qolaic inoapanai ocup Diaolaic apaili, ap ni uil oeocuip acuppu.'" Fothath Hatha Grainne is to the north of Fan na Carhad, near the northern Claenfeart to the east. The two Claenfearts are to the west of Rath Grainne. It was in the southern Claenfeart that the virgins were slaughtered by the Lagenians on Saman's day, (1st of November). It is in the northern Cleanfeart that Lughaidh Mac Con pro- nounced the false sentence concerning the green field being eaten by the sheep. The Cam of the Leinster Youths lies alongside the Sheskin of Temur to the north. The Cross of Fergus the holy pilgrim, (who was in Carraic Clumain,') is alongside the Corn of the Youths, to the west. Deisiol Teamhrach is between the two Cams oftheYouihs, i. e. between the southern Carn and the northern Carn. The Carn of the Hy-iN'iall Youths is alongside Deisiol na Teamhrach to the north. The Rath of Colman, the son of Caelchu is north-east of the Carn of the Hy-Niall Youths i. e. of the northern carn. The Mound of Luchdonn is alongside the Rath of Colman Mac Caelchon to the west. Adlaic and Diadlaic are in the vicinity of the Rath of Colman, to the north-east, i. e. in the side of the Letter, (side of the hill,) to the north- east. These are two wells, the one called Adlaic, and the other Diadlaic, but there is no difference [separation ?] between them. ^* !• ccaiD, i. e. in the vicinity of, as in H. 3. 3, which seems the true reading. * Supplied from H. 3. 3. ^ This passage is thus given in the Book of Glendalough : Ip in Cloenpepcaij cuaipcepcaij cucao in mbpech in agio TTlic Con. 6pech 1 puc Copmac imm an jlaippm. i. e. In the northern Claenfert the sentence was given against Lughaidh Mac Con, that is, the sentence which Cormac passed concerning the green field. 39 Thus given in the Book of Glendalough : Qcca cpopp phep^oppa .1. naemaillchip (ip he f\\ 1 Cappaic Clumain) 1 caeb Caipn na macpaioe a n-oep. 3' O'n capn in the Book of Glendalough, et rede. *" Supplied from H. 3. 3, and Book of Glendalough. ■•' This passage is better given in the Book of Glendalough, thus : Qca Qolaic ocup tDiaolaic 1 comap- Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 143 The text of the following poem is selected from the copy preserved in H. 3. 3 of the MS. Library of Trinity College, as no other copy so ancient, and, at the same time, so perfect, has been yet found. It has, however, been most carefully compared with the copies preserved in the Book of Ballymote, the LeabJiar Buidhe of the Mac Firbises of Lecan, and the Leahhar Gabhala of the O'Clerys, in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy: Cuan O'tochain cecinit. Cemaip cocca [coglia] na culac, po ara Gpi incpoooc,' Qpocacaip Copmaic mic Qipc, TTlic Cuinn Ceo cachai j comnaipc. Copmac ba cunouil* a mdic, 6a paoi, ba pili, ba plair, 6a pip bpeiriorh pep peine, 6a capai ba cocceilea. Copmac pa clai caecao car, t)o pilao^ Salcaip Cempach, Tp in rpalcoip pin ara, Qn upp oeach puim penchuppa. Ip pi in cpalcoip pin ao betp, Secc n-aipopicc Gipeno inobip; Cuic pi na coicceo pop jni, T^i ©ipino ipa heppi. ]p innci aca oe cec leic Ino a n-olij cec pi coiccio; Ino a n-oli j pi cempach coip t)o pij cec cuiciD ceolmoip. Coimccniu comaiTtipepai caic, Cec pij Die poile oapaicli, Cuan O'Lochain cecinit: Temur choice of hills, Under which is Ireland warlike, [Was the] chief city of Cormac, son of Art, Son of the puissant Conn of the hundred battles. Cormac — prudent was his goodness — Was a sage, was poet, was prince, Was true Brehon of the men of Feirie ; Was friend, was companion. Cormac gained fifty battles. He compiled the Psalter of Temur ; In that Psalter is What is a good summary of history. It is that Psalter which gives Seven monarchs of Erin of harbours ; Five kings of the provinces it makes, The King of Erin and her toparchs. In it are [entered] reciprocally What each king of the provinces is entitled to ; What the King of Temur in the east is entitled to From the king of each harmonious province. The chronology and synchronism of all. Of each king with each other completely, oup Racha Colmain ITIic Caelcon paip cuaich i caeb na letxpac ppipp in pair anaip-cuaio .i. Di cippaic inopin .1. Qolaic inoalanai ocup Diaolaic alqile accnao pil oeipip ecuppu. i.e. Adlaic and Diadlaic are in the vicinity o{ Rath-Colman Mac-Caelclion to the north-east, on the side of the Letter (slope of the hill), and to the north-east of the fort. These are two wells, the one is called Adlaic, and the other Diadlaic, but there is no difference [?] between them. ' Inopaoach. — £. Ballymot., and L. Buidhe Lecain. ' Cunoal. — L. Ballymot. In more modern MSS., in which nn are used for no, the word is written Connaill. Written canoail in the Leahhar Buidhe, and Leabhar Gabhala of the O'Clerys. ' llaiD Salcaip Cempach. — L. Ballymot., sedperperam,- \io pilaio Salcaip Cempach. — L. Buidhe Lecain. 144 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Opiochao cec coiccio po cpuaic,* Oca cpoijiD CO cpom cuaich. Cpicha ap cpiochaiD ceo nop geib, t)o cpichuib ceo cec cuicciD. In cec cuiceo oib aca Secc ppimpicic ppimoingna. ■Rop picip Copmac pa pi, T?o la cuaipc Gipenn po chpi, Cue jiall ceca muip amuicc, Co popcaipealu* a Cempuij. tDumo na n-^mll^ jloine n-jlac, X)ona jiallaiB cue Copmac, t)o Copmac cappap na coicc, Cec oecQip aca a Cempoi j. Rop cappap o'Pepjup mupca,' Qic a puil Cpop Pepjuppa, pan na cappuc con cepca,'" Gcoppau paun Claompepco." Claoinpepco a n-jaoloaoip ainopi, Claoinpepca na claon cainjni, O Raic ^painne aniep anoip" QcaiD cen epcpu anaon Dip." O Raic ^painoe paip pan jlinn, The boundaries of each province from the hill, From the troigidh, to the heavy [large] tuaith. Thirty above a Triochached [barony] it finds Of Triocha cheds in each province. In each province of them are Seven full score of chief fortresses. It is known, that Cormac, the king, Made a visitation of Erin thrice ; He brought the hostage of every fortress out, And exhibited them at Temur. The Mound of the Hostages of fair hands To the Hostages Cormac gave ; To Cormac was shown" in his house Every decair, which is at Temur. To Fergus was shewn in a vision The place where is [stands] the Cross of Fergus,^ Fan na carput is exactly Between them and the Claenferts. The Claenferts in which the girls were slaughtered, — The Claenferts of the treacherous covenant — From Rath Grainne down to the west They are, without obscurity," both. From Rath Grainne, east in the glen, * Cptcbao jach coijiD o cpuaic, O ca cpaijio, &c. — L. Ballymot. Cpiochuo cecb CoicciD po cpuaicb. — Leabhar Gabhala of the O'Clerys. O'Flaherty understands traigidh or troigidh as meaning the smallest subdivision of land in use among the Irish. ^ Caipealb. — L. Ballymot., and L. Gabhala of the O'Clerys. ^ Omitted in L. Ballymot., but given in the L. Buidhe, and L. Gabhala of the O'Clerys. ' This alludes to a tradition among the Irish, that King Cormac foresaw in his house of meditation every building and other feature that would be on the hill of Tara in after ages. For an account of Cormac's house of meditation, see ttie Book of Lismore, in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy. ' Cappap o'pepjup baile ica. — L. Ballymot. ' This refers to another Irish tradition, that Fergus, the pilgrim of Carraic Clumain, saw in a vision that a cross would be erected in honour of himself near Fan na Carput, on the Hill of Tara. '° Concepcca. — L. Ballymot. Concepca. — L. Buidhe of Lecan, and L. Gabhala. " ©cuppu ip na Claenpepca. — L. Ballymot., and L. Gabhala. " Ppi Raic n-^pamoi aniap amp.— i. Ballymot. O Ua\r 5ra"""e aniap amp.— £. Buidhe, and L. Gabhala. " Qcac jan upcpa n-aonmip. — L. Ballymot. Qcac cen epcpa n-ainBip. — Leabhar Buidhe. CIcac cen epcpa an oemoip. — L. Gabhala. '• i. e. They are both conspicuous. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 145 Ctca Sefxjino Cempac cino ; Qca pjii pepcinn anooip [anoip] Raicli Neppa, Raich Concobaip. Copup Cino Conculoinn cpuaio, O Raidi Concobaip paipcuaio, Coriiap a Sceic po Cobpao" Ip ingnauoh, ip imaobal.'S Cije mail ocup nriiDnau (H D-Ceampaijj, lap no cioBai, t)e aca allijiu pa Leachc, tDaij in cinn po commaoroeachr.''' Impaioim pop Conj nallaecb," Ppip a n-abap bapc ban mbaec ; Cec na laec nip bo loncc lacc'^ — Co ceiqii Doipppib oeac. t)uma na mban, lap na itibpar, pop ano innelL uaccapac ;'" tJall ip t)opcai ppip a n-oep, Ro cpomcha ppi comuijcup. t)all cep, ciap t)opca oojpa, 6a Dib t)uma tDall 6oDpai ; Ro mapb ceccap apaile, hi copnam a n-almpaine.=' t)o luiD an c-abac — tpiuaj do ! X)o ecopjaip ecoppa,** Co po mapbpac m c-abac Po a ccopaiB, jep claen amapc." O leccup an abaic pin piap,^'' Is the Sheskin of strong Temur ; To the east of the Sheskin are The Rath ofNessa, the Rath of Conchobhar. The Corns Cinn of Cuchtilainn the hardy, From the Rath of Conchobhar north-east, The measure of his Shield under Cobhradh, Is wonderful, is prodigious. The Cfrave of Mai and Midhna At Temur, after their deaths, Hence are their grave and monument. In consequence of the head which they exhibited. Let us mention also The Long oftheHeroes, Which is called the Bare of the vain Women ; The House of the Heroes was not a weak house — With fourteen doors. The Mound of the Women, after being betrayed. At the upper extremity ; Dall and Dorcha to the south of it. Who were killed by their competition. Dall south, the sorrowful Dorcha west. Of them is the Mound of Dall Bodhra ; Each of these killed the other. Fighting for their alms. The dwarf went — pity of him ! To interpose between them, So thatthey killed the dwarf Under their feet, though a piteous sight ! From the monument of that dwarf west, '* po a cabpao, that is, under his Cabradh. — L. Ballymot. pO cobpao. — L. Gahhala. '^ Ip injnao, ip imaobal L. Ballymot. " Oaij an chiiiD po commaoiopec. — L. Gabhala. QlC an cino po COmmaiopeD, — L. Buidhe Lecain. The change in the text was made for the sake of rhyme. " tuinj na 6aec. — L. Ballymot. " Uec na piail ni long lag. — L. Ballymot. '" Qp a ocaip uaccapac. — L. Ballymot. *' Ic copnam a n-almpaini. — L. Ballymot. " t)o eoapgain eccoppo. — L. Ballymot. tDeojaipe — L. Buidhe. '" lap cpin-amapc. — L. Ballymot. " O lecc m abuic pin piap. — L. Ballymot., and L. Buidhe. VOL. XVIII. t 146 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. rriaol, 6loc, 6luicni, bopb a ciall, poprai hi caic na cpi cloca" t)up paplaic mal mop ITlacai. TTIup cleiri na rpi cocap, Icip Cuinj ip Caoc copap ; Cia na Pian pp' F^'je maip, Qp inchaib Racho Senoi j ; Tiaic SenaiD pejoa cec mbuaiD, Ppi pal na Cempac acuaio ; On paic foip araob an liaj,'" Qn cec op cepno 6iniaD. SenoD paqiaic o'n pair pain ;" SenoD 6penainn ip RuaDam ; Senao Qoamnain lap pin, Qc epcaine Ipjailij.^^ O Raic na R15 paip \recte f lap], ni 50, tecc Con, ^echc Cechen, Cnoc bo, hi ca ppip pin paich anaip'^ L^ir: TTIaine Hlic TTlunpemaip. TTIaipiD ppi Rair Rij hi n-oep ■Raich Caejaipi ip a 6ep, Ip a teccup pop lap a Cip,™ pipen piaoaic po popbpipp. PejaiD Cec TTluipijpi m-benn," Ppimaici aile Gipeann, QpD oriiop, ipapD an cuaio, Ipiul uaiD paip, ba paep buaio." Ip ann po puioijeo pe Mael, Bloc, Bluicni, [druids] of powerful sense, On them are the three stones Which the great Mal of Macha cast. The Mur of the concealment of the three con- spiracies. Between the Long and the Heroes' Well ; Lia na Fian to the east of the road. Opposite the Rath of the Synods ; The Rath of the Synods of great virtues, To the north of the Fal of Temur ; East of the Rath by the side of the Stones, The house out of which Benignus escaped. The synod of Patrick [was held] in this great Rath; The synod of Brendan and of Ruadhan ; The synod of Adamnan afterwards, In cursing Irgalach. YtoxaRath naRigh east, [rec The parapet at a, on the north-west side, is 1 f. 1 in. higher than at b on the south-west ; and is 2 f. higher than the interior of the Rath : the parapet at b, on the south-east side, is also 2f. higher than the interior of the Rath. Of the other monuments, described as situated within the Rath na Riogh, that called the Forradh seems to be the first in importance. This, as already shewn, is evidently the rath described as situated to the north-west of the house of Cormac, and which is connected with it. This monument is a Rath very similar in appearance to the House of Cormac, Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities ofTara Hill. 157 but having two outer circles, with ditches between them. The parapet of the mound itself is now levelled. The measurements will be seen in the sections here given, which are on the same scale as the preceding. The first section is from north-west to south-east, From the second section, which is from south to north, it will be seen, that the mounds are not quite circular : The connections of this Rath with that called the House of Cormac will appear from the section following, which shows how the two monuments are united by a common parapet, or circle, at a. This section, which is taken north- west and south-east, is on a scale of 90 f. to an inch. For determining the age of the Forradh, no distinct historical evidence has hitherto been discovered. The general similarity of its construction might, indeed, very fairly lead to the conclusion, that it is coeval with the House of Cormac with which it is connected, and such is most probably the fact. There are, however, many reasons, from which it might be inferred to be of prior origin ; as, first, that it occupies the usual central position within the outer circumval- lations which indicates its original and coeval erection with them ; secondly, that it is a more important monument as to size, than the House of Cormac, and that its form is more regular, the latter exhibiting an irregularity apparently the effect of its adaptation to that of the earlier and more symmetrical work. It might also be urged from the ancient poem attributed to Fintan, given above, that the 168 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities ofTara Hill. name of this monument, Forradh, was applied even to the palace of Tara itself, from its earliest occupation by the Scotic or Milesian kings, so that it might with every probability be regarded as the earliest of the monuments now remaining there. The meaning of its name would also seem to support this conclusion, as it is properly explained by Colgan, Trias Tliaum., p. 141, col. b, to signify a place of public meeting, like the Tings of the Orkneys and of the Isle of Man. It also signifies a judgment seat, a bench, and is probably cognate with the Latin word ybrwTO, or perhaps the Icelandic yor-rarf, Lat. vis, dispensatio. At all events, its erection cannot be ascribed to a later period than the other, and an interesting illustration of its antiquity and use appears to be found in the following passage from the Konungs-skuggsio, or Royal Mirror, Antiq. Celto- Scand. p. 289 : « Enn^ar sem hcedjiotti horgarinnar vera, " In editiore quopiam civitatis loco splendidum J>a atti Kongurinn }pa/r kastala fagrann ok et tantum non Daedaleum castellum Ilex, et intra vel georfann, i \ieim kastala atti hannfagra castelli septa palatium structum et nitore supeibuni haull ok mikla, ok i ^eirri haull var hann habuit, ubi solebat litibus incolarum componendis vanur at sitia yjir domum manna." prasesse." But as the preceding translation is rather overstrained, a more literal one in English is here added : — " And in what was considered the highest point of the city [ Themar] the king had a fair and well-built castle, in that castle he had a fair hall and spacious, and in that hall was he wont to sit in judgment." The next important monument noticed is that called the Tea-mur. Of this there is now no vestige, but its situation is pointed out as on a little hill, which lies between the two murs {septa) to the south of Rath na Riogh, and the poem of Kineth O'Hartigan indicates that it was 60 f. in extent, and contained within it the sepulchre of the Milesian queen Tea. Of the less remarkable monuments within the Rath na Riogh, the first is Dumha na Bo, or, the Mound of the Cow, called also Glas Teamhrach, which is described as lying to the west of Dumha na n- Giall. This is a circular mound Of. high, and 40 f. in diameter at the base. In illustration of the name or origin of this mound, no historical or even legendary account has been discovered. It may, however, be remarked, that innumerable legends respecting the cow, Glas, which belonged to the Tuatha De Danann smith, Gaibhnionn, are still tra- ditionally current throughout Ireland. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 159 The second of these monuments is Dumha na n-Giall, or, the Mound of the Hostages. It is a circular earthen mound similar to that last mentioned, but of greater size, being 13f. high, 25f. in diameter at the top, and 66 f. in diameter at the base. The original purpose of this monument is, like that of the preced- ing, very obscure. In the poem of O'Lochain it is stated, that " King Cormac made a visitation of Ireland thrice, and brought a hostage from every fortress, which he exhibited at Temur, and that to these hostages he gave Dumha na n-Giall." From this passage, therefore, it vFOuld appear that this mound was the site of a habitation. It was at the side of the preceding monument that the celebrated coronation stone, called the Lia Fail, was located in the time of the writers of the prose and verse already referred to ; and it remained in the same situation till some years after 1798, when it was removed to its present situation in the Rath, called the Forradh, to mark the grave of the rebels, slain at Tara in the insurrec- tion of that year. But the mound is still popularly called Bod F/iearghais, that is, Penis Fergusii, an appellation derived from the form of this stone. The Lia Fail is spoken of, not only in these authorities but by all the ancient Irish writers, in such a manner as to leave no doubt that it remained in its origi- nal situation at the time when they wrote. Thus in the poem of Cuan O'Lochain : " The Rath of the synods of great powers To the north of the Fal of Temur, East of the Rath at the side of The Stones, Is the house from which Benen escaped." And the prose account of the monument in like manner states, that " Fal lies by the side of Dumha na n-Giall to the north, i. e. the stone that roared under the feet of each king that took possession of the throne of Ireland. Fal was the name of this stone, that is Fo-ail, that is, the under stone, that is, the stone under the king." A still stronger proof of its existence at Tara is furnished in the following verse quoted by Keating, and by the books of Lecan and Ballymote, from a poem of Kineth O' Hartigan, who, as already stated, lived in the tenth century : In cloc popp caic mo i>a pail This stone on which are my two heels huaiDi pairecrp Imp Pail From it is called Jnis Fail, 160 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. eceap Da cpaij ruile ceiiin Between two shores of strong floods, TTlaj Pail uile pop Bipinn. Magh Fail [is a name] for all Erin. . Dr. O' Conor, mAeedi— Stowe Catalogue, p. 27, — states, that "this stone is said to have been removed from Temora, the royal Rath of Meath, to Cruachan, the royal Rath of Connacht, at a remote period of time, and to have ceased to emit its usual sound, after it w^as profaned by Cuchullin, who resented its silence when his friend Fiach,an usurper, was inaugurated." But Dr. O'Conor appears to have entirely mistaken the sense of his author. The passage was obviously fabricated to sustain the claim to the Irish throne put forward in the twelfth century by the Connacian princes ; and the statement found in the Irish MS. is simply, that the monarch, Cormac Mac- Art, saw in a dream, that the Lia Fail would be removed from Tara to Croghan, as in the following passage from the College MS. H. 2. 7, " Ctiylin^ Do coimaic Copmac ua Cuint) i Uempaij .i. Goco ^unnac pi^ lJla6, Dap leip, Do cmcrain cu Uempai^, ocup coipn na n-jjmllDo cocbail Do a Uempms pecraip, ocup a bpet cu Cpuacain, ocup a paDuD Do a paic Cpuacan." i. e. Cormac O'Cuinnsaw a vision at Temur : that Eochy Gunnat, king of Ulster, came to Temur, and took the Stone of the Hostages away from Temur, and carried it to Croghan, and stuck it in the Rath of Croghan. The only value of such passages, however, is — and this is an important one — that they clearly identify the Lia Fail with the stone on the Mound of the Hostages. What then is to be thought of the legendary account given by all the Scottish historians from Fordun, Winton, and Boetius, down to the present time, that this stone — " the stone of fate," as they call it — was sent from Ireland for the coro- nation of Fergus Mac Ere, the first of the Dalriadic kings, in the fifth century, and that it was carried by Edward I. to Westminster, where it still remains, under the coronation chair of the monarchs of the British Isles ? Now it is a remarkable fact, that though this Scottish account has been adopted by the Irish themselves, since the succession of the house of Stuart to the British throne seemed to verify the ancient prediction connected with it, yet no Irish account has been found to support it earlier than that of Keating, who evidently adopted the statement of Boetius' well known verse, which he quotes, with the pal- pable view of sustaining the right of the first Charles to his throne : — " Ni fallat fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem." Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 161 It may also be observed, that between the Irish and Scottish accounts of the his- tory of this stone there is a total want of agreement, which shews that the Scot- tish writers, when they recorded this tradition, were not acquainted with, or dis- regarded, the accounts of it preserved by the Irish. The Irish accounts uni- formly state, that the Lia Fail was brought into Ireland from the north of Ger- many by the Tuatha De Danann colony ; the Scottish, that it was brought from Spain by the Milesian chief, Simeon Breac, who, according to the Irish histories, was not a Milesian but a Fir-Bolg, or Belgian. The oldest Scottish authority for the tradition is the Chronicon Rhythmicum, written, as Innes would infer, at the close of the thirteenth century. But as this was about the period when the dispute commenced respecting the respective claims of the British and Scot- tish crowns to the ancient monarchy, and which shortly afterwards gave birth to the acknowledged forgeries which Fordun put into historic order, such accounts should be received with a caution proportioned to their improbability : and it is in the highest degree improbable that, to gratify the desire of a colony, the Irish would have voluntarily parted with a monument so venerable for its antiquity, and considered essential to the legitimate succession of their own kings. How- ever this may be, it is an interesting fact, that a large obeliscal pillar-stone, in a prostrate position, occupied, till a recent period, the very situation on the hill of Tara, pointed out as the place of the Lia Fail by the Irish writers of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries ; and that this was a monument of pagan antiquity, an idol-stone, as the Irish writers call it, seems evident from its form and charac- ter. Shortly after the year 1798, as already stated, it was removed from its ancient situation to the adjacent mound in Rath na Riogh, called the Forradh, to mark, as a grave stone, the remains of the rebels who fell there at that memorable period. And whether this stone be considered as a monument of remote antiquity, or as a record of the events of our own times, it must be regarded with interest ; but if, in addition to this, such evidences have been adduced as may justify the supposition that it is the Lia Fail of Irish history, it will be difficult to find a rude monument of antiquity with which so many national associations can be connected. The material of which this monument is composed is a granular lime-stone, very probably from some primary district ; but whether it be Irish or foreign has not been ascertained : it may be remarked, however, that no granular lime- VOL. XVIII. X 162 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. stone occurs in the vicinity. The stone is at present but 6 f. above ground, but its real height is said to be 12 f. To exhibit its form the accompanying wood- cut is given. The features next claiming attention as situated on the eastern and western sides of the hill adjacent to Rath na Riogh are the wells called Neamhnach and Caprach- Cormaic on the east side, and that called Laegh on the west. Neamh- nach is described, both in the verse and prose accounts, as pouring into the valley a stream called Nith, on which king Cormac first erected a mill in Ireland. It is an interesting circumstance, that the historical fact here recorded re- specting this mill is still vividly preserved, not only in its immediate locality, but also in many other parts of Ireland ; and a mill — now called LismuUen Mill, from the district through which it flows — and situated on the north side of the river Guara, still exists on the reputed site of the ancient one. It may also be worthy of remark, that the present miller considers himself, and is considered by the people of the district, as the lineal descendant of the Pictish millwright brought over by king Cormac, though the original name of the family — Mac Lamha, or Hand — has, through the failure of the male line in his grandfather, become extinct. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 163 Respecting the meanings of the names of the well, iVeam^^ac A, and the stream, Nith, — which is the name of a river in Scotland, and of another in the duchy of Triers, in Germany, — the conjectural etymology of the Irish writers has been already given at p. 76. On these conjectures nothing can be offered, except that Neamhnach, which signifies crystalline, clear, bright, would be an appropriate appellation for the well to which it was applied. The probable truth of the historical tradition that this mill was the first of its kind erected in Ireland has been already inquired into, in the Ordnance Memoir of the Parish of Templemore, p. 215 ; but, as the passage is more immediately connected with the local history of Tara than of that parish, it will not be improper to give it in this place. , "It might be supposed from a passage in Dr. Ledwlch, (see Antiquities of Ireland, p. 373,) that water mills were nearly unknown in this island until a comparatively recent period ; but it would appear from ancient authorities, that they were even more common in ancient than they are in modern times, when the mechanical force of the mill, and the facilities of communication by roads, have been both increased. It is clear, from the Brehon Laws, (MS. Trinity College, Class E. Tab. 3, No. 5,) that they were common In the country at a very early period, and in the records of the grants of land to the monastery of Kells, preserved in its ancient book, [MS. T.C.D. — A. 1.6,] it would appear, than whenever the locality permitted, the mill was a common appendage to a ballybetagh, or ancient townland. For example : " mumcep Cennanpa po eOpaip Qpt) camma .i. baile in UiOpfn cona muiliunt) ocup cona hepunD uili ocup baile ui Com^am cona hepunD uili ocup cona muiliunt) t)o Oia ocup t)o Cholumcille," &c. " The family of Kells granted Ard-camma, i. e. Bally- heerin, with its mill and with all its land, and Ballycoogan, with all its land and with its mill, to God and to Columbkille," &c. (Book of Kells, MS. Trinity College.) This grant was made in the middle of the eleventh century, and similar notices occur in the registry of Clonmacnoise about the same period. The charter also of lands granted to the monastery of Newry by king Muir- cheartach, or Mauritius M'Loughlin, about the year 1161, after enumerating the several townlands, adds, " Has terras cum molendinis, ex dono meo proprio dictis monachis covfirmavi^^ &c. (CZare?zrfore MS S. in the British Museum, vol. xlv. in Ayscough's Catalogue, 4792, Plut. VIII. c. p. 179.) The lives of a;2 164 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. Irish Saints show, that mills were erected by ecclesiastics, shortly after the intro- duction of Christianity, as the mills of St. Senanus, St. Ciaran, St. Mochua, &c. (See the lives of these Saints.) The mills of St. Lucherin and St. Fechin are noticed by Geraldus Cambrensis, and a mill at Fore, built on the ancient site of the latter, still exists, and Is called St. Fechin's Mill. The Annals of Tighearnach, at the year 651, record, that the two sons of Blamac, (King of Ireland,) son of Hugh Slaine, — Donchad, and Conall, — were mortally wounded by the Lagenlans In Maelodraln's mill. The Four Masters also, at the year 998, record, that a remarkable stone, called Lia-Ailbe, which stood on the plain of Moynalvy, In Meath, fell, and that the king Maelsechlain made four mill-stones of It. From the preceding authorities, as well as from the classical etymology of the name, In Ireland as In every country In Europe, It might be supposed, that water mills were first Introduced by Christian ecclesiastics. There Is reason, however, to believe, that their Introduction Is of higher antiquity. Cuan O'LochaIn, chief poet and lawgiver of Irerand, whose death Is recorded In the Annals of Tighearnach, at the year 1 024, states in his poem on the ruins then existing at Tara, that Cormac, the son of Art, chief monarch of Ireland, In the third century, had a beautiful cumal, or bondmaid, named Clarnaid, who was obliged to grind a certain quantity of corn every day with a bro, or quern ; but that the king observing her beauty, took her into his house, and sent across the sea for a millwright, (rug j^aop TTluillint) cap mop tint),) who constructed a mill on the stream of Nith, which flows from the fountain of Neamhnach to the north-east of Tara. The ancient Irish authorities all agree in stating, that this was thejirst mill ever erected In Ireland; and It is remarkable, that this circumstance is most vividly preserved by tradition, not only In the neighbour- hood where a mill still occupies Its site, but also in most parts of Ireland. Tra- dition adds, that It was from the king of Scotland the Irish monarch obtained the millwright ; and It can be shown, that the probability of its truth is strongly corroborated by that circumstance. Professor Tennant, of St. Andrew's, in an ingenious essay on Corn-mills, states, that " the first corn-mill driven by water was Invented and set up by Mithridates, king of Cappadocia, the most talented, studious, and ingenious prince of any age or country. It was set up in the neighbourhood of his capital, or palace, about seventy years before the commencement of the Christian era. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 165 It was probably from this favourable circumstance of the invention of the water- mill, and the facility thereby afforded to the Cappadocian people for making cheap, good, and abundant flour, that the Cappadocian bakers obtained high celebrity, and were much in demand for two or three centuries posterior to the invention of mills, throughout all the Roman world. Coincident with the era of the inventor, as mentioned by Strabo, is the date of the Greek epigram on water-mills by Antipater, a poet of Syria, or Asia Minor, who is supposed to have lived sixty or eighty years before Christ. This epigram may be thus translated : — " Ye maids who toil'd so faithful at the mill, Now cease from work, and from these toils be still ; Sleep now till dawn, and let the birds with glee Sing to the ruddy morn on bush and tree ; For what your hands performed so long, so true, Ceres has charged the water-nymphs to do : They come, the limpid sisters, to her call, And on the wheel with dashing fury fall. Impel the axle with a whirling sound ; And make the massy mill-stone reel around. And bring the floury heaps luxuriant to the ground." " The greater convenience and expedition in working of these water-mills soon made them be spread over the world. In about twenty or thirty years after their invention, one was set up on the Tiber. They must have been not uncom- mon in Italy in the age of Vitruvius, for he gives a description of them. Yet it is rather surprising that Pliny, whose eye nothing of art or nature escapes, has taken no notice of them." This learned writer, however, errs respecting Pliny. The following passage is quite conclusive on this subject: " Major pars ItalicB ruido utitur pilo, rotis etiam quas aqua verset obiter, et molat." (Hist. Nat. lib. 18, c. 10.) Whita- ker shews that a water-mill was probably erected by the Romans at every stationary city in Roman Britain : they were certainly numerous during their time ; and this fact strongly corroborates the date assigned to the erection of the mill near Tara, as well as the tradition which refers its origin to Scotland, and particularly to the Roman portion of it, which lay nearest to Ireland, and was, during the reign of Cormac, in the possession of the Picts. 166 Mr. Petrie on the Histcyry and Antiquities of Tara Hill. The well, Caprach- Cormaice, which is described both in the verse and in the prose accounts, as situated under Rath na Riogh to the east, and conse- quently south of the well Neamhnach, is no longer to be found ; nor is any tradition of its former existence now preserved ; but the name Caprach, or Cabrach, as it is written by the O'Clerys, is still preserved in the adjacent townland, through which, its streamlet evidently flowed. No certain etymology of this word Cabrach can be given, though it is the name of several townlands in Ireland. According to the prose account, this well had three other names : Liagh, Tipra-bo-Jinne, and Deare dubh ;* of these, the first, Liagh, signifies a physician, cognately with the English word Leech ; the second, Tipra-bo-Jinne^ the well of the white cow ; the third, Deare-dubh, the dark eye.f The third and last of these wells is that called Laegh, situated, according to the verse and prose accounts, on the slope of the hill west of Rath na Riogh, and sending a stream directly westwards. This well is also dried up, or diverted from its original situation, but the ground immediately below its site is still watery. The signification of the name of this well is placed beyond conjecture by an ancient Irish saying, quoted in the prose description, in allusion to its situation as contradistinguished from that of the well Liagh : " The cdXi {Laegh) never goes to the physician, (Liagh,) the one," it adds, "being to the east and the other to the west of Temur." The meaning of the name is also explained in a passage full of interest, in Tlrechan's annotations on the life of St. Patrick, — fol. 10, b, 1. Porro fundavit aeclesiam i Carrie Dagri, Moreover he founded a church at Carrie et alteram aeclesiam immruig TTiuaithe, et Dagri, and another church at Mruig Thuaiihe, and * In Cuan O'Lochain's poem, as preserved in the O'Clerys' Leahhar Gabhala, the three addi- tional names of this well are Lia, Daelduhh, and Duirhh Tuath-linde. In the copy preserved in the Book of Ballymote the three names are Dael, Duirbh Tuath-linde, and Tipra Bofinne. In another poem, ascribed to Caoilte, describing Tara, mention is made of a well at Tara, called Poll tocair na tuiliche, which is probably only another name for this. It is described as boiling with great strength from the ground, and as having been used for the ordeal by water — the guilty person who went into it being marked with a black spot on his skin, and the innocent one appearing fairer than ever. f Thus in Hebrew, "ilJ"]"'^, " kid's eye" — the En-gedi of Scripture. Eye is commonly used for well in Hebrew. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 167 scripsit elimenta Cerpano ; et intravit in do- he wrote elements for Cerpan ; and he entered into mum regiam, et non surrexerunt ante se, nisi the royal house, and they did not rise up before unus tantum, hoc est Hercus sacrilegus, et dixit him, except one only, that is Hercus Sacrilegus,* illi, Cur tu solus surrexisti in honorem Dei and he said unto him, Why hast thou alone risen mei in me ? Et dixit ei Hercus, nescio quid ; up to the honour of my God in me ? And Hercus video scintellas igneas de labiis tuis ascendere replied to him, I know not why ; I see ignited in labia mea. Sanctus quoque dixit, si babtisma sparks ascend from thy hps to mine. The saint Domini accipies, quod mecum est ? Respondit, also said. Wilt thou receive the baptism of the accipiam. Et venierunt ad fontem Loigles Lord, which is with me ? He answered, I will, in Scotica, nobiscum vitulus civitatum. Cum- And they came to the fountain [called] in the que aperuisset librum atque babtitzasset Scotic Loigles, with us the calf of the cities. virum Hercum, audivit viros post tergum suum And when he had opened the book and had bap- se inridentes ad invicem de rei illius considera- tized Hercus, he heard men behind his hack de- tione, quia nescierunt quid fecerat. Et babtit- riding him on account of that thing, because they zavit tot milia hominum in die ilia. knew not what he had done. And he baptized many thousand men on that day. The ruins of Cuchfair Cormaic, or Cormac's Kitchen, now obliterated, were situated over the brink of this well, to the east ; that is, between it and the external ring of Rath-na-Riogh. On the same Leiter, or slope of the hill, in which this well was situated, and not far to the west of Rath-na-Riogh, the prose account places two stones mark- ing the sepulchres of Cu and Cethen. These monuments were to the south of the well, and, like it, have disappeared. The verse, with equal distinctness, points out the situation of these monuments, but adds another feature called Cnoc-bo, or the Hill of the Cow, of which also there is no trace. The destruc- tion of these monuments is at once accounted for by the fact, that this side of the hill has been long under cultivation. Respecting Cnoc-bo, no historical account is given, but the sepulchral stones of Cu and Cethen, according to the prose account, owe their origin to two distributors, or servants, of Cormac's household, as thus stated : " Cu slew Cethen, Cormac's Rannaire (distributor) in the presence of Cormac, in the middle of the house, and then passed westwards under the height of Temur, but was pursued and killed by the brother of him whom he had slain. And though Cormac said that Cu should not be slain yet no one interposed until • Query lawgiver? " Qj' e an c-Gappucc Gipc pi po ba bpeicherii do pacpcnc." i. e. It is this Bishop Eire who was brehon [judge] to Patriclt. — Four Masters, ad ann. 512. 168 Mr. Petbie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. he was killed (simul) at once, so it has become a common saying, ' they have acted like Cu and Cethen.' " On the slope of the hill, to the east of Rath na Riogh, the same authorities place the Leacht, or Monument, of Maine, the son of Muinremhar. This also has been destroyed by the progress of cultivation, and nothing has been dis- covered relative to its history. Muinremhar, the father of Maine, according to the ancient tale entitled Tain Bo Cuailgne, was Lord of Mughdhorn, a dis- trict in the County of Monaghan, in the time of Cuchullin, who flourished in the first century. . ^ Imperfect as the historical notices of the preceding monuments are, it will be seen that they are nearly all connected with king Cormac's time, or the close of the third century, a period quite within the limits of real Irish chronological history. The great feature next to be noticed is of still later date, namely, the Rath of Laoghaire, who, as already shewn, according to all the Irish authorities, be- came monarch of Ireland in 428 or 429, and died in 463. The situati6n of this Rath, with itsieos, or circumvallation, is distinctly pointed out in all the authorities as south of Rath na Riogh ; and it is stated in the prose account, that " it had four principal doorways facing the cardinal points." The progress of cultivation on the hill has totally destroyed the internal features, and nearly effaced a consi- derable portion of the external rampart of this fortress. But though the western portion of the rampart only remains in any degree of preservation, it is sufficient to show that, like that of Rath na Riogh, it consisted of a double ring, of which the outer one only is now strongly developed. This Rath occupies that part of the southern end of the hill at the foot of the first slope, where there is a piece of nearly flat ground. The part of the outer circle now remaining is on the edge of the western slope, and the accompanying section, which is from west to east, and on a scale of 120 feet to an inch, will shew the measurements along the slopes. The eastern, southern, and northern parts have been levelled, but the line they occupied can still be traced, and the diameter appears to have been 300 f. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 169 Of the Rath there are no remains. The poem states, that the monument of Laoghaire was In the middle of his Lios, partly broken by an upright witness. The prose account, with greater distinctness, states, that the body of Laoghaire stood (interred) in the external rampart of his royal Rath, to the south-east, with his shield of valour, and with his face to the south, (as it were) fighting against the Lagenians, This is still more distinctly detailed in a historical tract in Leahhar na Huidhre, a MS. written at Clonmacnoise in the twelfth century, in the posses- sion of Messrs. Hodges and Smith, entitled " The Meeting of Patrick at Tara and the Death of Laogaire:" — fol. 76, p. b, col. 2. 6oi Coe^aipe rpica m-bliaoan lap pn 'PP'5' h-6pen", h' comlinj ppi paqiaic, ocup ba DO p6ip pacpmc cena boipeom. tuiD lapom Coejaipe plojcro co Caijniu, do cuinciD na 6opomi popaib. Ro cinolpec tajni ocup DO pacpac cat do, ocup maici pop Coejaipe m car, .1. car Qra oapa. Ro jaboo ^oejaipe ip in car, ocup do bpeca para ppi Cai^niu, .1. 5P'an ocup epca, upci ocup aep, la ocup aoaij, itiuip ocup cip, connoi lappao m ni-6opomi cein bao beo. Ro leceo app lapom. Ipeo cpa po caipnjipeo do Coejaipeco mbaDecep Gpino ocup Qlbain, poxebao a aioiD, coniD De pin na dcocoid- piuin muipcoblac piam. 6uid rpa Coejaipe DopiDipi plojao map co Caijniu, do paijio na 6opoTni papaib. Ni cue imoppu a paca Di oiD. O panic lapom ^P^ci^'-o'S n-t)apil, pop caeb Chappi, immaij 6ipi, ecep na oa cnoc .1. 6piu ocup Qlbu a n-anmaiiD, acbac ano pin o jpem ocup o jaic, ocup o na pa- caib ap cena, ap nt laemce cuoecc caippiu ip mx> aitipip pin. Conio oe pin ap bepc in pill _: Qc bac Coejaipe, TTlac Neill, pop caeb Chappi — jLap a cip — t)uli De, ao poejaiD pair, VOL. XVIII. Loeghaire was afterwards thirty years in the government of Ireland, in friendship with Patrick, and obeying Patrick's will. Loeghaire went after- wards with an army to the Lagenians, to demand the Boruofthem. The Lagenians assembled and gave him battle, and Loeghaire was defeated in it, that is, in the battle of Athdara. Loeghaire was taken in the battle, and he gave the Lagenians guarantees, that is, the sun and moon, the water and the air, day and night, sea and land, that he would never during his life demand the Boru. He was then set at liberty. It was prophesied to Loeghaire that he would receive his death between Erin and Albain, [Ireland and Scotland,] for which reason he never went on a naval expedition. But Loeghaire went again with a great army to the Lagenians, to demand the Boru of them. [For] he did not pay any regard to his oaths. But when he reached Grel- lach Daphil, by the side of Cassi, in Magh Liphi, between the two hills, Ere and Alba their names, he was there killed by the sun and the wind, and by the other guarantees, for no one dared to dis- honor them at that time. Of that, the poet said : Loeghaire, son of Niall, died, By the side of Cassi — green the land — The elements of God, whose guarantee he had violated, y 170 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. Cucfao Dal baip poTT '" P'j* In cac I n-Qc t)apa odin, Ippagbao Coegaipe, TTIac Meill, Napao pip na n-oula oe, Ijyeo po tnapb Coejaipe. Cuccro Dan copp Coejaipe anep lapcam, ocup po h-aonacc CO n-apm jaipciUD ip in cLuD imeccpac aiprep-Depcepcac pijpaca toejaipe hi Cempaij he, ocup a aijeo po oep pop Caigniu oc cacujuo ppiu, dp po po noma pom na biu do 6aijn)b. 6a pi Dan Rdic Coegaipe Ueoc TTIidcu- apca m ran pin, ocup ip aipi con aicec pom u uonacul ano. Inflicted the doom of death on the king. In the battle of the rapid ford of Dara, Was Loeghaire, son of Niall, taken ; The just vengeance of the sacred elements It was, that killed Loeghaire. The body of Loeghaire was afterwards brought from the south, and interred with his arms of va- lour in the south-east of the external rampart of the royal Rath Loeghaire, at Temur, with his face turned southwards upon the Lagenians, [as it were] fighting with them, for he was the enemy of the Lagenians in his lifetime. Rath-Loeghaire was the Teach Midhchuarta at that time, and it was therefore he requested that he should be interred therein. This passage, which is so valuable for the information which it affords respecting the objects of worship among the pagan Irish, iscorroborated to a con- siderable extent by an authority of still higher antiquity, the annotations on the life of St. Patrick, by Tirechan, in which the following statement appears : " Perrexitque ad civitatem Temro, ad Loi- gairium, filium Neill, iterum quia apud ilium foedus pepiglt ut non occideretur in regno illius, sed non potuit credere, dicens : Nam Neel pater meus non sinivit mihi credere, sed ut sepeliar in cacuminibus Temro quasi viris consistentibus in bello : quia utuntur gentiles in sepulcris armati prumptis armis facie ad faciem usque ad diem Erdathe apud Magos, id est judicii diem Domini. Ego filius Neill et filius [filium?] Dunlinge im Maistin in Campo itpAipro duritate odivi, ut est hoc." — Fol. 10, «,2. And he [Patrick] repaired again to the city of Temro to Loigairi, the son of Niall, because he had ratified a league with him that he should not be slain in his kingdom ; but he could not believe, saying. For Neel, my father, did not permit me to believe, but that 1 should be interred in the top of Temro, like men standing up in war. For the pagans are accustomed to be buried armed, with their weapons ready face to face, [in which manner they remain] to the day of Erdathe^ among the Magi, i. e. the day of the judgment of the Lord. I the son of Niall, hated the son of Dunhng, in Maistin, in the plain of the Liphi, for his severity, ut est hoc* Close to the south-east side of this Rath Laoghaire, the prose description places the Leacht, or monument of Mata Morglonnach, (the great-deeded,) a trea- cherous soldier of Cormac's household. Nothing is told of him but that he * Something wrong here in the original MS. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 171 buried alive four youths who were playing at a game at a spot lying to the south- east of Rath Laoghaire, that is, as it would seem, on the spot on which the monument was afterwards raised ; for though the monument popularly bore the name of Mata, it is more probable that it was raised as a memorial of the event, according to the custom still preserved in Ireland, than as a sepulchre for Mata. This monument is also destroyed. Proceding now to the monuments situated to the north of Rath na Riogh, the first in importance is that called Rath-na- Seanadh, that is, Rath of the Synods. The situation of this enclosure is distinctly pointed out both in the verse and prose accounts, as lying opposite to the Mound of the Hostages and north of the Ziia Fail. It is evident, that the age of this Rath is anterior to the events of which it was the theatre, and from which it received the popular name preserved in these records, but its original name cannot now be ascertained. The ecclesi- astical assemblies held here, are noticed only in the poem ; and were, first, the synod of Patrick ; second, the synod of Ruadhan and of Brendan ; and lastly, the synod of Adamnan, pronouncing a curse against Irgalach. The occasion of the first and second of these synods has been already noticed, namely, the at- tempt to convert the monarch Laoghaire and the Irish chiefs by Patrick, and the cursing of King Dermot by Ruadhan, which was the cause of the desertion of Tara, on the death of that monarch, in 565. Of the synod of Adamnan no account has been found more satisfactory than the indistinct notice in this poem, but the purpose for which it was held is stated in the following somewhat legendary manner in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 38, b. and a similar account is found in the Book of Lecan, fol. 166, p. a, col. 4. QDamnan do palai in apoile lou oc im- Adamnan happened to be travelling on a cer- oechc ITIuije Speaj, ocup a macaip pop a tain day through the plain of Bregia with his mum, CO n-acacap na oa chach ic omchu- mother on his back, when they saw two armies apcain a cheliu. ©cmainj Din Ronaic, engaged in mutual conflict. It happened then macaip Qoamnain, conup acaio in mnai that Ronait, the mother of Adamnan, observed a ocup coppan lapaino in a laim, ocup pi oc woman with an iron reaping-hook in her hand, rappaing na mna eli ap in chach chocappnai, dragging another woman out of the opposite ocup hi lenmain a cich pioe boi m coppan. battalion with the hook fastened in one of her Qp cuma no bicip pip ocup mnai oc ca- breasts. For men and women went equally to baipc chachai ip m aimpip pin. SuiDip battle at that time. After this Eonait sat down, Ronaic lapum, ocup ac bepc mm bepupa and said thou wilt not bring me from this spot ^2 172 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. lac ap in inao pa co pa paepchap mna q\ia until thou exemptest women for ever from being bichiu ap m n-gne ucuc, ocup ap pechc ocup in this condition, and from excursions and hostings. pluajuD. 5^UaiD lapum Qoamnan m ni Adamnan then promised that thing. There hap- pin. Gcmainj qia lapum mopoail i n-Gpino, pened afterwards a convocation in Ireland, and ocup ceic Qoamnan co popjlai clepech Adamnan, with the choice part of the clergy of Gpeno ip in oail pin, ocup paepaip na mna Ireland, went to that assembly, and he exempted mo. the women at it. Iciac po Din ceicpe Cana Gpeno .i. Cain These are the four Cains of Ireland, namely, pacpaic, cen clepchiu do mapbuo ; Cam the Cain of Patrick, not to kill the clergy ; the Oapi ChaiUech, cen bu do Tnapbao; Cain Cain of Dari, the Nun, not to kill cows; the Cain QDomnain cen na mna do mapbao ; Cam of Adamnan, not to kill women ; the Sunday tJomnaij cen caipmchechc ano. Cain, not to travel on it. Respecting this synod of Adamnan, the Irish annals are silent ; but Colgan, Acta SS. p. 566, and Trias Thaum. p. 503, speaks of a synod held by Flan, arch- bishop of Armagh, in 694, or 695, to the Acts of which the names of the saints Mochonna and Adamnan were subscribed. It appears, however, from the Acts of this synod, a copy of which was in Colgan's possession, and of which there is also a copy in Marsh's library, in a book entitled Presidents of the See of Armagh, MS. p. 395, that this synod must have been a different one from that held at Tara, which was probably convened for the purpose of denouncing the un- christian custom still remaining among the people of Bregia, in his time, as the lorgalach whom Adamnan denounced was, according to the Annals of Tighear- nach, king of Bregia ; and was killed by the Saxons in 701. And if conjecture may be indulged as to the date of this synod, it was, most probably, in the year 697> when, according to the Annals of Tighearnach, Adamnan brought a law with him into Ireland — Qoomnan cue pechc leif in GpinO an blia&ain ]^ea ; or, as it is stated in the Annals of Ulster, at the year 696, which are a year antedated ; Adomnanus ad Hiberniam pergit, et dedit legem innocentium populis. The renewal of this law in Ireland is recorded at the year 727, by Tighearnach — Adamnani reliquice transferuntur in Hiberniam, et Lex renovatur. However this may be, the passage in the Leabhar Breac is valuable for the light which it throws on several records in the Irish annals, respecting the establishment at various times of the Cain Phatruic, Cain Dairi, Cain Adamnain, and Cain Domnaigh, which records Dr. O' Conor most erroneously supposed to refer only to the establishment of monastic rules. Thus of the Cain Phatruic, which is otherwise called in the annals Lex Patricii. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 173 A. D. 737. Lex Pairicii tenuit Hibemiam. A. D. 782. Scarhach popuf cano Patricii hi CpuaicniB La t)uBDaleichi ocup la Ci- p\\a\T:}Jilium Caiojj. A. D. 798. Lex Pairicii pop Conachca la ^opiTisal' ITIac Oinoacaij. A. D. 805. Lex Pairicii la hQeo JTIac Neill. A. D. 810. Nuaoa Qbao Qipomachae migravit cu Connachra cum lege Patricii, et cum armaria ejus. A. D. 822. Lex Patricii pop ITlumain la peiolimche ITlac Cpemcain, ocup la h Qipqiij mac Concobaip, .1. Gppcop CCpoa- macha. A. D. 824. Lex Patricii pop ceopa Con- nachcaib la Qipqiij TTlac ConcoBaip, .1. Gppcop Qpoamacha. A. D. 835. t)epTnaic do duI co Con- nachra cum lege et vexillis Patricii. And thus of the Cain Dairi : A. D. 811. Lex t)apn pop Conachru. A. D. 812. Lex Oapii la hu Neill. A. D. 825. LexX>a\\^ co Conachca ite- rum. 737. The Law of Patrick prevailed in Ire- land.— Tig. 782. The promulgation of the Law of Patrick at Croghan by Dubhdalethe and by Tipraite, the son of Tadhg.* — Ann. Ult. 798. The Law of Patrick in Connaught by Gormgal, the son of Dinnatach. — Ann. Ult. 805. The Law of Patrick by Aedh, the son of Niall Ann. Ult. 810. Nuada, abbot of Armagh, went to Con- naught with the Law of Patrick and with his armory. — Ann. Ult. 822. The Law of Patrick in Munster by Feidhlimidh, the son of Cremthann, and by Airtri, the son of Concobhar, Bishop of Armagh. — Ann. Ult. 824. The Law of Patrick in the three divi- sions of Connaught by Airtri, son of Concobhar, Bishop of Armagh Ann. Ult. 835. Dermait went to Connaught with the Law and Vexilla of Patrick. — Ann. Ult. 811. The Law of Dari in Connaught — Ann. Ult. 812. The Law of Dari among the Hy-Niall — Ann. Ult. 825. The Law of Dari [brought] into Con- naught again. — Ann. Ult. And again of the Cain Domhnatgh : A. D. 884. Qnanloen, an c-ailicip, cop 884. Ananloen, the pilgrim, came to Ireland in ©pipcil DO paoao do mm in lepupalem co with the epistle which was given from heaven at cam t)oitinai j ajup poipceclaib maice do Jerusalem, with the Sunday Law and with good ciachcain an Gpinn. instructions. — Pour Masters. Though these four coins, or laws, are stated in the Leabhar Breac to be pre- eminently the four cains of Ireland, yet the establishment of several other cains • Dr. O'Connor knew so little of the nature of these cains that he translates this entry in the Annals of Ulster most erroneously, thus : — " Solutio tributi scientiarum S. Patricii, facta in Regia Connacia, dicla Cruachan, a Dubdaletheo, et Tipratio filio Thadei." 174 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. is also recorded, the nature of which remains to be ascertained. Of the penalties consequent on the infringement of some of these, including the Cain Adamnain, a statement is found in a fragment of the Brehon Laws preserved in the Library of Trinity College, — H. 4, 22, p. 37, col. b. — which is given below, though, till a glossary of the technical tenns in those laws be discovered the sense must remain in a great degree obscure.* From the preceding notice of a convention, or synod, having been held at Tara in the seventh century, it appears, that though no longer the residence of the kings, Tara was still occasionally selected as a place for ecclesiastical assem- blies. A later instance of such assemblies there is thus recorded in the Annals of Ulster at the year 779 : " Congressio Sinodorum Nepotum Neill et Laginen- sium in oppido Temro, ubi fuerunt Scribe et Ancorite multi, quibus dux erat Dublitter" Of the illustrious man whose name is connected with this and other monu- ments at Tara, it would be superfluous to give any lengthened notice in this place. As the distinguished author of the Life of St. Columba, his predecessor in * T?ir cana pharpuic co moppeiup .i. rechc cumaili caclairiie co moip peipiup. ■Rir cana tJiapmatja co nonbup .i. pechc cumala caca laime co nonbup. Ric cana 6oileachra co ceo laech .i. leic pechc cumala cacha lairhe co pia ceo laech. Kir cana QoaiTinain co mile .i. cerh-paimclie, pecc cumala caca laime co mile. T?ic caipoe *i oligeo oijona co qii nonBupaib ; alainpiacaiDe aceqiaimci piac lam piac ap in ceo nonbup, ocup lecpiach ap noenbup canaipci ocup ceipaimri ap in rpep nonbup a caipoe .1. pechc cumala cacha laime co cpi nonbup a noli jeo oijona qii cumala a pLichr ploij a caipoi. pic comoip peipep no co cpi nonbupaiB oona b-eicipeoaib, coup a m-beic co Diapme do na heicipeoaiB. The Rith of Cain Patrick [extends] to seven, i. e. seven cumals for every hand, as far as seven. The Mith of Cain Dertnot [extends] to nine, i. e. seven cumals for every hand, as far as nine. The Rith of Cain Boileachta [extends] to one hundred laics, I. e. the half of seven cumals for every hand as far as one hundred laics. The Rith of the Cain Adamnain [extends] to one thousand, i. e. the fourth of seven cumals for every hand as far as one thousand. The Rith of respite and the law of Digon (wounding) [extends] to three times nine persons ; the full fine extends to four cerraimihi ; the full fine on the first nine, half fine on the second nine, and a quarter fine on the third nine among friends, i. e. seven cumals for every hand as far as three times seven persons in the Law of Digon, three cumals for a slicht sloigh in the Dlighed Ciarde. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 175 the Irish abbacy of lona, and of the description of the places of the Holy Land, from the relation of Arculph, a French bishop, but still more as theperson of whom such an honorable character is given by Bede — as a wise and good man, and one exceedingly well versed In the Holy Scriptures, greatly studious of peace and unity, — the celebrity of his acts must be familiar to the readers of British history. He was bom in 624, and died at lona In 704. Some works of his — as the Visio Adamnani — not yet published, are preserved in the Library of Trinity College. The remains of the Rath of the Synods, which Is now popularly called the King's Chair Rath, are situated on the top of the hill. It appears distinctly to have had two external fosses and parapets ; but the outer ring has been partly destroyed on the eastern side by the erecting of the church-yard wall, and part of it has been removed on the southern side to spread over land. Within these enclosures are two Raths or mounds, of which the larger, situated to the south- east, is 106 f. In diameter, and the smaller, situated to the north-west. Is 33 f. It Is this latter mound which Is popularly called the King's Chair \ but It should properly be called the Mound of Pupall Adamnain, or the Tent of Adamnan, which, though unnoticed in the verse. Is distinctly described in the prose as being situated within this Rath. This mound Is surrounded by a ditch, and is higher than the larger Rath, being 7^-f' from the ground on its north-western side, and 5rV f. on its south-eastern side, while the larger Rath is but 4 f, from the ground. The general measurements will appear from the section, which is taken north- west and south-east, and on a scale of 60 f. to an inch. 13S The other memorials of Adamnan noticed in the prose account as being situated to the east of the Rath of the Synods are : first, his Cross ; and south of this, his Mound and his Seat. The locality of these monuments is enclosed within the boundary of the churchyard, and the Mound and Seat no longer exist ; but the shaft of the Cross still remains in the very situation described. It is of red sandstone — the usual material of such monuments — and has a figure rudely sculp- tured in relief on one side. Its height is about 6f., and its breadth l^f. 176 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. A short distance to the south-east of Adamnan's cross was situated, accord- ing to the prose account, which is corroborated by the verse, the house from which Benen, the disciple of St. Patrick, escaped, and in which Lucad the Bald, the druid of king Laogaire, was burned. The site here pointed out is also within the boundary of the churchyard. The legend with which this fea- ture was connected is of the class commonly found in the lives of the saints, and is given with various degrees of detail in all the lives of St. Patrick. Its origin, however, is of very high antiquity, as it appears in the tripartite life, and in the notices of the saint's life, by Maccuthenius and Tirechan, preserved in the Book of Armagh. The story is thus told by Maccuthenius ; and, as the text is very corrupt, an English translation is added : (Fol. 5, p. a, col. 2, et seq.) His autetn omnibus in conspectu regis [mi- rabiliter gestis — Prohus'] inter magum Patri- ciumque, ait res ad illos ; libros vestros in aquam mittite, et ilium cujus libri inlessi evasserunt, adorabimus, Respondit Patricius, faciam ego ; et dixit magus, nolo ego ad judi- cium aquse venire cum isto, aquam enim deum habet ; certe audivit babtisma per aquam a Patricio datum. Et respondens rex ait, per- " All these things being done in sight of the king, between the magician \_Lucetmail^ and Pa- trick ; the king says to them, cast your books into the water, and him whose books shall escape uninjured, we will adore. Patrick answered, I will do so. And the magician said, I am unwilling to come to the trial by water with that man, because he has water as his god : for he had heard that baptism was given by Patrick with Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 177 tnitte per ignem ; et ait Patricius, prumptus sum ; at magus nolens dixit, hie homo versa vice in alternos annos, nunc aquam, nunc ignem, deum veneratur. Et ait Sanctus ; non sic, sed tu ipse ibis, et unus ex meis pueris ibi tecum in separatam et conclaussam domum, et meum erga te, et tuum erga me erit vestimentum ;* et sic simul incendemini. £t hoc consilium insedit, et aedificata est eis domus, cujus di- medium ex materia viridi, et alterum dimedium ex arida facta est : et missus est magus in illam domum in partem ejus viridem, et unus ex pueris Sancti Patricii Bineus nomine, cum veste magica in partem domus [aridam — Pro- bus\. Conclussa itaque extrinsecus domus, coram omni turba incensa est : et factum est in ilia hora, orante Patricio, ut consumeret flamma ignis magum cum dimedia domu viridi, permanente cassula Sancti Patricii tantum in- tacta, quia ignis non tetigit. Felix autem Benineus e contrario cum dimedia domu arida, secundum quod de tribus pueris dictum est, non tetigit eum ignis, neque contristatus est, nee quicquam molesti intulit, cassula tantum magi, quae erga eum fuerat, non sine Dei nutu, exusta.f Et iratus est valde rex adversus Patricium de morte magi sui, et inruit poene in eum, volens occidere, sed prohibuit ilium Deus : ad precem enim Patricii, et ad vocem ejus, discendit ira Dei in verticem suum ; et timult rex vehimenter, et commotum est cor ejus, et omnis civitas cum eo." water. And the king answering said, allow it by fire : and Patrick says, I am ready ; but the ma- gician, being unwilling, said, this man alternately in each successive year, adores as God, water and fire. And the saint says, not so, but thou thyself shalt go, and one of my boys shall go with thee, into a separate and closed house, and my vestment shall be on thee, and thine on him ; and thus together you shall be set on fire. And this coun- sel was approved of, and there was a house built for them, the half of which was made of green wood, and the other half of dry : and the magi- cian was sent into that part of the house which was green, and one of the boys of St. Patrick, Sineus by name, with the vest of the magician, [was sent] into the dry part of the house. The house then being closed outside was set on fire before the whole multitude : and it came to pass in that hour, by the prayers of Patrick, that the flame of the fire consumed the magician with the green half of the house, while the garment of St. Patrick remained untouched, because the fire did not touch it. But the fortunate Benineus, on the contrary, together with the dry half of the house, according to what is said of the three chil- dren, was not touched by the fire, neither was he annoyed, nor did he experience any inconvenience, only the garment of the magician which he had about him, was burned, not without the permis- sion of God. And the king was greatly indignant against Patrick on account of the death of his magician, and he had almost rushed upon him, desiring to slay him, but God prevented him : for at the intercession of Patrick, and at his entreaty, the wrath of God descended on his head, and the king feared excessively, and his heart was disturbed, and all the city with him." • Et meum apud te, et tuum apud meum puerum erit vestimentum. — Probus. f Non tetigit ignis, neque contristavit, nee quicquam raolestise intulit, vestimento Magi, quod circa eum fuerat, non sine Dei nutu, exusto. — Probus. VOL. XVIII. Z 178 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. The same legend is told by Joceljm, but in far better language and order of narration. — See Trias Thaum., and Swift's translation of Jocelyn, p. 67. The boy Blnen, or as his name was Latinized, Benignus, was afterwards placed over the church of Armagh by St. Patrick, in 455, He resigned this dignity in 465, and died in 468. The feature next to be noticed was also evidently situated within the boun- dary of the churchyard, or perhaps a little to the south of it, namely, the House of Mariseo. The poem states, that this house was situated to the north, on the brink of the well Neamhnach ; and the prose account agrees. It is stated to have been high at its northern and western sides, and low at the eastern — a description which would apply to its locality on the side of the hill. The poem states, that Mariseo was the female of greatest beauty in all Ireland ; and the prose adds, that she was a widow who was cotemporary with Cormac. The poem adds an interesting particular connected with this locality, that from this house out towards Meath, that is, along the side of the hill to the east of the road, the houses, or dwellings of Temur, were spread. Proceeding in the order of the prose description, the monuments next to be noticed are the three stones which marked the graves of the druids, Mael, Blocc, and Bluicnl. These stones were situated at the side of the Rath of the Synods, to the north ; and with respect to each other, that of Mael to the east, Blocc to the south, and Bluicnl to the north. The poem states, that these stones had been cast or thrown here by the great Mai of Macha. This Mai, according to the Annals of Tighearnach, was king of Emanla, or Emhain Macha, for thirty- three years, and commenced his reign in the year 130. It would appear from a legendary story of very great antiquity, preserved by Duald Mac Flrbls, that two of these stones were supposed to have served a higher purpose than as mere gravestones ; and that they acted a part in the royal drama of the coronation not less Important, though less noisy, than the Lia Fail itself. This story Is as follows : Q m-bacrap Caijin, ocup Cineul Cuinn When the Lagenians and the race of Conn of the CeuD-chachaij aj oenairi pij i D-Ueathaip Hundred Battles were electing aking at Temur after cap eip GiDeppjed, baoi capbac pi5 i o- Ederscel, there was a king's chariot at Temur, under Ceaihpai^ no jaboaoip oa eac aonoaca, nao which were yoked two horses, of one colour, which pajbaioip piarii po'" 5-capbac. Qn ci nao had never been yoked under a chariot before. This Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 179 aipeimeao plaic Ceariipac conojbao an cappac ppipco nac mo cac, ajup conleiccip iia h-eic FPT' OS^F ^''o' capal pij ip m cappar, ojup in n nac uipmi plair Cearii- pac bo po mop do an capal. CIjup baccap Da liuj 1 D-Ceamaip .1. 6loc ajup 6luicne, an ci ap a pemoip, ap po oipilccip ppip 50 D-ceijea6 an capbac eacoppa. CTjup bui pal ann, peapb cluice po cmn aonaij an capbuiD. Ctn ci pop paoihao plaic Ceam- pac, DO jlaooao an pal ppip ponnao an cap- pac coniD j-cluineao cac. Qn ci nao upaomao plaic Ceampac, ni applaicoip piam na DO liaij .1. 6loc ajup 6luicne. dp e moD cijeao eocaip lairiie ecoppa ; ajup an ci nao upaom plaic Ceampac ni pjpeoaD pal ppia ponnao. Ni ap po ecaoap Cu jaio T2iab n-Deap5 lap n-juin eioippjeoil. chariot would not admit any person unworthy of the throne of Temur, and the horses would start at his presence ; and there was a king's casal in the chariot, and it would be two large for any one unworthy of the throne of Temur. And there were two stones at Temur called Bloc and Bluicni, which used to open out so that the chariot of the worthy person might pass between them. And F'al was there, a rounded lump of a stone at the head oi Aonach an Charbuid. And when the throne of Temur was to be ceded to the worthy person, the Fal used to roar at the motion of the chariot so that all heard. But when the person was not eli- gible to the government of Temur, the two stones Sloe and Bluicni did not open out before him. They were so placed as to admit the breadth of the hand only between them ; and when the can- didate was not eligible to the throne of Temur, the Fal would not roar to the motion of the chariot. In this manner they refused Lughaidh Riabhderg after the fall of Edersceol. Conary went up to Temur to the chiefs and the kingly chariot. The chariot with its horses waited for him, the casal of the king was in the chariot. The horses on either side waited for Conary. " Into the chariot go," said his mother ; Conaire did so, for the chariot received him. " Put on the casal" said she. He put it on in the presence of the multitudes ; the casal was a fit for him. The chariot moved under him, while he stood in it. He went to Fal with the multitudes about him and his mother before him. The Fal roared to the hearing of all the multitudes who were at Temur ; and they delivered hostages to Conaire, and gave him the coarbship of his farther. — The Book ofDuald Mac Firhis, p. 384. coriiopbup a acap 60. Of these stones, two still remain ; and are, probably, not far from their ori- ginal locality. They are rudely-shaped obeliscal pillar-stones, situated within the churchyard, and are pointed out by the people as the stones left there " by z2 D'eipjic Conaipe co Ceampaij cona DuipiB ajup cona capbac na placa. Ctnaip an cappac cona eacoiB ap a cionn ; a^up 50 j-capal inn pi je ip in capbac. Qnpac na h-eic an oi leic ap cionn Conaipe. Ip in capbac caoc, ap a macaip ; Ceio Conaipe inn ; ap do paom an cappac 6. ^ub lomoo, Don, ol pi, an capal. 55°t>aip uime ina pea- parii pi piao na pluajaib ; ba coimpi do an capal. Ceio an cappac poe, ap 6 'na fe^a- parii ann. Ceio do chum pail jop na plua- jaib uime, a macaip piam. 5''"°'^<^'S *^" pal apo ec pal pop in pluoj uile, pa iheo an c-pluaj baccap 1 D-Ceoriiaip each ppiu ; ajup jiallaic do Conaipe ajup do bepac 180 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. the giants of Tara." They are each about 2f. 6 in. in height, and about the same in breadth. i^c^ ^^/.^"-^^Uf'^^-' '■■■ To the east of these stones, according to the prose account, was situated The Monument of the Dwarf, but of which there are now no remains. This tomb is stated to have been three feet in length, on the first measurement, and three feet and a half on the second ! To the understanding of this statement, it will be necessary to observe, that the miraculous power of this tomb to adapt itself to the size of every person is recorded in many ancient Irish poems and prose tracts, as one of the thirteen wonders of Ireland. In one of these poetical accounts called Mirabilia Hibernice, which is given in a Latin transla- tion by O'Flaherty, the tomb of the dwarf at Tara is thus described : " Temoriae Nani tumulutn lapis obtegit, in quo Vir, puer, aut infans tres, et non amplius, aequat, Quisque pedes longo : numerum discrimine nuUo Multiplicat, minuitve pedum proportio dispar." Ogygia, p. 290. The same statement occurs in the Book of Ballymote, fol. 140, page b. col. b., and is also thus given in an ancient poem on Tara, ascribed to Caoilte Mac Ronain, In the Library of Trinity College, H. 1, 15, p. 38. Ciji an aBaic a Ceaihpaij, The tomb of the Dwarf at Temur, Ni cuala ingna aiiilaijj; : I have heard no wonder hke it : In uaip DO lui5 pop m lie From the hour that lay under the flag Sen bee Scarpa, ua Bibpic, Little Sen of Seaghais, grandson of Eibric, In pectp ip mo o'peapaib fa'^ '^'^ ^^^ largest man of the men of Fail Qn peap ap luj in a oail The smallest man along with him, Curpuime ooib ceaccap oe Its adaptation to either of them 6a o'lnjancaib na lije. Is of the wonders of the tomb. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 181 A similar legend is given by Nennius, in his tract entitled De Mirahilibus Hibernice, but in which the monument is stated to have been on Crucmaur in Cereticum ; and hence Sir James Ware considered, that it should properly have been placed among the wonders of England as it is found in some copies. But, however this may be, the absurdity of the superstition connected with the monu- ment at Tara should not invalidate the fact of its former existence. The tomb of St. Coemgene, or Kevin, the patron saint of Iris Hier, one of the South Islands of Aran, is still universally believed by the people of the west of Ireland to have a similar miraculous power, a belief which no demonstration of its fallacy can shake. It was in the immediate vicinity of these monuments, namely, in a mound, or bank, near the churchyard, that about the year 1810, the golden Torques . were found, which are now happily saved from the usual fate of antiquities of the kind discovered in Ireland, by the liberality of the Members of the Royal Irish Academy, and other patriotic individuals. These Torques are of a spiral or screw pattern, as will be seen from the subjoined wood-cuts ; and though the design is simple, the workmanship is of great beauty. In both instances the twist is formed of four equidistant radiations from a common centre, subsequently twisted into this spiral form. The first is five feet seven inches from one extremity to the other, and weighs 27 oz. 9dwts. The second Torque, though of equal diameter, is. of more delicate construc- tion and greater lightness — the weight being only 12 oz. 6dwts. A great dif- 182 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. ference will be also perceived in the form of the thin rod, which springs from the extremity at one side. Torques of similar size, and generally of the same pattern, have been fre- quently found in Ireland, and are often accompanied by Armillce, or bracelets, of the same description. A model of such a Torque is preserved in the museum of Trinity College, and smaller specimens in gold may be seen in the cabinets of several collectors of Irish antiquities. The term Torques, by which antiquarians usually designated these ornaments, is one of frequent occurrence in the classic authors, and is generally derived from the. Celtic Tore, a twisted collar ; or, perhaps, more correctly, a twisted circular ornament of any kind, as the ancient Irish called a collar, or neck-chain, Mun- torc. And since the Latin verb torqueo has no cognate in Greek, it is probably formed from the same Celtic root. Collars of this kind seem to have beea common to all the Celtic nations, as appears from ancient writers. Livy tells us, that Publius Cornelius, in his triumph over the Boii, a Gallic nation, collected, among the spoils, no less than fourteen hundred and seventy Torques : and Propertius states, that Virdumarus, king of the Gauls, wore such an ornament. Dio Cassius notices a Torque of this description, as ornamenting the person of the British queen, Boadicea; and even within a few centuries of the present time, a Welsh prince was called Llewellin aur dorchag, or Llewellin of the Golden Torque. The Torques found in France Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 183 and Wales are exactly similar to the Irish : a fine one found near Harlech, in the year 1692, is preserved in the Mostyn family in Flintshire. It has been supposed by some antiquarians, that the use of these ornaments was derived from the Romans. But the great number discovered in Ireland is opposed to such a conjecture ; and they may, perhaps, with much greater proba- bility, be referred to a Celtic origin. It does not appear, that they were gene- rally worn by the Romans ; and the very appellation, Torquatus, which was bestowed on Titus Mainlius, from the golden Torque taken by him from a Gaul, whom he slew in the year of Rome 393, and which was continued as a surname in his family, seems to indicate, that the Torques was not familiar to the Romans at the time. The Torques of the Irish are spoken of in the most ancient MSS. under the names of Mun-torc, and Muinche, or Moinche, by which they were also called. Thus, in a description of the person of Cormac Mac Art, in the Book of Ballymote, fol. 14, 62, it is stated, that he had a fine purple garment about him ; a golden brooch in his breast ; a Mun-torc, or collar of gold, around his neck ; a belt orna- mented with gold and precious stones about him, &c. " bpac copcpa capleacca uime ; lia^belg oip pop a Bpuint>i ; TTIUN-UORC oip im a bpaigit) ; cpipoip 50 n-jemaib Do I15 logmaip caipip," &c. And again in H. 3. 18, p. 391, in the MS. Library of Trinity College, a distinct allusion seems to be made to the lumps usually found at the extremities of the Torques, as in the Tara examples : Da upall* oip pop De jabail a rhoince, meD peapoapn each n-ae ;" that is, two apples, or balls, of gold on the two forks of his moinche, each the size of a man's fist. The following curious reference to the golden Torque of Dermot Mac Cearbheoil, the last king of Ireland resident at Tara, is found in the life of St. Brendan, preserved in the Codes Kilkenniensis in Marsh's Library, fol. 60. " Venit aliquando sanctus Brendanus visitare sanctos in regione Midi manentes. Tunc Diar- moyt filius Cearbuyll rex Hibernie qui regnabat in urbe Themoria in regione Midi sompnium vidit .i. duos angelos torquem regiam de coUo ejus toUentes et dantes homini sibi ignoto. Crastino jam die, pervenit sanctus Brendanus ad regem ilium : cumque vidisset eum rex dixit amicis suis ; • It should be observed, that in Irish MSS., as well as in the spoken language, the word abkall (apple) is apphed to any knob or rounded termination. » 184 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. hie est vir ille cui vidi torquem meatn dari. Tunc sapientes dixerunt regi. Regnuin Hybernie usque nunc erat reglbus ; a modo dividetur inter sanctos Hybernie regnum tuum O Bex. Et hie sanetus magnam parrochiam per Hyberniam habebit. Hoc sompnium et interpretacionem ejus audiens sanetus Brendanus ait ad omnes. Ita erit, quia Deum colentibus hie et in futuro bona da- buntur, ut est illud : Querite primum regnum Dei et alia bona addentur vobis. Et Rex Diarmoyt honorem dedit saneto Brendano, justi tenax enim et CathoUcus erat ipse rex." Though the name of the original wearer of the Tara Torques is, perhaps, now lost beyond the possibility of recovery, yet the certainty of their locality invests them with a high degree of antiquarian interest, and goes far towards determining their antiquity, which, there can scarcely be a doubt, is at least anterior to the desertion of Tara, in the sixth century. The monuments next noticed in the prose account, as being in the immediate vicinity of the Grave of the Dwarf, and north of the Rath of the Synods, are the mounds called Dall and Dorcha — the tombs of the two blind mendicants so named, who slew each other. The accounts of the situation of these monuments, as given both in the prose and verse, are very indistinct ; the prose, as given in most copies, states, that they were to the north of the Dwarfs Grave, Dall towards the south, and Dorcha towards the west ; or, as given in the Book of Glendalough, Dall the name of the western mound, and Dorcha the name of the eastern. From the indistinctness and apparent contradiction in these accounts, it is not possible to assign, with any degree of certainty, the proper names to the two mounds, which still remain to the north and north-west of the Rath of the Synods ; but there can be but little doubt that they are the mounds alluded to, as otherwise they would be unnoticed features in all the descriptions. The next existing monument, which these records identify with certainty, is the Teach-Miodhchuarta, or Banqueting Hall, so celebrated in Irish history and tradition. Of this building, the verse only states, that it was called Long na Laec — the House of the Heroes ; bapc na m-ban — the House of the Women ; Ceac na Laec — the House of the Heroes; and adds, that it was no weak house, and that it had fourteen doors. The words long and hare, applied by the poet to this edifice, both which literally signify a ship, have evidently a figurative reference to the long shape of the building, a form very rare in Ireland, and of which this hall was probably the first instance previously to the introduction of Christianity into the country. The word long is explained by Cormac Mac Cul- Mr. Petkie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 185 lenan as a ship — " ah eo quod est longa ;" and again, " Long .1. Saxanbepla, i. e. lanj .1. paoa, et inde dicitur Long." — a ship.* The prose account describes with great accuracy its situation and form. Long na m-han, i. e. Teach- Miodchuarta, lies to the north-west of the eastern mound. Its ruins are situated thus : the lower part to the north and the higher part to the south, and walls are raised about it to the east and to the west ; the northern side of it is enclosed and small ; the lie of it is from north to south. Thefuath (foundation) of this long house has twelve doors upon it, or fourteen, seven to the west and seven to the east. It is said, that it was here that the Feis Teamhrach — meeting or assembly of Temur — was held, which seems true, as so many men would fit in it as would form the choice part of the men of Ireland. This was the great house of the thousand soldiers. The situation of this ruin is on the north slope of the hill, and its lie, or direction, is very nearly north and south. Its length, taken from the road, is 759 f., and its present breadth at the bottom is 46 f., but its original breadth must have been about 90. The accompanying section, which is from south to north, and on a scale of 150 f. to an inch, will shew the slopes and measurements of the length of the building as at present remaining ; but the original length must have been greater, as the northern end appears to have been cut away by the road. It will be seen, that the bottom of the Hall has not a regular slope from the * He elsewhere derives the word lonj, a ship, from the Latin longus. "tonj bip pop muip, ah eo quod est longa .1. lang .1. poca .1. poca Bip pop muip." i. e. Long, that is on the sea, ah eo quod est longa, i. e. lang, i. e. long, i. e. it is long on the sea. Whether Cormac be right or not in his supposition that the word long, as applied to a ship, was derived from the Saxon, it is probable that long, as an adjective, must have been an original word in the Irish, as a branch of the Indo- European family of languages ; and it appears even to have been applied to a ship at a very remote period, from the epithet Loingseach, mariner, applied to Labhra, an Irish monarch, who led a Gaul- ish colony into Ireland before the Christian era. VOL. XVIII. 2 a 186 Mr. Petbie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. south to the north. The section from east to west, which is on a scale of 60 f. to an inch, shews thus : From these sections, as well as from the ground-plan on the map, it will be seen that in the preceding accounts of this building there is nothing stated which is not fully corroborated by the ruins still existing ; and it may be again remarked, as a curious proof of the accuracy of the prose description, that the un- certainty as to the number of doors being twelve or fourteen remains a diflSculty at the present time. There is, however, another ancient account of this building, also preserved in the Dinnseanchus, which enters into details more likely to awaken scepticism, namely, the poem of Kineth O'Hartigan, written about the middle of the tenth century ; and, certainly, if the object of this investigation were any other than the discovery of truth, it might, perhaps, be most prudent to follow the example of the Irish literati, by allowing it to slumber in the darkness of its ancient lan- guage. But as this document is the sole authority from which the Irish writers of the two last centuries have drawn their startling accounts of the magnificence and splendour of the regal palace of the Irish monarchs, it is necessary that its statements should be exposed to rational investigation without any partial sup- pression, or mutilation ; nor should those parts, which receive corroboration from existing circumstances, be hastily rejected in consequence of their being associated with traditional details dressed in the garb of bardic exaggeration, and which, viewed even as fictitious, are still valuable as evidences of the notions of civiliza- tion prevalent at the time. It must, indeed, be confessed, that while the garbled extracts hitherto given from this poem have helped to bring the early Irish authorities into disrepute, they have also led to conclusions which it by no means authorizes. A remark- able example of this result occurs in the second volume of Mr. Moore's able history of Ireland, incomparably the best which has yet appeared. In recording the death of the poet, Kineth O'Hartigan, Mr. Moore adds: "A poem of this writer is still preserved, descriptive of the beauty of the celebrated hill of Tara, Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. 187 and moralizing mournfully over its history ; nor should those who visit, in our days, that seat of long extinguished royalty, feel any w^onder on not discovering there some vestige of its grandeur, when told, that even in the time of this poet, not a trace of the original palace still remained ; while the hill itself had become a desert overgrown with grass and weeds." — p. 132. It will be seen, however, that this statement, which would completely nullify the accounts given in the preceding pages of this memoir, is not substantiated by any passage in the poem. It should be remarked, that in the following translation the various copies have been compared, and that of these the best is preserved in a MS. in Trinity College, H. 3. 3, transcribed in the sixteenth century, at Jrd Choill in the county of Clare, for the celebrated historian and poet, John O'Mulconry. It is from this copy the text is here printed ; but, as the various readings in the other copies will be given in the notes, it will be proper to prefix a list of the several copies referred to, with their present localities. The first is in the Book of Glendalough, class H. 2. 18 ; the second, in the Leabhar Buidhe Lecain, H. 2. 16, p. 403 : these two MSS. are in the Library of Trinity College. The third is in the Book of Ballymote, — fol. 189, p. b. col. 1 ; the fourth, in the Leabhar Gabhala of the O'Clerys : both of these are in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy. It will be proper also to premise, that from the great obscurity of the language, and the differences found In the readings of this poem In these several copies, it Is not always possible to decide on the most correct reading, or to convey, with any great degree of certainty, the author's original meaning. But the general sense, as far as history is concerned, will at least be preserved, as on this point no material difference occurs In any of the copies, and particularly as an ancient Gloss on this very poem has been found in the College Library, — H. 3. 18, p. 467. SuiDiugao Cicci niiDcuapco arm po piop The situation of Teach Midhchuarta here fol- buD Depcai. lows. Cech miocuapca' imopjfo an amfip Teach Midhchuarta in the time of Cormac Copmaic h-Ui Cuinn: qn cecqioicciD aco- O'Cuinn: three hundred feet [was] the mea- mup an cije pin, ocup vii. cubaic a pao an surement of that house, and seven cubits the ' Ceach TTIioDchuapca imoppo i Ceariipaiij, &c — i. Oabhala of the O'Clerys. 2a2 188 Mr. Petrie on the History/ and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. ceLlaij;, ocuppechccoineolbiiuij ipm bpui^- in ['in.' t)a pechc n-oopup FTP '" pi-cec pin. Cpi caecao imoaij imba imDaij Cop- maic; qni caecao loec in jac imouij. Caecao pecraipi ac Copitiac. Caecao laec ino a pepam i pioonupe ano pij in cein a bio ic caicbeo. Upi caecao oailium ip in oun pin. Cpi caecao pcabai a capmocol, ocup o'apccao, ocup o'op. Caecao ap mill pe a n-aipiom cejlac an pij pin. Cinaoc h-Ua Qpcajain cednit ^ (Doman oucain* alainne ! Cotnol' caipi cec cuipi, 6pecc ilup lic^ pea labpao, Qcc aopao pi na n-uili. Ro paiD cec pechc itnpaao,' l?o pcaic cec cepr co jpiaan ;' Cemaip, aniu cio papac, 6oi can'' ba napao'" niooh. ■Ro ba blaic a cop'' caobac, length of the fire-place, and seven chandeliers in that palace. Twice seven doors in that royal house. Three times fifty imdhas besides the imdha of Cormac ; three times fifty heroes in each imdha. Cormac had fifty lawgivers. Fifty heroes stood up in the presence of the king while he was eating. Three times fifty cup-bearers in that dun. Three times fifty goblets of carbuncle, of silver, and of gold. Fifty above a thousand to be enumerated the household of that king. Kineth O'Hartigan cednit: ' World of perishable beauty ! The banquet of a hundred parties, False the many solemnities to mention, But the adoration of the king of all. Every law of fame has passed away, Every justice destroyed to the ground ; Temur, to-day though a wilderness. Was once the meeting-place" of heroes. Fair was its sided tower. * Rljb Clj.— L. Gabhala. ' Headed in the Book of Ballymote thus : Cinaeo h-Ua Qpcajan hoc carmen cednit DO puioijeo CI je Copmaic. i. e. Kineth O'Hartigan composed this poem on the situation of the House of Cormac. In the Book of Glendalough, however, this poem is ascribed to Cormac Fill, a poet of the same century. ■* Oucain, mortal, perishable, is the opposite of pucain. Many Irish words, beginning with p, form their oppo- sites by changing p into o, as pona, Dona; polap, Dolap; puaipc, Duaipc; popca, Dopca, &c. &c. ^ In H. 3. 18, p. 640, this line is explained as follows : comol.l.cean^al; ut est : t)oitiain Ducain alainne, Comol caipe ceo cupe, Spej ilup lie pe laBpa, Qcc aopa pi5 na n-uile. In H. 2. 16, p. 403, this line runs thus : Comol cacpi ceo CUipi. •^ In a gloss on this poem, preserved in H. 3. 18, p. 533, the word lie is explained by pollumain, a festival or solemnity, and this verse quoted. ' Qc chiu CDC pecc impoaD.— Soo* of Glendalough. Ro paich cech peachc mappaao.— i. Gabhala. ' Oechliu cepc co jpian.— £oot of Glendalough. Jio pcaich jach cepc co jpiaan. — L. Gabhala. ° For can the i. Gabhala has p6, with which it is perfectly synonymous. '" la H. 3. 18, p. 467, the word nopao, in this line, is glossed jnacujao. " Cluici, no oenac, no aupcac, ip do ip ainm Nappao. A game, fair, or meeting, is called Nassadh. — Cormac's Glossary. " Nip bo cpai5 a cope COebac. — Book of Glendalough. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 189 t)iep bo h-aonac lx;op [x:elach," 6ui mop n-DQin oiep oomgnup," Ctniu ciD ponn jl-app peupauch. 6a Dino n-oiponi je n-imjlic, 6a poipccliohe co m-baob-plaic :" ■Rio cGiobpin ba opuim n-oippoepc, Qn Qimpip h-Ui Cuinn, Copmuic. t)ia m-boi Copmac po clochae, 6a pel, po blao a peacha, Ni ppir Dun amail Cemaip; 1^0 b'e pun beluijh beachae.'" 6ailc a bpij pin uap buioniB, Ino pij pin DO jab Cempuij ; Jp pepp DUinn, coluiB pine Cuipim, a cijhi ceajluijh. Nai cluiD, no cluioeao gaipucenn," 6a nai n-Dumo** 'n a cimceall, l?e pmo aipbepc na pinncpann," Caraip imaipoepc imcenn. Q cech mop milibh amupp, At which was the meeting" of heroes of story, Great was the host to which it was inheritance"', Though to-day a green grassy land. It was a famoas dinn}'' of wisdom, It was noble with warhke scions :" To be viewed it was a noble hill. In the time of O'Cuinn, Cormac. When Cormac was in his glory, Conspicuous, famous his motions, No dun was found like Temur ; It was the secret of the road of life. Strong the vigor of him over hosts, Of that king who took Temur ; It is better for us, the many tribes To reckon, the fair multitudes of his household. Nine cluids, or rough, strong ditches, With nine mounds around it. With the fair airhert of the fair trees, A famous, strong cahir. His great house of a thousand soldiers, ■' Diap b'oenac pcoic \K:eilac.—Book of Glendalough. ^ep bo aenach pcelac. — H. 2. 16. Clap bo, &c. — L. Ballymot. ^^P ^O- — •^' Gdhhala. '* Qonac is now understood to mean a fair, but in ancient Irish MSS. it is used to mean any meeting of the people. '■* SocaiD Diap bo Dom^nap. — L. Ballymot. 6aoi mop n-oamh oiap bo oomsnap. — L. Gabhala. '^ Ooriljnup, also written Dom jnap, signifies dominion, inheritance. In a poem in the Book of Lismore the sea is called Dom^ap Nepcuin, the dominion of Neptune, which places the meaningof the word beyond dispute. '^ For the meaning of Dinn, see page 13,'), note §. '* 6a pono n-opoonioe n-imjlic, ba bopjbile co m-blao bloic. — Book of Olendalaugh. ba omo n-oiponiDi n-imjlic, bao poipjlioi co m-blao loic— H. 2. 10. 6a Dino n-oiponioe n-imglic, 6a boipjbile co m-boou-plaic. — L. Gabhala. '' 6aDb-plaic, warlike scions. 6aDB was the BelUma of the pagan Irish, and hence young warriors are poet- ically called scions o{ Bellona, baoB-plair, *" 6a pi pun belaij berha. — Book of Glendalaugh. In the Glosses on this poem, preserved in H. 3. 18, pp. 467 and 533, belaij becha is explained beoil bera, the passage or opening of life. *' Hoi cluio nip clui ^apbopeno.— Boot of Glendalough. Han cluio no clai jaipbceano.— i. Bal- lymot. Haoi ccluiD, no cluoa jaipbrenn. — L, Gabhala. " H-DUl, — Books of Glendalough and Ballymote. " In Gipbipc na pmDclann.—^eoft of Glendalough. 6e pionn-aipbepc na b-Fmoclann.— /;. Gabhala. 190 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. Con Dinib, nip bo doIujt,** Caraip glan sLepib" glainpep, Cpi cec cpaijeo a comup. Hip caiptncell'^ baipi bupbae, Ha cumja gaippi japgai; Hip bo po be5 Fpi rhepba, Se coic cubac a h-apoaei.'^ CToba pij, pi uap pinni,^' popp n-oailce p'on co pinni.^o 6a Dion, ba oun, ba omjna, Cpi caecao imoaijh inneee." 6i coeca laecb co lainoib, Hip uo bpocc baoc ap bpuiccin, 6a he luce limb omccna, Ceca h-imoaij oi puiohibh." Ro b' alainn in ploj pamlaio, Cairniorii oip ap a nioonoib," Cpi caecao aipel epcnaioh, With tribes, it was not sorrow, A fair bright cahir of fine men, Three hundred feet its measurement. It was not a circle of ignorant folly, Nor a narrowness of austere wisdom ; It was not too small for separation. Six times five cubits its height. Habitation of a king, king over Erin," In which was distributed wine with brightness. It was a dinn, a dun, a dingna,^^ Three times fifty imdhas in it. Fifty heroes with swords. Our city was not a silly city. Were the inmates of the dingna, In each imdha of these. Grand was the host thus [stationed], The glittering of gold upon their weapons, Three times fifty splendid airels, " Co n-oainib nip bo oonup. — H. 2. 16. " '^\A\ie.—L. Gabhala. "^ " Caipmceall .i. cimcioll." — O'Clery. "■These two quatrains, from " Ct cech mop milibh amupp," to "Se coic cubac a h-apoaei," are omitted in the Books of Glendalough and Ballymote. ^ Qoba in pij, pi cropanna Book of Glendalough. QoBa pij pi uappanoa. — L. Ballymot. Qoba Rij, Ri uap poinoe.— £. Gabhala. ^ T?l uap pinni. This ancient phrase is thus explained by O'Clery : Rinne .1. Gipinri : pii op Rinne .1. pij op eipinn. ^ Co a n-oailci pin co pinoe.— i. Ballymot. " For the meanings of these words see page 135, note §. They are, however, so nearly synonymous that it is not often possible to discover a peculiar meaning in one distinct from the others. '* Inoe. — Booh of Glendalough. Uime. — L. Ballymot. Imi — H. 2. 16. Inne. — L. Gabhala. " Cpi coicaic laec collaine, Hip bo bopj ap bpuiom, 6a p6 luce llnaib oinogna. Cac imoa DC puiDib. — Book of Glendalough. 6iiD caeca laec co lainib, T?o bo bpoc baer ap bpuiom, he a luce limb omgna, Caca imoa oo za\'^\h.—L. Ballymot. 6aD caeca Ictech co lainoib. Hip bo bopb baech ap bpuijin, 6a b6 a luce limb omjna, ^cc imoa oi puioiu.— H. 2. 16. In the mar- gin of this MS., po ba is given as a different reading for nip bo. 6oi caecca laech CO lainoib, Hip bo bpoj baeeh ap bpuijin, 6a he luche limb oion^na, Cecha h-iomoa oi puioib.— /.. Gabhala. '* Caieneo oip op a aipel, i. e. the glittering of gold over his bed. — Book of Glendalough. Caimeo op ap a Dinjnaib.— i. Ballymot. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 191 Caoca in cec aipel inmain." Sechc cubuc cinoac cunooil, piao in Daim, oponj Dpeim," Ppi h-aonao puqiall polup, 6a he comup an cellaicch. CI pechc naili, po cualae, ppi cepc n-glame, cen c-penaie, SejDO, faineitilai, paopa, Caoma coinnelbpai cpeoaie. Qn cacoip jpianach, jlan pin, Pleoach, lanach,^^ co poinpib ; Innci pa poicle polup, t)a pechc n-oopupp oi ooippib. 6a he olijeao ano pij pin, Ol nop nibiD'' an ploj pin, 6a tneD, mop mop in Ian pin, Cpi ceo ol ip mo ol pin.*" Caoca peccaipe panoa,'"' Cap an plaich paloa, pipoae, Caoca pop pleoac, pipjlan, 6a^coecai ppimlaoc ppimoa. Caoca laoch" ino a pepam, Conooinp an paol popaiph," Fifty in each agreeable airel. Seven cubits without any sparingness, (Before the host, people of exertion, For lighting the flambeau of light,) Was the measurement of the fire-place. Seven also, I have heard. With perfect brightness, without denial, Splendid, beautiful, noble. Fair chandeliers of brass. That sunny, fine city. Of feasts, of goblets, of springs ; In it joyous was the light. Twice seven doors of doors. It was the law of that king, To drink before that host should drink, Great, very great that number, Three hundred drinkings in that drinking. Fifty noble lawgivers. With the noble, upright prince, Fifty also truly fine, festive companions, With fifty chief distinguished heroes. Fifty heroes standing up. To attend on the warlike king. ^* In the Glosses on this poem, preserved in H. 3. 18, pp. 467 and 533, this quatrain is quoted as an example of the words aipel and Dingnaib : Qipel .i. imoai, utest; ■Rob' alainn in ploj pamlaio, raicnerii ap a n-oingnaiB (.i. ap a plejaiB) Cpi coecac aipel epjnaio, Coecao in jac aipel inmuin. The last line of this quatrain is thus given in the L. Gabhala : CaoccaD in cech aipel niomouiB ; and in H. 2. Ifl, the last word in this line is written DimoaiB. * Secc coicaic con nac connail, Piao m oaim n-oponjaic n-ojiennoi j.— £ooA of GUndalough. Secc cubaiD ceanoach conoail, Piaoa an oaim oponjaij opeanoaic.— H. 2. 16. Seachc cubac cennach conoail, piaoa an ooim opongac opemeac. — i. Gabhala. " lanach. — i. Gabhala. pianach. — Book of Glendalough, and H. 2. 16. ^' Hop n-lbeao.^Z. Gabhala. Ol Of n-ibeo. — Book of Glendalough. 39 These four quatrains, from Sechc cubuc, &e., to Cpi ceo ol, &c., are omitted in the Book of Baliymotc. * Ramoa. — L. Ballymot. " Caeca P^OP- — ^- Ballymot. « Connairip in pael poppao.— 5ooi cf Glendalough. Connecip in pael poppuo — L. Ballymot. Coneioip in paol popaij. — Gloss in H. 8. 18, p. 467. In this Gloss the word coneiDip is explained by Co Fpireoloip. i. e. That t*ey might attend on. Condjoaip an pael popaoh.— i. Gabhala. 1^ Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. C^n biOD anopi 5I1 ac ool," Qp na ba Doaoh ooppain." Qn uall noioec pia n-uabup,« Ha puipec puao, na painpep,''* Hi oac Dimoaij oon aipeiti." Cpi cec oailem nop oaileo.*' Cpi caeca pcaba*' coja, pioD cec oaim, colai cuile, Sec ba cappmocal n-glan m-balc, 6a hop, ba hapccao uilea. Cpi coeca coicea n-jalach, Cenac nannac, ppi puipec, ppi h-aipep cenoac coLoc, Ha pij pogac na puipec. 6a mo Don mal ba moo, Qp cec loo ba baa, Cpicq cec, noc no puipjeo™ mac Ctipc cuipmeo cec oiaa. Q oponcc piliD ba pipoa, CuinjDip obcceao a n-oala,*' While he was feasting, That no mischief might befal him. The harmonious shouts of pride. The vahant chiefs, the mighty men, It is not unpleasant to enumerate them. Three hundred cup-bearers distributed. Three times fifty choice goblets, Before each party, of great numbers. Which were of pure strong carbuncle, Of gold, or of silver all. Three times fifty stout cooks. Without any anger, in waiting, With food in great abundance. Upon the great kings and chieftains. This greatest prince had a greater, Every day a greater number, Thirty hundred, were supported By the son of Art each day. His train of poets were upright, They kept the laws of Ireland, " Cein biD in pi ac a ol. — Book of Gkndalough. Cen biOD an Ri ace oal. — L. Gabhala. ** Qp nabbao Docro ooppom. — Boole of Gkndalough. Qp na ba dood Dopum. — L. Ballymot. Qp na bo DOcro Qopaih L. Gabhala. Conabao ooao Dopon. — H. 2. 16. ** Q nol nuag ppi uabup. — Book of Gkndalough. Huall, &c. — L. Ballymot. Qn uall nuiDeach ppi h-uabap. — H. 2. 16, and L. Gabhala. ■^ Ha puipeac puam na paioeao, &c. — L. Ballymot. Ha puipeach puao na painpeap.— H. 2. 16. ■" Hf bo DimoaiD in aipem.— H. 2. 16. Hip booDimoaiSDia n-aipearii.— i. Gabhala. ■" Cpicha oalem nop oaileo. — Book of Gkndalough. Cpi caeca po Dop oaileaD.— H. 2. 16. Caocao oailerii nop oaileao. — L. Gabhala. * Hoi coicair pcaba poja, ba pi oal COja a CU lle.— Boo4 of Gkndalough. All the other copies agree with the text as given above. In the Glosses on this poem, preserved in H. 3. 18, pp. 467 and 533, the word pcaba is explained by the modern word poijcec, a vessel, and the above quatrain quoted as an example, thus : Cpi pcaba do jac pij oola cuile. Sec ba copmojal ^lan mac, bahop, ba hapjao uile — p. 467. Cpi coeca pcaba coja do jac oaiTti, cola cuile pec ba capmojal^lan mac, ba hop, ba hap- JDC Ulle. — p. 533. Scaba is also explained in Cormac's Glossary by the word lepcap, a vessel. "> All the other copies agree very nearly with the text, except the Book of Glendalough, in which this quatrain runs thus : 6a han oo'n malba mou, Qp cac lou ba lia, Cpi mile ba naipmec, Ulac Qipc eipneo cac " This line is explained by Michael O'Clery thus : CuingDip .1. DO consbaiDiJ' no apaiDip : " CUinjDip Dlijeao nalla .1. oo conjbaioip olijeao a eipeannaib." Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 193 Ocup ni baop ci ao bepa" Co n-aop cena cec oana." Cuipmim rejlac na rolaiB Cije Cempac do oinibh ;** Ip e po an aipiom pipe," Caoca ap inile do mhilibh.*^ Dia m-boi Copmac a Cemaip Q po blao uap jac pojein ;'' TJij aicjen mac Qipc Ctinpip'*' Nip cm DO Daoinib Domain.*' Copmac CO caime cpocha, — 6a pora connbalc plaro^ — J5enip o Gchcaij, imjiV IDac DO mjin Uilccaicheee.*** O boi Solaih pp' pip'oo, pep jac cinic do comol,*^ Cem buD com maic ppi Copmac,^ Q De, in copmolc an Domain ?^ And what they said was not folly With the professors of each art. I enumerate the household of the hosts Of the house of Temur of tribes ; This is the true enumeration, Fifty above a thousand of heroes. When Cormac was at Temur His great fame was over every select one ; A king like the son of Art Ainfir There came not of the men of the world. Cormac of the fair form — A pillar of a mighty king — He was born of Echtghe, the fair, He was son of the daughter of Uilcaiche. Since Solomon was inquiring, A man who united each tribe, An offspring as good as Cormac, O God, has the world consumed ? « Ocup ni baip ceo ao bepa H. 2. 16. Ocup ni baep cia ac bepa.— Z. Gaihala. " The last word in this line is defaced in H. 3. 3, but is supplied from the other copies. In the Book of Glenda- / lough the quatrain is given thus : Ceno Dponj pileD po pipoa, SaijDip olijeo a n-Dala, Ip Depb ni baep ci ac bepa, Cenap chena cac oana. ** In the Gloss on this quatrain, preserved in H. 3. 18, pp. 467 and 533, DiniB is explained by aipeiTI. For Dinibh, H. 2. 16, has oainib, and the X. Gabhala Daoinib, " Ip e peo an c-aipeam pipi H. 2. 16. Qp 6 po an c-aipem pipe.— i. Gabhala. ^ This quatrain is given thus in the Book of Glendalough : Cuipmem cejlac I n-Dolaib, Caire Cempac 6 olnib, Ipp hi peo an apim F'P^j Cpica mile oe milib. " Qp po bias uap cac po jail.— Sooft o/ GfenrfafougA. Q po blac uap jac pojain L.Ballymot. Q po blao op jac pogain. — H. 2. 16. Q po blao op gac pojain. — Z,. Gabhala, ^ Rij aojein mac Ctipc Cfenpip. — L.Ballymot. ^ Hi FP"^ oe Doinib Domain Book of Glendalough. Hip cm Dainib Domuin L. Ballymot. 60 6a pocha ponobalc placa. — Book of Glendalough. 6a poca ponnbalc. — *' Jenaip o Gchcaij imjil. — Booh of Glendalough. ^^naip o Gaichcje pinnjil Z. Gabhala. ^ Ullcacha. — Book of Glendalough. ^ pepp each ciniUD Fpi cotnuX.— Book of Glendalough. pep cech cinn do choihal.— Z. CaiAafa. ^ 5^'" ^'-'"' cumma ppi Copmac. — Book of Glendalough. The word Cein in the text is evidently an error bf the transcriber for jein, as appears from the more ancient MS., the Book of Glendalough. " CI DC in copmalc ooman. — Book of Glendalough. Q t)he an rcopmalc an Domain. — Z. Gabhala. The two last quatrains of this poem are wanting in the Book of Ballymote, and in H. 2. 16. VOL. XVIII. 2 b 194 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tar a Hill. It would be absurd to receive as a historical evidence, a bardic poem which only pretends to record the floating traditions of circumstances more than six hundred years anterior to the period of its composition ; neither should a docu- ment of such undoubted antiquity be wholly rejected as a poetic fable, without some inquiry as to the possibility of its having at least a groundwork of truth — and particularly if in those statements respecting the size, &c., of the buildings, which the existing ruins enable the investigator to test, they should not be found wanting in veracity. Now it is remarkable that the only disagreement between the measurements of this building, as given in the poem, and in the present re- mains, is that the latter are actually more than twice the length stated, namely, near eight hundred feet ; for respecting its alleged height there is nothing to awaken scepticism ; and even the apparent disagreement just noticed may be explained by a plausible if not natural conjecture. Those measurements may be true as applied to the Hall, or Place of Assembly, while the remaining space on each side might have been occupied by apartments of lesser importance; and, indeed, the triple names applied by the poet to this building seem to require such a subdivision, for the Hall of Assembly could scarcely be called with propriety the House of the Women, nor the House of the Flans, or common soldiers. At all events the disagreement, such as it is, does not tend to stamp the poem with the character of exaggeration ; and its statement of the number of persons, which this " great house of a thousand soldiers" was capable of accommodating, is well supported by the cautious remark of the prose account, that it would seem true, for, that as many men would fit in it as would form the choice part, that is, the chiefs, of the men of Ireland. It is not easy, how- ever, to avoid considering as a poetic fiction the statement of the number of one hundred and fifty resting or sleeping apartments, with fifty soldiers in each — or in all seven thousand five hundred — which sleeping places are stated to have been about or around the house ; yet it is evident that considerable accom- modation must have been necessary for the military attendants of the provincial and other princes who came to the assembly ; and it may not perhaps be puerile to remark, that a very ample space on each side of the Hall, and in which such apartments may be supposed to have existed, was unoccupied with any monu- mental remains at the time when the descriptive accounts were written. Such apartments were evidently of timber, and therefore no vestiges would be found Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 195 in succeeding ages. The statement respecting the hundred and fifty drinking vessels of carbuncle, gold, and silver, and the seven brazen lamps, or candelabra, will be received with still greater incredulity. Yet even this statement will not be regarded as wholly fabulous by those who have seen the magnificent gold ornaments, now in the possession of the Academy, which were found within a few yards of this very spot, or the brazen vessels of more exquisite workman- ship, and probably of higher antiquity, often found in Ireland, and of which there is a beautiful specimen in the Belfast Museum. Golden vessels have been frequently found in Ireland ; and a passage in the Annotations of Tirechan, in the Book of Armagh, fol. 17, h, i, affords an interesting evidence of their existence anterior to the introduction of Christianity. In adducing this passage it will be proper to state, that it has been copied (as indeed all the extracts hitherto given from that most valuable work have been) from the original MS., which has been most kindly placed in the hands of the writer by its proprietor, the Rev. Francis Brownlow. The passage runs as follows : — Dippojjel* Cummen ocup 6pedian Cummin and Brethan purchased Oc^^er m-^- Ochcep n-Qchio co n-a peilb, icep pio ocup chid with its appurtenances, both wood and plain, maj ocup lenu, co n-a lliup ocup a Hub- and meadow, with its fort and its garden. Half of jopc. OjDilep Din Du Chummin lech in this wood, and house, and dun, was mortmain to Doppi po, in Doim, in ouiniu, con piccacap a Cummin, for which they paid [from] their treasure, peuic ppie .1. in. unjai apjaic, ocup cpann viz. three ounces of silver, and a bar of silver, and apjic, ocup muince. Hi. n-unjae co n-opoch a collar, three ounces of the base gold of the old oip pen-mepib penaipocib, lojf leich un- dishes of seniors, the equivalent of half an ounce jae Di muccib, ocup I05 leich unjae oi in hogs, and the equivalent of half an ounce in cfiaipib. sheep. As to the cups of carbuncle, if the account be taken literally, it must of course be set down as romance ; but the word capmogal, derived apparently from the Latin, is applied loosely by the ancient Irish to any shining stone of a red colour, such as the garnet, a production of the country ; and the authentic annals record many gifts from Irish princes to the monasteries at an early period, of cups adorned with gems. * Oippojjel, he purchased, is found in many Irish deeds and charters, variously written DUppojeL, Do poijel, DOppogel, DO puaijel, and even do puacaiU. It is explained in O'Clery's Glossary by the modern words ceanac, no do ceanai j, i. e. a purchase, or he purchased. t 60^, now written luac, occurs frequently in the charters in the Book of Kells, in the sense of price, value, &e. 252 196 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities ofTara Hill. In connexion with the ancient history of the Teach Miodhchuarta, there exists another ancient poem, which, from the curious and valuable illustration which it affords of the state of society in Ireland at a very remote period, should on no account be omitted in this memoir. Of this poem two copies are pre- served in ancient vellum MSS., in the College Library ; one, in the Book of Glendalough — a MS. compilation of the twelfth century, H. 2. 18 ; the other in the Leahhar Buidhe, or Yellow Book, of the Mac Firbises of Lecan, H. 2. 16. In both these MSS. the poem is Illustrated by a ground-plan of the principal com- partments of the house, with the names of the several ranks, professions, and trades, which were privileged to sit in them, and the order in which they were loca- ted— with the names of the different portions of the meat to which each was en- titled. And, as the copies of this curious ground-plan are slightly dissimilar, and of different ages, fac-similes are given of both. Of the name or age of the writer of the poem no record remains, but that its antiquity is higher than that of any of the documents already given, and possibly anterior even to the desertion of Tara, will not be doubted by any person conversant with the Irish language ; and indeed the obscurity of the language is so great, from the obsoleteness of the words, that the translation of it has been attended with the greatest labour and difficulty, and in several instances it has been impossible to determine with certainty the meaning of the names of the things described. An attempt to illustrate this singular remain was made by the late Genei'al Vallancey, — with what success may be judged from the translation here given. To the poem is prefixed a prose preface, giving descriptions of the House of Laoghaire, the House of Cormac, and the Teach Miodhchuarta, or Banqueting-Hall ; and the accuracy of these descriptions is sustained by the existing remains of the monuments, nor indeed is there, either in the prose or verse, anything Inconsistent with probability. It may, perhaps, be objected that no accurate accounts of this kind could have been preserved from so early a period as that anterior to the desertion of Tara, but that the use of letters was prevalent in Ireland very near, if not at, the time to which these descriptions refer, has been shewn in the earlier portions of this memoir ; and from the poem of Cuan O'Lochain it appears that the customs observed at Tara were continued by the Irish kings in his own time. " There exist still people like them, With kings and with princes." Mr, Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 197 And thus, even should its antiquity be questioned, this poem should still be received as an authentic illustration of the customs of the Irish in remote times. SuiDiujao Ciji TTliDchuapca. Hicacpi The situation of Teach Midhchuarta. Each lap ca' I n-Diu amail bae la Conn Cec-ca- king who has it at this day does as was done in the rach, ocupcechn-Qipc, ocupCopinaic, ocup time of Conn of the Hundred Battles, and [when CaipppiCiphecaip, ocupcechCachaipTTlaip, it was] the house of Art, and of Cormac, and of ocup cech gac pij po pallna i Cempai j co Cairbre Liffeachair, and the house of Cathair Mor, HiaLl Naicclecli,' appulaeo po cpi, ocup po and the house of every king who ruled in Temur to giall h-Spiu' DO po rpi. Samlaio bae cech Niall of the Nine Hostages, who made a visitation ^aejcipe niic Neill, lap cein, ipeo po piachc thrice, and to whom Ireland rendered hostages cpian C151 Copmaic* ccc. cpaijeo hi caij; thrice. The house of Laoghaire, the son of Niall, Caegaipe; ^.imoaijann; ;.pep ingacimoaij; [erected] long afterwards, was one-third of the /. aipeL eippib ; xx. pep in jac aipiul. liii. extent of the House of Cormac. Three hundred cubacacheallac; ocupw'.cubaca poipoldp; . feet in the House of Laoghaire ; fifty imdas^ m ocup a:.r.r. cubac a aipoDi puap.° Fm. cpeoui' it; fifty men in each imrfa,* fifty aire/* out from ' In an imperfect copy of this document in the same MS. — col. 810 — from which the text is here copied, — H. 2. 16, col. 244, — this passage is better given thus : Suiglbeo C^hljl ITlrochuapca ac each pix lap aua I n-Dlu umail po bui i copac. Ceach Cuino Cec-chacaich, ocup reach Qipc Oenpip, mic Cuino Cec- chacaij, ocup ceach Copmaic, iiiic Qipc, ocup ceach Caipbpi Cipeachaip, ocup ceach each pij;, po bui 1 Cempaich co Niall Moi-^iallach. Cfp aplaepeao cu po cpi, ocup po jiall h-6ipiu DO cu po cpi. 'Cech cac pi^ pa boi i Cemaip co Niall Noi-jiallac. — Book of Glendalough. ' Vallancey lias printed this word hiu, having mistaken the contraction for h-Gpiu, Ireland ; but in H. 2. 10, the word is written in full, which puts the true meaning beyond dispute. Vallancey has translated the passage in the fol- lowing ridiculous manner, which is severely censured by Dr. Campbell, in his Strictures on the History of Ireland : " The palace of Tamar was formerly the seat of Conn of the hundred battles ; it was the seat of Art and of Cairbre Liffeachar, and of Cathar Mor, and of every king, who ruled in Tamar, to the time of Niall of the nine lowers, formed ot constructed on three, for he had vowed to buildjthree towers." — Collect, vol. iii. p. 514. • In H. 2. 16, col. 810, this passage is given differently : TTIaD puiDljeo chijl Uempach la Copmac, ba mo pom anna each. Ix. c. cpaijeo ip ino paic pe lino Chopmaic ; vii. c. cpaijeo a chech peipin. i. e. If [we treat of] the situation of the house of Temur in the time of Cormac, it was larger than all. There were nine hundred feet in the Rath in the time of Cormac, seven hundred feet in his own house. * This word is now used in the north of Ireland to signify a couch, or bed, and in a Gloss on the poem of Kineth O'Hartigan, above given, the word aipel is explained by it; but it appears from the ground-plan in the Book of Glen- dalough, and H. 2. 16, that the imdas were the apartments in which the different ranks sat at the banquet. 8 Better thus in H. 2. 16, col. 810 : Ocup cpicha cubac a opoae in CI51. And thirty cubits the height of the house. ' Sechc cpeouma immon cech, ocup occ n-oopuip popp in paic. i. e. Seven tre-dumas around the house, and eight doors on the Rath. — Book of Glendalough. This passage is given differently in the copy preserved in H. 2. 16, col. 810 : viii. cpeouma imonn pac, ocup viii, n-ooippi popaib ; cpi I. comao cimceall popp in pluag [**] caplac nopoa ano ; ocup I. leapcop pinopuine, ocup I. picel n-opoa popp 198 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. imtnon paich ; ocup vii. n-Doi)iri poppc^ 5 them ; twenty men in each airel. Four cubits III. comol 'n a cimcholl popf in cpluaj; I. [the extent of] the fire-place; and nine cubits copnn clapach n-opoa; I. leapcap pinnputm [that of] the foirdles ;^ and thirty cubits its height Fpif in pijpaio peppin ; c. n-oolinna oabaij; upwards (perpendicularly). Se\en tredui (triple V. cubac a chainoelbpai ; vii. Doippiaipeoa mounds) around the Rath ; and seven doors on pup ; vii, panaipe ; coup vii. n-oailemairi them ; one hundred and fifty comols around pup. ]n chappaic popaijchaij immo chenio it [and] the company ; fifty grooved golden po chuaipc. In opuioe ocup in opuich a cum corns (horns) ; fifty vessels of finnruin^ with mac, ocup in chlepamnaij ocup ino aippici j the nobles themselves ; one hundred drinkings in nama ip in C15 pin. In c-pluai j olchena the vat ;'° five cubits in the candelabra ;" seven ip mo popcai 51 men reach, oia nechcaip, icip doorkeepers ; seven distributors ; and seven cup- in DO tnup, ace in ct do jaipci o Caejaipi do bearers in attendance. The chariot-drivers about cum an C151 pin, &c. the fire around. The druid and the druith in the same place, and the mimics and the min- strels only in this house. The people in general were in the forthaigh^^ around the house, on the outside, between the two murs, but the person that was called into the house by Laoghaire, &c. SuijiujaocijCempachla Copmac,"pia The situation of the House of Temur with in aipiDij .1. in oabach ; v, cubaia in cainoelbpae ; vii. n-ooppaipe, ocup vii, panouipe ; no hapaiD in chappaic popbai imon ceni imacuaipo; in opuic acu inao aipbice mo pij ; ni con- pcuipeao nach aei o alaile pop lap in C151 oib. Rijoamna ip in C15 ; in c-pluaij olcheana imon reach Oia neaccaip. i. e. Eight treduma around the Rath, and eight doors on them ; three times fifty ^» • • • • «j and fifty vessels o( Findniine, and fifly golden cups on the airedig, i. e. the vat. Five cubits in the candelabra ; seven door-keepers, and seven distributors ; the drivers of the principal chariot about the fire around. The Druid at the inad airbithe of the king ; none of them separated from the other in the middle of the house. The nobles were within the house ; and the rest of the host (i. e. the people in general) around the house outside. ^ This word is not explained in Irish dictionaries, and it is omitted altogether in Vallancey's printed copy, though he published that copy from this very MS. In H. 2. 16, col. 810, poplepp. The word occurs in the Book of Lismore in such a manner as that its meaning can be inferred. Thus, in describing a palace in the East : " Mi paiBl pop- lep popa peo nac le h-6p do hiacca." There was not a. forks throughout which was not closed with gold. ' The word finnruine, or, as it is most generally written, finndruinne, is not explained in any dictionary ; but it occurs very frequently in Irish romances, and appears to be the name of a whitish metal, perhaps pewter. "> The word Dabhach, a vat, is explained in Cormac's Glossary as signifying the two-handed vessel. " This word is evidently borrowed from the Latin, and means a chandelier, or large candlestick. " Forthaigh is the plural offorradh, a seat, bench, &c. " This is given differently in the Book of Glendalough, thus : ITIaD puiDljUD C151 Cempac la Copmac, ba moo fon; .i. pecc cec cpaigeo acec pain ; noi n-Dui immon cec pain ; cpi coicaic imoaiD ip in caij, ocup cpi coicaic pep m cac imoai ; ocu]> cpi coicaic aipel epib, ocup coica cac aipel. i. e. If [treating of] it, the situation of the House of Temur with Cormac (i. e. as Cormac had it), it was larger [than at any other period] j seven hundred feet in his house ; nine circumvallations around that house i three times fifty seats in the house, and three times fifty men in each seat ; three times fifty airels out from them, and fifty men in each airel. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 199 punn, ba pain pon; ix. [cec] rpaijeo a cech ; wt.n-oui mo pach immon cechj/W.imDaijann; III, aipeol eppib ; Ix, pep in jac aipeal ; ix. cubac a ceallac ; cpi ix. cubac a poipolep ; III. copn com no ol ; a;t;. cubar [***] xii. Dopup. mill no o chpao Copmac cac laei," cen mo rba aep oana ocup pinnola, oi op ocup apjuc, ocup caippciu, ocup eochu, ocup eppeoa inpin. SuijiujoD Ciji niiDchuapra inpo, .i. oa imoa Dec inpo hi ceaccap a oa leichi ; ocup rpiap in jac imoaei ; ocup vi. pip oec hi ceccap a oa aipicep ; ocup ochcup di pan- naipiB ; ocup peaccaipeiB, ocupoailemnaiB, in laprup in ciji ; ocup oiap hi ceccap a oa imoai ip in oopup. C. pep huile in pin. t)a bae, ocup oa diinne, ocup oa muicc, a ppainn pumn: coecac pop cechrap in oa bo, ocup na oamucc, ocup na oa chinrie ; lerh do leach ocup lech illeich n-aili. SpuiDenlTliDcuapca ainm in ciji pin. SuiDiujoD Ciji niiDchuapca niichiD Dun a pao ; Cormac, [which had existed] before this," was different ; nine [hundred] feet in the [extent of the] house ; seven circumvallations around the house ; one hundred and fifty imdas in it ; one hundred and fifty airels out from them ; sixty men in each airel ; nine cubits in the fire-place; three times nine cubits in the foirdles, one hun- dred and fifty drinking cups; fifteen cubits [* * *] twelve doors. Cormac gave presents to one thousand persons each day, besides poets and mu- sicians, in gold and silver, and chariots, and horses, and garments. The situation of Teach Midhchuarta here, viz.: twelve seats in each of its two sides ; and three men in each seat ; and sixteen men in each of its two airithers; and eight distributors ; and law- givers, and cupbearers, in the back part'° of the house ; and two in each of the two seats at the door. One hundred men the entire.'' Two cows, and two tinnes, and two pigs, was the quantity for dinner : fifty for each of the two cows and, of the two pigs, and of the two tinnes ; half to one half and half to the other half. Bruiden Midhchuarta [was] the name of this house. The situation of Teach Midhchuarta Time for us to describe ; " That is, which had existed before the House of Laoghaire last described. " This passage is given differently in the Book of Glendalough, thus : Ceopa mtll cec lai no epneD Cop- mac, cen mora aep oana ocup pinoeli, ocup cac oen do paijeo in pij, i. e. Three thousand every day King Cormac used to give presents to, besides poets and musicians, and every other person who came to visit the king. The verb eipneOD is translated largiri in Cormac's Glossary, under the word CUmlaccaiD, and by Colgan in Trias Thaum., p. 515. In the copy in the Book of Glendalough the description of the House of Cormac is given before the House of Laoghaire, which is the correct arrangement of the description. '^ The iarthur of the house means that end of it opposite the door. " 24 X 3 = 72, -\- (16 X 2) = 104, -j-8 -|-4 =: 116, the true calculation. In the ground-plan otTeach Miodh- chuarta the house is shewn as divided into five divisions, which are again subdivided into several others. Each of the two divisions extending along the side walls is shewn as subdivided into twelve imdas, which here means seats ; each of the two divisions adjoining tliem into eight ; and the central division is represented as containing three fires at equal distances, a vat, a chandelier, and an erlarcaich, besides two compartments on each side of the door, and three in tlie other extremity of the house opposite the door, occupied by the distributors, cupbearers, and reachtaires. 200 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Ciu 11-050,010 h-aipmech'* Ip choip Di each gpao. Cechpomchu Ciji ITIiDchuapca 61D pi P15 aniop ;'' Ceopo cechpamoin oili Soip CO Dopup Dian." Conom, aiLem, oipneioem Inoa noD bi ooep,^ Cio hoja, lop no DI15U6, tDo beip DO each oen. QpoiD, ip moep poep pona, Q n-iopchup in ciji ; Ha cumo ooib, ni oligeD oono,^ Qp beloib no n-ili ; Inoem cpuici co ceolaib," t)o nopcnoi pejann, Co muc [popmuin] in oineplom, Ip cuibpenn epoll.*^ Ollom bpichemon, co m-buai6, Ctipe poipjill, pipi t)o bepop lonchpocaic ooib, t)unachip cic pnim.'* Sui liccpi, ip pi puipech, Ippeim copinoil choip,'' Olejaic ochboch, moechjlon mm, What lawful share, what distinction Is due to each degree. The fourth part of Tectch Midhchuarta Is to the back'" of the king ; . The other three quarters Eastwards (frontwards) to the door. Let us sing, extol, relate The place which is not ignoble, What share, according to law, It gives to each person. A charioteer, and free affluent steward, In the back of the house ; The cuinn^ to them, not a bad law, Before the many ; The harpers with music, ' With whom the segans^ are ranked, Have a hog's shoulder in readiness, Which is a distinguished share. The oUave-brehon, with power. The aireforgaill 'tis true. To them a lonchrochait is given. From which no sadness proceeds. A saoi of literature, and a royal chief. In a just similar rank. Are entitled to the soft, clean, smooth entrails, " Cach a'ga, cac Oipenac.— Boot of Glendalmgh. " 61D FP' r'5 C^iop. — Book of Glendalough. '" That is, the king sits in the house with his face turned to the principal door, having the one-fourth of the extent of the house behind his back. " Ceopa cechpomcho Olle. — Book of Gkndalough. t" Innap nao bi ooep. — Book of Glendalough. " " Cunn, the body, trunk or chest." — Peter ConneU's MS. Dictionary. ** Cunno DOlb ni olljeo oona. — Book of Glendalough. " Innioetn cpuiCC co ceoloib. — Book of Glendalough. •^Sejuini, huntsmen. This word is explained in the Glossaries of Cormac and O'Clery, as hunter of wild deer. " SeajumiD .1. peop joineap no riiapBap piaoac.— O'CTery. " Co muc popmuin in aeneplom, ip cuibpeno n-epoll. — Booh of Glendalough. *« OUarii bpeichemon co m-buaio, Qipe popgsoiU pip, t)o bep loncpuacoic ooib, Du nac ClC fin. — Book of Glendalough. * Ip peim copmail COip.— Jooft of Glendalough. Mr. Petbie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 201 If ppim-chpocaic ooib.'" [Do bep j Da ollatnain F'l-eo,'* ^\ DO aipe aipD, 6apac itiairh mfn, miao nao bopb, Noco labpa laiDC.*^ 6piu5u ocup aipe cuippi, Con hilup a papcich, Do bepap ooib, n! pao n-Ippel, Capac Dia papao." t)o ollomain pencaoa, Cippi aipm \n puio, Coupe DO Dia rhupjopuD, t)u hi panncap cluirh.^ Soep, ip aipich echra, C6in a cechca lib, t)o beprap ooib muc popmuin, Ceino maip no olij.^' t)pui, ocup aipe oeppa, tJecbenj nao bi ooep, t)ibltnaib oleajair ol, ©blaie colpcha coem.* And to a prim-chrochait." [Is given] to the ollave-poet, And to the aire ard, A good smooth larac,^ honor not rude, It is no false saying. The hriugu and aire tuissi, With extensive pastures, To them is given, no low saying, A larac to satisfy them. To the oUave-historian, Wherever he sits, [Is given] a larac to comfort him. Where fame is distributed. An artificer, and airich echta, Fair their due ye will deem. To them is given a pig's shoulder,"' A long time it has been established. A druid, and aire dessa, Two who are not ignoble. Both are entitled to drink. They eat a fair colptha.*" *• Tp ppi'm-cpuacaiC DOlb. — Book of Glendalough. '' Cpuachair, or cpochaic, means a steak. 3« X)o bep DO pillD ollomna. — Book of Glendalough. " Capac is in modern MSS. written lap^. It is thus explained by Peter Connell : " Capg, the leg and thigh, or leg or thigh i Ion-lap^, the hip and thigh." It is translated furca by Colgan in Trias Thautn., p. 173, note 21 ; and thus in a MS. in Trinity College, H. 1. 13, p. 360, line 15 : " toapj .1. jabul, ut est or Da laap5 .1. Da joBal." "6oap5 mair, min, miao nao bopb, Nao cono labpa laoj. — Book of Glendalough. ^ Spiuja ocup aipe oepa, Ca ilap • * *. t)o bep Doib, nJ pao ipel, loapgj Dia papao. — Book of Glendalough. * This line is omitted in the Book of Glendalough. ^ rriuc popmum, as a compound phrase, is not explained in any Irish Dictionary, but, as popmna is explained the shoulder, shoulder-blade, it seems obviously to mean a pig's shoulder. » Saip ocup aipe ecra, Canai cecra lib, t)o bep ooib muc popmuin, Canaomaip no olij. — Book of Glendalough. * Oiblinaib ebaic ol, tJlejaic colpa caem. — Book of Glendalough. The meaning is different from that given in the text : " Both refuse to drink, They are entitled to a fair colptha." *° Colpca, the calf of the leg : "calpaoa, i. e. calpoda, i. e. bontts pes, vel pedes." — Cormac't Glossary. VOL. XVIII. 2 c 202 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Copnaipe, ocup curhchaipe,*' Cuipem map coppaip ; ITIiD mip, ni moo jaechmop, ppi ool no DDipail.'" Qlcipe, ocup parhbuiji, TJaich pireip, huap bpuij. Do biup miljican, ppia coil, Si an h-ecal cippi chuln." Caipemain, ip copnoipe, Co muincepap choip, Ni bee m mip, monup n-opemun, Remup n-imoa ooib.*'' t)oppaipe, opuich oelma Die, Cechepn oipcip opuic, Dejma a nauppocpa co boll, t)ponn a cuibpenn cuic.*' Cuiplennaij peil, pichceallai j, In auppaiom aipchaip, ]p colpcha coip ciacjleip, The trumpeter, and cook,*' Let us place in their order ; Cheering mead, not a flatulent kind, To drink is given them. The house-builder, and rath-builder, The raith-Jitheir, above the bruigh, To them is given a milgitan," by consent, 'Tis their share every time. Shoemaker and turner. With proper friendship. Not small the share, fierce work, The fat [part of the] shoulder*' for them. The door-keeper, the noisy humorous fool, The fierce active kerne, Their duty is to call aloud. The chine is their share. Good pipers, chess-players, In the eastern aurraidin,^ A proper colptha is given for their skill, ■" Copna»pe ocup cuchjaipe.— Soot of Glmdalmgh. " Cuccaip, a kitchen : cuchchaipe, a cook. - ■*' ppi ol no Da ail. — Book of Glendalough. ** This word is explained in Cormac's Glossary thus : " rPlljecan .1. mol-CUlcen .1. CUIC IDuil, DOppcroa Cempac : TTlol dicitur a ammpioe ooj cm rhuil po pepao popp na ooinib .t. a root op, cooc mo : inde dicitur TTlolac." It is also explained in a Glossary in H. 3. 18 : " TTIlljeDan .). mol-cuican .i. CUIC TTIoil, ap ip 6 aije do bepca do." i. e. Milgedan, i. e. Mol-cuitan, i. e. the share oi Mol [the door-keeper of Temur], for it was the lawful share given him. " Qelcaipe ocup pacbui5i, Ip paiopicip nac chan, t)o bep miljecan ppia coil, ni ecal cip can. — Booh of Glendalough. ^ Caipemain maipp mupiji, Co muncepap coip, Ni bee, mln, ni mop n-oemon, Remop n- imoa DOlb. — Book of Glendalough. " Imoa, see p. 149, where this is expressed by ichcop pemop in c-plinnein. Teige O'Rody, in his Gloss on the inauguration Ode of Brian na Murtha O'Rourke, explains imoa by the modern word plinnean, a shoulder. It is also so explained by Michael O'Clery, and thus used in Cormac's Glossary in voce Deac : " Claioem pon 6 ca mo na laime co pice in ale pil icip m imoa acap m maecan." i. e. From the extremity of the hand to the joint between the imdha and the maethan is called the claidhemh, ■" tJlegaic auppocpa co ol, t>ponD oia caema cutt.— Book of Glendalough. ■" The airidins are the two divisions of the house on each side of the centre. Each of the airidins contained eight imdas, or seats, in each of which two persons sat at dinner. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 203 t)oib pop a meif cuipchip.'" Scolaiji, ocuf oeojbaipe, tJebpao cachup bpij; Cepp-cpoicce ooib ip cuic buan, po ^lun puoD ip pij. T?aiD ceapoa, ocup humaioio, ImmuppaiDi each, t)o beip cpocliair meDoin ooib, Hi oepoil in jpao. Igobainn, leji, luao cen aip, Qipecr nao bi paeb, Hoppco bpaich ap conaire, Qp Doppeice moel. IDiD DO chuachaib, ip luamnaib 6uaice cap muip nslan, ITliljirain ooib, oijpap moo, pop meip po Dup cap. Saep chappair, ip cpeacoipe, Cen^aic pip ppia n-oan, Dlejaic cam-chnaim piao jac pi j, Ip Dijpaip in oail. Cleppamnaij, pceo puippeoipe, Soinmech a n-jpao n-jloip, Hipp coimcij ago boo p^PP? Do bep colpca doiB." Cuic cainci, ocup bpaijipe, Hi lecrap bi paiU, 'Remuip n-imoa ooib co 5pinn, Hi Dimoa ppi painn." Is put for them on their dish. The scolaighi, and the cupbearer, Receive what props their strength ; A less-chroichte is their constant share, Under the knee of the suadh and the king. The raidh cearda, and the brazier, As all assert, A middle crochait is given to them. Not small the dignity. Smiths, physicians, — mention without satire — A party who are not foolish, A custom to be for ever in existence. To them is given a moel. Mead to the ttiatha", and the mariners Who sail over the clear sea, A milgitain for them, constant the custom. Upon a dish is put. The chariot-maker and the creacoire. Abide true to their art, Are entitled to a cam-chnamh before each king. The custom is constant. Jugglers, and buffoons. Pleasant their noisy calling No better share than theirs, A colptha is given to them. The share of the satirist, and h'aigire, Is not neglected. The fat of the shoulder to them pleasantly. Not unpleasant to be divided. ^ Cuiplennaij peil, piochellaij, I n-aipioiu oiprhip, Ip colpca coip, cia pipe jleip, pop a meipp CUipchep. — Book of Glendahugh. '^ In H, 2. 16, col. 929, the word tuathait is explained as signifying the persons that covered the shields with hides; and in Cuan O'Lochain's poem, given above, page 148, they are called sciathaire, i. e. shield-makers. " The preceding six quatrains are omitted in the Book of Glendalough. " Cuiccamce ip bpaijipe. Hi leicchep i paill, Remup n-imoa, nuall co jpinn. Hi oimoa ppaino. — Book of Glendalougk. The braigire or braigiiori, as it is written on the ground-plans to follow, was obviously a Bufibon as well as thefuirseoire ; and the different nature of their bufibonery is thus explained in the Leabhar Bmdhe, coh 936 : — " puippeopaij .1. DO nfoD an puippeopacc ap a m-bealaiB — Spijeooipi .i. do nicro in bpuijeoopacc op a conaib." The passage, however, will not bear a translation, but the office of the braigitori, as indicated, will be understood from the following line of Dante : 2c2 . . 204 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara HiU. Rannaipe, oailemain oein, Raccaipe peim poep," ]ii laprap chiji, pop lap, Qp Doppeci moel.** meoam nimi, nuall cen atp, Rannupoo jac aeri, Gcip Di choem, oijpuip, pach, Ocup each bap chloen.^ CiD bee pi cac uan a chuic, In appannaib pic, mac TTIuipe ap n-oatlem, ap eoicc, h-ipp he con oapp pic. Q mic, mao cobpu in pleto, pomna molaio luio, Cach lap n-aipiUiuo hipcrj ppi pamujUD ppi puich — " Ueach ITliDcuapca Rij Nimi, Hi bai cech ba puilliu, Qcc col t)e cac do oanjniu Hoc a m-bi hi puioiu. The distributor, the swift cupbearer. The rachtaire of free course. In the back of the house, in the middle. To them is given a moel. The balancer of heaven, boundless wonder. Distributes to each person, Both to the mild, faithful, wise. And to each unjust person. Though each think his share small. In the divisions in which it reaches him, The son of Mary is our cupbearer, our cook, It is he who gives. My son, if the feast was cheerful. Which I have praised in my poem, All after being arranged inside In comfort and pleasure — The Teach Midhchuarta of the King of Heaven, There is no house more joyful. But except those who do the will of God None will be in it. It remains now to give an explanation of the ground-plans, or tables, illus- trating the preceding poem, as given in the two MSS. from which it has been copied; and, first, of the more ancient — that found in the Book of Glendalough. As the matter of these tables has, however, been already to a great extent ex- " Edegli avea del cul/atto trombetta." — Inferno, canto 21, line 139. It may not perhaps be unworthy of remark, that a manor in England is said to have been formerly held by the tenure of a saltus, a sufflatus, and a crepitus ventris, enacted in the presence of the king. " This word would signify either a lawgiver, or a herdsman, in which latter sense it is thus explained in O'Clery's glossary: " Reaccaipe .1. OOOaipe aooaipe aipneije." i.e. a herder of cattle. It is obviously used in this sense here. " Rannaipe cein oalemain, Reccaipe peim paep, In lapcup cije pop I6p, CTppoppecce mael. — Book of Glendalough. * rPeoa mine nual caen aip, Rannaip do cac cen, Gcip di chaem Dijpaip pach, Ocup pach bap chaem. — Book of Glendalough. " CiD bee la each uan a cuic, Im a pannaiB pic, TTIac t)e ap n-oailem, apcoie, ipecon Die. Q meiec mao cobpa m pleio, Ponma molaiD luio, lap na pulluo caich 1PC15, Ppi panpijuo pu ID. — Book of Glendalough. There is evidently some defect in the text of these concluding verses, as appears from a comparison of the two copies. The reading in the Book of Glendalough is the more correct, but it is to be regretted that the last quatrain of this poem is entirely effaced in that manuscript. V M ! b"^ i- V^AT Trcms.R.lA. VUL l^nSi.AnApizcia.p.20S. # Cecil TnibeTi4bA. cuinb boib Cpuiceipi mc-fmuin tKJll). ftpiclifriMii loncpuAJC boib Suib bcrpi Ion chpiiA CA1C boib. r coTpchA boib. <}lcc fnpimb 7 podiloc T51 cbpnAcbAjc .b. CuchchATpi 7 Tiiibnnip pe mtip -mTiibA .0. RAcbbBise 7 ob^dlje inil> geCAn^boib. T E A C H - M 1 0 D C H U A R T A from the iOOK OF CLtNDALOUCH Mr. Petkie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 205 plained in the translation of the poem, it will only be necessary here to resolve the contractions in the text, and translate it in the order of the plan — first reading the two external columns, and then the two internal in like manner, as it appears from the poem that the several ranks of the household were arranged in this order. It should, however, be remarked that the texts of both these tables — which are evidently copied from different originals — not only disagree from each other in several instances, but also from the text of the poem itself; and, though these differences may have arisen in part from the careless- ness of the transcribers, it is obvious that in some instances they originated in attempts to shape the words of the original documents according to their own ideas of their meanings, and particularly in the transcript in the Book of Glen- dalough, which is much less accurate than that in the Leabhar Buidhe. The following are the names in the external division to the left : 1. niapcaij: — cuinoooib. Horsemen: — c«mrf' for them. 2. Cpuiceipi : — Tnuc-popmuin ooib. Harpers: — a pig's shoulder for them. 3. 6pichemain : — lon-cpuacaic ooib. Brehons : — a lon-chruachait^ for them. 4. SuiD liccpi : — lon-chpuacaic Doib. Professors of literature: — a lon-chruachait for them. . 5. Canaipe fuao: — lep-cpuacaic ooib. Tanist -professors: — a les-chruachait^ for them. 6. Ollam pileo : — l.oap5 ooib. OUave-poets : — a loarg for them. 7. Qnpochpileo: — cam-cnaiin ooib. ^wro^A-poets : — a crooked bone for them. 8. 6piU5a cecoc : — loapj do. Briuga cetoch :♦ — a loarg for him. 9. Qujcappaippi : — poichnech do. Augtarsairsi : — a roichnech for him. 10. PaDijOcupopuiD, ocupcommilio: — colp- Augurs, and druids, and commilid: — a colptha for cha Dotb. them. 11. Qelcaipe, ocup jxiip ; — cpuachaic ooib. House-builders, and carpenters: — a cruachait for them. In the external division to the right : 12. QpaiD : — cuino Doib. Charioteers: — cwtW for them. ' CuinD, or cuinri, is the plural of cunn, which is explained copp, the body, in all the Glossaries. » Cpuachaic. See note 3, page 208. ' f.ep-chpuachaic, steak of the thigh. * The lirughaidh Cetoch, or Ceadach, i.e. the centurion Brughcudh, or, Brughaidh of the hundreds, was so called, ac- cording to the Leabhar Buidhe, col. 921, because he was bound by the law to have one hundred slaves, or labourers, and one hundred of each kind of cattle and other animals, as cows, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, hounds, cats, hens, geese, bees, &c. 206 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 13. Se5uinni : — muc popmum ooib. 14. CTipij popjaill : — lon-cpuachaic ooib, 15. TTIuipig: — lon-cpuacaicDOib. 16. CTipe aipD : — loapj do. 17. Qipi vtiya: — loapj do. 18. Cli : — cam-chnaim do. 19. Sencam :^-cam-chnaim do. 20. Qipe echca : — muc-Fopmuin do. 21. Cano : — cam-cnaim do. 22. Qipi oepa, ocufDopp: — colpcha ooib. 23. TTlacc pupmio, ocup pochloc : — ip-chpua- chaic DOib. 24. Cuchchaipi, ocup miDimip : — pemup n-iiTiDa Doib. 25. Rachbuije, ocup obpaige : — Tniljeran DOlb. 26. rnaipi5, ocup clcroaipi : — pemup n-imoa DOlb. Huntsmen: — a pig's shoulder for them. Airigforgaill: — a lon-chruachait for them. Muirig .•* — a lon-chruachait for them. Aire aird: — a loarg for him. Aire desa : — a loarg for him. Cli : — a crooked bone for him. Historian : — a crooked bone for him. Aire-echta : — a pig's shoulder for him. Cano : — a crooked bone for him. Aire desa, and doss : — a colptha for them. Mace furmid, and fochloc: — an ir-chruachait for them. Cooks, and midimir fi — the fat [part of the] shoul- der for them. Rath-builder, and obraige : — a milgetan for them. ilifajr^and cladairi : — the fat [part of the] shoul- der for them. In the internal division to the left : Distributors : — a mael for them. Pipers : — a colpda for them. Scolaige : — a les-chruachait for them. Smiths : — a mael for them. Shield-makers : — a milgetan for them. Chariot-makers: — a crooked bone for them. Jugglers : — a colptha for them. 34. Copnaipi, ocup bunnipi : — mioi mip Bono Trumpeters, and footmen: — cheering mead abund- Doib. antly for them. 35. Rannaipi,^ ocup lapcaipi : — tniljeran Distributors, and fishermen: — a milgetan for DOlb. them. 36. Caipemain, ocup copcaipi :' — pemup n- Shoemakers, and toscairi: — the fat [part of the] imoa DOiB. shoulder for them. 27. Rannaipe : — TTlael ooib. 28. Cuplennaij : — colpoa ooib. 29. Scolaige : — lep-chpuachaic DOib, 30. ^o'jct'"" '• — mael ooib. 31. Uuaraic : — miljecain ooib. 32. Cappac paep :^-cam-chnaim ooib. 33. Cleppamnaij : — Colpcha ooib. * This word is written Ruirig in the table in the Leabhar Buidhe, and, as it would appear, more correctly. ^ Midimir is a mistake of the transcriber, as will appear from the other table, and from the poem. ' These names are obviously incorrectly copied, as Rannaire is given before. In the table in the Leabhar Buidhe they are more correctly written T?mnaipe ocup Napcaipe, which would signify engravers and nose, or ring, makers— the word nose meaning a collar, bracelet, or ear-ring — any ring that opened. ' These words are written caipemain ocup copnoipe, or shoemakers and turners, in the table in the Leabhar Buidhe. Tnmj.RJA. Y0\..jyiR.Anaquuia.p.2O7. PLATE 9. \^ ', ' / -/w/y vy y y v /';/y / y v y y x / y y x v- /yvvyyvyyV) \ y Vl6apcai5 no Translated " astronomers and genealogists, or diviners," by Vallancey j but pinnaipe is of constant occurrence in Irish MSS. in the sense of carver, or engraver, and in no other. " Vallancey has joined the word pemup with COpnope, and so translated it, turners in coarse uiood ; but the adjective pemup, fat, is joined with imoa throughout, as can be proved from the poem. " This word is thus explained in O'Clery's Glossary : " l?Uip)j — P'j 10 Ctjcappa," i. e. a king, or lord. It is Iso used to denote a champion. " Cli, a poet of the third order. — See Cormac's Glossary. " Dos, a poet of the fourth order. — See Cormac's Glossary. " Fochlcc, a poet of the lowest rank. — See Cormac'f Glostary. VOL. XVIII. 2 d 210 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 21 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. Cuchcaipe, ocup cpeccoipe, no copnaipe : — mio mip. Rarhbuiji, ocup oblaipe : — TTiiljicain Doib. Qipe echca : — niuc-popmuin. Canu : — cam-cnaim. TDuipiji, ocup clapaij) : — pemuip n-iitioa. Cooks, and creccoire, or cornaire : — midh mir. Rath-builder, and oblaire .-'^ — a milgitan for them. Aire echta : — a pig's shoulder. Canu : — a crooked bone. Muirighi, and clasaighi .•" — the fat [part of the] shoulder. In the internal division to the left. Cuiplinnaij : — colpcha ooib, Scolaije : — lepp-cpoichce ooib. Ceapoa: — h-ip-cpoichce ooib. ^obainn : — mael ooib. Uuachair: — nulgicain ooib. Saeip cappac : — miljicain ooib. Cleppainnaij : — colpra muicce doiB. Camce : — pemuip n-imoa ooib. Pipers : — a colpiha for them. Scolaige: — a les-chroichte for them. Artisans:'" — an ir-chroichie for them. Smiths : — a mael for them. Shield-makers : — a milgitan for them. Chariot-makers : — a milgitan for them. Jugglers : — a pig's colptha for them. Satirists : — the fat [part of the] shoulder for them. In the internal division to the riffht. piDcheallai j : — colpcha ooib. Deojbaipe : — lep-chpoichci ooib. h-umaiDiD: — h-ip-cpoichci ooib. Oinmice : — h-ip-cpoichci ooib. ieiji, ocup luamaipe: — mael ooib. 6uamaipe : — milgicam ooib. Cpeacoipe : — cam-cnamo ooib, no colpcha muiccr. Puippeoipe : — colpca mucc ooib. 6pai5icoipe : — pemuip n-imoa ooib. Chess-players : — a colptha for them. Drink-bearers : — a les-chroichti for them. Braziers : — an ir-chroichti for them. Fools : — an ir-chroichti for them. Physicians, and mariners : — a mael for them. Mariners : — a milgitain for them. Creacoire ; — crooked bones for them, or pig's colptha. Buffoons : — a pig's colptha for them. Braigitoire : — the fat [part of the] shoulder for them. •^ No authority has been found to explain this word. It is written obpaije in the table in the Book of Glendalough, and would appear to be formed from the word obaip, a work, labour, and to signify an artisan, or artisans — perhaps house-builders. ■' These words in their compound or derivative forms are not found in any dictionaries j but there can be little, if any, doubt that they are formed from mup, a wall, and clap, a trench, and signify wall-builders and trench -makers. The word muirighi, would indeed signify a mariner ; but, as this class ia elsewhere expressed in the table, under the word luamaire, it could not be used in that sense here. " In the Leabhar Buidhe Lecain it is stated that the herds worked in gold and silver only. In Ulster and Lower Connaugbt this word is now only applied to a tinker, and it is probable that the modern tinker is, in a modified and debased degree a representative of the ancient herd. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara HilL 211 In the larthar, or back of the house. 41. Wannaipe : — mael ooib. Distributors (or dividers) : — a mael for them. 42. Dailemain : — mael ooib. Cupbearers : — a mael for them. 43. Rechraipe : — mael ooib. Herdsmen : — a mael for them. At the left side of the door. 44. Ooppaipe pig : — ocupopoinn ooib. The king's doorkeepers : — and chines for them. At the right side of the door. 45 Dpuichpij:" — opomanna Doib. The king's fools: — backs for them. In the central division of the house. Cene. Fire.'" Dabac. Vat. Cainnel. Candle. Cocapn. Lamp, h-eplapcaich." Common Hall. Oopup. Door. It will be seen from the occasional disagreement in the arrangement of the preceding tables, that they are not copied from the same original; and the infe- rence is unavoidable, that both are only attempts of the old scribes to shew the arrangements of the Dining-hall, at Tara, as derived from bardic traditions, and their knowledge of the customs still prevalent among the Irish kings and great lords in their own times. That these ancient customs were indeed preserved to the times of the writers of the poems, has been already shewn from the statement of the poet Cuan O'Lochain ; and it can scarcely be doubted that they were perpe- tuated, though on a limited scale, in the household of every chief, not only in Ireland, but also in the Highlands of Scotland, as late even as the sixteenth century. Of this fact a curious evidence is given by Martin, in his Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, p. 109. After stating that " their antient leagues of friendship were ratify'd by drinking a drop of each other's blood, which was commonly drawn out of the little finger," and that "this was religiously '» " t)puc .1. Oinrhtc, quasi t)ipac .i. cin pioc paip fna cmcaiB." — Cormac's Glossary. *" Three fire-places are marked in the second ground-plan. ^' This word is not found in any dictionary, or MS. glossary j but it appears obviously to be a compound of the words Gplap, or Uplaji, a floor, or hall, and caic, the genitive of cac, the whole, the people or commonalty. 2d2 212 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. observ'd as a sacred bond" — a custom, the antiquity of which in Ireland has been shewn at p. 121 in this memoir — ^he adds, that "before mony became cur- rent, the chieftains in the Isles bestow'd the cow's head, feet, and all the entrails upon their dependents ; such as the physician, orator, poet, bard, musicians, 8^c. and the same was divided thus : the smith had the head, the piper had the, S^c." And it may not be unworthy of remark, that a remnant of these ancient usages is preserved in many parts of Ireland to this day, namely, that when a farmer kills a beef or pig, it is customary to send the head to the smith, whose kitchen often presents the spectacle of from fifty to one hundred heads obtained in this manner. There is one feature in the first or more ancient of these tables, which requires some more particular illustration than a mere explanation of its name — the Bir bruinneas, or spit on which the daul, or waiter, is roasting a les, or round of beef! That the ancient Irish used instruments of this description for cooking is satisfactorily proved from innumerable evidences found in the most ancient MSS., and the spits used in the Teach Miodhchuarta at Tara have been deemed worthy of a particular description, and even the names of their supposed fabricators, or perhaps inventors, have been preserved by the bards. How far, indeed, these descriptions may be worthy of historic credit must be left to the judgment of the reader ; but they are, vmder any circumstances, worthy of preservation, as evidences of the notions of mechanics existing in Ireland at the time of the writers, and they may with great propriety be adduced here in connexion with so many other illustrations of this locality. The spit, represented in the plan or table alluded to, is called Bir-hruinneas — but though the word bir, which appears cognate with the Latin veru, undoubtedly means a spit, the meaning of the epithet bruinneas is by no means clear, as no explanation of it has hitherto been found. It is possible, however, that it may mean roasting, as the word seems to have some affinity to the German brennen, to burn ; or it may be formed from the word byiuinn, a caldron, as explained by O'Clery, and mean boiling, roasting, or cooking generally, as the ancient Irish do not appear to have had distinct words to express roasting and boiling. It appears from notices found in other MSS. that the spit at Tara was known by another name, partly derived from that of its inventor, namely, Bir Nechin, or Dechin, the spit of Dechin, who, according to these authorities, was the chief smith of Sir Nechin here : Nechin was the chief smith of Temur. He was the first smith who went into Teach Midchuarta, so that he sunk the spot where a fire should rise, and he made a spit with motion that it might reach the fire, and that it might coil into its durunn another time. Mr. Petkie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 213 Tara in the time of the Tuatha-De-Dananns ; as in the following passage from the Leabhar Buidhe, H. 2. 16, col. 245. Inoeoin juachach in Xiapia do jpep in The usual inneoin of the Daghda here. fO. 6ip Nechin in po .1. Neichen ppim-joba na Cempac. Ip e cecna joBa do po chinj hi Cech TTliDchuapca, conio po puipmeao >n aipm ap na poicheo ceinio, co n-oeipjine bip CO U'lD CO moD poicheao ceinio, ocup CO cimpaijeo in a oupunn can aili. This spit, as well as one of another description, called Inneoin an Daghdha, or the spit of the Daghdha, is thus noticed in another ancient MS. in the same library, H. 3. 18, p. 433. Inoeoin m tDajoa. Noco nuilcmoeD puij- iDci F"Pr') ace po laijeo pe jpipaij ocup po eipjeD pe lapaip ; ocup do biD a leaob ap mum jac pip ap na mapach. ^oibneno ip e do pinoe in 6ip t)eicen. Dpinoe, mac o oechncap cpa .ix. cuici peom, do cuinjiD Inoeoine do oenum ooib, apboip di- bepjaib, .1. Inneoin ocup Ax. n-aiple inci, ocup do bepeo cuch diB a aipil 'n a laim can ceijDipcaiDchi, ocup conopiccip cac oib pop a coppa ppi ap aili oiu lae ; ocup no chocabcha co m-ba com apo ppi pep in can ba aolaicc, ocup ni ba aipoiu op cenio oloap Dopn can aili pop na copaib cecna, cen lec- pao, cen cimDibi : oeicbep pon ap ba lapn a Domna. Fwlucht na Mor-righna here, i. e. a piece of raw meat and another of dressed meat, and a bit of butter on it ; and the butter did not melt, the raw was dressed, and the dressed was not burned, even though the three were together on the spit. There went to her [i. e. Mor-righain] on one occasion nine persons, to request that an Inneoin would be made for them, for they were outlaws, i. e. an Inneoin with nine ribs in it, and each of them carried his own rib in his hand wherever he went, until night, and they joined them all together on its posts when they met at the close of the day ; and it used to be raised to the height of a man when it was desirable, and it was not higher over the fire at another time than a fist on the same posts, without breaking without diminishing: the reason was because its material was iron. To proceed now with the remaining features : the monuments next de- scribed in the prose, as in the immediate vicinity of the Teach Miodhchuarta, Airighthe, i. e. the respective shares or portions allotted to the different ranks. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 215 are Mur na d-tri g-Cogur, or the Mur, or Wall, of the Three Conspiracies, and Lia na b-Fian, or the Stone of the Heroes, or Soldiers. Of the first, it is only stated in the prose that it was situated in the vicinity of Teach Miodhchuarta ; but the verse most distinctly marks that it was between the Long and the Heroes' Well. To this Well there is no other allusion in any of the documents, but this is sufficient to point out the locality of the Mur, as the Well is still to be found to the north-west of the Hall, though it is now generally dry. Of the monument itself there are no remains, and no illustration of its history has been found. With respect to the second feature, the Stone of the Heroes, the prose and verse both state that it was situated to the east of the road, opposite the Rath of the Synods — a locality now occupied by the village — and consequently no vestige of the monument remains ; nor has anything been found thait would serve to illustrate the history of this, any more than of the former monu- ment. The next monument described is Dumha na m-ban-amus, or the Mound of the Heroines, or, literally. Women Soldiers,* which, according to the prose, was a small mound situated to the south-east of the Teach Miodhchuarta, and at the southern end : the verse states, more simply, that it was situated at the upper or southern extremity, and calls it the Mound of the Women who had been betrayed. This mound has disappeared, and no historical illustration of it has been found. Proceeding now to the northern extremity of the Hall, both the prose and verse place here the Rath, and the Leacht, or Grave, of Caelchu. These are de- scribed in the prose as being near the northern head of Long na m-ban, and the verse states that the Grave was to its north-east, and adds that it was a heap of stones ; but there is every reason to believe that it should have been written north-west, as the Irish transcribers frequently mistake the word paip for y^iap. Both authorities state that this Caelchu was the great-grandson of Cormac Cas, and was one of the Eoganachts of Cashel, and the most distinguished of all the men of Munster for wisdom, and that from him the chiefs of Ros- Teamrach and the tribe of Tuath-cis at Temur were descended. He was cotemporary with the monarch Cormac Mac Art, and his son Cairbre LiflFeachair. This * For an historical evidence of the existence of female soldiers in Ireland, see p. 172. 216 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. Rath and Leacht still remain, and the measurements of the former will be seen in the section, taken from west to east, and on a scale of 60 f. to 1 inch. On the western side, the interior of this Rath is 5^ f . higher than the ground on the outside, and at the eastern is 7 f. high. The Leacht, or Grave, is situated at the north-east side of the Rath, and is a small mound about 3 f. higher than the outer circle, which seems evidently to have been enlarged for it. This mound is of an oval form, and is 26 f. in diameter from north to south, and 20 f. from east to west at the base. It is about &^ f. higher than the surface of the hill, and I7} f. lower than the Rath. To the north of the preceding monuments the prose account places the next feature — the Sheskin, or Moor, of Temur, close to Long na m-ban, to the north-west. This Moor has been already spoken of, and is only again noticed here to show the connexion of the contiguous monuments. Of these the first is Rath Graine, which, according to the prose, was situated to the west of the Sheskin, on the height of the hill. Rath Graine lies on the summit of the western face of the hill, and on its abrupt slope. It appears to have had two concentric ramparts ; but the external one is nearly obliterated, and a deep hollow has been excavated in the central mound, either for the purpose of obtaining gravel, or in search of treasure. Its measurements will be seen from the section, taken from east to west, and on a scale of 60 f. to 1 inch. No historical allusion is made, either in the prose or verse, to the person from whom this fort was named, obviously because it was unnecessary, as only Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities ofTara Hill. 217 one distinguished female of the name appears in Irish history. This was Graine, the wife of the celebrated Finn Mac Cumhaill — the Fingal of Macpherson. She Was a daughter of the king Cormac, with whose time almost all the monu- ments at Tara are identified. The infidelity of this lady to her puissant husband is remembered tradition- ally in most parts of Ireland, and has been made the subject of a celebrated prose romance among the Irish, and of a poem attributed to Ossian, which has been equally current throughout Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. O'Flaherty, from the ancient Irish bardic histories, states, somewhat bombas- tically, that Cormac had a son-in-law, Finn, married to his daughter Graine, but she having eloped with Dermot, the grandson of Duibhne, he gave his other daughter, Abbea, to him in marriage. Finn was the son of Cubhal, by Mornea, daughter to the Druid Tadg, of the family of Hy-Baisgne, the descendants of Nuada the White, monarch of Ireland. He was generalissimo of the Irish militia, highly distinguished for his jurisprudence, — dissertations on which, written by him, are extant, — for his poetical compositions in his native language, and, as some write, for his prophecies. His noble military exploits have afforded a vast field of panegyric to the poets. He was reconciled to his wife, after she had, by an illicit connexion with Dermot, four sons, namely, Dunchad, lUand, Ruchlad, and lorruadh. The infidelity of Graine Is referred to in Cormac's Glossary, under the word Ope, and the death of Finn is thus recorded by Tighearnach : A. D. 270. F'"° Vi-Ua 6aifcne, decoUatus A. D. 270. Finn, the grandson of Baiscne, was o Qicleach Dlac tJuibopenn, ocup o macaiB beheaded by Aicleach, the son of Duibhdrenn, and UipjpenD, DO CuaijniD Cempach, oc Cfrh- by the sons of Uirgrend, of the Luaighnians of bpea pop 6oino. Temur, at Athbrea on the Boyne. To the south of Rath Graine a smaller Rath Is found, which is not noticed in the verse, but which, as it would otherwise be an unnoticed feature, there is every reason to believe must be the monument called Fothath Ratha Graine^ and which Is described as situated to the north, or In the vicinity, of Fan na g-Carbad, or the Slope of the Chariots, near the northern Claenfeart to the east. It must, however, be confessed that the description given of its situation does not appear to apply so accurately as those given of the other monuments. This Rath VOL. xviii. 2 e 218 Mr. Petuie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. appears to have had but a single rampart and ditch, as shown on the map and section following, which is taken from «outh to north, and on a scale of 60 f. to an inch : Of the other monuments, or artificial features, noticed in the ancient docu- ments there are no distinct remains, but the localities which they occupied are so accurately described as to leave little difficulty in ascertaining them with consi- derable exactness. Of these the first in the order of the prose account are the two Claenfearts, which are described as being situated to the west of Rath Graine, or, as the verse states, down to the west. Of the nature of these monuments it is now perhaps impossible to speak with any certainty, as the etymological meaning of the name, which would simply express a sloping trench, fosse, or grave, gives a very un- certain idea of their character. These localities are memorable in Irish his- tory. The first or southern Claenfeart was the scene of the massacre of the young females by Dunking, king of Leinster, in the year 222, as recorded in the Annals of Tighearnach, and already given in page 36 of this memoir. O' Flaherty, p. 335, calls this Claenfeart a Gynceceum ; and Lynch, in his very learned work, entitled Camhrensis Eversus, p. 70, gives as his opinion that the young females, who were of royal birth, were vestal virgins, who were at Tara as if in a Par- thenion. " Ausus est Rex Lageniae Dunlingus Endaei Niadi filius triginta regias virgines, quarum singulis, triginta virgines alias famulabantur, Temorse Clonfartam [Claenfeartam, Tecte'\ tanquam Parthenion incolentes internecioni dare." The northern Claenfeart, as the verse states, was memorable as the place of the treacherous covenant, and, according to the prose, as the place where Lughaidh Mac Con, the predecessor of Cormac, pronounced the false judgment, concerning the grass of the green field which was eaten by the sheep. The account of this judgment, as given in the Leahhar Gabhala, or Book of Conquests, compiled from ancient documents by the O'Clerys, is as follows : Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 21*9 ^aBaip CucchaiD, cap b'ainm TTIac Con, an p'she ppi pe rpiochar bliaoan. 6a ip in bliaoain Deioenaij oia pi5he po elij, ocup po airceoiD, Copbtnac Ua Cuinn an Di bpeic oippoepca imon Rij CujaiD. peaclic Dia m-baoi mac an peachcaipe, baoi la mac Con hi Ueampaij an lonbaio pm, a[\ a baoir-peim baoipi, ocup peab- paiD, con DO pdla 50 apoile each co m- bpij ocup boppa,bai la h-oglaec n-atnpa hi Ceampaij. Do raec an mac jan anacal jan imoeajail po laprap an eich. t)op po5aiB pi a coip, ocup do bepc ppeib n-oo, jup bo mapB jan anmain po ceooip. Cuinjio an pechcaipe epaic a meic ; bpearha an cuinjio jup an pi j. Qriec bpearha no coic- cepca' aj piojaib Gpenn 50 pm, " ^ach pop*inachionaiD." Rucc Cujaio an m-bpeic j-cema, .1. an cecpamaocop, Dia po buaileo mac an pechcaipe, do bem Don eoch. 6aoi Din Copbmac Ua Cuinn occa leapujao f o otcleic la a chaipoiB, ap n5 lamca la TTlac Con a beic op aipo in n-©ipinn, o po hopcao a acaip laip 1 5-cac TTluishe TTluicpioma, pechc piam. t)o pala do Don cup pin a beic oc lonjaipe chaepach (oia Diamlujao^) la baincpeabcaij baoi 1 n- yappoccupDO Chempaij; ocup occhualaan •m-bpeic ipin po elij f, ocup ac bepc nap bo cioncaije an chop oia po buaileao an mac ol D-cac na ceopa copa oile bacap occ lompulanj an eich an oipeo pin. 6aoi beop pep-jupc jaBala lap an pij i Uempaij; po eppuajaippioe jan caipeaj nac anman- na po jebca ann. Ceacoriinacaip co pop leicc an ci Copbmac caeipe Caoinije, .1. Lughaidh, surnamed Mac Con, had the so- vereignty for a period of thirty years. It was in the last year of his reign that Cormac O'Cuinn questioned, and impugned, the two famous deci- sions of King Lughaidh. On a time that the son of the reachtaire, who was with Mac Con at Temur at that time, was running about in wan. tonness, and youthful folly, he went [among other places] to [where stood] a steed full of strength and spirits, which belonged to a noble youth at Tara. The boy went without defence or protection be- tween the hind legs of the steed. The steed raised his leg, and gave him a kick, of which he died immediately. The reachtaire demanded eric for his son ; the demand is brought before the king. The judgments which the kings of Ireland had hitherto pronounced were conformable to a rule which says, " Every transgressor for his trans- gression." (That is, the person, or animal, or thing, who committed a trespass, was to be given to the sufferer in satisfaction.) Lughaidh pronounced the samejudgment,namely,thatthe fourthleg,by which the son of the reachtaire was struck, should be cut off the steed. Cormac O'Cuinn was at that time receiving education in disguise with his friends, for Mac Con would not allow him to be at large in Ireland, since he (Mac Con) killed his (Cormac's) father at the battle of Magh Muic- riomha, some time previously. He (Cormac) hap- pened at this time to be minding sheep (by way of disguise) belonging to a widow who hved near Temur; and when he heard that judgment he impugned it, and said that the leg which struck the boy was not more guilty than the other three legs which supported the steed at the time. The king had also a grassy field (paddock) at ' " Coiccepc .1. bpeiceariinap." — O'Clery. • See Cormac's Glossary in voce, TDojene, where it is stated that this law also prevailed in Britaia. ' " DiavhlujaD .1. Ol-aJcniUJao no Dopcujao," disguise or disguising.— O'Cfery. 2 e2 220 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. na bainqienbraije if in jlaipin, ocup pon baoi peipm ma puioe occa B-paipccpin. Kuccpac coiiTieoaiDe na cluana poppa, ocup Don beapacleo. Do oeachaio Caei- neacli do chumjeo na j-caepacb jup an pij CO f'UJ, cup po acaoin a h-eccurhanj piaba. Qc bepc an pi co po cuicpec ina j-cionaiD. Robaoi Copptnac occ eipcechc ppip in pij alia Trnnj o'uppainn an pij- rije, ocup ac bepc ba gu-bpeac an coic- cepc, Dotj poba lop lompaoh na ccaepach 1 lompa na cluana, uaip apair DiblmiB. Oc cuala JTlac Con an m-bpeic occa h-ei- liugao, po oech peacha, conup paca an ma- caojii o'^td riiulchach, ocupacchi popj pij ma chmo, ocup do par aicne gup bo he an mac raippnjeapcach Copbmac baoi ann. Ro lonnaijeao ime, ocup aqiaij la piucao puapnaoac pepje i lenmum an pij-rheic. Impaoi-pioih peime pop a lomjaBail. ^e- bi6 an pij aja rojpaim cooighaip oapoch- cach, jup pop cuip po cpi bi rimclieoll na Cempach 6 ; ocup, 6 na puaip plige cap Dopaip beul na Ceampuc amacb, po Imj cap claoh an muip. \io cpapjuip an mup ocup an pach, alia ciap, uaip ba ip m can pm po baoi mup na Cempacb aja achnuaoujao la TTJac Con. Qchr pula an macaorh uao jan cappachcain, conao aipe pm po h-amm- nijeao Claonao Ceampach pop ITlhac Con ; ocup ap DC Beop ap penapupc la jac ju- bpec conceprup m ©ipmn, co j-claonpao Cearhaip ppia. tujaib cpa 6 do oeacaiD an poep-macoeih uao jan muoujao po lion do Doimenmam, D015 po aicin co D-caipnic a peimeap uap 6pinn, ocuppo accoBaip oul Dia ochapoa Don mhurhain. Conao lapom po h-ionnapbooa Ceampaijla Copbmac cona pochpaicci, CO D-copchaip La opaoio Oililla Oluim m QpD peipcip ip in TTlumain, lap n-u jeojuin DO piacail neirhe an Oililla cecna Temur; and he gave warning that there would be no restitution of any animals captured in it. It happened that Cormac allowed the sheep of Caeinech, i. e. of the widow, to go into the little green, and he himself sat to watch them. The care- takers of the green caught them, and took them with them. Caeineach went to King Lughaidh to request him to restore her the sheep, and com- plained to him of her destitution. The king said they were forfeited for their trespass. Cormac was listening to the king outside the door-post of the royal house, and he said that the sentence was a false judgment, for that the fleeces of the sheep were sufficient payment for the fleece of the green, for they both grow. When Mac Con heard the judgment impugned, he looked to one side, and perceived a beautiful, beardless youth, and perceiving a royal eye in his head, he recog- nized in him the prophesied son Cormac. He be- came wroth at the sight, and rushed with rage and impetuosity in pursuit of the royal youth. He fled before him to escape from him. The king proceeds to pursue him with vigour and fury, until he drove him three times around Temur ; and, as he found no passage out at the door-way of Temur, he sprang over the mound of the Mur. He knocked down the Mur and the Rath, on the western side, for at that time Temur was being renewed by Mac Con. However the youth escaped from him withoutbeing caught, so that for that reason Mac Con was called ClaonadhTeamrach (violator oiTetnur) ; and hence also the old saying whenever a false judgment was pronouncedin Ireland, that it violates Temur. When Lughaidh saw that the noble youth escaped from him without being killed he was filled with me- lancholy, for he perceived that his reign over Ire- land was at an end, and he desired to return to his patrimony in Munster. He was afterwards ex- pelled from Temur by Cormac with his hosts, so that he was afterwards slain by the Druid of Oilioll Olum at Ard-Feirchis in Munster, having Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 221 achaiD pia pan can fin. Qoif ooriiain 5424 ; been sometime before wounded by the venemous aoip Chpiopc 225. tooth of the OiHoll aforesaid. The age of the world [at this time] 5424 ; the age of Christ 225. The same legend is related, but more briefly, in the Book of Ballymote — fol. 142 — but the name of the female is written Beannaid, very probably through an error of the transcriber. The passage is, however, worth adducing, as it attempts to account for the name Claenfeart, and indicates that it was a building. 6ai ban-bpujaio a Cempaij in innbuio There was a female brughaidh at Temur at pin, .1. 6eannaio. tocap a capij-pe co n-ou- that time, i. e. Beannaid. Her sheep went and aoap jloipin nu pijna. 6epap in piap co eat the queen's glaisin. The case was brought CujaiD. Qp pepc pe na caipij in ic na before Lughaidh. He said that the sheep were jlapneoonpijain. Qcc, ol Copmac. teop forfeited to the queen for the g-^amn. I deny it lompao na caepac a lompao na jlaipne, op said Cormac. The fleece of the sheep is sufficient paioe DiblinaiB. Ip i in pip-Bper, ap cue, ip for the fleece of the glaisin, for both are of equal e mac na pip placa puc in Bper. Cuio po length. That is the true judgment, said all, and nail lee Don cij i pucao in juo Bpec me- he is the son of the true king who has pronounced paio porhlaiD cu bpac ; conio pin Claen- the judgment. The side of the house in which peapcQ Cempac. the false sentence was pronounced leaned to one side, and it will remain so for ever ; and hence the Claenfearta of Temur. The next feature noticed is that called Fan na Carhad, or the Slope of the Chariots, which is described in the prose as being situated near the Northern Claenfeart to the east, and in the verse as between the Cross of Fergus and the Claenfearts. This topographical feature still exists, and will be noticed more particularly in connexion with the other ancient roads diverging from Tara. The Cross here alluded to does not remain, but its locality can be fixed with nearly perfect certainty. To the holy pilgrim Fergus, who gave name to this Cross, no historical allusion has been found. To the north of the Sheskin, or Moor, of Tara, were situated two cairns, or monumental heaps of stones, one called the Cairn of the Leinster Youths, and the other the Cairn of the Hy-Niall Youths. These cairns were situated north and south of each other, and between them lay the Deisiol Temrach, which is spoken of in the verse as a lucky spot before going to heaven, where people turned to the right, or sun-ways. This notice has evidently a reference to the 222 Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. ancient pagan superstition of the Irish, not yet obsolete, that making a circle sun- ways was productive of prosperity, or good fortune. This custom is still ob- served in the Roman Catholic pilgrimages, burials, &c. Martin, in his description of the Western Isles, gives many instances of this superstition. On his visiting the Island Rona, he says, " One of the natives would needs express his high esteem for my person, by making a turn round about me Sun-ways, and at the same time blessing me, and wishing me all happi- ness ; but I bid him let alone that piece of homage, telling him I was sensible of his good meaning towards me : but this poor man was not a little disappointed, as were also his neighbours ; for they doubted not but this antient ceremony would have been very acceptable to me: and one of them told me. That this was a thing due to my character from them, as to their chief and patron, and they could not, nor would not fail to perform it." — p. 20. This custom still exists in many parts of Ireland, and a turning to the oppo- site or left side, is considered as unlucky. Hence the common Irish phrase, ex- pressive of ill-will, "lompoD aip mop cbuachal chujar," i. e. a full turn to the left to you." From this custom the seat of the chief of the Maguires, in the county of Fermanagh, received its name Tempo Deisiol, now shortened into Tempo ; and there was also an ancient locality in Derry, called the Deisiol. The antiquity of this pagan usage is so satisfactorily shewn by Toland, in th^ following passage of his Critical History of the Celtic Religion, — p. 142, et seq. — as to preclude the necessity of further illustration : — "The vulgar in the Hands do still show a great respect for the Druid's Houses, and never come to the antient sacrificing and fire-hallowing Cams, but they walk three times round them from east to west, according to the course of the Sun. This sanctified tour or round by the south, is call'd Deiseal ;* as the unhallow'd contrary one by the north, TuaphoU.'f But the Irish and Albanian Scots do not derive the first, as a certain friend of mine imagined, from Di-sul, which signifies Sunday in Armorican British, as Dydh-syl in the Welsh and De-zil in Cornish do the same ; but from Deas,X the right, under- standing hand, and Soil, one of the antient names of the Sun, the right hand in * Dextrorsum. f Sinistrorsum. % Item Deis. Mr. Petrie on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. 223 this rqund being ever next the heap. The Protestants in the Hebrides are almost as much addicted to the Deisiol, as the Papists. Hereby It may be seen, how hard it is to eradicate Inveterate Superstition. This custom was us'd three thousand years ago, and God knows how long before, by their ancestors the antient Gauls of the same religion with them ; who turn'd round right-hand-wise, when they worshiped their Gods, as Atheneus* Informs us out of Posidonius a much elder writer. Nor is this contradicted, but clearly confirm'd by Puny, who says, that the Gauls, contrary to the custom of the Romans,\ turn'd to the left in their religious ceremonies ; for as they begun their worship towards the east, so they turn'd about, as our Ilanders do now, from east to west according to the course of the Sun, that is, from right to left, as Pliny has observ'd ; whereas the left was among the Romans reputed the right In Augury, and in all devotions answering it. Nor were their neighbors, the Aboriginal Italians, most of 'em of Gallic descent, strangers to this custom of worshipping right-hand- wise, which, not to allege more Passages, may be seen by this one in the Cur- culioX of Plautus, who was himself one of them : when you worship the Gods, do it turning to the right hand ; which answers to turning from the west to the east. It is perhaps from this respectful turning from east to west, that we re- tain the custom of drinking over the left thumb, or, as others express it, accord- ing to the course of the Sun ; the breaking of which order, is reckoned no small Impropriety, if not a downright indecency, in Great Britain and Ireland. And no wonder, since this, if you have faith in Homer, was the custom of the Gods themselves. Vulcan, in the first book of the Iliad,^ filling a bumper to his mother Juno, To th' other Gods, going round from right to left, Skenk'd Nectar sweet, which from full flask he pour'd." To the north-east of the Cam of the Hy-Niall youths, that is the northern Carn, according to the prose, was situated the Rath of Colman, the son of Cael- * 'Ouroi ^sw; irpooTivvoviny, sin rat, Ss^ia, o-rpe4)0ju,En>i. — Lib. 4. p. 132. f In adorando dexteram ad osculum referimus, totumque corpus circumagimus ; quod in laevum fecisse Galli religiosius credunt. Hist. Nat. lib. 28. cap.2. t Si Deos salutas, dextrovorsum censeo. Act. I. Seen. I. ver. 70. § Auraf S rot; OLXXuKn fleoij cvSe^ia, irairtv iivsp^oej, yXuxu yexrap airo x.^i^Trjpos a^ua'